As the music ended, the tension and anticipation between Markus and Amy could be practically cut with a knife.
"Amy…" Markus began to say
"That was certainly an eventful night." Xavier Rilan said before Markus could continue
It seems the viscount and his wife appeared by their side.
"You were in the presence of two dukes who took interest in your opinions and activities as members of the student council. That is certainly a headline you can take pride in." Silva said
'Yep— 100% dead.' Markus thought to himself
"You two should head back to the academy. I'm sure you have early morning duties." Xavier said
"Ah yes— there's much to do. We need to prepare the documents for our upcoming match against Crimson City… and then train… and the actual competition will likely take place in the next calendar year." Markus explained
"We look forward to your continued success." Xavier said
"Come here Amanda." Silva said opening her arms to give her daughter a hug
"It was good to meet you Markus Windwave." Xavier said extending his arm for a handshake
"Same here Lord Rilan." Markus said shaking his hand
As they shook hands, Xavier leaned in and whispered
"If you hurt my daughter the day your tenure as student council president ends will be the day I bury you." He said in an awfully cheery tone.
'Get in line–' Anax thought
"Uhm- sure. I'll try my best." he said awkwardly
Markus also bid farewell to Silva and then got in a transport back to the academy to Amy.
The silence was deafening.
Markus and Amy were dropped off and were let in by the same guard who let them out. They walked back to the dormitories in continued silence.
"...goodnight" Markus said awkwardly before going to his room
"Wait–" Amy said, grabbing his arm and holding him close
"... Amy wha–" he began to say but couldn't finish before she planted a kiss on his cheek
"Goodnight Markus." she said before quickly turning around and heading toward her own room
"Nice work kid-" Anax quipped
'Shut up–' Markus said as he blushed ten shades of red
He headed to his room and plopped onto his bed headfirst.
'Anax… people who are together need to be honest with each other right? But if I am… if she finds out… I don't want to repeat what happened with the Jurens.' Markus admitted
"Honestly kid– I wouldn't tell her. It bears no weight on who you are in her eyes." Anax replied
'The thing is… with her majesty regulating my life… I just don't know if it's wise. We would both get hurt in the end– won't we?' Markus asked
"She has you marked kid– there is no place on this continent Elizabeth won't find you. You are her puppet. Becoming emperor will allow you to cut the strings… but you are just over nine years away from that." Anax admitted
'So I should not get involved…' Markus thought
"These matters of the heart are never easy to decide. But in all truth… you are far too gone to pretend something does not exist. Live the moment. Be human. If she does turn you into a weapon… then you will have these moments to cling onto and remain human. You might die before long regardless of what you plan- so why not have a few happy moments?" Anax asked
'Now I am confused…' Markus admitted
"Go all in. Lose yourself in this thing and cling onto it with your life. For whatever reason this girl sees something in you and has placed a lot of faith in you." Anax said
'...allright… I suppose… you are right' Markus said with a heavy sigh
After a while he realised!
'Wait the wind whispered to me– around that duke! But it felt like a warning… not like an intuition. Like the wind told me if I acted up I would have been in trouble– does it have to do with the wind's ability to sense moving things better? Would that duke have sensed my imperial power?' Markus thought to himself
"Don't ask me. I don't know much about the wind." Anax said with a shrug– well– if he could shrug he would.
'Ugh–' Markus groaned as he went to sleep.
As his mind faded however, memories stirred. The brain was an extraordinary organ capable of recalling the forgotten under the right conditions…
In a study hall, Markus was being chased by a young girl before he crashed into the legs of a tall man. He had brilliant white-silver hair like the young girl chasing him and wore a white suit.
"Why are the children in the study?" the man asked
Another man, a butler, bowed as he responded.
"The young lady and master are playing. They must have gotten here by mistake, your grace."
"Go to your mother." the man said
Markus and the little girl ran away from the study into a hall and then into another room. Then they both ran into the arms of a white haired woman. It was the exact same woman from his vague memories… the one who was violently beaten as he was taken forcefully from the transport with the dragonic wings.
Markus stirred in his sleep and time passed.
Morning had eventually arrived. It was a Saturday morning which meant no lessons but campus facilities were open as usual. Most importantly, the cafeteria was open.
Markus' stomach rumbled as he woke up. Washing up and putting on his uniform, he headed to the cafeteria and had some toast with butter and jam.
As he bit into it, he rejoiced at the flavour and closed his eyes in delight.
Helen suddenly appeared and sat down opposite him.
"It cannot be THAT good." she said humorously
"Oh no– but it is THAT good!" Markus replied
"Uh-huh– " she said whilst biting into her own balanced breakfast with eggs, fruit, yogurt and toast.
