A Destiny

“You sure you aren’t tired, Arno? You were up late patrolling again, y’know.” Alice asked, resting her face on her hands as she watched her older brother rummaging through his school bag.

“I’ll be fine.” He reassured, putting the bag sling over his shoulder and picking up his katana.

“If you say so…”

“Just focus on your exams today. If your scores are high enough, I can vouch for the academy to admit you. Then you can hang out with your big brother as much as you want.”

Her eyes lit up with excitement as she saluted him. “I will be sure to do good to keep an eye on you at school!”

He chuckled and roughed up her hair a bit before leaving as the crisp, cold air of the morning greeted him.

“Take care, sis.”

----

Lawrence had James take him to the academy earlier than usual so that he could meet with the Committee as soon as possible.

Quickly moving through the halls occupied by a few scattered students and teachers, he nearly slammed open the door to the meeting room. Jack and Otto were the only ones present and were startled by his sudden appearance.

“Lawrence, I wasn’t expecting to see you until after school.” Jack expressed his confusion, halting his actions for a brief moment.

“I had something very important to reveal to you, and it couldn’t wait.”

Lawrence quickly shut the doors behind him and approached the two, holding up the book he had read in the library the previous night.

“What is that?” The leader set his papers down and leaned in to get a closer look at the words on the page.

“I was curious about what Otto said yesterday, so I did some digging. Many prominent Wyrian mages have Shadow Wolves as familiars.”

“And…?” Jack pushed his glasses closer to his face, waiting for Lawrence to continue.

“One of my friends, Sayer Waldengrave, recently showed me a contracted Shadow Wolf pup.”

“What?!” The leader exclaimed, standing up suddenly. Otto seemed to be just as shocked upon hearing the news.

“It seems almost too convenient,” Otto said, speculative of the situation despite his surprise.

“I agree, but it’s worth looking into anyway.” Lawrence picked the book up and closed it, setting it in his lap, as his fingers brushed against the hard leather cover.

“I’ll have Gabriel watch this Waldengrave kid then…” Jack muttered, contemplating his next move.

An idea sparked inside the knowledgeable mind of Lawrence as he raised his hand. “If I may, I suggest allowing me to watch Sayer since he and I are friends. He would be none the wiser.”

The committee members looked at each other before concluding that it was the wisest course of action. “I agree. We’ll do that. In the meantime, we’ll search for places these impure vampires could hide.”

Shortly after, Lawrence bid the two farewell and left, searching for Sayer in case he was the type to come early. After thirty minutes of searching, he couldn’t find him, so Lawrence returned to his locker and ensured no one was watching.

Time to see if I can do this…

Pressing his hand against the door, Lawrence leaked a small amount of mana into the lock and manipulated the insides. It was like telepathically picking a lock. A few seconds later, the lock clicked and the door opened.

Shoving the history book inside and grabbing A Brushed Nightingale, a reading book issued by his New Lavonian professor, he rushed toward the academy's entrance. A few students were arriving, but there was still about an hour before the first class started.

He sat at the top of the steps, opened the book, and read a random page, waiting for Sayer to come. The morning was a bit chilly, with a gentle breeze. Lawrence was thankful for having his jacket. Overall, it was a nice day.

A half-hour passed, and out of the corner of Lawrence’s eye, he saw a familiar face approach with long, silky black hair flowing in the wind like a string.

“Lawrence? What are you doing here so early?” Eva asked, moving some hair behind her ear. The young man noticed she was wearing a different perfume this time. Its essence was reminiscent of the Babylon Lilies of Leidhal.

“Figured I’d get some extra learning in on a nice day like this.” He squinted slightly from the sun’s blinding light while looking up at her.

Noticing his struggle against the blazing celestial body, she moved to sit down next to him. At a moment’s notice, Lawrence took out his handkerchief and set it down neatly underneath her.

“Thank you.”

I’m so glad Lawrence’s memories taught me a few things about courtesy…

He smiled and nodded as she sat down against the stone step, being careful not to crease her skirt.

“Learning from spiritual books?” Her tone sounded like she didn’t believe him. She raised an eyebrow as an obvious sign.

​​“Every darkness, every joy, every moment is yours and yours alone." Lawrence read out loud, quoting the first line he saw.

“Is that so?’ They exchanged smug smiles as Lawrence closed the book quickly.

“Mhm. What does that mean to you?” He asked seriously, watching out of the corner of his eye as more students trickled in through the front gate. Sayer still hadn’t arrived.

“Hmm…” Eva pondered for a moment, pressing her index finger against the base of her chin, tapping it lightly.

Lawrence couldn’t help but notice her soft skin, which gently glistened under the sunlight. It was a surprise to him, considering that in the Old World, it would be unconscionable for people of this era to have good skincare routines.

After giving herself a few seconds to ruminate, she took a soft breath before realigning her gaze with his.

“What it means to me, I’d say, is that everyone creates their destiny, wouldn’t you say?” She finalized her answer, tilting her head to the side, hoping he would agree with her. Lawrence raised his eyebrows a few millimeters, impressed with her response.

“I’d say there are limits to what you can control in your life, but yes.”

I think the fact that something transmigrated me here influences my answer, but I suppose that’s besides the point.

