A Quest for the Stars

Starflower looked at Headmaster Gardens incredulously, confused by the latter's admission. "You...knew about Olen's murder?"

"We all did. The whole city did. Olen Kjellsson? The humble owner of a small shop who saved a little girl's life. Who didn't hear about him?"

"And you're saying Tsukino is innocent?"

This was the first time in recent years anyone ever acknowledged Olen's heroism, at least within earshot. It was a jarring experience for Starflower, who until now had kept all of the information to himself. Little did he know that other people had taken notice. And now, someone could explain the greatest mystery he had ever faced.

"Tell me everything, Gardens."

"Very well." The candle's warm light continued burning strongly. "My turn."

----------

9th of Cobre, 3pm, 1658

"Excellent. Well done, girls."

It was the end of the school year, and the entire student body was free for the next three months. Those who had kept up with their grades were free to prepare for the upcoming year, but those who had done poorly with their grades either had to make up with repeated assignments by the end of the month or drop out of the Guild altogether.

Lenoria was no exception, but thankfully, she now had two people who supported her career path.

She had just finished catching up with every assignment she had missed over the past year, and she never would have done so without the support of her new friend Clara and Instructor Gardens. A stack of papers had been piled on the edge of her desk, and while she was victorious and managed to secure her spot for the final year, she was so exhausted that she felt like she lost a war.

"I'll have to stay here and grade every single assignment, but I'm confident you passed with flying colors." The instructor went to the other side of the room and opened the door at the end. It was a small closet, where he kept some of his personal belongings and from it, he grabbed a tray with three porcelain teacups. "How about some tea to lift your spirits?"

"Mind if I took a nap, instead?" Lenoria laid down her head on the wooden desk while Clara cheerfully sat on the desk adjacent to her left. "I don't care how long it takes; I don't mind staying until you finish grading all those assignments."

"She could work on her wording, but at least she's not showing hostility anymore." Instructor Gardens carefully placed each teacup in front of the girls - one for each - before returning to his desk to set down the tray. "You're free to stick around, Lenoria, but don't you two have anywhere to go?"

"My parents aren't expecting me home until sunset," Clara said. She glanced over Lenoria, who was already snoring on her desk. "Lenoria said she had trouble sleeping last night. It's a miracle she tackled through all of these assignments."

"I see." Instructor Gardens grabbed the pile of parchments from Lenoria's desk and placed them over his desk. Taking a feathered quill and a container of red ink, he got to work. Clara looked on anxiously, seemingly more worried about her friend's grades than anyone else.

After the instructor finished grading two parchments, Clara spoke again. "How is she doing, sir?"

"You have nothing to fear, Clara. It seems Lenoria never forgot what she learned here at the Guild. So far, she's gotten a perfect score in her assignments."

"Really? Y-you're not just saying that?"

"I have to be unbiased when it comes to grading my students' work. If the headmaster sees any discrepancies, he'll double-check the work himself."

----------

"Lenoria scored perfectly in each assignment. It's a wonder how she only ranked third place if she was able to work swiftly, flawlessly, and sleep-deprived."

Headmaster Gardens paused after he noticed Starflower with a new guilt-ridden expression.

"Something wrong?"

"No, please continue," Starflower said.

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4:28pm

Instructor Gardens needed about an hour and a half to grade the mountain of work Lenoria had spent all day completing. For most people, this task would require hours or even days based on the number of students taking part of the make-up program. But for a wizard like himself, this task was hardly arduous.

Using a spell to enchant his eyes, it only took mere seconds for the instructor to read each page. Needing to pause only to cross-reference with his own notes - written and mental - the instructor managed to grade every single assignment just under 90 minutes.

A yawn interrupted his workflow. Lenoria had woken up, her right cheek red thanks to her resting on it on a hard surface for so long. "Clara, I'm hungry," the blonde said groggily.

"We'll get something after this, okay? We'll explore the city for a food stand," the elven girl reassured her.

