The Heart of Gaia

"Start with the formalities Zia!" The Commander ordered.

"By rule and decree, Liberators code of law shall punish the violator, recruit, Knoxx Abbot of Yorburgen with Eternal Isolation--" Said Zia.

My eyes widened with fear as I heard "Isolation", she held the formal document with utmost poise and grace. While maintaining a respectable position standing behind the Commander.

I didn't want to go back to that hell-hole, any punishment would do as I long I didn't get stuck there. I can't spend another day stuck within the confines of that wretched place.

I don't want to spend another day stuck in my own mind, as I slowly delved deeper into its void that swallowed me; alone...

I couldn't do anything as I desperately rolled my eyes looking at Cordelia. She didn't even turn to look at my direction as she remained calm and composed.

"Help me." I kept pleading in my mind as I helplessly stared at her.

She didn't budge like she couldn't care less of what happens to me. I turned to the other officials and they all did the same as they sat idly, listening to the spokesperson.

I was slowly getting depressed by the situation until the Commander caught my eye. He was mouthing out words that I couldn't quite catch, but after a short while, I finally understood.

"It's just formality." I thought he said.

Then he gestured two-thumbs-up with both hands until he got smacked on the head again.

"Ow! Come on..." He said before pausing.

Zia stared at him with deadly eyes that the Commander had to settle down like a puppy that had been scolded by its mother.

She then continued to say a load of more formal addresses that made it seem like an eternity. I calmed down a bit after the Commander's reassurance.

Even in a serious situation like this, he still acted like a fool.

"Because of the unprecedented scenarios. The alleged guilty, recruit, Knoxx abbot shall henceforth receive an alternate form of penalty. To prevent such events from happening again."

*Whew*

As I let out a deep breath, finally my time for atonement has come.

"Knoxx Abbot, a servitude of lifetime shall be enacted upon you until deemed so otherwise by the higher authorities from the liberators."

Well, it's better than being stuck in a cell for eternity.

"The alleged guilty shall remain on the Fortress unless foretold otherwise, will receive training and placed within a specialized faction."

I felt better than before, realizing that I was free from my Isolation. A few moments later, I felt a slight nudge from beside me as I took a look and saw Bardel.

"Don't get too comfy, you're only starting." He said sternly.

I didn't get what he meant. So I closed my eyes in reply, trying to ponder what he meant, but I couldn't.

As she continued to the final remarks and ended it there.

"Unraveling secrets?" I thought.

I pondered well until I felt unnerved, disturbing my thoughts, like a horrifying gaze had laid its eyes upon me; I shivered.

The chills surged around my body as I slowly turned to the right, there I saw this terrifying-looking man.

Curio had worn an eerie smirk, his dead, sunken, and slightly blood-shot eyes peeking through the forest that is his hair. His life deprived face seemed even more dreadful when he slowly mouthed the words.

"See... you... later" as his eyes smiled along with his mouth.

I was certain of what he said, I wanted to make sure that I avoided him at all costs.

*Gulp*

I lowered my head out of fear as the meeting finally adjourned. I couldn't help but sweat from the thought of what he could do. Since he was the head of the Alchemical company, I imagined a bloody operating room filled with apparatuses that I couldn't comprehend.

"Knoxx?"

That's right, all I needed to do was stay away from him. Maybe I was better off stuck inside that cell after all--All I need to do was something stupid then I'd be safe again.

"KNOXX?!"

I turned to see Cordelia looking at me as I sat scared on the chair. Her hand was on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. She had worn a beautiful burgundy dress, it had long-sleeves, embroidered laces, and loosely cuffed wrists.

"Are you alright?" She asked quite concerned.

"I-I'm fine..."

She rose an eyebrow, it seemed that she didn't believe what I said.

"Alright, you'll be starting your training first thing in the morning and you'll be staying in the same room again."

At least I got to stay somewhere comfortable again.

"I'll be escorting you there, from now on you can't really go anywhere without any supervision, but then again everybody has their eyes on you." She said.

I nodded.

Before I stood, I took a better look at the whole meeting room. It was filled with all kinds of sheets, papers, and documents. Probably analyzed and collected data.

The area was slightly messy as some of the chairs had been flooded with papers. On the left side near the entrance was a huge map, marked with red pins and lined with strings.

Lastly, the right side of the wall was the windows that let through the sunshine, making the specks of dust floating in the air slightly visible; Floating like fairies.

