---CHAPTER FOUR---
"Well class," Nebilim began, "I'd like to introduce a new friend of mine today who'll be joining our class. His name is Franz and he's the son of a merchant from Chesedonia, so his customs may seem strange to you. Please show him a warm welcome." Nebilim smiled and left the room to fetch Franz and almost instantaneously, hushed murmurs blossomed from the previously pregnant silence.
Leaning over in his seat because he was so far away, Saphir shot a loud whisper in Jade's general direction, "Jade, you meanie!" Upon seeing that this spurred a reaction from his target, albeit no more than a slight glance, the Fontechnician promptly stuck his tongue out at Jade and pulled the lower lid of his right eye downward in mockery.
Jade breathed a sigh of annoyance and turned to address Saphir. "What are you talking about?" He was in no mood to deal with this eccentric boy's shenanigans today.
"When I got to your house this morning, your mother told me that you'd already left... You walked to school without me!" Slight pangs of distress were noticable through his crackling whispers.
"Oh, that," Jade replied, uninterested. He turned back around to signal his disinterest in the topic. "You were late, so we left without you." Honestly, Jade was the one who had made him late in the first place by getting him caught at the mansion last night. If he hadn't needed to get released by Nebilim, he probably would've gotten a full night's sleep and not woken up so late, but Saphir was unaware of his friend's betrayal.
His cheeks puffed up in adorable anger; not quite finished complaining. He still had a bone to pick with Jade! "It's not just that either!" No response. "My house isn't a garbage dump for your smelly monster corpses!"
This seemed to strike a nerve. Saphir grinned to himself smugly as he watched Jade turn back around to face him with a confused look on his face. The brunette had decided to humor the boy just this once and give him his undivided attention, because when it came right down it, if he didn't hear out Saphir's whining till the end, there would be no end.
"You threw them all in my yard! Do you realize just how much trouble I got into with my parents?" No response. How could Jade turn a blind eye like this?? Did he still not know what he was talking about? "You're the only one I know who does such things to monsters... So why did you do it?? Why did you get me into so much trouble with my parents?" Didn't he care at all??
Jade just shrugged off the boy's desperate pleas. "My parents told me not to kill monsters anymore and I can't hide their bodies anywhere near my house because they scare Nephry." He didn't want to make it sound as if he cared at all what Nephry thought, but he couldn't deny that she was a deciding factor. She was his sister, he did live with her, and they had known each other all their lives...it was only natural for them to consider each other in everyday decisions such as these.
Meanwhile, Saphir was in shock. He had nearly facefaulted at the reply he'd received. "W-Wha--" How was that justification at all? Hadn't he stopped to consider the consequences of his actions beforehand? "W-What the--" he stuttered, verbally stumbling over what to say. So many frustrated thoughts were running through his mind. "B-But how does that make it okay to do to me??"
Saphir laid his head down on the desktop in defeated frustration as Nebilim reentered the classroom and wrote the name "Franz" on the chalkboard in large, Fonic symbols. "Class, this is Franz," she announced proudly. Franz strutted into the room wearing sandals, despite Keterburg's snowy weather year-round, and immediately, the class pinned him as a dork; Jade could overhear their subtle gossiping.
"I'm from Chesedonia, nice to meet you all!" Franz announced casually, as if he introduced himself to groups of complete strangers all the time. He bowed low in greeting and quickly locked eyes with Jade. The blond locks now more apparent with him bowed before him, the brunette's eyes widened; this was Peony, the Prince he'd met last night at the mansion. He sincerely hoped that any information regarding their late night encounter had been kept secret from Nebilim...
"Franz, you may take a seat next to Jade--"
"W-WHY, PROFESSOR?!" Saphir cried in outrage, leaping from his seat dramatically. All eyes jerked around to stare at him as his cheeks lit with rosy embarrassment; that wasn't supposed to be said out loud...
"Neis! Please take your seat! No more disruptions." She picked up her attendance sheet and began taking roll call as Saphir nodded in complianceand sat back down, eyes glued to the invading foreigner. 'I've always wanted to sit beside Jade...' This was just not his day, he admitted to himself, still not prepared for the worst of it.
