Cinders & Gold (Celeste Academy Fanfic👑)

Cinders & Gold ◇ Preparations

♠chapter seventeen♠
PREPARATIONS

•••

It only took the two rankers a few hours to go back to the Academy. Corvan, using his title as the Continental heir, had called in a few favours and a sonar built out of the elements was prepared. On the journey back, Valeriana had been uncertain about the infiltration in the Academy and asked the first ranker what the next step was.

"I'll inform Lord Charles and Lord Rowe and we'll plan," said Corvan. "It has to be discreet so that the infiltrator doesn't catch on to us."

"What about the rest?" Val asked. "Should we tell them?"

A frown made its way on Corvan's face. "We'll inform them once we have a concrete plan on how to lure out the Rover."

The fifth ranker rolled her eyes at Corvan's vagueness but decided not to push it. He was part of the executive when it came to the Twelve. If he talked of a plan with Charles and Rowe, she didn't doubt that the plan wouldn't be there.

Once they arrived at the Academy, the two parted ways. It was already dark and the night breeze blew in a soothing way. Due to the events of that day, Val was exhausted. She yawned as she made her way back to the Twelve's Residences. Her muscles and joints felt peculiarly strained and she craved a shower and a long nap. Before she made her way up the stairs towards her room, Val passed by Charles who had his nose dug into a book.

"Goodnight Charles," she said.

The fourth ranker looked up and frowned at her. "Won't you be staying for dinner? Khloe's almost done preparing."

At his words, Val's belly grumbled and she held her tummy in a bid to try and silence the sound. Her mind had been so occupied for most of the day that she almost forgot she hadn't eaten.

"Oh, right," Val said. "I'll be down in a moment. I just need to check on a few things."

"Do hurry up," Charles said as he glanced at his book. "We've got matters to discuss about tomorrow."

The honey-golden blonde was about to ask what was happening tomorrow but Charles had already walked away. Valeriana trudged up the stairs to her floor. She opened the door to her chambers, and immediately, her eyes caught sight of two gloves lying on the floor. A scarlet one with fiery orange markings and a purple with patterned with neon green. Not willing to think about what happened earlier, the honey golden blonde quickly picked the two gloves and crossed her room to place them in a drawer.

"Why was it such a big deal, anyway?" she muttered under her breath after the two fabrics were out of sight.

The fifth ranker jumped into the bathroom for a quick shower before throwing herself on her enormous bed, wanting to rest a while before she headed downstairs for dinner. Slightly refreshed, sleep was about to take over, but just then, a knock sounded on her door, jolting her up.

"Valeriana! Come on down, it's dinner time." Elfre's voice sounded.

"Coming!" Val punctuated with a heavy sigh. She'd have to postpone her sleep for after dinner. The girl dragged her feet out of her room, down the stairs and towards the dining table. She sat down on her chair as her eyes dragged around the table. Almost everybody was present, save for the twins.

She glanced at Corvan who had just arrived from outside, a deep frown etched on his face. They shared a glance before looking away at the same time.

As Grandma Khloe set the last dish, Charles stood importantly next to Val as he scanned the writings on his notebook. The girl craned her neck a bit as a wave of curiosity washed over her, in a bid to see what Charles' notebook entailed. She saw numerous scrawlings that were no doubt the fourth ranker's handwriting. Her eyes squinted as she tried to read what was written. She gave up the effort when she couldn't.