Motives

Celebrations were meant to be a joyous occasion, so she wished to believe. It was something to be proud of and shared with others. Something to gather friends. This was nothing like what she thought. It was hardly a celebration. It was a lie painted over with a pretty face, a happy face. All of it was fake. The reek of emptiness was thick enough to choke her throat.

It was the adult world.

Eudokia knew what it was like. She knew she had to throw behind her childishness if she was to survive such a cutthroat environment. The South Gate developed her, but the intensity was on a completely new level. They all looked at her, but it wasn’t the fear or jealousy anymore. They were like beasts with only self-interest in mind. They all watched the moves she made and the words she said for any sort of exploit or weakness.

She never felt such an atmosphere of lethality before, even on the battlefield. Death wasn’t the same in such an arena. They could dream up fates worse than death. When they spoke of death, it had a different meaning, several meanings all of which escalated past the last.

Scheming was the breakfast meal everyone partook. It was in their bones. Survival wasn’t about watching for the blind spot, but the one never even known.

She despised such a world. It was her new life.

Chapter 222 – Motives

“Not enjoying the party?” a voice in the distance remarked. It was partially disguised and masked in the shadows.

Eudokia glanced around in search of the voice. She already expected it to come from another direction. The masking didn’t sound natural making her already assume it was an MP user. Pessimists labeled it caution. Others called it paranoia. The truth was simple and correct. She was experienced.

A bit of laughter slipped out. “Glad to see noble life isn’t making you dull.”

‘That condescending tone and all-knowing attitude,’ she thought. Eudokia knew immediately who it was, yet felt as if the words were only given as a test meant for her to figure it out. An annoying habit found in only one person she knew. “Dareia…”

“Bravo.” She stepped out from the shadows not where Eudokia looked, but also not from the direction of the voice. Her skills remained as sharp and pointed as the day she left. “Your skills have improved.”

Her eyes narrowed suddenly at the sight of Dareia. “Why did you leave that day? After I returned, you were nowhere.”

“I returned to the Capital.”

“I know you did, but I didn’t ask that question.”

Dareia sat down in a plush chair, something rarely found outside of the palace. The room isolated them from the rest of the hall filled with the elite of Atlantis. “It’s quite nice this time of year,” she joked. Atlantis had no seasons or extremes. It was consistent.

Annoyed, Eudokia knew what Dareia was telling her. ‘Figure it out for yourself.’ More riddles and lessons from someone gone for two years. Eudokia took a bit of a breath to calm herself. She sat down in the other available chair. It felt a little disgusting, acceptance. “You were done with your lessons.” Fortunately, Eudokia puzzled out most of the pieces a long time ago. She merely wished to cut the pointless teacher and student relationship. It was clear how things were to Dareia.

No response. She expected more from Eudokia than the basics.

Cracking a little into her effort to remain in control, Eudokia continued to the next step. It was merely a thesis. She had to prove her point to convince Dareia she actually understood. The top layer was easy to see. Digging deeper held more meaning and showed development.

“The Kapni incident was your test. You didn’t plan for it, but worked out for you to see how I would do. You wanted to know if I could actually apply it in a real setting that was not specifically crafted by you. If I could adapt and execute in a creative manner.” The more she thought about what happened after she disappeared the more she figured the pieces out. She ended up seeing far more than she ever thought possible. It ended up frightening her. “The results gave me a passing grade. So you left with nothing left you needed to do. I would take everything you showed me and refine and develop it on my own. You counted on it.”

The foresight of the woman had disturbed her a little when she figured it out. She played the game better than Eudokia ever could, but she wondered how long it would last. “Everything you did from the moment I met you was all just you manipulating me. You knew exactly how I would react and set up the path for me to follow. You made me come to you without me even knowing you were making me move.” Eudokia narrowed her eyes a little seeing one of the last pieces she ignored. “You were always testing me. Even that, you were waiting three years for me to figure that all out. You wanted me to see.”

