Nend Ardhon Chronicles - Complete

Chapter 25 – Drezara in peril

Meanwhile, Paullu was in recess, reading a book at his usual spot under a big plant.

Strangely, Drezara was not playing the ‘Bane Dagnir’ game that was happening above because she left to go to the bathroom and hadn’t returned yet.

Paullu stopped reading and looked up, wondering why Drezara was not up there or not crashing near him like she normally did at that hour. He placed the book in his bag and swam to the nearest bathroom by entering the secondary building right next to the Gym where he was reading.

Along the corridor, a few females tried to speak to him, but he skillfully avoided them all with a smile and continued swimming ahead. He saw a group of females talking in front of the females’ bathroom, but four young males from another class who stood in his way stopped him in his tracks, smiling at him.

Paullu smiled back and tried to swim around, only to get his path cut off by one male in that group, making him turn to the left to continue in the direction of the bathroom, only to see another male in front of him, smiling.

Paullu made a slight smile and asked, “Do you mind letting me pass? I want to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh, but you are going in the wrong direction. The male’s bathroom is on the other side! Unless you are a female in disguise, I don’t see the reason for you to go to the female's bathroom!”

The laughs around made Paullu wonder why they were intentionally stopping him, but he then noticed the group of females in front of the bathroom smiling weirdly and whispering while looking at him.

Paullu frowned and spoke while gathering Magic in his paws. “I also don’t see a reason for you guys to stand in my way with that suspicious group of females looking at me. Unless… ‘crith-thalmhainn’…”

As soon as Paullu opened his arms, a whirlpool formed around him, which pushed the group that was surrounding him against the walls and ceiling of the corridor, knocking them out.

Paullu swam at high speed, directly at the group of females in front of the bathroom, and shouted while approaching, “Move, or you will all die!”

The females made a path for him by squeezing themselves against the adjacent walls, and Paullu heard noises and screams inside, mixed with Drezara’s angry voice. Paullu placed one paw on the door, and he then looked at the nearest female with his eyes glowing.

The tone in his voice was nerve-wracking, and they all immediately nodded. “No one enters this bathroom, and none of you leaves. If, when I get out, you aren’t here, I will track you down and cut your heads off.”

He pushed the door open and saw an unbelievable picture in front of him that made his blood boil. Two females were restraining Drezara, and another one was using her as a punching bag. Without even thinking, he pointed one claw at the puncher and shot a compressed ball of water straight at her head, a ball so compressed that it was harder than a rock.

As soon as the ball hit the target, the dark green female fainted with a nasty wound spilling blood on the water. Paullu swam at high speed, and before the other two attackers could figure out what was happening, he hit one with a straight punch to the snout and a kick to the head of the other. He then held Drezara and healed every wound and cut she had. Her face was a mess, but he didn’t stop there. He healed her entire body, from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail, in quick succession.

When Drezara was awkwardly smiling at him, he glanced at the three crying attackers and asked, “What happened? Why were they hitting you? It was because of that stupid game of yours?”

Drezara slowly shook her head. “No, my game is not stupid… this… Humm…”

“Spit it out already! I had to knock down four males that were in my way and scare to death a group of females that were in front of that door to find you here being used as a training bag! Why?”

“It… was because of you… These three like you, and they asked their friends to help them teach me a lesson so that I got away from you. They saw us arriving while holding hands, and… I guess they were jealous.”

Paullu increased his Magic and began to glow. He stared at the three scared females and spoke in a harsh voice, “Jealousy is not an excuse for this, nor is the fact that they think they like me without even knowing me. You three, against that wall, and don’t you dare to move. We need to have a very serious talk. Drezara, come with me.”

He gently pulled Drezara with him to the door and opened it. The group of five females outside began to tremble when they felt the huge amount of Magic that Paullu was irradiating.

He spoke without averting his eyes from the trembling group, “Drezara, stand near this door because I don’t want you to see what is about to happen. As for you all, go inside and wait for me. We need to talk. Now!”

They all dashed through the door, and Paullu looked at the four knocked-out males nearby and swam to them. He dragged all of them to the bathroom by their tails and closed the door. Drezara leaned against it and waited, worried.

Inside, Paullu healed the males and waited for them to recover. He then pointed to the far wall where the females were gathered and spoke in a chilling voice, “Go to them. We have a lot to discuss about what just happened to my girlfriend. But first, let me make this room soundproof because, depending on your explanation, you might leave here unarmed, or after a whole bunch of pain… ‘cruinneach fuaim-dìon’. Now, who wants to start?”

