Chapter Three

edited by @rsrdiall

Kayla didn't want to open her eyes, but the sunlight glaring in from the Jiju sky was burning through her eyelids.  Sighing she pulled the covers over her head.  She started to hear loud crashing waves and dolphin screeches.  Flipping the covers back, she stepped over her ugly slippers and went to the desk. Looking around she wondered where the new device had come from.

Placing her hand on the image of a glowing blue without thinking she let out a very unladylike fart.  Kayla not used to being in a room by herself looked around guiltily waiting for one of her three sibling to call her nasty.  

Oh yeah, they're not here with me, she thought sadly. They're at home listening to Dad talk about how to tell when grain was ready for harvest or listening to my step-mom sing folk songs as she made gaeran jim for breakfast. She felt a little wave of loneliness as she thought about her family. Her dad remarried Jael Quin when she and her brother were almost 7 and 9 years old.  Now she and her brother had two new siblings within a four year span.

"It is now 09:00," she recognized the overly jubilant voice as Tomas's. "Breakfast will be served in the dining hall until 10:00, the hall will close at 11:50.  All first year students are required to report to the main stairway by 12:00; those that are late will be immediately dismissed."

Kayla hurried to her closet and looked at the five varying shades of blue jumpsuits. What no dresses? She thought wondering when they had arrived.  Shrugging she grabbed the cobalt blue jumpsuit with hanger, reached in her duffel bag and pulled out the first pair of panties and bra she felt.

I need to unpack, she thought.  Walking into the bathroom she decided she'd have quick shower before hurrying to the dining room to eat.

----

Lucas hated eating in the dining room but Jacob loved sitting with the staff and students since it made them appear more amicable.  Lucas didn't like or trust people while Jacob loved to be fawned over.

Lucas pushed the mangosteen fruit that was still left on his plate around and looked down at his handheld. Picking up another bite of the sweet, tangy peach-like fruit he went over the details of the first years again.  None of the newbie males that he and Jacob were initially going to guide piqued his interest. They were all from prominent families and on screen appeared ideal. However in this case, ideal and boring had a lot in common.

He watched Jacob who was done eating and now watching the door but the Nah’Byian female hadn't come in for breakfast yet.  He was sure his friend wanted to see what Lucas hadn't told him last night.  He was just about to give up on her making an appearance when she walked in and the room went quiet.

Lucas didn't notice the silence initially until he realized Jacob was watching something. Following his friend’s gaze he stared at the pretty caramel complexioned girl that bumped into him. To his dismay, he saw Jacob was now staring giddily at her.  Lucas was awestruck by the girl looking unhappily at what was left of the meat.

---

Kayla had just walked into the dining hall and was greeted by silence and stares.  Shrugging it off she ignored them. Frowning inwardly at the lack of good food she grabbed the last red berry seed wheat muffin and a cherimoya fruit; she loved the custard like consistency and that it tasted like bananas.

She started to walk toward the beverage station when she felt a presence behind her.  The person had a very high power level that they were suppressing but she was still aware of it.   Slowly she turned around weary of the reception she'd get.

Kayla touched the spot where her necklace laid underneath, the stones had been passed down from her deceased mother. The gems once called fancies helped to suppress the power flow that emitted from her body.It  made her 78% power level register as 48%. She'd never learned how to suppress or detect power levels; the fancies did it for her.

Not sure who was about to greet her, Kayla looked up to the guy standing at least 6'2 and came face to chest with another work of art. "Wo--", she cut herself off before she finished the wow that was coming out of her now open mouth.  "Hi!"  Her voice was definitely high and squeaked.  She wished she could die after that greeting.

The young man smiled, "Hello!  I'm Jacob, Jacob Lawson." his voice dripped with warm, sexy charm. Her eyes widened and her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

“I think you’ve met my friend. I can see why he was so interested.  You’re definitely delectable, wish I would have seen you first,” he said in a whisper.

Kayla’s heart pounded so much in her ears she couldn’t really hear what he was saying. “What was that?”

She watched him look over at a table and smile again before he turned back to her. “Nothing.”

She realized they were being stared at by other students and wanted to quickly find a place to sit. Jacob pointed to the table he’d just been looking at and Kayla nodded. Minutes later Kayla couldn't believe she was sitting at the table with the guy she bumped into last night.  He looked even more gorgeous this morning with his blond hair styled in a way that made her want to run her fingers through it.  

She started eating her food with a gusto she didn't feel, as she felt all eyes on her.  She could hear people starting to talk as she sipped her coffee. She was glad there was no more silence but she could tell by some of the dirty or envious glances thrown her way they weren't saying anything nice.

As she looked around one girl caught her attention, she was sitting by herself in a maya blue uniform with her fire blue blazer buttoned all the way up to her chin.  The girl looked uncomfortable and lonely. Kayla wasn’t sure what to do on the one hand she hoped that if she introduced herself the girl wouldn't be snide to her. Yet she was a bit wary because the girl might have friends that just weren't in this dorm.

Lucas followed Kayla's line of sight and then leaned in closer. “She’s the only first year scholarship student. and definitely one of the smartest. She scored the highest of any female.”

