Loyal Riptide

Chapter 4

       Time seemed to have been dragging on for eternity with every second acting like a full minute. At least that is what it felt like to Asa who was waiting outside the academy for her friends to finish their last day of classes. Observing her trident and its many intricate engravings she recollected herself of the reasons she could have been rewarded with this gift. And reasons why she doesn't deserve it. 

After her mother left her in her bedroom alone Asa laid on her four poster bed and came up with every possible way that day could have ended up with one, or if not, all of them becoming sea form along the waves. But the two things that made her confused was why princess Sirene so terrified of the kingdom which she grew up in and wanted them to take her away, but she isn't Asa's problem as of now. The next thing was what this Heart of The Sea her mother told her about briefly.

Her mother simply told her that The Heart of The Sea was the reason they even made it home, but she never explained it further and Asa didn't feel like prying. Her mother didn't look or sound mad but she knew fully that she was.

A scuffle on the other side of the marble pillar made Asa jump, refocusing on where she actually was in that moment. The source of the noise peeled themselves off the pillar to face her. Her eyes widened as she took in the deep blue hair and the owner that bumped into her during the graduation ceremony. The boy's unkempt deep blue hair drooped over his left eye and she wondered how he could possibly see through those steel grey eyes of his? He wore brown leather boots a matching pair of gloves on his hands. Why was he wearing gloves in the dead of the summer season? Dark pants and and shirt showed off the silver flecks in his eyes.

"Sorry." He muttered, speaking down to her being almost a head shorter than she was. Asa scoffed "why aren't you in class?" The boy looked into the academy and then said "we learn nothing on the last day, so I saw no point." Asa never knew what an actual classroom felt like as she never attended in her miserable life. The boy's eyes stared at her, the silver flecks sparkling in the after noon sun, "why aren't you in class?" he asked, redirecting her question. 

She folded her arms over her chest and glared back. So he didn't know about her or who her mother was. This was her chance. Her chance in order for someone to treat her like some normal person without having to act nice around them because of her title. Kaiyu and the twins were generally nice to her, but it took some time for them to get over the fact that she was to rule over them one day. 

"The same reason as you." she lied, sticking her nose to the sky. The final bell rang and students immediately started to file out of the academy. The pair stepped out of the way letting the stream of students file out of the academy ending their final day of classes. Kaiyu lumbered out of the double doors as if he hasn't been asleep the night before and eventually clued in on their location next to the pillars. You could see the bags hanging from under his eyes from miles.

"Who's this?" Kaiyu slurred when he came up to both the boy and Asa. They looked each other in the eyes and shrugged, "we never really gave our names." Asa replied honestly. Kaiyu's eyes seemed to be focusing way too hard than needed, he is so drained. "Whatever," he began turning around and beginning to walk towards the tunnels. Asa and the boy followed suit. "You told me this morning that you needed help figuring out what this 'Heart of The Sea' was." 

They trailed through the tunnels with Kaiyu leading the pack, the boy seemed more interested with watching the gardeners in the cove tending to the coral than this conversation. "Well, I told the twins and they thought it would be a good idea if we all searched the public library for stuff on it." He continued, leading them up some stairs that went up to the market sector. 

In the day time the market square transforms into a buzzing labyrinth of shoppers paying only attention to what the best deals are and the sellers attending to the many customers that walk up to their stalls daily. The Aenon public library was situated inside the mountain that the market sector rested on, with its ancient stone front jutting from the hill side and onto the square. The group made their way through the square by pushing pass the many people with very few realizing the princess was in their presence and made a clear path for them. Kaiyu stomped up the few steps leading up the library and pushed open heavy oak door.