For like the eight time that day, another one of the former Richard's fragmented memories, dissolved into Richard's mind and he gained some enlightenment.
The day before, the Master that was supposed to do a revision about Ostaria's history didn't show up as planned. The students were free to do whatever they wanted, but they weren't allowed to leave the Academy's premises.
At the time, the former Richard Greylock and Princess Elora weren't that close. They only interacted as classmates. You know, the usual morning greetings and grouped tasks.
He was always so eager to get close to her, as instructed by his parents and elder sister. The reason for that was still unknown to the present Richard.
During the course of the free day, the former Richard caught the attention of Elora with a couple of interesting topics. Then he cajoled her to sneak out of the academy. Bored and tired of always being confined by walls, especially back at the palace, she agreed and they made their way out of the class.
Elora was pretty nimble thanks to her Wind magic. They snuck out of the Academy via a vortex of air. However, Elora wasn't used to carrying extra weight, causing her to add more propulsion than usual.
They crash landed in the woods at the back of the school. Curiosity soon overwhelmed their pain as no one was allowed to wander along these parts. They found a wooden cabin on a clearing in the woods, with shady looking men walking in and out of it.
They could recognize one of them to be their history master that didn't show up for his lecture. He was having a conversation with one of the men.
The former Richard had to sing a short spell, so he and the princess could hear the conversation. It expended most of his mana, but it was worth it.
The history Master and the men were planning to abduct the princess. They needed her blood to perform some kind of ritual.
The two of them snuck away before they were discovered, and went back to the Academy. But the closing bell had been rung and a royal carriage was already waiting for Elora. They couldn't talk about it, since she had to leave immediately.
'Why didn't either of them inform one of the masters about it?' Richard quizzed inwardly.
He quickly shoved the thought aside and gave a response to Elora before she snapped at his silence, "Ah, yes. I can't believe I almost forgot that. We better let Master Kincaid know about this."
"What? No," Elora creased her brows, gesturing for Richard to walk along with her. They didn't go into the lecture building, instead they went around and walked along its walls.
"Master Hendrik is involved in this. And you know how close he and Master Kincaid are. I'm not saying Master Kincaid has anything to do with this, but we can't be too careful," she explained softly, lifting the heavy skirt of her gown as she walked.
"Good point," Richard nodded. "It's also risky to tell the other Masters, or even the Chancellor about this. Master Hendrik has been teaching history since before the current Chancellor was appointed. He might have other trusted cohorts amongst the staff."
"Exactly," she nodded affirmatively.
They had gotten to the front of the lecture building, and could see the lower class students trooping out of the it like flies. They were all clad in white and black uniforms, with a short black cape around their shoulders. The capes were ingrained with Ostaria's infamous insignia. It was a standing red falcon that had its wings spread wide. It was a rather simple insignia, but it best depicted the freedom that Ostaria was all about.
"Nostalgic, isn't it?" Elora asked rhetorically with a small smile. "The capes were embarrassing though. Thank the heavens we stopped wearing uniforms in senior year."
"I think the capes are kinda cool," Richard shrugged.
"Kinda cool?" she repeated, giving him this puzzled look.
'Crap! I got carried away. I have to stick with mediaeval terms,' Richard noted inwardly.
Then he smiled and changed the topic.
"So, are we going to tell your family instead? Or maybe your coachman first?" he suggested with his eyes on the lower class students.
"No, that's even worse," her face dissolved into a slight frown. "They would punish you for taking me out of the Academy during lecture hours. Then they'd lock me up in my room till they find the men and apprehend them. Master Hendrik is also very cunny and a friend of my father. He could easily sway the allegations away from himself."
"Ah, I see..." Richard reasoned, rubbing his fingers. "I was only trying to help. But if we can't tell anyone, how do you want to handle this?"
"Simple," she smiled. "We take matters into our own hands."
"Huh? That's suicide," Richard warned. "Those men are probably above the Psyon tier. Master Hendrik is even more powerful. They'd kill me on sight and abduct you."
"You worry too much," she scoffed, taking his hand and pulling him forward. They mixed with the lower class students and gradually made their way outside the Academy.
Elora had spotted some of their classmates exiting the lecture building. Lucas was among them. She couldn't let him see her, not to talk of her and Richard together. She wasn't scared of Lucas, but he was going to waste her precious time.
Richard's eyes lit up in wonder as they stood outside the Academy. The residential houses and commercial buildings in the capital city had a more standard structure compared to those at Khadar.
"Come on," Elora said, dragging him across the cobblestone road in haste.
Richard snapped out of his reverie and asked as they crossed to the other side, "But the cabin is in the woods behind the Academy. Aren't we going the wrong way?'
"I know," she said in a hushed tone and continued pulling him, till they entered a dimly lit alley. She pressed her back against the wall and took a peek at the sky.
Intrigued, Richard looked at the sky too. At first he was some sort of white ball flying towards the Academy. Then it got closer and Richard was mesmerized. It was a spotless white horse with four wings. It pulled a white carriage along with it, and the coachman sat in front of the carriage.
Then it dawned on him that it was the same carriage that usually came to pick Elora everyday after school. Though it was a rather grand daily show off, he wouldn't have expected less for a princess.
"You know, he'll be looking for you," Richard finally voiced out after the horse and carriage made a touchdown on the Academy grounds.
She sighed, pulling her head back, "I know, but he won't find me. That's why we have to be nimble and fast about this."
"It'd have been quicker to have gone straight for the woods though," Richard shrugged, still puzzled at her reason for moving away from the Academy.
He wanted to deal with this quickly and go home. He needed time to think about his life here. Everything was happening so suddenly.
"Again, I know, Richard," she answered in exasperation. "But I have to do something first. Like you said, those guys might be more powerful than us, especially with Master Hendrik on their side. We have to catch them by surprise, and hope that Master Hendrik isn't with them today."
"Come on," she added, walking further into the alley.
He followed her like a robot and asked, "And what if Master Hendrik shows up?"
She scoffed, "We'll make it out alive, don't worry. I'll just use a vortex spell like I did yesterday. It'll take us far away from their reach."
Richard hummed, then shrugged, "Sounds fair."
They walked out of the alley and took a right turn. They walked down a few houses and stopped before a small bungalow. Richard simply followed Elora by every step she took.
They were soon standing before the door of the bungalow and Elora knocked in a unique pattern.
"She's here!" a feminine voice shrieked from within.
'Here comes my fourth surprise of the day,' Richard scoffed inwardly as he heard the door click twice.
The door creaked open and a ten year old girl was standing at the other side. She had a wide smile on her face when she confirmed that it was Elora standing outside. She hopped out of the house and happily jumped into Elora's arms.
Elora giggled, dropping the little girl, "It's been a while, Iris."
Iris pouted, "You haven't visited for two weeks. It's been more than a while."
Elora chuckled and apologised, then she stepped aside and introduced Richard, who was still left aloof.
"This is Richard Greylock, my class mate."
Iris squinted her eyes as she sized Richard up.
Richard didn't even notice her stare at first. He was distracted by the giggles and childish noise coming from the bungalow. He estimated that there should be at least ten children in the house. The noise was much.
His attention was soon diverted back at the little girl when she gasped.
Iris's eyes had gone completely black, her teeth gnashed as she peered into Richard's soul.
"Iris? What's wrong?" Elora asked worriedly.
Iris stuttered, "This boy, all I see in him is nothing but chaos."