And thus, the five days went by. Nothing stayed on my mind more than the upcoming meeting, making the rest seem irrelevant in comparison.
I ended up so stressed that I was incapable of sleeping. I kept pondering in my head what could possibly happen, or what she'd ask of me. I kept turning in my own bed, unable to find any certainty in any of my thoughts.
The sun eventually started rising and despair settled in. I was fully unprepared, likely about to lose in more ways than one. And yet, my mind knew what I had to do, even if my body fought back.
I got up to take a quick bath, hoping to cool down before the storm. Though soaking in the water helped relax me somewhat, it only turned an oppressive situation into an overbearing one.
Resigning to the time, I got out, dressed up, and went downstairs. The lobby was empty, creating a foreboding atmosphere that served to only reinforce my already strong negativity. As I expected, the door was still locked, so I waited. As patient and controlled as I could be, I waited.
Mark eventually arrived. I noticed, somehow for the first time, that he came directly from the boys' dormitory. He noticed me, waved, and promptly went directly to the toilet. Once done, he came over to me yawning.
"Good morning Lilia.You're up awfully early."
"Yeah, I...have something to do as soon as possible."
He seemed curious and started staring at me.
"...Say, are you okay?"
"Huh?" I merely replied out of surprise.
"You seem tense and shaky, and...your pupils look weird."
"My pupils? W-What's wrong with them?"
"Well, they're kind of...animalistic. It's a thin vertical line instead of the typical round pupil. They kind of scare me somehow."
Maybe my stress somehow brought out latent body reactions that normally wouldn't apply. My wings felt reckless as well, bow that I had time to think about and feel them. I am a dragon, after all, and what he mentioned sounded like the typical depiction of a reptilian eye, together with the wings' restlessness. It was more surprising that my eyesight itself didn't seem affected, however.
"Truth be told, I'm quite stressed. I'm not ready for what I have to do."
"Can't you put it off to another time?"
"I cannot."
He went back to staring at me, this time more suspicious than anything else.
"...Say, Lilia. You're a yokai right?"
"Uh, yes," I managed to reply without stumbling too hard on my words.
"Are you sure you're still a young kid like the others?"
I suddenly felt...almost attacked. I was already very scared of my identity being revealed overall, but having someone see through me like that made this fear spring up and overwhelm me.
"I'm asking because you really act in a very mature way. You do what you have to do, and you hold onto your responsibilities the best you can instead of fleeing them. Most ten years-old kids don't do that."
I was relieved that what gave me away was my actions, but I now had to find an excuse. Something, in some way, to get out of this predicament. Thankfully, as my mind went back to the early days in this world, I found a solution.
"W-well, back when I was a slave I was the strongest, so I had to do what I could to protect the others. Maybe it's from that?"
"That sounds possible. I won't ask more to not bring back bad memories, but at least I can say this much. Whatever you have to do, do your best."
YOU ARE READING
Lilia's Tale: Freyja's Endeavor
FantasyPart 2 of Lilia's Tale. Now arrived at the academy, and despite the very rough first week of handling the other students, school is about to start. However, there is more for her to worry about. A powerful demon has set his sights on her, and her un...