It was time for another lesson on composite arrays, but I could already tell that we were going to have issues. I saw Maeve and Rokus loudly arguing about something as soon as I entered the room. Or rather, Maeve was being loud and Rokus, predictably, didn't look like he wanted to argue. For just a moment I wondered what got the girl to blow up at the guy that she was clearly after, but then she turned to look at me and, with a furious look, started to head straight for me. Right. Of course.
"What have you done to Arrun?"
"Who? What are you talking about?"
I could only respond with confusion to her accusatory tone and glare. I was used to Maeve being unreasonably hostile already, and this time she seemed to be outright seething with rage, but I still didn't know anyone by that name. It looked like Rokus, rushing after her, was still trying to calm her down, but for once she was outright ignoring him, and didn't let him get a word in.
"My brother! Illys Melkite told me that you helped the fae kidnap him!"
Ah. So the other Byrnoi really was one of the missing students. That helped explain why Maeve was acting even more erratic than usual, though it wasn't quite enough for me to forgive her the accusation. Aside the baffling leap in logic, I barely knew any more about the fae than she did, and certainly wasn't particularly eager to get involved with their kind, after the encounter I'd had with Nerna.
And though the second name was unfamiliar to me, I could more or less guess who it belonged to, from the context. There was a certain prefect that was aware of the disappearances, and had seen Nerna talk to me, who seemed to dislike me almost as much as Maeve. I was going to have to do something about her irresponsible rumor-mongering as well, though it was probably already too late on that count.
"That's absurd."
I didn't think that anything I said was going to help my reputation, with all the other rumors already going around, so the best I could do was to respond calmly. But I couldn't stop a bit of ridicule from seeping into my voice, as I simply saw no other way to react. I thought that anyone reasonable had the ability to see through such a far-fetched tale, though I was sure they'd still come up with all sort of other nefarious reasons for why Nerna had chosen to talk to me.
More importantly, I didn't want the other students to panic over such stories. If they got it into their heads that the fae were kidnapping people, true as that perhaps was, it could lead to unnecessary confrontations with the fair folk. I thought that that surely was the reason why the academy was also being secretive about the matter in the first place. Though it seemed like Rokus wasn't exactly thinking of that side of the matter.
"I really don't see any reason to think that Mela would be involved in this."
Always trying to be the voice of reason, I could appreciate that he wanted to help, even as he more or less confirmed the matter of the disappearances with his interjection. I just wished that he would have been a little more forceful in his denial. But, despite how worried he looked, it seemed to be against his nature to properly put his foot down, as he surely should already have, being a prefect.
"She's clearly got a grudge!"
"Oh? Do tell me what you and your brother have done, that I should hold a grudge over."
It seemed rather clear to me that Maeve was the one with a grudge, so the mocking answer just came to me naturally. Certainly I hadn't done anything to provoke her and her brother's animosity, and I doubted that the real Mela had deserved it either, but it seemed that Maeve was all too eager to assume that I was reciprocating her irrational hatred, rather than merely being annoyed at her unreasonable behavior.
"Twisting words, like the fae you are scheming with! How fitting for a treacherous Tannel."
After being momentarily flustered, Maeve fell back on her usual haughty manner in response. I should have been able to guess that Maeve was looking back at some history that her family with the Tannels, instead of any fault on Mela's part. It seemed like I needed to read the Tannel family's history, just to figure out who I had to expect animosity from. It was frustrating, just imagining what sort of unreasonable situations Mela and Celine had been exposed to because of that name.
"And it's obvious that the head prefect also knows that she's involved in the disappearances, since he sent you to get her!"
Maeve shut down Rokus's next attempt to interrupt with such a triumphant claim. From his conflicted expression it was clear to see that she was right, at least on the part of the head prefect wanting to see me. I was somewhat peeved that Rokus had told her that, but I could already guess why it had happened. No doubt he had let it slip whilst talking to her about her brother's disappearance, in his function as a prefect.
"No, I'm sure there is another reason that they must talk."
