Nend Ardhon Chronicles - Complete

Chapter 31.1 – Nayima's bodyguard – part 1.1

The group of students mumbled, a few whispered, and a bunch of them called Byia and Nayima liars. Byia began to glow, making the students back away even more. “Did I just hear someone calling me a liar? As if I would bother to lie because of this stupid yellow female! Who was the first to say that Nayima did something yesterday after School? Who?”

Byia faced the students, making them avert their eyes, and many others looked around, trying to figure out who shouted about what Nayima did. Byia gathered a huge amount of Magic on both front paws and asked, “Last chance before I knock out each one of you! Who was the first to tell such a lie about what Nayima did yesterday? Because I know for sure that she didn’t do anything, not when we were with her! We even followed Lodon to Nayima’s house through a bunch of alleys and narrow streets so that no one saw her! How could she push someone to the middle of the main street?”

The same student who spoke in the beginning gulped while looking at Byia’s paws and made a huge effort to ask, “Why… are you protecting her? It’s kind of weird, considering what she did to you.”

“I am not protecting her. I couldn’t care less if you all band together and hang her on top of the tallest plant in School! I just don’t like when someone dares to call me a liar when I know for a fact that Nayima couldn’t do such a thing yesterday because I was with her! If I saw her doing that, she wouldn’t be here right now; she would be dead! The weirdest thing is that yesterday someone started a rumor about Nayima, and none of you knew who. And today the same thing happened. Someone shouted an incredible story, and no one knew who it was! Either it was someone among you guys who is a lousy coward and doesn’t want to face the consequences, or it’s something even stranger!”

The student glanced around, trying to see if anyone spoke instead of him, and he saw a few students turning away and going through the School’s gate. He faced Byia again and made a slight smile. “Perhaps… it was a mistake, and it was another young yellow female… Nayima is the only yellow female in here, so I guess we all assumed it was her.”

Byia approached so near the student’s face that he felt uncomfortable seeing up close those bright red eyes staring at him. Byia shouted with her Magic making such pressure that many students felt nauseous, “It was you who spread the rumor yesterday? And today you thought of a different plan? Why? What did Nayima do to you, dumbass? She didn’t smile at you or kiss you like you dreamed every night since you met her?”

The young male vigorously shook his head and stuttered, “No… I didn’t say a thing about her… I even thought it was a mistake… But everyone was saying it was true considering what she and the Mayor did a few days ago…”

Byia frowned and slowly dispersed her Magic. She then faced Nayima and spoke, making the students that were still near look at her, waiting for an explanation: “See what your annoying habit of trying to call all the attention did, stupid? You made someone envious of you, and he or she started all these rumors! This will be the last time I help you! Next time, you will clear up any misunderstandings, because I am done! I am not going to waste one more second of my life because of you, moron!”

Nayima was crying all the time, but she managed to speak, making the students pity her. “I… didn’t do anything! Why… there is always some story about me… I just want to make friends… and be popular… I want all the males in this school to look at me… Is that so wrong?”

Byia sighed and pushed Lodon to the front gate to clear the path. “I don’t care about what you want. I just need some peace to study at this School. Ever since I met you, you keep giving me problems, as if you are a strange disease that I can’t get rid of! Get away from me! I don’t want to lose any more of my time. You deal with her, Guyi. I don’t have the patience to be near so much stupidity. Imagine, coming to school with the sole purpose of having all the males look at her! As if that would ever accomplish something!”

Byia swam after Lodon with his pushes and tail slaps all around, making the students clear a path for them. Rodhy chased his owner after one last growl to the nearest scared student.

Guyi quickly closed his opened mouth and pulled Nayima by her right paw, with her two friends following them straight through the front gate of the School, leaving behind the last group of students still baffled after Byia’s scold.

Meanwhile, the former Mayor Taldeb Fagoyuth was looking at the undistinguishable image on the screen of his office of a mysterious Water-Dragon that had his body disguised by the powerful light behind him and the magically distorted voice.

Taldeb Fagoyuth couldn’t believe what he just heard and was looking for more information. “What do you mean, everything is in motion with the mining of my niece’s reputation? What have you done to her?”

