The Tales of the Argonauts: the Osorezu and the Hana (10-1)

Chapter 10: The Argonauts

When morning came, Kai was awoken from her light slumber by the headmistress. She hadn't slept very long— her nerves and her excitement and her fear had prevented it. Her hair stood on end from her tossing and turning. She yawned and smoothed it down.

"Lady Kai, when you're ready, please meet the rest of your group in the food hall for breakfast and a briefing," the headmistress requested before turning about and exiting the room.

Kai was left alone. She slowly sat up, rolling her shoulders and beginning to pop her joints. First, it was the slight relief in her fingers that she felt, then she bent her wrists forward and suddenly she gained back her mobility in those joints. She no longer ached.

She stood and stretched her arms out. Turning toward her closet, she yawned and her eyes teared up.

"Damn it," she hissed, wiping at them away. Her face became red and the tears persisted for a moment before she was able to relax. "I hate that..."

Sighing softly, she opened her closet and reached about for some traveling clothing. She quickly found that all of her outfits had been replaced by robes and dresses of violet, or lavender, all with the golden crest of the goddess upon the breast if not elsewhere. Her shoulders slumped and she frowned at the loss of her own possessions. She decided on an outfit anyway as she wouldn't travel in her nightie. She removed a pair of trousers from the closet, and took a robe. This robe had slits in the sides that went up to the hip and allowed for movement. She wouldn't hate to admit that she looked akin to a monk in this outfit.

"I never once imagined that I'd turn out to be a monk." Kai smiled and looked herself over in the full length mirror upon her wall. "I don't look half bad. Now all I need are a staff and shoes." She hummed softly as she began to think upon the acquiring of said items. She left the mirror and guided herself toward the door. She needed to gather the other Argonauts and get them breakfast and a plan. Stuffing her feet into a pair of slippers, she left the room and shuffled toward Pualani's room. This was across the hall.

"Pualani," she called out, rapping at her door, "it's time to get up. I'll be back in a moment, but you should head to the food hall for breakfast."

As she was about to leave, the door creaked open and a hand grasped at Kai's sleeve. Terror filled eyes stared back at her from the darkness of the room behind. Breath rasped and heaved and she trembled before her best friend.

"Kai," Pualani whispered, eyes turning down in shame. She could normally handle her problems on her own. Now, she was weak and needed help, but she struggled to swallow her pride and ask.

"What is it?" Kai asked, turning her hand to grasp at her friend's wrist. Pualani recoiled and shrunk back.

"I can see things," was the answer, "floating around. I can hear them. They're whispering. Some of them are saying my name."

Kai frowned and led herself into the room. Pualani's hand was trembling. She was more terrified than she had been in her entire life.

"Where do you see these things?" the Guide asked her friend. "Are they violent?"

"No... They're all gone now," she whispered in return, slowly sitting upon her bed. The entire room was dark, only small fingers of light slipping through the closed curtains.

"Do you think... No..." Kai began to chew on her lip and shake her head. "Never mind. I think you're just dehydrated. I'll bring you back some water if you're not at breakfast in ten minutes." She smiled to her friend before leaving her side.

The Guide then proceeded down the hall and into the winding pathways which would eventually lead to the boys' dorms. The walls were lined with portraits of former staff, with the more important ones in larger forms than the others. Just across from the Headmaster and Headmistress's offices were depictions of Osorezu and Hana.

Osorezu stood tall before the master's office door, holding a miniature form of the spirit Hono's horns his right hand. He was sculpted from bronze, carefully shaped into a majestic interpretation of the Yang hero.

Hana sat across from the mistress's office, legs folded behind her. She was carved from pearly white marble, even holding a small baby in her lap. The craftsmanship was amazing, down to the very likeliness of a baby and his beautiful mother. She looked like a proud, but distant image of the mistress of Yin.

From then on, the halls were painted in an eggshell colour, as opposed to the slate grey of the girls' side. Kai was entering the Yang side of the building— the sunny side, the dry side, the warm side. It even seemed more warm here than on her side. The gymnasiums were beneath these dorms, so it was quite possible that the boys were heated by that. Those rooms designated for physical activity needed to be temperature regulated so that a student didn't tear a muscle. Beneath the girls' side there were only a few music rooms, which needed to be heat regulated, but there weren't enough to heat the living rooms.

Kai breathed in the dry air before she continued on toward Kenichi's room. As she moved further into the heart of this dormitory, she began to notice the art changing. There were no longer any sculptures or vases, but only portraits. It appeared that the males had had more successful students than the females. Each picture was now of a student that had come out on top of his class. There were even some boys that had won the debate competition.

Kai would never be able to become a member of the Royal Guard like she wanted to. She had been chosen to be the Guide of Kurin. She had no place being a simple guard, or even a commander or a general. She was left to be a monk or priestess, and nothing more. Her flame had been snuffed. It was a great honour to be chosen, but she wouldn't have minded just being a soldier. She was never to stand at the side of the King, or know the honour of bearing a katana for his safety or taking a knife wound for his survival.