Knight (9 page)

He growled and made a face as if preparing to tell her off. His eyes scanned the clothes she was wearing and said, “Who are you? You do not look like a student. What are you doing here in the academy?”

“I just sort of . . . ran in here. I didn't know.”

He glared at her. “You didn't know?”

Valeriana opened her mouth to explain when she heard loud footsteps and loud voices. Glancing once over her shoulder, she tried to run but was stopped when the guy's hands circled her wrist and held her in place.

“Over there!”

“I'm sorry . . . can we do this later?” She asked, trying to wretch her hand away from his grip.

“Tell me what you're doing here.” He demanded.

“Now is not the time for this!” She exclaimed. “Damn it! Come on!”

Seeing as the man wasn't willing to let her go, she dragged him with her and began to navigate through another corridor. She absolutely had no idea where she was but it didn't matter. What she wanted to find right now was a place to hide. She was already tired from so much running and her lungs were craving for air.

“I demand you let me go this instant. I desire not to mishandle women.”

She ignored him and focused on finding a good hiding place. The place was scarily big that she hoped it would hopefully play to her advantage. She allowed her eyes to rake across her surroundings and found a small, open door that led to a dark and dusty-looking room. Valeriana dragged the guy with her but was halted when he refused to move.

“What do you think you're doing?”

“Isn't it obvious? Hiding.” She hissed and yanked him forcibly that he stumbled on his feet.

Valeriana dragged him into the small, cramped room and pushed him into a dark corner. The girl closed the door behind her as quietly as possible before she squeezed herself in a tiny, cramped space between some old chair and a table.

The guy didn't look pleased at all. “Why did I allow myself to get dragged into this nonse—”

He was cut off when Valeriana clamped a hand over his mouth and shushed him to keep quiet. A crease of anger appeared between his brows and he glowered at the girl threateningly. If looks could kill, she would probably be buried six feet underground already.

They heard a chorus of footsteps echoing outside the door. Valeriana tensed and she felt the guy glaring at her harder. She listened closely to the conversation outside until he decided he wasn't willing to put up with their little game and yanked the girl's hand away from his mouth. Fortunately, her pursuers were gone.

“I will not get involved in silly trifles such as this.”

“Shut up and keep quiet!” She hissed at him. “Keep your damn mouth close for a second. You're the one who wanted to come!”

“Does being dragged and forced to keep quiet come from someone who
wanted to come
, woman?” He snapped.

“Well, you obviously didn't want to let go!”

“Because you wouldn't answer me.” He argued. “Those guards were after you. You must be a convict.”

“I am not a convict! I was kidnapped and being held against my will!”

He made another sound of annoyance before he stood up and began to head out. “I can bear this no longer.”

“What the hell do you think you're doing?!” The girl stood up and seethed.

“Leaving, of course.” He stopped before shooting Valeriana a look over his shoulder. “Each second I spend with you only gets me more agitated. Do not drag me into this nonsense.”

“I did not ask you to spend time with me.”

“Said the one who dragged me along.”

“Like I said—you did not let go!” She stomped her feet and scowled at him, clenching her fists.

He looked away with a snarl and burst through the door, causing it to hit the wall with a loud
bang
. “You obstinate, stupid commoner.”

He took long strides out of the room and left Valeriana in a state of shock with widened eyes at his statement. When she finally snapped out of her trance, she went after him while fuming and almost screamed.

“What the hell did you call me? Stuck up, idiot prick!”

The guy gritted his teeth as his brow made a visible twitch of aggravation. “Wench!” He marched towards her with heavy footsteps, hair flowing behind him. “I'll have you learn your place! Have you no breeding? First, you hit me and now this?! You're testing my patience!”

“I am not a dog.” She told him.

“Learn your place. I am of noble—”

“So that’s what you’ve been going on about since a while ago!” She exclaimed. “Well, then, tell me, oh proud one.” She mockingly smiled. “What do you think is a noble without a commoner?”

Full of anger, his hand moved on its own. His fingers shot off in a flash and he had Valeriana pinned against the wall, his fingers tight around her neck. The girl could barely register what happened. She only felt the overwhelming impact of the wall against her back, causing her eyes to go wide from the unexpected course of pain it caused.

“I've had enough.” He growled. “You'll stay here until those guards find you. I do not care what you're running away from.”

Valeriana was about to open her mouth to retaliate when a sound suddenly cut her off.

“Unhand the girl, Corvan.”

He turned to meet the eyes of the owner of the voice.

“Headmaster Kylon?” The guy who held her by the neck remarked.

“What did I tell you, headmaster? This girl has grit.” Another voice chuckled. The familiarity of it sent shivers down Valeriana's spine, making her whole body rigid in the process. “You can let her go now, Lord Corvan. Poor girl won't even stand a chance against your strength. She's 
very 
fragile you see.”

The guy, apparently named Corvan, reluctantly released her. “Be thankful.”

“Yeah. Sure. Thanks for 
nothing
.” She leered at him. “And I'm 
not fragile
.”

She craned her neck and followed the sound of slow-paced footfalls. Valeriana found herself staring at a pair of shiny, black boots. Dragging her gaze, she spotted belted black trousers paired with a white tunic that flared loosely around the sleeves. Three buttons were undone and exposed the man's smooth chest.

Valeriana's face heated up as she realized she was ogling him. She, instead, fixed her eyes on the face of the handsome man. He had pale-white hair, cut in layered locks that framed his handsome face accordingly. His eyes were a shade of charming pink—they were expressive and emanated some kind of seductive allure.

