Book 1- The Ark of Time

Chapter 8

"His... mother was the same as ours... but..." Cyra relaxed her hands, the book coming down enough for her to see them.
Intrigued, Horatia crossed her legs, "What about his father?"

"His father is of another race, from a different kingdom." The girl did not know how to answer to that, "Our mother gave her soul to him for the sake of 'science', now, she rots away in prison." Venom blanketed his words, "And she deserves it."
The girl looked up, "And how does that have to do with what's happening?"
She sighed, hesitant. They were sharing information to a complete stranger, yet there was this strange feeling of trust in her. "When the tornado destroyed the mansion, it must have also destroyed the confinement gem that has kept Ruleum's powers at bay for all these years."

In the dead of night, the chill settled in around them. The shivers going down Horatia's spine didn't help her process the information she was told, "I understand, but why?"
"What do you mean why?" Cyra asked, "How is that the first question you're asking?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "It just crossed my mind."
The blonde furrowed her brows, "He... is a danger to himself and others, that's why." Cyra had a conflicted look on her face, "We don't want that to happen."

Horatia smiled, "You should give him a chance, you never know whether he'll be able to handle it or not."
The blonde sat down next to the girl, "He has hurt people before, when he was young."
Her smile faded, "How long ago?"

"You're right." The man stood up, walking up to the unconscious boy, "It's been about five or six years. He does deserve another chance, but... We don't know what to do if something happens."
"You can cross that bridge when you get to it." Horatia jumped off the bed, a smile on her face as she walked to the exit, "Well, It's getting late. I should go to bed; I have school tomorrow." The door closed behind her, and the noise following it was restrained.

The girl did not allow herself to sleep, instead, she watched the little bird sleep through the night, waking herself up whenever her eyes closed by themselves. As dawn neared, Horatia opened the door, looking around to check if anyone was awake. When the silence and emptiness of the hallways confirmed it, she picked Azar up and slowly began to walk out of the house. "Where are you going?" Brandon watched, almost invisible in the shadows of the house apart from his glowing, orange eyes.
Horatia turned her head around in alarm, "Did I wake you?"
"I was already awake..." His gazed turned to Azar who slept peacefully in her arms, "Where are you going?"
"I need to go back home before my father wakes up and notices that I'm not there. I also need to get ready for school."
Brandon shook his head, "No need, your Principal has excused you from school for the week, apparently you have done very well on your tests, so he doesn't have to work too much about your grades."

The girl looked down at Azar, "I still need to get there before my father wakes up."
He stepped out of the shadows, "Okay, but come back soon after. I was talking to Helios last night and he agreed to give Ruleum another chance before we go through with extracting his magic. The process would have put him through a lot of pain anyway, but... you'll need to be there."
"Helios agreed?"
"Yes, he wants to see if your... philosophies would be applicable in real life."
"I'm glad then!" Turning around to leave, she waved, "I'll be back in about 5 min." Brandon froze behind her and she began to run, no matter what, she had to come back and be there for when her friend woke.

Approaching her house, Horatia started time again, unlocking the door with a spare key and entering quietly. She walked into her room and ripped a page out of one of her schoolbooks, scribbling some writing onto it, "Sorry! Something important came up at school, so I had to leave... I will be fine, so don't worry about me! My tests are coming up, and I just need some space to study." Without another thought, Horatia ran out the door and stopped time again, running back to the house as fast as she could. When she got back, she started time again, panting as she grasped Azar in her arms.
The noble smiled, "Welcome back." Before retreating inside.
Horatia snuck back in, making sure she wasn't making any noise as she went back into her room, but when she went to place Azar down, he began to shift in his sleep. Placing him down in the bed, she opened the door between the two rooms to see Brandon and Cyra crowded around Ruleum who had begun to twitch and jerk again as he awoke. The woman placed her hands above his eyes. The movements calmed down, returning him to his peaceful sleep.
"This will keep him asleep until tomorrow morning. We'll have to take him out as soon as the sun rises." Cyra spoke, worry engulfing her tone.