"Why are you following us?" Aether stopped mid stride, his hand held onto the door while the other held his bag. He glanced over his shoulder, eyeing the four figures that were silently following him. He ignored the two guards dressed in black, having grown used to their constant presence over the past few days. He could even ignore the ever brooding Leon who was standing tall right next to him.
What he couldn't ignore was the narrowing eyes of his sister following his every move.
Ever since his little stunt, he had found himself followed and watched every second of the day. If it wasn't his mother giving him lessons, then it was his father asking about his studies. Even at the Academy he wasn't alone. Leon would follow him to every class, sit with him, try to chase away Nox and the other Princes and scowl at anyone who glanced their way.
He understood why they were watching him. Though if he were to ask them they would say it was for his own good, that they were protecting him from danger, that they were doing this for his own good. But he knew the real reason.
They were afraid of others taking advantage of his intelligence.
A part of him was disappointed with this fact. He had hoped that the people of this world had something more to offer, that they weren't just out for power, and in a way, he did find some. Kirtiya was a prime example. But, he understood that the people of this world would not change so fast. Their sights were set on power and nothing more, and they would do anything to attain it.
The Frenzel household was no different. Each move they made, children, marriage partners, all of it was for power. The previous Aether was seen as a waste of life, but now he was seen as a source of power. Suddenly he was included, he was protected, taught and in their own sick sense of way loved. He knew that watching his every move was only their way of making sure that the power they had finally obtained wouldn't be snatched away by others.
What it didn't explain was why he needed more than one Frenzel family member watching him while at the Academy. Leon made sense, they had classes together, but Aria? Her classes were in a different building.
He let it slide for a day or two, but for it to continue? It was like she was yelling to the world that she was up to something and whatever it was he didn't want to be part of it.
"Well?" He asked.
Aria stood silently in front of him. Her stance was rigged and her eyes were slightly moving around his face as if she were looking for something.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Aether adjusted his school uniform, pulling it tighter around his neck. "Are you not going to say anything?"
Aria was silent for a while, "I…" She stopped mid sentence. Her hands clenched at her sides as her lips thinned into a line. With a firm nod she turned on her heel and left.
Aether wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but even with her figure departing from view he still felt her eyes on him. With a small shudder he turned and entered the Academy.
Aether didn't make it far before a familiar figure appeared by his side. He turned and smiled, "Good morning."
"Morning." Nox smiled back and without missing a beat he turned around and shot Leon a half hearted smile that could have been interpreted as a smirk. Aether didn't have to turn around to know that Leon was seething.
Ever since their dinner, Nox had made it a point to meet Aether at the entrance of the Academy and escort him to all his classes. Aether had no problem adapting to the extra person following him around, they did after all have a project to complete.
It took Aether a while to finally convince his parents to allow him to do the project with Nox and although he succeeded in the end the conditions were slightly annoying. Not only did one of his parents have to be present while they worked on the project, but they were also only allowed to work on the project in the Frenzel household. All the books Nox had brought over had to be approved by his parents before he was allowed to even read them and Nox even had to be checked before entering. It was ridiculous, but if this is what it takes to complete a single project then he will put up with his parents' whims.
As time went on, Aether began to realize that something was wrong with Nox.
Nox seemed to be avoiding his brothers. The moment Nox's brothers came into view, Nox would disappear. At first he brushed it off as Nox not wanting to interact with his brothers, but after witnessing Nox leave at the mention of his brother's name Aether began to think that there may be more going on than what meets the eye.
He couldn't figure out what though. Based on the events of the novel, Nox never really did anything and whatever his brothers did never involved Nox. So he tried a different approach, asking about it. But, no matter how many times he asked Nox where he disappeared to or why he was gone whenever his brothers showed up, he would simply smile and divert the conversation to a different topic.
But today something was off about Nox. He seemed more tense than usual. His eyes were more lowered than usual and his complexion was a tad bit paler. He would have assumed he was sick, but when he put his hand on Nox's forehead he was cold. He wanted to say something, but the oncoming loud chattering and gushing pulled his attention away.
It wasn't hard to spot Lucian and Sean in the crowd of students. They stood up straight as they walked. Students parted, making room for them as they headed straight towards them. Aether rolled his eyes, internally despising the oncoming conversation. Leon had already maneuvered so he was standing in front of him, while the two guards took a couple steps forward, their backs almost touching his.
Aether glanced to the side expecting Nox to have run away, but to his surprise Nox was still standing beside him. Unlike the other times his hands were in his pockets and he had a smug smile on his face.
Aether narrowed his eyes.
"Ah! Aether, I was looking for you." Lucian's voice interrupted Aether's thoughts. He turned to face Lucian ready to brush him off once again, but the sight of a small rectangular shaped present neatly wrapped and decorated with a red bow stopped him.