“Where is she from?” Kayla asked deciding to take advantage of his willingness to share such information.

“She came from Mizu, a planet that’s more water than land.  The inhabitants of the planet are thought to be merpeople.”

Kayla nodded and turned her attention back to the girl.  She was attractive if you could get past the dyed purple hair, pinkish/brown eye color and the fact that her beige skin looked like it had never seen the light of day.  

"I'm Lucas Sinclair," he said before turning to look into her brown eyes.

Kayla choked on her muffin when he spoke to her.  His voice felt like it had rubbed all her.  His friend’s voice was like honey while his... Not that she personally knew much about sex but if she did his voice would surely be what wild hot sex on the beach felt like.  

Luckily Jacob took the initiative and started to slap her on the back with just enough force that made her full breast bounce.  She also started to pat herself on the chest before taking a large gulp of her warm coffee.  After what seemed like an eternity  she finally stopped.

She wiped her mouth and said “Thank you, Mr. Lawson.” She looked down to her feet and a slight blush appeared. "I'm Makayla Ward but you can call me Kayla." She was too afraid to smile at him because she had a horrible feeling that she'd have seeds from the muffin or coffee grounds in her teeth.

---------

Lucas aimed daggers his friend’s way.  Luckily he was his best and only real friend or he might be missing a few teeth and a limb or two. Kayla’s distracting scent also helped. He could smell a light mixture of vanilla, caramel and hints of coconut coming off her and when she sat the scent bellowed from her.

Lucas didn't know what to do when she started to cough after he introduced himself. He assumed she was choking after she recognized his name for a brief second because she looked at him like she wanted to eat him alive.  

He looked to Jacob who was watching the both of them with a smirk. He’s watching like he’s enjoying a comedy unfold.  The slight blush that crept up Kayla's face as she had sat in one of the seats next to Lucas was obvious though he tried his hardest to ignore it and what it did to him. When she looked down at her food he stole a quick peek at  her. Just to test the waters he looked away when he ate and felt her eyes on him too.

He knew Jacob was dying to say something but knew Lucas would crush his jugular if he made fun of this situation. When Kayla started to cough and Lucas could only sit there like a bump on a log. Jacob stood up, looked to Lucas then smiled before he walked behind Kayla and gave her few whacks on the back to help her.  Once she’d thanked him Jacob simply said,

“You’re welcome.” He looked at the pair again. “If you’ll both excuse me I’ve got some charity work to take care of. Later Lucas.” He walked away. He saw her look at him again and frowned. his silver pendants winking off his green blazer and she wanted to know more about him.

“I wonder what those silver pendants are for?” she asked herself.  Lucas smiled at  that not wanting to let on that he’d heard her. Kayla finished her food and looked over to her handheld to see the time   "I'm sorry Mr. St. Clair," she said quickly in a low voice. She stopped and began again in what she hoped was a casual voice. "I don't want you to think I wasn't listening, but could you tell me your name again?"

Lucas couldn't believe what he had just heard, he was sure that she started coughing because of his name but here she was asking him to repeat it.

Shrugging he started, "Lucas S-"

Cutting him off Kayla excitedly blurted out, "St. Claire?  Lucas St. Croix?"

Lucas started into her beautiful brown eyes from beneath the veil of her thick eyelashes. He  wondered if she wore mascara and swiftly pushed away the thought before he smiled, "Lucas Sinclair."  He watched silently as understanding of who he was filled her eyes. What he didn't see was a woman that was looking to use him as a tool to get something.

Lucas watched as the look in her eyes cycled through various emotions from confusion to fear and ended at guarded and distant.  He didn't like that she was mentally pulling herself away from him. Reaching over he grabbed her hand and smiled forcing her to look at him again.

------

Kayla stared into those midnight blue eyes not wanting to register that he was saying Sinclair and not St. Claire. If he was an Ah'Tarian with the last name Sinclair that meant he was of the Dragonis clan.  It took everything in her to tear her eyes from him and think about the other guy that approached her at the sideboard.  

Jacob Lawson, she finally remembered why that name sounded so familiar to her.  Lawson and Sinclair were both names synonymous with power.  Those two families were the most powerful. And according to both the Nah'Bye and Alliance history, those two families were the driving force behind the Bloody Wars. They were also responsible for  the so-called  'peaceful' acquisitions of planets into the Alliance.

"Lucas Jeremiah Sinclair?"  Kayla asked in what she hoped was a calm voice but knew it was laced with fear breaking on terror.

Kayla stared at his perfect teeth and then looked back to his eyes and started to feel like she was being sucked into a whirlpool.   She knew something wasn't right. The pulling sensation wasn't her imagination, she was falling into his eyes and couldn't pull away.  Her soul was being pried open, and all her thoughts about the Sinclair or Lawson names were being searched.  She couldn't stop him and when she realized what he was doing she started to try earnestly.  