As Franz took his seat beside Jade, they almost instantly struck up a friendly conversation. Saphir's mouth hung agape. 'That newbie...is talking to my Jade...!!' It had taken him weeks to get Jade to talk to him when he first began classes with Nebilim! What made Franz so special anyway?! Saphir was infuriated and he just wanted to cry.
Flipping over his notebook and whipping out his pencil in one efficiently fell swoop, the Fontech fanatic began scribbling "stupid stupid Franz!" repetitiously across the back cover. He knew this day wasn't going to get any better and wished he could forget everything that had happened up until this point and just disappear...
---
The day seemed to pass quickly after the rough morning, fortunately enough for Saphir. By the end of that day though, despite the classwork temporarily distracting him from his Jade-related troubles, he still felt unnerved and bothered by the sheer weight of it all. He was already feeling nauscious from the unbearable anxiety. What was going to happen between he and his precious Jade now that Franz had come into the picture? What would become of them?
Speaking of the devil, Franz ran up to the inseparable duo, calling Jade's name cheerfully. Saphir jealously rolled his eyes and overheard him request that Jade permit him to walk home with them. The nerve! Saphir mentally stomped his foot in protest. He was always the one to walk Jade home! Who did Franz think he was?!
This sudden onset of distraught anxiety severely fluxuated his nauscia however, and Saphir promptly excused himself from the two boys, making a beeline for the men's restroom.
"Uhh, what's with him?" Franz asked curiously, rather dumbfounded by Saphir's peculiar mannerisms. Jade was the wiser, having known Saphir for quite a long time now.
Folding his arms, Jade answered matter-of-factly, "He's going to the lavatory; nervousness nausciates him." Grinning at the opportunity to prompt Franz on something that had been nagging at the back of his mind all day, he continued, "Peony." Franz seemed unfazed by the mention of his real name, despite his obvious requirement for an alias in public. This only served to prove the extraordinary depth of their trust after only knowing each other for such a short time. "Where'd you pull the name 'Franz' from anyway?"
"Truth be told," Franz began, folding his arms, "it's my older brother's name. Our mother's not very discreet, is she?" Even Jade couldn't suppress a good laugh when he heard one. He couldn't recall ever laughing like this with friends before he met Franz.
Their jesting was interrupted when Nebilim approached the boys wearing a serious visage. "Why are you boys still here? Class let out almost half an hour ago." Were they waiting for rides home? Had something happened? Nebilim wasn't one to let such unfounded worries best her, but her concern for their welfare was an omnipresent foe.
"We're just waiting on Saphir, Professor," Jade answered respectfully.
"Oh, Franz, before I forget," Nebilim redirected her attention from the brunette to the blond. "I meant to ask you this morning whether or not you have a place to stay while you're studying here."
Franz grinned smugly and casually answered, "That won't be a problem, I've got it covered." Reaching into his pocket, Franz revealed an abnormally large sum of money and Nebilim audibly gasped. Just the sight of such an enormous amount nearly drove her into cardiac arrest.
"Franz, p-please put that away," she stammered quietly. She couldn't even look at it. He could tell the sight of the Gald bothered her, so he promptly replaced it in his pocket. He almost wanted to chuckle at her stunned reaction to such chicken feed... Petty sums like these were as nothing when compared to the funds available to him back home. Once said currency was out of her sight, Nebilim added quietly, "Please avoid bringing such large sums of money to school like that anymore, it endangers your welfare and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." The way she said it reminded him of a mother; her tone carrying with it a reassuring balance of genuine concern and firm authority. He nodded in compliance and the three exchanged their goodbyes for the day.
Just as Nebilim retreated from the duo, Saphir approached, rubbing his hands up and down his shirt front, either in an effort to pull it back down after using the toilet or to finish drying his wet hands after washing them. "Did I miss anything?" he asked, noticing Nebilim's retreat.
"We were just discussing visiting Franz's house before heading home," Jade informed him. Saphir suppressed his jealousy and forced a smile. When was this day going to end??
