Where Our Loyalty Lies

Chapter 1

"New Kid"

"Still thinking about it?"

Twelve year old Theodore Bronev glanced up from the paper he had been staring at for quite a while, though he wasn't sure how long it had been. Now that he looked, he saw he was the only 'student' still in the classroom, everyone else having filed out.

"Well?"

Theodore titled his head to the side, resting it on the palm of his hand and sighed. "Too long, I suppose."

An older woman, about in her late thirties, was sitting in front of Theodore. She was slumped forward onto a chair, sitting in it backwards. Her long brunette color hair covered bits of her tired looking face, her nose the most visible detail there, stuck out. Her hair was very disheveled and stringy, as if she had done nothing with it in quite a while. How she saw was a mystery.

The woman chuckled and tapped the edge of Theodore's cap, almost knocking it in front of his eyes. "You don't like puzzles, do you?" Her voice was a lower tone and her speech held a strong French accent to it. Her English was very good even with the conflicting accent.

From what Theodore remembered, Julien had said his father had been English, which is how he learned both languages as he grew up. Julien's mother also use to be a university professor in France before Targent took her and her son. Now she taught young children, though she was still having them learn pretty advance stuff about the Azran and archeology.

"I don't dislike them, Professor Brun." mumbled Theodore, slightly put off by the woman messing with his cap, which she noticed and tapped it again anyway. "I just... don't care much for them."

"And yet here you are, working hard to solve this puzzle you 'don't care much for'." Brun looked at the paper with a written puzzle on it, scrunching her face. "I don't know how you can stand them, to be honest. But it's not my job to come up with them or answer them. Just hand them out."

"I know." Theodore frowned. "This is a new addition to the workload, am I right?"

"Yes." Brun leaned closer to Theodore. "Seems someone higher up believes puzzles are important to the Azran. I always knew someone wanted them added, but they never have pulled it off until now."

Theodore looked frustrated. "I understand why...However it's thrown me off, I must admit."

"Are you afraid of falling further behind your brother?"

Theodore tensed up and looked away.

"Hershel and Julien are going to move out of the educational facilities in about a year or two, to start working in The Nest as assistants to further their education with those in their field." Brun poked Theodore's cap, making the boy look back at her.

"You are about three years behind them, as you should be for your age. I know you've been working extra to catch up to them, but you shouldn't push yourself. You're bright, but you're still young. Very young. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Theodore understood what she was saying, but it didn't solve his dilemma. Hershel, in the beginning, had tried to hide how smart he really was to stay further back with Theodore as best he could. It didn't take long before he was found out and was moved further ahead of his age, being in the same classes as Julien.

After that Hershel had been making it his job to try and help Theodore catch up with them, though unsuccessful. It was beginning to grate on Theodore's nerves.

Hershel moving ahead didn't bother Theodore, he knew how intelligent his older brother was. He was just tired of Hershel acting like he had to do everything for him and wanted, for once, to do something on his own.

At the same time, Theodore didn't wish to be left behind.

"You've got time, both before anything in your life changes and time to solve that puzzle. Put it away and think about it later." Brun smiled, trying to reassure Theodore. "A puzzle expert I use to know once told me it's sometimes best to step back and try again another time with a fresh look."

Theodore eyed the puzzle one more time before folding up the paper and stuffing it in his pocket. "I suppose I could do it later."

"Good!" Brun brushed her hair out of her face. "You should be out in the Free Area with the others anyway. While I'm done teaching for now, I have other work to do today."

Theodore sank in his seat, now remembering the other reason he preferred to sit in the class room and work on a puzzle he did not care about rather than go out. It was better than being out in the Free Area.

"I know you're avoiding it, but you really shouldn't. They'll notice."

Theodore's shoulders slumped. He knew Brun was right about that, Targent members in charge of the educational facilities were always watching them. They would know if he kept finding ways to avoid the tight schedule they had everyone on.

"Ah, one more thing."

Suddenly a book was placed on Theodore's desk, much to the boy's surprise.

"Julien has been letting you borrow his books. So I thought I'd get you one that you might be interested in."

"How?..."

Brun grinned, quite pleased that she had Theodore bewildered. "I have my connections. Anyway, if you don't mind, I need you to do me a small favor."

Theodore slowly picked up the book, not having a new possession in so long. He couldn't remember the last time he got something like a new book. He couldn't help but smile.

"Theodore?"

Theodore snapped his gaze back to Brun, having almost misheard her. "Oh, I'm sorry. What was it?"

"Do you know when you'll see your father?"

Theodore's smile quickly faded with that question. "I wouldn't know. I haven't heard anything."

"Well, when you do hear from him..." Brun tapped the book. "Page thirty nine. I have something for him there. Please give it to him." She quickly stood up and made her way out of the classroom, giving Theodore no time to ask why.

Theodore raised a brow, flipping the book open to page thirty nine. Tucked away between the pages was a small folded piece of paper. He bent one of the flaps back to take a quick look at the letter before folding it back up and closing the book. He placed the book in a bag he left on the floor, throwing the strap over his should before getting up and heading out of the class room, towards the Free Area.

