We headed down the stairs together, with students glaring at me.
“She’s up ALREADY?”
“Damn it, she’s such a pain!”
“I wonder if she’s okay.”
“I wish she’d just drop dead!”
Mercury must have been able to sense my emotions because he looked at me worriedly.
“Ignore them.” He whispered.
“I know! But...but it’s so hard ....”
He squeezed my hand comfortingly.
“It’ll get better. I promise.” He whispered. “I WILL protect you.”
We walked into the cafeteria and headed for a back table, which was typically left just for us since no one wanted to sit nearby. Today was no exception. Mercury sighed when he noticed.
“Again? Damn, they’re spiteful.”
“Just drop it,” I mumbled and got in line for food. Mercury nodded and followed. The cafeteria food was unappetizing, as always. But Mercury seemed surprisingly excited.
“What are you so happy for?” I asked as we headed back to our table. He frowned down at his plate, not lifting his eyes from it.
“Chezlivika.” He replied, and I frowned.
“Huh?”
He winced.
“Oh. Sorry. Said something in my own language. Don’t mind me.”
“What is it?”
“Just….this is Gilpesh….a dish from my hometown. It reminds me of home.”
“But it’s….nasty! It’s overcooked and dry!”
“I know, but….overcooked was how my brother always made it,” Mercury murmured. “He couldn’t cook anything but that, and even then, he was bad at it. But he still tried…..and I like it because it reminds me of him.”
“I see. Where’s your brother now? Were you separated when you were assigned to me?”
“No,” Mercury whispered. “We were separated LONG before that. I haven’t seen my brother in many years….and even if I saw him now….I doubt he’d forgive me.”
“For what?”
“A tale not worth repeating,” Mercury replied, and quickly tried to change the subject. “So you think the rest of the food isn’t good either?”
“No….it never is….”
“Weird….might try cooking for us then at some point. I’m somewhat skilled at it. And they have student kitchens, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
As we went to sit down, I noticed Mercury tripped on his own feet and nearly fell. I grabbed his arm, catching him.
“You okay?”
“Y...yes. Sorry. Lost my balance.”
“It’s fine.”
We ate in silence. I noticed that, while Mercury ate the Gilpesh, he touched nothing else, nor did he drink anything, which was strange. Normally at meals, he drank enough water I almost suspected he’d get water poisoning.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You didn’t drink anything or eat much…”
“I tell you I’m fine.”
His voice was a little brisk, and I winced.
“Alright. If you say so.”
“I do.”
“Okay.”
He finished and went to clear his plate. Then he hesitated.
“Want me to take yours too?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright.”
He left, and came back quickly, almost running.
“Honey just came in.” He whispered. “With Mikal. We need to leave.”
Suddenly I understood his urgency.
“Yeah. Quick!”
We inched towards the door, staying along the wall and trying to hide with the crowd of those leaving. But they were giving us a wide berth, leaving us visible. Mikal came in and spotted me, smiling.
“Asayis!” He cried, and his voice echoed in the cafeteria. Mercury groaned.
“Here we go.” He whispered as Mikal made his way over.
“How are you?” Mikal asked. “I heard you fell down the stairs!”
“I was pushed, but yeah, I did. And I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
I tried to shut the conversation off there and leave, but Mikal grabbed my arm, stopping me.
“Hold on! What do you mean, pushed? Are you okay? Honey told me you just tripped and lost your balance!”
“You shouldn’t believe anything that snake tells you, especially since she was the one who pushed me,” I replied. “Good afternoon.”
With that, I brushed by him, dragging Mercury along.
I could feel Mikal staring at me as I left. Mercury yelped as I increased my pace, nearly falling.
“Asayis! Why did you tell him?”
“I’m sick of people using me,” I whispered. “I’m tired of being treated like a pawn.”
He frowned.
“I see. Then tell me what you want me to do.”
“W...what?”
“You can command me, remember? Tell me what you want me to do.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Yes, you can.”
“Mercury, if I tell you to do something about them, then we both get in trouble. Besides, I’m not like them. I don’t hurt others for fun or to get revenge.”
“True. And that’s what I like about you. So what do we do now?”
“Wait for Silvio and see if he can fix anything.”
“That wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but okay. We have class soon, right?”
“Yeah. Advanced spellcasting.”
“That should be...interesting. Professor Rika teaches that class, right? The crazy gorilla lady?”
“Mercury!” I cried, but it took all I had to fight laughter. He grinned at me.
“What? Everyone says it! The woman almost looks like she’s on steroids, she’s so jacked!”
I smiled back at him.
“Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Mercury. But really, you need to be careful what you say. If what Silvio said is true, the professors and staff can hear and see you. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
Mercury sighed.
“Right, right. That. Uhg. Such a pain!”
We headed off to class. It was a large auditorium, which could seat roughly 200 supernatural and students. I took my usual seat, in the back, left row, next to the wall. Mercury sat between me and the nearest empty seat.
Professor Rika looked up at me.
“Early by thirty minutes AGAIN Asayis? Why do you keep doing that?”
“Oh...uh…”
I could feel my face turn red.
“I just...I wanna make sure I’m not late!”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I….see. You’re not happening to be bullied….are you?”
I froze. I knew if I told her it would make my life that much harder.
“No Ma’am.” I lied. “I’m good. Just really make sure I don’t ever miss this class, it’s my favorite!”
Her eyes softened.
“If you say so. Remember, you can always come to me if something is wrong. And that goes for your supernatural, too.”
“Uh….thanks.”
“No problem.”
She turned back around, sorting through the class materials. Mercury leaned over.
“She caught right onto our situation, hm?” He whispered. “Wonder if Silvio told her, I don’t think she knew about it before. But it’s impossible Silvio would’ve been able to get to her so quickly. It’s…..it’s unnatural.”
