April had seen and met a lot of visually impaired individuals in her life before but when she laid her eyes upon the blonde man whom Safatore referred to as Master, she knew she was not looking at some random elf.
But then again, as it turned out, most if not all of the elves she had met so far had important status. The High Council. Crown Prince Safatore. Second Prince Semacoar. Third Prince Saka. And then it was Master…
"Calypto," Safatore introduced the man to April, his tone soft. "Meet our master and our uncle, Master Calypto."
April blinked at all the titles.
"Uncle? Are you all related?"
She glanced at Kuri and Kakuro who shook their heads, and at Eon who raised her hands. Then she glanced back to Master Calypto.
"He looks soyoung."
Her comment gained a lot of sighs and exhales all around, most of them shaking their heads. She had no idea why they gave such a reaction.
"Why? What's wrong? Everyone I've met so far seems under twenty-five or thirty."
Safatore shook his head. But no one was looking when the man who looked like him, held out a hand and grabbed a lock of April's hair, rubbing it between his fingers.
"A strange creature, you are. April. You're from Acugamathura, you say?" He sniffed her hair.
April'smind went haywire at that point.
"I thought he was blind–how is he touching my hair?"
"It's been a long time since I heard the name. Are you really from there?" Master Calypto asked, his nose still buried in the lock of hair in his hand.
If April's hair wasn't so long that she backed up at least a meter and a half away, she would've been very uncomfortable, so much so that she wouldn't be able to respond. But thank her unknown genes for her ludicrously long hair, right?
"I don't know what that cougar… ma Cora thing is. I'm from the San Adele orphanage in New York City." She replied. "Saka told me to say all of that stuff."
Master Calypto's frame paused before it shifted. He let go of April's hair and stood straight. The griffin behind him nickered softly. What was that about?
"Saka, you say?"
"Yes, something happened and… he did something a few weeks ago and now they share a subconscious." Safatore answered.
Master Calypto brought his blind eyes from Safatore and 'looked' in April's direction.
"Is that so?" He sighed and went quiet for a moment, April observing his posture and expression and the way the griffin reacted whenever he spoke.
He was a very strange man with a strange air around him.
After a moment of silence, he sighed and spoke again:
"I remember there was a dimension called Acugamathura. It was right next to our dimension Azarek."
"So I did travel between worlds and right now I'm lost in a fantasy dimension?" April clutched onto one of her tails, what had already made sense to her imaginative mind making even more sense.
"Fantasy?" Master Calypto, however, scoffed. "Child, there is nothing fantastic or imaginary about this dimension… or you." He pointed at her, making her take a step back. "It pains those who will be affected… to tell you that… this is the worst possible horrible time for a creature of your make to be lost in Azarek. Dimension Ah… as we elders and those who know it, like to call it."
"Why is that?" April asked, her voice getting smaller, not really certain if she wanted that answer.
"Xander is in the middle of a power struggle." Master Calypto began, his ferocious griffin boring its green eyes into April. "The power possessed by the elven High Council far surpasses that of the royal family by celestial quantity. It's been like this for the last three centuries. Your arrival here has only served as a kindle to the High Council elders' quest for total dominance over the rest of the elven race."
April's heart skipped a beat.
"Wait!" She squeaked. "How am I involved in… whatever you're saying? I've only been here for a week and a half, and during the duration of that week, I've been unconscious!"
Master Calypto carried a thoughtful look for a moment before he continued:
"The Council is always looking for the slightest margin of error the royal siblings can make. Their winning strategy all this time has been the Third Prince, one you know as Saka. But now that you're here, an outsider of an unknown species and origin, the High Council of Elders has acquired another weapon against the throne."
April felt her ears burning with every word. She didn't know why she was hearing all of this.
But Calypto continued:
"I don't know who you are, and I don't know your face, thus I can't see your reaction, April Commerce of Acugamathura, but you seem like the kind of person someone would not hesitate to exploit and use in their own favor… regardless of the consequences."
To those words, April glanced at Safatore and immediately remembered the time he effortlessly told the others to use her as lycan bait. Master Calypto's words were making so much sense she couldn't understand them therefore. She let go of her tails and just stood there, the words sinking in. She was exploitable. She was usable.
"But I'm just a random nobody from a shelter in the city that never sleeps…" she muttered.
Semacoar nudged Safatore's side and mouthed something that April didn't pay attention to. Master Calypto spoke up again.
"Make no mistake, child. It's not Safatore, my other nephews and niece. Or the council. It's you."
April shot her eyes back to the tall man. Tears began to sting in her eyes, and her eyes reddened.
"Me?"
"Safatore offered you up for Aura Assessment yesterday as a means to save your life. However, this became another excuse for the Council to bully the Kraufford sons. If you are weighed and found wanting, as in, they figure out what you are, you and the royal family will be done for."
"What am I then?" April asked, her voice cracked as the tears welled up in her eyes. "If I'm neither human nor elf then what am I?"
"Human?" The elf raised an eyebrow, right before he shook his surprise off. "The correct term is monster but… you don't seem too fond of that." Master Calypto slightly tilted his head, the griffin behind him settling on its rear.
April scoffed, and the first tear cut down her cheek in a clear streak. That conversation was turning from sour to bitter as bile.
"I'm not a fan." She sniffled and shrugged away when Safatore tried to reach for her.
"Understand, April, that not all monsters have razor-sharp teeth, claws and fur." Master Calypto sighed.
"So it's my tails, then?" April crossed her arms, letting the tears fall free.
