The sound of footsteps on the marble floor resounded through the hallway. The students, who were previously chatting, stopped to watch the person walk through. They whispered and murmured as their curious gazes followed her.
"Is it her?" one whispered.
"I thought she had already been dispatched," another one whispered.
"I heard she works for the House of Praeteritum," someone chirped.
"If that's the case, then it's probably related to him…"
The woman on everyone's lips continued as though she couldn't hear them. She finally stopped in front of a door and knocked on it.
"Come in."
She entered, and almost immediately, the students rose and saluted her.
"We greet you, Captain Simone of the River Platoon!"
She calmly nodded at their greeting and turned to the teacher.
"I have orders from the Cult. Xaden Scrivener is to report at Praeteritum Manor!" her voice boomed.
Everyone turned their gaze to the boy sitting in the far corner. His red hair was akin to a wildfire as it shimmered in the sun, and his green eyes seemed to pierce the soul. What was more noticeable was the letter 'M' imprinted on his upper left cheek.
He had been the only one not to stand up, and his gaze was not directed to Captain Simone but to a tree that was outside.
"Captain Simone, we will not be a hindrance to the Cult's orders," the teacher replied and cast his gaze at Xaden, "Mr Scrivener, duty calls."
To his words, Xaden simply yawned and looked at him with an uninterested gaze. The teacher instantly turned red with rage.
'How dare he!?'
"Thank you for your efforts, Mr Talis." Captain Simone spoke up, noticing the atmosphere was going awry.
She cast a glance at him.
"Let's go." She simply said and walked out. Watching her leave, Xaden chuckled to himself and followed her with his hands in his pockets.
With a steady pace, he mimicked the hum of her footsteps as they hit the marble floor as he trailed behind her. Throughout the whole walk, they were both silent. Soon, they reached a carriage and entered. As soon as they were on, the journey to Praeteritum Manor began.
He watched the passing scenery through the window, completely ignoring the woman sitting across from him.
Captain Simone bit her lower lip. The silence was something she still hadn't gotten used to, and it felt heavy enough to crush her.
"How has training been?" she said with a smile, breaking the unbearable silence
"…" Silence. He didn't even bother to look in her direction. Apparently, to him, watching trees was more riveting than a chat with her.
"Is school treating you well?" she tried again, but…
"…" Silence again. She bit her lower lip in frustration. He wasn't listening to her, and when she looked closer, it seemed he had nodded off to sleep, amplifying her frustration.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt.
"We have arrived!" The coachmen shouted.
Xaden was the first to alight, followed by Simone. In front of them was a majestic-looking manor with conical towers and a garden that seemed to go on for miles.
"He said you should meet him in the study," she said, turning to him.
He simply glanced her way with a piercing gaze that made her draw a sharp breath.
"Fine," he said after looking away and began walking towards the manor.
As if realising he stopped and turned to her with a small smile. "For a mistress, you are quite daring to try and make small talk."
He continued walking, leaving the stunned Simone, rooted to the ground and gritting her teeth. As he entered the manor, rows of maids bowed and greeted him, to which he ignored and continued until he reached a room.
From outside, he could hear the muttering and mumbling of someone with the occasional curse here and there.
'It seems my father has gone mad,' he mused before entering.
"Haven't I warned you to knock?" His father turned to him, his gaze tainted with hostility.
Arnold Scrivener. His father was the head of the House of Praeteritum. He looked nothing like Xaden or his twin brother, with the noticeable grey hairs that stuck out like a sore thumb and grey eyes that seemed to match the template. The source of his shame: his upper-left cheek, imprinted by the letter 'S', was covered by one of those patches that had been circulating recently.
"Father, if I did knock, I probably would never have seen your true form," Xaden piped.
Arnold glared at his son. The boy was getting more difficult to control as the days passed.
"Anyways, sit down."
Xaden plopped down onto the chair and drew his gaze to his father.
"So what was so urgent, you disturbed my education?"
Arnold inwardly sneered. 'When has this boy ever been eager to learn?'
"Have you been to the Library of Characters?"
"No."
"You should have a look while you are here. Your story has changed."
Xaden's gaze was still uninterested.
"The Weaver of your story has gone missing."
"Missing?"
"Yes. And she hadn't finished your story."
"So that was that burning sensation I felt," he mused.
"If the story has not been finished, that means…"
"Death."
"Yes…How much do you recall as the Main Character?"
"I remember everything up to the climax. I can't remember him. The Villain."
"That will be quite troublesome. Don't worry, I will do everything to ensure that your story is fully operational by the next Act."
Xaden yawned in response.
"May I leave now?"
"Yes." Arnold watched his son leave as a mix of emotions was brewing inside him. He glanced at the glass whale that was sitted intricately on his desk and picked it up.
After pondering for a while, he instructed someone to call Captain Simone.
'I need to burn off some of this anger'
******************
Xaden was seated at a desk in the library, casually leafing through a book with the title, 'The Dawn 's Life'. It was the story where he was the Main Character with a vibrant and extroverted protagonist who was the complete opposite of him.
Reading again, he could only find the Weaver a funny person for assigning such a role to the wrong person. As he read, he couldn't help but admire her writing. It was no wonder she was a Gold Weaver.
Suddenly, he stopped. There was a blank page. He flipped to the next page. Blank again. It continued like that.
The story stopped just before the villain was revealed. Try as he might, Xaden would only receive a headache whenever he tried to recall the villain's name.
He sighed. His father was right. It was going to be quite bothersome, especially with his Reckoning drawing near. If people found out…
Xaden decided.
"The villain first, the weaver later."