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scikaiju

Guest
Once Jules got to the dining area she immediately wanted to know when the food got better. When she was here in her younger days it was pretty much a gruel type slop, one that was supposedly highly nutritious but it was still a dark grey slop in her memory, not to mention borderline tasteless. And the taste you could get wasn't all that great. On special occasions it was a light brown, the taste didn't change one bit, but it made it seem a little more special. Walking with two plates of food that actually looked like food in her hands and her arm weaved around a spare chair she found, she was not going to sit on that floor and eat. It was an interesting balancing act, but she pulled it off. Even opening the door to the room Shae was confined to without spilling anything. So they sat there in the room and mainly talked while they ate, Jules was trying to get a better read on the young girl, who had to be fourteen at the most, she would have to remember to ask Olivia or somebody else who wasn't Walter about it.



But she did seem happier, not in the getting away with it way, more in the relieved that someone seemed to believe her claims of innocence sort of way. And having dealt with her mentor she couldn't exactly blame the girl. Jules made a mental note to ask the other instructors around here about what she was like before being paired up with Walter. “So you're from a family of Makai Priest too?”, she asked after swallowing a bit of her lunch.



“Yes ma'am,” She answered as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Father always said my grandfather worked for the Senate. But I can't find any proof of that in the family records.”



Tilting her head a bit Jules asked, “Why wouldn't you believe that he worked for the Senate? If any of my family worked for the Senate I'd be proud as hell.”



“He also claimed he lifted a Knights sword without any training what so ever,” Shae added.



“Ah,” Jules said in understanding. “He's the exaggerting type I see.” Shae just nodded. “There's one in every family I suppose. I have a cousin like that. Fortunately he lived really far away so I didn't have to deal with it all that often, because I would have gotten in trouble for beating him up to get him to shut up. You on the other hand,” she shook her head, but she was still studying her, particularly the way she kept pulling at the hem of her dress. Like she wasn't used to wearing one. Boy had she been there growing up “Was there something special going on that you needed to get dressed up for?” Shae looked like she started to shrink up a bit, that wasn't going to work for her, she just got Shae to open up a little Jules was not going to let her back track now. “Trying to impress one of the boys around here?”



“No, Shae said quickly, but Jules did catch the hint of a smile cross her face momentarily.



“Oh there's somebody around here that caught your eye all right.” Sitting her plate on the floor Jules watched her, “When I was here most of the girls your age had eyes on the young Knights training across the way.” She was definitely blushing right now. “Aha, I knew it, you got a crush,” Jules teased her with a grin. Seeing how embarrassed she was getting Jules decided to pull back on the teasing, for now any way. “Hey there's nothing wrong with it, I married a Knight after all, “And even though it's only been a few hours she was missing that particular Knight already. “But there wasn't much intermingling between the two camps when I was here.,” she said after she thought about it for a bit. “Somehow I doubt Olivia and her counterpart in the Knight's camp have gotten all that lenient since then, so why the dress?”



Shae was hesitant to answer, but Jules just waited until she was ready to answer. “Walter said this was how a young lady was supposed to dress.” Hearing that Jules immediately pinched the bridge of her nose, if true, she didn't fully realize how deep his idiocy went. “Are you okay?”, Shae asked.



She offered her a small smile, “Just trying to decide if the thoughts of hurting him in the ways I'm imaging is going to lead me to darkness or not. Not the first time I asked myself that, believe me. And not just about Walter either. I mean I just learned something about him that makes what you said make perfect sense but still.” Gathering her plate she stood and placed it on the plate on the chair.



“Where are you going?”, Shae asked.



“You're room,” Jules told her, “I'm going through your stuff to see I I can figure out who your crush is.” Shae immediately looked mortified. “I'm joking, I'm joking. But I am going through your closest and figure out what you usually wear. I'm going to need you to feel like yourself if we're going to get to the bottom of this.” Shae still didn't look happy with her privacy being violated but seemed happier with her actual goal.



“Okay,” she said.



“And I want you moving around a little,” she told her as Jules pulled her to her feet, “I mean it, I don't want to see you in either of these chairs when I get back. You're not bound to it.” She reached out for the door, “Oh and make sure no one touches my plate I'm not finished with it yet.”



“Yes ma'am,” she said again. This time Jules was sure it was a automatic response. She remembered saying it to the instructors around here when she was younger.



“And just stick to Jules if you'd please,” She told her. “I'm not old enough to be a 'ma'am' yet.” She didn't wait for a response as she left the room.
 
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scikaiju

Guest
It took a little snooping but she found where Shae was living at while she was learning here. It was pretty much the same when she was there, a dorm like structure made out of wood with rooms that usually housed more than one trainee. So hopefully she had a room mate that could help identify her usual outfit. And if there were close maybe get someone else's take on Shae. See what she was like with out a proper adult around. Finding the room in question she knocked lightly, wanting to see if there was any one in there before walking in. “Who's there?', somebody called out. Hopefully she was a talker and wouldn't need much convincing that she was on Shae's side in all of this.



“My names is Jules,” she replied. Okay now where did she go from here? Well she might as well go with the first reason why she came here, “I'm getting some clothes for Shae to change into.” There was some quick footsteps right before the door flung open, fortunrtely inwards. Jules wasn't sure she could have gotten out of the way in time to avoid getting clocked in the head.



She looked at another trainee, maybe roughly around Shae's age with red hair. Jules couldn't help but noticed at how suspicious she was looking at her. “You're going to let her get out of that outfit her mentor is making her wear?”



“As fast as I can.” Jules told her. “And I'm hoping you have a better idea of her usual style, so that would be a huge help.” She did seem surprised at her request. But she still stood in the doorway blocking her entry. “Be a bigger help if I could come in.”



