Amy was just chilling on the deck in the middle of the night alongside Kate and Lisa as they style her hair. The ship is quiet, void of any noise and activity but the sky is full of starlight, brightening the night sky, making it all so beautiful. According to Blake, these waters are infested with mermen, and they won't be able to pass through until morning. They are sensitive to magic and any sudden sparks of it would alert them.
"What do you think?" Lisa says with a bright smile. Amy looked at the mirror to see two small braids tied with ribbon behind her ear, mostly hidden by the rest of her hair. It is apparently an islander's style. Amy likes to braid her hair, but she never braided it this thin before.
"I love it." she murmured truthfully, bringing a smile to Lisa's face.
The night is young and boring without using magic, so they pass the time by doing this. Mermen are territorial and come in groups. Depending on the appearance of the person, they would want to either drown the person or keep them as a trophy. In the story, Aron caught the attention of a mermaid and was nearly captured by her just because he's handsome. They are fearsome especially in their own territory. The last thing anyone wants is a fight.
Amy was just about to head back to their room when she suddenly felt a static-like presence. It shocked her so much that she nearly lost balance. She looked around and those sensitive to it are feeling it. Everyone began looking for that source of magic so they could turn it off. This is one of those moments that Amy wishes she has Viola's sixth sense because it would be very useful to have right now. After quietly teleporting to the secret room where she saw something unexpected. Her scrying ball is turning on by itself. From what she can seeing, someone pulled out a cloth that was covering the ball and she immediately sees Theseus's face. As happy as he is to see her, she is happy to see him as well.
"What the-, Theseus?"
"Amaryllis! It's so good to see you! Oh my gods, Rufus is right. The scrying ball is here!" Theseus says joyfully.
As much as she is curious how Theseus found the ball, she knows that the timing is terrible right now. "As nice as it is to see you again, it's a really bad time. We can talk later."
"Wait! I'll be quick, I promise. Rufus gave me instructions before his own match that you might have some answers. He's unable to answer because he's participating in the school Tournament." He then moves the ball around to show that he is in his own room, "What is this?" Theseus shoved the papers on the ball. Amy cannot even read it even though she could tell it is hers. The insanity she went through this period is kind of forgetful but extremely embarrassing. However, the black shape on the back of one of the pages is easily recognizable and it felt so real. They really did find it. Last year, she had Alabaster look for it only to find out that it was gone. Now, the arrow is found.
"The Devil's arrow" she answered softly, "There is a legend about it. It has the power to circle the entire world and destroying anything that the user wants no matter the distance but that is only possible if the person had both the skill to handle it and the bloodline. This item was what I thought could explain the Ripper Phenomenon back then."
"Wait, Bloodline?"
"Only those with demonic ancestry can use it. Rufus probably believes that this would make a good weapon to kill Leon."
"Rufus has been popping out somewhere. He might be trying to find it." He said then sports a nervous look on his face. "Ah, come to think about it... your friend Selim is suspected of being the assassin."
Amy is not surprised. Selim is quite close to her. He is the first person they would suspect after all.
From the beginning, she suspected Selim and kept a close watch on him but he never made any moves against her or anyone. Alabaster warned her that everyone needs to conquer this adversity on their own for character growth. However, the appearance of the Devil's arrow changes things. Alabaster is insistent on letting them handle this on her own however, she is feeling restless. It's her mistake so she should go fix it.
"Rufus killed the supporters, didn't he? Your letters seem to say that much."
Theseus tapped his fingers and averted his eyes.
"Well, the fact that he hasn't even found the one responsible means that he's been going after the wrong people. Selim might be linked to this. Selim is not capable of beating Leon. Sure, he might give him a run for his money but killing him is impossible even with the arrow."
"Are you seriously defending him?"
"Rufus made a mistake of killing those people without checking things out properly. The school made the effort to hide everything but that's not gonna stop them. I won't defend Selim if he turns out to be the mastermind and the person who fought Nathaniel but don't forget that this whole thing is a joint effort."
"Selim being the assassin makes sense. He used to be a part of the Conspiracy club that Leon and Rufus founded, he could have stolen the crystal ball, and he was in close proximity to you before you left. He is afraid of you."
"Where did you find the evidence? His room? Did Rufus believe that Selim is the mastermind?"
"He suspects it."
"Selim is a skilled medical examiner. I admit that I am sure he has a hand on everything at this point hence why the ball was stolen, but I am confident that he has no intentions of killing anyone even if you guys suspect someone is going to be killed."
"Why are you so sure?"
"Did you really think I would approach Selim if I didn't suspect that he isn't a threat? I kept an annoyingly close watch on him since our first year. He didn't do anything suspicious. He wouldn't be able to use the arrow either, so your culprit is someone else."
"So, you know who it is?"
But before she could answer, there was an alarm in the ship.
"Shit!" she swore before looking at the ball one last time, "The culprit is someone you overlooked. It's-"
Then the connection broke and she internally cursed herself for her stupidity. She teleports back to the deck as the entire ship is now surrounded by mermen.