Beauty and Scars {ON HOLD}

Book 2 Chapter 4: Arrival in the Citadel

The different colored lights and the swirling particles inside the portal made Azora's eyes blur unpleasantly, making the girl close it for a moment to get rid of the slight lightheaded feeling. The headmistress and Aegeus seemed amused at the girl who has never entered a portal that leads to a land quite far from Royale High, being used to the carriage as a means of travelling.

And as the sounds faded and the portal dispersed, Azora slowly reopened her eyes to see they had arrived in a place so elegant yet has a more modern touch than Divinia Park. Pathways, lamp posts, fences, benches and even the fountain is painted in white and silver; yet the massive grand castle in the same hue that is located across the park still stole the scene. Some greenery like trees and bushes lined the path which adds more color to the view, "Welcome to Caenleigh Citadel, Azora."

The headmistress took a step first, Aegeus and Azora soon following behind. The latter however was still in awe of the scene in front of her, finding every detail of the place interesting. Her excitement however, was soon replaced by uneasiness as the fairies around stopped on their tracks at the sight of Azora in the citadel, even dressed in formal clothing instead of a slave's attire. Soon whispers followed and the young woman couldn't help the heavy feeling from the cafe slowly return, "Ignore them, my dear. And keep your head up."

The said girl heeded her aunt's advice, taking a deep breath as they continued their stroll towards the silver castle. When they arrived at the tall double doors past the bridge of the river like moat surrounding the castle, there was a fairy standing with their hands behind their back, seemingly waiting for the three to arrive.

The fairy had their raven hair slicked back, a pair of light fairy wings fluttering every so often, firm composure and freshly pressed white suit and tie. "Ah, the headmistress of Royale High, President of the Royale Student Guardians, and er.. a 'human"

"Is there a problem, Galvin?" inquired the Headmistress as she noticed the disgust in their face as their eyes landed on Azora, quickly replacing it with a smile as they averted their eyes back to the Headmistress. Galvin then apologized and bowed to the higher rank fairy in front of them, yet the disgust is still present in their eyes as they glanced at Azora one last time. "If you would follow me, please. I will show you your sleeping quarters for the remainder of your stay here."

The tall wooden double doors then slowly opened, revealing a hallway designed and decorated in a mix of modern and medieval style almost similar to the design of the castle. Azora's annoyance with the fairy named Galvin had been slightly forgotten as the girl was once again in awe of the beautiful and elegant interior, entering through the doors with the light fairy leading them ahead.

"Some of the High council members like Gatekeeper Alcaeus, Empress Quiana and General Zandor are still yet to arrive for the meeting tomorrow, your grace. However, Lady Serena had already arrived yesterday and is already settled in her own room in the castle." spoke the fairy as the four of them strolled through the hallways of the massive castle, passing by fairies going about their lives.

Azora recalled her aunt explaining each member of the High Council when she was preparing for the meeting, although knowing that she would be respectful towards them in the meeting, the Headmistress didn't want her niece to look bad in front of the high rank fairies.

She then noticed a human girl dressed in rags carrying a heavy basket of laundry and taking it outside of a room. When the two locked eyes, Azora stopped in her tracks as she was reminded that only Royale High has ever accepted humans as equals, and that her mission in the citadel is to hopefully convince the High Council that there is hope for unity.

When the human girl noticed Azora's clothes and how she was walking along fairies, she was appalled at how they were treating the blonde haired girl so differently than the rest of them. She left the scene with a frown on her face, leaving Azora with a feeling of guilt and sadness as she stood there in the halls of the castle. The headmistress then noticed this and saw the mix of emotions in the girl's face, mirroring them in her eyes.

"Come now, Azora." gently spoke the headmistress to which the girl silently followed, still unable to shake the emotions eating her from the inside. The group then continued on towards the stairs, reaching a hallway of different colored doors. As they passed by a balcony in the middle of the hallway, a certain fairy with massive bright blue wings imitating those of a fin, stood with her back turned towards the group. Her beautiful iridescent dress that reached far on the ground behind her glimmered under the light of the sun, her hair a lovely mix of color styled in an elegant braid. "Lady Serena, early for the meeting I see. Were you not too busy with the empire?"

Recognizing the voice, the fairy slowly turned to face the headmistress who then stepped out into the balcony to greet her fellow council member. However, instead of a warm smile that the fairy used to greet her with, she was stern and cold like the waters of the deep ocean. "Headmistress, and you've brought a human to the citadel. Are you not satisfied with the crimes you've committed that you have to disgrace this sacred place? What will Kosmos say to this, I wonder."

"Watch your words carefully, Serena. This human is the daughter of Althea, the blood of our savior courses through her veins. Do not forget her sacrifices in order for us to survive to this day." threatened the headmistress as the lady of the deep held judging stares towards the young Azora that stood by the entrance of the balcony. Serena shifted her gaze towards the fairy in front of her as she slowly bursted out into laughter.

"You speak of our past now when I remember you so clearly being the one who proposed to keep everything hidden, to wipe the memories of those that remember our dreadful history with the humans. Do not claim to be the righteous one among all of us, Aretha." Serena threateningly walked closer towards the headmistress, her once soothing voice shifted into a much darker tone to intimidate the fairy in front of her. "If you truly are concerned about our past, Althea and her daughter, why hide it in the beginning? Why send her daught-"

"Enough!" The headmistress' wings were opened wide as she released a shockwave that sent Serena off the balcony, the latter using her wings to keep herself from falling down the castle. The lady of the deep remained afloat as she held a mocking smile towards the enraged fairy. "Do not make false accusations, Serena. These matters will be discussed in the meeting tomorrow."

All of a sudden, another fairy appeared beside Serena from below, a pair of massive phoenix wings keeping him in flight. The fairy wore a flame red suit with a cape trimmed with gold attached to his shoulders, his hair in an umber hue was slicked back. "What is with all this commotion up here?"

"Oh it's nothing to worry about, Zandor. it's just our dear Aretha here not admitting to her lies." uttered Serena as she kept her mocking gaze towards the fairy below them, finding amusement in the rage clearly seen in her magenta eyes. The fairy beside her heaved a sigh, finding the scene before him ridiculous and childish. "That's enough, Serena. Escort me towards where Kosmos is at the moment, I have important matters to discuss with him."

The two landed on the balcony and proceeded to head back inside the castle, the group that remained by the entrance made way for the fairies to walk through. However, Azora stood in confusion at what had just happened, implying it deeply in her gaze towards her aunt. 

The group continued on towards their approach to their sleeping quarters in silence, thoughts and questions pouring in Azora's head faster than she could muster. Soon enough, they reached a purple tinted double door that appeared to be the room dedicated to the headmistress. Galvin then opened the doors and allowed the group to enter, bowing before the headmistress and giving one last disgusted look at Azora before taking his leave and closing the doors. 

As the headmistress and Aegeus started to settle in, the confused young girl stood still as she frowned at the floor beneath her, opening her mouth to voice out her concerns but was stopped by her aunt immediately.

"Everything will be explained tomorrow, Azora. We will leave you here for now to rest, I need to have a word with a certain fairy about what just happened earlier." the fairy then flew towards the door, anger still evident in her composure. Aegeus soon followed but not before giving a gentle tap on the girl's shoulder along with a brief smile, setting off to open the door for the headmistress and the two finally leaving the room.

Azora was left alone in the room and the silence most certainly wasn't helping her scrambling thoughts. Nonetheless she decided to listen to her aunt and rest in the massive purple bed provided in the room, laying down to take a nap and closing her eyes despite the swirling thoughts that made her uncomfortable.