The Realm Protectors - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Faris was right yesterday when he warned me about being self-conscious at the School of Light. Just in a completely different way.
After our sweet little tour of the busiest parts of the city – we all noticed that Sorin's "special tour" took us right around the poorer districts of Cidade do Sol – we made our way up the hill to the School of Light. The campus was somehow even more pristine than Sorin's "prissy little office," as Enya called it. Students walked around in neat uniforms: white pants and yellow polos for the boys and pleated white knee-length skirts with yellow blouses for the girls. Even their backpacks all match, simple white bags with golden trim that spelled out their name.
"Wow," I mumble to myself as I look around. I suddenly feel very under dressed. I don't care if these people look powerful – I already know that I'm the most powerful light elemental to exist. I care that these people look like light elementals. They glow – literally glow.
Blonde hair, brown hair, black hair, all glossed and shiny and healthy-looking. Everyone's skin is beautiful, and everyone has a radiance in their eyes that shows their love of what they're doing. They're neat and pristine, walking in little groups of friends that chat and laugh like tinkling bells.
I lower my head, unable to take in any more sights. The rest of my friends continue to look around in astonishment as we make our way to Headmaster Miracle's office.
Headmaster Miracle is standing in front of a building decorated with white and yellow tiles of various shades to make up a beautiful mosaic of a sun. He spreads his arms wide in a welcoming gesture as he grins at us.
"Your Highnesses! Welcome, welcome, welcome." We stop in front of him. I look up and paste a smile on my face to be polite. "Right Arch Leonide, good to see you again, my girl. Arch Cummins, shall we begin your tour and inspection?"
"That would be lovely, Headmaster." Carter smiles. The two of them take off down the path, leaving the rest of us to wander inside the mosaic building while we wait. Inside are luxurious white sofas with feet made of gold, and a ceiling made entirely of little pieces of glass that look like they were shattered and put back together again. It makes the light refract around the room in little rays of rainbows.
"This campus is gorgeous." Enya gushes, plopping down on the white sofa. Nile sits next to her and wraps his arm around her shoulders. Avani lays across the chair next to the sofa, hanging her legs over the side and closing her eyes as she leans back.
The rest of my friends sit as they chatter about how pretty the campus is, and how everyone seems so put together. I wander over to the crystal clear window at the side of the room. Across the campus I could see groups of elementals tossing balls of light back and forth, popping in and out of visual, and even wearing their light as accessories: hairpins, headbands, and bracelets.
I'm acutely aware of the fact that I have nothing to be jealous about – I am more powerful as a first sect than they will ever be – and yet I get the feeling that I don't compare to their radiance. My ears buzz as though I'm surrounded by a cloud of muted bees, and the room grows dimmer around me. The buzzing crescendos as the sounds around me take on a different tone.
"Ciana?" Someone asks. I turn around and see my friends on the couches, now staring at me with a varying array of emotions on their faces. I notice that my hands are balled tightly into fists, fingernails pressed against my palms so hard that when I relax, crescent moons are left in my skin. The light in the room begins to brighten once more, and I realize that in my moment of doubt, I had turned the room dark.
"I'm fine." I respond, wiping my hands on my pants before gingerly taking a seat on the sofa next to Nik. She sits very properly – legs together, hands on her knees, and spine ramrod straight. It's got to be enormously uncomfortable.
"What's the plan for tonight?" Avani asks the group, glancing my way.
"There's supposedly some big ceremony tonight at sunset." Enya shrugs. "We're expected to look our best and be there to witness it."
"Does this mean we have to wear suits?" Faris rolls his eyes, whining as he looks at Nile.
"Probably." Nile huffs.
We all freeze when someone knocks on the door.
"Headmaster Miracle?" A woman's voice calls from the door. "Are the High Arches here yet?"
Enya stands up and walks over to the door, twisting the handle and opening it. Waiting outside is three girls – an older one who seems to be around my mom's age, a younger one that seems to be around my age, and one who seems to be around seven or eight.
"Oh, oh my!" the oldest woman clutches a hand to her chest. "Pardon my interruption, your Highness." She drops her head into a bow. The older child mimics her, and the youngest watches in confusion.
