Ophelia
Part of her quick forgiveness might also be because she’s been feeling settled since her first trip to the Library. Like she found something she didn’t even know she was missing. It’s probably because she’s finally leaving this wretched place.
“This is your last one, right?” Arete asks, sitting cross-legged next to her on the floor.
“Yes, thank the Forms.”
Arete shrugs. “I dunno. Books?” Then she jumps to sit on the bed and asks, “What’s the answer, then?”
Ophelia gasps dramatically. “I mustn’t tell you that, oh young one! What if you tell your sister? We simply cannot have her cheating in the Trials.”
“So it’s for the Trials?” Arete looks ten times more curious now.
“Yes, it’s for the Trials,” Ophelia says, rolling her eyes.
“But I can’t tell you anything, really. I’ll get in lots of trouble.
And you know what happens to people who get in trouble.
” She makes rumbling noises in her throat and takes a big step toward Arete, wiggling her fingers. “The tickle monster comes!”
Arete screams with laughter when Ophelia picks her up from the bed. She loves the sound, even more so since she’s heard its opposite.
Arete’s laughter is unadulterated joy. Her sobs are unending despair. It’s so black and white for her, for kids in general. So, would growing up be finding the in-between, then? Or are we all children in the end, and we just get better at hiding it?
Her musings are interrupted when Eudoxia calls, “Ophelia,” from the newly opened door. “Alexander and Zeno have already left for the Library. Let’s go so we don’t fall behind.”
Arete goes silent and wiggles out of Ophelia’s embrace. She picks up one of the books they brought her from the Library and curls up on the bed, guiltily avoiding eye contact with her sister.
Eudoxia walks back out of the room to wait for her so Ophelia rushes to collect all of the books she needs and to pull on her robes and shoes.
On her way to the door, she strokes the hair out of Arete’s face. “Things will get better, honey. She loves you so much. She just needs time.”
“Promise?” Arete asks, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Promise,” she responds before kissing Arete’s forehead and running out.
Two weeks of researching in the Library as a group have yielded very few tangible results, but a couple of minor discoveries.
Kallias revealed an interestingly expansive knowledge of star navigation in case the compasses on their rings stop working once they get out of the Republic.
Zeno officially counted up Ophelia’s money and proclaimed that she was harboring a small fortune, and Alexander started a budget for everyone which she can tell Kallias thinks is adorable. Don’t ask her how she knows. He’s weirdly easy to read for her.
She and Eudoxia have been analyzing and compiling information from every map of the Republic and the Academy that they can find to decide the quickest route off whatever island this is.
They’re still missing two vital pieces of information that they cannot possibly leave without, as Eudoxia not-so-elegantly points out hours into their meeting today.
“This is all well and good,” Eudoxia sighs, looking over what Alexander’s done with their finances so far, “but anyone can see this is busywork, Alexander. We just don’t want to admit that we can’t get anywhere without, one, an opportunity to leave and, two, the Republic’s actual location.”
Alexander ducks his head in a rare display of sheepish embarrassment before admitting, “You’re right. But what do you suggest we do?”
Eudoxia grimaces and shrugs.
“Let’s make this a day for the unsolvable problems, then,” Zeno says. “We’re not going to get any closer to leaving if we keep avoiding them.”
Ophelia’s not sure why Zeno doesn’t think he’d make a good Educator. He’s universally adored and well-respected. He just has that special, unnamable quality that screams leader.
Ophelia nods. “Good idea. We might as well talk about it instead of stressing in silence.”
Everyone gestures in agreement and then, ironically, they ‘stress in silence’ for a few more painful seconds before Ophelia rolls her eyes and says, “Let’s start with opportunity.
Obviously we can’t just go. Without a brand, no one is letting any of us leave the Academy.
We’ll set off the alarms and then we’re all screwed. ”
Alexander’s brows furrow and he says, “Well, let’s just get a grant, then. Is it like a permission slip?”
“Not a grant, Alex.” Zeno winces. “A brand.”
“Oh. Why are they branding people?”
Ophelia’s mind drifts to her girls and she responds with more heat than she means to.
“It’s what they do to exiles. They take a burning hot iron and push it into your forehead.
Some people die from the pain. Most people live with a constant reminder of their fall from grace plastered onto their face.
You go right to the Eighth Arc if you have one of those. No one will help us if we do.”
She doesn’t apologize for the tone even though she probably should. The reminder that most people don’t even know what happened to them makes her want to scream.
“Got it,” Alexander says, sharing a look with Kallias, who seems more curious than concerned. “So exile isn’t an option. Then when are we somewhere no one will notice us leaving?”
When no one responds, Zeno takes a piece of paper from Eudoxia’s notebook and starts writing. “Alright. Now we know exactly what we’re looking for. A time when we’ll be off Academy grounds with an opportunity to escape into town.”
Ophelia looks at his paper to see he’s written just that in loopy handwriting with a big, unchecked box next to it.
“What about our other problem? The map?” he continues.
“I think I have an idea for that,” Kallias says, and everyone else immediately stops moving and focuses on him completely. Two weeks of meeting, and she’s only heard Kallias give more than monosyllabic answers to anyone who isn’t Alexander one time.
