Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Kyle opened his eyes and looked around the bedroom.

Arial's bed was still empty.

He had joined a group of White Wolves on a quest to assist them, and it seemed he had not yet returned.

Kyle pulled himself out of bed and dragged his feet to the bathroom to get ready for his class.

As noon approached and lunchtime beckoned, Kyle met Lisa and Helia outside of their classroom, and they walked together to the Grand Hall.

"That lesson wasn't all that difficult," Helia said as she stepped beside Kyle.

"Arial had already taught us the theory, so putting it into practice was easy," Kyle agreed. "Just some of the most complex moves gave me a bit of a hard time."

"I'm amazed you understood any of it," Lisa smirked. "I don't know how Arial could stand teaching a dim-witted boy like you. I got it right first time!"

"Shut up," Kyle muttered, his cheeks reddening. Helia smiled and squeezed his arm.

"Don't worry, I didn't understand it at first either. Lisa, stop teasing your brother."

"If you say so, Princess…"

Helia sighed, then looked up at Kyle and smiled.

Kyle smiled back at her.

It seemed he had forgotten about their argument, she thought, relieved. She didn't want to lose her best friend.

They entered the Hall and spotted Hilda, who waved.

"Meet you in the garden, Kyle," she called before bouncing off with her gaggle of friends. Helia's ears pricked up.

Had she heard correctly, she wondered? Had Kyle started seeing Hilda right after he had rejected her friend?

Helia didn't quite understand why, but anger boiled in her. She cocked her head at Kyle.

"Kyle?"

"What?" he said, watching Hilda walk away.

"Are you seeing her?"

"Ooh, my brother the womanizer," Lisa cackled from behind them.

Helia was silent all through lunch and didn't say a word as they walked back to their house.

When she reached her bedroom door, she waved to Lisa, before slamming it in Kyle's face.

Sinking onto her bed, she put her head in her hands. When had Kyle started seeing Hilda? And why did she care so much?

Helia's head was a tangle of emotions. Was she jealous?

Kyle has always been her closest friend since she began learning in the Academy. Lisa is also her closest friend but her closest male friend is Kyle.

Arial is cold but he has his own way of caring. There is always something on his mind. And the feeling she felt for Arial is different from what she felt with Kyle.

With Kyle she always feels comforted. It was safe. It was soothing being with him.

With Arial, there is this danger, an excitement. It was passion if it is to be described. Arial is mysterious and that is one of the reason Helia become more and more curious about him.

She didn't want to lose her friend, that was all, she said to herself. She fell back onto her pillows and tried to convince herself that it was the truth.

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The friends sat together in the common room. Lelia was sitting on a table not far from them, surrounded by eager boys, and was winking over their heads at Kyle.

"Looks like you're her next target," Helia said bitterly, glaring coldly at Lelia. Lelia just ignore Helia stares.

"Are you worrying about me again Princess?" Kyle grinned.

"I just don't want to see you crash and burn," she huffed.

"Don't worry Princess. I know her," Kyle said. "She just likes flirting. She's not serious with anyone. Although she does seem pretty into Arial." Kyle said like it was afterthought

"Her? By Arial's side?" Helia gasped.

"Dream on!" said Lisa.

The girls looked at each other and giggled.

Arial is once again absent. He goes with a few teachers to investigate some bandits that has make a fortress at the Montblanc Mountain in Vangua.

He will return probably next year

Kyle rolled his eyes and changed the subject, before they could start gushing about his perfect, dashing friend

Then they talk about their class.

At that moment, they heard a cough from the doorway. Hilda stood among her swarm of friends, smiling awkwardly and waving at Kyle. Kyle waved back, before Hilda ran out of sight.

"Aren't you going to run after her?" asked Helia. Lisa at this time were wrestling with the boys from the Golden Lions.

Kyle scans the room and saw that Harald is also not here. From the grapevine, people said he is in Zettel.

"Hmm."

"What? Aren't you going to invite her to the ball?" Helia raised an eyebrow at Kyle.

The balls were a relatively new occurrence at the Academy. Since the acceptance of women into the Order, balls had been thrown to help the training knights let off steam and socialize.

In the Dukedom seeing a woman knight is rare, but not so much at Renasia. Even Renasia next ruler has been determined to be a girl.

And they have a history of capable woman leaders.

"She's just a junior," mumbled Kyle.

"Did you reject her?" Helia asked, staring at him intently. Kyle nodded. The interaction was pretty odd

"I don't really like her like that."

"Why does she still talk to you?" Helia's urgent tone confused Kyle.

"We agreed to still be friends," he said, shrugging.

When someone is heartbroken they would hardly interact with the person who broke their hearts.

Helia once speak with Hilda after Kyle start seeing her. She seems genuinely in love with him.

'We agree to remain friends.' Kyle reply nonchalantly

Helia was incensed. Could he not understand what is running through the mind of Hilda when she sees Kyle is just doing fine without her?

That she was not even loved that much.

"You know, this is exactly what I don't like about you," Helia suddenly snapped, making Kyle jump. "You have no idea what she's feeling, haven't you? Those words, 'I just want to be friends', they're like shards of glass working their way into her heart. She's hurt but she tries to ignore it because she likes you! You should-

"I should love her then!"

Kyle said, flinging her hand away as he is also angry at her. How could she not understand him…after all these years?

Her eyes did not avert from Arial back. Never.

She was always chasing after him…. knowing full well, that Arial will surely hurt her heart one day. Kyle knows this…because Arial is his friend.

Arial always look at the distance, seeing something only he can see.

And one day, he will leave us all behind him. He will leave him, Lisa and Helia. Why does Kyle know this?

Because he went to see the Seer one day to ask for a prophecy but he was rejected. But he did get something else from the Seer mouth.

He asks him about Arial fate. The Seer responded with only a few words.

'He will soar the blue sky, a destiny that has been foretold, the sword in the lake will appear, the heaven will shake, and the world shall see his might, carving his name in the annals of history.'

The Seer smiles and warn him not to tell anyone of this prophecy. Yet, the Seer told him that prophecy

Hearing that Kyle knew that his friend is destined for greatness.

Kyle has been in the Academy long enough not to doubt the Seer words. He has a penchant for the dramatic but he is never wrong.

Arial does not like Seers, but Kyle believed it and sometime would like to know what the future holds. Then looking at Helia, he responded

"Just because she likes me, it doesn't mean I have to like her back! You're only angry because you're scared Arial would do the same to you!"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about!" Helia said, fuming.

Jumping up from her seat, she grabbed her books and stormed out of the common room. Kyle watched her go, shaking his head, before hauling himself up and heading back to the house.

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