Alistair asked, “Where are you going?”
“To find Caelum and to indulge in my illicit affair.”
“Well, good luck,” she said, “especially now that Caprice Steiner is back.”
I froze for a heartbeat then looked down at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Alistair looked up at me. “You’re being naïve.”
I felt a flicker of irritation toward Alistair. “I’m being naïve? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, I do.” Alistair closed her plastic container. Unlike Siobhan and I, Alistair had finished eating the contents. “Haruka, you should take a good look at the holovids people uploaded.”
I hesitated before asking, “Why?”
“Because you’ll find the answer to the question you’ve been denying to yourself.”
“And what question would that be?”
Alistair stood up then stepped up to me until she filled most of my vision. “The question of whether or not Caprice Steiner holds a place in his heart.”
I didn’t know how to respond to her. At the very least, I had nothing remotely intelligent to say, so I chose not to say anything.
But now I had no idea what to do.
What if Alistair was right?
What if Caelum had lost a part of his heart to Caprice?
I knew nothing of what his relationship was with that girl. There was seven months of his life that were a complete mystery to me.
Alistair sighed in sympathy or was that empathy. “You should be careful of the Countess as well.”
I blinked. “The Countess?”
“Simone Alucard Raynar,” Alistair explained. “On condition of anonymity, my brother let slip that the Countess has expressed an interest in him.”
I stared at Alistair. Condition of anonymity? I shook my head inwardly. “What kind of interest?”
Alistair looked at me through narrowed eyes. “A very, very serious interest. And that girl is gorgeous and extremely determined. So whether you like it or not, you’ve got some serious competition to contend with.”
I took a half step back. “Then…then what should I do?”
Alistair glanced away for a moment. “Why not test Caelum’s love for you?”
“Huh?”
“Why not use Duncan as the perfect foil?”
Siobhan stood up in a rush. “No, that’s too evil.”
“Is it?” Alistair asked.
Siobhan countered, “Then let me just call it dangerous.”
Alistair regarded the two of us. “Let’s put it this way. Let’s assume Haruka was just lost in the moment. I mean, she’s a girl with deep feelings for Caelum Desanto. It’s understandable that in such a situation she would be swept away by the strength of her emotions. I have to admit, Caelum isn’t hard on the eyes. Quite the opposite. And he looks quite well built, though he’s not as tall as some of the other guys.” She shrugged. “It’s not something I mind.”
I blinked hard, feeling jealousy pierce my chest. “What—what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that quite a few girls, even some in our class, have voiced an interest in him.”
“You’re lying,” I blurted out.
Alistair shook her head, but it was Siobhan that replied in a disgusted tone. “No, she’s not. I’ve heard girls talk about him in the toilets. I was really surprised. Actually, I was damn well shocked. I mean, he’s only been here a week and a bit and he’s already caught the eye of more than a few girls in our year.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s not possible.”
Siobhan was scratching her left cheek. “Nope, it’s definitely true. I think it’s because Familiars are like a forbidden fruit to us Aventis girls, especially the pureblooded girls.”
I gasped, “Huh?”
Alistair nodded with a faint, playful smile on her lips. “What she’s saying, is that while we Aventis look down upon Familiars, we can’t help the rush that comes from conquering them. Or maybe it’s something more—something physiological.”
“Ah…I’m not following you.”
Alistair gave me pensive yet still annoyingly playful look. “Then let me ask you this. Are you more attracted to Caelum now or before he became a Familiar?”
“Now, definitely now. Oops.” I slapped both hands over my mouth.
What the Hell did I just say?
Alistair giggled. “You see. It’s documented that Regulars undergo changes when they become Aventis. Improvements which make us stand out from the Regulars, and I’m not talking about our physical abilities. I’m talking about our appearances and the like.”
I lowered my hands.
Yes, I’d read that too in more than a handful of teenage magazines. In fact, given the option Regular guys almost always preferred Aventis girls to Regular girls.
Alistair carried on. “So our changes give us a leg up on the competition. Stealing a Regular boy from his Regular girlfriend is a piece of cake. Likewise for an Aventis guy. Regulars just can’t resist us.”
I nodded weakly. It didn’t sound nice, but she was right. Even walking down the street, I drew the eye of every Regular guy around me. So too did Alistair and Siobhan when the three of us went shopping.
Siobhan sidled a little closer. “You’re just quoting that magazine you showed me.”
Alistair shrugged and pulled out her palm-slate from a blazer inside pocket. She thumbed the screen a few times then showed me the article displayed on the slate.
“According to this,” she said, “Aventis girls admitted to feeling something attract them to a Familiar male that they didn’t normally feel when around a Regular or Aventis male. And it’s not just girls. Aventis guys see Familiar girls as a guilty pleasure, but also can’t deny that they’re attracted to them for reasons they just can’t explain.”
I read the article quickly.
It couldn’t be true. Were my feelings toward Caelum being amplified or coerced simply because he was a Familiar? Was there really something about him that would attract girls like bees to honey? Or was that bears to honey?