His tone is calm, seemingly indifferent to whatever he’s going to share, but given that he’s sharing it, she knows it’s important to him.
“I’ve been working on it for a while. Before you all joined.
It’s just… well, I need a very specific window for it, but I know that I’ll have it within the next few weeks. ”
Alexander looks absolutely desperate to ask him what this mysterious plan is, but he manages to hold it in like the rest of them. It’s not smart to try to push Kallias into sharing more than he wants to.
Anyway, she trusts him as much as she trusts every other member of the group. It might be misguided, but something about him feels familiar to her. It makes her want to be on his side, and makes her truly believe that he is on hers.
“Well, now that that’s done, can I get back to my finances, please?” Alexander asks, winking at Eudoxia with none of the embarrassment from earlier. She laughs and hands him back his papers.
While she, Eudoxia, and Zeno discuss the best times to make a break for it, Alexander and Kallias bicker on the other side of the table, sitting much closer than they need to. Eudoxia and Zeno keep giggling about it, but they’re ones to talk. They’re almost entirely pressed up against each other.
So much matchmaking to do, and so little time…
But priorities are priorities, she thinks to herself as she takes out another map of the Academy, scanning once more for a secret way into the city that won’t set off the alarms.
And her priority is getting the Forms out of here.
Ophelia can barely bring herself to stand when the clock strikes two thirty.
Her limbs hurt and her eyes seem very against the idea of staying open.
She’s sure if she doesn’t leave now, she won’t be able to get home without falling asleep halfway there, and with the Trial coming, she needs to be on call in her own room rather than Eudoxia’s for a change.
When she finally rises from her seat with a stretch, Eudoxia turns away from whatever Trial manuscript she’s reading. “Are you leaving already?” she asks, and Ophelia can’t help but smile. Eudoxia gets so caught up in things, she probably hasn’t even noticed any time has passed at all.
“It’s two thirty,” Ophelia says, and giggles at Eudoxia’s visible shock.
“Oh, wow. Well, I think I might stick around anyways,” Eudoxia replies.
“Me too,” Zeno says.
“Yeah,” Alexander agrees.
Ophelia sticks her tongue out at them all. “You’ve all got to sleep at some point, and ‘some point’ for me is now. Goodbye, everyone,” she sings, turning to the door.
“I think I’ll come with you,” an unexpected voice says as she starts to walk away.
She turns around to see Kallias depositing several books from the table into his bag, and she waits for him in surprised silence.
Everyone in the room, including Alexander, seems confused as well.
Eudoxia shakes it off first. “Bye, guys,” she says with a distracted wave, already back to her reading.
Kallias slings his messenger bag over one shoulder and gives a two-finger salute to the group.
Alexander and Zeno’s ‘goodnights’ overlap as she and Kallias turn to leave the Library. Given how little time they spend one-on-one, she would expect to be uncomfortable with Kallias alone, but his presence is grounding.
She can tell he wants to ask her something, though she’s not sure how she knows. He looks mildly surprised when she asks, “What’s on your mind?” without any prompting. She can imagine people don’t usually guess what he’s thinking.
“I’m just wondering who you know that’s been branded,” he responds, and somehow the question doesn’t offend her. Maybe it’s because of how he asks it, gentle but curious.
“It’s a long story,” she sighs as they reach the top of the staircase into the dining hall.
“We have time.” Kallias shrugs. He nods to a table at the cliff’s edge, looking out onto the sea.
For the first time in her life, she thinks, maybe I really do have time.
She’s nothing but frantic energy, jumping from place to place, goal to goal.
It’s not easy to lower her frequency and calm her down, but Kallias does it.
He seems more lively in her presence too. Perhaps they were meant to be friends.
“Yeah, alright,” she responds, sitting across from Kallias at the table.
Once she starts to explain the story to him, it all just flows out.
Aika, Dora, the necklaces, and the branding.
It hurts to rehash it—Forms, does it hurt—but it helps too.
She’s not sure why she hasn’t told anyone.
Maybe Xia and Zeno knowing would make it feel too real.
But she’s telling Kallias now. And he’s listening.
He doesn’t add much, but his eyes are attentive.
As she explains, it becomes clearer and clearer that Kallias has far more empathy than he lets on.
In fact, it seems like empathy might be a defining feature of his personality.
Maybe that’s why he ended up all closed off in the first place.
It’s easier to get hurt when you’re so willing to feel.
When she’s finally done, he nods slowly.
“Does it feel better to have it off your chest?” he asks quietly.
Ophelia smiles softly at him. “I think so, yes.”
He looks down at the table and she sees his lips tilt up in an expression so sweet and satisfied that she feels a visceral need to protect him.
“What about you?” she asks, hoping to find what made this kind boy removed and bitter. “Do you have anything you want to talk about?”
His eyes grow distant, and his smile turns sharp. “Maybe next time,” he says.
She wants to push him on it, but something in her says don’t scare him off! so she hums in acquiescence and relaxes into the comfortable silence. It’s quite a while later that Kallias stands and starts for the stairs to his dorm.
“See you tomorrow,” he calls behind him.
“Goodnight,” she replies.
Something in her feels responsible for him after this. He has Alexander, she knows that, but the two of them are clearly in love. She thinks maybe Kallias also needs a friend. And that, for some reason, it needs to be her.