Three days pushed aside since madam Della welcomed Timothy and his companions inside their home, but that day would soon come to a close.
Timothy dried himself as he just exited the shower and prepared to head into his bedroom beside Tarot while the girls shared their own.
He walked down the hallway, the clock ticking ten past morning. "Aurora's been busy inside her bedroom. I hope she didn't forget to eat."
Timothy continued onward and came across the girls' bedroom. The door was unlocked and wide open, and not much sound had been coming from the inside other than the muffled, flickering, and clicking sounds of the lamp's bulb while being turned on, shining outside into the corridor.
No other sound marked the clock tower's rooms, and everyone else had been mostly spending their own evening in the living room.
Timothy stepped before the doorframe and glimpsed inside, peeking from the edge and the corner of his eye.
He could see Aurora sitting behind a desk, bulging her eyes into the book leaning in front of her. She wore glasses and continued stuffing her brain with new information and additional knowledge about the academy's schoolwork.
Her eyes were following the paragraphs like the currents of the northern winds and continued the process in a repetitive action like a turned-on gear that didn't stop turning.
Greeted by the hard-working Aurora, Timothy observed for another few seconds, noticing her hands picking up a pencil that she used to write inside the book.
"José Manuel Losada, a professor, and expert on myth critique offers another description of a myth. Cultural Myth Criticism asserts that myth studies must clarify and comprehend myth "from the inside," that is, just "as a myth." According to Losada, a myth is "a functional, symbolic and thematic narrative of one or more extraordinary events with a transcendent, sacred, and supernatural referent; that, in principle, lacks historical testimony; and that refers to a specific or general, but always absolute, cosmogony or eschatology."
She read out loud, "I think I can remember that if I go through it a few more times. It's incredible information to keep in mind." She wrote some details down, grabbed her forehead, and read through the same paragraph a few more times.
"That should do it..." She steadily grabbed the paper and flipped it to the next page, but Timothy's noise scared her, persuading her own body to turn her head around and lock eyes with Timothy's. "Au- Kate. How long have you been studying? It's 10 'o clock in the evening."
Aurora blinked to gather the missing details and became astonished, "What, it's already that late? I-I guess time flies by fast when you're noggin at the book the entire time."
Timothy folded the towel, hung it on the chair next to the door he walked through, and placed his palm on his hip in bewilderment, "Haven't you been at it since this morning? Have you even eaten anything today? You should at least drink before you dehydrate. I'm not looking forward to seeing you pass out on the floor, losing strength and stamina. That wouldn't be ideal for any of us."
It passed over twelve hours, and Aurora pondered inside her room since morning. It started to concern Timothy, but Aurora denied his worries. "I promised to take one week's break from school, but it's been over 25 days since the last time I was in a classroom. I need to catch up on the lessons from somewhere if I'm planning to come back and take on several exams." She explained, stretching Timothy's patience, making him grasp his own head because of her response.
"I know you do, but your brain won't be able to process so much information in one go. You need to have a break in between and gather some fresh air. It'll make your brain work more efficiently, and the information will flow through it more smoothly. It's not smart to study for so many hours," He pressed his hands together, crossing them on his chest, stimulating his hand in the middle of his explanation, "Ayuka prepared some dinner before we head to sleep and to let Della rest. You don't need to join us, but I'd appreciate it if you ate it on your own at the very least."
Aurora acknowledged his demand and smirked to convince him that she'll eat and drink. "Silly, it's cordial of you to worry about me, but I know when I'll need a break. I'll ensure to eat the minute I can. I'll be there in a couple of minutes." Timothy shuddered his head in a setback but tolerated and indicated compromise. "Not like I could stop you. You're very adamant when it comes to studying and quite persistent too. I'll see myself out and nibble on some of Ayuka's crisp and homemade cooking, adieu!"
Timothy swiveled around, withdrew from the balmy room, and jaunted through the aisle of rooms, leaving her behind. The hallway dawned to feel a bit more wintry, cold, and windy because of the opened windows in collective rooms.
He entered the robust parlor and perceived his buddies.
