After some thought, Rollo nearly choked as he realized the ominous fear was coming to life! He gasped and grimaced in horror, "You mean… One of those two idiots picked me as a candidate?! But how long ago was that?! No, this cannot be true!"
She scowled and shot a needle into his neck forcing him to sit still as she glared at him, "Pipe down and listen! Didn't I just say you're free to kick up the fuss to the headmage after everything is over? If you keep letting your emotion take the best of you all the time, you may as well go to Night Raven College for an exchange program! Hmph!"
He glared at her but he could not do anything as he sat still. She ignored his glare and pulled out the needle from his neck, "Run around like a headless chicken again and I may as well just prop you next to the gargoyles! Hmph!"
Having been forced to digest all of the information at a steady pace he finally opened his mouth, "Have those guys lost it?! I was probably just a child when they decided this? Who in the world chose me?!"
"That would be your gramps." She huffed in dismay.
"Huh?"
"Your gramps." She explained, "According to records and recounts, the last rival and old friend of the headmage is your grandfather who carried the surname of Flamme. When talk of the pupils came up, he eagerly began boasting about how talented you were and believed you have the heart to care for everyone. He hoped you would eventually learn how to care for the entire city under our teacher's guidance. So, when your younger brother was born, he introduced you to our teacher."
"But that's crazy! Not just that, but I have no memories of him." Rollo shook his head in disbelief.
"Well duh, you don't. You lost your memories from a trauma years ago. The very same trauma that led you to create last night's event." She pointed out, "Rollo, what you remember about the event and what transpired after is not how you remembered. Or rather, your tragedy didn't just end with your brother's passing. Did you even remembered what happened through that narrrow mind of yours? Blinded by anger and self-pity?"
Though clearly annoyed by her choice of words, Rollo forced himself to stop this time and suddenly realize he actually didn't remember anything aside from blaming everyone for what he himself couldn't do. Just what happened to his parents who raised them? They had been silent all that time before suddenly reaching out to him again and even had him write back to them often since the incident. Their worry was unusual…
Peony shook her head in pity as she could see the cogs turning in his mind. She opened her mouth and continued, "I can't say much or it may cause you to start having spasms. However, you and your brother are your grandfather's pride and joy. Nothing short according to my teacher. However, he also noticed that things weren't quite right with his own children despite everything looking so bright. He left you and your brother with my teacher until you were five to take care of some family matters. However, when my master went to fetch you from school one day, the two of you simply vanished. Then they learnt of your grandfather's passing and that the two of you were taken back by your father. After that, our teacher could only see you two on occasions only because your uncle and aunt bought you two the time to meet with him."
Hearing her words, Rollo was confused. It had felt as though everything was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't remember everything. A sense of fear and insecurity gripped his chest as he frowned, "An uncle and aunt? There must've been some mistake. My father is an only child. I never had an uncle or aunt."
"I never said your father had a sibling." She sighed and shook her head, "This matter would be better discussed by your guardians than me anyway. As for the current headmage, he was chosen by the president."
"He must've had a special connection with the president then." Rollo frowned.
She sighed, "Rollo, do you know what the current or perhaps the last headmage's name that you heard of?"
Rollo frowned as he thought carefully before opening his mouth, "No."
"Tropin Trill."
"Tropin… Trill…" His eyes suddenly snapped wide open like saucers as he looked to her in disbelief, "But the headmage we know is Axel Trill. You mean, they are related?"
Peony nodded her head and began, "The headmage's disappearance and his son's actions… It all began around half a decade ago. Before that, master was summoned by the queen of Briar Valley to tutor a young human princess living amongst a kingdom of light faes. He was escorted to the palace where he struggled to teach the princess who disliked sitting in his class for less than a minute. However, he continued to pour his heart and strength to educating the young girl and getting to know her better. Time passed with these constant visits when our teacher received a phone call. He ended class right then and there and urgently left the palace promising the princess to return but never did. That day… He discovered that the two brothers nearly got into an accident where the youngest used his magic to retaliate only to hurt himself. He quickly returned and contacted his son to send him to the children's home. However, upon arriving, he suffered a seizure and collapsed into a coma on the spot. The son took him to each nearby hospital, however as our teacher had a severe physical handicap from birth, many doctors believed he would not make it and did not accept him. It was only when he came upon a traveling healer that he attached a magic artifact to his father and managed to preserve his life. However, he never awoken."
Hearing this, Rollo was shocked. He never expected someone would just drop everything like that to hurry back to see him. Still, he didn't remember there being an accident when the accident happened. If possible, he'd like not to remember the scene at all had it not been replaying in his mind all this time. However, somewhere inside the pit of his stomach swirled with unsettling feeling as though the ominous feeling was not enough. He thought carefully before cautiously decided to ponder on the incident a little more. He hesitated to open his mouth and ask but after much courage he opened his mouth, "The headmage… what did he look like?"
Peony raised a brow in surprise but didn't stop him as she answered, "Our teacher was born handicapped with a deformed body. Due to the irregularities including the shape of his skull, he often suffered seizures and required a cane to walk around. He had a lazy eye caused by the uneven shape fo the eye socket and his skull seem to have a slight slope. He has a bad haunchback but that didn't stop him from wanting to walk around and explore."
"I'm surprised you know so much." He frowned before pondering, "However…"
As time went by, he suddenly remember a dark silhouette. It was a scary shape, but he remembered feeling wrapped around by warmth as his baby brother at that time slept in the man's building arms. The scent of the sun light wafted around him as a baby bottle was handed to him followed by a familiar soft voice, "Easy does it now. After you check the temperature, tip the bottle and insert it into his mouth. Once he starts suckling and no milk spills out, you know he is eating his own meal. Don't worry. The bottle is as tight as it can be- oh… It'll be all right. Want to help me prepare another bottle?"
Recalling the hoarse yet soft voice, Rollo couldn't help but feel this inexplicable warmth in him settling him down from all the worries and mood swings he just had. Finally he opened his mouth, "Why now? Why did he only come back now?"
She shook her head in disappointment, "According to the gargoyles, they discovered a recovery pill while patrolling the city and gave it to him. He recovered quickly and awakened a couple weeks prior to sending out the invitations to this gathering. Unfortunately, the first thing he overheard was your plans and your phone fell into his lap. That was when he messaged the Royal family and me right away."
"The headmage."
"Your teacher is all right."
"Then, won't the current headmage come after me?" Rollo hesitated.
Peony grumbled, "If he did, then you're an idiot and he's a nimrod."
Ignoring his confusion, she stood up and threw him a chess piece, "That piece has teleportation magic in it. You can only use it twice. I suggest you ask your guardians about the situation. See ya tomorrow."