Nicholas Vials: The Case Of Michael Vials

Emberline sat in the empty room, the lights dimmed, and the sofa's cushion was tough. Since she had retrieved the confirmation letter for the nursing job, Elena had offered to let her stay in her house, an offer Emberline could not refuse.

"I know it's a temporary arrangement, but once again, thank you," Emberline said softly.

"I have told you not to say that! You know it is no issue for me. My aunt's room has been dusty since she died. I figured, why not get a roommate for a change," Elena spoke. One thing Emberline wasn't quite fond of was her constant chattering, but she wasn't in a position to complain.

"I am sorry about your aunt," Emberline said, lowering her voice to match their shared sorrow.

"It was time that witch became one with the dirt. She rented it out for cheap because of some murder that happened a year ago across the street. Some rich boy got into trouble and got 'imself killed and now the police doesn't spend a night without patrolling the street. Don't worry about it, though, it's safer that way" she said, her enthusiasm unmatched. "I hope you like cleaning because I don't!" she jibed, dipping forward as she made her joke.

Emberline tried to let a laugh loose, but her morbid humor was making her uneasy. She let out a dry chuckle.

"I hope they didn't try to bombard you in the interview. I told Jacob to keep the nursing knowledge questions to himself—I told him you were quite the studious one back in nursing school," she giggled. "To be fair—you were quite good in school, so fluent in French and—Spanish was it?" she said in a single breath, the way she talked made Emberline's heart leap.

"Yes, I still speak most of it," Emberline said as she finally took the cup of tea that Elena had set before her. Their school years were quite unmemorable, Elena was often a target of everyone's jibes and Emberline was simply a keen student that got by. Emberline remembered the day she had met the remarkably skinny girl with strawberry hair and broken front two teeth. Emberline only got to speak to her when she accidentally dropped Elena's lunch, and as a punishment from the teacher, Emberline had to share her lunch with Elena. Though the memory only reminded her that she only met people who she had come to love by physically assaulting them first. Whether it be kicking her older sister Jeannette while Emberline was still a newborn, or accidentally jumping onto Anna Lynn when she was brought home from the hospital.

"If it weren't so overused, I'd have forgotten what a baguette is," Elena laughed, her lanky frame sat back down in the chair. Her dark red hair shone even under the dull orange light.

"The man at the interview, Jacob?" Emberline's eyes searched for an answer in Elena's.

Elena hummed, intrigued by her sudden interest.

"Is he fond of you?" Emberline asked, somewhat worried. She knew that Elena, like her own sister, had a habit of courting men who were below par.

"Fond? God knows he tolerates me!" Elena said, her voice becoming shriller at the very end of the sentence.

"I wouldn't say that if I were you," Emberline said with a shy smile. "I saw the way his eyes widened when he said your name," she added as Elena blushed, a slow smirk creeping onto her lips.

"It's not like that!" Elena exclaimed as she sipped her tea.

"I don't mean to pry, but it's what I saw," Emberline said as she settled into the cushion, finally getting comfortable. She could get used to this.

"It's not your fault; everyone at work believes we are secretly in love," Elena cleared her throat. "Though I would die the day I find myself loving a man."

Emberline almost choked on her own breath, her eyes widening as she coughed. Once her self-imposed attack subsided, she looked at the horrified Elena. "You are not to marry?"

"Not at all," Elena said playfully. Her eyes twinkled, knowing full well what Emberline was about to ask.

"You'd get along well with my sister," Emberline said.

"Which one? Anna-Lynn or Jeannette?" Elena asked.

"Anna," Emberline replied. "Jeannette could not live without a godforsaken man in her life; she'd suffocate."

"Marriage is a thing of the past now. I know very few women who'd dream of marriage, especially with the soon-to-be queen's ascension to the throne."

"I haven't been keeping up with the news much," Emberline excused, though it was because she couldn't scrape together enough money to buy a newspaper.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's not newsworthy. It makes my head hurt. Nonetheless, the kingship has ordered a coronation on the eve of her wedding," Elena said in a single breath.

"How humble of them," Emberline remarked dryly. She wasn't super fond of the rich—an inherited trait from her father.

"I'd be more grateful if I were you; we are what we are because of them," Elena giggled.

"What we are, we are because of ourselves. Their sacrifices should not be for show. I can't stand their big bellies and shiny dresses."

