Richard felt really tense. He had just called the ever-so-feared Chancellor of the Academy "a lost child". There was no greater height of disrespect.
Though he might have had a good alibi for it. Her appearance was very misleading, but he could have at least taken her type of species into consideration. Elves were more or less the immortals of Ostaria, at least the ones that had existed before the Parade of the Dark Druids.
But still, they looked younger than their age all the time.
'But... But... Isn't that mud on her face? She has leaves in her hair too. Only a child would look like this,' Richard defended himself inwardly.
The office remained quiet for minutes. Everyone had their eyes on Richard, who couldn't stop staring at the blue-haired elf before him.
She squinted her eyes as she finally spoke up, "A lost child, you say?"
Her voice was quite deep, interlaced with pride and authority. There was also a tinge of nonchalance underneath.
Richard didn't really know what to make of her voice. He couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.
"I'm really sorry, ma'am. I had no idea," he apologized with a terse bow, his voice fading toward the end of the sentence.
Putting her hands behind her like an aged professor, the Chancellor strolled towards the desk, and stood behind it as she pulled the big swivelling chair closer.
Her head was barely visible as she and the desk almost shared the same height. Richard quickly shifted his gaze away and cleared his throat, before he began to have funny thoughts. He soon heard a grunt from her side, cajoling him to retract his gaze at the desk.
She was seated on the chair, her small hands on the desk.
'She probably jumped on the chair,' Richard deduced from the grunt that came from her.
The sheen edges of a name plate gleamed at the corner of his eyes. He looked over to that side of the desk and stared intently at the name engraved on it.
'Chancellor Althea Faendel,' he repeated the name in his head. 'Doesn't even ring a bell. I'm sure everyone only knows her as the Chancellor. I even thought she was a man just a few minutes ago.'
He stole a glance at Hazel and James by his side. They were also looking at the nameplate.
"I hope this is everyone?" Chancellor Althea asked, sizing everyone up with her bright green eyes. She then quickly added with a soft smile, "And sorry for keeping you waiting. I encountered... A slight hiccup on my way here."
"We only just got here too," Mistress Sersie said with a slight shrug.
"Ah... My beautiful Sersie, looking very fit as always," Althea's mischievous demeanour returned as she engaged the fitness Mistress.
Mistress Sersie simply smiled in response.
"Seriously, what is going on here?" Richard whispered to his friends. Not only did the Chancellor mirror the appearance of a child, she acted like one.
"Shh..." Hazel shushed with a finger on her lips.
Chancellor Althea commented everyone on their looks, calling their first names with much familiarity. The three students were a little puzzled. How could she know so much about them? Or maybe she had looked into them prior to the meeting, because of what took place yesterday?
Wearing a more serious expression, Chancellor Althea sat back, "The three of you were summoned here, not only because you witnessed the odd occurrences that took place yesterday. You are now potential targets of the Dark Druids, especially with your affiliation with the Academy. Why? You might ask. Well, let's just say you three are some of the best of the final years. The likes of Lucas Kane and Elora Dune included."
'The best?' Richard blinked repeatedly as he questioned his inner self. Then he half-turned to look at Hazel and James, who looked honoured to be praised by the chancellor.
'The best?' he repeated inwardly with a slight frown. 'The best at what exactly? Uh... Madam Chancellor, I think you might have the wrong guy.'
As though Althea could read his mind, she flashed a smile at him, "You're a Greylock, Richard. That's why. I think it's high time your parents told you what that means. They've been helping Ostaria in the shadows for centuries now..." she paused and shifted her gaze to Hazel and James. "Same goes for you two. Your fathers are... Hmm... I don't think I'm in the right position to tell you. You'll get to know in time."
"More importantly, I also called you here to assure you that we'll handle this the best way we can. I want you to rest assured and face your upcoming exams," she glanced over at Richard as she said the last word.
Richard couldn't help but feel that it was related to Maya not graduating.
"Yes, watch your back at all times, but also don't worry too much about it. Leave the worrying to me and your Masters," she winked at them.
"Um, excuse me, Madam Chancellor?" Richard raised his hand after ten seconds of contemplating.
"Yes?"
He dropped his hand, "This morning, in the halls, James and I saw Master Hendrik."
Master Kincaid and Mistress Sersie looked at each other with dilated eyes. Hazel also had the same shocked expression on her face.
She nudged James's shoulder, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Okay, first of all, I didn't know that Richard would even tell you about the Dark Druids," James defended with a shrug.
"How didn't we detect him? What did he say to you? Did he threaten you?" Mistress Sersie bombarded the two lads with questions, her right fist clenched.
James ruffled his hair as he answered, "He trapped us in a pocket space. I'm not really sure how that works, but we were in the Academy as we were not. That must have helped conceal his presence. He didn't say much, but he wasn't happy that they lost the Princess."
He took a glance at Richard before adding, "He seemed very different though. And, for some reason, he thought Richard saved the princess in the woods by eliminating those men."
"Why would he think that?" Master Kincaid asked with folded arms.
Everyone suddenly diverted their attention to where Richard was standing, sizing him up as though trying to lift the veil off whatever he was hiding.
Richard noticed their gazes and took a step back. He couldn't help it, he scoffed with raised hands, "Trust me, I'm as intrigued as everyone here is. I'd also like to know what makes him think I'm capable of such a feat."
"Or perhaps, maybe the Chancellor knows?" he asked rhetorically, noticing the nonchalance on her face. She had remained calm when he mentioned Master Hendrik.
Like robots, they turned their heads toward the desk.
Chancellor Althea sighed, stroking down her hair and plucking out the damp leaves, "I was aware of Hendrik's visitation to the Academy. I decided to simply observe because of how close he was to the two lads. He might have held them hostage, I couldn't tell. So I followed him immediately he left, but his control over space is too refined. I eventually lost track of him on Lykea."