I'm sorry that I couldn't make it in time for your birthday yogibearxlover. But Happy late birthday any way! Hope you like this chapter ^.^
Also, in regards to RoyalxOzera's review, Drew is there on the same flight as Kai on the way back to the Academy and he's also there when the other three Moroi boys apologize to her. The reason why he isn't hit is because he didn't do anything wrong. And as for the hallway bit, he's there but he doesn't say anything because he didn't need to. I hope this clears things up a little bit ^.^
Chapter 16
"Ah Valentine, please come in and take a seat." Martin beckoned and I walked in. I noticed two other people in the office and from their vague resemblance to Marissa; I guessed that they must've been her parents.
"If I may, I would like to say something first." I told them.
"Of course," he nodded.
I walked over so that I was standing in front of the two Moroi and bowed to them. "I'm really sorry!"
"Pardon? We should be the ones apologising for our daughter's unforgivable behaviour," the mother frowned.
"But I feel the need to say that her actions towards me today weren't completely unprovoked."
"Please, sit down and you don't need to bow."
"But I am in the presence of royals am I not?"
"Would you listen if we asked you to sit?" the mother smiled softly at me.
"If that is what you would prefer." I nodded and took a seat opposite them around the coffee table in the Headmaster's office.
"Please explain why you just apologised?"
"I should start from the beginning. Marissa's… violent behaviour today may have been instigated by my taunt about her this morning." I smiled apologetically.
"What happened? I was informed by Headmaster Hunt that Marissa was the one to start everything including the incident during breakfast," her father frowned in confusion.
I tried to think back on what had happened during breakfast. "I… I had a nightmare this morning and I woke up screaming which in turn jolted a few others who share the same floor awake. I guess that the news of my scream was spread around and it reached your daughter's ears. When I got to breakfast, she made some sort of comment about it and at first I ignored her because I didn't want to start anything. But then she started taunting my friend Ingrid so I turned around and asked her who she was. At the time, I really had no idea who she was."
"Which is perfectly reasonable, after all, our daughter hasn't done anything that would make her recognisable until today."
"She said something in return which I cannot remember at the moment but then I retorted by calling her a nobody." I gave them a sheepish smile. "That probably wasn't the brightest move considering how she is a royal and all…"
"We have told her many times that she mustn't abuse her title and both my husband and I know well that she has always ignored our warnings. We have warned her that abusing the title will land her in deep trouble." Lady Badica sighed.
"Well there's more… I also called her an ironing board…" I laughed nervously and rubbed the back of my neck. "It was harsh but it just sort of came out before I could stop it since I'm so used to high school banter and hurling insults on whim."
"Yes, Headmaster Hunt did mention that you only arrived this week, is that right?" Lord Badica asked curiously.
"Yes." I nodded. "And there is one last thing. When she threw me into the air, I guess I sort of lost it for a moment. In retaliation, I grabbed a grape, threw it at her glass of juice and it sort of toppled over which splashed onto her white dress."
"You threw a grape which managed to knock over a glass of juice?" they stared at me in surprised. "How far away were you?"
"Um… a few meters away." I contemplated.
"Oh my…" Lady Badica marvelled and turned to Martin. "This is quite a skilled student you have captured and recruited Headmaster Hunt."
"She has already sailed to the top of her combat class and with time, she will be completely up to speed with the rest of her studies. That is how capable she is," he smiled proudly at me.
"The top of her class… that's the one with Andrew, Jackson, Quinn and Daniel right?" Lord Badica asked.
"Yes." Martin confirmed.
"And she's in the same ranks as they are?"
"She is even higher." Joe cut in.
"Even higher… and at such a young age… incredible," the two Badicas eyed me with wonder.
"Now, back to what we had requested your presence for." Lady Badica reached over and took my hands in hers. "Thank you for telling us some more of the story. In truth, our daughter had already complained and argued that you had been the one who started it by insulting her first. But my husband and I have spoken to the Guardians who were on duty and they were all witnesses to the fact that it was not your fault. While there may have been a conflict between the pair of you, we all acknowledge the fact that it is normal. Even adults go through the same kinds of experiences although perhaps with more sophisticated words and methods of insulting one another directly," she smiled wryly. "You should not guilt yourself in thinking that you led her to behave in such a way. You are who you are Miss Valentine and it just so happens that you are a more respected and adored person compared to our daughter. That is not something you could have determined. It is not your fault that our daughter became overwhelmed by jealousy. Everyone has their own skills and one of yours is your adorable charm."
"Charm?" I tilted my head to the side in bewilderment. "Do I even have any?"
"Of course you do dear, when you first came in, the first thing you thought to do was to apologise to us, believing that you were partly responsible for what had happened today. You felt the need to explain that there had been conflict. We had already known that there had been a small clash between you and my daughter. I also know that she had been talking about you behind your back and it seems that there have been quite a few rumours about your family as well which is all created by my daughter."
