"Feeling well?" Chad asked and Elyse nodded her head.
"Everyone's been worrying about you so I am here to pick you up." Chad continues to speak.
"I... don't know what I should do, Chad." She spoke, breaking the walls she created just for herself.
"I admire the Old Master of Empire. I only heard her from the rumors that she's a frightening person. Her face didn't appear in public so they think the old Master has such an ugly face and was a monster. Some people praise her while others are scared by her."
"She was the person I looked up into. That one day, I hope I would serve her on her side. I would love to stand beside her many times — I wanted to experience that."
"But knowing that Tina is the old Master of Empire, I don't know what I should feel. I also couldn't confirm that fact because her memory of Lucia didn't appear in my mind. As if it has been erased from me. I never would have thought she would be behind this." Elyse continues to speak her voice slowly getting hoarse from her cries every night.
"If... only I was just like Aniya. A wise and intelligent woman — maybe I would've avoided the death of my family." She admitted.
There were times when Elyse hate Aniya because she was hated by other people knowing Elyse is her Descendant. But there's also a hidden part of her that hope if only she would be intelligent and wiser like her Ancestor, she could've saved her family and wouldn't entangle her fate with the Alphas.
She doesn't want to admit it and kept it a secret inside her locked heart. She tried to run away — but how? How would she run away when she couldn't run anymore? Her string of fate was already entangled with them.
Chad knelt down looking at Elyse's puffed face from crying so much. Chad wipes off her tears again and gently smiled at her.
"We will help you, Elyse. I have a plan." He started.
"The King of Rahania Empire invited us to visit their Empire. It is our chance to meet the King of Chetan since I believe he will be there. Because everyone is invited." Chad said with his eyes intently staring at her.
"Let's go, Elyse. I will help you." He said with a funny face which made Elyse laugh.
"How did you know everyone would be invited?" Chad scoffed as he proudly raised his head with a funny face.
"I am everyone's messenger, the beautiful — no, handsome messenger! Your number one Thaddeus the Messenger! BWAHAHA!" He said and it made Elyse burst into laughter.
Chad smiled brightly as he stares at Elyse's smiling face.
"That's right, you should be smiling Elyse." He said without any thought as he only stare at her. Elyse paused and glanced at him. The two of them were silent and it made Chad realize that he said those words out loud.
He starts to blush hard and it made him cover his face using his palm.
"A-ah! I mean! Y-yeah! Y-you should smile! No, wait that's not! —" He stutters and it made Elyse smile more.
In all honesty, Elyse was building walls to protect her. Somehow, something tells her that everyone couldn't be trusted. As if it's a trauma that Elyse inherited from Aniya using her memories. Those days and nights when she was alone — locking herself in her room, roaming around the Academy alone made her remember the memories Aniya had once. The people laughing at her, mocking her for being "too perfect" and most of all — Vierra's torture.
And on those lonely nights, her nightmares came back seeing her family in a dream blaming her for what she did.
She endured everything — blaming herself.
Elyse held Chad's hands and gave him a sweet smile, "Thank you, Chad!" She said as the leaves and flower petals danced with the wind while the surroundings glimmered and froze in time while Chad only stood there staring at her beautiful smile.
He gulped and said with a smile, "Anytime." He softly said.
****
The next day, everything went back to normal. Elyse approached Eli first and it made her burst into tears when Elyse approached her.
"Waah! Elysee!" She wails while hugging Elyse tightly.
"I'm so sorry!" Eli continues while Arrow handed a handkerchief to her and Eli sneeze.
"We don't know! We really don't know! Please! Don't push me away again!" Eli continues and it made Elyse feel a pang of guilt in her heart. Right. Even when she blames herself the most, she hated it and she tries to put all the blame on others. But it was all just a pathetic thought.
'I should've trusted them than jumping to conclusions...' Elyse thought while Eli still wailing like a child, Arrow starts to look more pissed when she saw Elizabeth hugging Elyse tightly.
"Alright! Elyse has forgiven you so stay away from her!" Arrow said with a bitter tone and drag Eli away from Elyse as she laughs at the scene.
"It's good to have you back, Elyse." Luna appears and she nodded her head.
"Yes, I'm sorry —"
"Don't be. Everyone has experienced the pain of getting betrayed by the person you trusted the most. Everyone understands you, Elyse. More than you know." Luna reassures and it made Elyse tear up as she tries to stop crying.
Ah. She was lucky to have such good friends like them.
"Let's go get some lunch. I'm hungry." Odelle said popping from Kai's back with a bright smile on her face.
"To celebrate Elyse come back! Oh, you coming right Dain?" Kai said looking at Dain and as usual, he seems uninterested. Dain sigh and rolled his eyes, "No." He walked away leaving everyone in silence.
"R-right. So um, let's go?" Chad said and everyone cheered. Before Dain walked away, Elyse noticed Dain's stare and when she glances at him, he already starts walking away from them.
****
"What's with Dain's stare? He looks like he owes us a million mora." Eli said to Arrow and it made her laugh.
"Nah. He's just like that, he doesn't really like to hang out with us." She answered and Eli sighed.
"Still, I never see him eating with us from breakfast to dinner — is he eating well?" Arrow smiled but she felt annoyed by Eli's statement.
Arrow grabbed Eli's hands and it made Eli's eyes widen in shock. Arrow smiled brightly and laughed as she gently held her hand dragging her away from the group.
"Come on! Don't worry about that googaloo, let's go!" She said and they walk fast away from them.
