"Why do you want to find a gateway and awaken?" Noble waited patiently for the young man's answer.
Beric touched his fingers to his chest. "I want to make my clan proud. I have to bring honor to my family."
'Some things never change.' Noble resisted the urge to shake her head. Her goal was not to judge motives, but to motivate.
"Hold onto that goal. Repeat it. Don't give up. Keep fighting. Come home and bring honor to your clan." The professor offered the legacy courage, but he did not seem to need it.
Holding his head up, he entered the room and closed the door behind him.
Noble completed two more assignments from her roll.
'Who's next?' Noble clicked a few keys on her datapad.
"Gisel."
The girl with the very long hair, dark hair stepped forward. Her green eyes, which were often vibrant and playful, were filled with a very different emotion.
Fear.
"Here," she squeaked, her voice barely audible.
Noble waited patiently as the girl made her way forward. "Are you ready?"
"No."
'I don't blame her.'
"Do you need a moment?" The professor offered.
Gisel blinked, realizing all eyes were on her. "I-I meant no, I don't want to wait any longer. Let's go."
She shuffled forward, trying to seem confident by holding her head high. Noble used her telekinesis to bolster the girl's faltering steps.
They made it to the correct door.
Gisel placed her hand on the doorframe, her knees still very weak.
"Could you come inside with me?" she whispered.
Noble could feel the girl's terror. If she said no, Gisel might fall asleep there on the floor and not in the pod.
"Of course." The professor ushered the young lady into the room and shut the door behind them.
Spotting the pod, Gisel lost any semblance of composure. Tears streamed down her face. She fell into Noble's arms. "I-I can't!"
The professor held her for a moment, shushing her softly.
"You already conquered a Nightmare. You are a warrior."
"No, I'm a fraud. I barely escaped with my life by begging to be spared. I can't go into another trial. Please, help me!"
The aching in Noble's heart intensified.
This situation or one like it was the one she had been dreading the most. Many students over the years had pleaded with her at this very moment, but this time was different.
This time, she could actually help them. With her sainthood came the ability to whisk people between Realms.
However, Noble was not telling anyone that she was a Saint. Taking a desperate Sleeper back to the Dream Realm to awaken would not only circumvent the governmental process, but it would blow her cover.
While Noble wasn't very worried about the first issue—Legacy Clans bent the rules to do favors all the time, she was very concerned with that second point.
Could she really give up what she had worked for in order to answer Gisel's pitiful plea?
As the girl sobbed against her, Noble felt her resolve weaken with each passing second.
"Gisel, I want to help…" she began tentatively.
"I know you can't." The girl shook her head.
'She's right, but not for the reasons she thinks.'
"I'm sorry." Noble lifted the hot tear falling from her eye and flung it away before Gisel could see.
"It is not your fault." The green-eyed girl pulled away. "It's the burden of my birth. Legacies don't get the luxury of opting out."
'She's a Legacy?' Noble felt a new wave of pity for the young woman. Gisel did not at all fit the expected mold of the warriors who had grown up training since they could hold a weapon. The path the girl desired and the one that had been chosen for her were so vastly different that there was no overlap.
"I'm still sorry." Noble wanted to add that if there was anything she could do, she would, but that would have been a lie. Her insides churned.
Wiping her eyes, Gisel forced a smile. "You look like you're the one entering a trial."
"I feel like I am." Noble's heart was racing.
The fear and anxiety around her would have overwhelmed her weeks ago, but even now, it was oppressive. When she added her own guilt to the mix, her emotions felt like they might spiral out of control.
"Breathe…."
Through sheer force of will, Noble quieted the tumultuous souls in the building, including her own. This was no time to panic. It was time to focus.
Following the professor's command, Gisel took a deep breath. Noble did as well.
"I am ready now." The young woman sounded more confident than she felt.
"Good." Noble nodded, smoothing her skirt as she gathered her thoughts. "Tell me. Why do you want to find a gateway and awaken?"
"I want to make my family proud. I don't want to disappoint them, not again." Gisel's raw honesty nearly sent the professor over the edge again.
'If I knocked her out, then she wouldn't know who transported her to the Dream Realm.'
Noble stopped short. Rendering Gisel unconscious now would immediately send her soul to a location in the Dream Realm. And even if she could have brought Gisel somehow to a gateway without the trial, would that have made her family proud?
'I hate this.'
The professor forced a smile. "Wanting to be with family is a wonderful goal. Hold onto that hope. Repeat it. Don't give up. Keep fighting. Come home and make your family proud."
Gisel nodded slowly. She touched the pod, and it opened to accept her.
The young lady froze. As fear began to take hold again, her knees started to buckle. She grabbed the side of the pod.
"C-can you help me in?… Please?" Gisel added when the professor was not quick enough.
Silently, Noble lifted the girl into place, careful to place her long, flowing hair to one side.
"You can close the lid when you are ready."
"Thank you, Professor." Gisel paused. "If I don't make it out..."
"Don't say that! You can't say that!" Noble caught herself. "Think about your goal. Don't lose focus."
"But…"
Noble held up her hands.
"Don't give up!"
"…Alright, Professor."
"Goodbye, Gisel, and good luck."
Noble hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it. She sent comfort and courage to the young woman, but it seemed that she had already fallen asleep because there was no response.
"Are you alright?" Tamar pulled Noble from her thoughts.
"Yes, Lady Tamar. I am fine." Noble's polite smile was instantly back in place.
The professor continued to run down her list, moving more quickly than she had before. The longer she waited, the more tired her students would become. So Noble deftly and carefully assigned the young people to their rooms.
Each one was a trial of its own, and Noble felt the gravity of the evening wearing on her. She might not have been growing physically fatigued, but her mind was growing weary.
Finally, only three of her charges remained. She had saved them for last on purpose, but now, looking at their faces, Noble almost wished she hadn't.
"Tamar, Fleur, and Ray. It's time. But first…"