Alistair pocketed her palm-slate before I could finish reading the article. “In short, what you felt on the rooftop with Caelum was simply some sort of unquantifiable reaction the Symbiote induced in you because of your proximity to a Familiar.”
I noticed the light begin to shine on Siobhan’s eyes.
“I get it now,” Siobhan said. “Haruka fell victim to Desanto’s pheromones or something. Something that makes the Symbiote inside her trigger a strong attraction to him.”
Alistair nodded sagely. “Not just Haruka. Most probably other girls in our class as well. But they’re doing a good job hiding it, though I’ve noticed the looks he gets between classes.” She faced me fully. “So before you go and dump Duncan, maybe you should test out the waters a little better.”
I shook my head weakly. “That can’t be. That can’t be right. I know what I felt and it was real.”
“Of course it was, you felt your body’s reaction to him being a Familiar. It was real, but only when you’re around him or near him. It’s all a proximity thing.”
“No, that’s not true,” I denied. “What I felt is the love I’ve held for him for many years. I love Caelum. Maybe my attraction to him was enhanced by being close to him, but it had nothing to do with him being a Familiar.”
Alistair gently raised her hands and shrugged in defeat. “Well, I tried getting you to see the light but I’ve failed. Nonetheless, you really should think twice about dumping Duncan.”
“I can’t dump him if we’re not going out.”
“True, but if you cut him high and dry, you might regret it later. This place can be pretty harsh on girls that do that.”
I felt a pang of fear stab my heart. “You mean, I’m stuck? I can’t say no to him or the student body will turn against me?”
“I’m saying that Duncan has a lot of girls wishing they were in your place. And he’s a star on the basketball te
am so there’s prestige with dating a star athlete. Melanie Cardwell, the girls’ swim team ace of aces, has had her eyes on him for a while—long before you showed up. Needless to say, she does not like you.”
I waved my hands between us. “But I didn’t pursue Duncan. He pursued me.”
“That makes no difference to a girl like her because he really likes you, and now you’re going to break his heart.”
I grimaced, feeling trapped on all sides. Running my fingers through my hair I asked, “Then what the Hell am I supposed to do?”
Siobhan sighed as she nodded. “That’s a really good question….”
“Like I said,” Alistair pressed on, “you should test out your feelings for Duncan. And you should test out Caelum’s feelings for you. Find out just how serious he is about you.”
I swallowed and took a deep breath. “And what if it’s true love between us?”
Alistair smiled sweetly and gave me a thumbs up. “Then I’ll back you up all the way.”
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Siobhan gave Alistair a narrow look. “Why would you do that?”
Alistair faced Siobhan and held up a finger. “Because I have no love for Simone Alucard who’s after Caelum, and who’s simply trying to hitch a ride to glory on my brother’s coat tails.” She clenched her right hand into a fist and pumped it into the air. “For that reason, I’ll gladly help Haruka on the road to true love.”
I stared at Alistair for a long while.
I couldn’t help sounding sour.
“Thanks, you’re a true friend.”
#
(Caprice)
I sat across Caelum at a table in the cafeteria.
He was staring at me with a funny look on his face. The fork he held had stopped halfway to his lips.
“She reads…erotic…fiction…?”
I gave him a shallow nod. I had just finished eating through a half dozen bagels. I didn’t normally eat such food, but today I had a craving for them. I blamed it on my recovery and on the Symbiote inside my body. Unlike Caelum, I didn’t suffer from a lack of appetite when the Symbiote briefly took residence within me. However, I was left craving food I wouldn’t usually consume. Many months ago, he told me he envied that about me.
I dabbed my lips clean with a paper napkin. “Quite erotic. I had trouble reading it at first.”
“At first….”
“Yes. Then it grew on me.”
“I see…it grew on you….”
I gave him a flat look. “Once you ignore the erotic content, you can immerse yourself in the story itself.”
He gave me a lopsided frown. “But isn’t that beside the point?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, don’t you think the point of reading erotic fiction is because it’s erotic?” His frown flipped to the other side of this face. “It’s like buying a porn magazine for the sake of the articles rather than the naked girls.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Uh…really?”
I nodded firmly but faintly. “But it’s not all that interesting.”
“Ah—” He gaped then slowly closed his mouth for a moment. “Didn’t you say it grew on you.”
“I meant the story grew on me. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
Caelum regarded me quietly for a moment. “So how many did you read?”
“Three of them. The Countess recommended one where the protagonist is the student council president of an elite school.”
“Oh really….”
“Yes, and she finds herself involved in various, sexual encounters.”
“Is that so? Give me an example.”
“Well, there’s one scene where she and a boy from the student council engage in activities while inside a storeroom. They make a mess of the place.”
Caelum dropped his utensils. “Wh—what did you say?”
My palm-slate chimed a few times.
I read the message that had arrived..
Caelum glanced at my palm-slate, his utensils and lunch forgotten. “A message?”
“Yes, I’ve been summoned to the Student Council President’s office.”
“I see. Well, you’d better go. Don’t keep him waiting.”
“Caelum—”
“Go Caprice.” He gave me a firm smile. “Don’t waste time. I’ll be waiting for you here or I’ll see you back in class.”