"This late?" The girls were old enough to wander on their own, but the instructor couldn't help but feel concerned for their safety. Sunset would begin in a couple of hours, and if the girls took their time even if they departed now, they'd more than likely be going home in the dark. "Girls?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you get something from the cafeteria? It should be opening again right about now and will be doing so for the rest of the month around this time." Instructor Gardens placed three gold coins on his desk. "If I may ask for a favor, could you bring back a beef pasty for me? You can use the remainder on yourselves."

Clara's face lit up like a lighthouse. "S-sir..."

"Think nothing of it. You two must be hungry."

"A-admittedly so..." Clara grabbed the coins and headed for the door. "Lenoria, you want anything?"

"Anything to boost me enough for the walk home." The blonde yawned again, refusing to get up from the desk and only going as far as to stretch her arms and legs.

"I-I'll be back soon." Her face still reddened, Clara picked up the pace and exited the classroom.

Things had gotten so quiet with just Instructor Gardens and Lenoria in the room, so much that the only sounds heard were the strong winds outside and the occasional scribbling from the red-ink quill. Whenever Instructor Gardens would look at Lenoria, he would find her staring at her desk without any sense of awareness to her surroundings.

"Lenoria?"

"I'm not seeing anyone right now, and plan to keep it that way," she snapped coldly.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask." The instructor cleared his throat. He had been finished for a little while but had scribbled on random parchments to keep busy. This wasn't going to be an easy question to ask. "I was wondering if you studied for this at all."

"Heh. I wouldn't call it studying; it was more like reviewing."

"It's just...you had a perfect score for over 90% of these assignments."

Annoyed, the girl finally made eye contact. "What, are you saying I cheated?"

"On the contrary, I think it's amazing. You don't seem to be at your best right now, and yet you aced the entire make-up program."

"Oh." Her head sank as she stared back at her desk again. "It's child's play, really," she said more calmly now. "Isn't this program kinda flawed, though? Everyone could spend all year flunking their classes but could just take a month at the end of the year to make up for all of it."

"But you didn't." Instructor Gardens smiled. "Attendance was the main issue for you this year. So much that you missed half of your classes. Literally. You were looking at a grade of 50 for the entire year because of all the assignments that you missed, but you managed to bump that up to a 95 just by spending the day making up for all of it." He patted the stack of parchments. "Not just for my class, but for the rest, too."

"Wait, you're smart enough to teach every subject here?" Lenoria scoffed. "Gee, why didn't they make you headmaster, then?"

"Really?" Starflower asked.

"Patience, Jean."

"Everyone else refused to take you in. I had to take a crack at trying to learn every subject. It's only right."

"Okay, I get it." Lenoria grunted with an eye roll. "Sorry you had to deal with a delinquent like me. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Far from it. I want you to be proud of your accomplishments. You can do anything if you put your mind to it."

"Bullshit!" A loud bang on the desk echoed across the classroom as Lenoria rose to her feet. "You always know what to say, don't you? I don't know what you're playing at here, mister, but it's not going to work. You don't know a thing about me, so stop treating me like one of your students! The only reason you're putting up with me at all is because you're getting paid to do it and no one else would do it! You said it yourself!"

Instructor Gardens remained calm. He knew from the start that the Guild had failed the young girl, which resulted in her volatile behavior. "Lenoria-"

"No matter what I tried, there's always some asshole trying to hit me on the ground! I tried to bring something to the Guild, I really did! But everyone out there seems to be out to get me, and no one's ever lifted a finger to help me! How can I be proud of myself when even I can't tell if I've done the right thing or not? Answer that, Gardens!"

The girl's red cheeks were stained with tears. She sobbed and hiccupped occasionally, but her anger was far from quelled.

"You don't have an answer for that, right? Because I'm worthless to this school! And you know it!"

"That's not true at all, Lenoria," the instructor interjected. "We can't always see our own worth, but that doesn't mean it's not there."

"Then why...?" The girl's body language changed. Her fists shook not out of anger, but from something else. Her face and voice revealed years' worth of anguish that had been withheld for far too long. "Why doesn't he see it that way?"

