Draeyer Academy
Drae Skyland
Northeastern Space

Gael pushed open the doors to the headmaster's office. A broad smile had been gracing his face for a while, and the old man in the room was quick to notice.

"I would've expected for you to look stressed after correcting examination papers," Donovan said, "but it seems to be quite the opposite. I take it the results were to your liking?"

His smile only broadened as he stood in front of the older man's desk. He crossed his arms over his chest before speaking. "Alec is tied with Areisha as the 1st in rank among the first years."

The headmaster chuckled as he leaned forward. He entwined his hands on the table, still wearing the amused smile on his face. When he stopped chuckling, he shook his head. "I have a feeling Areisha won't like it one bit." Gael nodded in return.

"Is Alec all right now?"

"He has been following Nurse Jemial's instructions for the past week. He's feeling better, and in a few more days he'll be completely healed."

He heard a click and he twisted his head to look back at the door. In that moment, Kreis entered with a folder in his hand. He was still dressed in his black leather riding clothes. His hair stuck out in all directions, and his cheeks had the slightest tinge of pink. Once he closed the door, Gael raised a brow at the angered frown on his face.

"Why on Kosmos did you not tell me Alec was injured?" Kreis said. "I wouldn't have known if I didn't see his arm on a sling when I returned the dagger."

"I thought you already knew," Gael shrugged. Kreis rolled his eyes, before freezing at Gael's next words. "Are you going to meet up with Meolie?"

"Why is it that every time I come here, you guys always think it's about her?" Kreis said. He messed up his hair as he grumbled profanities under his breath.

"That's because you have a lot of people in hand to do your bidding yet you come here yourself," the headmaster said. "And people who have eyes would see the obvious between the two of you."

"These documents I found relating to Alec are important, and I can't have just anyone seeing them," the Head Ryder said. "And I would very much like to rub on your faces that I have my own ways of doing things." He directed the last part at Gael, who in return shook his head.

"What are these documents you found?" Donovan asked. The laughter in his eyes had vanished and he had a frown between his grey brows. Gael quirked one of his own brows at his behavior but made no comment. Kreis strode further and gave the brown folder to Gael. He took it in his hand and flipped it open. His eyes scanned over the first page, and saw the image of man with pale blue eyes who almost looked like the spitting image of Alec, if it weren't for the scar which crossed over his left cheek. His brows rose to his hairline when he read the name written there.

"Alen Arden?" he asked. "What about him?"

"Before we brought Alec here, you asked me to have someone check his background in order to gain a clue on why, would someone be out to kill him."

"I remember clearly that we got nothing." Kreis nodded at him, before taking the folder back and waving it in front of his face.

"I've been curious about Alen for a while now," he said. "After seeing Alec's skills, I figured he had some sort of severe training at very young age. And then I thought what type of man would have a child undergo such rigorous training. I'm sure you've thought of this too, Gael." The professor nodded at his friend, both as a yes and a gesture for him to continue.

"I did some research about him, and received the same things we got on Alec. A name, age, birth date, and no mention of the parents as well," he said. "But then, I managed to dig out some papers showing transactions he made in a bank in Icefall City.

"I asked Badran to go there a few weeks ago to inquire about this. I only got a reply recently." He flipped one paper on the folder to another before he stopped. He handed it over to the headmaster. Gael rounded the table to look at the document as well. When his green eyes landed on the words and figures on the sheet, they grew big as saucers and he dropped his jaw.

"Drae's shit!" he said. "A hundred million erans? Why would he have such a large sum of money?"

Gael's mind thought back to the old rickety shack Alec called his home. If his brother had that much money, why was he still in such a place and hunting animals for a living? Alec could travel to places all over Kosmos every week and he'd still have enough erans to have a long comfortable lifestyle. His brows met in the middle at the thought of this. It doesn't make any sense, he thought.

"This is private information, how did you get this?" Donovan said. It was the first time he had spoken since Kreis began speaking, and Gael couldn't help but wonder what was in the old man's mind at that moment.

Kreis crossed his arms and stood with his feet apart. "Headmaster, I may not use my position as a Head Ryder but it doesn't mean I won't try when the situation calls for it," he said. "Besides, it was a bit easy since he is dead, and Alec, the recipient of his fortune, hasn't made an appearance in the bank."

"More importantly," Headmaster Donovan interjected, "how did he get such a fortune?"

There was an earsplitting silence which followed after he spoke. All three of them fell into their own thoughts, before Kreis spoke and shattered the peace.

"I have some theories," he said. "One is Alen might be someone...who has done underground dealings. He might've gone in to hiding after making a few enemies.

"Or," he paused, "he's someone of high birth."

"Or maybe, he's a successful merchant."

"He was only twenty-two when he died, so I got rid of the possibility. There's no way he could be that. Also, Alec would've known don't you think?"

Gael nodded, after thinking whether to oppose him or not.

"If he is nobility, including Alec of course, it's either they were banished or had gone into hiding from their enemies as well," Kreis finished.

