*crackle* *crackle*
"Abe? Abe? Abe!" Jake roughly shook Abe to grab his attention.
"Yeah…yeah. Sorry about that" Abe smiled embarrassingly when he finally came to.
"You were reliving it, weren't you" Jake said, the confidence in his tone showing that he didn't require an answer. He already knew the answer. Abe nodded at his words. He looked to John and the two newbies. "Lucky bastards" he mumbled softly under his breath.
"What was that?" John asked, puzzled by Abe's unnatural loss of concentration.
"Nothing. I was asking if you needed a fresh one." Abe lied without batting an eye, pointing at the block of ice John was applying to his shoulder. The fall from the explosion in the earlier duel had caused a bit of swelling. Mane had frozen some water into ice blocks and wrapped them in towels for any injuries. Luckily, there were no severe injuries.
"No thanks. This one is fine" John replied with a kind smile. He wasn't stupid. Although he knew that wasn't what Abelard said, he wasn't going to press him for the truth. He could tell that Abe was in a sore mood. It wasn't anything new. For as long as he could remember, every duel ended this way. All of them worn out and bruised, and Abe in a bad mood.
"What about you two?" Abe asked, this time in genuine concern for the newcomers.
"How have you guys survived till now?" Frederick groaned softly as he complained. He held an ice pack to his forehead and pressed it upon the huge bump that wasn't there before.
"Yeah. This is only the first time, yet see how beat up we are" Selina complained. She had her left arm bandaged and held by a sling which went over head and around her neck.
"He wasn't joking when he said he wasn't going to go easy on you because you are a girl" Frederick commented bitterly.
"Yeah, no kidding genius. If I knew it was going to be like this, I wouldn't have come at all. How are we to return to school in such pathetic states?" Selina mocked.
"That is not really an issue. There is an entire section of this place dedicated to treatments. There are several healing springs for all kinds of injuries- both internal and external" Abelard replied.
"That's why you folks look so unperturbed. So, when can we use these springs?" Selina asked impatiently. Although Abe's information had her looking relieved, she wanted to check it out for herself.
"Wait. Before you answer Selina's question, answer me this: How do you have healing springs at your disposal. Wealthy or not, getting an alchemist's help is no easy feat. And since this place is so secluded and secretive that it must be someone you can trust. So I am assuming that this person would have to be a member of the team. Yet we have met no such person. Where is he- or she?" Frederick's question was long, yet its logic was sound. He looked to the trio who had been recruited before him, expecting a reply.
"Nobody knows. Well, I suppose brother Mane does. It is one of the few things he keeps from us. He will tell us when he is ready." Jake said in a very mature way.
Frederick looked surprised. Not because of Mane's secrecy, no. Everyone was entitled to having their own secrets. It was because of how Jake, who was normally childish and inquisitive, had let such an issue go. He was new to the team, but it didn't take long to understand the behaviour of the twins. The questioning and hounding he had experienced over the past few days was enough to understand how annoying these cute little boys could be. How he and his brother John acted so calmly and understandingly about a 'secret' baffled Frederick.
"How are you two so calm about this?" he asked, seriously considering if Mane had 'bribed' them.
"You just have to let some things go" John said profoundly.
"Well, that is very mature of you" His statement earned him the appreciation of Selina, until Abelard cut in.
"Or, they stopped asking after disturbing Mane for three months and the fed-up captain had no choice but to treat them to a two weeks' all expenses paid trip to 'Kids City'"
John and Jake smiled embarrassingly at Abe's words. Frederick and Selina didn't even need to ask if it was true. The guilt on their faces said it all.
"So he really did have to bribe you." Frederick orated bitterly. It had dawned on him that he was going to be spending quite a lot of money in the future.
"Now back to my question" Selina clapped impatiently.
"Mane's checking that right now. He'd be back shortly." Abe stated, closing his eyes and leaning gently against the backrest. He was very clearly not in the mood to answer any more questions.
"Hey, what's up with him today? Was he always this moody?" Selina whispered.
"I can hear you" Not as if her whisper changed anything. Since they were seated so close to each other, Abe could still hear every word.
"Yeah. You haven't told us what happened" John said curiously. His statement was directed to Jake, the only person in the mood to answer any questions right now.
"It is complicated brother." Jake replied with a bitter smile.
"Wipe that cute smile off your face, pretty boy, and tell us what happened." Selina pulled Jake's cheeks in a playful manner, warranting a giggle from John and a blush from her victim.
"Why don't you tell us? We have nothing to do anyway." Frederick suggested as he reached out for another block of ice after getting as much use as he could from the old one.
"Fine" Jake sighed as he proceeded to tell them what had happened.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
"That is unbelievable. So you saying that all that happened while we were unconscious?" Selina asked.
"Yeah" Jake replied.
"Just when you think you have finally gained a true measure of his abilities, he stuns you once again." Frederick's words were agreed to by all- even the 'sleeping' Abelard grunted to show his approval.
"I don't understand. How is he a spiritualist? And can spiritualists even do what he did? I thought they only read minds and stuff. Oh oh oh, and what is this thing called magic?" John asked a series of questions, showing his curious personality.
Jake creased his brows. He looked to Abelard who still had his eyes closed. "It is annoying, isn't it?" Although his eyes were closed, the prince was still well aware of what was going on around him.
Jake smiled in embarrassment when he heard Abe's words. Until now, he had no idea how annoying it was to ask so many questions.