I walked out of the infirmary greenhouse fast, trying to hide the warmth on my cheeks. I sighed heavily as soon as I was out, and for a second, I closed my eyes, calming my heart. I knew it was too early, but we were married, sharing a bed, and we also made a compromise, which escalated our bond into something else before we could even make love.
I could feel it. This time I am certain. I looked at the afternoon sun in the sky with a conviction that I won't let anyone or anything take away from me. My wife.
I knew my wife wasn't the past that had ruined me. She's a different kind of mate because she's someone who'll be there to heal me and won't leave my side. She had chosen me, and I am going to stay too, even though it scares the hell out of me.
***
By the time I reached the school's wall again, I saw Jerome and Almira talking animatedly, but I could feel the tension and anger coming from Almira. She was fuming, and I knew exactly the reason for her anger. Jerome had informed her. I inhaled deeply, and with poise and confidence, I approached them. When they sensed my presence, their conversation died down, and they began smirking.
I knew it. They've sensed it.
Almira's grin was obvious. Then she began teasing me. "So how's being intimate with my sister?"
I knew exactly what she was referring to. My mark on my neck. With a sigh, I replied flatly as I walked past them. "We haven't. She half-marked me."
"If you say so, but I'm glad you're okay now." Jerome chuckled as he patted my shoulder in a friendly manner before he looked at the time, excusing himself. "I should go now, my mate; Anya is waiting."
"Thank her for me," I told him, and he nodded before running off.
Almira's teasing grin grew deeper, and it made me shiver. I groaned in annoyance, and I said, "Don't even start teasing; we need to hurry and meet your grandfather. I get roasted without even trying."
***
At the Special Class wing, Almira guided me to the fifth floor, where we could hear a melancholic melody from a piano. It was serene and lovely, but Almira went stiff when the notes had shifted into a grimace. I squeezed her hand, snapping her from being tense, and proceeded to the end of the empty corridor.
As soon as we reached the door, we attempted to knock, but it suddenly opened. There was a strong gust of wind passing through, making Almira tremble. She barely held herself when her knees buckled, and I got worried.
"Al..." I muttered, worried because I hadn't seen Almira struggling. I looked around the room, but I could not see clearly because of the wind. Luckily, I'm sensitive enough to hear the melody become louder, and I saw a man's back facing us. He was busy playing the piano, but that was not the only thing he was doing; he was blocking us with an odd wave. "Almira, can you hold it a little longer?" I asked Almira. But she was struggling until she couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed. I was horrified, and then something stirred in my chest: annoyance. I clicked my tongue, slamming my hand on the floor with such power. It radiated around the room, leaving cracks from the floor up to the ceiling, and even the windows weren't safe. Then I shouted firmly. "ENOUGH!"
My voice sounded different, commanding, and fearless, making the odd air settle down. The melody was still playing in the background, but my eyes narrowed. I tried to see what lies beyond the odd air around the room, and again, I saw them—plenty of them—spirits. They were different creatures from the likes of us to humans alike, and they were staring at me curiously.
"Can you stop hurting her?" I asked steadily, but there was protectiveness in my tone. The spirits looked at each other, confused. Then I sighed, saying, "I'm referring to all of you. You're either a summoned spirit or a lingering ghost. Stop, or I'll seal all of you."
There was a snickering, cold voice from an old man, which caught my attention. I looked over the man's back, and I knew him; he's the old man of the Knightrose family. He spoke with amusement, yet in a grim tone. "What a daring word to say to ancient souls, Young Bernila Knightrose,"
I held my ground, protecting the unconscious Almira beside me. Then I responded to something I wasn't sure was me or from something that was awakening inside of me. "I'm not daring; I just knew how to do it."
"Do you?" he asked, stopping from playing the piano.
"No." Without hesitation, I answered honestly. That response alone made him look at me, scrutinizing, before I added, "Tell me what you see in me that I don't."
He faced me fully but was still sitting in the piano's chair. He was a dashing old man, a vampire with cold charm like Mirxalyn, but there was grimness swirling around him—death. He stared at me, reading me like a book, until he stood up abruptly and appeared in front of me.
I didn't gasp, but his eyes turned into a dark whirlpool as they met mine. "You can see what I can..." he stated, eyes never leaving mine. Then he continued, smirking as if he had learned something that nobody had told me, "You waltzed between life and death before you even came here." I was taken aback, surprised that he knew when only a few took an interest in remembering my existence. "Don't ask how I know. Your soul told me. But I'm not letting you take my Elite class. You're dismissed."
I frowned, stirring something inside my chest that made me refute, "Why? Are you afraid that I'll beat you?"
"I know that you can, but not today." He scoffed and reminded me that I was still out of my wife's league. "You're still weak, but that's what I'm referring to."