They did various amusements each. Ayuka and Tarot competed in a game of chess, but because of Tarot's incoherent brain, he couldn't achieve one victory.
"Checkmate!" Ayuka clamored, bridging her arms and torso rearward while wheezing with her modulated voice. "Unfair! You must've cheated! There's no way I didn't take out a single piece! Impossible! I didn't even take out one of your pawns!" He criticized Ayuka's victory because of his poor gameplay in the orotund statement. "I would smack you in another game of chess, but I'm against animal abuse."
Tarot squinted with his pupils, boggled about her reply and her remark.
He maintained that gawk for a considerable amount of seconds and only grasped her statement slowly, then started griping at her monotonously.
His voice could get picked up by Timothy and his twin sister, who synchronously peeped at him in turbulence. They restrained themselves from dispute and were hushed against the backdrop of Tarot's grievance.
"Oi! Tim!" Cassidy galloped adjacent to Timothy and spoke to him in an affectionate manner, clenching a bag. "I know it's late in the night, but could you bustle your way outside and take out the trash? Madam Della's drowsing in her room, and I didn't want to arouse her." Timothy flung his eyesight on the white polyethylene bag and paused in his trail. "I just came out of the steam room and lavatory. My hair is still drenched. You could've done it while I was showering." He folded his arms, vexed and aggravated, but clutched the sack and southed into the avenue.
When Timothy accessed the yard prior to the citadel, he chucked away the litter into the canister, inhaling nature's air. In silence, he formulated to go inside, but someone's voice piqued his interest from afar.
He glared behind him, camouflaged behind the block, and studied the conference. In stillness, he latched his ears and stayed harmonious.
It was an association between people. There was a person wearing a black uniform, their pearly, achromatic, glimmering eyes acuting through the murky and foggy city. They were like a coil of rings, regularly gyrating through ropes.
Their voice was raucous and genuine, as serious as it possibly could be from a scoundrel.
"Have you been observant regarding any incredulous acts from a woman named Katherine Mitchell? She's gone missing, omitted from Hailstone. The clandestine wardens reported her dispersal. And have you determined her alertness and the status of her epidemic? The narcotic implanted into her form must be quickened to slay her alive. If you confess with the bad news that you lost her and that you haven't apprehended her... there will be issues." The masked person's voice seemed wry, incapable of interpreting their character or their sex.
The population's critical postures around the individual suggested they were in dismay. Some of their eyes were barren and sinuous as if they were forlorn. "Um... no Erembour. The only material about her condition is the recognition of her partnering with some irregular pirates we have yet to examine in the east. I'm afraid we won't be able to review much about her with them on her side. It'll take some time before we can operate with her confiscation. All we're requesting is another ten days to capture her. Believe us, Erembour. Her guides haven't found out about us. We've been keeping a low profile in the shadows, sheltering any suspicion away from them by disguising ourselves in the crowds."
The individual named Erembour shut his eyes and opened their palm. They divulged a syringe. It had a maroon, mild, and damp-like liquid tiding through its center. "This stimulant lacks the time of functioning. If it doesn't incise into Katherine's body, it will crack. It needs less than 12 days to cease working. If you cannot apprehend her in 10 days... you will be chastised terribly."
The people bent forward and nodded, "Yes, of course! We understand! We'll capture her in less than 12 days! We promise!" They pleaded, shivering in their boots and hoping Erembour wouldn't assault them.
"I'm looking forward to your success. Capture the girl and bring her to the hospital. We cannot waste the stimulant." With one final account, Embour faded into the darkness and was never seen again.
Timothy's eyes rattled. He didn't believe their communication and spoke reticently. "Kate's infection, she didn't birth with it, nor is it natural? Did her parents deceive her when they were still alive? If she accuses her illness of a natural cause, this must mean she's heedless, unfamiliar with its depute from the very beginning. Curse them, that group... no an entire organization wants to crucify her? They want her dead? I gotta get her and the others out of here before it's too late."
Timothy downed down for the organization to leave the vicinity and rushed back inside with panic cemented inside his mind. He needed to hurry and liberate her from the infection, "But if her infection isn't a natural disease, then how am I supposed to cure it?"
To be continued...