A glowing soundproof dome surrounded them all, and one male frowned and spoke while pointing an accusing finger. “Hey, why do you think you have the right to… Argh!”

He screamed as soon as Paullu shot a blade of compressed water that cut his hand completely, leaving it floating in the water and spilling the blood all around. Paullu asked again without averting his eyes from the wounded and screaming young male, “I will ask again. Who wants to explain to me what was happening here? I must remember you all again; depending on your answer, you will leave this bathroom unscathed or after a lot of pain.”

The dark green female who only moments ago was punching Drezara shouted, “What do you think you are doing? Drezara hit me as soon as I entered this bathroom without any reason whatsoever, and I just…”

Paullu made a weird smile and spoke, “A lot of pain, then. Good…”

Outside, Drezara was waiting, trying to hear what was happening inside the bathroom. She couldn’t forget the scary way Paullu looked at the group of females that he forced inside or the worried and sad look he had while he was healing her.

The bell rang, calling the students to class, and she kept waiting. After more than fifteen minutes, the door opened, and a serious Paullu called her in.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, she saw the group of males and females seated on the floor and looking down, with a lot of blood floating in the water around them and a few dents on the walls and ceiling.

Paullu spoke with such a tone that even Drezara trembled: “Raise your heads and take a good look at Drezara Forge, my girlfriend! Do you want to say anything to her?”

They all apologized in a choir, and Drezara blinked in surprise. She looked at Paullu and saw him staring at that serious group and speaking with such a serious voice that he almost sounded like a different being. “From now on, it will be in your best interest that nothing happens to Drezara. If even one scale of her goes missing, I will take one arm from all of you, and I will heal you just to cut it again, like I just did for the last twenty minutes. You will also make sure that the entire School is informed that no one is allowed to bully or hurt Drezara, except in that weird game that she likes to play so much because it seems that game has a strange rule about hurting the players. But even in that game, if I see that someone is taking the opportunity to hurt her on purpose just because she is my girlfriend, I will come for you. Understood?”

They all quickly nodded, and Paullu took a deep sigh. “This could have been avoided if you talked to me before going after Drezara. It’s not her fault if I fell in love with her. You, the females, were the ones at fault because you never worried about getting to know me like she did, and now you don’t have any right to bully her for being with me. As for the males, I understand you did this because you wanted to impress these foolish females, but you really underestimated me. I am studying to become a Healer like my mother, but my father has trained me in all sorts of unarmed and armed fighting styles since I was two Tides old. Don’t think less of yourself because you lost. In fact, you never stood a chance against me from the moment you dared to stand in my way in that corridor outside. Let’s leave here what just happened because if any of you tell or try to seek revenge, I will break into your house in the middle of the night and I will slice your throats during sleep. No one will ever find out it was me who did it, because I will have a very strong alibi for that night, and I won’t have any regrets about killing you. Understood?”

They all nodded in silence and trembled without even daring to look at him and his scary, glowing eyes. Paullu took a deep breath and dispersed his Magic. He gave Drezara a slight smile and gently pulled her to the exit after deactivating the soundproof dome.

They swam in silence along the corridor, and Paullu accompanied Drezara to her classroom door. He caressed her left cheek and spoke in a gentle voice, “I am sorry if you saw this scary side of me. Are you okay now?”

Drezara hugged him tight and whispered, “Thank you; you were amazing, and I was so scared! They surprised me as soon as I entered that bathroom by punching my head from behind. I couldn’t even defend myself properly because I got dizzy with that treacherous attack. I can’t believe you admitted so easily to them that I am your girlfriend! It made me so happy…”

Paullu gently cleaned up her tears and kissed her. “That’s what a boyfriend is supposed to do, right? To always protect his girlfriend from anyone and any danger. At least according to my sister, that is. I wasn’t sure if she was serious or pranking me, but I now understand what she meant. Go, the class has already started, and your Teacher might get angry.”

“Yeah… What about you? Your classroom is in the other building, and you will be very late, for sure!”

“Don’t mind that; the Teacher is afraid of my classmates because yesterday I left to help Byia, and they almost jumped on him when I returned, and he wanted to punish me for leaving so suddenly.”

Drezara turned to the door, but before opening it, she frowned at him. “I just realized. You hurt a bunch of females, and that is a serious no, no, even with all those scary circumstances. I might need to punish you properly after School.”

Drezara winked and entered her Classroom, leaving behind a surprised Paullu, wondering if she was angry at him or not.

