Underneath the Silhouette
Chapter 103: Beneath the Pedestal

Chapter 103: Beneath the Pedestal

Eirin awoke, her eyes snapping open to the muted light filtering through the room’s window. Her stomach grumbled, a low, persistent protest that echoed the lingering discomfort within her. The aftermath of yesterday’s bitter tea still permeated her body. She knew, with a chilling certainty, she never wanted to relive that experience.

"Ei!"

The door to their room slammed open with such force it rattled on its hinges. Coleen burst in, her face flushed, temples slick with sweat, eyes wide with undisguised terror. Her usually neat twin tails had come undone, strands of hair sticking to her damp cheeks.

"I-I don’t think you should attend class today, Ei!" Coleen shrieked, her voice thin with panic. "I knew this would happen! I knew it! Sapphire Blouin did it again!"

Eirin, her hair a wild, tangled mess from sleep, still groggy, struggled to focus on her friend’s frantic words. "What? Why? What’s happening?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes with the of her hand, stifling a sleepy yawn that turned into a choked gag. The residual nausea from the tea flared, a sickening wave.

Coleen, vibrating with anxiety, sat on the edge of Eirin’s bed, her hands gripping Eirin’s shoulders. "Sapphire, she must have told everyone about what happened between you and Shade! Now those girls know that you kissed their idol!" Coleen shook Eirin, the abrupt movement causing Eirin’s stomach to lurch. A sharp, bile-filled gag escaped her lips.

Eirin lunged from the bed, sprinting towards the bathroom, barely making it before she could sully her sheets and the pristine floor of their shared room. A harsh retch echoed from within the small, tiled space.

"Ei? Are you okay?" Coleen’s worried voice, muffled by the closed door, floated through the wood. She continued to speak, offering quiet reassurances, telling Eirin she just needed to let it all out.

Eirin, slumped against the cool porcelain, breathed raggedly, the violent spasm of her body leaving her weak. "I’ll take a bath as well before eating," Eirin croaked, the words tasting sour. And that’s what Eirin did. She stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water sluice over her skin, a desperate attempt to cleanse herself, inside and out.

As soon as she was done bathing, feeling better, the clean scent of soap a welcome change, Coleen looked at Eirin with worried eyes, still perched on the edge of the bed. "Are you sure you want to eat in the cafeteria? I can bring you some food here if you like. No one would blame you for staying in."

Eirin giggled while combing her damp hair, the bristles pulling through the tangles. "Why would you do that? I’ll attend my classes today anyway. I can’t let a little incident keep me from learning." Her voice held a note of defiance she hadn’t expected.

"What? Those girls will surely bully you if they ever see you today! I swear, Eirin! They’re so bad they bullied me my whole junior high school life!" Coleen exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously, her eyes filled with genuine terror. She clutched Eirin’s arm, her grip tight.

Despite the fear clouding Coleen’s expressive face, Eirin couldn’t stop adoring Coleen’s inherent sweetness, her unwavering protectiveness. How she worried for the teenage girl was enough for her to survive whatever hatred the fanatical followers Shade Cromwell might direct her way.

"It’s not like they could kill me," Eirin said, her voice softer, trying to soothe her friend’s frayed nerves.

Coleen’s eyes quivered as she stared at Eirin’s bare arm, as if already picturing injuries. "N-No, they might actually kill you. That’s how crazy they are! They’re devoted! They will tear you limb from limb just for looking at him!"

Eirin patted Coleen’s head, a reassuring gesture. "Have you eaten yet?" Coleen shook her head. "Then let’s eat first before going to class. You can’t fight an army of furious fangirls on an empty stomach."

Eirin’s nonchalance about her dire situation caused anxiety to ripple through Coleen. Her friend was probably unaware of the true extent of Shade Cromwell’s fan girls’ zealousness, their near-religious devotion. And Coleen knew them all too well, their cruelties and their unyielding obsession. Yet, she also knew that Eirin wasn’t the type to run away from people like them, to cower in fear.

’Eirin isn’t like me,’ Coleen thought. Eirin faced challenges head-on, even when common sense dictated retreat. It was one of the things Coleen admired most about her, and also one of the things that worried her.

Coleen sighed, a heavy, resigned sound. She followed Eirin, her hand intertwining with Eirin’s as they walked towards the cafeteria. Coleen remained on high alert the entire time, her head swiveling, assessing their surroundings, trying her best not to bump into those girls she was talking about. She steered Eirin away from larger groups, guiding her through less crowded paths, her vigilance an obvious shield.