I wished Rokus would have looked as certain as his words implied, but he didn't appear to be able to say what that other reason was. Whether or not he wanted to accuse me, like Maeve, I couldn't think of any reason for the head prefect wanting to talk to me, aside the incident we were talking about. Thinking positively, it was possible that he was simply looking for me because of some expertise I was supposed to have as Mela, or even wanted to share more information, if the academy had decided that they needed help from the Tannels.
"I believe it's time to start our lecture, so please quieten down. But first, what is this about disappearances, Miss Tannel?"
I could see Maeve biting back another remark, as our instructor arrived. I was certain she wanted to give her interpretation of the story, but even she didn't dare to interrupt when Rapfrad Loen was directing the question to me. I wasn't sure if that was a good sign, under that piercing look, but at least I got to make my case first, as limited my knowledge of the situation turned out to be.
"It seems that, four days ago, students, that had attended intructor Mennes's class on the Fae rift that week, disappeared after being seen heading into the Faewood. I don't know who or how many, but it seems that Maeve's brother was among them."
"I see. Now, as I said, the lecture is starting, so get to your seats. Misses Tannel and Byrnoi will sit apart this lecture."
It looked as though what I had said was new information to Rapfrad, who listened intently, but it was hard to say what he made of it, as his usual stoic impression returned and he resumed with the class immediately. Unfortunately, I wasn't really able to focus, with Maeve's seething stare, along with a lot of other wary looks, drilling into my back. Besides, though Rokus seemed content to wait until after the lecture before pursuing the matter, I was busy wondering what exactly the head prefect wanted to talk to me about, and whether I was going to head into a confrontation.
The head prefect was called Lucan Trymne, as Rokus had informed me, after as we left the lecture together, though he first had had to recover from the surprise of me asking. He had not really told Rokus why he needed to see me, but Rokus had rushed to assure me that he personally didn't agree with Maeve. It was unnecessary, as I was already clear on the fact that he was the type that was loathe to believe anything bad about others. And even if his naivete was sometimes annoying, it seemed like a very admirable quality at that moment.
On the other hand, it was clear that rumors had already started to spread across the rest of the academy, perhaps because someone outside of the lecture had overheard Maeve's tantrum. I had already learned that the usual pointing and whispers reached a new level of intensity whenever some new absurd rumor sprung up, but this time I had the impression that I was only avoiding further annoying altercations because I was already walking with a prefect. Or perhaps because this particular tale made me even more frightening for them.
By comparison, I had been mildly surprised by what Rapfrad had said to me after the lecture. He'd first inquired who I had heard about the matter from, so I had explained about the trio of prefects that had asked me for help, and then described the instructor that I had seen participating in the search with them. The way he reacted confirmed my hunch that he himself hadn't even been aware of the incident, which really seemed to rankle him.
I could somewhat understand the sentiment. Even if all instructors were theoretically of the same rank and position, in practice the duties and responsibilities that they were given were determined by seniority and ability. I was sure that Rapfrad Loen was on the higher end in this unofficial hierarchy, so him not being told about such a major incident had to feel like a slight toward his pride, if nothing else. Rokus also couldn't really explain it, as he had apparently only heard about it when he was sent to fetch me.
Afterwards Rapfrad had promised to tell me if he learned anything that was pertinent to me, whilst he enquired about the matter from the academy. Surprisingly, it seemed like he not only did not suspect me, but was even implicitly taking my side in the whole matter, which was the sort of generosity that I hadn't come to expect at the academy. Perhaps it was because he was annoyed about having been left in the dark himself.
It was handy having Rokus escort me, as I would otherwise have had no idea where to go to meet with the head prefect. But it turned out that the prefects actually had an entire building for their own operations, the reason for which became clear as soon as I was escorted to a room that had the unmistakable appearance of a cell. It looked like the prefects were more or less responsible for law enforcement in general, which made sense when the territory was lacking an overlord.
"Nolte, I don't think this is really necessary."
Rokus was quick to challenge his fellow prefect, who had led us there, seeming offended on my behalf, even as he seemed incapable of feeling insulted himself. The one he was talking to was the same prefect that had led the trio that had come over to ask me for help on the day after the disappearances. It seemed that unlike some of his fellows, he was still at least trying to maintain the appearance of politeness as he explained the matter to me.
