Magic, Dark Lords, and Other Lies From The Empire

Chapter 9

The sun was setting as I made it home. I closed the door to my house, taking off my shoes as I headed for my bedroom.

"Xara? Is that you sweetie?" I heard Mother call out.

"Yeah, it's me."

"You're home early," she said as she walked in from the kitchen. "I thought you and Kiuyk would be spending a few hours out in the city."

"I just..." I sighed. "I wasn't feeling great after the interview."

Mother's face became concerned. "Did it not go well? The interview?"

"I...maybe not as well as I had hoped, but probably about as well as I should have expected."

Her brow furrowed. "And what does that mean?"

"I just...can I go sleep for a bit? Please."

Mother clearly wanted to pester me further, but her face softened as she nodded. "Okay, dear. Would you like something to eat?"

"No. Thank you though."

I turned away and went upstairs. Entering my bedroom I hung my cloak on the hook by the door and sat on my bed.

'It may not be how I expected it to go, but I guess I'm a paladin now. Or at least, I will be once I complete the training.'

That's what I told myself, but I couldn't shake this strange tension in my chest.

'Maybe it's an after-effect of...of...'

I shivered as I recalled what nearly happened at the academy. I had known that prolonged contact between two people's auras could feel strange and sometimes uncomfortable, but Commander Laqbeka's aura had been so cold and reached so deep into my body. Even now I couldn't shake the feeling of ice seeping into my bones.

Worse still was the knowledge of what would have happened if I hadn't spoken up when I did.

'How is that even possible? To strip someone of their very aura. To cripple them like that...'

I slowly realized that this was the sticking point for me. That I had just been essentially threatened into becoming a paladin.

'If they didn't...would I have agreed?'

As soon as the thought appeared I shook my head. "What am I thinking? Of course, I would have."

It was true that I still had my doubts, but these ideas only popped up recently.

'It's because of that execution. Seeing that man- no that heretic die is messing with my head.'

I looked out the window. The last beams of sunlight were streaking across the city.

"This special training will be good for me. Get these weird ideas out of my head."

I reached for my sleep mask but decided against it.

"I'll let the sun wake me up in a few hours," I said as I lay down, resting my head on the well-worn pillow and closing my eyes.

~~~

After almost three restless hours I slowly climbed out of bed. The sun still wasn't up but I knew Mother would be making dinner soon, so I figured I should go help her. I felt a little better, although thinking back to the interview still filled me with conflicted feelings.

'Well, it's not like I was expecting a little nap to clear my doubts away,' I thought with a sigh. I  changed out of my uniform and into some more comfortable clothes. As I finished putting on a loose-fitting blouse, I caught the scent of something delicious coming from downstairs.