The Binding Fates SEASON 1: The Past

Chapter 4: Invitation To The Academy Part 2

Elyse's eyes widened in shock, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird. "What?" she breathed, her voice barely a whisper. Maria, her face etched with worry, met her gaze, her eyes a deep well of concern.

"Elyse," the gentleman on the left, his voice smooth and reassuring, spoke. "The current master personally invited you to enroll in the academy."

Elyse's mind raced, trying to make sense of this sudden turn of events. "A sudden invitation? All of a sudden?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Maria sighed, her shoulders slumping with a heavy weight of responsibility. "Yes," she confirmed, her voice laced with a hint of resignation.

"What's the reason?" Elyse demanded, her frustration rising with each passing moment. "This is not what we've planned, Your Grace."

Elyse remembered the meticulous plan they had crafted, a strategy to navigate the treacherous waters of the academy and ultimately find the missing Master. Maria had promised to adopt her, to give her a noble lineage, a path to infiltrate the academy's inner circle. Elyse was to use her intelligence and power to climb to the top, to join the Student Council, to find clues, to uncover the truth.

"Elyse, calm down. Listen to me," Maria said, her voice soothing but firm. "The first step in our plan may fail, but there are still more steps. Let's just think that the current master is giving us an opportunity."

Elyse's doubt remained, a stubborn seed of uncertainty that refused to be uprooted. "I haven't agreed yet, Your Grace. Are you really sure that if I do this—you will help me?" she asked, her voice laced with a hint of desperation.

"You're smart, and you know you are," Maria said, her eyes holding a glimmer of hope.

Elyse clenched her hands, her knuckles turning white, her nails digging into her palms. Blood welled up, a crimson stain blossoming on the floor, a silent testament to her inner turmoil.

"But!" Elyse interrupted, her voice rising with a surge of emotion. She still didn't understand why these people were pushing her, urging her to take this leap of faith, to trust them, to trust the very system that had betrayed her. "I may have admired your previous master, but that doesn't mean I—" Elyse stopped, her words catching in her throat. She remembered the stories she had read, the tales of the previous master, a leader who ruled with peace and justice, a leader who had given hope to those who had been denied, a leader who had been unjustly labeled a villain.

The room fell silent, the weight of unspoken emotions hanging heavy in the air. The man who had noticed her distress stepped forward, his eyes filled with a gentle understanding.

"Elyse," he said, his voice a soothing balm to her troubled soul. "I am Wayne, the third district leader, and also the closest companion to the previous master." He reached out, his hand brushing against her cheek, wiping away the tears that had begun to flow. "I understand your feelings, Elyse. But please also understand us. We are doing this to help the world, and also you. We are not pushing you."

"Wayne!" Maria called out, her voice sharp with a hint of frustration. But Wayne remained focused on Elyse, his gaze unwavering.

"Stop doing this, Maria. Let's not force the child," Lucas, the second district leader, said, his voice a calm counterpoint to Maria's urgency.

"I agree with these two gentlemen, Maria," Yohan, the first district leader, said, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down Elyse's spine. His dreamy black eyes, filled with a depth of emotion, locked onto hers, his gaze unwavering.

Elyse flinched, intimidated by his intensity. The room felt heavy with unspoken tension, the weight of their shared purpose pressing down on them. An hour passed, the silence punctuated only by the ticking of the clock, the crackling of the fireplace, the rustling of papers.

As the moon rose, casting a silvery glow across the city, Elyse retreated to her room, her heart heavy with doubt and uncertainty. She wanted to save her family, to bring them back from the abyss of death, but a nagging fear, a shadow of doubt, lingered in her heart.

She fell into a troubled sleep, her dreams filled with a haunting sense of loss and longing. She found herself standing in a field of wildflowers, the sky a canvas of endless blue, the air filled with the sweet scent of blossoms. She heard a woman's voice, soft and soothing, calling to her.

"Don't cry," the woman said. Elyse followed the sound of the voice, her heart filled with a desperate hope. She saw a young girl, her head resting on the woman's lap, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry, my child," the woman said, her voice a melody of comfort. "But Mama, they're bullying me! They said... they said that we're cursed!" the little girl sobbed.

"Hush now, my child. We are indeed cursed," the mother said, her voice laced with a deep sadness. The little girl looked up, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"But... but why are we cursed?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear.

The mother smiled, a bittersweet expression that held a hint of resignation. "It's because this is the price we have to pay... Elyse."

The flowers around them swayed in the gentle breeze, their petals dancing in a silent waltz of sorrow. The scenery shifted, the field of wildflowers fading into an endless sky, the stars twinkling like distant diamonds.

"Help her, Elyse," the mother said, her voice echoing across the vast expanse of the sky. Elyse turned, her heart pounding with a newfound urgency. She saw her mother standing far away, her face etched with a deep sadness, tears streaming down her cheeks. She reached out, her fingers grasping at the air, but her mother was gone.

"This is the price we have to pay," her mother's voice echoed, a haunting reminder of the sacrifices that had been made, the burdens that had been passed down. "Find out and help her, for our family."

Elyse awoke with a start, her body trembling, her heart pounding. She had fallen asleep on the floor, her dreams a tapestry of sorrow and hope, a reflection of her own inner turmoil.

She understood now. She understood the weight of her family's curse, the sacrifices they had made, the burdens they had carried. She understood that the previous Master was not just a ruler, but a woman with a past, a woman who had been hurt, a woman who had been betrayed.

Elyse stood up, her resolve hardening. She had to find her, to understand her, to help her. She had to find out what had happened, to uncover the truth, to bring justice to those who had wronged her. She had to save her family, to honor their sacrifice, to fulfill their desperate plea.

She hurried to Maria's office, her heart ablaze with a newfound determination.

Inside, the four leaders sat in silence, their faces etched with worry and frustration. They had been searching for the Master for years, their efforts proving fruitless.

"We shouldn't push the child more," Wayne said, his voice a quiet plea for reason.

"But if we don't, this opportunity will leave us!" Maria exclaimed, her voice filled with urgency.

"Maria, I understand your feelings. It's been five years since her disappearance," Yohan said, his voice laced with a deep sadness.

"I understand how you wanted to save her so much, Maria. After all, that bitch is still ruling us over," Lucas said, his gaze fixed on the city outside, his voice filled with a simmering anger.

"We all wanted to save her," Wayne said, his voice filled with a quiet regret. He remembered the day he had seen the Master crying, her heart filled with a sorrow that had pierced his own soul. He had wanted to save her, to protect her, but she had refused his help. "I don't need a savior if it'll just use me again," she had said, her voice filled with a bitterness that had haunted him ever since.

He had not understood her pain then, but now, he understood. He understood the weight of her past, the burdens she had carried, the betrayals she had endured. He understood why she had chosen to disappear, to vanish into the shadows, to escape the clutches of those who had used and abused her.

"Hey—" Wayne began, his voice a gentle interruption to the tense silence, but before he could finish, the door burst open, and Elyse stood in the doorway, her breath catching in her throat, her eyes blazing with a newfound determination.

"I'm going!" she said, her voice ringing with a confidence that surprised them all. "I'm going!"