Barbara's Book of Fire

Chapter 23

Though I couldn't say the same for Lia, the morning had been good to Filtiarn and me. More refreshed than ever, we began our day similar to the day before by training early in the morning. Lia was tagging along as she delved again into what I could only imagine as pure torture for her untrained body.

I would've advised the other way should I really know some other form of training regime that could spell both efficiency and mercy at the same time, but unfortunately, that was not the case. I only knew Lance's regime, and the word mercy was forbidden there...So, that's that...

Filtiarn and I began our workout when we made sure Lia had made it safe and sound from much of her grueling training session. Afterward, with our pained yet vibrant bodies, we went to take a shower back at the dorm.

From there, we made our way to the dining hall just in time after the long queue for breakfast was long gone. Frankly, seeing how difficult it was for lIa to move, I would fetch her breakfast along with mine if I could. But then again, it would be quite the challenge for me to hold Lia's tray with my imaginary hand...

One thing I learned after the abysmally short time in which I lived my life was being in a group was always the smart and wise choice. Especially if you were in a place that drove you alienated from day one. 

That was the case when I lived above the ground with Pa, Ma, Grandpa Levin, and Grandma Robellia, and that was also the case with my roommates. I was amazed at how different the ambiance was after sharing the table with them. 

It was as if an invisible veil had appeared out of nowhere, covered us whole, and blended along with the rest of the students in the dining hall. Of course, I may have gone overboard with the description, and it was far from being a novel experience, but nonetheless, I felt nothing but amazement and excitement.

"You're going?" Anya glanced sideways.

"Yeah," Treading away with Filtiarn and Anya, I bid both Anya and Rebecca goodbye at the dining hall. "We'll see you guys later."

Along the way, we talked about this and that. How it worked was that I did most of the asking, and Lia provided the answer. And while we were talking about what I thought of Fysi and how it was different from the world above the ground, Lia suddenly asked something.

"You're staying with madam Yifa, right?" Probed Lia. "So you're going back to her house on the next holiday, huh?"

Confused by the dispirited look that was visibly apparent on Lia's face, I asked. "Why's the sad look?"

"I don't...? did I? really?" Taken aback by the straightforward question, Lia tried to exercise silence, yet the timing had suited her ill.

"It's just, it'll be lonely here without you and Filtiarn." Lia conceded and admitted her concern.

"You're not going back? Why?" I asked further.

"I'm an orphan, remember?" Lia began to explain her situation to clear up the blank space in my head regarding her living state. "Though we are both orphans, unlike you, I didn't come from above ground."

Without a word, I just continued to listen as she talked. "There's a law in Fysi regarding an orphan like you, Barbara...Every child will be placed in the custody of a household after the consent from the household itself. The family will be picked from by the decision of the council."

Grasping the meaning behind her words, I hummed low in confirmation. "So, basically, the high council gives suggestions to a family, and if they accept it, the child will live in that family as I did?"

"Not from the high council...only council. But yeah, more or less." Lia sighed long. "That is how it works. The only difference between those who came from the outside like you and who were born here like I was kids like you have more time before they have to choose...Here, we orphans will be given a chance to determine between the two options they gave us. Whether we'll agree to enter another household and to bear that house name or to live while keeping our own family name and stay in the orphanage..."