Chapter 37

Dinner was mostly quiet as the realization of why they had moved locations began finally sinking in. Rean was somber looking as he listened to Emma and Celine quietly discussing the possibility of putting up some kind of protection spells around the warehouse. Crow just focused on his plate, eating the food even though he really didn't have much of an appetite. From time to time, he would glance at Melyssa, who kept giving her mother worried looks.

"She'll be fine, Lyssa." He assured quietly, reaching across the table to rest his hand on hers, squeezing gently.

Truth be told, Melyssa didn't have that much of an appetite either, but she had to keep her strength up. She had to take care of herself or she wouldn't be any good to her father. Tonight, she would try to link up with Crow again and then tomorrow, they would all come up with a rock solid plan to rescue him. Having two Bracers and a witch on their side would help tremendously. Something was nagging at Melyssa, however, and she couldn't ignore it any longer.

"Instructor?" All eyes turned to her as Rean looked up from his plate, teal locking with fuchsia. "Principal Aurelia was one of the leading Generals of the Noble Faction in the civil war, wasn't she?"

"Correct…" Rean's eyes narrowed as he set his fork down on his plate. "Why do you ask, Melyssa?"

"I've been thinking about the attack in Crossbell and…I think you're right. I think I was more of a target than I thought. And I think my rescue from McBurn might've also been staged as well." Now everyone's interest was piqued, especially Rean's. His eyes were burning a hole through her and Melyssa clasped her hands in her lap.

"Wait a minute…McBurn? Crossbell? What are you talking about, Melyssa?" Juna demanded, a fellow civilian of Crossbell herself and felt her brows rise almost to her hairline.

"Lyssa?"

"Ash and Instructor Rean know this already, but with everything that's going on in Jurai with the nobility, I feel you all need to know this information. About a year ago, during the attack of Crossbell, I had a run-in with McBurn. There were other civilians with me and I told them all to run, that I would stay behind." Her hands began to tremble at the memory of being in that monster's presence and feeling his sheer fiery power. "I almost died at his hands, but someone intervened and helped me."

"Who?"

Melyssa was about to go back on her word, but she had no other choice in the matter. "The Golden Rakshasa, Aurelia Le Guin."

Silence stretched throughout the dinner table, everyone's eyes widened and their jaws dropped to their plates.

"W-Wait a minute…"

"WHAT?!"

"So that's who helped you get into Thors, eh?" Ash had finally gotten the last piece of the puzzle, the one she had been sworn to secrecy on. "The Principal helped you get in."

"Yes. She said I had potential and when I told her why I left home, she offered to help me with my acceptance into Thors. I thought I was gonna go to the Main School, but there wasn't any room for commoners, so they sent me to the Branch School instead." Melyssa explained, scrubbing a hand down her face because the evidence of all this being a huge setup was mounting. "I asked the Instructor that question because I'm wondering if Aurelia is still working with Ouroboros even now. And if that's the case, then…"

"Shit."

"I was sworn to secrecy by Aurelia. She said she didn't want anyone to know because she didn't want others treating me differently, thinking I didn't earn my way into Thors, when that's not true. I just had a…different way of getting in, but I still had to take all the tests required." That was why she wound up as the only first year student in Rean's Class VII with the ARCUS II unit. "I trusted her, but…I don't know if I do now and that's why I've decided to come clean about my connection with her."

"But…Aurelia was on that train…" Juna pointed out weakly, glancing at Kurt, who had a stoic expression on his face.

"And she came out unscathed, untouched." Kurt practically spat the words out, gritting his teeth.

Rean let his head drop to the table, knowing that the pieces all fit, it was all THERE. "And she's been privy to most of this information because we've been keeping her in the loop." He said, his voice coming out muffled due to being face planted on the tabletop.

"Even today's info?" Crow asked, his tone flat and emotionless, but his fiery red eyes were telling a different story.

"There hasn't been time. But if she's working with Ouroboros, she'll know about Shirley and Cedric."

