The Eyebright's Dimension

Chapter Nineteen: A Confrontation

As the weather worsened, so did Kasity’s mood. In a few short weeks, they would have their winter vacation, and she would have to go home.

She did miss her father, and for some odd reason, she did want to see her stepmother every now and then in short stabs of longing. But in all, she loved the Academy already far more than she did her actual home. Because there were still two months after vacation until the second Combat Contest, most other Clouds had taken vacation early, and could be seen having snowball fights on the Quad and ice battles in the air around the training field.

The Sylphs, however, still drilled incessantly and daily. Calixte was convinced that weather was going to be a factor in the next Combats, and had them all practicing heat spells and shields in the fields for hours. The fields acted much like the Terrain Stadium, except the land couldn’t change. There they practiced with various obstacles, physical and magical.

“I thought they only switched terrain stuff in the Terrain Stadium or on the Island,” Aidan yelled as they ran across one stretch of Practice Field Seven, marble-sized hailstones raining down on them.

“Weather falls into the obstacle category,” Lander shouted back. “It was in Chapter Five: Obstacle Types. Don’t you remember?”

He cast a stronger shield over Aidan and Kasity’s feeble ones. “We need to practice shields. Run faster, Aidan, for sky’s sake. Here, Kasity, take the shield. Let go of yours. Any second now Calixte’s gonna change it. Don’t let your guard down—”

And, sure enough, as soon as the words left Lander’s mouth, the hail stopped and the ‘sky’ cleared up, revealing a perfect, cloudless expanse of blue.

“Guard up,” Lander muttered.

They were alone in the middle of a field, and Kasity didn’t see the need to whisper, but found herself doing so anyway. “More shields?” she murmured back.

Lander nodded and cast one more, tossing it to Aidan. They began creeping across the field cautiously in attack formation; Lander at the head, Kasity on his right, and Aidan on his left. Still, there was no sign of any change. After fifteen minutes of bewilderment, Lander indicated to them to let go of all shields.

“Something’s wrong,” he said. “You guys can leave the field. Let me go find Ca—”

But there was no need for him to complete that sentence, for Calixte herself came down into the field with none other than Wyvern leader Morwenn. Kasity and Aidan exchanged glances. Calixte was smiling, as if she and Morwenn were sharing a pleasant conversation, but Morwenn’s face was red and angry.

“—booked all the fields for Wyvern use, Calixte, and you can’t just show up and start with Seven, it’s the best practice field here!”

“Morwenn, no Cloud is allowed to book every single field in the Training Quad,” Calixte explained patiently. “It says so quite clearly in the Rules and Guidelines of—”

“Don’t quote that to me,” Morwenn snarled. “Like Sylph hasn’t done so in the past!”

“Skies, no,” Calixte replied with a raised eyebrow. “Even with one division at each field, we wouldn’t take them all up. It wouldn’t be logical.”

“I know what you’re up to, Calixte,” Morwenn snapped. “Sariel heard it all! You’re planning something, something special that no one else has ever done before.”

A puzzled expression passed over Calixte’s face, and then she smiled. “Then Sariel read too much into her Sensory,” she said. “I can assure you that there is nothing but the usual practice and drills.”

“She didn’t use Sensory,” growled Morwenn. “A first step told her. In fact, it was that one right there.”

Morwenn pointed at Kasity, and she remembered that jumbled lie she had told back at her first special class, and stared at her toes. She hadn’t recognized how seriously Morwenn would take that information, or that it would cause trouble. She felt ringing noise in her ears, and all the heat rush up to her face. With a great effort, she pulled herself back to what Calixte was saying.

“The time has not yet come when I confide my tactics to a first step,” Calixte replied, “as extraordinary as she may be.”

Morwenn opened her mouth to protest, but Calixte cut her off. “We were leaving,” she said. “Field Seven is all yours.”

Morwenn glowered at her. Calixte glanced at her nails a couple times and then called, “Unit Three! Let’s get going.”

Lander nudged Kasity and Aidan, and they followed Calixte out of the field, trying to ignore the looks Morwenn sent their way.

“Lander and Aidan, I’ll see you two later,” Calixte said once they exited the Training Quad.

They scurried off with curious looks at both Kasity and Calixte.

Kasity couldn’t bring herself to look Calixte in the eye.

“Please tell me everything you told Sariel,” Calixte said after a moments’ silence.

Kasity began a mumbled explanation.

Calixte cut her off. “Clearly, please.”

So Kasity told her about the Wyvern provocation, and how her anger had gotten the best of her, and the words that had risen out of her throat. After she finished her story, she continued to stare at her shuffling feet as they walked. There was a dull silence during which Kasity berated herself over and over again for her stupidity.

“I’m sorry!” Kasity burst out. “I’ve been nothing but trouble to Sylph. First with the—the flying incident, and then with Aidan, and now—”

“Kasity, you’ve provided me with some important information,” Calixte said, interrupting her apology. “One: Morwenn’s paranoia, which has been increasing through the years, has gotten so bad it’s influencing the other members of her Council. Two: she believes I have some secret weapon, which makes her worried and therefore that much more vulnerable. Three: it explains why she has been prying into all my affairs and practices so consistently for the past couple weeks. For a while I thought there was something…more sinister behind the interference, but you have lifted a burden off of my soul.” She smiled. “It seems there is nothing, Kasity. Nothing to worry about, nothing to be ashamed of. I just needed the truth.”

She said it with such sincerity and cheerfulness that Kasity again looked back at her feet, disbelief coursing through her. Calixte didn’t sound angry at all. In fact, she sounded kind of…relieved. So was she not going to be punished?

“You’re not going to be punished,” said Calixte, echoing her thoughts. “But I do think it would be prudent to control your tongue, Kasity, especially when you’re angry. Lies are very hard to take back, especially when you don’t plan for them.”