"Eva is a distant relative of the shiny dresses. You see how nice and hardworking she is."

"Speaking of—I doubt she actually cared to look at my record. I thought being a big doctor would come with being able to tell from someone's qualifications if they truly are a nurse," Emberline spoke calmly, her words picked carefully and delivered in a few short seconds.

"Eva is highly qualified, but I doubt she looks at the specifics. She called it on my recommendation. Had you not asked for the favor, I'd have never deceived the lady. She is such a lovable woman, though she sometimes favors those she already knows for important duties. She is tolerable," Elena swiftly spewed, a stark contrast to Emberline's slow and steady speech. She spoke so quickly and often but never stumbled on her words, though she ran out of air very often.

"I know, and thank you once again for the recommendation. It's a temporary arrangement till I find a better one," Emberline said. Her hands almost reached for Elena's, but Elena had already begun scolding her.

"I told you not to say that, love. You know well there isn't anything I wouldn't do for a friend like you, even if it is unlawful," Elena ended, her eyes frantically scanning Emberline's for a second Instead, Emberline returned it with remorse.

on. It's barely going to be a month or two; I'm sure we can get past it easily," Elena consoled, though rather aggressively.

"Yes," she returned. "A month or two," she mumbled. She wished to get out of the terrible situation she was in before that time.

"I am super nosy, I know, but what did you tell your dad?" Elena asked as soon as the silence settled, unable to hold back.

Emberline looked up at her, her tea becoming cold in her hands. "Nothing—I didn't tell him—anything," she responded dully.

"Well, then how did you get the parcel from your home?" Elena questioned again.

"I asked Mortmain to keep it for me while I was away,"

"And you didn't talk to your dad about it?" Elena started to get a bit too invasive, but she didn't stop.

"Not really—" Emberline continued but was interrupted by Elena's question again.

"Why?" She asked, slightly dumbfounded.

Emberline sighed, her mind sought the right words to lay claim to indignant lose against her father. "He told me that I was never going to survive in the outside world without his help, and that I would go rogue and have to return back to his steps once I was exhausted just like my older sister Jenny."

"That's horrible," Elena gasped, attempting to match her friend's despair. Elena wasn't familiar with the feeling of leaving behind a parent; she had been raised by her aunt since she was very young, but her attempts seemed convincing.

"He wasn't wrong though, and asking him for the parcel would prove him right, and I wasn't up for that humiliation." Emberline resembled the exhaust of an old man, hoping to fall into a deep sleep any moment now. She closed her eyes as her friend continued.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Emberline. In a month or two, you'll set it right." Elena smiled, almost empathetically, but mostly pitying her friend.

"Yes," Emberline mumbled.

"In a month or two," the ticking clock begun, and it was haunting.

...

On Tuesday, Emberline arrived in Odonbury after a two-day journey and on Friday she had started duty. The path she had taken was filled with rough and rocky roads, having to cross challenging bridges along the way. As she traveled, Emberline began to feel a change of heart as she neared the large sign that read 'Doane Institute' feeling her lies like a blanket of fire on her tongue. Her heart sank at the thought of her being alone for this long, although accompanied by her friend Elena, she felt immediately homesick.

When finally, she reached her destination and disembarked from the car, Odonbury was known for having gloomy weather at all times. Although in Edmundale, the spring season had started, and flowers had bloomed, it was not the case for Odonbury, where the water still hadn't seeped into the soil.

Standing before her was the institute. It had been built as a castle for a king. The outer wall had been made of tall bricks that bore the marks of time through a lush coating of moss and entwined vines, lending an air of ancient ambiance. The university itself had been built on the side of a mountain, its spires reaching towards the heavens before the mountain's own towering peaks. It seemed it had been rained heavily on, causing the once-dusty grey stone to transform into a deep, somber shade of grey. The university was large; it stretched across an entire mountain, and its remaining flat grounds that remained had been transformed into a mosaic of colorful shades of green.

Emberline stepped on the mud without much care, slightly dirtying her skirt as she approached the large heavy doors of the university. The gates, once gleaming silver, now bore the telltale signs of age, with a hint of rust on one side that lent them a tinge of brownish hue, hinting at the passage of time.

Ember held her large pouch in her hands as she inched closer to the doors of the institute. She looked behind at her friend who was quick to rush into the gate. The sheer capacity of the castle left Emberline thinking she had made a huge mistake. There was no escaping from this.