It made her skin crawl thinking about how manipulated she was by a woman she once considered a friend. So much of it was fake. “None of it was a coincidence at all. Not even you claiming to be interested in me. You were sent to me. Which one was it?”

Dareia smiled with pride. She leaned forward a little away from the chair. “That was the final test. Seeded at the start, I knew you’d figure it out.” The look she got from Eudokia amused her a little. “It wasn’t him. He’s too direct, it’s who you think it is.”

Nodding, Eudokia understood and already reached the same conclusion. ‘It was him. Still treating me roughly even now, always a lesson. Always pushing like there’s never enough time.’ The weight of him pressed her into the chair a little, ever-present. “The Academy wasn’t enough for him to be certain.”

“It’s a fair concern,” she answered directly. The look in Dareia’s eyes changed quite a bit. She seemed open for once. “The Academy is a dangerous place. The fact we send children in at your age or worse is one of the ignored sins of Atlantis.”

Eudokia found herself surprised by Dareia in a way she didn’t expect. She actually heard the woman talk and talk in a way that felt like it was coming from her heart rather than her mind. The other woman she despised for so long vanished from sight, replaced by someone that seemed filled with regret and sadness. It took longer than normal to respond, “It’s a hell for many of us.”

“It’s one of the reasons for the state we’re in now.”

“You’re starting to sound a little idealistic. There are reasons for why things are like that.”

“And you’re sounding like one of those normals standing on the outside unwilling to look in at the reality.”

“I’m not excusing what happened to those that I knew or even what happened to me in there.” She rubbed the side of her ribs subconsciously thinking about the past. A subtle bit of pain stabbed her dully. It was enough to keep her rubbing, but not realize it. “I just know what exists inside those walls is the same that’s outside of them, just not as focused.”

“It’s an eye opening experience. Just as I imagine the South Gate was and today.”

“He wanted me ready to be able to handle all of this. All of them.” Her eyes slid back towards the narrow doorway into the grand chamber. It was unforgiving. “Unprepared I’d be eaten up in an instant. I wouldn’t last my first day, let alone the party. Necessary pain.”

“Yes, I believe that’s his philosophy with all of this. Pain is necessary and with it understanding. You’ve hardened for a reason.”

“I know,” answered Eudokia. She knew his intentions well. They were her intentions. His goals were her goals. She would do anything for him. “This position, he needed me here. Even going so far as to force a coincidence. He was a little too heavy handed this time. Others are going to notice.” It was only something that just came to her. Talking with Dareia made her realize nothing was a coincidence. Everything had designs. Her life was designed. She knew it, but it didn’t bother her.

Dareia lifted an eyebrow. “I agree it’s suspicious, but to go so far. The Kapni incident made you a hero, nothing more was needed.” She had the same thoughts as Eudokia long ago. It gnawed at her, but she dismissed it. She didn’t want to believe he would make such a dangerous move just to ensure a position.

“So you weren’t involved in those incidents.” While not intended, Eudokia received some extra information about it. Though there still remained mysteries. “He’s normally a careful man. Even I noticed there was something off about them.” If he was the reason, it answered a lot about them. All of the strange things about them made sense.

She rubbed her temple a little. Pensive consideration did nothing for her. They did not know enough and she knew he would never admit to anything. “He’s a protective man. There’s no lengths he wouldn’t go for you.” It seemed reasonable enough, even without knowing everything.

“You’re right about that,” smiled Eudokia. An odd warmth transferred through her body. She felt comfortable. They continued to talk on less serious matters. It allowed the time to pass quickly until the party ended.

“So you patched things up with Dareia,” noted Yuki, more drawn into the story. It helped to close out some things she never resolved when they cut her off the last time.

Ayumi nodded to him. “Yes, after she stopped trying to teach me she seemed to change. It could have just been her going with the flow. But we got along better after that day. She was at the palace frequently.”

Such an answer relieved Yuki a little. Her history explained to him must have been challenging. Though it had him wondering as well. “You mentioned it vaguely before as well, is the Academy you really as bad as you said.”