As they ate, she asked
"So where did you go last night with Amy?"
A piece of toast suddenly got stuck in his throat and he reached for a cup of water to drink it but Helen froze it in an instant.
"Hat he ell?!" markus exclaimed
"Answer the question Mark–" she insisted, withholding his life
"Out– to the city–" Markus replied quickly
The water suddenly melted and dropped down his throat, sending the toast on its soggy way to his stomach.
"Out? Doing what– you know you shouldn't go out– especially in your uniform. What if you bring down the academy's reputation!" Helen said
"... well I certainly boosted the academy's reputation… in front of two dukes and about 50 nobles…" Markus quipped
"Huh?!" Helen exclaimed
"Keep your voice down dammit!" Markus quickly said
"What happened–" she asked
"The less you know – the better. Honestly I might be dead in the next couple of days and so you know– if you're in the dark you can't go down with me." Markus admitted
"You're joking– you must be–" she said
"Sure… " He said before turning back to his food
As he bit into the toast once more, Amy sat closely, next to him. Awfully close.
Once more he reached for the cup…
He drank from it
'That's it– no more toast!' he said with spite toward the innocent piece of crisp bread
'These two are awfully close now–' Helen noted whilst silently eating
Markus stood up and dropped off his food before leaving.
Amy watched him with a smirk as he headed out.
"Something is clearly going on between you two. I respect and care about Markus so I won't pry into his business unless he wants to tell me but I'm warning you Rilan— don't play him." Helen said in a low cold tone, the temperature around them drastically dropping
"Helen… I wouldn't hurt him. I know I just recently got close to him but that does not mean I do not care. And from what I heard you did not care much about him either when you were first years. Only in his second year did something change and that was only after he left for three months and became competent with his essence." Amy told her in a similarly quiet fashion as to not be overheard
"You've been spying on him?" Helen asked
"I've been learning about him. We both should know there are plenty of secrets around him. And making him share any of them won't be good for anyone. We can just wait and see how things play out. So yes— I've been keeping tabs. But only to learn about him and know who I'm dealing with here." Amy said
"I'll just ask— what is going on between you two. You sneak out with him to the city, you hold a promise over his head, you're digging into his past and stay intimately close to him— at first I thought you were planning something bad but now I think you're just in love with him and don't want to commit unless you know who… he actually is…" Helen said, realising the truth
"A-and what if I am." Amy asked
Helen was momentarily stunned
"You've never made a move. So if he is free and willing—" Amy said without finishing her sentence
"I— I don't like him that way! He's just my friend— my first true friend— anything beyond that is silly imagination—" Helen said
"Then you don't mind if I take him for myself." Amy asked
"G-go ahead— see if I care if you date that idiot!" Helen exclaimed
"Well I'm glad you don't disapprove." Amy said, standing up and leaving.
Helen suddenly lost her appetite and did the same.
Markus went to the student council chambers and prepared the paperwork himself for facing Crimson City's academy.
"Paperwork beats dealing with that–" he mumbled
As he finished the formal requests and signed it, he put it on Amy's desk for review and left.
For the rest of the day however, he disappeared.
It was only in the evening when Amy found him by the dorms. Waiting.
"Hey." she said
"We should probably talk…" Markus said awkwardly
She nodded. They walked side by side to the gardens but there seemed to be people everywhere.
"We're wind attuned– let's take to the skies." Markus said creating a wind platform for himself
"You know– since you have more essence, you could make me a platform too." she said
"How about this–" he said, expanding his platform and making space for her.
She stepped on and both were raised into the sky. The sunset was in sight, with the sun almost completely over the horizon.
"You know how in history class we learn about emperors and imperial vessels. And the vessel hunt decree?" Markus said
"Yes?" amy replied confused
"What do you think about that?" Markus asked
"You mean killing children and their mothers because of the potential a vessel has?" Amy asked
"Yes… do you think the vessels deserve to die?" Markus asked
"Honestly? Yes. Imperial vessels are heralds of chaos and death. An emperor would entirely uproot our world order and peace. So even if they must die– its a price that must be accepted." she said candidly, confused by his question
"Is that right…" Markus said
"What if… the imperial vessel did not herald death and chaos. What if… it heralded life?" Markus asked
"That has never been the case– whats the point in talking about it? Are you trying to study for a history exam?" Amy asked awkwardly laughing to ease the solemn mood
"Humour me… if one such being existed. Would you report them? Would you think they deserve to die?" Markus asked
"Markus, stop it with the silly questions– why are we even talking about a hypothetical person when we don't even have to…" Amy trailed before getting a horrible realisation
"... I'm tired. Can we–" Amy said
"No." Markus responded blankly
"... Markus… are you one such being..?" Amy asked in terror