“Just because you didn't barge in like her current mentor does,” she said as she stepped aside to let her in.Jules took a quick glance around as she stepped through the door. The room itself looked like only one person lived in here. One side while not exactly sloppy did have that lived in look that her old dorm did. The other side was pretty much immaculate. The only thing that gave away that anyone was using it was the clothes in the closet and a couple of personal items carefully arranged on the desk. “I've never seen you around here before.”



Now came the tricky part. “That's because Olivia asked me to come look over the situation Shae got caught up in.” It looked like she was going to shut down on here, exactly what she didn't want to happen. “ Look I'm going to tell you what I told Shae. If she's innocent...”



“She is innocent,” she insisted. Okay they were definitely friendly at least.That could be a help in the long run.



Jules continued, “Then I will do everything I can to get her out of this mess and get the person who actually did it. Both of you have my word on that. And I need you to be truthful with me too. Any lie, even if you think it's going to help Shae, might make her situation worse. What's she being accused of, well it's more serious than you might think. So please work with me. I'm sorry I never got a name.”



“Nadia,” she said after a moment. Then she added, “You're not going to treat her like that creep does?”



That question about certain thoughts leading her to darkness popped in her head again. And she didn't even want to ask for clarification on what she meant by that. “I wouldn't even treat my worst enemy like that. And considering that's the same guy you're talking about should say something.” Nadia smiled slightly as she headed for the closest on the immaculate side of the room and started going it. “I'm just guessing this is Shae's side of the room? And she always keeps it this tidy?”



“That it would, and yes she does.,” Nadia told her as she started pulling various bits of clothes from the closet and putting them on the bed. Jules looked at that side of the room, that was what she was afraid of. If Shae was this meticulous about her belongings then she could be capable of coming up with what ever spell was used to get past a barrier. Because something like that took the type of dedication she was seeing right now. Okay it was more than likely Shae wasn't the only person here who was this much of a neat freak. It was time to test something out. “Let's say I moved something, just a little, Do you think she'd notice?”



Stopping going through Shae's closet Nadia looked at her, like she was trying to decide if she was looking for things to pin the thefts on her roommate. Quickly thinking Jules told her, “Because every time I see a desk this organized I just want to mess with it and see how annoyed the person gets.” It was true enough to a certain extent, She did want to mess the person who was this neat. Nadia still stared at her intently.



“It depends on how much you moved it,” she ended up saying apparently believing her reason for the moment as she returned the the closet.”Actually I was playing a little game for a while after we were roomed together those first couple of weeks, just to see what she would notice. And if she got annoyed she kept it to herself.”



“Seriously, she didn't look annoyed at all?”



“Well,” she started then hesitated. Jules silently willed her to be honest but didn't push it wanting the information to come out freely. It still took Nadia a couple of seconds to finish what ever thought she started. “Well those times she did notice she'd look at me, although I made sure my head was always busy looking at something, a book, a scroll my group was assigned to study and try and decipher.”



“They still do that?” she scrunched up her nose a bit. “I hated that exercise. You had to figure out everything out from scratch and if you missed one little mean nothing thing the instructor would look at you like you insulted his mother.” Apparently sensing a bit of a kindred spirit where that particular assignment lay Nadia stepped a little closer as she began laying out the clothes she finally settled on, a dark dress shirt. Some knee length pant, then she started looking for some accessories..



“As I was saying Shae would let out this breath,” she did an imitation of said breath, “Kind of like that. But she wouldn't readjust anything, just leave it like it was.” Okay she wasn't that much of a neat freak then. “It stopped being fun after the first couple of times since she wasn't reacting any more, honestly I think she was surprised when she noticed I stopped. Jules you got to believe me, Shae isn't capable of doing whatever it is they're saying she did. She doesn't have an evil bone in her body.”



Jules wanted to believe that, it went with the image she painted of the girl in her head after she first talked to her. Unfortunately she knew first hand that no matter how well you thought you know a person they could act in a way you never imagined they were capable of. Then the door burst open with a slam. Jules already had her madou brush in her hand and pointed at the intruder. She just looked at Walter as he stood there looking so smug and superior. In the back of her mind she realized she should lower her brush considering he was a quote unquote friendly, but her arm wasn't moving. “Finally going to prove me right traitor.” he sneered.



Nadia got her wits back first as she walked around Jules and tried to get in his face. “You have no right to barge in here whenever you want...”



Walter pushed her out of the way only to be stopped by Jules pointing her brush at his chest. He looked surprised at first, then annoyed as she started to move him back. “She's right, this is a private room and off limits to the likes of you. So kindly turn around and leave before I make you leave. What if she was getting dressed?”



“It would serve her right walking around like a slut. And you better be careful before I start digging into any involvement you might have had in this.” Finally moving her brush Jules kicked him in the gut to force him closer to the door. “This is my crime scene!:, he snapped at her Jules who was less than impressed with the display. “I have every right to be in here!”



Eyes narrowing she coolly told him, “Not any more it's not. Now leave before before I make Olivia cross with me.”



“You're Knight's not here to protect you this time,” he tried to tower over her, to seem more imposing. She faced Horrors with sharper teeth then this idiot. Why was she so worried about running into him earlier?



He didn't even hide his shock as not only didn't she not back down, she was imposing her will on the situation, backing him either further away from Nadia. “Let's get one thing perfectly clear. That day you guys took me to be questioned,” she smiled a predator smile, unnerving him even more, “I wasn't the one he was protecting. Now get out of here.”



“Did you even see where I found the evidence that pointed toward that little tramp?”, he looked down as she cracked the knuckles on her right hand.
 
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scikaiju

Guest
“Her name is Shae,” she said sternly. “I suggest you remember that for the future.” She finally stepped back and looked around the room, “Okay where was this oh so damning evidence that pointed toward her?”



