Chapter Four

RIE silently looked outside the car window. She was watching other vehicles passing by. The old town of Prague still favored cars on land. In today’s time, people usually used flying cars that were being powered by electricity. Even with the appearance of supernatural beings in the world, the rapid development of technology still didn’t stop.

In fact, because of the presence of these supernatural beings, humans just became more determined in inventing new things or making the existing technology even more advanced. Their inventions ranged from everyday items and appliances to industrial weapons.

Maybe they thought that it’s the only way they could fight against these supernatural beings. But if there’s something these humans could be proud of, then those were their intelligence, ingenuity, and their uncanny ability to survive.

In just a few moments, they would soon arrive at the hospital. But Rie still couldn’t think of how she should get away from Miss Nováková. Now she’s kind of regretting why she gave this ‘hospital’ excuse. She could have thought of something that wouldn’t let the dormitory head worry, but also allow her to go out of the school grounds without a hitch. She could only blame her lack of sleep for this.

But things had already happened. She could only live with the stupid she made. Rie would just make some excuse along the way. It seemed like the other would believe her whatever she said, anyway.

Of course, this was not because she was looking down at Miss Nováková. It’s mostly because, just like the other said, she’s the top student of her year. And since she and Eri enrolled here in St. Marketa at the age of nine, she had nine years of being responsible and trustworthy to back up whatever excuse she might come up with.

“Your aunt hadn’t visited for months now, is she very busy?” the dormitory head suddenly asked.

Rie turned to her and tried to smile. “Yes. She’s travelling around the world right now.”

Rie couldn’t possibly tell the other that the woman visiting her and Eri wasn’t actually their aunt. It was her aunt’s friend who was living in Prague. Their aunt only asked the other a favor to pose as their guardian. But recently, the other got married and moved to Canada. That’s why she hadn’t visited Rie and Eri as of late. It’s a good thing that the both of them would soon graduate. Or it would definitely look suspicious.

The reason their aunt asked someone to pose as their guardian instead of going with them herself was because she couldn’t be seen by the Headmistress of St. Markéta. If that were to happen, the Headmistress would definitely find out her and Eri’s real identities. And the House of Hecate would surely take the both of them into custody.

Rie once asked her aunt if that was the case, then why did she have to enroll her and Eri at St. Markéta? Wouldn’t it be much better if the three of them were together? The answer she gave Rie was they wouldn’t be much safer with her. She also said that it’s good for them to have anonymity and live a normal life.

That’s why she enrolled them at St. Markéta despite some things. Because the pros definitely outweighed the cons. It was the safest place for her and Eri. No one would dare trifle against the Heamistress, Svetlana Kramarová—one of the four Grand Mages. They were the four strongest witches and wizards and they could act independently from the Grand Meister of the House of Hecate.

“But she will come for you and your sister’s graduation, že jo?” the dormitory head asked again. It’s because they would graduate from high school soon.

“Yes, she wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said, blatantly lying.

Their aunt became their legal guardian nine years ago when their father died. The other was their mother’s only sister. Their mother died of childbirth and their father had no other living relative. That’s why their aunt was their only living relative. It was really hard at first because she was still traumatized by what happened to their father. And then, suddenly, they had to live with a woman they barely knew.

After a month, their aunt immediately brought them to Prague, straight to St. Markéta. It was really hard for her and Eri to adjust. They were barely nine back then, and she suddenly put them in a place they knew nothing about. They didn’t even know the language being used. The language they knew was English because they grew up in London’s countryside. It took years before they fully learned Czech. It was hard, but they endured it all. Because they knew that’s the only way they could be safe.

“We’re here,” Rie heard Miss Nováková said.

Rie glanced out of the window of the passenger’s seat and saw that they were indeed at the hospital. They both got out of the car after the dormitory head parked it. When they entered the hospital, a hologram of a woman welcomed them. It was saying the things that one should and shouldn’t do inside a hospital.

Now, Rie’s only problem was how she could get away from Miss Nováková without the other being alerted that she was up to something. As she was thinking of excuses, someone suddenly called the dormitory head’s name.

Both of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man probably in his 50s sitting in a liftchair. It’s something similar to a wheelchair, except this one was levitating from the ground. It’s the one used by those who had problems walking.

“Martin, jak se máš?” Miss Nováková asked in an excited tone.

“I’m doing good, Tereza. How about you? What are you doing here?”

“I just accompanied one of our academy’s students.” Then, as if realizing what she really came there to do, Miss Nováková turned to Rie. “Shall we go now to the E.R.?”

Because of the sudden appearance of this man, Rie immediately thought of a viable excuse to give the other. “I’ll just go there on my own, Ma’am. It looks like you have a lot of catching up to do with your friend here,” she said with a smile that’s almost telling the other ‘I’m a good girl, so please believe in me’.

“Well, it’s true that I haven’t seen Martin for a long time now. But are you sure you’ll be alright on your own?” Miss Nováková asked, she looked like she was still hesitating.

“I’ll be fine, Ma’am. Don’t worry,” Rie assured the other.

Finally convinced, the other just said, “Then I’ll wait for you here.”

Rie quickly turned back and started walking before the other changed her mind. Thank you, Mr. Martin!

When she was finally out of the two people’s line of sight, Rie quickly rode into the elevator. It just so happened that there was no one inside.

“Which floor, please?” asked by a machine-like voice in Czech.

“Top floor,” Rie answered.

And the elevator moved upwards. When she reached her destination, she got out and walked straight to the rooftop of the hospital. Once Rie made sure that there was no one around, she took out a paper charm and stuck it on the door.

She then put her hand in front of it and whispered, “Casandra Pontiff.”