Rescue Party

The bell echoed dully through the halls of the academy.

A brief moment of transition, when most students retreated to their rooms or lingered outside in the courtyards.

No one paid attention to the three figures moving with determined steps toward the northern wing.

They had prepared as many vials of Essence as they could get their hands on.

“Left at the fork, then down the stairs. Third door past the storeroom,” Tairaku murmured as they ducked into the shadows along the walls.

They reached the door leading to the basement stairs.

The hallway smelled of old stone, moss, and stale air. 

Only a single lantern flickered lazily on the wall.

Two guards stood watch: an older man dozing on a stool, and a young, broad-shouldered fellow leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Lucius glanced at Tairaku. 

He merely nodded, stretched out his throwing arm, and hurled a vial so it shattered right at the guards' feet.

The glowing Essence quickly spread across the floor.

“Codladh somnus samh.”

The guards heard the words, then their eyes grew heavy.

Barely startled by the impact, they toppled over, deep asleep as the magical mist engulfed them.

Carefully, they stepped over their motionless bodies and moved on to the makeshift prison that held their friend.

Since the academy had no proper prison, it was merely a locked storeroom repurposed into a holding cell.

Meiruna pulled out a lockpick and inserted it into the lock with surprising ease.

Lucius raised a brow. “And how do YOU know how to pick a lock?”

Meiruna shot him a withering look.

“You’ve got to be prepared. In case you ever have to help some idiot from another world who messed up.”

The pick clicked softly, and the lock popped open with exaggerated ease.

“Glizzy…?” she whispered as she gently pushed open the cell door.

There, in the corner of the dim room, sat Glizzy on a straw mat, arms wrapped around her knees.

When she heard Meiruna’s voice, she slowly lifted her head.

Her glasses were crooked, her red hair even more tousled than usual.

“M...Meiruna…?” she whispered.

The siblings stepped in first.

“We’re here to get you out.”

Glizzy rose slowly, her voice was hoarse.

“You came… for me?” Tears welled up in her eyes.

Then she rushed forward, throwing her arms around Meiruna’s waist, any higher and she wouldn’t reach.

Then Lucius entered the cell, eyes turned away, full of shame.

She looked at him.

“Lucan...”

No one said anything for a moment.

Then she stepped toward him and hugged him too.

“You came,” she murmured.

Lucius was stunned.

Why isn’t she yelling at me? Telling me to get lost? Hitting me?

“I knew you’d get me out of here.”

Lucius struggled for words, finally swallowing hard and whispering,

“...But I left you behind. I abandoned you! Aren’t you even angry with me?”

She shook her head with exaggerated defiance.

“Why would I be mad at you? You told me to trust you, and that you’d be back soon, dummy.”

Lucius let out a small laugh, though his voice cracked, then he gently pulled her into a hug.

“I’m sorry… and thank you…,” he whispered. “Thank you for still believing in me.”

Glizzy grinned against his chest, her sharp teeth gleaming faintly in the lamplight.

“Of course. If I didn’t believe in you… who else would?”

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Lucius felt something close to relief.

They left the cell quietly. 

Meiruna watched the corridor while Tairaku took the lead, heading back up the stairs.

“Did they hurt you?" Lucius asked Glizzy softly as they left the basement hallway behind.

“No. Only my butt hurts from all the sitting…,” she muttered with a weak smile.

Lucius chuckled faintly, but her voice turned more serious.

“It’s just sad that it’s all over now… That I have to leave.”

The others stopped in their tracks, as they stood in the hallway and looked at Glizzy with quiet understanding.

It was rare for her to be this serious.

“...It wasn’t just the learning and the Essences,” she continued. “For the first time in my life, I felt like I truly belonged somewhere. I had you guys. I was just... happy.”

She sighed.

“Still... it was a wonderful time. And you got me out. I’ll never forget that, even if I have to return to my tribe now. So... thank you!”

Then she suddenly grinned, almost defiantly:

“Oh boy, my shaman’s gonna get an earful!”

They slipped silently through the hallways again.

Tairaku led the way, checking every corner with cautious eyes.

“If we take the corridor by the east wing, we’ll reach the outer wall and a side exit,” he whispered.

But then, footsteps approached.

“Damn!” Meiruna hissed.

“There!” Lucius pointed to an open window above a low stone ledge at the end of the hallway. “We can get out through there!”

One by one, they climbed through the window.

The wind hit them sharply and the stone was slick with rain.

They pressed flat against the outer wall, carefully inching sideways across a ledge barely wider than their fingers.

“Slowly… don’t look down…” Tairaku muttered.

“Too late…” came Glizzy’s trembling voice as she clung to the wall, her face squished against a windowpane.

She blinked inside a brightly lit room, and froze.

“Okay… I don’t want to overreact, but either the Headmaster is hosting a really weird dinner party… or something nasty’s going down in there.”

Lucius edged up beside her and cautiously peered through the large window.

Three masked figures in blood-red suits stood before the Headmaster, who held his arms up in exhaustion, a protective barrier still barely flickering around him.

One of the attackers wielded a long blade, streaked with glowing red veins, and was hammering it repeatedly against the magical shield.

“It’s an attack!” Lucius whispered.

“We have to do something,” Tairaku said immediately, leaning in as well.

“Weren’t we just here to get Glizzy out!?” Meiruna objected.

Then all eyes turned to Glizzy, as if it were her call.

She looked down along the wall, then back through the window, and she knew her next choice would change everything