Scarlet

The office is dead silent as I sit on one sofa facing three other sofas, where Belle, Allen, and Cynthia are sitting. And none of us say a word as we stare at each other for who knows how long.

As soon as the Demonic Assault ended, I got a message from Allen – a group message at that, one with all four of us in it – telling us to go to his office in the Silver Association. So I quickly called a cab and headed straight here.

Although the cab driver wouldn’t stop peeking at me through the rearview mirror, likely surprised at seeing a Guardian taking a cab.

Which reminds me that I should save up credits to buy a car. Preferably a magi-tech car to drive through the air-streets, which have a lot less annoying laws and danger to them as long as you use the navigation system in the vehicle.

First I’d have to get a license though.

“Should you really be letting your mind wander at a time like this?” Tar asks, making me stiffen up slightly.

Yeah, probably not.

The conversation in the room met an immediate standstill after we all sat down, and Allen broached the subject of adoption for the first time with all four of us in the room. And while all three of them were clearly all for it, they also showed hesitation as they looked at me, likely wondering what I would say.

So in the end, no one said a word.

“Scarlet?” Allen asks, a pleading note to his voice, breaking the silence. “Please. I understand that you’re wanting to wait till you’re a Class III Guardian to be cleared absolutely by the public of being a changeling, but you’re already popular enough with the public that I don’t think it would hurt to adopt you even when you’re Class II.”

I purse my lips at the thought.

He does have a point. No matter how distasteful I find a lot of the attention directed at me, it does help me a lot in this regard.

After all, the more popular Guardians are often treated better by both the people in general and the government. Until they do something the people don’t like that is and their popularity crashes.

But that normally only happens with those people who are actually trying to get popularity in the first place. The Guardians like me who aren’t bothering with the media or the populace at all are almost always liked. After all, there’s nothing to really slip up and accidentally say or do when I’m not putting up a front in the first place and am just being myself. Assuming the populace liked us in the first place that is.

So at the rate things are going, I kind of doubt people would care even if my status as an orphan were to come to light after I’m already Class II. In fact, I can see a lot of them not believing it, mostly because there isn’t really much of a paper trail regarding orphans’ status as orphans in the first place.

Can’t remember how all the paperwork for elementary through high school worked for an orphan, but that’s for obvious reasons, seeing as I wasn’t the one who filled them out.

At some point during my line of thought, I ended up pulling my legs into the chair with me and hugging them to my chest. A bad habit that I always have when anxious and unsure, which the others clearly know about because I see them sharing glances with each other after seeing me do it.

“If you’re uncomfortable, we could always still wait till you reach Class III,” Cynthia says, pausing for a second before adding, “or even Class IV if that’s still too-”

“No,” I whisper, cutting her off with a light shake of my head. “Class II is fine.”

All three of them have drastically different reactions. Allen, who had been clenching and unclenching his fist – a habit of his own kind of like my hugging my legs – suddenly freezes in place, his jaw hanging open. Meanwhile Cynthia smiles brightly with a few tears beginning to leak down her face.

Belle just jumps up from her seat with a loud whoop.

After regaining his composure, Allen clears his throat and says, “In that case, we’ll have the adoption during the summer between your first and second years of university. Is that alright with you?”

I blink once at that before tilting my head, lowering my legs back to the ground. “Why then? I’ll probably reach Class II during the winter break, or at least during next semester.”

Belle’s eyes bulge out at that, and Cynthia frowns without saying anything – clearly not liking the implication that I’ve leveled almost a hundred levels within a semester and the danger that comes with it – but Allen just coughs and says, “Well, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but-”

Cynthia cuts him off by saying, “I’ll be heading back to the front lines soon and won’t be able to come back till the Spring at the very least. Allen also wants to get it done after the Class V Fracture that has been predicted to be happening by Purple at the start of the Summer, so that the higher ups would be more willing to take his contribution to it in mind when deciding on whether or not to let this adoption go through.” Belle opens her mouth to object, but Cynthia just raises her hand and adds, “You know very well why we will be having issues with getting this adoption to go through, but those issues aren’t the worst of it.”

Belle goes silent.

Right. Because of White.

This will be a bit of an uphill battle.

Putting that aside for the moment, I really hope there isn’t a blood lycan in this upcoming Class V Fracture.

I’m pretty sure there was one in the last one though, so there shouldn’t be another in this one, right?

There has never been two Class V Fractures with repeat noble clan demons in them before, so why start now?

“You need to learn to stop jinxing things,” Tar mutters rather darkly.

Too bad. It helps me feel less stressed when I try to convince myself something I don’t like won’t happen.

Then there’s the fact that I’m going to have to tell them about me being half blood lycan before this adoption happens… because I don’t want there to be any deception or anything when we become a family.