Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Twenty-Five ۞ The Lord's Lecture

When her PC Class came around, Valeriana was undeniably in her good mood. She was still experiencing leftovers of that joy she experienced yesterday regarding the band issue, so nothing could possibly ruin it for her.

Not even that stupid excercise the king's brother was making them do.

When Lord Lienhard said they were to do what they did yesterday, complains were heard from Cail and Coral. However, in Valeriana's case, she wanted to get it over and done with so that she could make some progress with the songs they were going to perform.

The enthusiasm was going off in waves that she skipped her way to the training grounds with no words, causing her classmates to gaze at her in question.

During the obstacle course, memories of her sitting in front of her favorite instrument and doing what she loved with the Twelve gave a feeling of happiness bubbling in her chest.

It was an innocent sentiment, bringing a smile to her face despite the redundancy of the exercise and the tiring actions it put her through.

When she reached the finish line for her third lap, Coral, Cail, and Zander had been left behind. Sweat dotted her face and her breath puffed from her mouth. She paused to wipe off the stickiness forming around her neck and looked up to see Lord Lienhard watching.

He had never gone down the training grounds himself before.

"And finally one of you gets it." He laughed, clapping as he approached Valeriana. "Congratulations then, deary. You pass the first trial."

"Huh?" They all chorused.

The three stopped just behind Valeriana, tired and confused.

"I wasn't even smiling." She told him, blanching.

"Oh, but you wereeee." He sang, winking at her. "Your aura is light and positive, your mood is good, you're relaxed, not to mention you're happy."

"I don't get it."

"Sit down, all of you. We're going to have an outdoor lecture." He pranced around joyfully and waited for them to do as he said.

One by one, they hesitantly obeyed. Valeriana chose an Indian sit while catching a drop of sweat from falling into her eye. Lienhard then stood before them, as though finally taking the whole professor thing seriously.

"In controlling your auras, the hardest thing to do is let it go wild." He explained, his golden eyes and hair shining under the light of the sun. "Of course, logic has it, the calmer it is, the easier it is to mold it. The wilder it is, the harder it is to tame it. You don't want your auras disobeying you, huh? Well, one particular reason why Zander here has the most control out of you lots is because he holds himself back."

Thoughts immediately popped into their heads. If all they needed was to control themselves, then . . .

"But that is wrong." He crouched before them, eyeing them individually at a time. "Emotions are a natural part of yourself. Your sadness, your anger, your hatred, your happiness and your pain. That shouldn't be blocked out. If you hold back, you can only go so far. In the end, you'll find yourself facing a wall."

"Then what is the use of this training?" Cail queried. "And how do we gain control without holding ourselves back?"

"You cannot refuse to feel." He said, his smile as vibrant as the sun. "But you can choose. The easiest thing to feel is happiness, because it exists in the littlest things. Frustrations, impatience, loneliness, and everything else may come around, but happiness will always be there."

The lord willingly collpased and sprawled on the ground like a carefree teenager. "I do not agree with the logic of seeking happiness, don't you think? It is in the mindset of every people, in every character in every book . . . to try and find this so-called thing that will make them happy. But, they do not realize, that they themselves deny their right of being happy. It is right under their noses, but they refuse to look down. It follows them everywhere, but they do not look back--knock on their doors, but they do not answer."