5
Ash, Philip and I are a sit apart horizontally with one another, probably six feet away from Maiden Ora's desk, who's gracefully removing her veil off her head.
"You all know that a necessary inquisition towards the all of you is a must. Before you all be turned to your respective quarters, hereby, suspended from this academy until the next initiation."
We remain silent like we already know the consequences. But up to this point, I still hear Tris. Her last scream wasn't a yell of pain—it was a cry.
"You will be looked after by a maiden while you are in your room, any contact from other initiates are forbidden." Her voice points at me. "You are in two days isolation. Foods will be served, any necessity that you will be needing, just ask your appointed maiden. If proven not guilty of having or being inflicted by our enemy, you will resume your lives in your respective quarters."
Maiden Ora then stands and walks straight to us. Surely, the first investigation is from her. Her sense of sensibility made her the superior amongst the other maidens in Aire. They said she could sense a bad aura just through touch.
She steps to Ash and snatches gracefully his hand. Ash jerks back to his seat and tries to pull out to refuse her grip but it was tight and locked. Out of nowhere, Maiden Ora eyes Philip, who then glares back.
"Do lying runs through all pyros?" She softly says, barely a whisper.
"Cowardice, I must say!" A voice howl outside.
The door opens and all are in awe to recognize an unyielding fine man on his red and black glazing uniform, firmly standing at the entrance of the door. The one who has the highest authority in the South Quarter– Admiral Deli Troy. He marches inside, which omits Maiden Ora's hand from Ash. Behind him is Professor Ton who walks also into the room.
"Then how does your son keep his magick a secret, Mister Troy?" She faces the officer then looks back at Philip. "Or should I question, why?"
Admiral Troy ignores Maiden Ora, he ambles and stands in front of Philip instead.
"Because he's asleep." He claims and smacks Philip's face who simultaneously, tumbles to the ground, on Ash's side.
If there is one person who was left surprised and clueless by Admiral's sudden fury, it was me.
"My son is Master Esther's successor. He must not be suspended for he is, in fact, an initiate." Admiral Troy emphasizes. "That's in the statutes, Maiden Ora."
"Pyros protect as expected of you, Mister Troy." Maiden Ora speaks and offers a hand to Philip.
"It was my fault. Forgive them, Maiden Ora." Professor Ton finally talks.
"I know, my son." She answers. "And it was a mistake to sit still for it."
"Immediately transfer him to his supposed line and make sure that he is practicing his magicks every day." She stops and glances to Ash. "His accomplice too."
"Excuse us, Maiden Ora." Admiral Deli Troy walks out of the room. By then, uniformed men show up from the outside and quickly drag Philip and Ash.
Philip resists their hold and forces himself to come back.
"Era must still stay." He voices out.
"A non-potential as her needs to go through the process of questioning, Mister Troy. Dark spirits often contain normal persons like her and Miss Tris False." Maiden Ora says.
Philip is their Admiral's son. He is not Philip Sto as he introduced but Philip Troy, and though I had never seen him make use of his magick, they declared him as the next Esther. I wonder now if Ash's case is the same... If Tris' words were true— that the most honest person she had ever met was me.
"It still is, Era." Ash pops up from the outside, nearly escaping their guard's hold. Obviously, he answered my query about him by a capability an advanced initiate could ever get.
Are you too?
I speak to Philip while I stare at him but one guard pulls him out of the room as Admiral Deli Troy echoes his orders through the hallway, before he can even speak. Of course, he read it.
"Era!" Philip repeatedly yells my name and I only care to play deaf.
A long sigh escapes from me as the sound of footsteps and Philip's scream were gone, leaving the adversity that I'm feeling inside. Those lies and its derivation are heavy or should I say overwhelming for me to bear. I don't think that it is betrayal but it feels like it is. It's as if I discovered that vague or something unknown hiding beneath me, but before I can say that it is painful, it leaves a deep cut already.
I sit still on the chair when Maiden Ora kneels down in front of me. Our eyes met. She carefully touches my hand and caresses the back of it with her thumb.
"You're in pain." She says.
I don't know if she is taking my side this moment after the fact that she was the one who made my friend begone now in the dark and implied non-potentials as weak to counter any dark spirits earlier. I feel disgusted at the thought of it but her softly rubs are comforting like Dia and I hate myself for yearning for it.
"When you come home, release it." She continues then withdraw her hold of me. She walks to her son and whispers words on his ear.
Ah, the touch was part of her investigation. She is not consoling me.
Professor Ton silently accompanies me to my dorm with the designated maiden to watch me. Only our footsteps talk and filled the illuminated yet gloomy hallways until we reach the door to my room. Whatever happened on it earlier didn't scare me anymore. I quickly grab the knob to depart from them.
"Era." Professor Ton stops me, however.
"I'm sorry." He utters. I know he speak of the incident at the room and Tris.
"Thank you, Professor Ton," I say looking at the floor.
"I just–I just want to go home." I sigh looking at him, finally bidding my goodbye, before I completely shut the door.