"Master Hendrik?" Richard repeated and blinked twice, just to confirm that he wasn't seeing things.
Master Hendrik was a very tall man with broad shoulders, and though most of his body was concealed by his overflowing dark-purple robe, the two friends could tell that he was well built muscularly. Or maybe it was because of his chiselled jawline that was covered with neatly trimmed, grey beards. The hair on his head was also grey and silky.
The History Master just stood there like he couldn't move, his gaze surprisingly calming.
"Uh... Is this some kind of test or something?" James muttered in a bit of panic, turning to either sides as he tried to spot any odd spatial distortions around them.
"A test? Who in their right minds would think of using this situation as a test?" Richard raised a brow as he whispered.
"Have you forgotten our first day at the Academy?" James asked rhetorically and said nothing afterwards.
He needn't say more anyway. His words were enough to trigger Richard's fragmented memories. One of the Masters created pocket spaces within the Academy, isolating the students into groups of three. The pocket spaces mirrored the structure, design and ambience of the lecture building. It took a lot of time for the new students to figure it out.
The Master who created the pocket spaces was non other than Master Hendrik. He was from the Spatial Mage Path.
Richard thought it through with a hum, his gaze unmoved from the History Master before them. The fact that the latter hadn't moved a muscle made his thoughts incline toward James's reasoning. Maybe it was a test after all.
'I mean, Master Hendrik wouldn't just show up in the Academy on a whim after what happened yesterday. He must know that he's a wanted man now. And even though he's one of the Dark Druids, he can't possibly face all the OP Mages here and win. It's suicide,' Richard ignorantly deduced.
He cleared his throat, "Well, maybe you're right."
James wanted to say something, when a subtle cough came from Master Hendrik. The lads felt tense.
Master Hendrik's robe fluttered softly as he carried his boots, one after the other, in a slow stride towards them, "Richard Greylock, how is it possible that you've slipped past me all these while? I should have sensed something, no matter how small."
Richard was puzzled, but he couldn't say a word.
"It's no wonder those fools couldn't capture the princess. You stopped them, didn't you?" Master Hendrik asked but quickly added, "The residuals left in that area were mostly from you. The others were minute, though there was a foreign one. It must have been another royal blood."
"Yes, Prince Kaiser. He was the one that killed your men, not me," Richard finally found his voice, stuttering a few words.
"Hmm?" Master Hendrik creased his brows, stopping at a foot's distance away from Richard, who wanted to step back but was crippled by this odd chill. James was the same.
"That's... I wouldn't say surprising. Kaiser could handle double their numbers with his hands restrained," Master Hendrik scoffed. He shifted his head forward, staring into Richard's deep grey eyes, "But why didn't you do something before he interfered? Compared to you, those men are..." he paused, noticing the incognizance and perplexity in the lad's quivering eyes. The Master leaned back with a subtle hum, "Well, that's interesting. You really don't know about it."
"About what?" Richard managed to speak up.
"You needn't know now. It's something you'll grow to learn," Master Hendrik answered curtly as he rubbed his chin. "It seems His Liege was right after all. I only came to confirm my curiosity."
'His liege? This old man has a Master or something?' Richard couldn't help but ask himself inwardly. James must have had the same thought, because they shared a quick, simultaneous glance at each other.
"That's too bad though. Now I can't take you as leverage," Master Hendrik sighed as though he had all the time in the world. Maybe he did.
"Nay, it's not like the King would surrender his daughter in exchange for a commoner's life. But at least I could have used the tension to find my way into the Castle. Seems I'll have to think of something else."
Richard and James stared at him blankly. He was more or less telling them some of his plans.
James could finally feel his limbs as his body adjusted to the space that they were in. He wanted to tackle the old man and pin him down with his strength. But the end result could go in two major ways.
It was either Master Hendrik would sense his intent and kill him with a dark spell, or they remained trapped in the pocket space indefinitely if he successfully restrained the History Master.
It was a gamble James wasn't ready to engage in. Both results wouldn't end well for him.
"Well, it was nice having this talk with you. An honour, so to say," Master Hendrik patted Richard's shoulder with a smile.
The pocket space suddenly shook.
His smile dissolved into a frown and he dropped to his knees, groaning in anguish.
Richard and James moved back in fear and more perplexity. They had never been so confused in their entire life.
Getting on one knee, Master Hendrik raised his head, panting heavily as beads of sweat dotted his face.
He looked at Richard with a sly smile, "My apologies."
"Huh?" Richard stared at him listlessly.
"Till another time..." Master Hendrik raised his right hand and pulled at the air.
The surrounding space cracked and shattered into shards, that soon dissipated as though they never existed.
Richard and James found themselves in the Academy hallway, that was now so quiet. There was no other student in sight.
The two of them sighed in relief. They could tell that they were back in the real world. The ambience was natural and familiar. Everyone had probably gone to class. After all, they couldn't tell how much time had passed in the pocket space.
"Okay, that was... I don't even know the right word for it," James rubbed his temples as they walked down the hallway.
"I'm more freaked out than you are. We have to tell someone," Richard suggested as his class door came into view.
"Let's hope Master Kincaid is in class," James sighed in hope. Master Kincaid was the only Master they were all familiar and comfortable with. The other Masters were either so proud, or too weird.
They entered the class in a rush, stealing everyone's attention from the board. The black-haired Master Kincaid also stopped what he was writing and turned to them.
His eyes were a bit red, showing signs that he stayed up overnight.
"You're late," he said and continued scribbling on the board.
Richard and James took a quick glance at each other, before James agreed to say it.
He faced Master Kincaid and said, "Master, he was here!"
Master Kincaid froze for a moment there, instantly understanding what James said. He could already picture Master Hendrik's face in his mind. However, the matter was confidential; the students weren't supposed to know about it.
The Academy would erupt in panic if the information was leaked out.
He sighed and faced the two friends, "Go have your seat. We'll discuss your punishment for coming late after the class."
"But Master--" James tried to explain, but Richard held him back.
"After the class," Richard whispered. He had easily gotten the hidden message in Master Kincaid's words.
James sighed and nodded, "Fine."
They walked to their respective rows and sat on their chairs. Richard noticed that Elora wasn't in class before he sat down.
After taking his seat, he turned back just to be sure. Her seat was empty. He returned to his prior position and whispered to Hazel beside him, "Hey."
Hazel was quite surprised that Richard was instigating a conversation with her. She was still shaken by what happened yesterday, but his presence was quite calming.
"Hey," she whispered back.
"Have you seen Elora today?" he asked softly.
'But of course,' she scoffed internally.
She simply shook her head as she answered, "No. It's very unusual of her. She's never missed a day."
Richard nodded, "Oh, I see..."
"I heard about the Meelo raid yesterday, and how bad it went. Is your mother okay?" he asked.
Hazel was taken aback but she answered curtly, "Yes. She only needed some rest."
"What about you? I feel you should have skipped school today and had some rest too," Richard suggested, moving his eyes from her body to the board, in order not to get caught by the broody Master.
'What's with this caring attitude? Is it because the princess isn't around?' Hazel pondered internally with narrowed eyes. It was very unusual of Richard to act or talk like this. At least toward her.
She smiled anyway, "I'll be fine. I'm much stronger than I look."
Remembering how she ridiculed Lucas, who had two frightening Mage Paths in his arsenal, Richard scoffed wryly, "How could I forget?"