"Hey, Knoxx!" hollered the Commander.

As I stood, I heard his voice that resulted in me looking towards him.

"Cordelia is right. Stay strong kid, people don't forget easy..." He warned.

His face wore a concerned expression. As he gestured for us to go while he tended to the many papers that filed in front of him.

Some people were still probably angry, after all some lost precious people in their lives because of me. There was still that matter and I didn't know how to change that.

"You'll do fine, just be yourself" Comforted Cordelia.

Curio and Bardel had already left, I felt a little soothed that the scary-looking man had finally left. We soon paved through the gothic Fortress hall, it was large that every few paces were chandeliers that utilized Viscorr for lighting. There were some personnel passing through with disdainful eyes, making their way through the Fortress; I ignored them.

"What did they mean by unraveling the secrets of my power?" I asked Cordelia.

She still had that poised and gracious movement of royalty.

"We're going to be studying your power Knoxx. There were too many things we don't know about it, and because of that, it led to the disaster that passed."

"We? Don't you mean just you?"

She raised her hand that slightly trembled when she did. Underneath her cuffs revealed bandages that I think she purposedly tried to hide.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine..." She replied as she quickly adjusted her cuffs to cover the revealing part of the bandage.

She was in pain, deliberately hiding her injuries just to fulfill her role. I reached toward it but she pulled her hand quickly.

"I'm only going to be supervising the study but the man conducting the experiments will be Curio."

I shivered at the thought of that man. I saw Cordelia staring at me intently.

"You don't like him?" She asked.

"He seems scary..." Honestly, I answered.

She smiled, followed by a small chuckle while she covered her mouth.

"Don't worry Knoxx, he's a nice man. I doubt he'd hurt you." She reassured.

"B-But his face?! A-And the way he looked at me..." I shivered at the thought of it.

"He even said that he would see me later! while looking at me creepily."

"Well, you'll see when he calls for you."

She winked at me, perhaps I'll find out later, I don't think she'll lie to me.

The corridor was long, from afar, I could see the entrance to that lovely field from awhile ago. The place that overlooked the training field and the forest beyond the Fortress.

"Knoxx..." Her face had a troubled expression.

"What is it, Madame?"

"I..."

She paused while I waited. I could tell it weighed heavily on her.

"Y-your father..."

"I know." I said to her with a straight face.

"Are you okay? How did you know?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Hackmann told me before I left the prison." As I forced an awkwardly forced smile on my face.

She seemed to notice since I didn't really believe myself either while my hands trembled.

"You can always talk to me..."

"Oh no, I'm fine!"

I shook my head as I tried to immediately brush it off. I knew lying would be useless against her, she could see right through me with her eyes. She didn't pry any more than she should.

"D-did you guys at least laid him to rest properly?" I asked as my voice wavered.

She shook her head in disagreement.

"We couldn't find his body when we came back to get you."

Then could he still be alive? as my mind played around, thinking of the possibilities.

"Don't get too happy, Hackmann saw him died..." She said lowly.

"H-how?" I asked.

"He was pierced by magic."

"B-but T-that?!"

"I know, impossible, that's why we wanted to know more about your power." She said while staring at me.

I should know better, I was the one who did the deed. I didn't want to accept it, even now, I still wished that it was all a dream; painfully, I remembered.

She patted my back for comfort, assuming I think she knew already that I did it. It only felt worse when she did.

"It's a burden to carry, but who knows what could've happened if he didn't stop you."

"For what it's worth, one of the reasons why they didn't confine you was because you found the Princess."

"Princess?" I thought to myself, I couldn't think of any possible candidate that could be the Princess until I remembered her. Caramel-colored hair and a beauty mark under her eye.

I couldn't forget her.

Even though I did, it wasn't enough to make me feel better. I didn't want to talk about it anymore as a result I thought of ways to avoid the topic.

"How is she? Is she alright?" I said trying to change the topic.

"Well, she's doing better than you. She excelled in most areas of the training."

She bit the bait...

Good thing she's doing great, when I first found her, she was in a terrible state.

"That's good, where is she?" I asked.

She went outside the Fortress to the balcony, with a motion of her hand she invited me outside as she got enveloped by the afternoon sunlight. I followed her as I covered my eyes from the intense brightness that noon brought.

This was the second time I got here, it was still as mesmerizing as the first time. The moist, grassy field still retained some of its morning dew that shined under the strong sunshine. The cold gust of fall reminded me that winter was coming near while the lone tree growing at the farthest part of the balcony had decaying brown leaves, twirling slowly to the ground.