He started looking smug again as he pointed right at the desk on her side of the room. Jules immediately walked over and started opening drawers trying to see if there was any indication oh a secret panel or something. “No,” he bellowed right there sd he pointed at the desk, no he was pointing at the top. Jules started pushing on various spots trying to trigger a hidden panel “No you dumb,” a sharp look from her quieted him for the moment. Then he reached past her and started tapping a particular section over, “Right here.”



Jules was dumbfounded, and couldn't hide it making Walter look superior again. She looked over at Nadia, “It was out in the open?”



“Right there,” although she looked sick to admit it out loud. Jules looked around the room, again taking a look at how immaculate Shae kept her side of things



“Tell me Walter,” she said addressing him, obviously confused she wasn't immediately apologizing for being proven wrong or something, “was that door locked when you discovered whatever it was you found.



“What does that have anything to do with it?”, he demanded.



She pushed past him and and opened the door, making sure to show him the doorknob , “There's no locks. They never had any. And of course it never occurred to you that just any one could have placed what ever it was you found there, probably expecting for you to act just like this.”



“It was her desk!” he kept on insisting. Now Jules was starting to wonder how Olivia let him get away with how he was treating her on something so flimsy. They were going to have to talk about that, later.



Right now she had something more important to take care of. Turning to Nadia Jules told her, “Gather up those clothes and take them to Shae. I'm going to speak with Olivia.”



“About what traitor?”, he demanded as he stood in her way. Right now Jules didn't care about playing nice for Olivia's sake. She dropped him with a well placed knee to the crotch. Once he was down in pain she stepped over him not even pretending she didn't enjoy every bit of that and stalked to Olivia's office trying to remain calm. Which was going to be hard to do considering how Shae was being treated.
 
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scikaiju

Guest
Getting into her own clothes never felt so good. Shae was surprised when Nadia knocked on the door with a set of clothes in hand. And on Jules' say so. She wasn't sure what to make of this but anything to get out of the dress Walter was making her wear. Adjusting the headband to keep her hair out of her eyes she stretched out she looked over at Nadia who was keeping an eye on the door. So far nobody had come by to make another threat, and while Shae was sure Jules would have believed her, it was good to have somebody hear them if they did. “You messed up my closest didn't you?”



“Hey,” Nadia protested, “I picked out that outfit very carefully, thank you very much”. Looking away she added, “Now the pile on your bed however”, she trailed off. Shae let out a breath, that Nadia smiled at for some reason.



“But thank you though,” Shae told her, “I couldn't get out of that enough.” she looked at the dress that was thrown on the ground.



“I've noticed,” Nadia said, “You usually fold it up neatly when you'd take it off at night.”



“Is it wrong I want to burn it?”, she asked as she stepped closer to her friend.



“I'm surprised you haven't done it already,” she said.



Both of them looked at the door as it opened. Shae was worried that it was going to be Walter and went to retrieve the dress from the ground and try to straighten it out. Nadia knew her well enough that she grabbed her wrist and held her in place. Then Jules walked through the door much to her relief. She looked her up and down, nodded and said. “I don't even have to ask about how much better you have to feel. I can see it already.”



“Did you already talk with Olivia?” Shae asked.



“Yes,” Jules said as moved the plate that she put on the chair she brought in and took a seat. “And I have some good news, and some not so good news.”



Shae and Nadia just looked at each other before Nadia went, “Isn't that suppose to be good news and bad news?”



“Well that's going to depend on how you feel about me,” she said. Shae was still confused at what she was talking about. “Let's start with the good news, You can get out of here.” Shae immediately hugged Nadia who returned it.



“What's the not so good news?”, she asked Jules.



“Well, unfortunately you can't leave my side while I'm here investigating things. For the most part, I still have to figure out what's going on, and my usual sidekick was asked not to come. So you'll be supervised by somebody who's not Walter. I made sure of that.” .



What?!”, Shae protested.



“That's not fair,” Nadia quickly agreed. Jules put up a hand to get them to calm down a bit. Shae wanted to argue but she'd listen to Jules first.



“Look I understand but Olivia insisted that be restriction on letting you free from this room. And it's for the same reason why you were put in here to begin with.”



“Walter wanted me in here,” Shae quickly said.



“No it's not,” Jules said as she protested again. She waited until Shae got it out of her system. “I was giving Olivia an earful about it when she told me why. Walter's the only one who automatically thought you did it. But Olivia was afraid the person who did do it might try to incriminate you even more or do something to you personally. So she put you in here for your own good, it stinks I know but I couldn't really disagree with her reasoning after hearing it.”



“She could have told me,” Shar muttered. Jules reached out and rubbed her arm.



“Do you hear me disagreeing,” she said. “But according to her Walter was always hovering around so she couldn't get a chance to explain. I think she meant he wouldn't shut up long enough but I could be wrong.” Jules said it with a smile, Despite how unfair the situation was Shae snickered a little.



Nadia on the other hand. “ But you cleared her.”



“She's not cleared yet,” Jules told them. “I just proved Olivia's theory that it could have been planted at best. In fact I pretty much increased the suspect pool to any one who could get access to her desk.”



“Wait?”, Nadia went, “I'm a suspect now?”



“Nadia wouldn't do that to me,” Shae started to say.



“Nobody's a suspect,” Jules told them as she stood up. “At least not officially. Like I said, anybody who could get access to Shae's desk needs to be looked at, so at least everybody in that dorm. Walter, and I wish I could be there when he finds that out, all the mentors and instructors.. No, I just made Olivia's headache that much worse.”



“But Shae can leave this room now right? Nadia asked.



“As soon as she's ready,” Jules answered. “Actually I'm surprised she's still here. I thought she'd be gone the moment I said she could leave. But before I forget there's something else. I was able to convince Olivia to to let you practice again.”



