Nend Ardhon Chronicles - Complete

Chapter 29 – Grandma – part 1

After School, Byia arrived at the front gate with Guyi, Sveta, Cruvir, and Rodhy. Lodon joined them and signaled with his head to the ones that were right after him, Nayima and her two female acolytes.

Byia tilted her head and asked as soon as they stopped near her, with Nayima looking down, trembling, and tears coming from her eyes and her two friends looking worried at her, “Now you are Nayima’s babysitter or what? What is she doing here?”

“I am sorry, but I couldn’t let her alone with everyone throwing garbage at her and calling her bad names. It… didn’t feel right.”

Byia frowned and answered without averting her eyes from the three females, “You were probably thinking that it could very well be you in her place, right, Lodon? What, conscience finally got you? Weird, you were never worried about the consequences of your bullying to other kids smaller than you, and now suddenly you are Nayima’s protector? That’s so weird in so many ways that I don’t even know where to start!”

Guyi placed one paw over Byia’s left shoulder and squeezed, making her flinch and containing a scream of pain as soon as she noticed the seriousness in his eyes. “It seems we are attracting too much attention. There is a big group of students looking this way, probably waiting for an opportunity to catch Nayima. We can accompany her home, I suppose, or at least the nearest possible. We just need to wait for your brother to tell him to go home without us.”

Before Byia could argue, Paullu’s voice came from behind them. “That’s good to hear. I was coming to ask the same thing: if you could go without me. I am going for a swim with Drezara, but I will return home before dinner.”

Byia smiled at Drezara and winked one eye. “I guess you two can start to go home every day without us because a couple accompanied by a bunch of kids doesn’t seem right to me. You can even go to School in the morning, just the two of you. What do you say, Drezara?”

Drezara quickly nodded with a big smile. “That would be wonderful, thanks! Are you sure it’s alright?”

Byia pointed with one thumb claw to her group and said, “Plenty of company to keep me entertained, don’t worry! Besides, I don’t like to see you two kissing all the time. It’s disgusting! Let’s go everyone; let’s leave these two weirdos here, kissing to their hearts’ content!”

Byia skillfully avoided one tail slap from her brother and swam away, followed by the others. Paullu smiled at the waving Sveta and Cruvir and wondered who those two older students were.

Drezara noticed his puzzled look and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, just realizing that my little sister has a bunch of friends with her — way more than I have! She might be better at this friendship thing than me!”

Drezara shrugged while swimming next to him. “And you found it weird why? Weird would be you with a bunch of friends around you, nagging you with their talks, asking for your opinion, talking without letting you enjoy the silence… Are you ready for all that?”

“Yeah… not much… So, where did you want to go? You said you wanted to go somewhere different to study.”

“To the small park on our way home. We can find an empty bench and study there. It’s such a pleasant afternoon that we would be a couple of fools going to my house and studying indoors.”

Paullu happily agreed, and they swam to the park, discussing the subjects of the day that made Drezara struggle during class.

As for Byia, they were following Lodon through all the back alleys and narrow streets that he seemed to know so well. He just asked Nayima one time where her home was, and after a couple of seconds, he thought of a shortcut to get there.

Well, not a shortcut in the complete meaning of a shortcut, because that would mean they would take less time than going by the most common streets, instead of going through so many alleys and dubious neighborhoods like they were doing, in Lodon’s attempt to avoid being followed or seen by someone who knew Nayima.

After more than half an hour, Lodon pointed to a narrow alley and said, “Nayima, if you go through there, you will be at the back of your house. I suppose you have a back gate, right? If not, you just need to contour the block, and you will arrive at the front of your house, okay?”

Nayima slowly nodded and asked with a trembling voice, “What… do I do tomorrow morning? Everyone will be waiting for me at the School’s gate… and…”

Lodon bit his lower lip and spoke without even thinking, “Don’t worry, we will wait for you at the gate, and Guyi will be your designated escort while in School if needed.”

Before Guyi could argue, Lodon elbowed him in the stomach, making him gasp for air. Guyi did the impossible to disguise the pain he was feeling and smiled at Nayima, who looked at him puzzled, with tears in her eyes. She kept staring at Guyi for a while, and she then nodded and turned toward the alley that Lodon pointed out.

When the three of them disappeared through Nayima’s back gate, Guyi asked in anger, “What was your idea, you moron? Now I am her escort all of a sudden? What is inside that thick head of yours? Sand?”

“Stop nagging; you should be very happy! Nayima is a very beautiful female, and there are a bunch of young males in our School who would give an arm to be her escort! Well, maybe not nowadays, but there has been a lot after her almost every day since the beginning of School! Besides, what else do you have to do? Do you want to always be around Byia instead of searching for a girlfriend? You are a very weird young male, Guyi Mohryi; let me tell you that!”

