After having lasted the long, perilous day, the Celestial Knight had taken his time to unwind with a hot bath. With his departure, Justice had been left to the company of the maidens. Although from a simple glance it would appear to be a most usual meet and greet event, but for Justice it was much more akin to a reunion.
While the occasion had an easygoing, joyful feeling to it, Justice had felt herself growing more and more tense as her reintroduction to Celestia’s Angel drew near.
“I take it that I have a debt of gratitude to you for watching over Khiron in Pride.” Hyla was positively radiant with joy for her new acquaintance. “My name is Hyla, I’m Khiron’s primary care physician. Like you, the kingdom had granted me the privilege of being his help. It’s my pleasure to meet you.”
In a showing of good faith, she’d extended her hand towards Justice to shake. Justice, however, showed reluctance with her unlike she had with any other maiden. The very instant her hand met Hyla’s, the gentle physician’s eyes had gone wide.
“I-It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hyla.”
The surprise that Hyla had felt lingered for a sparing few seconds. Though she wasn’t so uncouth to let it keep her for long. Shaking it off subtly, she returned a simple smile to Justice. That very same angelic smile of hers she had to offer her patients.
“Say, Justice. All of that dangerous work you’d taken care of today must have been quite tiring. While Khiron is busy with his own matters, why don’t we give you a check up on your health. It’d be my honor to care for the Celestial Knight’s newest helper.”
“I-I’m fine. I didn’t really have much trouble at all, I-”
“But I insist!”
Justice had hurriedly, but as subtly as she could, retreated her hand. Yet she’d been far too slow to escape from Hyla who had quickly caught a hold of her. With a gentle but firm urging, she had began to lead Justice back towards her office. And with great reluctance, she had followed after her without a fight. It would only make her seem very conspicuous if she’d so adamantly shake away the good will of Celestia’s Angel.
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“I hope you enjoy the tea, darling. It’s a blend I’d made myself and I promise that it’s good for your health. Please drink up.” Hyla was nothing but bright smiles as she’d prepared for the beginning of the examination.
“I’ll… try it.” In an attempt to save face despite the nerves she’d tangled with, she’d picked up her cup and controlled herself so that it wouldn’t clatter nor shake in her lightly trembling hand.
“Since you’re a new patient, I hope you don’t mind that I’ll use a few more tools to really make sure you’re in proper health for service.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem…”
“Before we’d begin, I wonder if you have your medical documents saved into the government database. Being an agent responsible for the Celestial Knight, I’m certain that there would be a well documented record somewhere in there.”
“You’d think that, yeah. That would be the sensible thing to do. But there may be some extraneous circumstances. An odd case.”
“I could check them quickly with my computer and I hope you wouldn’t mind one bit.” Hyla gestured towards her terminal for effect.
“I wouldn’t, but I don’t think you’ll be able to.”
“Really? Why not?”
“I haven’t had any files written on me. I’m not an ordinary knight. My presence is kind of a secret so they’ve kept those files well hidden away.”
“That’s strange. I’d been given access to all of the government’s files for the sake of the knighthood and even the royal family. I do much to assist those who need help, my dear. This would be the first time that I’ve ever heard of anyone whose files would be of a higher classification than what I’ve been granted. There have even been times when I’ve tended to his majesty.”
Although Hyla’s smile was as sweet and gentle as it had ever been, Justice she could feel her inquisitive, perceptive nature hidden away behind it. It had been her fear that she would become suspicious of her. Her mind raced as she’d began to feel that that fear was quickly becoming a waking reality. With an inward, shaking sigh, she resigned herself to what would undoubtedly come next.
“That’s fine. Don’t worry about it. You can gauge my health with your tests.”
“It would be my pleasure. I promise that you’re in good hands. Now to begin.”
Justice had been through all of this before. All of the various procedures a practitioner would administer for a new patient. It wasn’t that any of it was painful or inherently intimidating. Just the opposite.
When she had first met Hyla, she was gentle with her and treated her sweetly. Thus was the character of the angel. No, the true reason her nerves ran high was deeper than the examination itself.
She underwent each procedure and allowed the good physician to gauge and note each result. With every test completed, Hyla had begun to show deepening signs of incredulity. Though try as she might to mask that surprise. When all of it came to a head, she’d prepared to reveal the results of her studies.
Filing through page after page, her disbelief was visible in her eyes. She struggled to find a place to begin the ensuing conversation.
“You seem to be… at a loss.” Justice spoke meekly, prepared for the worst that could come.
“You’d said that the kingdom had given you to Khiron as his new bodyguard.”
“That’s… what I was raised to do since I was born. Yes.”
“It seems that they’d picked quite a… shall we say, stand out character to serve such a role. I couldn’t blame them given the results that I’ve received back.” Hyla shuffled through the papers on her desk and plucked out a single page. “Did you know that the common civilian untrained in magic usually has a modest aptitude rating of 3? Meanwhile a knight who has trained themselves to utilize magic would usually be set on average from about 15 to 25.”
