"So Mihel…explain what happened at the bakery."
Upon hearing this question Riche turned his head quickly with a look of curiosity on his face. Mihel still kept silent, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of everyone, but was immediately nudged in the side by Vinelyn to speak.
"Uh…It-it was just that my head started to spin and I lost my hearing for a second." Mihel managed in a tight voice.
Riche frowned, lost in thought. "That's some...random...experience...That girl you saw…could she have been the reason for this…I mean your descriptions of her made her sound somewhat…different?"
Mihel froze inside. 'This strange idea could be correct. The girl had invaded his dreams and now being close to where she was kept he experienced this sensation. But the others didn't know the full story.'
"Maybe? There's no need to dwell on it now…let's just go to our rooms." He said out loud. It was both to get them off his case and for him to shift his focus from that frail girl.
The others weren't satisfied with the sudden dismissal but seeing Mihel's reluctance to talk further on the topic they let it go and made their way back.
Mihel was still thinking about the mysterious girl. She had some influence on him now, as if he was a tiny flying insect caught in a spider web. He was stuck in a massive web, all connected around him, though hidden from his sight. And there was that white haired girl, standing as the spider, looking down on him, controlling the lines connected to him. he shook his head.
'No time to worry about all this…we have to get back to the Citadel at five.'
The five of them went back to their quarters, collected their pay and food and freshened up before heading back out.
The Sun was setting and the sky was slowly turning orange with wisps of pink. Spirits were high after the gloomy mood before food and the group were laughing and joking as they walked to the Citadel to meet their Decurion for evening classes.
Everyone was curious to see what they would learn today and even more excited to get some answers about the mysterious Unknown Consortium which they heard about the previous day. Most chance was that their questions would be turned away again, but they believed there was no harm in trying.
Walking up to the massive gates they were surprised to see that for the first time since they got to Niktha, Vidoria Kidt was late. Usually they were picked up from their lodging or they would find him waiting in front of the gate. But today he wasn't present in his neat fashion.
They hung around the gate for a while, watching the Sun slowly come down and the sky completely darkening save for the few twinkling stars.
"Well this was unexpected…Think Vidoria forgot about us?" Halise muttered as she leaned onto the wall near the gate.
"Its not like him, I agree…there must be some reason." Vinelyn replied, trying to think of any possible ways to get into the Citadel and then ask around inside.
Suddenly a man came running to them, wildly waving his arms in the air. He was wearing a thin white shirt with black pants and on top the standard Exousia coat. He stopped before the five of them, catching his breath. The man looked young and his blonde hair and beard were trimmed neat.
"You…must be Group Twelve?...Decurion Kidt's students?" he asked in a surprisingly deep voice.
They nodded excitedly.
The man took time looking at the group before opening the Citadel gate by placing his palm on it.
"Come in. I'll apologise on his behalf but Vidoria is not available for the moment."
Midia looked worried and asked in a low voice. "Is he in trouble?..."
The man turned back and smiled seeing the concerned face of Midia. "No…haha…not at all. In fact its for a noble cause Vidoria was chosen." He replied, confidently.
The others relaxed their shoulders, following this man through the Citadel into one of the classrooms.
"Though I'll give you a heads up. Vidoria's time away is undefined for the moment. You might receive a temporary fill in for a teacher role. Oh and the Archives are closed for now. Nice meeting you."
The group thanked the man and with that he left hurriedly saying he had other business to attend to.
The five of them just sat down on the benches, absent minded, not knowing what to do. Halise was mindlessly tossing a round pebble. Midia had her head laid on the table. Vinelyn was drawing on paper, preparing for future use and Riche was cleaning his blades.
Mihel was observing the surrounding through a window on one side of the room. The outside walls stretched round about him, high enough to hide all the sand encompassing around Niktha.
Suddenly a face registered in front of him and a fist knocked on the window pane. Mihel jumped back in shock and everyone quickly turned towards the window. The man stood there, outside the glass. Grinning wildly, he motioned to Mihel to open the pane.
Mihel stared incredulously at the man and when he looked there was no way to open the pane from the inside.
The crazy man hit the glass again. He motioned towards Riche's blades.
'Break the glass…who is this man…' Mihel wondered dumbfoundedly. He was frozen. He had no idea whether to trust this man or if he was someone dangerous. 'Why…is he on the window…'
The man continued grinning but seemed exasperated because of not being let in. He lifted one hand and snapped his fingers.
The group barely had time to react before the entire window shattered into the room. The fragments flew in every direction, some hitting them who were standing, scratching the sides of their faces.
The man stood crouching on the sill. The crazed look still on his face. Mihel found it hard to keep a mental image of this man. His features were so oddly distorting that he seemed to look different every second.
He had straight black hair, long and unkept, all the way to his chests. He had patches of beard all over his chin. His face was angular and sharp and one might have called him handsome had he maintained some grooming habits. His body was lithe and muscular. Mihel could feel some hidden strength within this man. The stare with the wide eyes which were blue. The smile that seemed to grow wider and wider.
"Uh…Hello sir…We are Group Twelve of the Exousia…who are you?"
The man sniffled and burst into laughter. It was when he turned his back Mihel was surprised to see the black coat donned by him was of the Exousia.
'Such a man…in the Exousia…?..'
Eventually he stopped laughing and turned to them with a mockingly serious face. His eyes were narrowed and his lips in a pout. Yet it seemed like he wanted to burst into laughter at any moment. His eyes were twinkling behind the frown and his mouth was quivering.
"Can I tell you a joke?"