“And the not so good news?”, Shae asked cautiously.



“You catch on quick,” Jules told her with a grin.. Shae noticed she wasn't saying she was wrong either. “Until things are straightened out you can't be in your regular practice group, and considering you've been threatened, I really couldn't come up with a good argument against it.” Shae sighed, deep down she knew Jules was probably right, still didn't mean she had to like it. “So I'm suppose to work with you when I can. And I'm also supposed to be mindful of this,” reaching into a pocket Shae's eye widen a little as she pulled out her brush. It took a second but Shae did realize she wasn't exactly handing it back to her. “The catch is you can use it for your practice sessions, but I have to hold on to it when you're not.”



“That's not fair,” Shae protested. That was her property, nobody had the right to keep it from her.



Jules just softly said, “No it's not. But I promise you, as soon as we prove to the others that you didn't do this I'll give this back to you, until then I'll keep it safe for you.”



She looked at the older woman as she pocketed her brush. She wanted to believe that she'd be true to her word and hand the brush back to her, but she wanted to believe Walter would believe her too. Look at how that turned out. Jules seemed to understand what was going through her head, “It sucks, I know. My mentor once explained to me that while the Knights have their swords, we have the brush and it's pretty much an extension of who we are. So if I want to give this back to you I better get on the case and find out who actually did it and tried to frame you, badly I might add.”



“So you think I didn't do it now?”, Shae asked. Probably not sounding as hopeful as she should have that somebody finally seemed to believe her.



“I saw your room,” was all she said. “No one as neat as you would leave any sort of evidence out in the open like Walter claimed. What you were keeping it in, maybe but not the item itself.” Reaching down Jules grabbed the last bit of a sandwich that was on her plate and popped it in her mouth. “Now come on, the person responsible is not going to catch themselves.” She opened the door and let Shae go out first. She was unsure, looking to see if there was going to be anybody right outside the door that would push her back in. But the only push came from Nadia and Jules, out the door.



“What about the dress?”, Shae asked suddenly. Why did she ask about that stupid thing? She just wanted to burn it and never see it again. Instead of answering Jules looked at the dress and pulled out her brush. Making a quick motion she sent out a blast the set the dress on fire.



“Wow,” Nadia said in disbelief that she just saw that. Shae joined her in that amazement, The two of them watch the dress burn as Jules put her brush back in it's place inside her coat. That was the last thing she thought was going to happen, even if she just wished for it.



Jules looked at them and with a grin and a wink said, “If anybody asks a Horror did it.” Then she closed the door behind her, leaving the burning garment and guided her and Nadia to the outside.
 
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scikaiju

Guest
This could be both good and bad. That girl was the perfect patsy to try and place the blame on, she kept mainly to herself, hardly had any friends to speak of outside of her roommate, and had an idiot for a mentor. When Olivia listened to Walter and placed her in the underground holding rooms things were in the clear. While everybody was focused on her then no body would be looking as those pieces from that vault were taken out of the training ground. There were already several buyers lined up, the pieces just needed to get there then the money would be rolling in.



Then word got out the Olivia had sent for a former student to take over the investigation. One according to rumors actually hunted down Horrors like a Knight. That meant she had a better eye for detail than Walter would have. Considering her and the girl and another one were walking out into the open she probably already figured that she was a patsy in all of this.



But while that patsy was apparently off the board, things weren't going to get planted on or around her while that Priest was around, all wasn't lost just yet. The pieces could still be moved, just a little more carefully. Some of the students were easily riled up enough to make threats against the girl earlier. It shouldn't take that much to get them to go after her again. And while the outsider was dealing with that then she wouldn't be looking for the pieces, or the person who took them.
 
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scikaiju

Guest
After a little discussion Jules finally got Nadia to go back to her training session. The job she was called in for was going to be hard enough as it was. She didn't need somebody else following her around, especially since she had to check out the actually crime scene, and for that she had to see the vault. And it was going to be tricky enough with Shae having to be at her side. A second teenager, even one Jules had to silently admit seemed familiar, maybe a little too familiar in some cases. But Nadia did agree to go on, but only if she was kept informed on getting Shae fully in the clear. Jules agreed seeing how she was going to let her know any way seeing how close the two of them where, And that's if Shae didn't tell her friend first.



But it was just the two of them as they walked into Olivia's office. The older woman immediately got out of her chair and went straight toward Shae, taking her hand, “I'm so sorry I had to put you down there, I should have found a way to let you know my reasoning before now.”



“It's okay,” Shae told, Studying her a bit Jules had a feeling that it wasn't exactly 'okay' but she didn't want to make a fuss in front of the head of the training ground. Olivia apparently saw it as well, then shot a look toward her. Jules had seen it before, the “Why can't you act more like that?' sort of look she'd seen from various instructors and mentors while training here. Obviously in response to the earful she was giving her not that long ago. And much like when she was younger Jules paid it no attention, besides she wasn't a student here any more. Going on Shae said, “Jules told me why you did it.”



“It still doesn't make it right,” Olivia told her.



“She has time to make it up to you later,” Jules said. “But we have more pressing matters to attend to.” Olivia looked at her for a moment before nodding in agreement.



“You're right of course, it is the main reason why I asked you to come.” She turned to the young woman in front of her, “Shae, I need you to stay in here for a bit. Jules and I need to discuss some things that's not meant for your ears.”



Shae surprised both of them by going, “Is it about whatever vault I was supposed to have broken into? Can I see it?” Jules and Olivia looked at each other while she waited for a response. Apparently getting impatiant she went on, “Walter said I stole from this vault, I'd like to see exactly what I was accused of stealing from.”



Jules quickly stepped up to her, “Walter told you about the vault?”



“Ask Nadia,” she quickly told her. “She was there when he first accused me.” Jules thought this over, Nadia did see where Walter's “proof” was so she had to have been there.