"It's alright." Enya smiles. "Headmaster Miracle just took Arch Cummins for the campus inspection. They'll be back in a while."
"Oh, I'm not actually here to see Miracle." The woman says. "He told me you eight were expected to be here today and... well, I've been waiting to meet one of you." She peers over Enya's shoulder, despite being a little shorter than her, eyes sweeping across us until she meets my eyes. "There she is!"
I sit up straighter in confusion. "Me?"
"Yes!" The woman slips past Enya and walks up to me, children on her tail. "I've been waiting to meet you ever since Professor Grantwood told me you were coming." The smile on her face grows wider as she approaches me.
"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." I don't know who this strange woman is, but there's something familiar about her.
"I'm your aunt!" The woman grins, spreading her arms. "Your mother must have mentioned me before you left – her sister Oralee?"
The name doesn't sound familiar, but the memory of my mom's confession about her elemental sister is fresh in my mind. "Oh! I forgot!"
I stand up and Aunt Oralee wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. I'm taken aback for a second before melting into her arms. It's a mother's hug – something I haven't felt in weeks. Oralee pulls back and holds my upper arms, inspecting every inch of my face. I notice her eyes, which are the same warm, cocoa brown as my mother's. Her lips are similar too: a thin cupid's bow with a thicker lower lip that almost made it look like she was pouting, despite the grin lighting up her face. Oralee must have finished her inspection of me, because she steps back again.
"It's such an honor to have such a beautiful and talented niece." She says. The two children step up beside her. "Oh! Where are my manners? These are my daughters – your cousins – Adessa and Anissa."
Adessa, the eldest, bows her head as if she's not quite sure how she's supposed to respond to my titles. Anissa, the younger one, is bouncing on her toes.
"Hi!" Anissa giggles. Her little brown curls bounce up and down with her.
"Hello," I can't help but laugh with her.
"We were actually hoping to steal you away for a while, since you're going to be waiting for a while." Aunt Oralee looks at Enya as if to ask permission.
"Where were you planning on going?" Enya asks. I hadn't noticed until now, but my friends seem to be slightly suspicious of my aunt and cousins. Lyra is the only one without some sort of questioning expression on her face.
"I live just off campus," Oralee explains. "I wanted her to meet her uncle and maybe come for lunch with us."
Nile squints. "If that's all you're planning, then you wouldn't mind if a couple of us came with you."
Oralee seems confused at their comments. "I mean, of course that's alright."
"We're just worried about Arch Leonide being by herself," Enya explains. "After what happened at our coronauguration, we're all a little concerned about safety."
My aunt's eyes widen as she brings a hand to her chest. "Oh dear, I didn't mean to making it seem like I was kidnapping her!"
"We know, Oralee," I assure her. "My friends are just making sure I'm safe."
She exhales and drops her hand. "Well, I'm glad you have such good friends."
"Ciana can go with you for lunch and to meet your husband, but we'd like her back here in three hours." Enya says. "And Avani and Faris will go with you."
"Perfect!" Aunt Oralee's bright grin is back. It lights up her face, and I notice that the room seems a little brighter as well. "Let's get going then!"
She spins on her heel and struts out the door. Adessa and Anissa hurry to follow her. Faris and Avani stand and walk behind me as I scurry after my aunt.
"Well, she's a sprightly one, isn't she?" Avani grumbles as we speed-walk behind my aunt and cousins. "Is she always like this?"
"I haven't met her before today." I remind her. "My mom forgot she had a sister until Professor Grantwood showed up that day."
"Well, let's hope she's not too terrible." Avani huffs.
Faris, Avani, and I stumble back onto the School of Light campus three hours later, as the sun starts it's descent towards the horizon. We're all laughing and giggling as we reminisce on the events of the afternoon.
After Aunt Oralee had led us to her little house just outside of the campus gates, we went inside and met my Uncle Lucien, also a light elemental. Lucien had spent all morning preparing for our arrival by making the most incredible array of food I'd ever tasted. There were pitchers of sweet lemonade garnished with candied calendula flowers, a steaming pot of golden squash soup topped with cilantro, sticky honey cream puffs covered in sugar, and miniature lemon meringues.
