I groaned as my conscience returned, my blurry vision finally settling as the dimly lit room came into focus.
The room was lit with candlelight, the warm embers flickering inconsistently. The gentle scrape of parchment echoed in the confined space, my eyes shifting towards the source. A girl with long pink hair was sitting at a desk, her eyes completely focused on the paper that lay before her.
Her grass-green eyes briefly looked at me, noticing I had come to.
"Welcome back," she said softly before continuing her work. I sighed, the memories of my actions suddenly coming back to me.
"I screwed up, didn't I?"
Amelia chuckled.
"I think that's an understatement."
I smiled at the comment. My mind shifted to the image of Mia, her bruised face haunting me.
"How's Mia?"
"Healed. She's been placed in a separate ward than her brother."
Brother?
Was the boy that was punching Mia her own brother? The information stirred up my chest, the guilt killing me. There was nothing I could've done about her situation, so my feelings of guilt were completely unrequited, but for some reason, my body loved to take the blame for things like these.
I recalled the words that her brother had uttered: something about killing 'him'?
A hypothesis formed in my mind, a connection that fit in my head. If Mia's own brother had gotten that furious over someone's death, it was either a friend or family. Linking that idea to Mia's refusal to use her own ice abilities...
I believed Mia had accidentally caused an accident with her ice elements when she had first developed them, causing the death of someone close to her. That being said, this idea remained a theory. As long as there was no definitive proof or answer, I could only suspect.
"What's going to happen now?" I asked. Amelia stopped writing, looking out the pale glass window in front of her that opened up to the entire campus.
"That depends on Mia. Teachers and supervisors have been sent to question her about what happened."
"So it all comes down to what she says," I muttered, understanding my current situation. I thought about my possibilities, but quickly realized I was stuck until I knew what Mia chose to disclose.
If she did decide to defend me, then her brother would be immediately expelled from the campus, and I could maybe get off with a simple warning considering I didn't actually use my weapon. If everything was kept under the radar, my normal school life could continue somewhat peacefully.
My weapon.
Wait, where is midnight? Amelia must've noticed it when she took me down. Did that mean she had it?
"Where's my weapon?"
Amelia smiled once again, amused with how I was steadily attempting to recover all the information and items about the scene.
"You mean this one?" she asked, lifting midnight off her desk and showing me the black blade. "This is Ox metal, isn't it?"
Ah, I've been discovered. Well, then again, Amelia was already aware of my sextuple elemental manipulation, was there any reason to fear her knowing I was a half-breed? She seemed to get along fine with a pure-blooded dragon.
"Yea."
"How did you get it?"
"Some good friends gave it to me," I responded. There was no need to reveal any unnecessary information, and I wasn't sure how much Selena had already disclosed to the nobles of the other kingdoms.
"You're friends with the dragons?" asked Amelia, intrigued.
"Kind of."
Amelia understood that I wasn't interested in discussing my origins. My mind kept on wavering back to Mia. How could I possibly help someone in such a horrible situation?
Her ice abilities had definitely brought her some kind of trauma, and even if I had suspicions on what kind of trauma it was, I had no way of confirming it. Asking her right after she was beaten by her own brother seemed kind of weird to me, but a part of myself also acknowledged the potential.
"What do you want to do about Mia?" I asked, trying to find some support.'
"I can't do anything. You can, though," responded Amelia. I sighed. She was right, but for some reason, I didn't want to take the responsibility of trying to get Mia to use her ice again.
I knew I'd have to talk to her as soon as we were discharged. Amelia had stated that she was giving me official medical care, and therefore I would remain in her quarters until I could go back to class.
"Amelia."
"Hm?"
"Thank you for what you did yesterday."
The girl smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry I had to do that to you, Jay," she apologized, looking at me right in the eyes.
"I'm glad you did. You and I both know what would've happened if you hadn't."
She nodded slowly, clearly understanding what I meant. She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could utter anything I felt a small feeling in my chest.
"There's someone at the door," I said, chuckling.
Amelia got up, puzzled. I watched as she walked over to the door, opening it slightly.
"Asthia?" she asked, surprised at the sudden visit. The dragon girl smiled innocently.
"Hi, Amelia. Is Jay here?"
Wait a second. She might genuinely kill me. I tried to signal Amelia to deny the question, but I knew it was no use. Asthia could easily sense my presence through the wooden walls of the room, and Amelia had already nodded and opened the door fully.
Asthia approached the bed, her red eyes glaring at me.
Uh oh.
"So... care to explain?" she asked.
"I heroically saved a girl by taking down the evil-"
Small red flames suddenly burst in Asthia's palm, her patience diminishing.
"I was a reckless fool who acted on emotion and ignored reason, I apologize," I corrected immediately, valuing my life.
"I see," she responded, extinguishing the ember.
Amelia simply watched the scene unfold, realizing the kind of relationship Asthia and I had. This wasn't the kind of relationship two individuals would have after knowing each other for a week. Even if we had become good friends as soon as we had met each other on the first day of school, something was clearly off.
"Do you guys know each other?" asked Amelia, attempting to connect the dots.
"Nope."
"Nope."
She smiled, our answers perfectly synchronized.
We're busted, I said to Asthia, our minds connecting as the link opened.
"I have to go check on Mia. Thank you for your time, Amelia," said Asthia, regaining her composure and her dignity as she briskly left.
I watched as the dragon girl exited the room, her white hair fluttering behind her as the door closed. Amelia kept her thoughts to herself, deciding not to question what she had just seen.
"When should we expect Mia to have chosen a side?" I asked, Amelia, turning to me.
"By tomorrow, Jay."