A Game of Cards

Chapter IX: Rodina Paget

Unfortunately, I had a knack for having horrible ideas.

Which was how I was now standing in front of the Opaque Tower, drenched in sweat from the heat and running all the way here, only to find the entrance blocked by two animated metal armor-soldiers, unwilling to let me through.

"No permission, no entrance," The one on the left barked, his metallic voice echoing through his armor.

I frowned, never having heard this rule. Then again, little no students have entered this tower before. The Opaque Library was an ancient collection of books on long-lost topics, ranging from forbidden potions to never-told tales. The tower was mainly constructed for the teachers to find sources on their research, but now I was here finding information to my own. After all, they all said that if you wanted to find out about a topic where there was no hint of elsewhere, the Opaque Library was the place to go. The only obstacle standing in between me and the first-ranked Starlight Project now was the two metal soldiers barring the entrance in front of me.

"I actually have a permission slip. I just, um, lost it while running here." I cringed at my own lie, the fake jovial tone sounding as high pitched as a mouse. It was clear that the axe-wielding guards in front of me did not buy my lie, because they shuffled closer to the entrance, the dark eye slits turning even darker in what would have been a glower should their eyes have been visible.

"No permission, no entrance," The guard on the right repeated, his rumbling voice sounding even louder than his partner's.

I took a step forwards. Horrible mistake. In a flash, both their axes which had been blocking the entrance moments before, pointed at my neck instead. Just before they could snap it, however, a clear, cold voice sounded next to me. It was eerily calm and authoritative, but now, it sounded more annoyed than anything.

"Yield your weapons, she's with me."

The guards turned, and so did I, towards the Spadian general Onyx Ying, holding out a piece of paper in her hands, filled with the headmaster's elegant cursive, which I only recognized for all the hand-written complaints Headmaster Taneliorence gave my parents. The general herself did not look incredibly intimidating. General Onyx had all the typical Spadian features, raven hair, ebony eyes, and skin pale as white sand. She was very petite and had quite a short figure, perhaps only reaching my eyebrows, yet her gaze was so icy and calculating, that she had a way to make people flinch under her dark glare, even if you forget her title as the commanding general of Spades, and all her rumored terrible deeds.

Neither the glare nor the title seemed to intimidate the metal soldiers in the slightest. "No permission, no entrance."

The general did not seem shaken, calmly handing out the pale parchment in her hand. The guard took one look at it and stepped to the side. She stepped inside the tower, and then paused to look back at me, a sharp eyebrow cocked.

"Are you coming?"

I took a moment to process that she was talking to me and scampered after her with a hurried nod, glancing nervously at the armor guards, who did not budge, returning to their statue forms.

"General Onyx! General! Wait up!" I huffed, catching up to her, murmuring. "How come Headmaster wrote you a permission slip and denied one for me?"

The general looked mildly amused, her lips twisting into what may have been a smile for her apathetic features. "My brother is quite talented at mimicking people's handwritings," She was definitely smirking now, "Quite convenient when we need quick permission to do something."

I gaped at her, then laughed at her boldness. I could learn a thing or two about twisting the rules from this girl.

"Well, anyhow, thanks a lot for helping me."