“I didn’t do a thing; she was the one who caused everything that is happening to her with her spoiled attitude. Don’t worry, she is in no immediate danger, but some of my guys spread a few rumors in her School, and they also sent anonymous messages to several News Channels with reports from witnesses who saw her wicked deeds outside School. It will all serve to turn you into a victim in the eyes of the general public. You just need to sit back and wait. In due time, some people will appear all over the News, telling about your philanthropic work, and many more will tell a bunch of sweet and very colorful stories about your wonderful and honorable character. It’s just a pity that, until now, nothing came to my knowledge about some rotten member of that Calla family.”

Taldeb Fagoyuth fiddled with his claws over the table and asked, “Do you think it would be better to forge some kind of rumor about that obnoxious Teera Calla? Maybe making her responsible for something that goes wrong in that Clinic of hers?”

“Yes, I also thought about that, but we can’t rush things. Especially because I was told that her mother-in-law, the dangerous Guild Master Isi Holl, is in this City. If we do something while she is around, she will tear this City apart, trying to find the one responsible for anything that could happen to Teera Calla. Even with all the resources at my disposal, I don’t want to have her poking around. She could make me lose a lot of money, or even worse, perhaps she could dismantle my organization, trying to get to me.”

Taldeb sighed. He was not used to being seated and waiting. He was already missing having people around him to obey every one of his whims. He was always with a servant or that strange bodyguard near him, but they didn’t seem to care less about what he said or did, as long as he remained inside the house without even approaching an open window.

Taldeb was feeling like a recluse in his own house, and he hated it. So, he complained, “I have to be confined to this house without leaving for somewhere else for how long? I am going crazy, locked in here! I can’t even go to the back garden without that weird security guy dragging me inside as soon as he sees me!”

“By all means, leave if you want to die at the hands of one angry citizen! No, wait, I don’t want to search for another corrupt politician to fill your spot. Relax, you have everything in your house to keep you entertained. If you need something more, just ask your bodyguard. He can take care of any extra amusing activity you may think of and several more that you never thought about. For example, you ever had a private party with fifty females eager to make you have the best night of your life? Because he can arrange that; you just need to tell him what you want.”

Taldeb Fagoyuth scratched the tip of his snout with a weird smile on his face. “Well, I always dreamed of having a full room of youngsters to play instead of only one, now and then… or better yet, for me to touch… and bite…. Maybe he can get me something like that?”

The mysterious Water-Dragon on the screen trembled a bit, and fortunately for Taldeb, the strong lights around made it impossible for him to notice the look of disgust on that mysterious figure. Or his frown when he made a mental note to dispose of that former Mayor when he was out of purpose. But for the time being, he was necessary, even with his disgusting personality and weird tendencies towards young Water-Dragons.

The unknown male did his best to disguise his anger and answered, “I think he can arrange something to your liking. In the meantime, perhaps you can work on a few speeches to send to the News, thanking the citizens for their support over these last Tides, and resigning your post. That will make you look as if you were sorry for all that happened, and with everything that I have in motion, it will give the general public a better image of you because right now, you are the public enemy number one instead of their Mayor.”

Taldeb Fagoyuth slowly nodded because he had nothing else to lose; he had to trust in that suspicious and distorted image on his screen, mostly because he feared what that dangerous Water-Dragon could do to him!

The screen turned back to being white, and then it became a normal wall, equal to the other three, full of shelves with books and notes collected along the Tides Taldeb Fagoyuth was a mere student in the International Politics School, a very prestige and expensive School that his parents paid for, spending a bunch of money from his family inheritance left by his grandparents.

From a corner, his assistant spoke, “Did he… just give you an assignment? Write speeches? I don’t see how… Unless... you write the best speech you ever did, but the problem is that you always had someone to write for you!”

“You are right, but I only did that over the last few Tides. How do you think I managed to enter the party? Or to gather my supporters?”

The assistant raised one eyebrow and asked, “You bought all that, remember? Your parents donated an immense fortune to your party to buy your entrance, and you bribed everyone in there to support you. Did you ever write a single speech since you left School?”

Taldeb Fagoyuth looked worried at the empty paper on top of his desk and spoke, “You are more or less right. I told you that, but I didn’t tell you that I wrote many of my speeches, mostly my best ones. I only paid for a few because, in my party, no one writes their speeches because it’s considered a loss of time. I always liked to put in writing my ideas and projects; it always calmed me. Considering what is happening lately, I need everything that can calm me!”

Taldeb’s assistant slowly nodded and went to look through the window to the back garden, thinking about the danger that was expecting him if he tried to leave, and saw that strange bodyguard seated on a bench, waving at him with a weird smile as if he had heard the entire conversation.