The instructor knew right away who the girl was referring to, and unfortunately, he didn't have an answer for her. Helplessly watching the girl cry, all Instructor Gardens could do was offer a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"The only person who even tried to make things better was Clara. Anne still glares at me. Thomas still stalks me. Carter still writes me letters saying I'll pay for getting him expelled, even though he's the one who pranked the headmaster all those weeks ago. Anyone I thought who was my friend ended up betraying me. And the headmaster..." She slammed both fists on her desk again. "I read every single book he wrote. I never thought I'd get an interview with him, and I was so happy when I actually did. Then, it's like he changed into a monster overnight. I never found out why..."

----------

"Why didn't you ever tell me this, Gardens," Starflower demanded.

"Because you were never the social type. Besides, you had already fired a couple of instructors who felt pity for the poor girl. But I stayed and kept quiet, not because I feared losing my job," Headmaster Gardens said with a glare, "but because the students wouldn't have a safe environment if I stood up for them and lost my job."

"This is getting us nowhere." Starflower shook his fist impatiently. "And this doesn't answer what role she had in Olen's murder. Delay no longer, you pretentious wretch!"

"You needed to hear how much this girl suffered first! You may not have broken her spirit completely, but you'll see how close you came to damning an innocent girl!"

----------

Instructor Gardens had grabbed a wooden chair and sat across from Lenoria, who had finally calmed down after pouring out her thoughts and feelings into the open. Once she sniffled for the last time, Instructor Gardens had one more question for her.

"You mentioned all your friends had betrayed you. What about Master Sage? Wasn't he your guardian once upon a time?"

"..." Lenoria looked down at her desk. Her annoyed expression was gone, replaced with sadness and possibly remorse. "Why are you so nice to me? I already told you I'm not interested, and I've given you nothing but a hard time."

"Didn't Clara tell you?" The instructor smiled at the girl. "I only care about the well-being of my students. Part of being a teacher is dealing with students of all types. We don't get to pick and choose favorites, or at least we aren't supposed to. But I believe that we should always reach out to those who distance themselves from us. Every life matters, but when a group of people are safe on a lifeboat, we tend to prioritize on the people who are still out in the water."

"Not everyone has the patience to deal with people like you do, even if you're telling the truth."

"I know," the instructor said with a saddened smile. "Believe me, I know. But I think what you need is a more positive environment. And even though the Guild won't provide that as long as the headmaster is around, you can make things better for yourself if you surround yourself with people who love you. Clara tells me you two have been hanging out more."

"Her parents always treat me like I'm part of their family." Lenoria wiped away her tears. "She...really trusts you, doesn't she?"

"All I've done is helped her discover a part of herself she hadn't noticed before." The instructor pointed at Lenoria. "You alone possess the power to get up, dust yourself off, and keep walking on this road of life. But the people you surround yourself with? They can always offer a hand for you when you're too tired to get up."

For the first time since her arrival in the classroom, Lenoria smiled. "What, you read that off a fortune cookie?"

"What would you say if I did?"

"I'd say that's very profound. I'm starting to see why Clara likes being around you." Lenoria sighed. "If only I was so lucky."

"The day will come when people will want to be around you, too. Clara told me the kind of woman you once were. Don't let those bullies make you cage her in the depths of your soul."

Lenoria shook her head disapprovingly. "You have a weird and naive way of thinking, old man. But...I like it."

"Why do you do the things you do, Gardens?"

"Time and a place, Jean."

"I wish you would hurry up. I have places I need to be."

"You asked me to tell you everything. We're almost there."

"..."

"Lenoria needed time before she could open up. Clara and I bonded with her on the following days, because she had nowhere else to be. She even took some extra credit courses to bring her grades back up, but nothing really happened until a week later..."

"You remember when you asked me about Sage?"

"I remember, Lenoria. But you don't have to say anything unless you're comfortable saying it."

A week after Lenoria began to open up, she and Clara had wrapped up their extra credit course for the day. Before she could leave, Lenoria looked troubled.