We sat and talked for the first two hours. My aunt, uncle, and cousins told me everything about their lives. Oralee was an English teacher at the School of Light, and Lucien owned a restaurant in the center of Cidade do Sol called the Lounge do Por do Sol – or, the Sunset Lounge. When I told him that the Sunset Lounge was where the eight of us were planning on eating that night during the ceremony, Lucien got so excited that the food glowed for the next ten minutes. He immediately got on the phone with the restaurant to make sure that everything would be extra special for us.
Adessa was a first sect at the School of Light, and told me all about what they learned in Photokinesis. Anissa showed me the drawings of the High Arches that she did with her classmates in Elementary 2, the Realm equivalent of 2nd grade. Enya's hair was done with the brightest orange crayon, and Lyra's was swirls of thin pencil. Nikolina has whorls of black crayon around her feet, and little lines of yellow stick out from my stick-figure body.
"That's you!" Anissa said proudly, a bright grin on her face. "Mommy told me that you were our cousin, and that we should be so proud of you!"
I glanced up at my Aunt Oralee to see her staring at us with a pleased smile.
"It's beautiful," I told Anissa.
"You can keep it!" She shoved the paper towards me, and I took it gingerly, careful not to drop it in my bowl of soup.
Oralee started telling stories about her and my mom from when they were little. I recognized many of them, though they're slightly different from the versions my mom told me. As Oralee continued, I realized that my mom must have been cutting her out of the stories, and now that I've heard the full things it makes much more sense.
"I haven't heard from your mother in years," Oralee said. "The last time I heard from her was when she managed to sneak me a message telling me she was pregnant with you. So fun that you girls were born around the same time!" She laughs at Adessa and I.
After we finished our food, Anissa put on a show for us, showing off her skills she learned in dance lessons. It looks a lot like the few dances I'd seen in the Otherworld, except that little Anissa used her abilities to spotlight herself throughout the dance.
"Bravo!" Oralee applauded when Anissa finished with a tiny curtsy.
"What a star!" Lucien agreed.
Adessa clapped quietly along with them. She didn't seem entirely thrilled about this whole ordeal.
After a quick house tour, Oralee decided that we should be heading back to campus. She entered the family phone number into my contacts for me, along with their address.
"In case you ever want to visit." She explained with a smile.
Now the stars are beginning to peek through the dark blanket of sky as we arrive back at the mosaic building. We calm our fits of laughter, having retold stories about our own childhoods on the way back, and enter. Carter has reappeared, talking to Nik and Lyra on the couch. Enya and Nile look relieved at the sight of us.
"I was just about to start getting worried." Enya huffs.
"There's no need to, En." I assure my friend. "My aunt and uncle were incredible!"
"I'm sure they were." Enya sighs. "It's just hard to trust people after what happened at the coronauguration."
"We're fine, Enya." Avani pipes in. "Come on, let's go get ready for this ceremony thing and go eat. It'll make you feel better."
We all get up, say our goodbyes to Headmaster Miracle, and head back down the path to the hotel. We get changed quickly, the boys in nice dress shirts and pressed pants, and us girls in an array of dresses. We make our way to the center of town and find the building with 'Lounge do Por do Sol' written on an elaborately painted sign out front. Inside, Uncle Lucien is waiting for us. He greets me with a quick hug before introducing himself to the rest of the gang. Lucien seats us at a large table out on the deck, with the perfect view of the center of Cidade do Sol. Paper lanterns are staring to be lit and released, giving the impression of floating in the sky with the stars.
Lucien scurries away to go get our drinks, wiping his hands on his pants nervously. He returns with the same sweet lemonade we had at their house earlier. Enya takes a liking to it immediately. I think she finishes three glasses before Lucien's waiters even bring us the menus.
The food was somehow even more incredible than our lunch spread. As we waited on our dessert of glowing lava cake, something started happening in the city. People gathered out in the streets as the sun finally started to sink under the horizon, and they began to sing.
"What's that?" I ask.
"The traditional nightly ritual of bidding goodnight to the sun." Lucien explains. The crowd continues to sing in the language of Leve, but Lucien translates for us.
Goodnight dear light,
Goodnight dear light,
See you in the morn,
Rest now 'fore you're reborn
Shine your great light upon our dear children,
Before we sing this song again.