“It depends on your perspective, but it is worse. Everyone’s experiences are different, but it is common to suffer as most of the MPs are children or teenagers in the Academy, while the Military Academy has volunteer adults.”

“What happens?” He immediately started to regret asking anymore by the expression on Ayumi’s face.

Refraining from answering immediately, she looked to be calculating her answer. Such a response created a more ominous atmosphere surrounding the Academy. “The simple answer is harassment, but that is generalizing it too much. On a daily basis, verbal, physical, mental and emotional harassment is commonplace. When things get out of control it will become abuse, most often physical injury.” She paused to think upon her experiences.

“We get treated differently because of the power we have. The most commonly understood ability everyone knows we have is the ability to heal any injury sustained. Because of this, it is exploited to extreme means. MP users will be gravely injured for the sake of confirming their dominance or just to satiate their fears. And none of them give it much concern because they’ll be healed easily by another MP.”

Yuki’s mouth hung open in shock. His mind stopped processing anything. It took him almost a minute to begin recovering. “How can they treat their own people like that?”

“It’s because the normal citizenry don’t see them as one of their own that they can do it without any sort of remorse. I’ve heard of people left to suffer for hours or even die.”

“I can’t believe it! How can the higher ups not be doing something to stop this? Does the King know?”

“Most of the higher ups are normal humans, so they turn a blind eye. Those with the ability to do something about it, don’t want to change things. Like the rest, they fear us. The rebellion twenty years ago did a lot of damage.” She stopped again, her thoughts on her memories. “The adult world is different than the idealized dream world of adolescents. The King only has so much power, even if he wishes to change something. There are people that don’t want change and will do anything to keep it, even killing in its name.” Ayumi looked directly at Yuki.

He knew what she talked about. The threat he posed to them and their wishes to remain stuck in the past. ‘Demosthenes and the council…’ Every time he heard more from Ayumi, the worse the picture became. He had trouble seeing anything good or positive as much as he wanted to try. They were a different world and culture. Yet he couldn’t allow things to continue. ‘I can’t let them continue hurting people like this! I must stop them no matter the cost!’

Ayumi watched the changing features in Yuki’s face. She could tell the effect it had on him. It was too easy to read.

Behind Yuki’s group, Team Yumi continued to grow little by little with the introduction of Simonides. His presence still had everyone on edge. Until recently, he did everything to capture them and many of his men were dead at their hands. It left everyone uneasy. They wondered if it was all just a ruse for him to make his counterattack and revenge. However, they all seemed in agreement that bigger problems lay ahead. The ominous presence of the Omega Division and ‘Ayumi’ made things uncertain. Issues larger than them seemed in play.

“Turn thirty degrees to the right,” ordered Chiharu. She leaned forward a little, her eyes discovered something of interest. The tone of her voice made it clear to everyone to be at attention.

Yumi moved forward to look into the distance. Unfortunately, her sight wasn’t like Chiharu’s. “What do you see?”

“A battlefield.” It was all the words she needed to get everyone standing up trying to see. However, everyone’s sudden movements caused their vehicle to rock. Everyone tried to shout out orders to counter the problem, but it only made it worse. Another moment and they were all tossed into the air with their transport capsizing.

“Everyone okay?” asked Yumi, caught by Chiharu along with Yori. They made it safely to the ground after the crash.

Seiji coughed a little, but stood on his feet. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He carried Nerine in his arms. “If you built that thing, why didn’t you make it more stable?”

“Sorry,” she replied with a bit of a red face. “I didn’t plan on everyone moving at once.”

Simonides and Fumiko laid on the ground, forgotten by the others. Both started moving quickly with only dirt and grass stains for their troubles. However, they didn’t have much of a chance to stand up as the ground jumped under their feet. It wasn’t enough to make them fall over, but it rattled them. Another quake burst a moment later.

“What is that?” Yumi thought aloud. Everyone looked around trying to understand it.

Once Seiji finished setting Nerine back on the ground, he turned in the direction Chiharu pointed them. His eyes narrowed to a squint as another quake shot out. He grinned with some nostalgia. “It’s Saki!”