I saw Cordelia with her hand laying on the wall by the parapet, looking down the noisy recruits. I closed the gap and took to her side once more.

"She's there, look."

She pointed towards the grouped recruits fighting with various weapons. I followed the direction and saw her there, training with weapon intact.

"What is she using?" I said quite curious.

"Ah, that's her weapon of choice. It's a ring blade." She said with a hint of fascination.

"A ring blade?"

I carefully examined her, but because of the distance, I had to squint really hard just to focus my vision. It was circular in shape just as the name implies, she was moving in erratic roundabout movements.

"Why is she moving like that?"

"Well, its a weapon of complexity and distinct style, if not used properly, it can cut the user. She actually found a way to avoid that."

"Then why would anyone make a weapon like that? isn't that too hard?"

"I'm not too sure of its history, but it has varied styles that could prove deadly. She actually chose the hardest one to use, which is called the chakram."

"What reason made it hard to use?"

"The outer side of the ring blade is sharp, the only way to hold it, is grasping the inner part."

"It proved to be one of the difficult weapons we have here, but she found a way to utilize it with her own style." She continued.

I thought she was a dolled-up princess but it turns out she was the opposite. Even getting high praise from Cordelia herself although she isn't direct about it. I could tell from her voice that she is.

It was better to teach her how to protect herself, I guess a defenseless Princess in trouble could prove to be a burden; which reminds me of myself. I'm pathetic...

"When will I start training again?" I asked as I kept watching the recruits.

"Tomorrow, a Knight will fetch you from your room."

I stared at her, hoping that I'll see her tomorrow.

"Don't worry we will see each other, but less often than before."

It was like she knew what I was thinking, she was incredibly sharp, it was almost terrifying.

"I won't be handling the Corr training anymore since I'll be attending to different matters."

I nodded slightly despondent, she once one of the people here I could rely on. Guess I'm on my own until I remembered something.

"Higime..." I muttered.

"What?"

"Oh, uh, will I be seeing your daughter? Higime?"

"She's a Class two recruit in training already since you left for almost two months, but you'll see her around, and I'm sure both of you will get to talk."

"She's not mad, is she?"

I looked at her face, she just stared back at me as a reply then she rose both hands dumbfoundedly that indicated she didn't know.

"Try asking her yourself, I don't think I'm in the position to talk about it."

She was right, but I didn't have the courage to face her especially after what had happened. I scratched my head out of helplessness.

"Well, we better get going, I have matters to attend to."

I nodded in agreement as we went back inside then turned to the left of the corridor where my room was. Within a few moments later, she let me inside the room.

"This is where we part ways."

"Yeah, thank you."

"Your welcome," She smiled.

"No, seriously, thank you for everything..." As I lowered my head.

"Don't thank me, I just owed your father a great deal and if you want to be sorry; don't. Prove yourself."

"Oh, I almost forgot," she continued.

She was patting her pockets then pulled something out from it. It was opaque that dimly glowed in the middle, I remembered its misshapen figure that looked like its other half had been carefully torn off as it didn't have any rough edges.

"Don't lose it this time, I took time to research about it--"

"The stone on it is rare, I couldn't categorize it. Keep it since its probably one of a kind and the only remembrance of your heritage," She followed.

I remember last wearing it when I was in that underground place, someone must have found it. I took it from her hand and gazed at its beautiful light.

"Who found this?"

"Harrison Trawly, if you're thinking of thanking him, maybe think twice."

As she bid farewell, I close the door to my room and pocketed the necklace. She meant to warn me because I know that man would get hostile especially towards me.

I scanned the area as everything was the same from the wardrobe, to the bed and the table with a chair beside it. Except for the mirror on the wardrobe door and a stack of books on the tabletop. I took my chair and placed it near the window sill, I wanted to feel the warm sunlight as I watched the people outside, tiring themselves with training.

"I wonder..." I muttered to myself.

I remember Cordelia saying that I had a peculiar mark somewhere on my neck. I took the necklace to my neck while I scanned for anything that seemed like a marking. Finally, I noticed underneath my left ear was a slight glowing mark. Its shape was something tribal or native, was it a symbol? a letter? did it have any sort of meaning? Someday, I'll find out since I couldn't discern the meaning of its shape, and with that, I wore it then headed to bed.