บท 1: __PROLOGUE_____________

<p>"I think she's dead."<br/><br/>These were the words Vivienne Schroeder first heard as she woke up, rubbing her eyes groggily. Looking around, she saw an angry face in front of her and an involuntary cuss left her lips. A sudden barrage of giggles flooded her ears and Vivienne realized that she was sitting in class and that the angry face belonged to Mr. Morrison, her homeroom teacher. "This is the third time this week, Miss Schroeder."<br/><br/>From the corner of her eye, she could spot her childhood friend, Olivier Solace, glancing at her worriedly, but her other best friend was nowhere to be seen ('<em>Thank God</em>', Vivienne thought, <em>'I can't deal with his shit right now'</em>). "I'm afraid I must send you to the Principal's office." <br/>Vivienne groaned inwardly, but nodded and got up from her seat.<br/><br/> "Mr. Hearth, could you please escort Miss Schroeder to the Principal's office?" Mr Morrison turned around and saw the class rep standing right behind him, consequently falling on the desk. <br/>"Of course, Sir."<br/>"For peace's sake, Hearth, stop spooking me out like that!" <br/><br/>Matthew Hearth simply shrugged his shoulders, smiling slightly, which earned an exasperated sigh from the teacher as he shook his head and said, "Alright, just take her to the office already." Matt nodded and held out his hand towards Vivienne. "Let's go, Miss." '<em>Such a gentleman</em>,' Vivienne mused as she swatted his hand away, earning a chuckle from the brunet and together, they exited the classroom. <br/><br/>The walk through the grand corridor of the fourth floor passed in uncomfortable silence as Vivienne took in every single mundane detail of the grand chandeliers above in an attempt to distract herself. However, upon entering the elevator, she decided to break the silence. "Not a single word to Travis."<br/><br/>Matt glanced at her cautiously and said, "You know I can't do that, Viv. Travis was very specific about-"<br/>"C'mon Matt, it was the final chapters of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. For old times sake?" Matt opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it at the sight of Vivienne's puppy-dog eyes and sighed dejectedly. "Okay, but this is the last time, capiche?" <br/>'<em>Checkmate</em>,' Vivienne thought as she smiled innocently and replied "Capiche", as the elevator dinged, signifying their stop. The two stepped out and started walking through the marble hallway, Matt making small chat and Vivienne listening intently, when he looked forward and stopped talking abruptly, expression turning cold. <br/>'<em>What.</em>..' <br/><br/>Vivienne followed his gaze and instantly understood his reaction, because a few feet away from them stood Xerxes Laurent, delinquent extraordinaire and Vivienne's absent best friend. <br/><br/>He winked at Vivienne and addressed Matt. "Well hello, Mr. President, how come you're taking a stroll at such a time! Have you decided to ensue my enlightened footsteps and taken to the path of prosperity and wellbeing by ditching class?" Matt stiffened at these words, saying "I'm afraid I cannot see the 'enlightenment' in your behavior, Laurent, but no, I'm not ditching class. I am simple escorting this young lady to the Principal's office." <br/>"Shame," Cooed Xerxes, "You would've made a lovely partner-in-crime, considering your... skillset." He flashed a smirk towards the Council President, who promptly turned around after saying, "I'll be taking my leave then, Vivienne," but the girl was sure she heard him muttering "I swear I'm gonna strangle the arrogant, useless, ever-moronic daylights out of him" as he left. '<em>Very eloquent, Matthew</em>', Vivienne lampooned. <br/><br/>Xerxes sauntered towards Vivienne, smirking. "Well hello darling~" he drawled. Vivienne resisted the urge to roll her eyes (unsuccessfully) as she replied, "Terrible to see you too, Xerx. I'm sorry if I'm being unpleasant today, but there's this mood I have, which is called 'Xerxes-resistant mood', and I'm currently in that mood, so kindly remove that overly-inflated head from my sight before I inflate it even more with a balloon inflater."<br/><br/>As she walked past the boy and put her hand up to knock on the office door, she heard him chuckle and say" Such a charming young lady."<br/><br/>'<em>I swear Xerx, if you don't shut up, I'm gonna use your vertebral column as a walking stick</em>', Vivienne thought, eye twitching. Luckily for Xerxes's backbone, he left soon after. <br/><br/>She knocked on the door, hearing a slightly raspy" Come in" in response. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in. <br/><br/>The office was spacious, but minimalistic. There was a mahogany desk sitting at the center of the room, a filing cabinet beside it. The wall on the left was covered with a bookshelf filled with books ranging from biographies to anthologies to case studies. At the center of the office, Mrs. Agatha sat doing her paperwork. She paused when she saw who was at the door. "Not you again, Miss Schroeder."<br/><br/>Vivienne hung her head in a show of shame (which she wasn't feeling) as Mrs. Agatha invited her to sit in a chair in front of the desk. When Vivienne did as told, the Principal leaned forward and put her fingertips together (A/N: Imagine the Iconic Gendo Ikari pose). "What have you done this time?" <br/>"I fell asleep, Ma'am."<br/>"In class?" <br/>('<em>No crap, Sherlock</em>', Vivienne thought) <br/>"Yes, Ma'am."<br/><br/>Mrs. Agatha sighed. "Miss Schroeder, I have told you countless times before, and I'll say it again. You belong to the most prestigious clan of Beyonders, who protect the balance of the Shores. Might I remind you that your brother had already mastered the use of seals at his age while you barely know how to fasten the family crest to your shoulder! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"<br/>" I am, Mrs. Agatha-"<br/><br/>Suddenly, there was an urgent knock at the door and, without waiting for a response, Candor Magnolia rushed in, breathless, his dyed magenta hair tousled as if he'd run all the way to the office (which he probably had). <br/>" What is the meaning of this breach of privacy, Magnolia?!" the Principal inquired hotly. Candor held up a hand, catching his breath, then said "My apologies, Principal, but I have sensed a Shore breach at the National Bank!"*<br/><br/>Mrs. Agatha rose from her chair. "Schroeder, you are dismissed. Undertake this mission with Mr. Solace and Mr. Laurent. I assign you to report the mission." Vivienne also rose, relieved. "Of course, Ma'am."<br/><br/>As she headed out the door, she heard the Principal whisper "and be careful, child" and smiled slightly. <br/> _____________________<br/><br/>"So, another rude protégé to discipline?" Xerxes asked jokingly. "I'll leave it upto you to do the disciplining if that's the case, I've got a splitting headache," Vivienne replied tiredly. "I hope this goes nicely, I don't really wanna fight anyone," Olivier said, chewing his lip nervously, worry evident in his olive green eyes. "Don't be so sympathetic, Olivier," Vivienne said, extracting her talisman. "They refuse to acknowledge that this Shore belongs to us." <br/>Olivier obliged to the cues, pulling out his rapier. "Well, that is true..." <br/>Xerxes cracked his knuckles as his eyes flashed, smirking. "Well, you guys know what my motto is, right?" <br/><br/>Olivier and Vivienne nodded as the three said in unison:<br/><br/>"<strong>Respect Existence or Expect Resistance</strong>." <br/>______________________________________________<br/> END OF PROLOGUE<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>*A/N: There are two shores on this world. The Shore of Life is the world of the living, while the Shore of Curse is the world of the demons and dead souls.</p>