---
Upon arriving at Franz's home, Saphir's eyes widened. They were once again at the mansion from the previous night. Uncharacteristically putting two and two together, Saphir deduced that Franz must've been the Prince, but didn't say anything aloud so that the others didn't think he was stupid enough to just be realizing this now.
It wasn't very long after having arrived that it became apparent; his two new friends wouldn't be permitted to just waltz inside. Before Saphir could relish this triumph over the blond however, Jade reassured them. "I'll take care of it." Saphir sighed in defeat and everyone parted ways for the day. 'What could Jade possibly have in mind to get past that kind of security??' For the first time in his life, Saphir was actually hoping that Jade would fail.
The next day after school, Jade brought Peony and Saphir back to his house to reveal the fruits of his labor. "I've begun digging a tunnel underground from my house to Peony's house."
It was certainly a farfetched idea, Saphir granted, but the tunnel was right there in front of him. Even if this was a labor of love from Jade toward someone other than himself, he couldn't help but praise his fine work. "You're amazing Jade! I didn't hear anything at all!" Saphir's adorable smile bloomed with admiration, truly impressed with how Jade had outdone himself this time.
Jade then proceeded to hand a lantern to Peony and a shovel to Saphir. Looking from the shovel to Jade, Saphir seemed confused by the implications. "What's this for...?" he queried innocently, hoping that Jade wasn't honestly expecting him to...
"For digging the tunnel of course. I told you that I began digging it last night, so today, you can finish digging it." Saphir looked over at Peony pathetically, as if to ask why the newcomer wasn't contributing anything of his own to the tunnel's construction. After all, it was a tunnel to his house... "Peony is our guest and a Prince no less, so I couldn't very well ask him to dig. We'll be right behind you," he concluded, gesturing for Saphir to lead the way, who reluctantly did as he was told. Honestly, how did he get mixed up in these things??
Following behind him as they'd promised, albeit somewhat far behind him, Peony and Jade began yet another conversation that failed to include Saphir. The mauve-eyed miner shoveled weakly at the tunnel, wanting desperately to finish this quickly in order to impress Jade, but at the same time, wondering why on Auldrant he was helping the two get together. They would be able to see each other whenever they wanted after this! And where would he fall into their plans?? Was he even in them anymore? His eyes welled with tears but he kept himself from audibly weeping. After this, he would be lucky if Jade ever even looked him in the eyes or called him by his name again... He felt some mucus begin to dribble down his lips from his nose and decided that in the end, Jade's happiness was all that mattered to him.
"How you got him to agree to do this, I'll never understand Jade." Peony commented, watching the unusually loyal boy dig quite a ways in front of them.
"It's something I don't fully understand myself, but he's willing to do almost anything for me for whatever reason, and I'm not one to let such rare research opportunities go to waste."
Peony grinned. "That's evil, dude." Jade shrugged and the two chuckled. "I like the way you think though. You really know how to turn your lemons into lemonade...or in this case, your stalkers into free labor."
Once the joking had subsided, Jade turned to Peony to pose a pressing concern. "In case anyone else discovers this tunnel, seeing as we do live with other people, maybe we should establish an entrance password. Don't let anyone through to your end who doesn't know the password. Agreed?"
"Undoubtedly, but what should our password be? It can't be anything that can be easily guessed," Peony noted. Jade nodded in acknowledgement and began to brainstorm passwords with him.
Eventually, Saphir finished digging the tunnel for them and went home without a word to Jade or Peony. Neither of them had any idea that more of Saphir's tears went into finishing their tunnel than hard work.
---
Later that night, when sleep proved a futile endeavor, Jade and Peony decided to test out their newly established bond and met up in the tunnel. It was rather late, but the excitement of the day was like an insatiable adrenaline rush in their bloodstreams that refused to let them rest. They talked nearly the whole night; no topic was left untouched.
"It must be difficult to lead such a sheltered life here. You need an alias, 24-hour protection, and can't even arrange to hang out with your friends or family. You're like...a caged animal." The irony of the statement leaked onto the floor as Jade sliced slowly into the abdomen of a defenseless rat on the tunnel floor. Its squeaks of pain didn't seem to affect Jade at all; his scarlet eyes glued attentively to the torturous task at hand.