I felt frustrated, but I kept it together before admitting what has been bothering me lately: "Tell me, because even I am confused about what's happening to me. I felt hypersensitive, and I've been dreaming of Fenrir."
Those words caught his attention, squinting his eyes before looking at me, truly looking at me. He tried to go beyond my words and see what lies beneath the surface. I felt it. I felt the way he searched for something inside me through my eyes. He was not speaking for a few seconds until his expression softened. He collapsed on the floor, sitting with us, looking defeated and sad, which confused me.
"What happened? Are you okay, old man?" I asked since he looked exactly like Mirxalyn when she was being a softy person to me.
"Old man? You're the second person who called me that. You're indeed her mate from the once upon a time." He chuckled, amused, before introducing himself properly. "Pardon my late introduction, and since we haven't properly met, I'm Gilmesh Knightrose. Feel free to call me Grandpa or your old man."
"Please to meet you, I'm Bernila Daquila Knightrose." I chuckled, introducing myself before wondering what he said earlier. "What do you mean, 'once upon a time'?"
He sighed as he carefully looked at me before saying, "If you want to learn about it, learn more about yourself, unlock it by knowing what has been sealed in your mind."
I frowned. "You're talking in riddles."
"Maybe it sounded like," he chuckled and ruffled my head with familiarity. But then his tone became serious, saying, "But Bernila, to be an elite rank, or to be like your wife's rank, you need to have the strength to carry your world."
"I've been through a lot worse since growing up before I came here," I said steadily, but something in my chest ached as if I wasn't allowed to move forward. Then, with a shaky voice, I asked, "What do you want from me?"
"What I want for you is to open yourself. If you do that, I promise you, I'll be the one who'll teach you everything I know." He answered gently, but the message was direct and a rejection. "But right now, you can't enter my special elite class."
It hurts to be rejected for something I wasn't sure what was lacking, and he won't help me to point it out. I closed my eyes as I asked calmly, "What do I need to do to open myself?"
"You can start asking what truly happened when you're five," he answered. I opened my eyes quickly, looking confused at him. Then he continued, "And when you do, I'll reconsider your special elite class with me." He smiled genuinely before patting my head and, looking at his unconscious granddaughter beside me, sighing, "And tell Almira not to push herself too hard. She's already a knight."
As the air blew on us, within a blink, Almira and I were out of the room, still on the ground, puzzled. "What did he mean when I was five?" I muttered, confused, until Almira stirred up, giving me a questioning look. Then I asked her, "Do you know what happened to me when I was five?"
***
Almira didn't answer me that day, but instead, she told me to either talk to my wife about it or her mother, Alysia Cain. For two days, I reached out to one of them, but whenever I tried, they made excuses.
But it had been two days since I tried to reach for one of them, and whenever I tried to talk about it, emergencies and excuses took place. Now it's the third day, and I was in the Strategies class with Lunaria.
The class had ended, and my head was on her desk. "Why won't they tell me about it?"
"Maybe they think you're not ready for it," Lunaria answered, amused by my whiny behavior.
"I'm not a kid. I could process things," I said, pouting, making her chuckle.
"You're not a kid, but instead of whining here, why not search for answers if they won't give them to you?" she suggested, and she was right.
"How?" I wondered, obviously interested in her suggestion.
She carefully thought about it for a second before suggesting, "Hm, records? books? a journal?"
"Journal?" I mumbled, and something passed my mind about a certain journal that I had been keeping since I found it. "THAT'S IT!" I jumped, surprising Lunaria in the process, but smiled at my excitement. "Thank you, I know where to find."
"My pleasure," she said, and I went off to the locker area to get the journal that I always carry.
By the time I reached my locker, I felt the jocks were about to approach and try to ruin my day, but before they could even start speaking, I cut them off. "Sorry, I don't have time for you. I'm busy." I dismissed them, but they won't let me slip easily. One of them yanked my arms, causing the journal to fall from my grasp. I quickly crouch down to retrieve it, but they snatched it. "Give me that back."
They laughed, but one of them challenged me. "Or what?"
Without wasting time, my speed was like a passing wind against their body. They didn't realize I had pulled off their belts and got the journal again. Then I said, "You forgot your pants."
All of them looked down, and their pants were down, making the hall erupt with laughter. But I had no time for their game; I dropped the belts and immediately went to the infirmary greenhouse. I chose it because I knew nobody would dare disturb me there.
As soon as I arrived, I had no time to check my surroundings and settled myself on the coffin-like bed. I opened the journal, and when I did, the blank pages began to spark a year and an image around the Knightrose's courtyard.
"2010? If I compute it correctly, this was the year that I was looking for," I muttered confusedly before grinning excitedly, "Let's see what you had for me."