Chapter Ten - Two without a name

In the last row of a classroom at Redhall, a young woman without a name was staring out of the window.

The pen in her hand twirled around her fingers, once, twice before falling down on the desk with an audible thud. The heads of a few others around her whipped over to her, sending mocking glances before turning back to the Immortal that was lecturing in front of the class.

The young woman without a name sighed, her gaze wandering back to the window.

She had been here for a long time, long enough to find boredom in the always repeating topics of each lecture, but not long enough to graduate since she’d never managed to meet the necessary requirements to advance or had ever been offered a position outside of Redhall.

The teachers already gave her pitying glances, saying she had ‘bad luck’ to not be chosen by any clan recruiters that came to Redhall once in a while.

Bad luck. These words followed her, had followed her from her past life to the Plane of Gods, as if unwilling to let her be free.

It had been a little over three years since she’d woken up in a small town in the Plane of Gods, finding out that even after she ended her life, she wasn’t done with living. At first, she was happy.

Her past life hadn’t been a joyful one, from losing her parents over losing her tribe to losing her name, everything that had forced her to end her existence as a mortal, but she figured, as an Immortal she might have a shot at a better life.

As it turned out, that too, was a fluke.

After being scammed and then robbed and finally crawling her way to Fall’s End, before she knew it, her misfortune had become official: within three months, she had ascended from being a Saint to being an Empress of Misfortune, now not only unlucky herself, but also bringing misfortune for others around her.

She sighed as she thought of her desolate history, feeling trapped in a classroom filled with newborn Saints who had quickly caught onto her little problem and took to either avoiding her or mocking her.

For a second, she imagined standing up and leaving.

She’d just march out of the door and not look back, finally free.

But where would she go?

What could she do?

Even though she needed to eat less than a mortal, she still needed food.

And with her bad luck following her like overhanging clouds, she doubted she’d get that.

I’d never make it far anyways, she resigned with a sigh.

In the end, she didn’t have the guts to run away, or maybe she was too smart to be impulsive like that. Instead, she pinched her cheeks and pushed her self-pity into a dark corner of her mind.

In that moment, the doors of the classroom opened.

In came a middle-aged man the young woman recognized as the teacher of the advanced class - a class she’d never been able to get into because of her bad luck every time she tried to take the test to be promoted.

Behind him was a girl, looking around nineteen or twenty years old in mortal years, and the moment she enters the room, every hushed whisper died.

The young woman also looked up, gave the newcomer a once-over and found her gaze lingering with a bitter taste in her mouth.

The girl had an exotic look, long red hair, a pair of horns, a sword strapped to her belt and the golden eyes every Immortal had, roaming curiously over the class.

All in all, she looked quite tribal, her hair frizzy and unkempt, her eyes wild and that was what made the woman’s heart sink for a moment. The entire get-up, from the wildness of her look to the unrestraint freedom in her eyes, it reminded her so much of her past life and of every single thing that she lost back then.

Arette...the name came to her in a flurry of emotions, a stab to the heart. But she couldn’t help it, the girl in front of the class and the girl she called her sister in her past life looked just too similar.

Then, the advanced class teacher got up and left and their lecturer spoke up.

“So we’re going to have a new student, everyone!” She smiled at the class and motioned the new girl to step up, “She is a chaos-forged Immortal and she’ll be joining you for your lectures,” she turned to the girl, “Could you introduce yourself?”

“Uh, okay,” the girl said hesitantly and then grinned, “Uhm, hello.” She gave an awkward nod to the class that earned her a chuckles but instead of discouraging her, they only made her grin brighter.

“So, I’ve never introduced myself before, but here I am. I...guess I’m around one year old, I don’t have a name and I’m glad to be here,” she nodded again, the excited smile still on her face, and turned to the lecturer, who gave her a funny look.

“I guess that also works. You can sit down in the back,” she said.

The girl strode towards an empty seat in the far end of the class, stood in front of the chair with a puzzled look in her eyes and then sat down with stiff and slow movements as if she’d never sat on a chair before. Some Immortals in the class stared after her with smiles on their faces but within a few minutes everyone’s gazes had returned to the front.

Except for the young woman’s. She couldn’t help it, staring at her. She just looked so much like the person she’d once valued the most, it was almost as if she were back here.

After a while, the new girl’s gaze snapped to her, as if she’d noticed the way she’d been stared at the entire time. Flustered, the young woman meant to turn her head away, but once their eyes met, the world froze up for a second.

The girl gave her a curious, but open look and after a moment, her eyes softened and she smiled at her. The young woman hesitated, and then showed a small smile in return.

She wasn’t used to being given attention like this, usually, people tended to stay away on their own.

Then, she remembered something the girl had just said.

‘I don’t have a name…’

...no name? She’s...like me?

The thought made hope blossom in her, sweet and forbidden and with the force of an avalanche.

A name. Oh how long had she longed for one.

The one her parents gave her had been taken from her in her last life, the last push that sent her over the edge, and ever since she’d felt so aimless, like she was truly no one.

But this girl, the girl that looked so much like her former sister, she also didn’t have a name.

Could she…? Could...I?

Thoughts rushed through her but with them came a wave of resignation.

As if. She’ll probably turn the other direction when everyone else tells her about me.

And that would happen. It tended to happen, every time she had the hope of making friends with someone new, they stayed away from her, avoiding her as if she were contagious. Maybe she was, in a sense.

With those thoughts, she turned to the window again and sighed, dejection crawling in. She shouldn’t even think of being lucky for once. It wouldn’t happen anyways.

A few hours later, all lectures for the day were done and a certain other girl without a name happily strolled through Redhall.

She was quite happy, even if she’d only been able to visit two lectures today and didn’t understand most of it since she wasn’t able to read the notes the teacher wrote on the square wall that was apparently called a ‘blackboard’.

