Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Chapter 7: The Only Choice

Elara:

"I don’t plan to attend your academy."

The words hung in the air between us.

I expected resistance. An argument. Perhaps even anger. After everything these people had done - killing my parents, dragging me across half the country, insisting I was some missing princess, speaking about magic as though it were the most natural thing in the world - I expected the woman in front of me to finally lose the composed mask she had worn ever since I entered her office.

But she didn’t.

Not even a flicker of irritation crossed Vice Headmistress Katherine Noctis’s elegant face. She simply regarded me with those calm eyes, her posture as perfect as ever.

"I understand."

Her response caught me off guard.

"But..." She folded her hands together. "I believe you have overlooked an important part of our conversation."

I frowned. There had been so much information thrown at me tonight that I barely knew where to begin. The DNA reports? The royal family? Magic?,The academy?,The island that supposedly didn’t exist?

Which part had I overlooked?

Ms. Noctis answered before I could think any further. "You were abducted." The words landed heavily. "On the night you were born. And for the following twenty years you were held captive."

Immediately, I shook my head. "No. That’s not-"

"You do not believe you were."

She spoke over me so smoothly that I stopped without realizing it.

"You remember a loving family. You remember a peaceful childhood. You remember being protected."

I nodded instinctively. "Exactly. They loved me. They weren’t keeping me captive."

Her expression remained unchanged. "Princess, let me break the past twenty years of your life. Until junior school, you were homeschooled. And only after months of begging your parents were you finally permitted to attend high school."

I blinked, already not liking where this was going.

"But even then, you were forbidden from visiting your classmates’ homes. If your friends wished to spend time with you, they had to come to your house. You were forbidden from going anywhere alone."

My heartbeat slowed as Ms. Noctis continued.

"You were required to inform your parents of your whereabouts at all times. You had to spend months convincing them before they allowed you to work part-time."

She hadn’t looked at a single document. She was simply... listing my life. Every restriction. Every rule. Every argument I’d ever had with Mom and Dad.

She continued softly, "You believed those restrictions existed because your parents loved you."

I swallowed. "They did. They... were just worried."

She inclined her head slightly. "They were. Because they had a reason to be worried."

My chest tightened.

"The diner where you have worked for the past eighteen months..."mShe tapped the folder resting on the desk. "...is connected to the Reapers. The owner and one of the kitchen staff reported your daily activities to your parents and the organization."

I stared blankly. "...What?",My voice cracked.

But she wasn’t finished.

"The high school you attended, there were faculty members assigned to monitor you."

My pulse quickened.

"The college you currently attend. Again, there were individuals ensuring your movements remained under observation."

I shook my head harder.

"No..."

"It doesn’t stop there." Her voice remained painfully steady. "The local bus you used almost every day. The driver,was also a member of the Reapers."

My entire body froze and what followed was absolute silence.mI couldn’t hear anything anymore. Not the ticking clock. Not my own breathing. Nothing. It felt as though someone had reached inside my chest and ripped my entire life apart piece by piece.

The bus driver, Mr. Collins, he always smiled whenever I climbed aboard. He knew my stop without asking. He had once waited nearly three minutes because I’d been running late after forgetting an assignment at home.

I had always thought... he was simply kind.

The owner of the diner had been just as kind. One of my college professors had personally recommended scholarships for me. A security guard always waved whenever I entered campus.

Now... every memory felt poisoned. Had any of it been real? Or had I been watched all along?

I pressed trembling fingers against my temples. "No... This isn’t... It can’t..." The room seemed to spin. What about my childhood? The birthday parties? The Christmas mornings? Movie nights with Felix? Were those fake too?

No.

No...

They couldn’t have been.

Mom’s hugs had been real. Dad teaching me to ride a bicycle had been real. Felix carrying me home after I’d twisted my ankle... that had been real. Hadn’t it?

Tears blurred my vision once more. I didn’t know what was true anymore. For the first time since I had met her, I thought I heard something almost gentle enter Ms. Noctis’s voice.

"The Reapers ensured you remained hidden. They watched every stage of your life. And they controlled every environment around you. Not because they feared you..." She paused briefly. "...but because they feared losing you."

I slowly lowered my hands.

"They knew that one day when your seal would weaken, your powers would begin awakening. They waited twenty years. They invested enormous resources. They intend to use you to destroy Starfall."

My throat felt painfully dry as the words settled heavily inside the room.

"The massacre twenty years ago was only the beginning. The Reapers never abandoned their objective. They merely postponed it." Her eyes met mine. "And now that we have found you, they know where you are."

A chill ran through my entire body.

"If I go back..."

She nodded once as she confirmed what I had already guessed. "They won’t simply forget you, Princess. They have spent two decades preparing for this moment. You will never live peacefully again. They eliminated everyone standing between them and you once. They will not hesitate to do so again."

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head as if to dismiss everything.

When she spoke again, her tone was calm. "But if you remain at Moonveil Academy, you will be protected. You will learn who you truly are. You will awaken your abilities. And eventually, you will become capable of protecting yourself."

Silence settled over the office.

I stared at the envelope resting atop the folder. Just half an hour ago, I had wanted nothing more than to go home. Now... there was no home left to return to. Even if there had been, it apparently hadn’t been as safe as I had believed.

For twenty years, I had lived inside a carefully constructed cage without ever realizing it.

Whether every part of Ms. Noctis’s story was true or not, one fact couldn’t be denied. The people who had murdered my biological family were still out there. And they wanted me alive.

My fingers slowly reached toward the desk. I hesitated for only a moment. Then, I picked up the cream-colored envelope. After another brief pause... I picked up the folder as well.

There’s only one choice for me, and I had made it.