She glanced over at Olivia, “Walter knew about the vault?”



“I didn't tell him exactly what it was,” she said as she tried to defend her actions. “He knew somethings were taken from it but that was about it. I was worried when there were more rumors about a vault floating around than usual. I was really hoping he wasn't the source.”



“Well,” Jules said after a bit. “I was going to ask who else knew about it, I think a better question is who hasn't Walter told about it yet?” That just made things that much harder. Before she would have just paid some extra attention to the people around her and see if somebody slipped up and mentioned the vault when they weren't supposed to know about it. Now with the word apparently out that flimsy plan was just shot out the window. Well it was a lousy initial plan any way.



Then she looked at Shae who was still waiting for an answer. “I was about her age when I found out about it,” Jules said, “but it's your call Olivia.”



The older woman sighed briefly as she thought it over. “Normally I's say no but the damage is already done I suppose, and it would be easier than explaining why we left her alone in here when she's supposed to stay by your side.” Shae looked like she wanted to celebrate but was mature enough not to, at least in front of Olivia.



Still Jules felt the need to pull her to the side for a moment to have a slightly private conversation. “Shae this may seem exciting and all, but I need you to understand one thing. You can not tell any one about what we're going to show you. I mean it, you can't tell your family, Nadia, anybody. Promise me you won't tell anyone.”



She didn't respond right away, which Jules took as a good thing since it meant she was thinking about it and would probably be more likely to keep her word if she gave it. But she finally said, “I won't tell anybody,”



Olivia sighed again, “Well now that's that apparently settled let's get going. I suppose you remember the way,” she said to Jules.



“You're more familiar with it location than I am,” she said. Which was true, Jules only found out about it because her curoisty got the better of her. And while she could probably lead the way if given enough time she never found out how to open the way to get there.Olivia just nodded again and lead them out of her office. Shae started for the main entrance before Jules made her go the other way. The walked the halls until they reached an apparent dead end. Olivia walked up to the wall then looked back at them. Getting the message Jules indicated to Shae that they should turn away for a moment. They only turned back around when they heard a click and part of the wall was gone revealing a hidden passage way. “Later,” Jules said reading the question in Shae's face.



“They're with me,” Olivia said to apparently no one. Then a couple of guards, which was one more than Jules remembered being there originally, the second one must have been put in placed after she followed Vincent and Olivia, these carrying spear like weapons, came forwards from some hidden alcoves in the dirt walls which caused Shae to jump slightly they appeared so suddenly. Still the guards stared at them as they passed, almost like they were looking for a reason to do anything. And considering things were stolen from the vault under their watch Jules couldn't exactly blame them for acting this way.



After a few yards Jules finally spoke up, but still soft enough that her voice wouldn't carry back to their ears, “I'm assuming that you questioned all the guards after you discovered it happened.”



Olivia nodded and kept her voice just as soft, “It was the first thing that I did. Nobody is sure how who ever did it got in here, I don't even know how they discovered it to begin with.” The frustration was evident in her voice. The location of the forbidden vaults were some of the most closely guarded secrets in the entire Makai Order. Which made this one hell of an inside job.



“Okay you can ask that question now,” Jules said to Shae. She was practically bursting at the seams at this point.



“”What is down here?” Shae asked, trying to keep her voice down as well and barely succeeding. Olivia looked back at her and again the meaning of that look she was currently giving her meant it was all on her.



“A Forbidden Vault,” she told her, figuring it was better to just get it pout of the way than just sugar coat it or beat around the bush. Shae's eyes widen slightly, okay she at least heard of them so she didn't need to explain any further. “Now do you see why I said you couldn't tell anybody?”



“You can't be serious,” she ended up saying. Then they got to the main vault chamber and her eyes went bigger as she got her first look at the Vault, a big wooden and steel door with various protective seals adorning it. It was just like she remembered the room as she walked up to it while still keeping her distance, even how musty the air was. “You are serious,” Shae who stropped in her tracks almost as she saw it said with some reverence.
 
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scikaiju

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“Trust me kiddo I wish I was joking,” Jules told her as she scanned the door, she knew Olivia would have done it already but part of her still wanted to see if she could how figure out how it was done. So far she wasn't having any luck. Olivia's, who seemed to be doing the same thing, shoulders just sank a little as she surveyed the scene for only she knew how many times at this point. “Normally I'd asked when it happened but I think I better ask when did you notice items were missing?”



“A few days ago,” she eventually admitted, “When I was doing some routine checking on some of the seals on the objects inside. I should have said something then but since I was this vault's guardian I was stubborn enough to try and handle the situation by myself.”



Giving her a smile as she started examining the vault Jules said, “Happens to the best of us.” Then she returned her attention the room itself as she walked around. “Assuming none of the guards was part of this how did you get in?”, Jules asked nobody in particular. Looking back at Shae, and figuring if she was supposed to try and undo some of the damage Walter did to her, she asked, “What do you think Shae? You got any ideas on how somebody got in here without being seen entering or leaving?”



“I got no idea,” she admitted.



“Come on,” Jules said, “You're young and bright, at least one idea had to have crossed your mind.”



“Outside of they might have dug a tunnel I got no idea.”



“We checked for that,” Olivia told them. “we couldn't find any sort of magical talisman any where, in here or in the Vault.”



Jules held out a hand as she slowly walked along the rocky walls of the room. “As a Madou Pin I'm particularly fond of once told me, if you want to hide something from magic users you wouldn't use...,” she stopped at a particular spot,” magic.” She kept her hand over a certain section just making sure she wasn't imagining anything. There it was again, a slight breeze coming from the wall. Taking out her Madou Brush she tapped the non bristle end around the area a few times. It might have been her imagination but some spots sounded a little more hollow than others. One look at Olivia confirmed she heard it too. Running her fingers around the rocky wall she found what she was looking for. “Shae, give me a hand.” She came over and helped Jules move a section of wall out of the way once it was out of the way she pointed at one of the torches along the wall. Shae quickly grabbed one and handed it to her. Putting it in the opening all of them got a look at a tunnel. “I think we just found out how they got in and out.”