"Tails?" Master Calypto asked, his tone confused.
"Master, she looks like an elf but has two tails." Safatore answered.
The other man stood silent for a moment before he sighed, somewhat as if in resignation.
"Oh," he said, then he held his hands back. "The Aura Assessment is tomorrow. You must prepare yourself."
"Are you going to exploit me too?" April asked, looking directly up at the man.
He didn't miss a beat.
"Yes."
Everyone blinked in surprise as they heard the man's response.
"For your own good, April Commerce of Acugamathura." He added.
"My own good? My own good?" April fumed on the inside, her tears racing down her cheeks.
She tried to wipe them but they just kept coming.
* * * *
"You'll forgive me for all my uncle said. He has seen a lot of things, experienced things that no average elf has." Safatore softly explained, sitting on a stool besides April's bed.
He looked beaten and penitent, like he carried the weight of his past transgressions on his shoulders.
"I shouldn't have complained," April responded, more to herself than to the young man.
He tilted his head, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that a few weeks ago, I was complaining about how I was losing my talents and how much life hated me." April responded. "Now I've become the object of my complaints."
Safatore frowned. "It's not your fault."
"Yeah, sure. Yet, I was thrown across dimensions for no reason, I lost someone who was trying to save me, I was bait, I died, resurrected, my literal soul was joined with the guy who killed me and now I'm facing persecution from a power hungry elven government!" April spat it all out in a single breath. "You know, maybe your weird master is right. I might be some horrid monster–"
Safatore grabbed her hand and pulled it to himself, interrupting her rambling.
"Stop doubting yourself, April. You're more than what meets the eye. You're a surprisingly pleasant elf."
April pulled her hand away, glaring at Safatore.
"One thing I've learned about you is that you are a real sweet talker. See, I don't know who you are, any of you, especially that Sakature. At all!"
Safatore rested his hand on his lap, biting on the inside of his mouth, that small smile masking his real expression.
"All I saw were pretty faces and long hair and I was swept away." April continued. "For a moment, I got lost in the fantasy. For a moment, I wanted to believe you're the good guys even though I had just been used as monster bait. But now I realize I am the dumbest person in the world!"
She fisted the blankets which she sat under.
"I am so stupid that I touch floating vortexes… I am an idiot!" She exclaimed. "And y'all are just taking advantage of that."
A biting silence followed after the outburst. The golden walls reflected April's insightful realizations while also reflecting Safatore's unknown position in her declarations. It was night time and whatever the young man had planned to achieve was thwarted by the girl's spontaneous while temporary psychological maturity. Everything was then awkward.
He rose from the stool and watched her as she wiped her tears, then he quietly told her:
"I'm sorry you feel that way."
April scoffed out loud and ignored the man who briefly walked out, leaving her alone in the room.
A few minutes passed as she sobbed by herself.
"I am a stupid person. Is that what I came back to life to learn?"
[So you finally met the rest of my family. Isn't it just swell?] The familiar voice spoke in the far recesses of her mind.
She wiped her nose, raising her teary eyes.
"I don't wanna talk to you."
[You think I want to talk to you? I don't but I have no choice because you're killing me with your pathetic crying and low self-esteem.] Saka replied.
April gazed forward, frowning. She listened as he went on berating her.
[Every little bit of trouble that comes your way, you fall on your knees and weep. What is your problem? Is that your basic coping mechanism?]
"Hey! I'm a very sensitive person!" She hissed, aware that she was pointing to the wall but not in the mood to care. That telepathic connection was like talking to someone through wireless headsets, only, she couldn't yank the voice out her ears whenever she wanted.
She heard Saka scoff.
[Sensitive? More like weak. Everything everyone does makes you cry. You were also about to cry when I told you to stay on the island.]
April covered her eyes and cried. He was right, she was way too much of a crybaby.
[But you know what I say? To hell with your tears! Unless you can pour them in a cup and drink them, they're useless.]
April suddenly stopped crying due to the weird anecdote and raised her head.
"What?"
[You heard me. You're wasting your time. You met the rest of my family and got to see how twisted they are. And it's not even their fault.] Saka's voice replied.
April blinked. "They're the twisted ones?"
[All you ever do is whine, cry, run, eat and paint your life as a tragedy. It should be getting a little old by now.]
April sat up straight.
"Have you been ransacking through my memories?"
[I ran into your measly memories in your Sea of Memories. The point is, you're desperate for attention.]
April gasped but before she could comment, Saka continued,
[They're assessing your power tomorrow. If you're lucky, my uncle will find a way to use you as well. You heard him, the monarchy is dying. My early assessment? You're the weakest dolt I've ever met. Getting soul bound to you was the biggest curse on my life. Go jump off a cliff.]
April blinked, and the voice silenced for a long time. Her tears stopped flowing, her heartbeat returned to normal and she sat there, basking in his words and the silence of her room. Three little glowing balls of light hovered over the bedside table, acting as a lamp.
The things Saka said were callous.
"He's right," April tucked herself under the sheets. "All I do is run, whine and blame life for the hurdles I face."
Hiroko had told her not to touch that vortex. That's where it all started.
"Whatever happens tomorrow… happens because of me."
[The world doesn't revolve around you.] Saka's voice commented.
She gasped awake.
"Neither around you, Mr. Third Prince, Saka Sir! Come out of hiding and say that to my face!" She yelled.
There was a following silence. April waited another moment before she groaned in frustration and threw the cool sheets over her head, shutting her eyes.