Chapter 20: JEWELS
After Ayesha had visited her, her heart can't sit quiet inside her. It goes badump and loud inside. Though Ayesha brings good news, she cannot stay calm. The lady holds her redemption in the Alliance. If she screw this one she's out. If that happens, what will she say to Yue, her father who helped her into the Alliance and gave her the position she now has?
Her world begins to shake. She does not want to see Ayesha again. It will only make her worry more. She'd lose her composure if this girl comes around too often.
However, Ayesha seems to like coming around and see her. Although her contract as a cook for the hardworking men has already ended and her punishment has been lifted, Ayesha keeps her close by. The lovely lady had taken the role of a visiting instructor in their school.
"Another new teacher?" Ichiro frowned looking at Ayesha.
"That piece of jewelry," Ryun caught sight of the silver brooch. "That kind of brooch is only worn by the Alliance personnel."
Curious, Ichiro gives Seri a look. The girl just ignored him and sighed.
"Are they watching her still?" Ichiro finally asked Antoine.
"I don't know the answer to that," Antoine shrugs his shoulders.
"Her expression is still not back to normal," Ichiro turned to her. "Every passing day her forehead is crumpled. She's going to grow old early than us."
Ichiro purposely said it aloud hoping Seri would join the conversation. But no, she remained quiet and fixated her gaze on the board. The teacher continued the discussion.
Meanwhile, her friends at the Alliance have their hands crossed. Seri's situation has become worse. They feared someone will take over her position if things go wrong.
"I do not want another boss," Jed sighed staring blankly at the round blue planet below from his window. "It won't be fun anymore!"
"Are you beginning to like her now?" Andrew asked sarcastically.
"What do you mean by that?" Jed frowned.
"When she took that position," Mikee replied. "You were all like this, a kid leading us? No way!"
Mikee mimicked Jed's reaction on that day making everyone laugh.
"I have to admit she's really good," Zahn confessed. "For a kid her age to lead our team in a short span of five years."
"Yeah," Ronan agreed. "I have expected more from her. To think she's still a kid today and is able to do big things how much more is she's our age?"
"Being a leader is in her blood," Haze said out of the blue. "That girl isn't just a kid. There is so much more maybe that's the reason why they have decided to relieve her from the position."
"Whatever that is," Jed said aloud. "I do not want another!"
"He really is going to make this a big deal," Andrew laughed.
"He has fallen in love with her," Zahn teased.
"Among the bosses who lead us," Jed sighed. "She's just different from them."
"Yeah," Mikee agreed. "I feel you."
"Everyone does," Haze added.
The men wondered if this is a bad storm for them or a good storm. But whatever that is it is making them uneasy. They worry not for themselves but for her. They wanted that girl to stay the same always smiling even though the day is pulling her down to the ground. Her optimism has influenced them greatly and had won them to her side. On that day they pledged themselves to serve her they vowed to keep that girl safe and cheerful still.
While Rogue and her girls are hoping Seri would leave that position even if it will break their hearts. They understood the Alliance move. Her identity is what worries them and they wanted to keep that hidden until that day arrives. Their loyalty to the royal family of Sky remains unscathed. Being one of the guardians is difficult and it has become more difficult these days.
Mira can no longer keep her sword hidden. She feel the need to draw it out of the sheath in the approaching future just to make sure the next heir is safe.
Rogue had been jumping from portal to portal. Patrolling the city of Gaia just to ensure the entire parameter of Seri's home is in safe.
And Myre, keeps her head low while coming in and out of Sky Continent. She has to gather info about King Nabu's movement. More so, what happened in Seri's school is very troubling. A robot made from Sky Continent has gone out resulting to the destruction of the admin building and almost revealed Seri's identity. She becomes more cautious in every step while doing the job.
"The first VI had disappeared along with the destruction of the admin building," Niko suspiciously said. "And a second VI appeared. Is this coincidence or not?"
"Who knows?" Clark replied with a shrug.
"Let's keep watch," Noah suggested. "It will unfold later."