Paullu swam at his highest speed to the other building, and after catching his breath in front of the door, he entered. The Teacher was pointing to something on the board and tilted his head at him. “Look who decided to join us! I am not sure if I will let you in or not, considering your lack of respect for the School’s bell. Do you have a good excuse, at least?”

Paullu nodded. “I have, but I am not going to mention it because it could cause more harm than good to other students. If the Teacher doesn’t allow me to attend this class, I will go to the garden outside and study this subject.”

“Yes, you do that, because tomorrow there will be a test about this. If you need notes for today’s class, you can probably find someone who can lend you those.”

Every female in the class offered their notes, and Paullu thanked them all and smiled before closing the door and going to his favourite spot behind the Gym.

When Paullu arrived there, Drezara was peacefully seated on the ground, leaning against the tall plant that Paullu liked so much. He stopped near her and asked, “Weird to find you here. Weren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Yeah, but my Teacher didn’t like that I got there so late, and he didn’t let me enter. What about you?”

Paullu shrugged while sitting next to her. “The same. I saw what he was pointing out on the board, so I just need to study that subject all by myself. Many of my classmates offered me their notes in the end to take a look.”

“That’s good… I am sorry for causing you so much trouble. I bet the females in your class are very eager to be with you and to help you study.”

Paullu raised his eyes from the schoolbook he was reading and wondered what she meant by that.

Drezara saw his puzzled look and stared at her book again while continuing, “Sorry, maybe I am a little jealous, and I don’t like the idea of other females near you. I knew this could happen considering that you have so many female fans in this School, but it still bothers me a little.”

“Yeah, I think I understand; my sister also told me something about that some big Moons ago. She said that when I got myself a girlfriend, there would be a lot of females sighing and wanting to be them that were with me, and some could even aim to make me and my girlfriend to break up. I slapped her head for mocking me, but maybe she was being serious. I think you don’t need to worry about them. I never had the time or interest to be around females that much. Now I have you to join my mother and sister as the only females I have time and love to give.”

Drezara gulped and made a slight smile. “I don’t think I like to hear you say that I am in the same group as your mother and sister. Can’t I have a spot only for me? It will be very hard for me to compete with them if we fill the same spot in your heart!”

Paullu shrugged, unaware of the damage his words could cause. “I don’t see a reason for that. I have a big heart. There is plenty of room for you and them.”

“Yeah, I should have known you wouldn’t understand the hint… Don’t worry; we can talk about this at another time. We need to study now, or we will fall behind in class.”

Paullu looked at her and smiled. “If you want, maybe I can help you with your studies. What are the classes in which you have more difficulty?”

“I have problems with several… Maybe we can go to my place after School. I have a very neat study room.”

Paullu frowned. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea. My sister warned me about the danger of me and my girlfriend being alone in a room. She even threatened me with slicing a certain body part if I did something like that.”

“Hahaha! Yeah, I can totally see Byia going after you to slice the appendix you have under your lower garment! Don’t worry, my mother and father will be at home, unless… You don’t want to meet them… Maybe it’s too soon.”

Paullu changed the page of his book and spoke after reading the following paragraph: “I don’t see why you say it’s too soon. I met your mother some Tides ago, and I saw your father being interviewed once or twice. I know how they look.”

Drezara glanced at him, baffled by his unawareness. She then looked at her book again and continued, “That was not what I meant… If you go to my house to study, you will meet my parents, not like the parents of a Schoolmate, but they will be the parents of your girlfriend. Are you really up for it? My father is not very easy to deal with, and my mother is very strict about the boys I know. Besides… I never took a boy home, and this would be the first time… I am getting nervous with the idea; maybe it would be better if we postponed that and study in the Library.”

“Well, I have to talk with them about us, eventually. Why not today? I don’t have anything scheduled, and Byia seems to have a lot of bodyguards to take her home!”

Drezara felt her heart pumping, and her cheeks got hotter and hotter. She only managed to nod her head a few times and look at her book again, making a huge effort to concentrate on the reading.

It was completely useless, of course. She was not like Paullu, who was peacefully reading his book and taking some notes in the margins, completely unaware of his surroundings.

She couldn’t stop thinking about what her parents would say about her having a boyfriend, even one as amazing as Paullu. Or the possibility of her father saying something that Paullu didn’t quite grasp, or her mother staring at him with a serious look and making him nervous. Even though she never saw him nervous — not even a bit!

That was a horrible idea; why did she mention that? Too late to escape now, because Paullu would never understand why she didn’t want to take him so soon to her house. He could even get disappointed if she changed her mind, especially after she had agreed with it.