Before he could argue, Byia agreed. “In his twisted way, Lodon is right. Damn, I can’t believe I am agreeing with him! I might be losing my mind! But he does have a point. Nayima may very well be the stupidest female we have ever met, but she is indeed very beautiful. At least give it a try. Who knows, she might as well be an excellent kisser, and she could teach you one or two things!”

Guyi looked at Byia in surprise, and after a few seconds, she burst into laughter. “Hahaha! The look on your face is priceless! Come on, lover boy, our Party Leader is waiting for us!”

Byia pushed Lodon while telling him to guide them to the Guild, leaving behind a dumbfounded Guyi Mohryi and a laughing Sveta and Cruvir. Sveta held Guyi’s left arm, and Cruvir held the other, making him go with them after Byia and her tail-waving Rodhocetus.

As soon as Lodon exited from the small alley in front of the Guild, he swam at high speed across the main busy street, opening the front door for the rest of the group.

Cruvir was the last one to enter, and Lodon quickly closed the door after taking one last look through the small opening between the closing door and the frame to check if they were followed. Inside, there was no noise, despite the Guild being completely packed with Explorers.

Byia looked around, puzzled by all the looks that were following each of her movements, and she saw Toraan Roolyi calling them with a very serious face from a big table in the far-right corner.

She wondered who the two Water-Dragons were, near an older light blue female who was seated with her back facing the front door.

Before Byia could say a thing, the older female spoke, and Byia was dumbfounded by hearing a familiar voice that she hadn’t heard since she was four-Tides old. “So, why is that new Apprentice of yours staring at me in silence, Toraan Roolyi? You said she was going to arrive momentarily, and I can very well feel the water shaking and I sense her behind me. I bet she is looking at me, all amazed by my powerful presence. Your new Apprentice is afraid of me, or what? It’s kind of rude not to greet her superiors the first time she comes into their presence. You, of all people, should know that already!”

Byia stuttered in utter amazement, “Grandma Isi Holl! What… are you doing here?”

The light blue older female jolted and slowly got up, looking at Byia with a big smile. “I will be damned! Byia Holl Calla, what… How? You are an Apprentice? How did that happen? This calls for a celebration! Toraan Roolyi, what are you still doing here? Move! Bring drinks for me and my sweet granddaughter! The service around here is a disgrace! This is how you ran this Guild?”

Toraan Roolyi swam away at high speed, completely stressed out. Guyi signaled Lodon and whispered, “Go help her. Don’t ask anything; just grab the cups and offer your help. You will thank me later.”

Lodon glanced at the table and whispered, “Who is that older female? And why does everyone seem to fear her?”

“That is not fear; it’s respect for the most famous and powerful Explorer in this World. Go, don’t waste your shot!”

Lodon quickly went to the kitchen after Toraan, and Byia was gently getting rid of the powerful hug her grandmother was giving her while Rodhy was restrained by the two escorts her mother brought and growling all the time they were hugging each other.

Byia sent a mental order, and she punched one of the males that were restraining him, while Rodhy took care of the other. Before the dumbfounded look on Isi Holl, Byia took the sword the Explorer had on his back and pressed it against his neck, while Rodhy grabbed both arms of the other Explorer and bit his head.

She spoke with her eyes glowing red and with so much anger that her grandmother was sincerely impressed by the amount of pressure Magic she was irradiating. “Grandmother Isi Holl, I am very happy to see you again, but if these dumbasses dare to touch my Rodhocetus again, I will slice them into tiny little pieces, understood?”

Isi Holl tilted her head and spoke with a serious look, “I don’t think I like your tone, young lady!”

Byia turned to face her and made a weird smile. “And I don’t like to see your friends here restraining my Rodhocetus, grandmother… Perhaps you would like it if my friends restrained you as well. How does that sound to you?”

Isi Holl opened her mouth to speak, but she then felt two daggers on her neck with Guyi speaking in her left ear. “Nice to see you, Miss Isi Holl. Perhaps you should order your friends to remain completely still, or you will lose something that you might miss one of these days. Unless you came here to search for problems, and in that case, I would be more than happy to comply.”

“Guyi Mohryi, silent as ever. It’s my impression, or have you actually become quite good at hiding your movements? Do you mind taking these things from my neck? I don’t like to be threatened.”

Guyi pushed the daggers a little further and whispered, “I told you to order your escorts to sit down. Are you getting deaf with old age or what? You know what will happen if you don’t do as I say, don’t you? You will try to knock me out, I will cut you, and Byia won’t stop until she finishes you off if you hurt me even a single bit, making her hate you forever. You don’t want that, right?”