Seri quietly sat there reading letters written on the flying paper planes. But she had not written a reply seeing Ayesha's eyes are fixated on her. Heaving another sigh, Seri puts on a smile to make Ayesha see she is behaving well. But when she turns around to write something on the board, Seri threw something hard hitting Ichiro painfully on the head as a reply.
Clop! It fell on the floor. Ayesha heard the strange sound and turned around looking.
Ichiro stretched his right foot to get the object and hide it from the teacher's sight. When the coast is clear he stooped down to pick it up. To his surprise it is a black onyx stone about the size of the bottle's cap. Hard and rough.
Confused. Ichiro turned to Seri with a frown. His lips quietly asked her, 'What is this?'
Seri replied with, 'Figure it out!'
Ichiro poked Ryun behind to get his attention.
"What?" Ryun leaned back to ask.
Ichiro gives him the black onyx stone saying, "I got hit by this on the head. From her. I don't know why an onyx?"
Ryun took it and showed it to Antoine with a frown.
'For your protection and to help you with your decision making,' Antoine wrote on a piece of paper. He gave it to Ryun. The latter passed to Ichiro.
"That is the stone's meaning," Ichiro sighed.
"That is what she wanted to say," Ryun told him. "I wonder why she said that to you. What did you write on the papers by the way?"
"That," Ichiro quickly changed the subject. "The teacher is looking this way."
"Fine," Ryun replied. "Let us discuss that later."
Seri is scribbling on her notebook. Her eyes keep glancing at the teacher who continued with the lessons. She has enough troubles for the day and hoped class will end soon.
Lunch. Ryun got hold of Seri and Antoine. But not long after that, Ayesha called Seri's attention and asked her to come to the faculty for a chat.
"She's really keeping a close eye on Seri," Ichiro guessed.
"Looks like it," Antoine worriedly replied.
"You sound worried," Ryun took notice.
"I just realized that Ayesha sensei is the recruitment officer of the Alliance," Antoine sighed.
"You've got to be kidding right?" Ichiro could not believe it.
"If that is true," Ryun said thinking. "Then Seri is in a not so good situation."
"It is bad already," Antoine told them. "I only hope this will end soon. She has changed so much in a month's time."
"Yeah," Ichiro agreed. "She smile less. Talk less and so on."
Seri comes out of the faculty. She meets the boys at the end of the hallway wearing a frown.
"Were you waiting for me?" Seri asked calmly.
"What do you think?" Ichiro replied.
"Looks like you are," Seri guessed.
"So what does Ayesha sensei called you for?" Ryun shot it straight.
"Someone is being direct," Seri replied. "Oh well, just some personal stuff."
"What stuff?" Antoine worriedly asked.
"I am relieved of office," Seri bluntly replied. "I'd be happy to live a normal life from now."
Shocked. They just blinked their eyes. Speechless.
Seri ignored them and goes back to class.
"She does not look good," Ichiro turned to Antoine.
"No," Antoine shook his head. "She loves her team. So she's not fine with that."
"What could be the reason behind it?" Ryun curiously asked.
"The current case is," Antoine replied and chased her quickly.
A hurting heart cried aloud. The tears wanted to stream down but she held those at bay. Biting her lip she inhaled deeply to keep herself together. But her thoughts can't be controlled. More so, when Antoine arrives those tears can't be held back.
"Here," Antoine secretly gives her a hankie seeing her eyes are all teary. He stood there to cover her.
Their classmates will be all gossiping if they see her like that.
Then Ryun and Ichiro arrives. They heard someone sobbed softly and frowned at Antoine. The lad just shook his head while taking a glance at Seri. They understood what that means and kept themselves quiet.
When the teacher comes in, Seri's eyes are reddish. It is visible to them that she had cried. But she managed to keep herself up and listened to the teacher.
Her thoughts wandered away. She is seeing her father's disappointed expression as much as her grandparents and Aki too. Everyone is disappointed. More so, she is hearing voices echoing in her head. Loud criticisms. Her heart went heavy and she begins to feel blue. But seeing the teacher is looking her way, she returned to the present.
