Chapter 41 CHAPTER 41
“What the hell happened there?” I demanded as I closed the door behind me.
Mira, the girl who has constantly berated me, insulted me, and made me feel like shit whenever she could have just fought Kovar for me.
It made no sense.
“I don't owe you any explanation,” she growled as she tore off her clothes angrily, throwing them on the bed.
I didn't need any more warning, I left her the heck alone and went to the shower stall.
I felt dirty, frustrated, confused, and weak. After getting beaten by 5 different, angry people whose faces had gotten blurred in my head, I needed to shower.
To try to wash it all off.
It was when I was towel-drying my body that I remembered I was supposed to go see Principal Draco.
I dropped said towel and ran back into the bathing pools and washed my body again, especially my hair until I felt squeaky clean.
Don't ask me why, it just made a lot of sense at the time.
So as I got dressed, Erin and Akua got back too with plates of food.
“You’re my saviour,” I hugged her in relief, “Mira too but y’know,” I winked happily as I took the tray of food from her hand.
“Yeah, about that Mira,” Akua turned back to Mira who was lacing her shoes to go running, “what was that about?”
“What?” She snapped at her best friend, anger bleeding from her eyes.
“Oh shit, you're still pissed off. Which makes no sense still because you beat him. No one has in a while, shouldn't you be happy at least?”
Mira ignored her, took her water bottle, and ran out of the room hastily.
“Kovar's father is a bastard,” Erin grumbled.
“The apple doesn't fall far from the tree,” I said around a forkful of meat.
“I don't know what that means but he's been poaching on the farmlands of the Howlers. Mira's parents are dirt poor and she hopes to one day fly a powerful, earth dragon that can turn around their fortune by granting her special earth powers.”
“And I guess Lord Tarven unleashed his fire dragon on their stock instead of rain,” Akua supplied.
“Harvested every crop that survived. Leaving them without any food for the upcoming winter.”
“What the hell?” I hissed, “And he's allowed to just do that? No one can stop him?”
“Who will? That's the more important question,” Erin breathed painfully.
“He's got the king's ear so if anyone angers him, they could lose their rank, lands, or family.”
“Or worse,” Erin whispered, “you'll be taken for the special flight like the one you saw this morning.”
“So the king is evil.”
“Shh!”
“Why would you say that? His Royal Highness is just and good!” Akua snapped defensively.
“Yet he's allowing his subjects live in this level of madness and fear of one man?”
“One?” Erin chuckled dryly. “That's naive of you to say.”
“At least four of the six Special Councillors are just as depraved as Lord Tarven. Kovar's father just happened to save the king's life once and there you have it, manipulation of the highest order. Sickening.”
Well, that's my cue to begin blinking my eyes harder. I can't even imagine how angry Mira was feeling, to have her parents driven to hunger while she's in here, safe and well fed but also having to face the child of their oppressor as he continued to do exactly what his father was doing out there.
Like Akua said, it is truly sickening and I'm grateful she got her revenge even though I expect there'll be severe consequences.
I finished my food and got ready to leave while everyone was lost in their own world.
The map was in my bag as I headed out but I didn't need to check it, I knew my way to the Principal’s office.
For some reason, my eyes have always strayed in that direction, searching for what isn't lost.
And now, as I briskly headed there, instead of wondering what sort of trouble I'd gotten into, I was thinking about him.
I mean, I'm an adult even though they consider me a little child over here, so I might as well be whatever I want in my head without all these weird rules and restrictions.
He already ruled my dreams, and I thought about him in a way that is definitely not appropriate for his position but I was confident I'd have very little reason to see him.
But now I was headed there and I didn't like that I couldn't pull all my imaginations into a neat box and lock them away. I still remember how hot he looked after coming back from training.
Jake could never bring this type of irrational behaviour out of me, and maybe that was why I was supposedly a bad wife to him.
Well, all that is a world away, and as I knocked at the Principal's door, I realized that if Kovar hadn't been desperate to ruin my life, this would have been my second chance at life.
I may not have the hot as hell Principal, but I had a blank canvas and I could do whatever I wanted without guilt being the director of my life.
“Come in Alira.”
That voice…
I pushed the door open, letting the lush feeling of the door soothe my nerves for a second. Now that I was here, my brain suddenly remembered it was supposed to be worried.
“Good afternoon sir,” I greeted, looking at him.
Taking in the sight of him.
I'd not gotten a chance to see him clearly earlier today but up close, I could see sleep bags under his eyes, and worry pulled at my heart.
What could be worrying him so much?
“Sit down please,” he directed, and I did as told with zero objection.
My body simply ignored my brain and took commands from his lips instead.
“Is there a problem sir?”
“I should be asking you that Miss Ferguson. What happened today at the training ground?”
I frowned. I'm the victim in the entire situation, why's he pissed at me?
“Nothing sir, it was just a normal training session.”
“You seem to forget I was once a student like you and although it's been years since then, things have only improved and not gotten so depraved that an instructor disrespects a student like that. So for you to consider it normal, something is incredibly wrong and you owe it to me to provide me with full information on whatever led to that belief.”
My heart was confused.
Beating in excitement that he cared so much as to threaten me to reveal what was happening but terrified about the reputation I was going to be known with.
Teacher's pet.
Tattletale.
Which would open me up to more bullying.
“Everything is fine sir, you can ask the other students. Everything that's been happening is considered normal. My healing has gotten faster too so I'm good.”
A growl ripped out of him, shocking the heck out of me.
He proceeded to get up from his seat and walked over to me.
“Get up.”
“What?”
“Get up Alira, I need to check your body and be sure no one's hurting you. I've seen this happen before but I can't believe this shit is happening still!”
I opened my mouth and shut it; my body was as confused as my head.
But I wasn't given much of a choice so I stood up and walked towards him slowly.
“Take off your clothes.”
Um.. what the hell?