I didn’t feel like leaving him. I considered ignoring the summons, but Caelum regarded me with a steady look.
“Caprice, go for the both of us.”
He went back to eating his lunch, some sort of pasta with an overabundance of shredded cheese.
For a few moments I watched him eat his meal with glee. He also had a window seat so he could observe the girls in the Track-and-Field club run around the sporting track. I sighed inwardly as I watched him engrossed in the vision of the girls wearing their skintight shorts and tank tops.
I spared a look around the cafeteria. To my chagrin, he wasn’t the only one lecherously admiring the girls from a distance.
Once more I sighed inwardly, then left him to enjoy his lunch meal and the view.
He hadn’t fooled me though.
I could sense his bitterness at having been left out of the summons. He might have agreed to reluctantly help the Student Council, but I knew that he was also glad to have a reason to use his Fragment and to put months of training into effect.
It was a reason to inflict trouble on Crimson Crescent.
But now his Fragment had been taken from him by the Lanfears who’d bestowed it on him.
How could he not feel bitter and betrayed?
At the exit to the cafeteria I glanced over my shoulder at him.
Caelum was looking down at the pasta on his plate with a despondent look on his face.
A dull ache spread across my chest. I turned away and hurriedly exited the cafeteria.
I didn’t want to see him this way. It reminded me of the first days of his training, where he struggled with the simplest and easiest of moves; where he struggled for even a few minutes on the exercise equipment.
But he’d persevered. He’d pushed on, and little by little those months of training had paid off. I’d seen firsthand how strong a Familiar he was, and I’d witnessed him manifesting both shield-blades. His predecessor had taken a half year to achieve that. Caelum had done it in three months.
I arrived at the Student Council room feeling bitter and angry as well.
I was glad the door opened before I knocked on it.
I might have punched a jagged hole in it.
I managed a deep breath before entering the room.
I wasn’t the first to arrive, but most probably the last.
Maya Khayman stood beside Rina Sayen. To the right of them and beside a wall of shelves stood the last person I ever expected to see in the room.
Constance Peligree.
I almost summoned my Valkyrie Armor on the spot, but a sharp cry from Simone Alucard held me back at the last heartbeat.
I couldn’t help throwing Simone a hard, disbelieving look. “What the Hell is this?”
“It’s a compromise,” Severin Kell responded indifferently while cutting off Simone.
Simone was left open mouthed. I didn’t miss the glare she gave Severin, and realized all was not well between them. It was clear to see that Simone resented Severin. That resentment had been absent last week.
Saturday’s debacle must have driven a wedge between them.
There was one more person in the room.
The golden haired, buxom beauty, Prissila Ventiss Raynar. She was dressed in the white uniform of a senior like Severin. Her skirt looked a little shorter than regulation wise, and her school blouse was stretched around her chest much like Simone’s. Both girls wore designer label high heels on their feet.
In terms of looks, I noticed how evenly matched the two girls were.
I snorted inwardly and crossed my arms, unable to
relax in the presence of the person who’d tried to kill me only four days ago.
I swallowed down some of my apprehension, and asked, “Why is she here?”
Severin replied in a cold manner, “As I stated, it’s a compromise between the Raynar, Lanfear, Sora and Avenir Prides.”
Maya Khayman placed a hand on her hip. “Care to explain?”
Severin swept his gaze over us all and it ended upon Simone. “The Student Council’s actions against Crimson Crescent are now under the supervision of Special Interventions.”
Maya and Rina looked confused.
Constance bit her lower lip with an expression that said she was here under duress.
Prissila Ventiss had a veiled look of unhappiness, while Simone Alucard grimaced ever so faintly.
As for Severin Kell, his appearance betrayed nothing.
He looked like an unflappable butler.
As for me, I succeeded in slipping into my disaffected persona, but I had a little trouble holding onto it.
Severin cleared his throat subtly and carried on.
“The actions of the Student Council did not go unnoticed, which is entirely understandable. In addition, the events at the amusement park on Saturday highlighted a degree of miscommunication and lack of co-operation between various parties that resulted in a very public demonstration of what Familiars are capable of.”
He gave Constance and I meaningful looks.
“In response, the Primatriarchs of the involved Prides convened and delegated responsibility for our actions to the Special Interventions Division. In effect, we are under their control. Either we accept this turn of events or the Student Council will be temporarily suspended and lose its authority here at Galatea.”
Maya sounded shocked. “You’re not serious?”
“I am completely serious. At the very least, the Student Council would be forbidden from any involvement in the protection of the academy from Crimson Crescent. If we want a part to play, we do as the Powers-that-be decree, or we leave the matter to them entirely.”
Maya’s nod was barely noticeable. “Maybe it’s better that way. Maybe we shouldn’t get involved.”
Severin blinked and fixed a narrow look upon her. “Explain what you mean.”
Maya snorted softly. “Do I have to? Look at us. We’ve never worked together. We’re not trained to fight the Familiars of Crimson Crescent—and don’t you dare tell me that Crescent doesn’t have experienced Familiars in its ranks. In short, we’d make piss poor opponents to them. More than likely we’d all be killed.”
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