Ryun quietly kept his gaze on her. He had been observing her. He wanted to comfort her but couldn't. His heart grew heavy seeing her tears coming around the corners of her eyes.
'Stop it already,' Ryun wanted to tell her but couldn't.
The yellow light on the sky slowly comes down to hide. The bell rings signaling the end of the afternoon class. Everyone hurried out to return home. And the first to run out of the school is Seri.
With a frown, everyone turned to Antoine. But the lad said nothing. He just sighed and chased after her.
Seri's tears kept on coming. Her legs run fast and took her away from the city. Heading back to Oceania is all she could think of. She wanted to disappear. But can she?
"Miss," Jed come across her at the train station. The blonde lad has just arrived. Looking at her he saw her in tears and understood what it means.
Seri forcibly smiled at him walking away. Seeing Jed wanted to come to her she shook her head and quickly jumped into the train with the closing doors. In a blink of an eye, Jed saw her inside the moving train heading south of Gaia.
'Where are you going?' Jed thought. His heart pounded hard uneasy.
Haze and the others have arrived in a bit. They saw Jed standing there staring blankly at the empty tracks.
"What are you looking at?" Mikee asked waking him up.
"I saw Miss Seri," Jed replied sadly.
"Oh?" Haze frowned and glanced at the empty tracks.
"Oh well," Zahn sighed. "It must have hurt badly."
"She didn't even waited for us," Mikee is saddened.
"She hates good byes," Haze replied. He knows her well. In fact, he is the closest to her. And knowing she has been relieved of office, his heart is aching pretty badly. He is going to miss her though. That childish boss of theirs.
"Anyways," Zahn suggested. "Since we are here, why don't we go and take a peek to our new boss? I heard she lives nearby."
"So it is another she," Mikee disgustedly said.
"Let's go then," Jed agrees.
"I thought you were sulking," Zahn teased him.
"I am sulking," Jed replied. "But I she smiled at me before leaving. Then I guess I'll have to do the same too."
"Good," Zahn is relieved. "We'll have to move on. She will be able to move on after this too."
Haze said nothing. Back then he and Jed were the most difficult to win. It took Seri two years before they could be that close. Before they give Seri their loyalty. But after what happened, Jed is ready to throw it away while he is hesitant. To think it is another girl, he raised his standards for this one.
Ayesha meets with Faye, the person who relieved Seri on the position. At the same time, she brought with her the boys from Seri's team. There were four of them who had come eager to meet their new boss.
"Miss Faye?" Jed is disappointed.
More so, Haze and Zahn are very much disappointed. To think it is Aki's ex-lover who kicked the sister off the position is very controversial. But the boys said nothing other than:
"We do not easily give away our trust. You have to earn it."
"Oh?" Faye is challenged. "Very well. Then I guess I'll start today."
"Try again next time," Mikee replied. "We are done today."
"Indeed," Zahn agrees.
Faye turned to Ayesha with a frown.
"This is how it works in the Alliance," Ayesha reminded Faye. "I thought you understand what I was
talking about before I called you for a meeting."
"Ah," Faye nodded catching up with Ayesha.
"Anyways," Faye inhaled deeply. "These boys are the finest of the Alliance. So they do not simply
agree to whoever I chose to be their leader…"
"But how did a child like Seri be accepted by them?" Faye scrutinized.
"Miss Seri worked hard to earn it," Jed replied angrily.
"That's right," Ayesha confirms. "Seri worked hard for it. So Miss Faye, it is up to you how you'd make these men participate with the mission on your hand."
"I already have a mission?" Faye is surprised.
"You asked the admiral about it and he is giving you this as your first mission," Ayesha replied. "You will be leading Seri's ex-team for that."
"Oh," Faye turned to the men who are leaving quickly.
"You have to chase them," Ayesha firmly told Faye. "You are going to lose your valuable people."