“I'd say that was a good guess,” Olivia told her as she got a good look at it. “I'll go get one of the guards and have them see where this leads. Maybe there's a clue at who the culprit is on the other end.” She quickly headed back to the hidden alcoves leaving the two of them and the tunnel.



Jules looked back at the vault, well more the area around the vault. “I wonder if that's how they got into the vault.”



“Wouldn't that make some sort of noise?”, Shae asked. When Jules looked at her she said, “Making this tunnel I mean. Even if whoever did this used magic there would be some sort of noise being made. Wouldn't there?”



“Depends on how it was done,” she tried to get a better look at the tunnel walls, “and how much work was actually done. If this tunnel was already here then an opening woud have to be made, and I can think of a couple of ways to do that off the top of my head that wouldn't draw too much attention just based on that stone we just moved. Granted I'm just speculating here,” she added as she stood up, walked over and replaced the torch. “It's all I can do with the information at hand at the moment. It's kind of like hunting a Horror in a way, trying to pick up any cue that would give away what it is with some limited information sometimes.”



Before Shae could respond. Olivia came back with one of the guards and quickly pointed out the opening they discovered. “See where that leads and let me know. Try not to be seen as you get to the other end,” she told the man.



“Yes ma'am,” he said as he took another torch and went into the tunnel.



“You might want to see if there's one leading to the Vault,” Jules offered as she stepped closer to Olivia. “We don't now how long it took to bypass those seals on the containers.” She looked back at the vault, and more importantly all the slips of paper adorning it. “And I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a fast job.”



Olivia nodded again, “Of course. They wouldn't want to be caught in the act. “I'll get on that myself. Thank you Jules, I'm not sure if we would have discovered that tunnel this fast, if at all. I feel we're already a few steps closer than what we were. Although I fear the job isn't done just yet.” And Jules had to silently agree there. “I'll let you know what the guard finds. In the meantime why don't you and Shae get some practice in. I'm sure she missed some sessions due to what was going on.”



“We don't want her falling behind, do we?”, Jules said. Considering she hadn't tried to teach anybody anything before she was slightly afraid she was going to screw the girl up some how.



As always Olivia just seemed to read her as she said, “You'll do fine. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think you could do it.”



“If you say so,” Jules said. Then she turned toward Shae, “Come one kiddo, show me what you can do .” Her and Shae left the room and headed for the secret opening.
 
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Once they got to the opening Shae couldn't believe how fast Jules' demeanor seemed to change. She was all business the entire time like she was when she was examining the vault room, but almost as soon as they crossed the threshold she was almost like how she was when she first met her earlier. Going so far as to even tease her about her crush a little. It was so much of a change she had to comment on it, “Why are you acting differently all of the sudden?”



“I am?”, she seemed genuinely confused about it, did she not notice what she was doing. After thinking about it for a few moments she said, “I guess Carter's rubbing off a little on me too.” Okay, now who was Carter? Jules looked at her then smiled softly, “Carter's my husband. And I only said that because he has two modes. When we're at the house he a bit more open then when we're on patrol, then he's all business. I guess I picked up a little of that, and he wasn't here to see it. I probably should be happy about that because Xypher would never let me hear the end of it.” Shae was confused again then remembered she mentioned a Madou Pin a bit ago. She knew some Knights had a Madou item of some sort, the pin was probably her husband's.



It went like that until she realized Jules had guided her to one of the practice ranges. Nobody was around that Shae could see. Probably because of the idea she was still the culprit in some of the other's mind. At least Nadia knew the truth, and Olivia and Jules believed her. That thought should have made her feel better but instead she started feeling more alone than ever. Standing her In front of a target she handed back her Madou Brush and said. “Okay Shae let's start with something simple,” and she left it at that as she stepped to the side. Shae knew what she wanted to see. Holding her brush out Shae made a quick circular motion with the bristle drawing a symbol in the ait then she brought her brush back and pointed it the mark she just made, “Ha!” The energy blast was supposed to go straight, but like it had been lately it shot off in a weird direction, in fact it hit a different target entirrly at the very end of the line. Why couldn't she do this stupid spell any more?



“Well,” Jules said as she stepped closer, “You hit something, I'll give you credit for that.” She said it in a lighthearted way but it just made her feel worse. Then she started feeling Jules rub both of her shoulders, “Okay kiddo relax, I think I might have an idea what's wrong, I just need you to trust me and listen to what I say. Alright close your eyes,” she did as instructed, “now take a couple of deep breaths and try to relax.” Again she did as she was told, but it wasn't exactly working, at least not very quickly. “Nope still too tense, but take your time. I think I told that to Carter after we got engaged.” Shae got an image in her head and snickered a little, for some reason now she started to feel at ease. “There you go, all it took was a semi dirty comment to get you to unwind. That's probably not going to be standard teaching procedure so don't get used to it.”



“Okay,” Shae said as she finally felt relaxed, more relaxed than she felt in a while.



“Now this next step is very important, so listen closely and do exactly as I tell you.” Shae nodded and listened. “Now I want you to forget everything Walter tried to teach you about doing this spell.” Opening her eyes Shae looked back at her in confusion. There was no way her current issues were that simple. It made sense but there was just no way. Jules stopped rubbing her shoulders and placed one hand on top of her head, making her face the target again. “Just do it. Do it like you would have before. Trust me.”



Taking a deep breath as she backed away again Shae did the spell again, almost exactly the same, except this time when she brought her brush forward she kicked her knee up a little, “Ha!” An energy blast shot straight and hit the target right near the bull-eye.