"So, she put you here," Ash said slowly, frowning slightly as he stared at Melyssa. "In Thors… I wonder if she was using you 'running away' as a way to control your family or something." And eventually the control stopped working, hence the grandfather's death and the kidnapping of her father.

"No, she didn't." Miranda had overheard everything and sat up in bed, walking over to the table. "My husband and I didn't know what happened to Melyssa. That's why it was such a shock to see her again after over a year." Her eyes lowered as the memory of what happened to her father swept over her. "My father was killed because he tried stopping Heidel Rogner from starting petition to have a new mayor in Jurai. Heidel promised even more money and prosperity since he's a family member of one of the Four Great Houses. A day after we buried him, my husband was kidnapped from the docks and that was almost 6 months ago. If this Aurelia is working with the enemy, she is keeping it under wraps and quiet."

"So then, why go after Melyssa in the first place?"

"The only thing I can think of is I'm their daughter and they wanted to use me as leverage against Papa and Dad to sway their choices." Melyssa couldn't think of any other reason since her family wasn't nobility, but they did have the biggest fish market in the city. "But then why would McBurn try to kill me in Crossbell?"

"Unless that was staged, like you said with Aurelia." Ash folded his arms in front of his chest, seeing Crow and Rean were being quiet for the moment. "It could've all been staged to get you to trust Aurelia, so she could get you into Thors and keep you under her thumb and surveillance." That made a lot of sense now that he thought about it. "And if things didn't go their way, she could've easily used you as bait against your family."

"Why did…why did they kill Papa then if that's the case? Killing him defeats the purpose of using me as bait…"

"Because they still have your Dad and your grandfather had a lot of influence within Jurai. They saw him as a danger and eliminated it." Miranda sounded saddened, but also reserved and could feel her heart breaking at the thought of never seeing her father or potentially her husband again.

"Come to think of it…" Sara looked at Rean suddenly, knowing he had the same thought going through his head as she did. "Didn't the Principal send you to Jurai specifically with your class, Rean?"

"She did?!"

"Oh man…"

"Goodness…"

Melyssa hadn't even thought of that until now and pushed her plate away, her appetite officially gone. "Goddess…" It was really true – Aurelia had to be working for the enemy and they had fallen into her trap!

Rean buried his own face in his hands, shaking his head. "I went to her about Melyssa and Crow not being able to effectively use the Combat Link." He said through his fingers, fuchsia eyes shut tight as he recalled that conversation. "I told her I wanted to take them out on a field study and put them in situations to build trust. She was the one who suggested taking all of Class VII as a way to remove pressure from the pair… and that Jurai would be a good place to start because Crow and Melyssa were both from here." And then, afterwards, she had discussed the 'rumors of Ouroboros', he had been played like a cheap fiddle.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Ash roared, standing up so fast, his chair went flying and his pink eyes were nothing more than fire. "THAT BITCH USED US!"

Melyssa had NEVER seen Ash's temper flare until now and it was somewhat frightening, if she was honest. She had no idea Rean had gone to Aurelia or the fact Aurelia had 'suggested' they come to Jurai to help work on the Combat Link between her and Crow. Her Papa was dead, her father was being held captive by the very man who was probably working closely with Aurelia in the first place!

"ASH, calm down!" Juna shouted, standing from her chair as well and didn't know what she could say to Melyssa at the moment. "Losing your head is not going to help matters!"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" Ash was beyond pissed off and needed air, storming out of the warehouse, slamming the door behind him so hard, the walls rattled.

"I-I'll go talk to him…" Melyssa was already headed toward the door when Crow stopped her, turning her to face him.

