A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

Rina and Calvin did their best to avoid the stares from the townsfolk at the bar. Besides, Calvin has already made his presence quite clear, so no one decided to interrupt their sunset watching in the corner of the bar anyway.

As Rina finished the last sip of her tea, her voice sounded more lively, but her face was still traumatized. "When you came for me… What did you do to those men? Did you... kill them?"

Calvin took a nice sniff of his green tea, followed by a slow sip right after. "No. I sent their souls to purgatory... Their bodies will wander this town until the day they die, searching for something they cannot find; Happiness." Calvin paused, took another sip of tea, and continued. "Those men are the perfect example of me doing my job as a Zodiac. Henrietta used to do the same, but now, she doesn't care enough to do so."

"What does that mean?"

"You know what it means." Calvin put his cup of tea down. "You saw her. She's searching for something as well. The day you start searching for something you have no idea where to find, is the same day you fall into hopelessness and despair."

Rina sayed quiet, listening to the chatter around the bar, and the slow piano sounds from the young man providing music for the customers.

Calvin got up from the small booth they were seated in, "Let's get you some new clothes."

Rina nodded, following Calvin to the infamous room 5 of the back door. Calvin knocked again, greeted by Henrietta's most used welcome. "Come on in dear."

She was expecting another stranger to occupy her for the night, but her face turned to horror as she saw Rina and Calvin walk in. It wasn't so much as she was scared of them, but she could see from one glance that something terrible had happened.

"Oh my poor dear girl," Henrietta threw on another pink bed sheet over herself, rushing to Rina as quickly as possible. She could see Rina's skin was scr.a.p.ed from the ropes, she could see her body language of shy, uncoordinated steps wandering towards her, and of course, the dry tears surrounding her eyes and a portion of her cheeks made the scene as clear as can be.

Henrietta grabbed Calvin's robes off Rina, giving her much more suitable, warmer women's clothing from the dresser in the room. "What happened?" Her face was tragic, perhaps even more than Rina's.

"Enough for us to leave." Calvin answered with a strict tone.

Rina thanked Henrietta for the clothes, making sure Calvin looked away as she changed into them. The clothes weren't anything fancy, but they provided enough for the rest of her travels.

"You asked us to find you love." Rina started in a low, monotone voice. "And I'm afraid we won't be able to help you."

Calvin and Henrietta both had a puzzled look on their face, but Henrietta understood what she was saying.

"I'm not saying I know exactly what it is, but you can't have another find something that only you can. Only you can find yourself love, and you must love yourself first before another enters your life." Rina looked down, avoiding eye contact. "I'm truly sorry Ms. Lov, but I cannot help you find what you're looking for."

Henrietta smiled, fanning her eyes to prevent her makeup from being ruined, "Dear…" Henrietta walked up to Rina and kissed her on the cheek, giving her a deep mother's hug. "Thank you. I can see that you love someone. Someone close… Perhaps I'll find it someday, but today, won't be the one for me."

Rina hugged her back tightly, leaving Calvin awkwardly watching in the corner.

Henrietta let go, keeping her dazzling smile in check, "I'll help you dear, but I'm afraid I've never done this before." She looked at Calvin, "If what you said was true, then having two marvelous pieces of a dragon's heart will work in theory, but implementing the glamorous ritual will prove difficult." Henrietta jumped back on her bed, "Who else do we have my dear Calvin?"

Calvin stroked his chin with a thinker's look, "Me. Mooks. Kaplan won't mind. Sadrina should say yes. And you, as of now."

"So two more if my memory serves me right?"

Calvin nodded, "We're off to Javis next, he seemed quite interested in the subject matter. Then, if all things work out, Azar."

Henrietta laughed, "Oh Azar! I remember that freak show like the back of my hand! Oh my…" She sighed, remembering the days back at the lab from nearly two centuries ago. "By the way, how's your brother?"

Calvin sighed, "The same as always, white, black, and a short temper."

Henrietta shared a cute laugh with Calvin, preparing to get dressed into more travel-like clothing. "I still remember him as a human. Boy was he one hell of a man!" Henrietta blushed, grasped her c.h.e.s.t tightly, and continued packing her luggage.

"Was Mooks any different as a person?" Rina asked, "You know, like personality wise?"

Calvin crossed his hands, giving a laugh she didn't understand, "Not in the slightest."

…

Back at the Academy, professor Zelle had finally decided to start the topic of enchantments. Surprisingly, most of the students were actually excited to learn about them, so the livelihood of the class seemed higher than usual at nine in the morning.