Other people began wandering in. Honey came in, and glared when she spotted me.
“Oh, out of the infirmary already?” She jeered. “I’m honestly not sure why you even try! The infirmary head must get tired of treating you, you’re a human disaster!”
“Oh, say that again!” Mercury spat, jumping to his feet. “I dare you!”
Professor Rika heard and turned.
“HONEY KAMPOS!” She snarled, and Honey turned.
“Detention.”
“But I didn’t do anything!”
“You provoked and taunted Miss West, as you’ve done constantly for the last month, and I’m tired of it. Three hours of detention in my office as soon as classes finish. For every minute you’re late, I will increase the punishment. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”
“Fine, yeah, sure.” Honey laughed. “We’ll see what my mother has to say about that. I’ll have you know she works in the imperial palace!”
Professor Rika scoffed.
“Yeah, I know, as a MAID! Now, stop putting on airs Missy, and sit your butt down in this front seat where I can keep an eye on you!”
Honey glared at me and headed down the stairs. I heard other students start to whisper.
“Maid? Of the Imperial Palace? That’s not what Honey said.”
“Why is the teacher suddenly on Asayis’s side? She was ignoring it before, so why now?”
“How the hell is that girl still alive?”
“Brat.”
“Drop dead!”
“You’re such a bother!”
The professor turned a deadly eye on them.
“Stop it!” She growled, and the room fell silent. “I will NOT tolerate this, not from Miss Kampos, and not from any of you! There’s been a report...that one of my students pushed Asayis down the stairs. If her supernatural hadn’t been there, she’d be dead. The school is now treating this as an attempted murder case. If one of you is responsible, and I KNOW one of you is, you will come find me after class and we will go to the principal together. And if no one comes forward of their own accord…..Well, someone in the school that isn’t Asayis has the name of who pushed her, and you will be expelled. Either you come willingly and accept whatever punishment is dealt, or you will be expelled. The choice is yours.”
Silence. I saw Mercury’s eyes light up.
“Yes!” He whispered. “Thank you, Silvio!”
But no one stepped forward. Honey didn’t move.
Professor Rika sighed.
“I see. Suit yourselves, then.”
She turned away and began teaching the class. Immediately, people turned and began to glare at me. Mercury shifted a little closer, so he was pressing up against my side.
“It’s alright.” He whispered. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
I could barely listen as Professor Rika told us how to cast a spell to end magic overloads - the Yaas spell. Mercury noticed, and began to take notes for me. I couldn’t help it. I knew I was zoned out but didn’t know how to zone back in.
Mercury elbowed me.
“Pay attention!” He hissed. “I can take notes for you, but this is important!”
“Right!”
I did my best to focus on the rest of the class, but it was nearly impossible since I could feel the eyes of every other student in the room on me. After what seemed like an eternity, the class finished. Mercury immediately got up, moving close to me. I knew why. As soon as class ended, students started coming toward me. But Professor Rika was also moving my way. She clapped her hands.
“That’s enough! Miss Kampos, to my office for your detention! And, since no one came forward regarding pushing Asayis down the stairs, the rest of you will stay here to do an assigned chore. Asayis, you and your supernatural are dismissed.”
“Yes ma’am. Thank you.”
I left quickly. Mercury walked quickly behind me, guarding my back. We got outside, and the second the door shut, Mercury let out a sigh of relief.
“Good grief! I thought for sure someone was going to attack us.”
“You and I both, but people would be stupid to attack YOU. You’re pretty powerful, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are! Silvio said so!”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Yes!”
“Asayis, I know my cousin better than anyone. He said no such thing.”
I pouted.
“It’s true though, isn’t it? You managed to catch me even though it should’ve been impossible!”
Mercury sighed, and took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair.
“Look, Asayis.” He said, quietly. “There are some questions you don’t want to know the answer to, and that’s one of them. Please, just drop it.”
“Fine!” I huffed. But I could tell that what I had said had hurt him, for his eyes were sad and he seemed rather uncomfortable, which was unlike him.
“You know...you’ve been with me since I was a baby,” I whispered. “You can tell me anything.”
Mercury shook his head.
“No.” He replied, just as quietly. “Some things are impossible to say.”
We left it at that, but I made a mental note.
Mercury was hiding something from me.
I went later that day to find Silvio. He was in the infirmary and looked up as I came in.
“Oh! Miss West. What can I do for you? Are you hurt again?”
“No, actually,” I muttered, shyly. “I actually...I actually came to ask you a question.”
“Question?” Silvio asked, frowning slightly. “About what?”
“About Mercury,” I replied. Instantly, the icy scowl I’d seen this morning reappeared on his face.
“What do you want to know?”
His voice was cold.
I shuddered.
“Sorry, but….how strong is Mercury? He says his power isn’t strong, but I think otherwise. And when I asked him about it...he shut me down.”
Silvio’s scowl deepened.
“I see. And you decided to come to ask me, perhaps thinking I’d go behind my cousin’s back with information he obviously doesn’t want you to know?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then you are out of luck. Mercury has forbidden me to speak of it.”
“But...he told me he wasn’t good, and told me not to ask further! I don’t understand!”
Silvio stood up, and walked around his desk, walking up to me.
“Listen to me!” He hissed, his voice frigid. “You are going to turn around, and walk out that door, and I’m going to PRETEND that you didn’t just say that to me. You’re asking me to break my oath after Mercury already told you no? Who do you think you are? You have no power here, nor are you in any position to demand information that belongs to another who is ranked above you. So GET OUT.”
I quickly left.
What’s going on? Silvio seemed very angry...as did Mercury….what are they hiding from me?
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