"It's not meant to be an accusation, but the head prefect believes that you are important to the investigation, so he'd like you to be available as soon as he can make his way over. Unfortunately, things are a little hectic now, after your row with Maeve Byrnoi, so he has some things that he has to sort out first. If you'd like, Rokus, you can wait with her."
I wasn't sure if I believed the part about not being accused, and I'd certainly have preferred if there wasn't an implication that I was somehow to blame for the matter being revealed to the whole academy. Yet I could certainly imagine that the head prefect had other worries at the time, and I didn't think they would try to do anything stupid like trying to lock me in, considering the Tannel family's reputation. In the first place I wouldn't have agreed to meet with the head prefect if I wasn't interested in the matter myself, so I could do him the courtesy of waiting for a while.
The wait turned out to be rather longer than I thought reasonable. Well over an hour in fact, according to a small timepiece, that I kept with myself as much for magic as for tracking time. I wasn't yet in any hurry to attend the next class, but being left to stew in a room, that only had a couple of uncomfortable chairs, did test my patience. And I could skip a lesson if necessary, but Celine had also promised to come over in the evening, after the message I'd sent her, asking to meet.
Rokus also seemed uncomfortable with how much time it was taking for the head prefect to arrive. I had never seen him struggle to sit still and pay attention in class. Rather, it was impressive how long he could sit still with perfect posture. But even if his patience wasn't an issue, it was clear that he also found the situation unreasonable, seeing as he had twice stood up, and asked the other prefects in the building if the head prefect hadn't forgotten about us
Just as I was praising myself for being so patient, I felt something dreadful, and I hastily reconsidered. In an instant I could feel the flow of mana all around me shift wildly. I hadn't been focusing on my mana sense, but even without confirming I could tell the source of the new flow. The Fae rift was suddenly spewing out far more mana than before. Or rather, it was more than the stable rift, that I'd observed in the past weeks. The torrent was more in line with the wild fluctuations that I had dealt with three centuries earlier.
"I have to go now."
I stood up from my chair, with my heart hammering wildly, as I was struggling to restrain my own fear mixed with the panicked communications of the spirit, that had also been alerted by the sudden surge of mana. Rokus looked at me with concern, though I couldn't tell if he was confused by my sudden anxiety, or if he was sensitive enough to also feel some of the surge in mana. But before either of us could do anything further, we were interrupted by hurried footsteps from the corridor outside. We both turned to look as Sahra Loen rushed into the room.
"What are you still doing here?"
Sahra had clearly run a good distance to get there, judging by her harsh breathing, as she stopped at the doorway and stared at me. I opened my mouth to answer her exasperated question, but I realized that I didn't have a good answer. Instead I shook my head and started to walk towards the door where she was waiting, as I instinctively knew that she was right, and I didn't have more time to waste than I already had.
"Hold on! I know it's taking long, but shouldn't we still wait for the head prefect?"
Rokus was looking at us with an unusually bewildered look. He seemed to always show his emotions easily, but I hadn't seen him so out of sorts before. Right, the head prefect. And the other prefects. In that instant it all clicked in my head. It definitely wasn't coincidence that I was stuck in a room on the other side of the academy, when the rift was suddenly unsettled. Nor was the way that people had been oddly snooping around the Faewood, whilst the disappearance of students was being kept all hush-hush.
I looked back at Sahra. I had certainly not expected her to show up, but somehow I had also not been surprised at all when she did. What did she know about what was going on? And what did it mean that she'd showed up at that moment? She was a prefect also, but perhaps more pertinently she was Rapfrad Loen's daughter. Sahra on the other hand didn't hesitate, as she raised her hand to indicate Rokus, who was standing up, to stop.
"Rokus Galein, you will sit there, and wait to be interrogated with everyone else here when I come back, unless you want to be considered an accomplice in a conspiracy against the academy, and in an attack on the Fae rift."
Nari· Jun 4, 2021
