Enchanted Casters

Chapter 10

Lillian rested in Risco's room for a few hours using a bed he had out for students to lie down on if they needed to for any reason. When she was well enough to entertain a conversation, Risco allowed guests to come in. Lillian sat on the edge of the bed while he sat criss-crossed on it. Everyone else grabbed a chair and situated themselves around the bed, aside from Sly, who sat next to Kyle's chair.

"You won't even begin to understand how glad I am to have you safe and sound," Meredith remarked, holding her hand to her chest.

"No, I can quite understand it," Lillian replied, giving a heavy sigh. "I'm also glad to be away from Astrella."

"So, what was being Empress like?" Kyle asked her. "You said something about being able to see what I was doing."

"I was still conscious of my surroundings as Empress, and able to feel my body hurt from attacks and think. However, she called the shots, and I had zero input. I was suppressed by her motives and actions." Lillian explained eloquently. "She also had no idea I was her catalyst, explaining why she didn't know who I was."

Kyle felt guilty, "Y-you could feel pain? I'm sorry about attacking you the way I did. I assumed you were unconscious while as Empress."

Lillian shook her head, "Don't be. You saved my life by doing what you did. I'd still be Empress and you'd be caught by Astrella if you didn't."

She gave Kyle a reassuring smile, making him pluck up a bit.

Risco deeply hummed, "Still hard to believe we had the culprit of the disappearance in our school and never knew it. What happened anyway?"

"It was all so sudden," Lillian remarked. "I was walking by myself when I set off an invisible trap. Next thing I knew I was in Astrella's hideout in Reflection Forest. When she arrived, she greeted me by knocking me out with a spell. From what I overheard, during that time she started slowly draining my powers from me. Though, all I remember is waking up and seeing that a lot of time had passed by a calendar in the room. It was not long after that I was turned into Empress."

Kyle's spirit dropped and he remained dead silent. He was starting to get a pain in his stomach.

"How did you get alone?" Meredith probed.

"I was traveling with some friends when I stopped to check a flower along the path," Lillian answered. "When I looked up again, I noticed they had gone ahead without me. Seeing as they'd eventually wait for me, I decided to take my time catching up."

Lillian paused for a moment.

"Did you ever have an inkling Astrella might have been behind this?" she asked.

Meredith slowly shook her head, "No. She never acted shifty or anything after you went missing. She had the same eccentric attitude as before, always did her assigned duties, and never skipped out or was absent for any reason. It was a textbook example of innocent behavior."

"I did notice that her eyes seemed a bit more tense, but I assumed it was stress from what happened," Risco added. "I did offer her a session, but she nonchalantly said she was fine. In hindsight, I should've pressed her on it."

Garrith sat there silently before a thought came to his mind.

"Hey, Lillian? How long were you alone in her hideout before she arrived?"

"Not long," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"That's interesting. I was filling in for a professor in the room next to her on the day of the incident. The only time she left was to use the restroom. I wasn't paying close attention, but she wasn't in there that long before I saw her going back," Garrith stated.