"Oh… so that was true as well…" I trailed off in thought. So Marissa really had been the one to make all those rumours.
"Even in a rage of jealousy, that does not give her any right to talk of you in such a preposterous manner and so I apologise for my daughter's lack of etiquette and inexcusable behaviour."
"Thank you, I am grateful for the apology and am thoroughly relieved that neither of you minded that I called your daughter an ironing board." I joked lightly.
"Us Moroi women have acknowledged that we do lack in that area but most of us have accepted it. Of course, there would be those who don't accept their figure and wish for something more, my daughter being one of those people. I would not say that to be called an ironing board is a common insult, but there have been many other derivatives similar to that. You do not need to feel guilty of it."
"So far, I find that a female Moroi's figure seems to accentuate a certain graceful and subtle femininity that others cannot hope to achieve. Moroi women remind me of elegant ballet dancers." I smiled.
"If you usually speak in such a flattering and considerate fashion, I have no doubt that you will attract a lot of powerful acquaintances in the future Miss Valentine." Lady Badica laughed and smiled warmly at me in appreciation at my observation.
"Please, call me by my first name." I smiled back. "I always feel self-conscious if I am addressed with a title of any sort."
"Well then Kylie, I must say that it has been a pleasure meeting you considering the consequences. I am impressed that you managed to keep your temper and did not throttle my daughter." Lord Badica eyed me in admiration.
"I certainly thought it."
"Ah but you didn't act upon the anger that you undoubtedly felt and that is what counts. You took her insults and did not attack her. For that I am grateful. Even though I am appalled by her actions, I still wish as a father that no harm comes to my daughter and so I thank you for sparing her from any injuries."
"Well, physical injuries anyway. I am sure that I have damaged her pride on both occasions, especially the second because of the four royal's assistance during the scene."
"Hopefully, this will become a valuable lesson that she may learn from. Otherwise, she will continuously repeat the same mistakes and the next person she offends may not be as kind and level headed as you are." Lady Badica noted.
"Thank you for your compliments Lady Badica." I smiled shyly.
"They were well deserved, Kylie. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to invite you to dinner some time. I thoroughly enjoy your company and would like another opportunity for us to talk without having such a serious matter hanging over our heads."
"I would be honoured to have such a lovely invitation." I beamed. "I reckon I will be free almost anytime so simply arrange something with Headmaster and I will attend."
"Well then, I shall be calling soon once I have something arranged. I am afraid to say that we must leave to sort out further details and arrangements for Marissa." Lady Badica smiled at me and stood up with her husband.
"It has been a pleasure to meet the both of you Lord and Lady Badica." I inclined my head to show my respect to them.
"The pleasure is ours Kylie." Lord Badica shook his head and held out his hand for me to shake. I shook both their hands in turn and remained standing until they'd left.
I waited a few moments before I collapsed back onto the chair. "Man am I glad that I remembered all those lessons about manners back when I was a kid." I groaned. "That was so nerve wracking!"
"You did very well Kai, don't sweat it." Joe laughed and patted my shoulder. "When did you learn to be such a sweet and smooth talker?"
"I don't know. It just comes to me sometimes." I shrugged. "It comes with the job, that's what it is. It definitely comes with the job."
"You mean the singing one?"
"Yep, if you're a sweet talker, you can get further in the career." I grinned. "So, is that all I need to be here for?" I asked sheepishly.
"One more thing Kai." Martin stopped me with a stern tone.
"Yes?"
"You need to get that bracelet strengthened Kai."
"Excuse me?"
"Your bracelet, I could see it on your face during that confrontation after lunch. Other people may not realise but I could recognise that expression anywhere. The bracelet isn't really strong enough anymore is it? You were terrified that you were going to injure people. If the bracelet was still affective, you wouldn't have had that concern." Martin watched me carefully.
I stared at him in surprise. "You saw that?" I whispered.
"Yes Kai, and you need to sort it as soon as possible."
"I will sort it out once the secret is out with Rosette." I told him levelly. "If I managed to hold it together today, I doubt that there will be an event that would spike my temper as much as what happened today so I'll last until then."
"Kai -"
"Martin, I've got it under control." I cut him off and I felt a little guilty for having to talk back to him like this but I had to prove to them that I was a strong girl now and not the same person as I was back then. I didn't want them to have to be at my heels for the rest of my life. I needed them to see that. "I promise that at the first sign of danger, I'll go to Rosette." I told him softly.
"I will hold you to that Kai," he sighed when he realised that he wasn't going to win the fight.
"Listen, I'll see you two around. I'd better head to the elementary division before any of the kids start harassing Ali." I smiled.
