WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Isolde's POV

I wipe off Dhara's snot from my shoulders after a teary goodbye.

The letter authorizing my stay at the Ryuuzaki Estate was clutched tightly in my hand along with my school identification papers.

With dead leaves crunching underneath my feet, I make my way towards the waiting carriages.

The dull ache in my heart reminds me to burn this beautiful academy premise in my mind because the pessimistic side of my nature keeps saying I will never be able to come back to the first home I had found after mama's demise.

The dead leaves carpet the courtyard floor as if to mark a disheartened farewell of its beloved residents. The ghost town of empty corridors and classrooms is like death left behind. The sudden footsteps here and there quickly get consumed by the hollow silence now reigning over the Academy and Azura.

What was once a warm home for God's blessed children is now an echo of empty promises.

My feet move faster towards my destination to get myself away from the maddening memories of late-night conversations with Dhara and Esme. The southern entrance becomes visible to my eyes once I cross the courtyard. Four carriages await with fox-masked coachmen. Luxurious Carriages in red and gold sporting the crest of the Ryuuzaki family, a fiery Phoenix, stand in front of the entrance.

"You're late. You kept everyone waiting," one girl shouts the moment I come to a halt in front of the carriages. Her harsh tone makes me shrink back.

Even though I was on time, I reasoned her rudeness with the excuse of fear that was clouding everyone's hearts these days. She must want to go home. 

After all, not everyone's home awaits leaking roofs and memories of dead mothers.

But the explanation doesn't excuse her behavior.

"Yeah, she is. So were you. All of you have made me wait," a voice replied on my behalf before I could rebuke her.

I look up to see Akira standing beside the first carriage with a look of irritation clear on his face. His blazing gaze aimed at the flustered girl now turns to me after having lost its previous fury. He points at me with his index finger and signals towards his carriage.

Was he asking me to get in the same carriage with him?

Why? Is he still mad from yesterday? Want to scream at me a bit more?

If he still is, then I am not getting on. I had enough of his mood swings. 

Does he think he can do whatever he wants because he was a noble?

I mean he can but still...

I raise my chin with all the attitude I can gather and walk towards the second carriage. I almost laugh at the frown that crosses his face.

But before I could open the door, one of the fox-masked coachmen blocks my path.

"What?" I inquire in utter confusion before he points a silent finger towards the first carriage. I look at Akira with a questioning gaze. I only get one of his stupid smirks in return.

At a leisurely pace, he walks towards me. "If you don't ride in my carriage, then you don't ride at all. And you can't get assigned to another family at this last moment either. So chose wisely, midget," he says crossing his arms.

I feel like there is no way out from this situation with my pride and need both intact. So I sigh in frustration and quietly get into his stupid carriage.

The funny thing about pride is that it leaves as soon as necessity enters the picture.

I look behind to see the other kids looking at us in wonder. I quickly get seated before it gets any more embarrassing.

Oh, the things you tolerate when you are poor and powerless.

The carriage starts moving after Akira gets seated comfortably like a Tsar in his twenty-fifth wedding ceremony.

"So I am guessing it's my beauty that compelled you to fly me away in your golden carriage, my red knight?" I ask with a fake coquettish voice.

"You mean, in that sweater that makes you look like the world's biggest and brightest eggplant, my princess?" he said, mimicking a fake chivalrous tone.

Eggplant?

My previous enthusiasm dims a bit.

Do I truly not look nice in this sweater? I really liked this one.....even spent a decent amount of money on it.

"Hey, I was just joking. You look......very uniquely beautiful in this sweater." Akira says in a hurry. For some reason, he looks panicked.

Uniquely beautiful? Is this how people complement each other nowadays?

I wouldn't know. I don't get those much.

"It's a compliment. You look nice," Akira clarified it for me.

Oh!

"Thank you. It is one of my favorite sweaters. Look, I even sew some flowers on the sleeves," I pull my sleeves to give him a better look. He observes it for a minute and his face twist in a frown.

"Bright yellow on Purple?" he chokes out the question. His left eye twitches.

"Yes, It looks cute, right?" I ask hopefully.

"Oh! It's......it's gorgeous," Akira says, looking at me with a smile that seems a bit forced.

Why was his smile so stiff? Is he having indigestion? 

Well, that's his problem.

 But I can't get believe I just got complimented!!!!

I smile brightly at him. I was almost ready to forgive him for yesterday because of the compliment.

He looks at me with a frown on his face. Then after a moment, he looks down and a secret smile makes its way on his face. But this time, a more genuine one.

We settle into a comfortable quietness after that. No words were exchanged for a while. I take the opportunity to look outside. The river becomes visible again. Its foggy nature still aroused the awestricken feeling as the first time.

I cock my head in confusion when I see the carriage not moving towards the river. "Do we not have to cross the river to reach the family estates?" I ask Akira hurriedly.

In answer, he gives me a secretive smile and asks, "Why do you think so, shorty?"