"Why do I have to make do with them?" Ayesha asked. "Can't I have someone else on my team?"
"They are the ones without a leader," Ayesha replied. "They do not need a leader though but you need them to make this work."
"Hmm," Faye snorted standing up. "Fine. I will do what you asked. I just hope those men won't make it difficult."
Wandering around the streets Seri found herself in front of an inn. She felt really tired from all of that crying and walking. She wanted to give it a rest and hoped for tomorrow to bring her good tidings.
"Are you lost miss?" the receptionist frowned. Seeing Seri's uniform he recognized she is from the royal academy of Gaia.
Seri shook her head and ignored his question. She gives him her card for the payment of a single room and made the reservation.
"Very well," the receptionist sighed. Worried. "But do you mind if I ask you something?"
Seri doesn't want to talk but seeing his worried mien she can tell what he wants to know.
"I am not lost," she said with a sigh. "I am just broke. Not financially but my heart is broken that I wanted to escape from reality for a while!"
"Okay," the receptionist understood. "But may I know your name please for me to be able to complete the registration?"
"Seri Gomez," she replied. "Sixteen."
"Sixteen?" the man is shocked.
"Is there a problem with my age?" she asked.
The man checked her card, it is her name.
"That's my card," Seri knew he is hesitant to give her a room to stay for the night. "It is my name.
And here is my id to prove it to you."
She gives him her id and saw he is still hesitant.
"We do not allow minors here," he said sadly.
"Fine," Seri took her card back. "Then I'll sleep on the streets then!"
"Miss," he said with concern. "Did you ran away?"
"No," Seri replied. "Why would I run away?"
Seri snorted and exited the inn. The guard frowned at the receptionist.
"Miss," the receptionist called her back.
"What?" Seri stopped and turned to him.
"We have one vacant room," he replied.
"Good," Seri returned and gives him back her card to pay for it.
"For how many days?" he asked.
"Just a night," Seri replied.
"One night," he said. "Please affix your signature here. This is your room key."
"Thank you," she replied blandly.
Seri left the receptionist and goes to her room on the second floor. Exhausted, she dropped herself heavily on the bouncy bed. Her heart cried again making her sob.
Meanwhile, Antoine is worriedly looking for her after discovering she had not returned home. For the first time, he asked Ryun for help.
"She had not returned home," Ryun repeated it many time. "Where would she go to?"
"I am looking at the security cameras," Hugo replied. "And…I found her!"
"Where?" Ryun immediately jumped off his seat and stood behind Hugo.
"Heading south," Hugo said. "Let me check where specifically."
Hugo entered another server and found Seri coming out at the very last stop. Still searching. Hugo's hands nimbly typed the codes until he got hold of her.
"That's an inn," Ichiro blinked his eyes. "Near the red light district."
"She's alone," Hugo assured them. "She's not with someone."
"We have to go there," Ichiro suggested. "That's not a place for a teenager her age…"
Ryun had left quickly not waiting for them. His heart is beating hard. Worried and angry.
Five hours later. Ryun arrives at the inn. He had to use his position to make the receptionist take him to her. In addition, having Antoine to help him convince the receptionist he came to pick her up. It took him a while before the receptionist said yes.
Using the master key, Ryun had managed to enter the room with the receptionist and the security guard. They found her sound asleep underneath the covers.
Ryun dismissed the two and asked them to meet a friend of his who is carrying clothes for her. After that, he entered the room alone and noticed Seri's turning over towards his direction. Her silver strands messily covered her innocent face. Her eyelids are shut and are a bit sullen. He can tell she had been crying the whole night until she fell asleep. Her legs peeked through the covers with only her socks to cover it. Moreover, her blouse is slightly opened on the chest where a little skin has been shown and her necklace fell out of there.
His heart pounded. Not because of the sight but because the necklace she wore is familiar to him. The sapphire stone on it surrounded with rhinestones made him feel nostalgic. It made him recall the event years ago where he got lost somewhere on the icy lands one winter.
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone