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Maybe I should ask the seniors for some guidance, he wondered towards the end of the day. Why am I so awesome?
***
During dinner that evening, while conversing with the princess, Blaze dropped the idea of having a campfire. Although signs of spring were beginning to show in Shapur, the cool northeastern breezes made the nights at Tir chilly and dry, making the weather perfect for a campfire. The princess brought it up with the teachers, and they agreed without anyone being wiser that it was Blaze's idea.
The students made two campfires, one for the older students and the teachers, and one for the younger ones. The princess chose to join her peers in age. Elyssa claimed that she wanted to keep the princess company, and sat down beside Blaze, bringing out the stick in her space ring and nonchalantly poking at the ground in front of them.
The end of the stick oddly seemed to be angled towards him. Blaze had yet to figure out the true purpose of the ever-present stick in her space ring.
"I am a sucker for good stories," he spoke, looking into the campfire and choosing to ignore the stick. Elyssa wouldn't spank him. "Can one of you tell us a good Xian story?" he asked the Xians. He picked up a skewered kebab from the fire, and offered it to CG sitting on his right, before taking one for himself.
On the first glance, the Xian did not appear to be the best of conversationalists, but once they became comfortable around one another, the younger ones at least seemed to open up.
The angel who had fought against Priscilla glanced at the princess for permission, before beginning a tale of adventure about a young angel and her tainted aunt, who travel in search of a mystical root that can cure her sick mother.
An Aranyan angel from another academy volunteered after her and told them a story about an eagle-angel angelomorph.
"... and that is why we have the mountain worshipping festival," she concluded as Blaze finished his fifth kebab stick. The vegetables and meat dipped in the deliciously salty Xian sauce and roasted over the fire melted in his mouth like candy, and were simply irresistible.
CG also proved to be a voracious eater, and it seemed like the only reason she controlled herself was because she had to behave like a princess. She finished her third stick and turned to Blaze, "If you like stories so much, you must know some good ones yourself," she asked him, pointing her kebab stick at him.
"Ah, no, no. I only like listening to stories. I am pretty bad at narrating them," he said, putting up a pretense.
Elyssa snorted. "That is a lie. He is the best at making up stories," she chimed.
"Come now. You are the one who started this. You should tell us a story. Do not be shy," CG pressed.
"Well, if you insist. But the one currently on my mind may not be appropriate for the moment. It's about the building you're staying in and I'm afraid it's a bit scary," he said mysteriously. Elyssa poked his leg with her stick, making him jump. "Seems like I am already getting the jitters," he laughed nervously. He noticed Priscilla eyeing him from the opposite side.
"Oh, it is fine! I am sure all of us here are very brave," CG said, waving her hand at the students huddled around the campfire.
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you. This story is the reason why Elyssa and I chose to stay in our own dorms."
"No, it is not!" Elyssa cried.
"Maybe not, but the story is true..."
"Go on, tell us!" CG prodded, inquisitively leaning towards him. Blaze glanced at her brilliant eyes and peachy pink lips and wondered if he would ever fuck a princess. However, he planned to keep his hands off of CG. The Xian were pretty much the only country besides the pixies that supported his claim over Sky. He also liked CG as a friend, and he didn't mess around with his friends, unless he fucked first and became friends later.
It was two days from new moon, and the sky was clear and the night was dark. They had turned off the nearby lights to improve the feel of the campfire, and only the swaying fire illuminated their faces, while their bodies cast long dancing shadows on the ground.
Blaze waited for their fire to give out a loud crackle before he began.
"It was the Hala dynasty —different from Hela— that built the Agrasen Palace," he said, solemnly gazing at the rustic palace. "They ruled around three thousand years ago, and Tir academy is built on the same grounds that once housed the rulers of a vast dynasty that spread across most of Aranya and parts of Xian and the Caledonian Empire.
"The Halas were the greatest builders of their time, building numerous works of marvelous and intricate architecture all over the country, and around this campus. However, this is the only Hala building in Shapur that still survives in its original form," he spoke, looking around to see if the students were listening.