"I have to tell someone." Lenoria took a deep breath. "Sage went to my house about eight nights ago. He said...he said he murdered someone on the year I started out in the Guild."

Instructor Gardens and Clara were shocked to hear this, but Lenoria was far from done.

"He said it was an accident. Someone in the Amphibonacci family hired him to take out the kid of a rival gang leader to send a message, but an old dwarf got in his way. Because of that, he fled to hide from both the police and the mob."

"!" Starflower stammered in place as he remembered the horse-faced girl. "T-that child! Then her father must be-!"

Instructor Gardens had to know more. "Lenoria, are you 100% sure that's what he said?"

The girl confirmed it with a nod. "He said it so casually, and even asked me to pack up to go home because he could feel the mob closing in on him. I told him I couldn't because..." She looked over at Clara. "...because I didn't want to abandon my friend. The reason I was so sleepy that first day was because we argued all night until I told him to leave and never come back. Right when things were finally getting better for me..."

Clara was touched by the earlier comment, but she, too, had something in her mind. "Why did he even take the job? The deed itself was horrible enough, but a kid?"

"He said he was desperate and needed the money after he gambled away all of his savings."

"Isn't he from some monastic order? I thought monks were supposed to 'wash away all worldly desires,' or so they say."

"Yeah, but back when he journeyed with my dad, he was a terrible gambler."

"What would you like to do, Lenoria?" Asked Instructor Gardens.

The girl seemed lost. "I don't know. He's family, but I know the right thing would be to turn him in. But I was so angry that night that it didn't even occur to snatch a piece of cloth from him or something so we could track him later. Even if I wanted to help the police, there's no way for me to do so now."

"Any idea where he went?"

"No." Lenoria plopped back down on her desk, mentally exhausted from the stress as well as the day's work. Clara reached out to her for a hug while Instructor Gardens looked out the window. It was still early for a spring afternoon, and sunset wouldn't start for another couple of hours. The older man had prepared himself to talk about this at length.

"There's only one thing we can do when we're at a loss on what to do: We do what we can," he finally said. "Lenoria, do you know the name of the man who was murdered?"

"Yeah, I heard it was an alchemist berserker warrior from the south pole. His name was Olen, and he died a hero..." Lenoria opened up one of her textbooks. She opened it up to a page she knew by memory, and on it she had placed a yellow flower as a bookmark. She held it up for Clara and the instructor to see. "I heard the caretaker say that even his closest friend stopped visiting after a while, so I've been leaving yellow roses on his grave ever since the night I found out."

"They are said to represent strong ties," said the instructor.

"Right. Maybe his soul moved on, but I got to thinking. What if he's floating around and is sad he had been forgotten? That's why I got the roses; to keep his spirit at peace, and to remind his friend that he's still there whenever he decides to visit again. I'm sure they had a strong bond, perhaps even strong enough to transcend life and death. I'd like to think so, anyway."

----------

"It...can't be. This must be a trick!"

"I have no reason to lie, Jean. But I knew you wouldn't take me at my word, which is why I have this candle with me." Headmaster Gardens held up the candle tray, its base now coated with melted wax from the flame that had burned up until this point. As if on cue, the flame went out, as did the chance for the men to trust each other's words from here on out without a shadow of a doubt. "Lenoria was innocent the whole time. She had no idea Master Sage took part in your friend's murder until after three years of suffering at your hands, and even then she never made the connection between you two. No one did, until now."

"No. No!" Starflower combed back the hair dangling in front of his face with a crazed expression. "I won't accept this! Immigrants still brought their petty wars with them, and because of them Olen was killed! This is still their fault! Amphibonacci. Had I known he was responsible, I would have burned him and his family to the ground a lot sooner!"

"Perhaps so, but all you're doing now is deflecting the blame of your own actions. How do you even live with yourself? Instead of investigating your friend's murder, you went after a poor girl who didn't even have anyone to defend her! I'm glad she overcame her anguish despite everything you've done to hold her back. Clara and I stopped her from turning into you!"