"It's just until I'm done with my education. Then I can be myself again and I'll get to become Emperor of Malkuth. Not like that animal right there," Peony pointed at the twitching rat beneath Jade's scalpel.
Dodging his obvious attempt at a topic change, Jade pushed his knife further into the rat to take a peek at his tiny organs. "You'll still be caged as an Emperor too. You'll be a slave to your people."
"It has lots of responsibilities, yeah, but it's not so bad when compared to this. You don't know how hard it was for me to adjust to the name change. For weeks, people were trying to practice addressing me as Franz and I wouldn't catch on. I kept thinking they were talking to my brother."
"I suppose you're right." Jade finally made the final slice so that the rat's mangled body lay in two neat piles of dissected organs and digits. "And since you're going through this 'educational-alias' stage unlike most royalty, you'll be more accustomed and attuned to the cares and needs of everyday people."
"Exactly! It all works out." After a moment of silence, Peony couldn't resist saying something any longer. "Dude, don't take offense or anything, cause I love torturing ants with magnifying glasses just as much as the next guy, but why did you just dissect that rat? Don't you think that's a little harsh?"
Taking a second to appreciate his work, Jade's crimson eyes stared blankly at the defiled corpse, as if he lacked remorse for what he'd done. It was downright creepy, like he didn't have a soul. "I want...to know everything about the world..." It was this bloodthirst that seemed to mask his strong desire for knowledge; or maybe it was the other way around? Just thinking about what Jade had said and what he didn't say; just seeing the look in his eyes when he took apart innocent creatures sent a subzero shiver up Peony's spine. But when he really thought about it, where would his country be today if there weren't once curious people like Jade who dissected in the pursuit of medical research? Jade did mention earlier that he had been considering a future career as an autopsist...
"As for me," Peony began, leaning against the wall of the tunnel leisurely and kicking back to get into a comfortable position, "I want to know everything about that cute angel in our class, Nephry." At hearing his sister's name, Jade's eyes darted up from the remains of his experiment and shot a glance at Peony. Peony wasn't sure if the look in his eyes held intrigue or contempt, so he just ignored it and closed his eyes, perhaps finally beginning to fall prey to sleep's seductions, and grinned wide at the very thought of her. There were countless girls he'd met that struck him as cute despite his young age, but this one was different, he was sure of it. "There's just something about the way she makes me feel when she's around, you know? Maybe I'll be able to marry her someday and make her my Empress... Empress Nephry Malkuth... Doesn't it have a simply dreamy, angelic ring to it? Have any girls you met ever made you feel like that, Jade...?" Peony asked innocently, for once seeking reassurance from Jade rather than a cunning challenge or joking laughter.
Jade didn't quite catch on and remained silent, ignoring his final question. All this talk about girls being dreamy sounded just plain wierd coming from Peony, and it made Jade's stomach turn...which was quite the feat considering he was just dissecting an animal, an act that would almost instantaneously gross anyone else out to the point of regurgitation. Did he even realize that Nephry was his sister?
---
The next day at school, all of Franz's reactions were sluggish as he didn't get much sleep the night before. He enjoyed spending time with Jade, but he made sure to mentally note never to stay up that late with him again. For some reason unknown to everyone else, Saphir was also fatigued. Truth be told, he had been up all night crying over the loss of Jade and worrying about what was going to happen between them now that he and Peony were inseparable friends. In a single day they had established a deeper connection than they had, and he'd been friends with Jade for years now!
Once classes had ended and the three of them had gotten together to discuss their plans for the remainder of the day, Saphir confessed some of his more subtle worries to the others. "Do you think that Professor Nebilim knows about Franz's secret identity...? What if we get caught visiting him through the tunnel one day or we slip up in class and use his real name?" Saphir tried to keep his voice down, but worry heightened its pitch. He couldn't help it if he instinctively feared for his precious Jade's safety!
Jade glared at him. "We won't have anything to worry about if you keep quiet about it," he warned calmly. Little did they know that they'd been overheard...and not five moments later, Nebilim approached the trio from behind. Saphir shrieked in terror, having been startled in his overly-anxious state.