When she told the teacher that much, she said she’d give an introductory lesson just to her next thing in the morning and the girl happily agreed and was quite looking forwards to tomorrow.

The calculating middle aged man that had guided her from the Principal’s office to the classroom had given her the key to a room on the top floor of Redhall that she could use until she was able to live on her own in Fall’s End but after she’d checked it out and noticed its ceiling wasn’t made of glass and the window was quite small, she decided that she’d rather stay outside for the time being.

Now, it was nearing evening and the red light of the setting sun shone onto her face as she sat outside.

The garden of Redhall had its own magic, one she quickly fell in love with after she strolled through it. The pink and green trees rustled softly in the wind, but other than that, the silence was thick and calming. Even though there were other students outside, standing in small groups here and there, it was as if the garden muffled the sounds to small background noises that hardly disturbed the serenity.

For a moment, she sat in the sun and enjoyed the light on her face.

Then, amidst impending boredom and the lack of fatigue she was used to having, she decided she might as well do something interesting.

Like, search the other woman without a name and ask her to be her friend. And, maybe, give her a name as well, on a side note.

She’d recognized her quickly, as the young woman with long brown hair by the windows in class, since she’d been on the lookout for someone without a name ever since the Principal had told her there’d be someone like that here.

She’d also been quite shocked by the intensity of her flame, the rich darkness that swarmed around it like moths, filled with depression and sadness and a power as unique as she’d never seen it in her short life. Seeing this, she knew that the other woman longed for a name as much as she did, if not more, but she also knew that she longed for a friend even more than that, so much that the longing itself was inscribed on her flame like a perpetual companion.

And so, she decided searching for her might not be a bad idea.

Before, she’d already talked to some of her new classmates, and was quite happy to meet others who were young, like her, but they didn’t have much time to chat with her, so she ended up being on her own again.

While she was strolling through the gardens, though, she met someone she’d rather have not met again.

“Ze- ah, no, Murron, what a surprise,” she said as he appeared in front of her, looking just as surprised as she was.

“Oh, it’s you,” he mumbled and avoided her eyes, obviously still feeling uncomfortable about what happened.

She was also still somewhat pissed at him, but the weeks that had passed since the incident had lessened her anger to mild annoyance.

When he didn’t make a move to say something to her, she figured to pass him and continue her search until she realized that meeting him here might’ve been a good thing after all.

“So you’re a teacher here, right?” she asked him, turning around.

He raised his head in surprise and then looked at her with a frown.

“Yes?” He answered, but it sounded more like a question.

Her expression cleared up, “Can you help me find someone? She’s someone without a name like me, a young woman with brown hair. She’s in my class.”

She was aware that he had no obligation to help her, but the worst he could do was reject her, and then she could still search on her own.

His eyes opened even wider as he heard her request. Then, his eyebrows dropped into a frown.

“Oh you mean her,” he mumbled with his lips pressed together, “You probably shouldn’t associate yourself with her, she’s...dangerous.”

His voice wasn’t loud, even more muffled by the garden’s silence, but not so low that she couldn’t pick it up. Her eyebrows snapped up in surprise.

“Says the guy who threatened to kill me if I didn’t do what he said,” she snapped, now annoyance clear in her voice. She had seen the woman in question’s flame, the loneliness and the sadness of being all alone and a growing hate for the world, but despite all the negativity, she hadn’t seen malice.

Zenon of all people shouldn’t be one to judge so easily.

He didn’t answer, still avoiding her eyes.

She sighed in exasperation and then decided he wasn’t worth getting upset over. It was a nice day and she was actually in a mood too good to let Zenon ruin it, so she brushed past him to continue her search on her own.

“Wait.”

His voice called after her and she stilled her steps. The silence weighed heavily between them, only interrupted by the occasional rustle of the trees that surrounded them on all sides.

“Look, I’m sorry. I reacted impulsively back then, I shouldn’t have threatened you.”

The sincerity in his voice was what made her turn around, though her eyes were still sceptical.

He looked genuinely awkward, as if he’d never been in a situation like this before, where it was his turn to apologize and take blame onto himself.

“Well then, why did you?” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Ah, well, that is…it’s a sensitive issue for me.”

He dodged the question, a battle evident in his gaze that finally met hers. She stared back and then all tension left her as a chuckle slipped over her lips.

The Zenon that stood in front of her wasn’t really the intimidating persona she got angry with, so the only explanations for his behavior were that he was either crazy or sincerely sorry.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? I accept your apology,” it was too much of a bother to stay angry when nothing had happened after all. With that, she flashed a smile at him. “I don’t have too much experience at being mad anyways.”

He looked startled at first and then a relieved smile crossed his face.

“I would hope you don’t make too much experience with that,” he gave back with a lot less tension in his words.

She grinned, “Well as long as you don’t try to kill me again, I’d say it’s possible.”

They smiled at each other for a moment until Zenon returned to his stoic, steady self.

“So you’re looking for the nameless,” he stated.

She nodded, not even trying to hide her confusion at the nickname.

“I don’t really know her well, but I’ve seen her in the library a couple of times. It’s on the second floor, just ask someone for directions there.”

“Thanks!”

She turned around and waved him goodbye, making her way back towards the building without many more words. She’d see him plenty now that she was studying here, especially since she didn’t have to be mad at him anymore. Truth to be told, being mad was kinda annoying after a while.

Now, maybe she could try being friends with Zenon. He did seem like a nice enough guy when he wasn’t trying to kill or threaten her and having friends was always a good thing in her eyes.

That would be good, she nodded to herself.

But for now, there was another person she wanted to make friends with and as of yet she had no idea how.

Oh well, might as well improvise a little. It was what she'd done since she was born after all.