“True, that’s why we should try and make the most of the here and now.” She smiled warmly, looking off into the distance. He pondered her words as he stared at the top of the buildings in the distance.

Before, I lived day to day, not thinking of the future. As it turns out, it only resulted in me living the worst possible reality. If I weren’t so stubborn, despite my trauma, despite my baggage, if I had stepped up, I’d still be alive…maybe.

“Are you alright?” She asked in a concerned tone, furrowing her eyebrows, snapping him back to reality as he soon disregarded his inner thoughts to the back of his mind.

“Yeah, sorry, just zoned out a bit.” He laughed awkwardly to lighten the mood, but it seemed to be of no help, as the serious expression on her face turned more solemn.

“Even with your amnesia and all, I’m sure you’re not having much difficulty grasping everything since you've always been smart, but I wanted to ask you something.” She blushed a bit.

“What is it?” He asked, slightly disconcerted by her sudden expression change, but did his best not to show it.

“This weekend in the afternoon, would you…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to muster the courage to speak. “Would you be willing to come over this weekend? For studying, of course.”

“Um…” He was unsure of what to say. It wasn’t like he had any plans aside from training, but being alone with a girl was…something out of his expertise.

But wait, her brother is the Paladin. I could watch him practice or, even better, get access to the Royal Library. Wait, is that technically using her? Or taking an opportunity? Or both…?

“Sure.” He responded after making up his mind. He stretched his legs out a bit, checking to make sure his pants didn’t have any residue from the steps.

“Really?” She almost couldn’t believe her ears, despite knowing what his answer would be, but assumed, due to his condition, he would’ve declined her invitation.

“Why not? We seem to be pretty close friends from my pictures of us at home.”

“Yeah, friends…” She whispered to herself despondently.

“What did you say?” He leaned in a bit closer to hear her more clearly, but she shook her head, trying to play it off. The conversation drifted from there until the reason Lawrence was outside approached them.

“Lawrence! Eva!” Sayer called out, with Nico following him as the two stood up to greet them.

Nico’s uniform was more unkempt than usual. Lawrence assumed it was because of Nico's disorderly behavior. Even in class, people consider him a ‘class clown,’ but in an even more demeaning way. However, Nico seemed consistently unbothered by it, almost like a golden retriever.

A dog indeed…

“How are you doing today?” Lawrence asked, adjusting his jacket as he shoved his book in his back pocket.

“A bit cold, but it’s almost the end of spring, so warmer weather will come soon.” Sayer began rubbing his hands together and blowing on them to warm them up a bit before shoving them into his uniform jacket.

“Nico.” Eva greeted him, looking at him strangely as he took shelter behind Sayer.

“Eva, good to see you…” The obsidian-eyed boy returned her greeting, clutching the cloth of his friend.

Lawrence was bewildered by the strange interaction the two were having, folding his arms as he tried to make sense of it by observing their body language. Sayer noticed his confusion at the tension between the two and cleared his throat to ease everyone.

“These two have known each other since elementary school. Eva was often bullying poor Nico.”

“Really now?” Lawrence asked, looking at the heavenly princess. He was surprised that someone like her would bully someone, let alone someone as eternally cheery as Nico.

“Well, now, let’s not say bullying. We’re all good friends here.” Eva tried defending herself, laughing awkwardly, covertly staring daggers at Nico for putting her on the spot.

“That’s how I see it, at least. Come on, be a normal person for once.” Sayer said to the sheltering human-sized puppy as he stepped to the side.

“Sorry.” Nico apologized, scratching the nape of his neck as his eyes darted everywhere, unsure of where to look.

Sayer checked the time on his watch, realizing there were only about five minutes left before school started.

“Let’s get going to class. It’s starting soon.” Sayer suggested, slapping Nico on the back as they began to depart.

“We’ll see you two later!”

Once they disappeared into the crowd entering the interior, Eva turned towards Lawrence with a hopeful smile.

“Should we go to your locker so I can open it for you?”

“No, I have it figured out. Head on to class, I’ll catch up.” he shook his head, pivoting his fit in the direction of where the other two ran off to.

“What do you mean you have it figured out?”

“Just go before you’re late.” He urged her, mentally noting that the longer he stalled, the more difficult it would be to confirm that Sayer had entered his class.

A bit hurt, the princess finally relented and left. Once she was out of sight, Lawrence quickly headed in the direction of his target, catching a glimpse of him in the distance.

Whether or not luck would have it, Sayer went to class without fail, but that wasn’t enough to rule him out as a suspect.

Lawrence checked the time, seeing there was only a minute left, and began rushing towards his class. The bell rang when he was down the hall from it. He quickly opened the door to see every head turn towards him. Professor Macias looked up from his attendance sheet as he moved to his seat beside Eva.

“Mr. Blackwood, late on your second day. Surprised you were on time for your first.” The professor wrote something on his sheet, unimpressed with his student’s delayed appearance.

“Apologies, professor.” In his rush to class, he forgot to stop by his locker to grab the needed books. He mentally imagined slapping himself very hard for forgetting something so critical.

“I hope you’ll volunteer to do some out-loud reading from where we left off yesterday as compensation.”

“Of course, professor.”