Taking the first gulp of my beer, I spat it out inside my cup, wiping my mouth with my hands. Oh, God! Does beer taste this bad? How did Aunt Inara handle the taste? I threw my beer inside the sink and poured myself a glass of water, washing down the bitter taste lingering in my throat.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2iSiQf0VH
Cassie burst out in laughter as she wiped her happy tears, holding her chest. I gave her a death glare towards her, crossing my arms. "Very funny, Cass. I bet your reaction to your first alcohol was even worse than mine."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYgXgGXBOk
"You're supposed to swallow it straight away, silly," she nudged my elbows, finding it hard to contain her laughter. "This is the funniest thing I've ever seen in my entire life."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZAa8IHPpR
"Now you tell me," I rolled my eyes as I stormed out of my quarters. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2fzx1JyuS
Cassie stopped herself from laughing as she caught up with me, walking beside me. "Are you mad?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5KuUt2pUO
I bobbed my head. "Of course I am. This is my first beer and you're laughing at me."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZPallpO2C
"I'm sorry," she placed her hand around my shoulder. "I didn't mean to make fun of you, really."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5HkoLB6e2
My lips curved into a smile as I shook my head. "I forgive you, Cass."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9epeo0levJ
We laughed along as we headed to the training room, getting into our lines and faced Sergeant A'tynn with a straight face. "Alright cadets," he spoke. "We have a new mission. There have been reports of mass hysteria in the village of Ionis. We will be sent to investigate the issue. Am I clear?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RSAybbGDX
"Sir, yes, sir," we saluted in unison as we prepared our weapons and wore our armour, walking towards our horse stable, ready to depart to our destination.
Arriving in the village a few hours later, we were greeted with hostile glares from the villagers as we got down from the horse. Their houses were painted with yellow paint and their roofs were made out of cemented tiles instead of straw. The villagers were well dressed with the ladies wearing ruffled blouses and midi skirts made out of linen while the men were wearing suits and ties.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8skFUWJuoe
This must be a rich neighbourhood where everyone is well-off. Unlike Surfis and Lavinia where the people were mostly farmers and shopkeepers, the people in Ionis worked in white-collared jobs such as bankers and businessmen. Their chief, Tanin greeted us with a handshake and led us inside his gated mansion.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsxSbX5PzI
As we sat down on his olive green, velvet sofa, his servants served us a cup of Vanille d'Orage tea inside a ceramic cup. I thanked the servant as I took a sip. Oh wow, I smiled to myself. It tastes like the vanilla cake my aunt usually sells at The Little Owl Coffeehouse. And it smells like vanilla too.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPuO4Ty4ak
"So when did this mass hysteria happen?" asked Sergeant A'tynn, sipping his tea. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlq4vcbFrs
"It started out a week ago," Tanin told him. "At first, we tried to treat our patients with the medicine they were prescribed with but then it's gotten worse. There were complaints that they saw some creature lurking in the corner of the room and that it tried to attack them."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3zvCg20vP
"What does this creature look like?" I asked, putting my cup on the saucer. "The creature was reported to be green, short, skinny, and has sharp teeth."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5tBfyVUBD
"Sounds a lot like a terrorlich," Nat commented. "Yeah, but we conducted a search on them, there was nothing to be found. Usually, if the terrorlich is here, some of your things will be missing."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmnEbEGHJu
"Terrorlich will usually steal your money and gold and jewellery for their owner," the sergeant explained to me. "They also leave footprints around the house that looked similar to a child."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kqF6Gi6BN
"Anyways, that's the reason why I called you here. I need all of you to investigate the cause of this hysteria before it gets out of hand."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3K5yJel3A0
"Understood," he nodded as we were led into our rooms. I had to share a room with Cassie, Nat and Gatsby. Cassie's a great roommate, always makes her bed and folds her blanket after she's awake. Nat, well, how do I begin? He hates my guts and is super stuck up whenever he sees me. As for Gatsby, well, I barely know him at all. We hardly talk at all.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluDHgxioI3
As the night falls, I decided to pass my time by reading faerie literature titled 'The Mother of Demons' while Cassie knitted herself a woolly blanket just for herself. Meanwhile, Nat was resting his eyes on his bed as Gatsby rolled his eyes and drew on a piece of paper with a pencil.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aJua0EhYC
"Aren't you supposed to keep yourself focused on your task?" Gatsby scolded his friend, not looking at him. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL98k7vinwl
Nat scoffed, his eyes still shut. "I'll know when there's hysteria, don't worry."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0pjRVcWtv
I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous claim. "It might happen when you're deep asleep and you won't know it."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMggC6oiW0
"I'm a faerie unlike you, so yeah, I do what I please."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18sv2PEQG3
"Just ignore him, Bugsy," Cassie retorted, ignoring our arrogant comrade. "He's just a lazy bum."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApfWXYrilG
"Tell me about it," Gatsby laughed, as he focused on his drawing. "So, I see you're reading about the Mother of Demons."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6hS7twUEJ
I nodded. "Yup, I just want to know about her. I heard this name from Prince Thadeus before."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GZNsEuOng
"Woah," her eyes widened. "You met The Crown Prince of Angelis?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73zGTO1MLq
"Yeah, I did. He's the one who brought me to Angelis in the first place."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNRm1fHKOh
"I'm kinda jealous of you," Gatsby laughed. "You, out of all people get to personally meet the handsome Prince Thadeus."