They were — his voice, while spinning tales, had a natural cadence and mystery that made them hang onto his every word. Even Priscilla and Elyssa were listening with rapt attention.
"I've always wondered why this was the only building that still stood. Surely, there must've been a few more that should've survived, even as mere ruins."
Once he received several nods, he continued.
"So, purely out of curiosity, I did some research. I learnt that this building was built for the last princess of Hala, who was known to be quite the weird one — interested in demonic energies, and things from the beyond. I haven't been able to find any confirmed tales about her, but I did find an interesting story about someone else. The people of Shapur may have forgotten about them but the books at Tir library haven't.
"Seven hundred years ago, this building housed a pariah duchess and her two daughters. People claimed that they were tainted, and were rumored to be practitioners of the occult," he said.
A pack of wild dogs began to howl in the nearby grasslands. The silent night carried their voices, and Blaze waited for them to finish their song, before he continued.
"The three angels used to roam around the grounds at night, wearing transparent black gowns and carrying candles that burned darker than any candle should. They used to paint the walls of the palace in strange and convoluted blood red symbols, which somehow disappeared by daylight.
"And every night, when midnight struck, they began to sing an eerie song while strange, unworldly music played within the halls of the building. Some angels even spotted them floating and circling the palace —without their wings manifested."
"Maybe they were djinn?" Priscilla interjected, receiving several nods from other students. Like the pixies and mermaids, djinn were a variant race of angels and demons. They didn't have wings but could fly by turning their lower bodies into a gaseous form.
"They weren't. I checked," he shook his head. "Anyway, the townsfolk soon began to complain to their mayor. She had initially tried to ignore the duchess and her daughters because of their rank, but as the incidents escalated, she steeled her will and went to meet the family.
"Surprisingly, the three angels proved to be a convivial lot. They received the mayor with grace, while politely rejecting the claims against them. They even baked the mayor a cake.
"Since there was no concrete proof of their activities, and most of the townsfolk were too scared to keep a watch at night, the mayor could only give them a light warning before she took her leave.
"The mayor's conversation seemed to have an effect on the duchess and her daughters, and the eerie occurrences at night stopped."
A few breaths of relief went up around the campfire.
"Until the next new moon night," Blaze began after a moment, watching and enjoying the angels stiffen with tension. "It had been a silent night. No wind, no dogs, no birds, nothing. But, when the town clock struck midnight, echoing banshee-like wails began to spread through the town, with an ever-increasing tempo. They seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, and everyone in the town heard the wails with the same loudness. But the townsfolk knew their exact origin."
CG's grip on her kebab stick tightened, and he saw a few angels inch towards their neighbors. Priscilla's expression was the most precious. She looked terrified yet was hanging on to his every word.
"The angels of the town huddled in their beds and endured the night in abject fear. The next morning, the mayor arranged a group of guards and flew to the palace. Everything was quiet. No chirping birds, no crickets, nothing," he breathed, waving his hand. "Even the wind wasn't making any noise as it blew through the trees. The leaves moved, but they did not rustle, as if something was dampening their voices.
"Braving themselves, the group of angels walked into the mansion. What do you think they found?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Nothing. At least, not until they reached the master bedroom. There, they found the three angels dead, completely naked, and with their wings splayed wide open. They had no visible signs of harm on their bodies, and their lips bore the creepiest of smiles, almost happy, as their glazed, dying eyeballs gazed at a single, open window."
CG gulped. It was possible that her room had been the master bedroom.
"I don't know how much of it is true," he finally confessed, after giving his listeners a few moments to contemplate his story. "But I know one thing for sure. The workers who remodeled the building apparently did not like working here after dark. They all felt that there was something creepy about the palace."
CG looked unsettled for a moment, before a smile broke out on her face. "That was the most thrilling and enthralling tale I have heard in a long time, Fenguang. I hope I get to meet a ghost or two," she laughed, slapping his thigh and reaching for another kebab stick. "You should tell me more stories," she said, but most of the other students didn't seem to share her enthusiasm. Priscilla seemed to be one of the more frightened of the lot. First target locked on, Blaze snickered in his head.
"Is it true?" CG asked Elyssa.
