Alex did not know how long he had cried into his mother's shoulder, but it must have been a very long time, for by the time he finally let go of the hug and wiped the tears from his face, whatever arrangements Principal Toren had disappeared to arrange had apparently been concluded. The principal reappeared beside them as suddenly as a ghost, just as silently as he had vanished.
"Ahem." Principal Toren gave a deliberate, performative cough, and Alex jolted around to face him. His mother and father, who had been standing on either side of him, turned their attention toward the principal as well.
"I hope I am not disturbing a family moment," Toren remarked, his white eyes sweeping across each of them in turn. A faint smile rested on his lips, not a mocking one but the same easy, unhurried expression he always seemed to wear.
"Not at all," Shane answered. "We are done, and you have arrived just in time, actually. There is something we would like to discuss with you." There was a faint glint in his father's eyes that Alex did not miss, and Alex turned his head back and forth between the principal and his father with growing unease.
Things did not look good. The atmosphere took a rather ominous direction rather suddenly.
"Haah." Toren let out a long, weary sigh and pressed his right hand to his forehead, shaking his head slowly from side to side. "It seems the old people were right after all. The young always rebel against their elders. I never thought I would live to see young ones giving me such trouble." He shook his head again, more rapidly this time, and then pressed both hands to his chest, his face wincing as though in genuine pain. "After everything I have poured myself into doing only good deeds."
Sera stepped forward to position herself between Shane and Toren, her voice respectful and her head bowing slightly toward the principal. "I apologize, Principal. You are drawing the wrong conclusion. We only wished to speak about Alex."
Alex felt his fist clench at his side at the sight of his mother bowing her head. He had not heard much from either of his parents about Toren or the nature of their relationship with him, but the atmosphere alone was enough for him to piece together that the principle likely held considerable influence over their lives, or had at some point in the past.
Toren turned his gaze toward Sera, narrowing his eyes slightly and pursing his lips. "Is that so?" he asked, his tone still carrying a thread of skepticism. Then he tilted his head toward Shane, as if waiting for confirmation.
Shane's face remained unreadable, but Alex could sense the careful mixture of fear and respect that his father held for the man standing before them. He made a quiet mental note to ask his parents about Toren in detail, later, when there was more time and more privacy. All he had ever known of the principal was gathered from scattered conversations and the occasional passage in books that described the man's mysterious age and still more mysterious power. Beyond those fragments, Alex knew very little. That would have to change. What kind of student would he be if he remained ignorant of the very person who led the academy he studied in?
"Yes," Shane said, holding Toren's gaze steadily. "We only need to discuss a few minor matters, and the gate." Alex looked warily between the two of them, his stomach tightening with the fear that he might be sent back home before morning.
"Worry not, child," Toren said, shifting his gaze toward Alex as though he had sensed the anxiety rising in Alex. Toren's expression had settled back into its usual calm, and Alex found himself wondering again whether Toren was truly a grown man or some child wearing the face of a man because the swings in his mood and manner were something Alex could hardly begin to understand. "You will not be sent home. I am merely entertaining myself with my old students."
Alex exhaled and nodded, letting his shoulders drop. But then the last part of what Toren had said caught up with him, and he turned his head between the principal and his parents with a new kind of curiosity. His mother noticed and turned toward him since he was standing beside her, and she patted his head gently. "Toren was also the principal of the academy when we were students here. He has been around for quite a long time," she said, ending the sentence with a small laugh, as though trying to soften the edges of the room.
"Humph!" Toren crossed his arms. "I am not old."
Sera turned her head toward him, composed but unhurried. "Then shall we speak privately? I think Alex ought to rest to recover."
Shane nodded in agreement, and Toren followed with a nod of his own. "Child," Toren began, his voice carrying a finality that left no room for protest, "return to your dormitory room. We have things to discuss among ourselves."
Alex opened his mouth, almost ready to argue that he would very much like to be part of whatever would be discussed, but before a single word could escape his lips the darkness swallowed him whole. "I will transport you to the entrance of your dormitory," Toren's voice drifted to him from somewhere beyond the black. "Make sure to rest well." A brief pause, and then, the principal's voice reached Alex once more, faint but distinct. "From tomorrow onwards, your life is going to take a rather beautiful turn."
Alex barely caught the tail end of those words before the world snapped back into place. He was standing before the entrance of the boys' dormitory, flanked on either side by the two guards who, to their considerable credit, did not react to his sudden appearance in the slightest. They stood like statues and gazed at each other as though nothing had occurred, and Alex was genuinely grateful for their professionalism, given the state he appeared in, it would have created rather some new round of questions.
Alex gave a small shake of his head, steadied himself, and stepped through the entrance. The guards did not stop him, only glancing at him briefly as he passed, and he credited them silently for not offering him so much as a raised brow.
Alex made his way slowly inside the dormitory and stopped before his room's door. He drew out his key, and turned it in the lock. The door swung open.
He was immediately greeted by a loud and indignant shout from within.
"Who dares to disturb the great lord Halden at this hour of the night!"
***
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