Zelle began his usual class by taking attendance, waking up Cartuja from the back of the class by repeating his name countless times. Laena and Paris used to sit next to Cartuja, but his snoring hindered their attention far too much, so they sat towards the front.

After adjusting his normal dictator-like hat, Zelle began that day's lecture. "Everyone please turn to page 284 in your manuals, and follow along at your own pace. Does anyone know, or at least familiar with enchantments?"

Paris, Laena and a couple others raised their hands, Cartuja fell back asleep, so his hand remained on the desk.

"Not too many I see…" Zelle said, surprised that anyone even knows about them, "Enchantments are used to manipulate certain items and objects to have them perform a task that they usually cannot." He refrained from saying people, because putting enchantments into living beings is usually prohibited and not taught at any level of curriculum.

"Take a train for example. Although it would be quite difficult, it is possible to place an enchantment on a train to make it perform more efficiently and use less fuel for travel. Another example that's much easier to implement could be something as simple as enchanting a plate of food to make it taste better."

"Wait, you can enchant food?!" A student called out without raising his hand, but the entire class had the same question in their minds too.

"How do you think restaurants stay in business?" Zelle asked sarcastically.

Paris raised her hand, "Is it safe to consume these enchantments?"

Zelle gave her a grim look, almost as if he knew she was hiding something, "For the contrary, yes. They are completely harmless. However, don't go doing stuff you're not supposed to."

Paris lowered her hand and attempted to look innocent.

"We will be making enchantments for your clothing later on in the week, mainly to make them waterproof. It will give all of you some experience for the exams and a souvenir to write home about. But now, we'll be reading about ingredients and where to find them."

The class booed and sighed simultaneously, giving Zelle a nice feeling of accomplishment as things were going back to boring and tiresome for the students.

After class ended, Zelle asked for Laena and Paris to stay after for a few minutes. He asked Cartuja too, but Cartuja was a hard kid to catch when class time was over.

Laena and Paris walked nervously to his desk, ready for some sort of detention or questioning they weren't prepared for. Instead, Zelle just gave them an awkwardly dry look, and waited for them to speak.

"Is there something wrong? Professor." Paris asked, gulping mid-sentence.

"Not at all!" Zelle said brightfully, "I was just wondering how you acquired a power level of zero, when before, it was somewhere around 4,000. Since my own power level doesn't allow me to use Reveal, I cannot confirm my suspicions."

Paris was usually good at coming up with excuses or on-the-spot answers, but now, she froze. Her mouth wouldn't create the words she wanted to say, and her body showed no signs of feeling safe.

However, Laena decided to come to the rescue with her shy, careful voice. "Uhm, we were enchanted..." Laena kept hands clasped between her legs, looking like she was placed in the most uncomfortable situation.

Paris glanced over at her, giving her a look of, "WHY WOULD YOU TELL HIM THAT?"

Zelle nodded, "I appreciate the honesty Ms. Emarin, you are free to leave. I'll have to have a talk with professor Pride and the Grandmaster about this." He shooed them off, left in nothiing but deep thought and the sounds of pointless chatter in the hallway.

…

Back on the docks of Los Angelenos, Calvin, Rina, and Henrietta walked back on the boat the enigma cruised back into place. Henrietta added more luggage onto the small space they already had, giving less and less room for a comfortable sail.

As the enigma forced the boat away from the dock and into the open sea once more, Calvin pulled two shiny stones out of his robes. "I believe these are yours." He strechted his hand out to Rina, "Those men took them after they kidnapped you."

Rina completely forgot about her dragon heart necklace, "I-..." She stopped herself, reaching out her hand, unsure of what to say in response. "Thank you."

Henrietta asked if she can hold them for a few moments, cherishing the beauty of two dragon hearts under the early morning sun. They glimmered like two specs of gold in a cave, shined like two empty stars in the sky, and felt as smooth as a newborn's skin. They truly were one of the most beautiful aspects of nature.

Henrietta handed them back to Rina, watching her gently place them around her neck, and tuck them in under her shirt.

"I know she's your sister," Henrietta started, "But she meant more to you than just a sibling."

Rina wasn't too sure whether it was a question or not, but her answer would be the same regardless. "Violet was who I looked up too. She was the star in my dreams, a symbol for me I never stopped believing in." She then glanced at Calvin, gently rolled her hair over her shoulders, and gave a friendly grin, "But I wasn't the only one she meant a lot too."

Calvin didn't say a word, knowing she wasn't wrong. He just continued staring into the open sea as the wind rolled through the short hair on his head, and the smell of seaweed filled his lungs once more like a distant memory that keeps clinging on.