Shackled Exalted

Emil

After a day of being confined to the bed at Petra's insistence, Emil was allowed to return to campus. He left the evidence of the Sixth Hidden Laboratory's heinous deeds in Petra's hands. The Fixer apparently had some way of sending the documents back to the witch in the Steiger headquarters in Upper Dannan. Finally, after three months of tumultuous investigations, he was able to procure something substantial to justify Hortensia's decision to place him at the Academy.

With a load off his mind, Emil found himself back at the campus library.

"It's just the two of us again, huh?"

Anna was seated across from him at a large table surrounded by a pile of textbooks and worksheets.

"The princess is off somewhere doing whatever. Not that I blame her, I rather be doing anything else than staring at diagrams and words. Must be nice not having to do exams," Anna said, rolling her eyes with envy, "Charlotte has another event tonight that she's obligated to attend. A masquerade hosted by House Nacht. As usual, she dragged Kai with her."

Did she do her hair? That's surprising. She never does her hair in the mornings. Emil mused as he noted the slight difference in Anna's appearance. Today, her hair was woven neatly into two long braids that rested pats her shoulders. Normally, the grumpy girl would leave her voluminous red hair undone due to her lack of energy in the morning, much to Charlotte and Aoife's dismay.

I wonder what the occasion is.

"Kai in a masquerade filled with nobles?"

"Yeah, the mask and costume aren't going to be doing much if he's the only Gharian in attendance," Anna scoffed, "Unless he plans to cover everything Gharian about him with glamour. Sounds exhausting if you ask me."

"Are there any Gharians amongst the nobility?" Emil asked out of curiosity.

"Not in Azure City as far as I'm aware, but there's a few scattered in the other provinces. They rarely make an appearance in court. Makes sense given that the older generation of elites still have their prejudice against Gharians despite their annexation a decade ago." Anna sighed. "At least our generation is more accepting. I haven't noticed Kai being treated poorly because of his skin color."

"How about when you were about to blast him with electricity after you found out he was dating Charlotte?" Emil joked.

"Oh please, that's because he had a reputation of a scoundrel. He would have received a much warmer reception if he hadn't been courting every noble girl walking on campus."

Emil smirked.

"What? You don't believe me?" Anna asked. Despite her combative tone, her eyes were watching him with a gentle gaze.

"You can say I'm unconvinced."

"Hmph, whatever."

Is it just me or is she less sassy than usual? Emil wondered. His red-haired friend had always been feisty and aggressive. It was part of the reason why he stuck by her side despite their tumultuous first meeting and her fiery temper. It was amusing to banter with someone who wore their emotions on their sleeves.

"Anyways, you were gone yesterday," Anna suddenly switched the topic.

"Yeah. Did you miss me?" Emil asked with a wink.

He was expecting an immediate retort. Instead, Anna continued to stare at him with her doe-like eyes. Not a semblance of a reaction on her face. Hey, say something. Emil frowned. The light-hearted mood suddenly felt serious as his frivolous remark remained unanswered.

Anna finally spoke after a few seconds of silence, "You're hurt."

"I—"

"You're in a lot of pain right now, aren't you?" she declared, firm, not giving him a chance to pretend.

Emil wanted to keep up the façade until he had a realization. Is this why she's been staring so intently at me this whole time? She had been scrutinizing him and he didn't even notice.

"…Was that obvious?" he asked, sighing in resignation. Frankly, his entire body was aching with agony. His inside of his chest scalded from a few broken ribs. His limbs creaked and groaned with every micromovement. The fall from the top of the Sixth Hidden Laboratory hadn't been kind to him. Despite fortifying his body in stone armor and Mana Arts, he was only human. The fact that he was still able to move after just a day of rest was already miraculous.

Petra wanted him to recover longer, but Emil insisted that he needed to get back onto campus. One day of absence was fine given that it was almost exam season. But two days and the Academy staff might start asking questions, especially when exams were half a week away. As a compromise, Emil agreed to visit later at night for a second round of assessments.

"No, but I can tell. We've been seeing each other every day for nearly three months now," Anna said.

Emil was caught off guard by her casual declaration. Anna then rose from her seat.

"I'll ask Liesel to make you a few packs of ice. I'll be back."

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He watched as she left their table. Her belongings were still scattered on her side of the desk. Suddenly left alone, Emil retreated to his textbook. He had a lot of catching up to do.

I really hope I can pass these exams. He mused at his worry that seemed so trivial.

***

Emil studied with Anna until the afternoon when both of them had enough. With his brain thoroughly overloaded with information, he made his way towards the training field.

As expected, a lone student was there—a training sword in hand as they repeated the same downward swing. After a few repetitions, they switched to a horizontal thrust. A puddle of sweat pooled in the dirt around them. Their training outfit was drenched and stained with dirt. Exhausted breaths echoed over the empty field.

Emil stood from afar, watching, making note of the student's movements. After a few minutes of intense practice, they finally stopped.

"Not bad, princess," Emil said as he approached.

Aoife shot up, startled by his sudden appearance. In midst of her shock, her training sword dropped to the ground.

"I might have to deduct points for dropping your sword," Emil teased as he picked it back up, "What was one of the first things I taught you?"

"Always have a firm grip on your weapon," Aoife recited on instinct before narrowing her eyes in suspicion, "Just how long were you watching me?"

"Enough to offer some critique." With her training sword, Emil began to demonstrate the areas where Aoife could improve her movement and generate more power in her swings.