"It is true that the palace once housed a cast-out duchess. I am not sure about everything else. Old buildings tend to have various rumors about them," she answered. Blaze had done too much homework. She couldn't tell which parts of the story had been made up. Any building with a three-thousand-year history was bound to have its share of strangeness. "I really do not think there is anything to fear, though."
"Well, it is getting late. I should head back to my dorm," Blaze said, picking up the last kebab piece. "Have a good night's sleep," he said to everyone, and turned to the princess to take his leave.
"Are you not going to join us in the baoli?" CG asked him.
Baoli was the local term for stepwells. The Agrasen palace had an ancient step well situated behind it.
"Er... I prefer to bathe alone, princess. I am sorry," he replied. Though he loved the idea of bathing with thirty or forty naked angels, he had a stiff problem that he could not reveal to them.
Elyssa also excused herself and followed after Blaze.
***
"Alright, brat, tell me what you are planning to do," Elyssa asked as they flew back.
"Nothing."
"Fat chance."
"You gotta learn, my young padawan. Doing anything more tonight will only arouse suspicion. Tonight, we just go to bed and let them mull over my story. A few nights of waiting for something to happen will do wonders when something actually does happen."
"Okay, prankster-in-chief of Tir," she shook her head at him wryly.
"Not a bad title. You can be lieutenant prankster," he answered.
"You better tell me whatever it is that you are planning," she warned him again, though she had a good idea of what it was.
"Where's the fun if I don't involve my best friend in it?" he smiled at her impishly.
Elyssa groaned, but Blaze was convinced she was as excited as him.
oOo
The next day, Blaze found signs of his plan working. At least a few of the angels from both Xian and Aranya appeared a little sleepless. Nevertheless, he did not raise the topic again, and simply spent the day training and learning from his new teachers. The spear was the weapon of choice for Xian, and the teachers had some good advice for both Blaze and Elyssa; Ely's primary weapon was a spear.
On the morning of the day after, Blaze borrowed a couple of harnesses from the stable when he went to visit Sky. Afterwards, he joined the training and acted normal, making Elyssa hope that he had forgotten about the prank.
Even when they were returning to their rooms that evening, Blaze didn't speak a word of it.
However, at the stroke of midnight, Elyssa was woken up by an incessant rapping against her window. Blaze was hanging from her window-lintel with his wings spread open and pasted against the walls of her building. He had a wide, idiotic grin on his face.
"Ready for some mischief?" he asked her, when she opened her window.
She let out a sigh of defeat. "What is the plan, spider?" she asked, watching him cling to the wall. He was wearing his usual clothes but had a red harness over them.
"I can't hover as well as you," he said, stepping onto the windowsill and giving her a hand.
Elyssa jumped out of her window without taking his hand. Her wings were out within a fraction of a second, and soon, the duo were flying towards the palace. Ely didn't bother asking him questions, as she knew she wasn't going to get a proper response. She told herself that she was just there to stop him from doing anything excessive.
When they reached the palace, Blaze jumped into Elyssa's arms and unmanifested his wings. "Land there, silently," he said, pointing at a spot behind the central dome, and on the back arm of the building. He was a little heavy with his landings when compared to Elyssa or Siofra, and didn't want to make too much noise.
Except for the domes, the roof of the building was flat, with a thick parapet running along the edges of the three arms. It was perfect for lowering himself from the terrace.
Elyssa looked at the room right underneath where he wanted her to land. The poor angel had her windows open, to let the breeze and Blaze in. However, it wouldn't have mattered in the long run. The glass shutters did not have locks, and Blaze would've easily managed to pry them open. She sighed and landed.
It was a dark, moonless night, and the two angels were nothing but two vague silhouettes on the building.
"Who's the poor girl in there?" she whispered, as he brought out a white blanket and a rope. He had stitched the ends of the blanket together and made holes for his eyes, arms, and the rope at the back.
"Priscilla," he answered, without beating an eye.
"I thought we were pranking the Xian, not scaring the daylights out of angels you dislike."
"We have to start with one of our own. Who else but little Prissy?"