All Starflower wanted now was for Headmaster Gardens to shut up, especially after such a damning statement. But there was no stopping the incensed headmaster, who had every right to be upset.

"You tried to break Lenoria's spirit, and while you succeeded for a little while, you failed in the end. Yet thanks to you, other students followed your example. The charred corpses of the usual bullies were found near Omar Hassan's body." Headmaster Gardens pointed at three separate epitaphs. "Those are their epitaphs. Even after Clara gave her testimony to the police, no one will remember them as the boys who pushed another past the brink of despair. Just like Omar, they were victims, too. Yours."

The epitaphs may have been mere inscriptions, but it was as if hundreds of eyes stared directly through Starflower. All of his efforts to break Lenoria as a petty gesture to avenge Olen instead snowballed into the destruction of the Guild he himself had improved over several years. He may not have been directly responsible, but his actions drove others to physically and mentally torture their peers simply because of the way they looked.

He may not have made the fire, but he helped create it. And he was the only one around still holding a match.

"Your efforts were all for nothing. All you've managed to do was cause more suffering on this road of destruction. These epitaphs are a reminder of the irreversible damage you have caused to both the Guild's reputation and to every family who's lost someone that awful day."

Headmaster Gardens listened to Starflower take rapid breaths through his teeth. The disgraced elf's emotions had become a turbulent maelstrom inside his soul, a sure sign of an incoming outburst dreaded for its unpredictability.

But all that remained inside Starflower was guilt. And just like a child facing a death in the family, he did not know how to deal with it. "I thought my plan was foolproof. Someone, somehow, had to pay for Olen's departure. Tsukino was the only one who could lead me to the murderer. Had I simply asked her to help me from the start..." He shook his head. "No. At that point, she was on good terms with him. But I could have investigated a little more, yet my own rage blinded me to reason. I should have questioned the mobs that plague this city. I had the tools to get the truth out of them. I still do. But instead, I chose the easier route. Mentally torturing Tsukino did not bring the satisfaction I had hoped for, but it was still cathartic in its own way."

Starflower, already exhausted, bent a single knee. He thought back on his past self from almost four decades ago, an adventurer who had grown from a novice wizard to a master in a matter of years. A man who experienced the reflection of flames dance in his red eyes as he blasted evil cults to oblivion, with cheeks that experienced the kisses of the young maidens he saved more than the tears from his own eyes.

That man was long gone. He was the first to die in his quest for revenge.

"Never could I have guessed she was completely innocent. I never realized I was only perpetuating and even accelerating the cycle of death. The ruins before us...are the result of my own folly, and mine alone. Olen would never have wanted this." He slammed his fist on the concrete floor. "Nor Ms. Tyler, for that matter. I swear to all of you, the day I raise my spellcasting hand on a student or alumni is the day I die! I will never make this mistake again!"

Satisfied with this result, Headmaster Gardens stared at the morning sky. "The fact you've come to acknowledge this on your own shows there's still good in you. This doesn't change the fact you destroyed many lives, and I hope the guilt you feel now follows you to the end of your miserable life."

The sound of a magical alarm could be heard throughout the entire school. Starflower's heart raced when he heard the voice of Constable Richards booming across the area, but Headmaster Gardens remained callous to the announcement.

"JEAN STARFLOWER, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! WE CAN DO THIS THE EASY WAY, OR THE HARD WAY! YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO SURRENDER, OR ELSE I'LL HAVE MY MEN SHOOT ON SIGHT AFTER I SEND THEM IN!"

"Bastard..." Starflower glared through his eyes of anguish. "I was wondering why you prattled on for so long. You were stalling for time!"

"In my defense, I informed the police of your presence right before I attacked you. But my point still stands." Instructor Gardens dropped his staff on the ground. "It was never my intention to kill you, but you must still atone for what you've done. Will you continue on this quest of self-destruction? Or will you turn yourself in to the police and face justice? You have less than a minute to make your choice!"