"Please come see me in my office, all three of you," was all she said to them. Saphir panicked and Jade gulped audibly. You would think that anything enough to shake Jade would be more than enough to shake Franz, especially when it more than likely concerned him, but he didn't seem fazed by her demands.
Upon arriving in her office, they all took a seat and she locked the door behind them. "Franz... Prince Peony?" She looked to him from the doorway and he nodded. She breathed a stressed sigh and grasped her temple as she took a seat. "Obviously, I overheard your little discussion in the hallway, so I'll get right to the point." All eyes turned accusingly to Saphir and he shrunk back in his seat, again wishing he had the ability to just disappear.
"You all know about his true identity and visit him through an underground tunnel?" Her students were more cunning and clever than she could've ever imagined...to think that her pupils could outsmart the highest security in all of Auldrant when they weren't even trying!
All three of them nodded in guilty admittance to her accusation. "You know that because Prince Peony is royalty and is attending this school without protection that he is put at serious risk, don't you? He is in danger every day that he's outside those mansion walls. Are you all willing to accept the consequences of your actions? Do you understand the seriousness; the gravity of this situation?" She wasn't about to break up their friendship, but she had to make sure that they all knew what they were getting themselves into and understood what that meant for their new friend. If they agreed to this, then she would trust them...taking responsibility for your actions was a part of growing up and maturing, and she knew that Jade, for one, was very mature. She had no doubts that he would guide them all to make the right choice.
After they gave her their answer and Nebilim permitted them to leave her office and head home, Saphir began to skip merrily. "I'm so glad that Professor Nebilim understands; I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders!" His smile was sickeningly cute to Jade, who was desperately attempting to ignore him and his annoyingly bright attitude.
Peony quickly picked up on Jade's discontent with Saphir and shared the sentiment, so when Saphir stopped his skipping for a moment to scoop some fresh snow into his hands, Peony darted by him, stole it from his grasp, and began to firmly pack it in his hands.
"Give that back!!" Saphir demanded, his attitude promptly turning sour. Why couldn't they just let him be happy for a little while?! Why'd they have to pick on him like this when he was so clearly suffering in the shadow of their happy presence?
"All right! Whatever you say!" With that, Peony threw the snowball at Saphir, who predictably failed to catch it and soon felt the sting of packed snow melting on his frostbitten cheeks. Getting a good laugh out of it himself, Peony hoped that he had successfully cheered Jade up, but didn't stick around to find out. The meeting with Nebilim had set him back and he was late to get home. Waving quickly, he ran off in a fit of laughter at Saphir's expense.
Noting that Jade showed no signs of caring about the abuse against him in the slightest, Saphir just stared at his lost friend with a look of depressed longing. More tears stained and stung his porcelain cheeks as he dropped to his knees in the snow, and all Jade could think about was why Nebilim had not tried harder to convince them to leave Peony be.
He understood her persistant concerns regarding his pursuit of the Seventh Fonon, but surely Peony was a much more pressing matter that she'd feel more urgent to drive home. He was a Prince after all! How was his pursuit of the Seventh Fonon more dangerous than endangering the welfare of his country's heir?? It just didn't add up.
---
The next day was the start of the weekend so the trio decided to take a little walk up to Mt. Roneal together. In an attempt to get the fun rolling, Peony whispered, "Did you see that...shadow just now?"
"...W-What shadow??" Saphir questioned worriedly, wandering closer to Jade for protection. "Is it a monster??" As if on cue, a thunderous noise echoed off the mountaintops causing Saphir to jump, clutching at Jade's clothes pathetically. "J-Jade, what do we do?!" The waterworks soon followed and Peony couldn't restrain his laughter. While it was a hilarious idea, Jade admitted, he wished that Peony had given Saphir something else to wipe his tears on...because where Saphir left tears, he also left a trail of mucus.
Wrenching his arm from Saphir heartlessly, Jade resumed his walk up the mountain with Peony, leaving Saphir to aimlessly wander around in the snow seeking shelter from imaginary monsters. "This guy is too much fun!! Where was it you said you found him again? Did you meet him in Professor Nebilim's class?" Peony asked.