"Either way might explain why Alec is being hunted down. I have my doubts on your first theory, but on the second one," Gael paused, "I might have noticed a few things that could support it."

Kreis placed his full attention on him. The same thing could be said about Headmaster Donovan. Gael ignored them and brought his thumb and forefinger to his chin. He threw his gaze to the floor before he spoke.

"Except for the occasional profanities, Alec is too articulate and well-mannered for a commoner," he said as he threw his arms around as if it would prove his point. "Not to be offensive or anything, but I never expected him to be like that. He lived isolated near one of the Edges of Arktis. Based from what he's told us, he was abused by a few of Gelun's townspeople when he was young. That would've have turned him in to a violent brute, but his mental constitution is unusually strong. And I think it has something to do with how Alen raised him"

Another silence filled the air. Gael stopped in his tracks when he realized he had been pacing the entire time he was speaking. He heaved a breath before dropping on to the nearest chair. This is getting frustrating, he thought.

"To be completely honest to the both of you, I've been thinking the same," Donovan spoke up. Kreis sat on the chair opposite to Gael's and awaited the headmaster to continue. "A week ago, in the infirmary, I was surprised to hear him say word from a dead language."

"You mean 'kusangkay?'" Gael asked.

The headmaster bounced his head up and down, before his gaze fell on his entwined wrinkly hands. "It means 'greatest friend' and from an ancient Arktin language that only a few nobles had the privilege of learning. A dear friend of mine was one of them and he taught me how to speak it.

"I'm not sure yet if he knows how to speak it, or knows only a few words. However I can assure you, that no Arktin commoner would speak even just one word from it in their conversations."

They all fell deep in thought for the next few moments. There was a possibility that Alec was of noble birth, but then more questions flooded Gael's mind. If he was of high birth, what was the agenda of the people/person after his life? From what aristocrat family did he come from? Is Alec even his real name?

He rubbed his hands over his face, as he released a loud groan. He leaned back in to his chair and allowed thought after thought to invade his mind.

"What I don't get is how come Alec is unaware of his brother's riches?" Donovan said. Gael and Kreis turned to him.

"It's probably being kept secret from him," Kreis said.

"By whom?" Gael asked.

"People who hate him."

"Then there's a whole town of them."

Kreis jolted out of his seat and looked down at him. Gael arched one brow at him when he saw him point his finger at him.

"Repeat what you said."

Although confused, Gael repeated what he said while rubbing the back of his head.

"Then there's a whole town of them?"

Kreis turned and asked the headmaster to hand over the folder. Once again, he turned page after page, and a moment later, he was pointing at something on the paper. He placed it back on top of the desk.

"Gelun Forest is the source of food and livelihood of the townspeople there," he said. "Apparently, Alen bought half of that land. This must have caused uproar among the populace, since the area he got was teeming with game. What he did, probably affected their way of living. It says here," he turned to another document, "that Alen agreed to let them hunt on those grounds as long as they asked permission"

"And when he died, they must've had full entry to that part of the forest. They took advantage of Alec not knowing what's supposed to be his," Gael said with clenched fists. He took a deep breath before he continued. "In Alec's documents, it was written that no one took the responsibility of looking after him."

"It makes more sense now as to why the people of Gelun have some sort of hatred for Alec," Kreis said. "His brother being a source of a certain deadly illness didn't seem, a good enough reason for them to hate him. I could say the same for the violence he caused during his black outs."

"And Alec is oblivious to all of this," Donovan commented. He and Kreis nodded at the headmaster's words. His brows knit in anger, and he could see it as the same thing happening to Kreis.

"Would you like me to bring in the people responsible for this?" Kreis said with his voice low and dangerous.

Donovan stared at him with hard steely grey eyes. He shook his head softly.

"Focus on finding the thief. As for that, it won't be best for Alec to know new things about his brother. It might put his life in even more danger," the old man said. "But if it makes you both feel better, I'll deal with it."

The two younger men drop their jaws when they saw the impish smirk which graced the old man's lips. The same mischief in his eyes made him look a few years younger than he was a few moments ago.

"What?" Headmaster Donovan said. "Pulling strings from the shadows is my specialty, so don't you two look at me like that!"

Gael and Kreis locked eyes. Eventually, they shook their heads before giving the headmaster a look of resignation. They both released a sigh.

They turned to the door when they heard a set of running footfalls heading for them. Erin burst through the entrance with bullets of sweat dripping down the side of his face. His hair was all over the place as if he had been tugging at it. The frown of distress was evident on his tawny-colored face―although it looked pale as of that moment.

"Headmaster...we...have a...situation," he breathed out. He bent forward and placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath. When he calmed, he straightened.

"Alec and Areisha are fighting in the East Wing."

They heard a loud boom. The chandelier above shook and swayed. However none noticed it, for they had rushed out the door.

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Writing the dialogue was quite challenging. I hope it wasn't confusing.