"Stop," she whispered trying to break eye contact, as she felt another one of the shields in her mind get torn through. Lucas blew through them like tissue paper. She felt him pause briefly at the last one. She hoped she didn’t let on that it seemed to be stronger than what a level 48% should be able to use but minutes later that one was down too. Kayla was starting to panic. He was hurting her. She looked in his eyes and knew he wasn’t about to stop.  She could feel the tears in her eyes and the pressure in her head was building.  I can’t let this continue! She felt like her brain would start to drip out of her nose.

-----

Jacob could feel something wasn't right as he was talking to Ebony, the first year scholarship recipient from Mizu.  He looked over his shoulder and instantly zoomed in on what the issue was.  He surged to his feet and hurried back to the table he had just left.  Once there he could see the tears streaming down Kayla's face and blood coming from her nose.  

He quickly leaned over and whispered in Lucas ear while taking a firm grip on his shoulder.  "Lucas, stop" he whispered fiercely, "You're hurting her. Are you trying to kill her?  Why are you using so much force?  Stop! "

Jacob could see she was whimpering softly while tears ran down her face.  Small drops of blood were coming out of her nose; alerting him to the fact that Lucas was applying too much force.  With the strong grip on his arm Lucas released her immediately. Jacob knew Lucas would send a strong mental command directly to her mind. It was so that she wouldn't remember what just happened and lose her fear of the Sinclair and Lawson name.

Jacob glanced around and was relieved they were too far away from the other occupants in the dining hall to have seen anything.  He glanced back over at Ebony to see she was staring at them with a look of curiosity but she, too, was quite a distance and couldn't have seen why Jacob had rushed back over to Lucas and Kayla.

------

Kayla had a massive headache when she turned to glance back at her handheld.  She frowned because it seemed like only a few minutes had passed since the last time she looked at it but it showed that she had less than 30 minutes to get to the meeting location for the orientation.  

Standing and stared at Lucas, she had a vague memory or thought that was tugging at the back of her mind.  It was telling her to fear him, to steer clear, but frowning she didn't know why that thought would be there but didn't completely dismissed it.  When she saw Jacob staring at her with a worried expression she felt a brief chill and the thought that she needed to get away and stay away from both of them surfaced again.  She tried to grab hold of the thought but when she did the headache got even worse so she dismissed it.

"Your nose is bleeding a little," said a voice that was sugar personified.

Kayla turned to see a young woman that was a little shorter than her 5'5 height with vivid dyed neon purple hair holding out an intricate aqua and teal handkerchief. The young woman from earlier Lucas had told her about..  Taking it she wiped the blood from under her nose and smiled.. "I'll clean this and return it to you."  

She bent in close to the girl with curly chestnut hair and whispered. “You have some red seeds in your teeth.”  

Kayla placed the kerchief into the hidden pocket of the blazer. After waiting for an affirmative she said "Thank you."

"First year orientation starts soon do you want to go to the restroom first?"

Kayla stood up placing a not too steady hand to her forehead so they could go to the women's restroom.   "Sure.  I need to take something for this headache anyway."

“Let’s go! By the way, I’m Ebony Talisman.”

“Nice to meet you.” the young woman said still  trying to keep her mouth closed as much as she could. “ I’m Makayla Ward. Just call me Kayla.” With that said both ladies started to walk away until they heard Jacob's silken voice,

"The bathroom is the other way."

Both women stopped and turned in the opposite direction toward the restroom.

-----

Jacob watched as they walked into the alcove that led to the women’s dorm bathroom. Turning back to Lucas he wondered if he should even ask what he was doing in the open for everyone to see.

"I know you're mad, Jacob."

Jacob couldn't believe Lucas spoke first.   He never admitted to wrongdoing even if he was caught red handed.  He remembered when they were 12 and Lucas pulled a prank that broke Saia's arm. Sighing he raked his hand through his straight black hair.  "What were you thinking?" Waving his hand Jacob cut off any reply Lucas could give, "Never mind... Just tell me what you did. "

Lucas told him as quickly as he could what happened.  Jacob listened trying not to smile as Lucas told him that Kayla didn't care for Ah'Taria, Ah'Tarians or the Alliance.  Lucas continued to explain, “I told her to forget her preconceived conceptions of the Alliance and the Ah'Tarians. I also told her to forget what I’d just did."

"And here I was sure you would've added ‘Have sex with me.’ somewhere into the commands." said Jacob sarcastically.

Lucas smirked, "I should have added that but it slipped my mind."

Jacob was impressed that even though they didn't use that power often Lucas was able to filter through her mind so quickly and efficiently.   He was concerned that he didn't pick up on Lucas using it initially.  The reason why they could feel each other use it was to make sure the other party's mind wasn't crushed unnecessarily under the force of it.  Checks and balances, the Dragonist checked and the Phoenix balanced.  

Jacob stood up because he knew it was time to head to the meetup location.  "Did you pick our new team?”

Lucas looked down at his handheld and grimaced. “No I didn’t pick anyone.”

“Well get on with it!”

“Alright,” he sighed. Jacob watched while he selected Ma'Kayla Ward, Ebony Talisman and four other names randomly. Lucas looked at  Jacob’s narrowed eyes and shrugged “ You could have done it yourself.”