The princess was pouting by the time he finished. "Thanks for the advice, but don't you know it's bad manners to spy on a lady?" she muttered.

That was your takeaway from my demonstration? Emil shook his head, amused by her frivolousness.

"Don't worry, my gaze was completely innocent. Besides—" he shot a glance at her body, "I'm not particularly attracted to someone who's fully drenched in sweat."

"E-Excuse me!"

Emil jumped back as Aoife kicked a cloud of dirt at his direction. He scratched his face sheepishly. Aoife had a combative glare on her face. Okay, maybe that was going a bit overboard. She's still a princess. As much as Aoife wanted to have a normal friendship, Emil still had to keep a healthy amount of distance given their positions.

"I request a spar for this offense!" Aoife pointed at him. Emil was about to apologize until he caught a glimpse of a smile across her face. The princess was having fun with his banter. Still, as much as he wanted to indulge her, his body wasn't exactly in the best shape.

Petra might kill me instead if she found out I was fooling around.

He raised his hands immediately to surrender.

"Sorry, not today. I'm not feeling so well," he admitted.

"Oh." Aoife's shoulders dropped. "Are you okay? Was that why you were absent yesterday?"

Emil nodded. "Don't worry about it. I'll live."

"I can procure some medicine for you if you want. Not today though, I'm obligated to attend a masquerade hosted by House Nacht. But I can get the order in for you afterwards."

Seems like everyone was invited to this event. Emil wondered if there was a special occasion going on with House Nacht. Aoife's attendance was a big deal. Not only did she represent the royal family, her presence also signaled to the rest of Ardair that the royal family was open to another potential alliance. Following Prince Rory's disgrace and the annulment of his marriage with Liesel, Aoife was the next available candidate.

Emil looked at Aoife, suddenly feeling sympathetic towards the young princess. In the past month alone, she was legitimized into a royal family member, kidnapped by Vigil, and then awakened her Gift during the ordeal. With Rory's disgrace and her becoming an Exalted, Aoife's stock amongst the elites had risen significantly. In a short span of time, she was thrusted into the center of Ardair's political world.

He couldn't imagine the pressure on her shoulders.

The most I can do for her is be the best instructor that I can.

He hoped that his combat lessons would at least offer her some distraction and reprieve from all the expectant eyes.

"Instead of sparring, I'll teach you a new set of footwork today."

***

The Academy curfew began as night fell. Emil snuck out of the campus like usual and made his way towards Petra for his medical checkup. Despite Vigil's intrusion, security around the student dorms remained lax. There were a couple of more Sentinels assigned to patrol the premise of the Academy, but that had done little to prevent Emil's excursions.

He winced as he neared the neighborhood of Petra's residence. The trek was fairly innocuous, but his injuries after falling from the Sixth Hidden Laboratory was starting to flare up. Painful protests echoed from his joints and torso with every step.

I should have asked Anna for more ice.

The back of his mind screeched. The monster in his subconscious that had recently awakened began to whisper again. It pleaded and begged for a taste of the addictive substances to remove his agony. It was opportunistic and it knew that his resistance was weak.

Fuck off.

He recounted the memories of his time when he became a slave to the painkillers and stimulants offered by Steiger. It was humiliating. He was like a shell of himself whenever the cravings became too strong. He would be shivering, twitching, and drooling if he hadn't received a dose when the urges hit. The addiction was debilitating. Without it, he felt like there was a fog over a head. There would be an itch at the back of his skull that grew progressively uncomfortable with each passing second. With it, he felt normal. Blissful. Calm.

It was after a particularly bad episode that he finally decided to change. In a fit of madness, he accidentally struck Mia. Hard. She had been trying to help him when he lashed out. The sight of her bruised and bloodied immediately snapped him out of his insanity. The haunted look on her face was forever etched in his mind.

Emil shuddered as he recalled that memory.

The urges instantly faded. The monster silenced.

Never again.

The pain that he was feeling now could never compare to the anguish of seeing Mia cowering in fear of him. He never wanted to experience anything like that again.

Petra's residence finally came into view. Emil took a moment to catch his breath. The extent of his injuries was worse than he thought if a trek of this length was enough to exhaust him. He was suddenly having regrets about giving Aoife a lesson today at the training field.

Hopefully Petra doesn't notice.

He grimaced as he pictured the woman threatening him with her outrageously large kitchen knife. Emil pulled down his mask and knocked on the door.

"Petra. It's me," he called out quietly.

Silence.

Emil waited patiently. After a minute without a response, he tried again.

Is she not home?

If Petra wasn't home, then at least Mia should be. It was late into the night and her curfew should have been up by now. Mia was mature enough to not rebel against a rule clearly meant for her safety.

Emil felt a surge of panic as his mind wandered to the worst possibilities. On impulse, he reached for the door knob. It was loose.

Alarms rang in his head as he pushed the door open.

The hallway before the entrance was wrecked. Scattered shoes, ripped papers, and toppled furniture littered the vicinity. Petra was on her knees. Her hair was a mess. The formerly neat strands disheveled as if someone had torn them apart at the roots. She spun around at the sound of the door opening.

Emil almost flinched. Petra had a wild look on her face. Her eyes were swollen.

"Emil," she mumbled, distraught.

"Petra? What's going on?"

"Mia." Emil noticed Petra was holding a shoe in her hands.

"Mia's missing."