With definite, deliberate motion, she’d handed Justice the relevant page to read for herself before leaning back into her chair and crossing her legs upon each other.
“As you can tell by these readings, your results are sitting at what would be quadruple that of the average knight’s. That being said, there is room for the adepts; those who may have an aptitude from birth. Those usually rate on the high end of 25 to perhaps even 50 points. My machine is well calibrated and I’d even done a secondary test on myself to ascertain its accuracy. Given that there’s no issue with its function, Justice, it has marked that your rating is over 100 points.”
Justice could feel her sweat begin to bead her forehead as Hyla had so quickly found the facts. She knew that the very moment she’d grasped Hyla’s hand, her sensitivity towards magic would have tipped her off that there was something unusual about her.
Petrified with nerves, Justice could only offer a shallow nod. But before Hyla could continue her talk, a knock at the door heralded the entrance of a cute maid who had come to say a kindly hello.
“Pardon me, Lady Hyla. I apologize that I’m intruding your work.”
“It’s well and good. What can I help you with?”
“Khiron is nearly finished with his bath. Would you like to meet him before his meal?”
Hyla let her eyes trace from Jupa and towards Justice, looking her hard in the eyes before delivering her answer.
“Justice and I still have a bit of review to finish, so Khiron should feel free to relax and focus on his meal. He can visit me after he’s finished.”
“I understand. I’ll prepare his plate and let him know.”
Thus departed Jupa after a courteous bow. Hyla’s gaze returned to Justice and it was even more sharp than before despite how angelic she’d continued to appear.
“Now, where were we? Oh, yes. I’ve gone over a few procedures just to make sure you were in health and the information that has returned has been fascinating. I’d be curious to ask whether or not you’re aware that each human has a sort of special signature to their magic?
All of humanity has a small piece of that signature that is shared consistently among all of our species. A particular piece that you… seem to be lacking.”
“And… what would that mean?” Justice put up a front of wonder while doing her best to mask a wavering in her voice.
“If this outcome is to be trusted, then you wouldn’t share that component with the rest of us. That would make you a genetic outlier to all of our race. That’s an amazing, unheard of possibility, isn’t it?
“And that’s just one piece of your signature. I’d like to tell you one more detail about this.”
As she’d raised from her seat, she’d earned a flinch in response from Justice who was trapped where she sat. Left only the recourse to wait for her to draw near.
“Despite that there is that mysterious signature in your own magic, you doubtlessly have a set of signatures that I know well. There would be no way that I could mistake those readings. So… I want you to look me in the eyes.”
When she’d crossed the distance to Justice, she’d put her hand on the young lady’s chin and tilted her face up to meet hers. Running her hand across her hair, she’d studied her features closely. Despite how much Justice buckled beneath her scrutiny, her gaze was relentless upon her.
“…My God…” Hyla gasped, her awe coming out in a breathy tone. “You… Justice, you’re-!”
“Please don’t tell anyone!” The frightened knight shouted back to Hyla, her fear now too far gone to conceal. “I shouldn’t have shaken your hand. The moment I’d done that, it would all be over.”
“You… You really are…?”
“It’s a long story, but I hope that you’ll trust me. I’d told Uria as much as I could, but not this. I hadn’t told her anything about this.”
“Uria? You’d called her Uria. She hasn’t let anyone besides Plutia and I call her that for years. Then you really must be…”
“There’s too much for me to explain, but I just need you to promise me that you’ll keep this a secret between us. That’s all I’ll ask of you.”
“Your eyes…” Though lost in her stupor of disbelief, Hyla had quickly snapped herself back together again for sake of her patient. With a sigh, she’d delivered the answer that Justice had so anxiously awaited. “I promise. I’m a doctor and this is a matter of doctor-patient confidentiality. I did it all to sate my curiosity, but…”
“Thank you, Hyla. I knew… that you would discover the truth so easily. You were always so discerning, but you were always every bit as trustworthy too.”
“I was always…?”
Justice was quick to tell her the baseline details. But Hyla was more than patient and understanding that she couldn’t speak it all. With the utmost of her trust, she’d sent Justice on her way before crashing into the seat of her desk.
There in her stillness she’d attempted to cope with the shock she’d reeled with. Her suspicions had been confirmed and there was no room left for doubt. Suspicions that she had believed would be nothing more than a blind shot in the dark.
“That child…”
While she’d desired more time alone to process all of the mystery, another knock sounded at her door.
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Thank you for your patience and well wishes. I'm so very grateful.
After a burning fever and a restful holiday season, it's time for more chapters!
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday time and here's to a wonderful year to come!
I'm currently uploading this from the road as I'm taking care of business. Oddities will be adjusted and fixed upon my return home