"You really have it out for her, don't you?"
"What?! No. This is how we become friends," he cried out in mock anger.
"Not in this world."
Blaze draped the blanket over himself and attached the rope through the backside hole. "Boooooooh," he whispered, raising his arms.
"You aren't fooling anyone with that," Elyssa told him dryly. He looked like a little kid with a blanket over him.
"Imagination is a powerful thiiing, my fleshly frienddd," he replied, getting into his role.
"You are a thing, alright."
No. The Thing would be a lot scarier.
"Now, lower me down. One tug means to lower a bit, two tugs means bring me up. Three means get me the Hela out. Make sure you dangle me by the window for a second before you pull me back up. We want to give the impression that I am floating without wings."
"Okay, don't do anything that I may consider excessive," she whispered.
Blaze skipped over the wall and gently lowered himself, as Elyssa held the rope against the edge. Angel muscles were a lot stronger than human, and he scaled down the wall with ease. Once he reached the window, he swung to the side, and stepped in using the windowsill as a foothold.
Priscilla's room was illuminated only by the starlight streaming in through the window, but it was enough for Blaze's eyes, which had grown used to the darkness.
He found the young Malakim peacefully asleep under her blanket.
He tiptoed his way across the carpeted flooring and peered at her sleeping face. She was an attractive angel, and without the haughtiness she carried around when awake, he found her quite pretty. She was breathing through her mouth and her pouty red lips were slightly ajar, while her mighty chest gently rose with every breath she took.
Blaze reached out a hand under his blanket and bopped her pretty little nose.
No response.
He booped her again.
On the third try, she muttered something about a damned pixie lover and turned around, taking her blanket under her.
Blaze took in her figure. She was wearing a scanty pink negligee and a pair of frilly white panties, neither hiding the magnificent rise of her tight butt cheeks, as she lay with one leg splayed to the side.
He couldn't stop himself from reaching out and poking her on the butt. His finger sunk into the springy flesh. He flicked her cheek and watched it bounce. Fascinated, he repeated it, before looking up at her face.
A pair of confused blue eyes were staring at him from over her shoulder.
"BOO," he said, raising his arms under the blanket.
There was a brief pause of silence, before an ear-splitting cry pierced through the palace and its surroundings. Priscilla scrambled against the head of her bed, clutching her blanket, while Blaze scampered towards the window.
He tugged on his rope twice and jumped out. Elyssa hovered him near the window for a couple of seconds before pulling him up.
Blaze had his wings out by the time he reached the top. "Fly, you fool," he whispered loudly, before grabbing the rope from her hands and taking off.
"What did you do?" she asked, catching up to him.
"I merely woke her up and said boo," he shook his head. Even he hadn't expected such a strong reaction.
***
The next morning, almost everyone besides Blaze looked sleep deprived.
"What happened?" he asked one of Tir's older students, making sure he was within earshot of a rattled and embarrassed-looking Priscilla.
"Priscilla woke the entire dorm with her scream last night. She claims she saw a ghost, but it was probably just had a bad dream," the ivka shook her head.
Blaze glanced at Priscilla and she narrowed her eyes at him, expecting him to make fun of her. "What did she say she saw?" he asked.
"Some floating entity. Apparently, it hovered by her window before it disappeared. Probably a nightmare. We all have them sometimes."
"Maybe not, Ari. Remember I told you that I kept hearing things on the first night?" another ivka said to Ari.
Blaze turned to Priscilla and shouted, "I believe you." Her eyes widened along with everyone else's.
"Surely you don't believe in ghosts, Fenghuang," CG laughed, as she walked up to him.
"No, but I believe that Priscilla may have seen something. We may have our differences, but I don't think she is someone who'd be scared by a mere dream," he declared righteously. He saw Elyssa glaring at him from behind the princess, hoping he would just shut up.
"Well, we will know for sure if it appears again," CG nodded.
***
The trainers from Xian held a lecture or two each day, but that day's lesson was a little different. One of the trainers, who was an archangel of the Xian army, spoke to the younger batch of angels from Aranya as they sat inside one of the first-floor halls of the Agrasen palace.