"Unfortunately, I've known Saphir for longer than Professor Nebilim's been teaching here."
"Speaking of the little runt, where'd he go? Wasn't he clinging onto you a moment ago?" Peony began glancing around for any sign of him, but since his hair was almost the same hue as the snow, he was having difficulty locating him.
"Don't remind me," Jade spat, grimacing at the fact that he'd more than likely find booger stains on the back of his jacket later.
"Ah, there he is!" Peony cheered, running over to a frail figure hunched up against a nearby tree. Jade started to wipe the snow from Saphir's clothing for him after Peony helped the delirious boy up out of the snow. Suddenly, Saphir felt a little better...a little.
"I thought I was going to die out here!! Why did you push me away? Why didn't you come help me sooner?! What if the monsters had gotten me by then??" Saphir cried, honestly having feared for his life, and secretly Jade's as well.
"Relax, I was just joking with you. There are no monsters; you're perfectly safe." Peony waved off Saphir's pleas and resumed his trek with Jade, expecting Saphir to follow loyally as he always did.
The abused boy just hugged his jacket tighter to himself, hoping to warm up a bit after his fit in the snow and muttered to himself, "You two are so mean to me..." He went to wipe his runny nose on his sleeve when he decided that there might be a better way to go about it. "Do either of you have a tissue on you?" Saphir queried politely, despite how they'd been treating him.
"No," one of the boys in front of him replied with a stale voice. He couldn't tell offhand which boy had replied to him, but he assumed hopefully that it was Jade.
"Well, what about a handkerchief?"
"Why don't you just stop being picky and wipe it on your sleeve already? We didn't bring any tissues for you, Runny, because we didn't expect you to start crying and dripping your snot everywhere anytime we made a joke." Jade smirked at Peony's new nickname for Saphir and suppressed a chuckle.
"Just shut up, Peony! You know, I really hate you!!" Saphir had always been told that hate was a strong word, so he refrained from using it, but he was telling the truth now. Jade had always treated him somewhat badly, but Peony was so forward about it that he didn't even try to mask the abuse. He would take it from Jade, but Peony never earned the right! "I hope you get attacked by that Yeti from earlier!!"
Peony couldn't help but laugh at the fact that Saphir still believed his joke and honestly thought that there was a Yeti out there trying to get them. "You know Jade, I don't think we're wanted here. I guess we're not allowed to have fun as long as Saphir has anything to say about it."
"Shut up, that's not what I said at all!! You're twisting my words against Jade! Don't make me wipe my nose on you!!" Saphir knew for a fact that Jade hated his runny nose and wisely assumed that Peony must hate it too, therefore making it sufficient leverage in his argument. But knowing that he needed to back up his threats with action if they were to be taken seriously, Saphir leapt forward, without giving Peony a chance to escape, and began wiping his nose on the back of his shirt relentlessly.
"Ah!! Oh Yulia, EW!!" Peony's arms began flailing comically, like those of a frightened little girl, desperately trying to release himself from Runny's clutches. "GROSS! I'm not a tissue!!" However, their comedic dance of stupidity hardly entertained Jade today. He wandered away from the dualing duo and let his own thoughts consume him...
Despite Saphir's obvious emotional faults, he was an undeniable genius of sorts, just like himself, but in a different field. While Jade excelled at almost everything he did, he prided himself in Fonic Artes. Saphir generally only excelled in Fontech. Nebilim always started teaching her students about all fields of study concerning Fonons to help them grasp an overall understanding and to assist them in discovering where they excelled. Then, she taught them everything they wanted or needed to know about their field. Both he and Saphir were honestly still learning, despite their undeniable talents. Since his own Fontech skills were lacking, Saphir would eventually come in handy if he ever wanted to mass produce or artificially amplify any of his Fonic Artes...like say, those associated with the Seventh Fonon...
Jade grinned, Saphir always had so many good uses despite how annoying and difficult he was to tolerate...he would be so hard a pet to get rid of when the time came that his uses were exhausted. Although he had to admit that Peony was doing a fine job of that on his own. He still needed Saphir a bit longer...he needed the boy's Fontech expertise. What if it was his key to harnessing the Seventh Fonon?