Aether couldn't help but ask, "What is this?" His eyes were glued to the present. His mind was already trying to guess what was inside.
Lucian pushed the present towards him and Aether without thinking grabbed it. "It's a gift. For you." Lucian flashed him his signature smile.
"A gift? Why?" Aether held the gift in front of him, his hands tracing along the edges. The curiosity was killing him, but he knew better than to blindly accept a gift, especially when the giver was Lucian.
Lucian wanted something from him.
Before Lucian could respond the gift was ripped from Aether's hands and shoved back into Lucians hands by Leon. "He doesn't need a gift."
Lucian's smile faltered a bit, but he kept his demeanor and calmly replied, "Do I need a reason to give him a gift?" He was eyeing Leon, but his eyes wandered to the figure behind him and his smile fell. "What are you doing here?" Lucian glared at the figure then looked over at Aether. The frown on his face deepened, "Why are you with him?"
Aether frowned. The curiosity he once had vanished and was replaced with a sense of foreboding. "We have class together." It wasn't a full lie, just a small one, after all they did in fact have one class together.
"Class? Together? With him?" Lucian dumbly repeated while pointing at Nox.
Aether nodded his head, "Yes we have a class together." He paused for a moment and watched in slight amusement as Lucian's face went from dumbfounded to one of confusion then finally to anger. Aether expected Lucian to blow up, but to his surprise he reeled it in.
"I see." Lucian said with a slight strain. He fixed his clothing and dusted off the gift before presenting it to Aether once again, seemingly ignoring the death glares coming from the four figures around him. "I know that we don't know much about each other, but I saw this the other day and thought of you. I hope you accept it." He pushed the gift a little towards Aether and Aether unconsciously reached out for it.
Aether pursed his lips not entirely sure what he should do. He couldn't refuse it because it would be rude, but at the same time the four people oozing killing intent towards Lucian made him hesitant to accept it.
Not liking either option, he went with a third and more safer option. He would graciously accept the gift and place it in his bag. He would tell Lucian he would open it later, but truthfully he will wait till he gets home and let his parents deal with the unknown gift.
"Thank you." With a strained smile he gently took the gift and opened his bag, ready to put it away, but before he could he was stopped by Lucian's slightly urgent voice.
"Won't you open it?"
Aether pursed his lips, ready to come up with an excuse, but it seems Lucian wasn't going to let option three happen today.
"I know it may seem hasty, but I just want to make sure you like it." Lucian smiled as he spoke, "If you don't like it we can go and exchange it for a different one."
The air around him grew cold.
With a hesitant breath he closed his bag and examined the gift once more. It was rectangular in shape and slightly heavy. Just from looking at the package Aether could guess that it wasn't anything super expensive or extravagant. Without looking at the many eyes that were staring daggers into his head he began to open the gift with slightly shaky hands.
"Wait. Is this…" Aether pulled out a small blue book with a detailed drawing of a creature on it.
Lucian nodded his head, his eyes half lowered and he softly smiled, "Yes. I overheard that you like creatures. When I saw this book I couldn't help but think of you." He paused and gazed at Aether who was enthralled with the book, "I hope you like it."
Aether nodded his head and quickly opened the book, flipping through the pages. Each page was a different creature with information on what it was, where to find it, what abilities lined with it and so on.
Smiling he beamed as he looked up at Lucian, "Thank you, I really like it." He couldn't believe that Lucian would be able to actually give him something he actually liked, but then again him being one of the main characters in the Novel, it made sense.
He closed the book and held it close to his chest. He couldn't stop his smile as he thought about how much fun he would have going over each page and learning more about the fascinating creatures of this world.
The moment was ruined when the book was snatched from his hands by none other than Leon.
"You can't have this."
Aether frowned at the sudden loss, but didn't argue back. He knew what Leon was doing. His parents had to pre approve all books prior to him reading it after all. He could only sigh and wait in anticipation for this evening.
Aether was ready to put this behind him and continue on with his day, but it seemed Lucian had other plans.
"Why can't he have it?" Lucian was firm as he spoke. The smile he once wore was now completely gone. "I gifted it to him, not you. So give it back. Now."
Leon ignored Lucians words and while maintaining eye contact with Lucian, he stuffed the book in his bag.
"You!" Lucian's face slightly reddened in anger.
Seeing what was about to happen Aether jumped in between the two and calmly explained, "It's okay. It's just something my parents do. I will be able to read the book when I get home, okay." His words seemed to have some effect on Lucian as the other went silent and took a few deep breaths.
A puff of mocking laughter came from Aether's side.
Aether froze as he looked at Lucian's shaking figure and then at the smirking laid back Nox.
'Fuck.'