Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Thirteen ۞ A Calm Morning

Moments before Valeriana was preparing to leave the residences, there was a knock on the door of her bedroom. As she was busy tidying up her room after leaving it uncleaned for a whole month, she almost missed it. It wasn't until the second set of knocks did she realize she had to answer.

"I'm sorry! Come in!" She exclaimed, all the while reaching for a hanging cobweb at the topmost corner of her room by the right. The feather duster she was using proved to be short.

She did not look towards her visitor, so instead, she was greeted by a voice, "What are you doing?"

"I . . ." She grunted. "Am . . . cleaning."

She caught a sigh being released until the stubborn cobweb she was aiming for flared up and disappeared into nothing but ashes oh-so-suddenly that it took her aback. Losing her balance, she fell backward and landed awkwardly on the sofa she used as a boost to her height.

"If you don't remember," said Corvan. "Let me remind you that you are supposed to meet with the headmaster before you head off to your first class."

"Oh right!" She exclaimed, realizing her mistake. "I almost forgot!"

"You did not 'almost' forget it, you did." He corrected. "There will also be a Gathering an hour after classes end for the festival. Be there on time. We'll present our ideas then."

"Yup, okay."

Corvan gave her a weary look, as though looking at her made him feel tired. Was she that . . . too much to handle? Grinning up at the first-ranker, she rose from her couch and straightened out her wrinkled uniform. After she was done, she looked up to her guest and caught him eyeing the picture frame on her bedside table.

"Is that your family?" He asked. "On earth?"

"Oh, yeah." The family photo brought her nostalgia as well that she navigated towards it like a moth drawn to a flame. "It's kind of hard not to miss them after everything."

Valeriana's wacky pose was as goofy as it could get. Jareth was yelling at the background, trying to get away. Janus had the neck of his shirt in his iron grip while Lily had an awkward peace sign. All in all, the scene presented their happy family days while they were still as complete as they could be.

Corvan was quiet. "You don't quite look like them."

He hit a nerve. "Yeah . . . I kinda look adopted, don't I?"

"No. You resemble your father more." He told her. "You may not have the same hair color, but your eyes look similar." He walked nearer. "I can't help but think I've seen that face somewhere, though. Is this Janus Kerrigan?"

"Yup. Janus Andrès Kerrigan."

"Andrès?" Corvan seemed to find this strange.

"He claims he's Spanish, I don't really believe him." She rolled her eyes.

"I will apologize in advance." He took the framed photo, making Valeriana feel confused. "No one has taken into account the possibility of having a realistic sketch in existence. I'll have this given to Lord Aeron for examination."

"Ohhh . . . why do you think it's my father?"

"Because," he paused, scrutinizing the girl. "Everything about him seems suspicious. You might have not noticed anything, but every little bit of possibility in every mystery is crucial. Your identity is still under question, so it's best to take every piece of evidence. Is there anything else you think can help speed up the search for an answer?"

"Um . . ." She paused to think. "Not . . . really . . ."

"How about this?" He pointed to the box that stood forgotten beside the frame.