"Lyssa, that's not a good idea…"

"I'll be okay. He won't hurt me." Ash was there for her several times and it was her turn to do the same for him. "Just…leave us alone for a little while and let me talk to him." Extricating her arm from his grasp, Melyssa made her way outside and spotted Ash on the dock, staring out into the ocean. Emma had cast a protection spell within a 500 arge radius, along with an invisibility spell, so they wouldn't be spotted out here in the open or heard. "Look, I know you probably hate me right now and I don't blame you one bit for it. You should hate me and my family for everything that's happened. It's because of me that you nearly died in that train attack…and I know this doesn't make it right, but…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ash, and if I could take it all back, I would. I never would've gone to Thors and turned all of your lives upside down like this had I known I was just being used as a pawn." Maybe she really didn't belong in Thors, after all.

"Stop being such a martyr, Melyssa." He said flatly, not turning to look at her, his hands landed behind his back in a guard stance as he stared at the ocean. "It's not YOU, it's your family and their influence." Being the most influential fishmonger had bitten her in the backside. "And even then, it's not their fault that people can't accept how things are. The fact that we were betrayed…" He clenched his fists. "And so many have gotten hurt…."

Melyssa didn't know what else to say to him, wishing she could be there for Ash the same way he was there for her. She wasn't making things better by apologizing, apparently. What if he didn't survive that train attack? What if she had lost him or anyone in their class, all because she was the target?

"Being that it is my family makes me just as responsible as them, Ash. I'm not being a martyr, I'm stating simple facts. I'll leave you alone and if you want to talk, you know where to find me." Pulling her ARCUS II out, she sent a quick message to Crow to meet her on the outskirts of Jurai, which wasn't far away from the warehouse. There was a back entrance and Emma's spell would reach that far, so they would be in the clear to practice linking. After what she just discovered, Melyssa really needed to blow off some steam.

But she was wrong. She and her family weren't at fault for any of these events. They were just as much victims of Ouroboros as the rest of Jurai. The only thing that made them special was their influence within the commoners. Ash hadn't known how to say that, but he was thinking it and figured he'd try explaining himself better when he wasn't tongue-tied from anger.

Crow met her shortly. He had to sneak away almost, catching Rean's eye on the way out and had gestured about needing air. Rean currently had his hands and mind full with this new information. Melyssa had found a clearing, sat down and cried, trying to get it all out before Crow arrived. She could hear him approaching and wiped her tears away, drying them up because now wasn't the time to break down.

"Glad you came." She managed to crack a smile that did not touch her turmoil-filled eyes and had pulled her hair back in a messy bun. It had been down for the majority of the day and she couldn't handle it on her neck anymore. "Ready to do this? There's a pack of monsters just beyond those trees we can surprise and try to link up on." She unsheathed her Cutlass, ready to lose herself in battle for a little while.

Crow started to nod only to stop, bending down as he really stared into her face. "You've been crying." He said quietly, reaching out to trace the now dried track her tears had left behind in their wake. "The day finally starting to get to you, Lyssa?" She looked tired, but also determined and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that the Combat Link wouldn't work this time.

Not that Crow felt up to testing this theory out in the middle of a heated battle with someone like Shirley.

"I don't want to talk about anything else except training right now. I'm fine, really."

Melyssa could be stubborn when she wanted to be and they had to get this taken care of before they decided to go into battle together against Ouroboros. She had gotten a taste of what Shirley was capable of and she already knew McBurn was downright lethal. Pushing everything else in the back of her mind for the time being, Melyssa focused primarily on Crow and her feelings for him. Calling her Lyssa, his memories returning and how happy she was to finally be reunited with him after all this time. It didn't feel like a reunion until yesterday. The monsters spotted them and she nodded at Crow, the blue symbols forming beneath their feet. She glowed orange while he glowed blue, both nodding at the same time before leaping into action.

I trust him and I believe in him, I believe in us and what we have is strong enough to overcome anything, she thought, cutting down one monster and then going after another while Crow did the same thing. So far, the Combat Link remained intact and, surprisingly, despite what happened and what they discovered, both could feel it growing stronger with each passing second. "Crow, now!" She shouted, activating the special Combat Link attack and did the splits, just like she did with Ash, allowing Crow to make the finishing, deadly blow on the last monster.