Getting back to the human realm took a lot longer than I intended too. And it wasn’t just because of the faeries who were blocking my path earlier; I also have to go through my sister and brother-in-law who are worried and angry at the same time. There were a ton of arguments, especially between the couple already planning to wage war against the faerie kingdom.
It took a lot of convincing, but at least they finally agreed to pause their plans for now and allow me passage to the human realm.
It feels so bizarre to be back here that I don’t even know where to start. I have been in the enchanted realm for so long that I have trouble adjusting to my surroundings. Fortunately for me, Javi is here, but as a small and cute little black cat.
“How could I have missed that the name Javi, when pronounced backwards, is Ivah?” I let out a deep sigh while I took the kitten version of Javi into my arms. I am not exactly sure what day it is today. I only hope that I picked the right day for the academy to have classes.
I have chosen to transport myself in the locker room so it would be easier for me to gain access inside. Upon hearing the noises from outside, I can safely assume that I have picked a day if the weekend. Thankfully, there’s a wall clock in the locker room, allowing me to tell the time.
It’s right after lunch. As far as I know, Leo usually takes his lunch in the student council room. I wonder how many days it has been since I have skipped classes from the academy. Either way, I know that it would undoubtedly cause a lot of questions if others saw me.
I should lay low for the time being and quietly sneak into the student council room. I just hope that the other members of the council have already left.
That being said, I start to head out, but I only go out through the window since there are too many students in the hallway. I got to the school garden along with Javi tailing behind me. Even though I am wearing my school uniform and am technically enrolled in the academy, it still baffles me that I have to crawl and hide.
I am not a burglar, but the way that the situation is making me act makes me think otherwise.
Having Javi lead me to the student council room as a kid is kind of weird in a funny way. And yet, I still can’t help but feel a little nervous. It’s not my first time meeting with Leo, but it is the first time that I am going to meet him with the knowledge that he is Kellar’s other soul.
What am I going to say? How should I act?
A bunch of different scenarios are circling my head so much that I did not even notice that we had already arrived outside of the student council room. My heart beat rapidly in my chest as I drew closer to the window. Strangely enough, a small part of me wishes not to see Leo since I haven’t thought about what I would tell him yet, but then again, I need to get him back to the realm of Thalia as quick as possible.
For Kellar’s sake.
I see him with his back facing the window. Suddenly, all of the initial words that I wanted to tell him disappeared, and I ended up cowering and hiding beneath the window frame. Javi notices my hesitation and starts to nudge me with her paw. Soon, after I did not react to her nudging, she started to let out a series of impatient cat noises.
“Not now, Javi. Be quiet. I am trying to gather my thoughts here.” I wave my hands frantically, gesturing for her to be quiet, unfortunately, the beast just did the opposite.
Lovely. What would I do if—
“Ivah!? Ivah, is that you?!”
The window burst open and I can clearly hear Leo talking above me and my crouched form. I let out a squeal of surprise, making Leo glance down at me silently for a few seconds.
“Stella!?” Before he could scream my name any louder and catch the attention of anyone nearby, I got up and covered his mouth with my hands.
“I’m really sorry about this, but can you lower your voice? Also, can I come inside? I need to talk to you.” I whisper cautiously incase anyone heard his previous outburst. I feel my hands moving, so I turn my attention back to Leo, who is nodding his head in response to my question.
Leo quietly moved to the side and helped me sneak in through the window. Javi, in her mini cat form, also went and followed me inside the room. After closing the windows and draping the curtains over them, Leo waited for me to take a seat before taking the spot next to me.
“Are you feeling well enough to come to school?”
“What?” His question catches me off guard, as I am still in the middle of processing my thoughts.
“I heard that you were sick, making you unable to attend classes.” His brow raises up with concern, reminding me of his other half back in Thalia. He has the same mannerism as Kellar; maybe I didn’t notice it until now because I was always looking for someone who would resemble Kellar’s features in every way. I never considered Leo because, aside from being surrounded by students, he also has different hair and eye colors. He just blend in so well with the regular kids—more than I should be—which is insane!
In the first place, how did he ended up in the human realm in the first place? Moreover, does this other half of Kellar know who he is in the first place? Did he knew who I was?
“Ah, right. Sick.” I start fiddling with my hands, not knowing how to respond to him. I don’t know what kind of excuse my sister must have come up with, but for my sanity, I rather not know. “Yeah, I was, but I am feeling better now.”
Shoot. What was I going to say to him again?
“Leo, I…” I take a long sigh while trying out different scenarios in my brain as I think about something. “Do you have free time today?”
There are plenty of questions that I want to ask him, but maybe I should prioritize getting him back to the other realm right now. All of the other questions can wait.
“You mean right now?” Leo raises his head to check the wall clock in the club room. “Next class is about to start. If you’re nervous, we can go together. I bet you’ll be glad to see your friend is coming here as well.”
“Actually, I would prefer it if we—” Realization dawns on me when I hear something strange from him. “Wait, friend? What friend?”
“The friend that you brought here to school.” Leo, with his pure and innocent face, smiles. “He’s also the one who notified the school about your illness.”
If he calls the person as my friend and not my sister, then it obviously isn’t Rose or Jen. If I wasn’t concerned about the individual that he talked to about my absence, I am now.
“Leo, which friend are you referring to?”
“The one who always comes to the council room to deliver your assignments to your home. Come to think of it, I think that he should be dropping by soon—” Leo's sentence is cut off when the door opens and a man enters, a man for whom I am currently at a loss for words with everything that has happened between us.
Chace.