Unexpected Reaction...

As Poppy met Chase's eyes, it looked as if she was trying to convey some sort of message to him. 

The mockery of the classroom quickly dimmed down into quiet snickers, and low banter.

He ignored the noise, and frowned while staring into The Ivory Princess's crimson eyes from afar. 

'Don't tell a soul.'

That could be the only thing that made sense for her to say. 

However, Chase wanted to stand up and out her, right then and there. 

'Why should I get shamed for having the same problem as one of the few princesses of the continent?'

He thought, grinding his teeth together. 

Eventually, he looked away, as the teacher neared him.

Making slow strides up the stairs, and over to his row of seating, her expression was completely unreadable. 

Once she got in range of sight of the blackened shards, her eyes dimmed, and her expression turned grim.

"Nameless Child, you may be excused if you wish, those are truly gruesome wounds."

She paused, her voice nearly a whisper.

"I'm fine, It really isn't a big deal."

He said, forcing a smile.

"No no, I suggest you take a leave of absence for the day, I'll let Headmaster Leander know of this, so you won't get into any trouble."

Her voice was laced with a sense of demand, that slowly crept into her words.

Chase got up slowly, grabbing his things, and wincing at the shards of crystal still stuck in his forearm. 

"Yes ma'am, sorry for causing a distraction."

He apologized quietly, while in reality, he did not care that much at all. 

"Head to the infirmary, after you leave..."

She said, still looking down at the remains of the energy crystal on his desk.

As he slowly stepped down the stairs, she remained standing where the scene had occurred. He kept his head down, studying the lining of the mahogany floorboards as he neared the exit.

He could feel hundreds of stares aimed toward him, plenty of distasteful, disgusted, yet few that were truly worried.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He cursed the gods, as he left room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

The walk to the infirmary was long, and dreadful. 

Already passing the seventh floor of the academy's stairwell, he passed a group of students near a big wooden board on the wall.

He began to slow down, while listening to the student's collective voices. 

One boy spoke.

"Ah, I really wanna get the princess too like me man."

A boy with black hair, with white highlights said.

"Oh please Kono, as if you of all people would ever have a shot."

Another boy with a lighter shade of brunette hair had said, with a humored tone.

He ignored the annoying conversation, and focused on the students toward the front of the group.

"This is the first time in decades, that the Aetherball team will hold schoolwide tryouts!"

One of the boys unseeable boys said.

"I know, usually they just scout new first years, and convince them to sign up before the year even starts. I can't even believe it!"

One of his friends said, with excitement in his voice. 

Chase eventually passed the group of people, as he found no interest in the topics they were discussing. 

'Damn this place, I wish I could just go home.'

He thought somberly, finally spotting a small door found within the eastern branch of the academy. 

Slowly opening the door, he made his way in, and spotted a girl who looked only a year or two older than him, wearing a white tunic, and baggy leather pants.

She had soft facial features, and a tired expression on her face. 

Dark eye bags sat under her bright blue eyes. 

"Hi, I'm Anna the assistant healer. You must be Chase?"

She said, giving him a polite smile. 

He nodded.

"I was sent down here for this."

He said quietly, lifting his sleeve up, showing her the impaled black fragments in his forearm. 

She winced.

"Ah, come this way then."

She said swiftly, motioning him over to one of the medical stalls. 

He followed, and sat down on the soft reclining chair, that stood at the far end of the small stall.

"Can you extend your arm please, and hold it out."

She said, putting a pair of rubber gloves on, followed by picking up some sort of medical tool.

Chase listened, still lost in his own thoughts.

"This will probably hurt, a lot."

She said, giving him a reassuring smile, as if she had told him that it was going to be sunny with a chance of rainbows later in the day.

He rolled his eyes, and patiently held his arm out.

"Alright."

He said, void of any emotion.

Swiftly, and without warning, she yanked the first shard out of his flesh.

"Son of a bi-"

"Hey! I said it would hurt."

She said with a frown, while tossing the black shard onto a nearby table.

He covered his mouth with his other hand, as he bit down on his palm. 

After what felt like an eternity of suffering, she eventually set the tool down, and began to gather a needle and some string.

All that was left on his pale forearm, were semi-deep flesh wounds left from from the crystal's fragments. 

He set his other hand on his palm, as he continued to hold his shaky arm up. 

'You would think after having my leg completely destroyed, and my shoulder embedded with a dagger, I'd have a better tolerance to pain.'

He thought, his mind full of resentment. 

Not even knowing the true reason behind his anger, he let out a quiet, yet shaky exhale.

Maybe, he just really wanted too get these school years over with so that he could murder the people who had taken his life from him. 

He continued to come up with plenty of his excuses for his pent up anger, as the kind girl stitched the wounds in his arm back together. 

"you know... These shards should have completely severed your arm..."

She said, still focused on the stitching process. 

"What do you mean?"

He asked, being brought out of his dark thoughts. 

"Energy shards are strong, perhaps even stronger than some rare metals, and you're only about fourteen, with a low energy output. So, realistically these fragments could have rendered you without a hand."

Chase's expression darkened, as several memories came flooding back.

The time he had been slammed into his own wall by the savage giant. The time he should have died from the impact of the fall into the Hollow's den, and even the fatal poisoned dagger, that The Ivory Princess, had intended to kill him with.

"Could you tell me why?"

He asked, genuinely wanting to know the reason that he had survived so long.

She sighed, setting her needle and thread on the table closest to her.

"I'm not sure... Do you know what your axis affinity is?"

She asked, looking into his eyes, with what looked like real curiosity. 

Axis Affinity, was the noble term for a physical affinity. It is the raw energy that is built up inside of one's body, starting from the very moment they are born.

"I don't"

He said, avoiding her gaze.

"Hm, maybe it's a durability based one then...?"

She said shrugging.

"All done by the way, you can go now."

She said, with the same polite smile on her face, as he cleaned up the mess on the table. 

As Chase left the infirmary, a new curious thought arose within his mind.

'Durability based...'