"Ah yes… he wasn't very pleased that we kept quiet about you." Martin grimaced. "I got a pretty annoyed call from him threatening to beat me to a pulp the next time something like this happens regardless of the fact that I am his boss, his superior and the Headmaster of this school."
"Wow, so Ali hasn't lost his impulsive touch." I laughed. "Definitely good to know."
"Don't you go dragging him into any tricks you intend to play on people," Martin warned me with a playful tone. "He had enough of those when he was still a student."
"Well I certainly recall my fair share of incidents." I smirked at him remembering how I used to join Ali for his mischievous tricks to drive teachers insane. Any social time spent with Ali was definitely time well spent. Very well spent indeed.
"I'd better let you go before Ali thinks up any pranks against me." Martin sighed. "Have fun on your trip tomorrow. Are you sure you have enough money?"
"Martin, I have earned a six figure salary within a year based on ordinary singles alone and that's only my most recent one." I told him bluntly.
"And I have been unable to spoil you for the past six years," he retorted.
"Oh don't be silly Martin, you don't need to spoil me. I'll love you all the same." I waved my hand dismissively. "I've told you this as a prep school kid and I'll tell you this again. Even if you give me money, I'll just use it to buy you a present and not spend it for myself. I won't intentionally spend someone else's money unless its school fess or I earned it myself in some way."
"What kind of child, and more importantly teenager, rejects money?" Joe stared at me incredulously.
"I do." I stuck my tongue out at him immaturely and left the office before I got side tracked for much longer. When I got to the elementary division, I was greeted by the guardian who was in charge of guarding the small gateway which led onto the junior side of the campus.
"You must be Valentine, right?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes at me in an assessing way.
"That would be me." I nodded. "Would it be alright if I visited a couple of the kids up until their bedtime?"
"Well I'd have to say that that's not up to me to decide. I'm just here to guard the gate to check who goes in and out."
"Sort of like a gate list then?"
"Along the lines of that yes."
"How long will your shift be?"
"Until the early hours of the morning," he sighed. "I've still got another three hours to go."
"That long?" I squealed in surprise.
"The guard duty for this gate is usually four hour shifts."
"That must be so tiring and boring too…" I grimaced.
"Most of us regard this post as the unlucky one."
"I can understand why. Well then I guess that I will see you in over an hour or so when I leave. See you later Guardian…"
"Wilson. Mitch Wilson."
"Nice to meet you Guardian Wilson." I smiled politely before making my way past the gate and into the building that Guardian Wilson directed me to.
This section of the elementary division brought back so many memories. As I walked down the halls, I recognised some of the places where Ali and I had played our pranks. At one point, we had even made our mark behind one of the paintings by signing and drawing ridiculous symbols on the back. It had been a picture of Rose Hathaway if I remembered correctly and I made a mental note to search for it later.
Along the way I had no idea where I was heading at all. There was no way that I would know where to go to find Ali.
"Trace! Come back!" I heard someone holler from around the corner and a moment later a small child with black hair raced by me. On instinct I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist while easily lifting him up into my arms and supported him on my hip. At first he struggled against me when he felt someone grab him.
"Now, now Trace, are you giving the poor Guardian on duty a hard time?" I teased with a grin.
"Kylie!" he beamed in delight and instantly wrapped his arms around my neck tightly and snuggled against me. "You came back! You came back to visit us!"
"Well of course I did, I made a promise and I don't make promises I can't keep." I smiled and kissed the top of his head. "You must always remember that you should never promise something unless you know that you can keep it."
"Okay," he nodded childishly and snuggled even closer if that was even possible.
"Trace!" two Guardians rounded the corner and stopped just short of crashing into me.
"It's alright Guardians, I've got him." I smiled reassuringly at them.
"Who are you?" one of them asked with eyes narrowed in caution.
"I'm Kylie Valentine and Guardian Castile said that I was free to come back so that I could prevent this little one from running into the senior division and getting himself lost." I introduced myself. "Could you show me where Guardian Castile is by any chance?"
"Sure," the male Guardian eyed me with a small leer. I blinked in shock at what he'd just done and dismissed it for the moment. I would definitely be asking Ali about him later. "Jan, you should probably go look for the other kids who decided to play this ridiculous game of hide and seek before it gets too late. I can accompany this lady to Castile."
"Alright, but you better help out with the search as soon as you've shown her where to go," the female Guardian called Jan grumbled before walking away.
"Follow me," he told me briskly and I noticed the slight shuddering that seemed to rake through Trace. He had kept his head buried in the crook of my neck and hadn't looked up once since the Guardians appeared. I ran my hand in a soothing gesture over his back and patted his head.
"Thank you Guardian..?"
"Leighton. So why are you looking for Castile anyway?"
"The Headmaster had a message that he wanted to tell Guardian Castile. I had just seen the Headmaster and so he thought it would be easiest for me to deliver the message." I lied smoothly without a fault.
