The Blight Chronicles: Odalia & Alador

Gone

Odalia had spent most of her morning classes worrying about Alador. Even though she was sure he was fine she still had this nagging feeling in her gut that something was wrong. She kept telling herself that it was because of all the people that kept approaching her to talk about Grom and why she had missed school. It was highly unlikely that others would do the same with Alador. Even if they tried they wouldn't be able to get more than a couple of words out of him. Still that feeling in the pit of her stomach persisted. She kept trying to reassure herself that it was all in her head and that she would feel a lot better once the two met up for lunch in their usual spot. Except that Alador didn’t show up. 

She didn’t think much of it at first. It wasn’t unusual for Alador to be late but he would always turn up eventually. Today was the exception. The lunch period was almost halfway over and Alador had still not shown. This was highly unusual and it made her start to panic. What if he had another run-in with Darius or even with another student? Even though Alador was quite capable of taking care of himself at the moment he was still in a very unstable emotional state. She should know she was the same. At least she could keep a better handle on her emotions. Alador was not used to having to keep himself in check. He also ran on impulse so it was easier for him to do something without considering the consequences. She needed to find him and soon for both of their sakes. 

She immediately gathered her things and left the classroom she had been waiting at. She wasn’t sure where to begin her search since Alador never went anywhere without her. At the moment the best course of action seemed to be to find some of his classmates and check to see if maybe they knew where he had run off to. 

This had to all be in her head. Alador probably got distracted by something. A lot of the people who are going to be participating in the competition kept their projects at school. He must have found some that piqued his curiosity and that's the reason he was late. Right? 

The classroom that they spent their free time in was not far from the Abominations track hallway. It didn’t take her long to find some of Alador’s classmates but to her dismay when they saw her they asked her where he was and why he hadn’t shown up to class. Upon hearing the question Odalia felt like her heart sank to her stomach. She tried her best to hide it and continued speaking with Alador’s classmates to see if she could find a clue as to his whereabouts. During their conversation, one of the students mentioned that Alador had been sent to the principal's office during first period and never returned. That was all she needed. 

She broke away from the conversation as smoothly as possible and rushed towards the principal's office. This would not be the first time Alador had been called in the principal's office so the idea itself did not alarm her. But the fact that Alador was missing after going there was concerning. Did it have something to do with Grom? If it did then more than likely principal Bump had placed Alador in detention. If that was the case then she would make sure to give him an earful and demand Darius get thrown in instead. Alador had done nothing wrong and if anyone deserved to be punished it was Darius for being an idiot.  

By the time she had arrived at Bump’s office Odalia’s nerves had turned into a fire in her stomach and she was ready to unleash hell on the isles in defense of Alador. That was until principal Bump explained that Alador had been banned from that week's competition. 

Upon hearing that, Odalia's heart sank. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her and she had to take a seat. It was almost as if their future had dissolved right in front of her. This was why Alador had gone missing. 

“Alador won’t get to compete?” she whispered. 

“I’m sorry I know that this is a very important competition for anyone aspiring to join the Abominations coven but I’m sure you out of all people understand why it had to be done,” responded principal Bump trying his best to sound sympathetic.