Brun had never met Theodore's father, the boy knew this much. Why she wanted to give him anything perplexed Theodore, this seemed so sudden and out of nowhere.

The hand writing, from what little Theodore allowed himself to look at, was obviously not Brun's. He knew the teacher had terrible hand writing when it came to writing in English, to the point of almost unreadable. Her grasp on English was very good when speaking, not in writing. The only conclusion Theodore could make was that Julien wrote it for her.

If that was the case, Julien had never mentioned it to him. Why would Professor Brun want to contact his father, a man she never met? Why would Julien not say anything about it? Should he ask Julien about it?

Theodore mulled over this as he walked out into the Free Area, a large open place that looked as though it should be outside, but was still inclosed in concrete walls. There were windows, though they had been sealed, blocking out any sunlight.

Theodore hadn't seen the sky in so long. The last time was now only a vague memory from a day long ago... He remembered it being a very sad day, but the memory of why escaped him.

The Free Area was mainly a place for the children to gather, no matter the class they were from, nor the age. They had slightly different times as to when they would come out of their classes, but at some point everyone would end up there.

Not that telling time was easy in a completely sealed off building with no clocks or calenders.

Theodore wasn't fond of being in this place, even if it was where he would normally met up with Hershel and Julien. It wasn't very consistent when he would and while he had no problems with the other children there, at times they would have a problem with him. Which wasn't an issue when he wasn't alone, but at the moment...

Theodore sighed. As much as he tried to do more on his own, as much as he was annoyed with Hershel's constant involvement, Theodore had to admit that he was the one who was afraid to let go of the easy reliance on his older brother.

Shaking his head, Theodore decided to save these thoughts for later. Right now it was best to find a place out of the way and try to get a little more studying done. He dug through his book bag and pulled out a black book, notes and other small book marks sticking out of it.

Theodore scanned the area, looking for a quiet spot, when something caught his attention. A large group of children were gathered around something, shouting and seemingly entertained by whatever was going on.

While the more common sense side of Theodore's mind told him it was best to ignore it, his younger and less mature side wanted to know what was so compelling that had almost the entire student body of Targent distracted.

Theodore put his book back in his bag and walked over to the crowed, pushing his way through the older kids to try and see what they were looking at.

As soon as Theodore had a chance to see what was happening, he found himself having to jump back, crashing into others as a young boy was thrown in his direction. Theodore was quickly pushed forward by those he ran into, nearly falling over. He regained his balance, avoiding face-planting into the ground.

Unfortunately, he was now in the middle of the circle.

"You next?"

Theodore stiffened up, clutching the strap of his bag tightly. He turned to see a young girl, probably two or three years older than him, looking at him with impatience.

The girl was tall, taller than most of the kids around. She had discarded the Targent jacket and cap, the sleeves of the dark gray shirt under it rolled up to her shoulders. She had bright red short and curly hair and had large hazel eyes that were glaring daggers at Theodore. She looked very aggressive and Theodore wasn't sure where it was coming from nor why it was towards him at that moment.

Theodore also noted to himself that he had never seen her before. Was she new?

"Well?" her voice was deep for her age and carried an American southern accent. "You just gunna stand there? Though I have to say you have guts comin'. Don't seem the type to want to mess with me."

"Excuse me?" Theodore slowly backed away and tried to understand what he had gotten himself into.

The girl didn't answer, just charged at Theodore, fist heading straight for his head. Theodore dropped down quickly, crouching. He scrambled to his feet, trying to get as far away from the girl as he could, however she was a lot faster than he thought, grabbing his book bag strap and yanking him right onto his back.

Theodore gasped for air, the wind being knocked right out of him. He hurriedly rolled away just in time to avoid the girl stomping her foot right into his stomach, slipping out of his bag strap.

Theodore coughed as he stood up, trying his best to catch his breath, however the girl wasn't about to give him any time as she came right at him, another punch flying.

This time, Theodore just stepped to the side, pushing her arm away as he did so. He had just started learning combat training, having finally reach the age when they taught it. As much as he didn't wish to fight, he was starting to feel grateful for the lessons.

The girl grunted at Theodore and kept throwing more punches at him, Theodore just repeated dodging until he was pushed up against the crowd again.

They tossed him back in, Theodore ducking and running past her, the girl ending up hitting another kid instead.

"Are you gunna fight back or what!?" screamed the girl, getting more and more agitated. She grabbed Theodore's jacket collar before he had a chance to move away.

"Why would I want to fight you?" Theodore was very confused about the whole situation. "To be honest I don't even know why you're fighting anyone."

"Eh?" The girl looked him over and grunted again. "Ah man, seriously? Should have went with my gut feelin'. You look more like a book worm than a bully." The girl tossed Theodore to the ground and walked over to where his bag laid. She scooped it up and threw at him. "Take your books and get goin'. I don't got time for you."

"Aw, come on, Red. Not gunna hit Bronev even once?"

Theodore winced, knowing who that voice belonged too. He looked up to see an older boy push through the crowd and into the circle, two others coming up behind him. Theodore knew him as Quinn, a boy in the same class as Hershel and Julien. He also was very much aware this kid and the group he ran had a very strong sense of animosity towards them.

