Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Seventy-One ۞ The Aftermath

The Twelve finally felt peace after the duels were over. A few hours after the cleaning up was done for the last day, preparations for their last performance was underway. The place they chose to perform in was the same; the arena. After all, the band presentation was supposed to bridge together the parts of their relationships that was broken by the fight. No doubt about it.

As per Keelan's promise to Valeriana, he set up a Gathering in her stead. They were still some things that they had to talk about—urgent matters that they needed discussing. Valeriana found that although these congregations felt tedious to sit through, they were an important part of keeping everyone else informed with regards to certain businesses. If meetings weren't worthwhile, the term wouldn't have been coined.

Valeriana had freshened up after the fight and changed into more comfortable clothes before climbing down from her room when the decided time arrived. Earlier, she had received proper medical attention. Any wound she had was closed and she did not sustain major injuries in exception for bruises. With the way she was, she would have no trouble with performing at all.

Femeron was still in a deep sleep and Keelan had initially given her back. She could not bear to leave the sleeping dragon, so she carried her and came down.

Most of the Twelve were already in attendance, except a few faces were missing—the twins and Corvan still had not come.

The fifth-ranker was somewhat disappointed as she took her seat. Charles looked between everyone expectantly while Tamara was checking her nails. Everyone else was silent, except for the cluttering Keelan made while he ate.

Grandma Khloe had initially prepared drinks and snacks beforehand. Keelan busied himself snacking on these. Grapes, sandwiches, apples, and a couple of exotic sweets. Valeriana chose to grab a cup of apple cider and set it before her.

"Alright, so, what did we get here for?" Aneeka asked as she leaned back.

"Well, I had a few matters to tell you guys and I thought it was a good chance considering we have to practice right after," Valeriana spoke. As usual, she had her hair up in her trademark ponytail as she looked between her comrades. She caressed Femeron's scaly skin as she cradled her on her lap.

"How'd it go?" asked Tamara, smirking knowingly at Valeriana. "Not to mention that little thing on your lap."

She rolled her eyes at the looks she was getting from the third-ranker and decided to cut to the chase. "We were confronted with matters that uh . . . was similar to the one we had in Preluresia."

Her words were vague and cryptic, but the Twelve got what she wanted to say immediately. Looks of suspicion flashed from their eyes and they exchanged glances with one another.

"Then, let's wait for Corvan before we start," Rowe said. "I'm sure he'd want to be a part of the discussion."

Valeriana nodded and paused. Her fingers fiddled with one another as they waited. She suddenly felt nervous and excited in seeing Corvan. With the turn of events from the duel, the first-ranker had suffered drastic changes in his appearance. No one from the Twelve could deny the fact that they very much looked forward to seeing the young lord, especially with his recent haircut.

The minutes ticked by before the main door opened and closed. Valeriana had taken it upon herself to snack on a few grapes and her apple cider. Corvan stepped in sight and eyes were immediately drawn to his direction. Since she had been preoccupied with drinking, the moment she saw him, she almost choked.

Needless to say, the entire room dropped into utter silence. There had been mild chatters beforehand, but once the young lord made his appearance, the dropping of a pin could be heard.