However, Coleen’s carefulness was futile. Fate, it seemed, had other plans. The moment they arrived in their classroom, the usual morning bustle seemed to quiet, a subtle shift in the atmosphere. Before Eirin could even sit properly on her chair, the door opened again.

Senior female students, a formidable group of five, sauntered inside. Their gazes, sharp and predatory, immediately scanned the area before landing with chilling precision on Eirin. A hush fell over the room, the other students averting their eyes, shrinking into their seats.

"Are you Eirin Luxfield?"

One of the senior girls, a tall, imposing figure with an air of cold authority, called Eirin’s name. Her blue eyes, sharp as ice shards, stared right at Eirin.

"Yes, that is me," Eirin admitted. "Do you need something?" Her tone was polite, respectful, betraying nothing of the churning in her gut or the rising tension.

The four other girls surrounding the leader snickered, a scornful sound that filled the sudden silence. Their leader, Leila Baldwin, a notorious figure in the academy, a famous and fervent fan girl of Shade Cromwell, was the very one Coleen had feared, the one who ruled the roost. Her presence radiated a clear aura of self-importance and thinly veiled aggression.

"Follow us." Leila’s command was simple, cold, leaving no room for argument.

Eirin stood, but Coleen, with her pale face, grabbed her by the arm, shaking her head, a desperate plea for Eirin not to follow Leila, not to walk into the lion’s den. The teenage girl, sensing Coleen’s fear, offered a small, reassuring smile as she patted Coleen’s hand, a silent promise to be careful.

With a sigh, Eirin detached herself from Coleen’s grasp and followed the five senior girls, her heart thumping a nervous rhythm against her ribs.

Eirin could hear murmurs echoing through the four corners of the room, whispers of speculation and curiosity, rising in their wake. Her heart thumped, a frantic drumbeat, but she kept her composure. She following the laughing five girls towards the farthest end of the empty library, a vast, echoing hall lined with towering bookshelves.

They stopped near the tall arched window where Eirin had met Shade just the day before they started training together.

"Uhm, if I may ask, what is this all about?" Eirin’s voice was soft, showing deference to the senior students.

Leila turned fully to face Eirin, her deep blue eyes dissecting Eirin’s form, a look of cool disdain on her sculpted features. She flipped her long lustrous blonde hair over her shoulder with a theatrical flourish before crossing her arms over her chest.

"We heard something ridiculous, you see," she began, her voice menacing. "First, what is your relationship with Shade Cromwell?"

Eirin swallowed, a dry, uncomfortable gulp. "I am his classmate, and we’ve been sent on missions together." The explanation was concise, truthful, and insufficient for the girls’ hunger for drama.

The girls looked at each other, their expressions a mix of disbelief and skepticism. "That’s it?" one of them scoffed.

Eirin nodded, unwavering, while wondering what sensational, scandalous confession the wanted to hear from her.

Leila raised a perfectly sculpted brow, her gaze narrowing, a predator assessing its prey. "Then how come we’re hearing that you kissed him and you helped cure him from the nymph’s curse. Making you, Eirin Luxfield, Shade Cromwell’s true love." The last two words were spat out, dripping with venom and sarcasm.

Eirin immediately shook both of her hands in front of her, an agitated gesture of denial. "The curse was already gone because the nymph died! And that kiss was merely an acci—"

Leila slammed her hand flat against the wall beside Eirin’s head, a startling boom that echoed through the quiet library. The impact made Eirin jump, her eyes wide with shock. "So it was true? You kissed him? Shade Cromwell?" Leila’s eyes widened, a mixture of disbelief and fury distorting her beautiful face. "How could you! How dare you!"

Eirin blinked, her mind scrambling for a response. "Uhm... it was an accident." She tried to explain, her voice small against the senior’s towering anger.

One of the girls leaned forward, invading Eirin’s personal space, her face contorted with rage. She screamed at Eirin. "How could you! You’re not even afraid that he’s a demon!?"

Eirin’s forehead creased, confusion replacing her earlier apprehension. "What?" The word ’demon’ seemed to twist in her gut, bringing with it an unsettling feeling.

Leila scoffed. "You must be wondering why we’re so obsessed with a demon, aren’t you?" Hearing the same word again, uttered with such casualness, made Eirin flinch. "What? You didn’t know that he was the demon everyone was talking about? The remaining one."

Looking at the five girls, their faces contorted with obsessive fervor, Eirin started feeling nauseous again. It wasn’t the lingering effect of the tea this time, but a profound disgust, a sense of revulsion that transcended her physical state. "Disgusting," she muttered, the word escaping her lips before she could stop it.

"What did you just say?"