Strangely enough, Sir Kingsley found himself in a situation that reminded him of his nightmares. It reminded him of the episodes wherein someone he knew was being burnt alive by some other men because, in that nightmare, the woman was perceived as a demon disguised in a body of a lady. The woman was polite even to those who were lighting up the torches as she accidentally bumped into them when she was being dragged by two massive men. She didn't hesitate to apologize and her act of kindness made the men flinch upon hearing the genuine tone of her voice and expressions that show no anger and bitterness. They had stopped but hesitantly returned to what they were committing.
The men who were dragging her have placed her up on the high platform and proceeded with tying her up until she was up in the air and still, the woman didn't show emotions of betrayal and anger towards the absurdity of the people who had misjudged and mistreated her instead, her demeanor was full of sadness and the only thing that stood out was the faint smile that's resting on her chapped pink lips.
The other men stood beside the huge pit, waiting for the right timing of the decision to be made by the one who has the authority. Their alarmed forest green eyes wandered throughout the entire dark location except at the young woman who was lacking in the expected expressions. The other people didn't seem to care except for the children who were hiding behind their fathers' ridiculously red cloaks.
If any sane traveler would witness what was happening, they would think that the woman was being burned because of some sort of ritual to Satan.
When their leader spoke to declare the burning of the woman, the men who were holding the torches gulped and their hands tightened around the wood in their sweaty palms. He proceeded to ask if any of the witnesses objected but his words were met with silence and so he faced the woman and questioned if she has any dying angry words to say at that moment.
The woman simply smiled and shook her head. "I have no angry words for I am aware from the moment that I was born that having been seen as different will have me killed. 'You would need to blend in or other people will be taken aback by your peculiarity' were the words my mother would always say to me while I was growing up. I didn't understand her until I was at the age where men will come to my chambers at night and force themselves on me. I didn't understand her until the other girls would cast curses on me and would blame all of their actions on me. I didn't understand her until I was pregnant with my first child and the other women stabbed me which would later result in miscarriage. I didn't understand her until I decided to learn and make myself wiser than the men who have received an education because unfortunately, women can't especially not someone like me. Nevertheless, I knew what was going to happen to me because I was different in your eyes and for that I am sorry but I will not apologize for being who I am and I am not angry at you for simply having a different perspective of me—that is the way our mind works."
They didn't even let her take a few moments to pause and take in the last place she'll see as their leader took the torches furiously and lit up the enormous pit until fire spreads like how the darkness in this world can easily be scattered throughout the entirety of it.
Sir Kingsley watched as the woman slowly burned but she didn't even let out a whimper, only a sigh of what seemed to be a relief. The relief of being set free from the cruelty of the world she once lived in.
Darkness surrounded them and only the fire was the light source of the surroundings. The woman's eyes met with Sir Kingsley's cold and unfazed one before her body completely burned. That was when he would wake up, wondering why was he seeing faces and why his nightmare felt real. The nightmare was not new since he would always dream about the same scenario but the fact that he could recently see their faces made him unable to fall back asleep after and made him want to believe that he will discover the woman who he was mostly dreaming about. However, the face of the woman remained a mystery to him.
It reminded him of the situation now with Blair because even if she hasn't opened her mouth to try and explain what happened to her, it was like he knew all along. He knew what to expect about the realness of the situation but he was waiting for Blair's words of confirmation. He wanted to rely on the logical sense of it rather than his assumptions and nightmares that aren't even real. It will be the only thing that would make him feel fine after dealing with different types of evilness on that day alone.
Other than that, Blair's demeanor and appearance reminded him of Layla. As much as he hated to admit it, Layla's presence will always affect him in ways that he could not even care to imagine that even if she's not around him, the ways of the world would always tie them together by using different situations and people. Take this new situation, for example, Blair very much looks like Layla, and even Alex, Layla's friend, was secretly casting glances between them while his eyes show anger and fear. No one might have noticed it but Sir Kingsley did as he did the same when Blair fell into his arms.
Layla's eyes were already on him and he was affected by it, he could feel himself tensing up and the feeling of guilt surrounded his every muscle making them twitch as he was suddenly frozen. He could control his emotions but because Layla has a certain look in her eyes which was new to him, he temporarily lost his right state of mind.
She was depending on him to fix the situation.
She knew he was the only one she could logically and reasonably rely on. For that moment, she looked at him with trust and assuring confidence that she believed that he will be able to fix the situation and he's the only one who could do so.
As far as he knew, Layla has obvious trust issues and undoubtedly she only gives that look to the people she feels like she could entirely trust. She would not give that look to someone who she does not fully trust.
Their eyes locked at that moment but he was the first one to break it when he realized how he was behaving. He felt like a different person, he didn't know why he's always affected by his student. It felt so horrible and he hated every single second of it that he almost regretted volunteering for paying her tuition fees. He didn't want to do anything that was related to her but even if he ignores or hate her, everyone and everything made a bond between the two. It was as if they were meant to meet each other and although they might run away, fate will always bring them back together in unimaginable ways.
Just like how Blair suddenly revealed herself to everyone and she made everyone face the things that they didn't want to admit nor believe. Even though the school hasn't got any bullying cases publicly, there were cases where the victim chose to stay silent because no one would believe them. The school might contain intelligent and wealthy students but that's even more reason to think that there's always something terrible that will occur inside the compounds. There will always be competition and the uncontrollable emotions of others who lack enough intelligence when it comes to handling their own emotions and problems because all of their life, their parents and their relatives have always been there to fix those problems for them. However, when it comes to embarrassing things such as bullying Blair, they knew that they would have to handle the harassment themselves.
Who knew what shocking things that have happened to Blair and the other ones who were bullied? No one except the victims and the bullies. If Blair didn't run where others could see her, no one will know.
And maybe that was the reason why Sir Kingsley is fond of Layla—she's different from the others. She actually handles her own problems and she's great at it for someone who's been surrounded by people who cannot. She was mature in ways that other students were not, and that was solely for the reason of what had happened to her. Her naivety in different situations though made Sir Kingsley want to influence her and help her.
That was why he also liked Blair. He also hopes to help her but it might be hard since Blair didn't want to open her mouth to explain everything.
Sir Kingsley felt Blair tightening her cold hands on his clothes as he carried her towards the infirmary. He looked down at her with a curious gaze but Blair was already sleeping on his arms. He felt uncomfortable because no one dared to be this close to him but he, Blair, and Layla were relying on him to help her. Everyone was and he felt prideful at that moment knowing how much power, reputation, and influence he already has in that prestigious school.