"They're energetic as ever," Elyse commented and Arbor nodded his head.
"Yeah. Sister is clinging to Eli too much." Arbor said and it made Elyse turn her glance towards him and giggle.
"You have a crush on Eli?" Arbor quickly looked at Elyse and shake off his head. From his reaction, Elyse assumes that Arbor has indeed a crush on her.
"Eh? Really?" She said with a bigger smile plastered on her face teasing Arbor.
"I'm not. She's too childish and yellow." Elyse blinked her eyes with a confused expression.
"Yellow?" Elyse as while trying to not laugh.
"I meant she's too bright and not suitable to me — no wait why am I explaining?" He said and it made Elyse burst into laughter. Arbor paused as his eyes widen in shock — mesmerized to see her smile plastered on her face.
Arbor went into silence as he quietly watched Elyse laughing off from his answer. Later on, she calmed down and wipes off the tears from her eyes.
"Then do you have a crush on someone?" Arbor went back to the present when Elyse asked him a question.
"Huh?"
"A crush. Someone you simply admire from afar." Elyse said glancing at him. Arbor gulped and avoided her stare.
"Oh... a crush. I don't know about that." He said while scratching the back of his neck.
'Someone... I admire?'
Arbor glances back to Elyse now looking straight ahead as they both walk side by side. Arbor fell into silence.
"I..." Elyse's eyes went back to Arbor when she heard his voice.
"... don't know." He said with a whisper still staring at Elyse with his gentle eyes.
"Huh? What was that?" Elyse asked but Arbor didn't answer anymore when Chad popped out of nowhere again in between their faces.
"What are you guys doing?" Chad spoke between their silence. Because he is close to their face, Elyse felt a skip of a heartbeat from her chest made her feel flustered, and quickly walk back away from him.
Chad's eyebrow furrowed while he feels uncomfortable looking at Arbor and Elyse walking together. But his heart calmed down when he saw Elyse's blushed him.
He smiled.
"Woah! Are you two flirting in front of us? Hey, you two get a room ~" he said making fun of both of them.
Elyse grabbed Chad's arms and drag him out of the way.
"Come on, stop it! What the heck are you doing here?" Elyse said while dragging Chad away from Arbor holding Chad's arm. Chad didn't react but it was obvious in his eyes that he looks happy.
Meanwhile, Arbor when he saw how Elyse grabbed Chad's arm and Chad laughing at her made his heart feel a strange kind of pain. Arbor's eyes furrowed when Chad met his eyes with his mischievous smile.
"I'll go get ready the food," Luna said and get the food from the basket.
"Hey, did you bring a blanket?" Kai asked Odelle and she nodded her head.
"Yes, here." Odelle gives the blanket to Kai and they both put the blanket under the shade of a tree. It's a good thing that the sky is clear and the sun is shining — a perfect day to have a picnic lunch.
Luna put the food in the blanket and brought out the drinks from the basket. Everyone then sat down and eat their lunch with smiles and laughter surrounding the Academy's Garden.
"Are we even allowed to use the garden to eat?" Elyse asked out of curiosity.
"Nah don't worry about that. We're Student Council." Luna smacks Chad's back as he whines in pain.
"Hey, that was uncalled for!"
"That is an abuse of power, Chad. Anyway, Elyse. I asked the Headmistress to use this garden for us to have lunch here. I hope you don't mind?" Elyse smiles brightly and quickly shakes off her head.
Luna chuckled at her cute reaction.
"Then, let's dig in!" Luna shouted and everyone cheered as everyone went back to eating again.
"Hey hey, having a party without me?" Lu came out from behind after they have finished their food.
"I brought some 'drinks' for us." She said as she shakes the bag she was carrying in her right arm. Everyone gasps.
"N-no way! You didn't!" Lu laughed at Odelle's expression.
"Don't worry, no one would suspect that we put the 'drinks' inside the bottle of soft drinks ~" Lu said and sat beside them with smiles and laughter as they chugged into the 'soft drinks bottles. More accurately — a wine that's in disguise as soft drinks.
"Cheers to our uh... wait what should we cheer?" Lu awkwardly scratches the back of her neck and everyone laughs.
"Cheers to Dain who is looking from afar! Hah! Yaa got jealous boy?" Chad said looking at Dain who was actually following them from the beginning when he rejected the offer and went outside the Student Council Room.
Dain sighed, "You never disappoint me, Thaddeus." He said and Chad smiled giving Dain the soft drink. Dain gently smiled and drank the wine gracefully. Everyone went into silence when they saw him smile again.
Chad gasps, "HE SMILED EVERYONE! CHEERS TO OUR BABY DAIN WHO'S NOW GROWN UP!" Chad screamed and everyone quickly shush his mouth since they were still at the Academy grounds. Chad did nothing but laugh and Dain felt annoyed.
Elyse laughed and smiles with them throughout the afternoon. While looking at them silently, a memory suddenly flashes in her head.
A memory of the Alphas. Just like how Elyse, Arbor, Raymond, Chad, Luna, Odelle, Lu, Kai, Dain, and Arrow sat down underneath the shade of the Ancient Tree — Tina, Aniya, Artemis, Samuel, Thaddeus, Sylvia, Hiro, Hethan, and Lewis once sat down under the Ancient Tree too just like them. The positions looked exactly the same and it made Elyse feel warm inside her heart.
A tear fell down her eyes while she continues to remember how everyone laughed too as they did.