“There you go,” Jules said as she clapped her shoulders. “Now do it again.” Shae did and got the same results. Just to prove it to herself she did it a third time. Again it worked perfectly. “See you can do it.”



“But Walter said that wasn't proper form.” Jules tsked a bit then spun around on one foot for some reason until she faced her again.



“What I just did, it's part of a spell my mentor taught me, a pretty powerful one. But he never did the spin like I do. And not once did he say I wasn't using the proper form, do you know why?” Shae shook her head. Instead of answering right away Jules looked around until she spotted something and pointed it out, it was a group of young children as well as some older ones going over a certain form over and over in practice. “Now are all of them moving the exact same way?”, she asked. She was going to say yes but realized if she did Jules would make her look harder so she did so just to avoid being told that. Then she saw what she was talking about. Some of the older kids while going through similar motions had some a variation in their movements she never noticed before.



“No they're not,”



“That's because not everyone moves in the same way,” she said. “Now don't get me wrong there are certain types of magic and spells that you have to move in precisely the right way in order to do it properly. But certain spells like that magic blast can allow for little variations in the user's movements. Nothing major but enough that the user's personality can come through slightly. Walter wasn't born to this world,” Shae looked at her not understanding what she meant. Unfortunately this time she didn't elaborate on what she was talking about. “No his mindset was pretty much locked in place when he started training.”



Shae looked at her unsure if she should ask this or not, but she had to know, “Is that why he's always gloating about growing up in the real world?”



Letting out an exasperated sigh Jules looked around again. And again she found what she was looking for, “You see that instructur over there?” Looking at where she was pointing Shae saw an older male Makai Priest watching over a group of students practice. “Has he ever told you what he thinks of what the regular humans call the 'real world'?”



Shae nodded, “I think he said it was a fantasy or something like that.”



“A fantasy that we protect,” Jules said in approval. “I got to be honest with you, he not exactly wrong. There's what they call the real world, and then there's the reality we deal with. There would be a lot of panic if they knew the monster under their bed was real. Actually considering some of the Horror's I've come across they'd rather deal with the ones under the bed.”



“Why did you decide to hunt Horrors?', Shae asked, some what curious since Jules was the first Makai Priest she knew that actually hunted Horrors like a Makai Knight. She heard rumors yeah, overheard various family members talk about them when she wasn't at the training ground but this was the first time she met one in the flesh.



“Because I was more of a natural in the combat arts,” she answered freely enough. “Only made sense once you think about it. But not everybody is, or can they see it in others. I never really thought about it until Vincent, the Priest who mentored me picked up on it.”



“Did he hunt Horrors too?”
 
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“Not exactly. He did with me or with a Makai Knight but that was about it,” Jules sighed again and looked off in the distance. Shae had seen that look on her father a few times when he was thinking of the grandfather she never had the chance to meet since he died before she was born. So Jules must have lost this person too. “No he was more of a researcher than anything else. Looking up and cataloging old and nearly forgotten spells and items. Not that he couldn't handle his own in a fight.” She stopped as Olivia and the guard she sent into the tunnel walked up to them. “Find anything?”



Olivia had the guard stop where he was as she took a few steps closer, “He found the other end of the tunnel and reported back to me. I was hoping that you would assist him in looking the area over for any clues that might be there.”



“Of course,” Jules said but then she glanced back at her, “But what about...?” Of course she meant Shae was supposed to be by her side at all times. But having her around when she was still under suspicions in some eyes was probably not a good thing, or something like that.



“I think,” Olivia said as she stepped closer to her, “that nobody should complain if I stayed with Shae for a little bit. What do you say dear, you want to hang around an old lady?”



Not sure what else to say because Shae was positive she wouldn't be placed any where good if she said no she said, “Sure.” Okay, she probably wouldn't be put in that room again but she didn't want to risk it. Olivia looked pleased though so there was that.



Jules looked unsure but said, “All right then, I guess it's settled.” She said something to Olivia didn't quite catch. Something like, “We didn't do much.”



Olivia didn't seemed worried, “I'm sure it's fine. Now go and look the area over. Maybe Shae could show me what you two did do, or she could ask for some advise on certain things. If she's so inclined that is.”



“I wouldn't know what to ask,” she said.



“Oh I'm sure something will occur to you without even thinking about it,” Olivia assured her. Still she was a bit more nervous now.



“Okay,” Jules said to the guard, “show me what you found.” He nodded and told her to follow him. Jules followed for a bit and pointed a finger in their direction. “You better behave yourself.” Shae looked down a bit, why did she say that to her? Then she said,” I was talking to Olivia.” Shae looked back up to see her grin before turning back around to follow the guard.



“I see some things haven't changed,” Olivia said shaking her head. Then she looked at her and smiled softly, “Maybe I should be worried that I asked her to help you train when she could. She might corrupt you without even trying.” Shae smiled a little which seemed to satisfy the older woman. “So why don't you show me what you worked on in this short of time. I wanted to give you a little longer but that tunnel wasn't as long as I thought it was.”



“Yes ma'am,” Shae said. Facing the target she fired off another magical blast. Hitting it much to her personal delight. She looked at Olivia who seemed happy with what she saw. “That's about it.,” Shae told her when it looked like she was waiting for more.



“Small steps dear,” Olivia told her. “I'm sure your next mentor will help you along even more.”



Shae looked at her in surprise, “I'm not going back with Walter?”



“No dear,” Olivia said. “That's not a mistake I'm going to make again.” Next mentor, Shae still couldn't believe it. If Jules was right he was the source of all her current problems. So it would be great to be with somebody who'd try to understand her like Jules did. In fact she hoped that's who her new mentor would be.
 
