Magic of Shadow and Secrets

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Saiyah opened her eyes. Her surroundings were blurred momentarily, but when they came into view, she gasped. The room—her room—was completely trashed. The furniture was destroyed, the cushions shredded and fluff innards pooled the floor. The walls were raked by....what appeared to be fingernails and knuckle imprints.

Did I do this?! She wondered, terrified. She stared at her hands, they quivered, but were fully healed. I'm losing control. But she had to worry about that later. Saiyah spotted a shadow through her window, running in the distance. Curious and not yet wanting to clean her messy room, she followed...

The adjacent forest from the academy was humid at this time of year. Thankfully it was night time, the temperature had gone down considerably. At last, the figure stopped. The moonshine revealed the color of his hair, it was a pale shade. Saiyah only knew one person with such light hair.

It was Zadro!

I shouldn't be here. I feel like I'm intruding.

"I know someone's there," He called abruptly in his apathetic voice. Saiyah bristled, although his tone was more welcoming than threatening. "There's no need to hide."

Despite what her rational brain advised, the girl reluctantly stepped out. Zadro was seated in front of the man-made lake, his back turned to her. "What are you doing here?" He asked, not quite demanding. He sounded genuinely curious.

Saiyah's response was hoarse and unconfident, as if she'd just screamed at the top of her lungs and had nothing else to say. Maybe she did. "I-I could a-ask you that," she stammered.

Zadro's shoulders jerked slightly upwards in surprise, he peered over to finally see who his stalker was. Not that Saiyah was an actual stalker or anything... He didn't say anything, instead patted the patch of grass beside him welcomingly. Saiyah gulped, her palms grew sweaty and her body trembled nervously—though it was invisible to the prying eyes.

But she nonetheless accepted his invitation. There was an awkward silence for a few moments between them. The two just stared at the tranquil lake that sparkled in the moonlight and mimicked the sturdy trees that surrounded them. The Banthikaar Wizardry Academy was somewhat hidden in this forest to keep those within its walls safe from the critical world that refused to accept them.

Finally, Saiyah couldn't take the silence any longer. "What's on your mind?" She managed to speak without flaw. But then she realized that the question seemed a bit personal, and Zadro and her weren't even that close. "Y-you don't have to answer if you don't want to! It's none of my business."

The azulchemist folded in his legs, resting his arms on them. A barely audible sigh escaped his lips. "I usually come here to find peace. There's hardly any of that inside when there's so much pressure on you."

Saiyah looked down. She was terrible at giving advice about emotional dealings, but when it came to school work or knowledge, she was a natural. Her advice would be something like hiding your feelings deep down and wishing you were numb and felt no pain at all. But eventually those emotions would just bubble to the surface, building up over time until one exploded. So instead, she said this: "I'm sorry you feel that way. But know this: you're not alone. You have a team who'll always have your back. Mostly." She joked, referring to Vex.

Zadro scoffed, "You act as if I'm already a Legend and the team is mine to command."

Saiyah didn't know how to respond, but she tried to approach the burdening topic with caution. We already have one Legend at school, I wouldn't be surprised if there were another. "Well, Romelle and I can't be the 'chosen one'. West has potential, but I'm just not sure. If Vex—I mean, Xeviero—was it then we'll never hear the end of it. Seriously. I'm crossing my fingers that it isn't him." She said. "You just seem like the ideal candidate."

A small smile was pasted on his lips, but it had a bit of scorn. "And if I don't want to be?"

Saiyah was taken aback. She always pictured Zadro as the quiet, ambitious type. Why would he shy away from such an opportunity? "Why not?"

Zadro sighed again, standing up. He walked over to the lake until the tips of his boots touched the cold, clear water. "I usually don't talk about this to other people, but you seem trustworthy." Saiyah felt touched he thought so, then felt bad. He was beginning to open up to her and she didn't reciprocate. With hiding her powers, she felt as if she kept a part of herself hidden from him. From all of them. "The Green Wizard is returning. If that is true, I'd just be putting a target on my back."

He peered over his shoulder, his frigid eyes landed on her. "Not only that, but it'd endanger everyone I care about as well. And I can't bring myself to do that."

"Well, that's why you should be a Legend, so you can protect them." Saiyah climbed to her feet as well. A cool breeze caressed her face, causing her bangs to be messed up. Again. Curtain bangs were the best but also the worst.

Zadro shook his head, as if physically dismissing the idea. "No matter how powerful you are, you can never save everyone. Like the first Legend, he had the power of the Gods, yet he couldn't save his brother from turning evil." The mention of Raiko was like a punch in the gut. Saiyah couldn't help but feel enraged at their last discussion.

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"Why didn't you stop him when you had the chance? Why'd you turn a blind eye?" Saiyah had thundered back in his office. Raiko just stared at her with raw emotion, his scarred eye burned into her flesh. The girl had been shouting, livid at the Headmaster's carelessness. "If you had put an end to him when you had the opportunity, maybe—just maybe—I'd live a normal life! Far from magic and this place. I'd live with my mother and—" She'd broken into tears at the word 'mother'.

Raiko finally spoke, barely in a whisper. "I couldn't. When I was given the possibility, I just couldn't do it. He was—is—still my brother and I still care for him."

Saiyah snarled in disgust. "You care for a murderer and a monster!"

"Could you bring yourself to harm your own brother?"

Saiyah recalled how her siblings treated her. Terribly. She was a girl with purple hair and red eyes in a family with both parents from a long line of blondes. She simply wasn't natural. Her mother was the only one that accepted her. And the brothers that didn't abuse Saiyah, remained bystanders. "Yes," she replied at last. "I would if it was necessary."

Raiko frowned, and Saiyah wondered if she had failed some kind of test. "Then you are no better than him." The Headmaster concluded, stepping out of the office.

Alone, a single sentence hit home and all of her insecurities and fears were set free. I'm just like him, aren't I? She thought bitterly, almost laughing at the irony. She was like the person she hated most in this world.

It reminded her of the first and only thing the Green Wizard had said to her, the reason why he killed her mother, but kept her alive:

I see a lot of myself in you.