Like most of the children here, he was shorter than the tall red head, but not by much. He had bright blonde hair and blue eyes, his voice had a Irish sounding accent.

"You gunna fight me next, pretty boy?" asked the girl, getting into what looked like a boxing stance. She kept shifting her feet, ready for another brawl.

Quinn laughed and walked past the redhead. "Sure, Red. Just give me a second before you do, okay?"

Theodore's eyes widen as he realized Quinn was coming towards him. He tried to get up and leave, taking his bag. However the older boy got to him before he could, grabbing his jacket sleeve and yanking Theodore back into the circle with him.

"Where you going, Bronev?" Quinn chuckled, amused by Theodore's attempts to escape his grasp.

While Theodore was trying desperately to get away from Quinn, something in the back of his mind was bothering him. Fights breaking out wasn't unusual for the Free Area, but what was unusual was that no one was trying to stop it. As soon as a fight started, guards would come out to break it up and take away those who started it to be punished.

They were always watching, Targent never left them be. But now, a fight has gone on long enough for not only a crowd to form, but for several kids to have gotten possibly seriously hurt. Either someone wasn't doing their job or...

"They want this?"

"What are you going on about, Bronev?" Quinn pushed Theodore away, the two boys with him grabbing Theodore and pulling his arms behind his back.

"Quinn, wait. Isn't it strange none of the adults have tried to stop this?"

Quinn tiled his head at the question. "Huh. Yes, that is strange, now that you mention it... So I better take advantage."

"W-wait! There's got to be a reason they-"

Quinn laughed again, cracking his knuckles. "If you think you can stall so your big brother has time to come save you, you've got another thing coming. I'm afraid he'll be busy with the teachers for a while, probably won't have time for the Free Area. He had some items on him that are against the rules. Typical, really. Though to be fair he's normally much more careful... I wonder if someone planted them?" The two boys with Quinn snickered at this.

"Well..." Quinn raised his fist. "I guess I'll just leave a message for him and that French Freak."

Theodore shut his eyes, waiting for the impact.

Hershel rubbed the back of his hands as he walked out of the class room. He checked them to see some scratch marks, but they weren't bleeding so he considered himself lucky.

"Hey."

Hershel looked to see Julien standing outside. Hershel frowned at him.

"Did you wait for me?"

Julien shrugged. "I felt bad. You took the blame." Julien looked at the floor. "Quinn was targeting me, I'm the one he has a problem with. I'm getting tired of you and Theodore getting caught in the crossfire... You... didn't have to do that for me."

"Don't worry about it, I've been through worse." Hershel looked annoyed. "You could have went to the Free Area and found Theodore instead of waiting for me."

Julien shook his head. "Come on, Hershel. Theodore doesn't need us doing everything for him. Besides, he's fine in the Free Area. He's more likely to get harassed if I did go there."

Hershel still didn't like the idea of Theodore being left alone when he was sure that Julien was purposely set up to get in trouble with the teachers. What if Quinn wasn't done messing with them?

While Julien was right that Tarent kept a close eye on them, Hershel knew there were ways around that, as Quinn had shown planting a pocket knife on Julien. Hershel only noticed in time to keep Julien from getting into trouble, but couldn't get rid of it before he was caught.

Julien and Hershel started off for the Free Area, though they had probably missed most of the time they were allowed there. Still, Hershel wanted to check on Theodore just to ease his own worry.

"So yesterday, Miss Gray had some apples in her office." started Julien, wanting to lighten the mood. "I decided she had just a few to many."

Hershel smirked. "Really, Julien? Couldn't help yourself?"

Julien grinned sheepishly. "Well it's not just for me. When we get back to our rooms tonight, I'll show you my new hiding spot. It's a bit out of the way, but worth it. Been wanting something sweet for a while."

For as long as Hershel knew Julien, the young boy had a terrible habit of taking anything that wasn't nailed down and knew wouldn't get him into too much trouble for having. He also had a knack for getting into places he wasn't suppose to be.

"How did you even get into her office?" asked Hershel.

"How could I not?" Julien shrugged again. There were some secrets Julien refused to even tell Hershel. "I was hoping she forgot her little date book and left it inside. Would have had a better idea of how many days had passed since the last time I checked." Julien pouted and crossed his arms. "They took my notebook that had the dates written down. I was careless and now I have to start all over."

"Did you find it?" Hershel asked. Having a sense of time would be easier to gauge how long it had been since his father had seen him, something that had been bothering him and Theodore for a while.

Julien shook his head. "No luck. I'll have to try again another time."

"You should be more careful."

"Ha!" Julien lightly pushed Hershel's shoulder. "That's funny coming from you. You take far more risks tha- hey, what's going on over there?"

Hershel looked to where Julien was pointing. The two had just gotten into the Free Area and saw that most of everyone inside was gathered around in a circle further off. They could hear yelling going on, but couldn't tell what else could be happening. The whole scene looked bizarre, no adults of any kind were there to investigate.

"That's strange..." Hershel looked around, trying to find any sign of Theodore.

"Think Theodore is over there?"

Hershel grit his teeth and rushed towards the crowd, Julien following behind him.