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Okay this was officially not good. The trail, as loose as it was, quickly disappeared as the ground quickly became more solid and rocky the further away she got from the opening. She tried to take a guess where the vault was in comparison to her current position. By her estimate she had to be close, that and the ground mildly reminded her of the walls on the chamber and the passage leading up to it. Stomping on the ground a bit she understood why this place was originally chosen as a place to hide one of the vaults. This place was hard enough that she imagined that it took a while to make the vault chamber to begin with. Looking around she tried to get into the thief's mindset and figure out where they might have hidden the items. Again it would make things a bit easier if there was a building to head too, even if it was too obvious. At least she'd have something to search, and worry if it was a waste of time later. It would be better than doing what she was doing now. She was going to have to remember to ask Olivia about that the next time she saw her.



“Enough of spinning this particular wheel,” she said mainly to herself. As hard as it was to do it was probably time to admit that this particular lead more than likely was a dead end. If the thief knew about the vault then they knew about this patch of rocky Earth and might have headed in this direction just so they could change direction and throw off anybody following their trial. So that's what she did as she turned to face the direction of the training ground and headed back. Besides it was more than likely time to check in on her temporary charge. Exiting the wooded area into the edge of the training ground and headed toward the last place she saw the two of them. Surprisingly both of them were still there. Jules couldn't help but notice at how much happier Shae seemed to be than when she left. Hopefully that wasn't a commentary on her trying to be a teacher. Olivia's guard saw her come close and greeted her with with a nod as she stepped aside to let her pass. Jules nodded in return as she passed. “Hey guys,” she said once she was close enough. “How's it going?”



“Jules!,” An extremely excited Shae said as she ran up to her, “Olivia taught me a spell. An advanced one I didn't think I could do.” She looked over at Olivia, “Can I show her?”



“Go ahead,” Olivia told her while smiling slightly. “You're not going to settle down until you do.”



“Let's see it,” Jules said. Shae went back to the targets and set herself. Holding her brush out she brought it to the side and swung it up in a half circle. Making several small circles as she brought it back forward. She then held it so the bristles were pointed straight up. Jules arched an eyebrow as she glanced over at Olivia who seemed proud at what she was seeing. Jules knew this spell, having seen the older woman perform it before as part of a demonstration years ago. Again She kicked up her knee as she brought the Brush back down with a shout. From each circle pattern a bolt of energy fired out and hit a target each. If it was possible Shae looked even more excited than she did earlier. So Jules smiled and gave her a small clap to show how impressed she was at the demonstration. “You never taught me that,” she said to Olivia.



“Vincent took you from us before I had the chance,” she said in response. To Shae she said, “I think that's enough for today. You showed me a lot Shae, enough to verify that my decision to reassign you a new mentor was the right one.”



Shae stopped looking excited, but looked at her brush as she clutched it a little closer to her. Jules heart went out to her. She walked up to Shae and tried not to look impatient. Without any prodding Shae slowly handed her the brush. Jules took it saying, “Remember what I told you,” she said as she placed the brush in one of the inner pockets of her coat. “Just as soon as we prove to the others that it wasn't you.” To Olivia she said, “How well do you have the woods around the training ground mapped out? That guard headed for the records to see if there's any caverns that are big enough around to stash things. But There's has to be more than that out there. Like some sort of shed, to keep any unwanted visitors or something.”



She looked thoughtful, “Not that I recall. One of my predecessors was pretty adamant about reusing materials on any structures that weren't of any use any more. Those targets over there were made out of one of those sheds you mentioned I believe.”



“It would still help to know where they were,” Jules insisted. “In case they had a basement or something. Those items have to be somewhere. They're just not going to walk through the training grounds carrying those things unnoticed.”



“True,” she conceded. “I have some old maps in my office. I'll look them over and see if I can see anything that might have fit that description.”



“Can I asked what was stolen?”, Shae spoke up suddenly.



“Not in this case kiddo,” Jules quickly said, much to Olivia's apparent relief and Shae's disappointment. “The fewer people who know what's in any particular vault the better. Besides, it's better if you don't know. I know I wished I didn't know sometimes.”



“Same here,” Olivia agreed. “And I'm the guardian of this particular vault so I had to know it's contents.”



Looking at her with a confused look Shae asked Jules, “Then how do you know about the contents?”



“Like I said my mentor was mainly a researcher when I first joined him,” she told her. “And sometimes he needed help researching various things. Unfortunately a couple of those items were the focus of that research. Olivia, why did you and Vincent go to the vault that day? He always said it wasn't really that interesting of a story and left it there.”



“I'm afraid he was right Jules,” Olivia told her. “I needed to replace of a couple of seals that were about to fade away. One object in particular needed a very powerful seal, one that needed two Makai Priests to fully enact it. Considering he had a bit of knowledge of the older items and spells he seemed like the perfect person to ask.” She snorted a bit, “Even if he did leave and take one of my more promising students under his wing at the time.”



“Didn't know Reks had that much potential,” Jules said, mainly as a joke. But saying it did make her a little bit sadder as she remembered him. “Come on Shae, I don't think those clothes Nadia was going through are going to put themselves back. Unless you created a spell that would do that?”, she trailed off at the look Shae was giving her, the typical teenage you must be joking look. “Right nobody's that neat. Olivia if you'll excuse us.”



“Of course. Take heart Shae,” she told her, “this will be over before you know it. Then everything will be back to normal.”



“Or better,” Jules added, considering Olivia said she was changing her mentor. That part had to be better, they would have to try for it to be any worse. “Let's go Shae.” Jules waited until Shae was next to her before heading off with a wave to Olivia. Besides who knew how long it was going to take Olivia and that guard to look that information up. This way she could get to know Shae a little better since the person behind all this mess wasn't going to announce it was them and laugh manically like some old time movie villain.
 
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