"What's the message?"
I frowned up at him. I didn't like the vibe that I got from his man and I certainly didn't like his tone as though he was entitled to know what the message was. It didn't matter whether there was a message or not, the fact that his tone was filled with arrogance had my muscles tensing in anger.
"The message is for Guardian Castile and since the Headmaster did not mention any other Guardian's names, I won't tell anyone but Guardian Castile regardless of who asks." I told him firmly.
"I doubt that the Headmaster would have something to say to him and no one else. Castile is practically a nobody as a Guardian."
"That is not for you to decide is it?" I retorted before I could stop myself.
"Excuse me?" he leered down at me again and I couldn't help but feel that the way he looked at me was incredibly inappropriate.
"I said that it's not for you to decide whether the Headmaster has something to say to Guardian Castile or not." I repeated slowly like he was some kind of a dumb idiot.
"You will watch your tone when you speak to a Guardian you snotty little bit -"
"And you will watch your language when you are in the presence of a young child." I snapped and cut him off before he could finish the word. He eyes flashed in anger and he stopped walking to glare at me.
"Just who do you think you are you fu -"
"If you can't talk without swearing then I suggest you keep your mouth shut Guardian Leighton." I glared right back at him.
"Well then how about I remove the little pest so that I can talk in any way I want?" he spat and held out his arms. "Hand him over."
I felt Trace stiffen in fear and I glared at the Guardian defiantly. "No." I stated.
"What did you just say?"
"Are you deaf?" I sneered. "I said 'No'."
"Hand him over right now, that's an order!" he thundered.
"You don't have any authority over me. I might be new here but I know that much."
"You arrogant little -"
"Watch your language." I cut him off again with a level tone filled with barely contained anger.
"You need to learn some manners," he hissed.
"You need it more than I do." I scoffed.
"How dare you treat your superiors so disrespectfully?" he roared.
"You? My superior? I don't think so." I rolled my eyes at him and stepped to the side to avoid his lunge as he tried to attack me. "Well now, not only are you foul mouthed but also violent. How on earth did you get stationed at the elementary division? You are a wretched thorn to the elementary school."
"You are nothing but a novice!" he bellowed and lunged for me again and this time I didn't let him off for it. I stepped to the side, manoeuvred around him and slammed him into the wall while restricting him arms behind his back using my free hand and a knee.
"What is going on here?" an all too familiar voice demanded with a voice filled with authority from behind me. It was a voice that I would recognise anywhere…
"This vile novice has been nothing but rude and I was just planning to teach her a lesson." Guardian Leighton spat out with his face pressed against the wall.
"It seems as though you're the one being taught the lesson Leighton," she scoffed. "Whoever you are, release the Guardian and give me your name."
"Ah! It's Guardian Belikov!" Trace squealed in delight. "We're saved from the mean man!"
"Hush now Trace, now is not the time. You wouldn't want to make the nasty man angrier than he already is." I told him and released my hold on the Guardian. He immediately tried to round on me and tried to throw a punch to my face but I ducked at the last moment, lurched forward and slammed my elbow into his stomach as I turned to face Juliet Belikov who was better known to me as my beloved aunt. "I was merely trying to defend both myself and Trace from this Guardian's advances that's all Guardian." I told her defensively. "His tone and gaze were totally inappropriate so I would suggest that he undergoes training again on how to treat others respectfully."
"Who the fu -"
I slammed my fist backwards and down and punched his privates before he could finish the sentence. He instantly began groaning and doubled over in pain as he held where I had just hit him.
"Get out of here and I want you reporting to Guardian Castile about everything that had just happened in detail. Now!" Aunty Jules commanded with a strict tone and Guardian Leighton scurried away as fast as he could possibly go in his condition. "Trace, I would like for you to return to your room for now."
"Will big sis Kylie still be allowed to visit me before I have to sleep?" he pleaded.
"It won't take long and I will allow her to see you after I am done talking to her," she nodded.
"Will you be alright on your own?" I asked with open concern as I set him on his feet.
"I have your lucky charm big sis so I'll be strong until you come," he leaned over and kissed my cheek sweetly before dashing off.
There were a few moments of silence and I stood staring at her while she assessed me in return. Aunty Jules hadn't changed all that much except the strain of being the lead Guardian of the academy seemed to have taken its toll on her over the years. Dark shadows occupied beneath her stern dark brown eyes, her long almost black hair was tied professionally into a bun at the nape of her neck and her attire was the same as most other Guardians in this academy. Complete and utterly black all over.
She stormed towards me and on instinct my palm collided with her fist as she tried to hit me. Her eyes glistened in a moment of approval before she continued to shower me with attacks. I incessantly blocked and dodged each and every one of them until she decided to stop.