The other one was a middle-aged man with ash blond hair. He wore a permanent smile on his face, making the dimples on his cheeks evident. He also had smile lines on each corner of his eyes, giving him an air of a happy-go-lucky kind of person.

“Well, if you say so.” The mysterious man finally replied.

Valeriana tilted her head to the side in slight confusion, trying to tap into her memory. She was sure she heard that voice somewhere before. “L-lord Aeron!” She gasped, trying to hide her shock when the realization dawned on her.

“Grit is an understatement.” The other man said.

“A fact.” Lord Aeron agreed. “To think that she would break out from detainment to find a way to escape . . . a daring youth indeed.”

Valeriana looked around in panic. Guards came from all possible directions, blocking probable routes of escape. The girl was finally besieged. She gulped in trepidation, staring at their glinting weapons that were pointed at her direction.

“I'm damned.” She whispered under her breath.

“Such a troublesome girl you found for yourself, Lady Seraphina.”

The said woman came jogging around the corner. Valeriana found it creepy to know that he somehow knew she would arrive within a second. She would probably feel relieved if it was only a coincidence but that wasn't what her guts were telling her.

“Excuse me.” The woman breathed, squeezing herself through the thin margin between each guard. “Where is Valeriana?”

Valeriana stood nervously in the midst of it all, her back turned against a confused looking Corvan. He still looked irritated.

“Someone tell me what is happening.” He demanded.

“Well, it's sort of hard to explain . . .” Lord Aeron paused for a moment to think. “To cut things short, Valeriana here is a human.”

Those words were enough to shock him. “A human?”

“A human who witnessed the pursuit of a demon on human lands. It is hard to believe.” He nodded. “But she has great sensitivity.”

“This would've been better if you let me go!” She yelled at them.

Lord Aeron turned to her. “It's not that simple.”

Valeriana crossed her arms. “If you're all worried about me telling people what happened, then erase my memories! I bet with all these crap, you can do it!”

“The art of erasing and rewriting the memory is a whole lot of trouble and is currently an underdeveloped method. It has many side-effects including memory loss and insanity. Would you like that?”

“Geez.”

Seraphina finally managed to find her way and stood in front of Valeriana. She placed both hands on her shoulders, gently squeezing them. “Thank the gods you're okay. You had me worried when they said you escaped. Rest easy, anyhow.” Seraphina smiled. “Everything's been sorted out.”

She looked up at the woman in relief.

“Sympathetic and considerate as always, Lady Seraphina.” Headmaster Kylon remarked.

“Headmaster.” She greeted, turning to look at the man.

“It's good you came here yourself, Valeriana. So that must mean you already made your decision.” Lord Aeron told her, stepping forward. The guards made way for him to pass.

“What?”

“Ah. You escaped so suddenly that you didn't even hear it out?” Aeron smiled tauntingly. “Should I tell you?”

“Just tell me already!”

“Alright. Such impatience. What is up with youth these days?” He sighed. “Well, I thought of something good to do with you during your stay.”

“I'm not staying.”

“It's that or die.”

“Wha—”

“I knew you'd agree!” Saying this made Valeriana frown. “You can attend this academy. It's quite fortunate. It just started a new semester last week.”

“Attend the academy? This academy?” She looked around. “This is an academy?”

“Precisely. I wasn't sure about you being able to pace with the other students because of your circumstance but I leave that to you. I discussed this with the other court members and we had a bit of a debate, but they all agreed in the end.”

The headmaster turned to the guards and waved his hand dismissively. “Thank you for your hard work. It's alright now. Please leave this to us.”

The guards lowered their weapons before saluting all together and taking their leave. Lord Aeron continued to explain things to Valeriana as they left.

“You can either choose to attend this academy, or continue to be detained as a prisoner. Allowing you to attend the academy is probably the best choice since having a human as a Celeste is advantageous. For hundreds of years, Valemnia and the human world has remained isolated from each other with no contact. If ever you survive and graduate from the academy, you'll be our representative—the ambassador of human-kind. Quite a fancy title, don't you think?”

Valeriana froze on her spot. “Survive? Do you mean I can 
die
?”

Lord Aeron grinned. “It depends.”             

“I agree with the Court Leader.” Lady Seraphina said with a nod.

“Why?”

“This is the best solution. After all, there are instances where demons manage to break through the gates, just like what happened before. You lived the life of a human therefore you know the dealings of the human world. You can deal with the situation easily.” She said.

“So, Valeriana Kerrigan, what is your decision?”

“I'm not actually sure.” Valeriana muttered. “Me? Hunting demons? Gosh, I can't imagine it.”

“If you choose to be kept imprisoned that will be terribly useless of you.” He paused, shaking his head. “I'll be certain to work you off to slavery.”

“S-slavery?”

“That's right. If you don't want to take the alternative choice, then you'd best end up in servitude.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.” She took a deep breath.

If she would just stay here and be kept imprisoned in a single room, then what was she supposed to tell her mother?

Seemed as though there was only one way to get out of this mess.

“
Can you tell me more about this academy?”

“Let me, Lord Aeron.” Headmaster Kylon said.

“Please do.” The Court Leader stepped back and allowed the headmaster to step forward.

“Celeste Academy is the training grounds for knight-fledglings. We recruit young ones with great potential and enhance their abilities through relentless training for eight years.”

“Eight years?” Valeriana felt dizzy and stared at the Aeron guy. “I do not have much of a choice, do I?” She hesitated. “Will you please allow me to tell my family about this? I think they're already worried.”