"Well, I was lucky," I shrugged. "Besides, I already have a boyfriend back home."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZOjfMZMXt
Before Cassie could open her mouth, there was a loud shriek coming from the house right next to us. All four of us rushed out of the mansion and ran towards the sound, only to find a purple-eyed woman screaming on her bed, with her black-haired husband trying to calm her down.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxjWNgafjv
"What happened?" Cassie asked as she tried to calm the woman down. She glared at Cassie and continued screaming as she pointed at the corner of her room without saying a word. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHQ4zybvJj
Her husband rubbed her back as he was sweating profusely. "I don't know what's happening to Greta," he hailed. "It's been like this for days now."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4e31vq5WB
Then, we heard another howling coming from another house, prompting Nat and Gatsby to run out of Greta's to handle another patient. I opened the window and let in the cool wind that blew into the house, hoping to calm her down. "Bugsy grabbed a sample of food and water," Cassie ordered. "The sergeant wants us to bring them over to the doctor for more information."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAJulRT8Vx
"Got it," I answered as I grabbed two small bottles and filled it up with both pieces of bread and water, respectively. Placing the samples inside my pocket, I helped Cassie to restraint the woman as she kept questioning her. "Why are you screaming? What's wrong?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXodwLQE2CS
"There's a terrorlich at the corner of the room," Greta shouted, pointing with her finger. "Can't you see it?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnWcSHFN1n
I raised my eyebrows. "There's no one there," I told her. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeF4o2LTsVp
"It's there, it's there! Can't you see it? Are you blind, human?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCng1mjASWV
I glanced at Cassie, who shook her head. "I don't see anything either."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhM1ma1E1Vv
Greta hollered at my face as she bit her husband's hands, slamming herself at the corner of her room. Cassie and I grabbed her hand and held her tighter as I began to hear her husband screaming along, knocking his head on the wall. I groaned in frustration as I ran towards him and stopped him from hurting himself further.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9d4ychEOU
The medics rushed into Greta's home and helped Cassie to lay her on the stretcher, clamping both her hands and legs with a cloth. They did the same with her husband and took the couple away from the house, placing them inside a large cart, which was full of other hysterical patients.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcEsoIuCzM
As they rode towards the hospital, Sergeant A'tynn gestured us to get on our horses. "Come on, we need to get those samples to the doctors," he barked. "There's no time to waste."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFVnTqDMxQ
Hours later, he was pacing back and forth as we waited in the hallway, his hands locked behind him. Then, one of the doctors walked out of the testing room, glancing at the sergeant. "We have news about the samples."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSC4lUOXxf
He took her hand as he stood closer to her, and his breathing quickened. "Did you find anything? Is it contaminated?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eE2xJTmJ3
"Calm down, dear," she told him, caressing his cheek in a gentle manner. "The results are negative. The food and water aren't even contaminated at all."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVV0HUo8qlL
"Then what caused this hysteria?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiIRbgDSSt
"I don't know. We're trying to search for the source right now."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYy6pk7L9Z
Sergeant A'tynn sighed and gave a peck on her cheek. "Be careful, my love. Don't overwork yourself."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNSYQbhJRM
She smiled as she walked back inside, leaving us alone in the waiting room. "So what do we do now?" I asked, my eyebrows drooping. He stroked his chin as we looked at each other, uncertain about this mission.
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