"What do you mean? Because the estates are in the main city? "I fire back with questions against his one.

"No, they aren't. What you saw was merely one entrance. They are nothing but a façade for the commoners," Akira says with a chuckle.

Huh? why would you need more than one entrance to a house? A façade?

Rich people and their rich ideas are too complicated for a peasant like me, I guess.

"Isolde?" Akira breaks the silence that had settled after his answer with a sudden query.

"What?"

"I...... I am sorry," he says looking anywhere but me.

"For what? For screaming at me in public? Embarrassing me in front of students?" I ask, still mad at him for yesterday.

"Both," he answers with a sigh.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have screamed at you."

"It's okay. But I will only forgive you if you promise to talk to me like a civilized person the next time we get into an argument. I know you were worried about your father, but you can't expect people to understand your side if you scream at them instead of explaining your point of view," I say in a calm tone.

"I AM civilized," he says, moving forward in his seat.

'Really?" I sigh in disappointment. "That's the part you focus on?"

"I focused on the other parts too. Don't worry, midget. I won't scare you next time. But you should also apologize for talking about my father like that?" His face morphs into a pout.

"Fine, fine, I am sorry. I grew up listening to stories of his heroics. I guess, I failed to realize he was more than just my hero. He is a human and a father too, with a particularly annoying son," I say with a grin.

"You misspoke charming and amazing," he added with a light laugh.

The conversation was cut short by the sudden noise of distant bells. I look out the window to see a giant red gate with a bell hanging from it, standing in an empty field. The gateway was covered with papers adorned in ink writings.

"The Phoenix city is only accessible through the five Torii," Akira informs me in a bored tone.

The carriage moves through the gate at full speed. My eyes widen in shock as the scenario behind the gate changes into a wooden bridge hanging in between two mountains. No sight of the grass field was to be seen.

The carriage makes its way across the bridge. On the other side, a red fortress stands tall with its golden peak glimmering in the sunlight. The fortress covers the whole of the mountain with smaller castles at the bottom and the largest building on the mountain peak.

"Look down, shorty," Akira instructs me, holding the back of my head and bending it downwards forcefully.

As soon as I stop protesting to Akira's rude actions and look down, a horrifying sight of a lava lake flowing down form an active volcano comes into my view. I look on with fascination as I observe people actually working down there. People with different shades of golden and red hair stand on the metal bridges on top of the lake. With large swords, they write something on big metallic plates floating on the lava. Some look upwards and wave hands at the carriages and some even bow their heads.

My face warms up from the heat coming up from the lake. The fumes bring water to my eyes. I wipe them off with the back of my hands.

"Why are you crying?" Akira's confused voice asks in a panic.

"The fumes," I say, in between the coughs that were now constricting my throat.

"Oh." he quickly pulls my head in. "I am sorry, I forgot not everyone is immune to heat like us," he says while rubbing his neck.

"It's okay," I say, still tasting the ashen fumes on my tongue.

My coughing stops once we enter the fortress. The red fortress stands menacingly with its head covering the sky as if trying to reach its beloved Sol.

I look out again to see people going about their day-to-day tasks. All dressed in clothes similar to Akira, move around busily. Men and women dressed in the white armor of the Holy Army walk around the streets with their swords held in their hands. 

I almost gasp when I see the fiery golden birds fly around the city.

Phoenix!

I see the red-haired people with scales adorning their bodies walk barefoot dressed in simple white clothing.

My thoughts go back to Rei. He looked a lot like these people.

"Akira, who are they?" I point towards a little red-haired boy with scales on his face.

"Don't point. That's rude." Akira brings my hand down. "They are dragon-borne. Our vessel race."

"Do you know any dragon-borne with no visible scales on them?" I try to find out about Rei.

"Umm, there could be if they survive. I don't know all of them," Akira says after thinking for a while.

"What do you mean if they survive?" I ask in confusion.

"No visible scales means they are weak. Most babies with no scale don't survive," he explains.

Weak? Rei didn't look weak. In fact, there was an aura of unspoken power around him. His broad shoulders and tall stature were clearly the built of a trained warrior.

Maybe he wasn't Dragon-borne at all.....but he looked so similar to Akira.

"Do you have a relative called Rei, Akira?"

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GLOSSARY

*Rumpelstiltskin: An imp from German fairytales who spins straw into gold in exchange of a girl's firstborn child. The only way to run from his deals is to guess his real name. He is often associated with trickery, gold and fae culture of name giving.

*Torii: A torii is a traditional gate most commonly found at the entrance or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.

Image not mine, taken from Pinterest

*Phoenix: A legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore which is associated with the Sun. It is an immortal bird that obtains new life for the ashes of it's proceeding one. At the time of its death, it flies towards the sun and burns into ashes from which a new phoenix rises.

Image not mine, taken from Pinterest.

*Kitsune or Fox-masks: Traditional Japanese masks worn in festivals or rituals.

Image not mine, taken from Pinterest.