The Realm Protectors

Chapter 14 - Carter

"Quiet down, quiet down!" Officer Alexxi holds up his hands. The teachers and school masters go quiet. "Let's get this done and over with before the crowds get too rowdy for the kids to handle."

"Aren't your officers out there with them?" Mr. Redmond asks.

"Most of them, yes. The others are keeping the news crews at bay." Officer Alexxi sits back down.

We're all gathered in one of the meeting rooms inside Arch Hall. Two tables face each other, us eight seated at one and all the school masters and some of the teachers seated at the other. Officer Alexxi sits in a chair between the tables.

"We all know that the High Arches are dead. We're going to open an investigation with the new Arch of Intelligence to find out who did this." Officer Alexxi announces.

"So the new High Arches have been picked?" Headmistress Janssen asks. The bottom of her white gown is stained with blood from walking through the Atrium. My own boots are coated in a layer of crimson blood that makes me want to wash them for eternity.

"As the last Arch left alive at the time, Professor Grantwood recorded herself transferring power to the new Arches. We're still working to figure out what she said in the last part of the video." Officer Alexxi nods. He turns to the projector behind him and gives a signal to the intelligence officer standing in the back of the room with a laptop. She presses a button and Professor Grantwood appears on the projector screen.

The eight of us sit in silence as the teachers and school masters watch the video that pronounces us as the new leaders of an entire Realm. At the end of the video, the teachers who know us look at us in shock while the eight school masters talk amongst themselves about these names, asking each other if they're one of theirs, before they notice the silent room. They follow the others' line of vision and gape at us.

"Yes, these eight are the next High Arches of the Elemental Realm." Officer Alexxi says.

The school master from Mork – Dankworth, I think her name is – stands up and slams the table.

"This is outrage!" She hollers. "These are children! Children! And they are to be entrusted with ruling of the Realm?"

"School Master Dankworth, I understand your frustration," Officer Alexxi stands up to try and calm her.

"This is that Grantwood's fault, she chose all students from her school! Trying to keep power in her hands! Look at the little Voronkova, eh? She is no good!" Dankworth continues to holler. "I have her brother in my school and he is ten times better student! He deserves her place!"

"Hey!" Avani stands up, her chair flying behind her. "Leave Nikolina alone! She's a great elemental and she'll be a great High Arch!"

"Bah!" Dankworth waves her hands. "Just you wait! See now, she's trying to shadow herself!"

We look at Nikolina, who indeed looks a lot more transparent than she did a moment ago.

"Maybe if you hadn't started treating her like shit, she wouldn't feel the need to hide from you and your big ass ego." Avani snaps back.

Officer Alexxi steps between the bickering women and holds his hands out.

"Ladies please, let's all take a breath and relax." Dankworth sits back down and crosses her arms, tipping up her nose. Avani huffs and sits down, a little closer to Nik than she was before.

"Obviously Arch Grantwood had no idea she and her cohorts were going to be murdered." Alexxi says. "She probably intended to have plenty of time with the kids to help them grow into their positions. Obviously each of them has things to work on, but they'll get there."