Humiliation

When we got back to the academy I felt a bit sick, the change of atmosphere was bad for my health, it was like going from a cold place to a hot place, but that wasn't the worst of it. The weather was very annoying, I felt a bit suffocated.

The lieutenant before he left came up to us.

"Lucia and Nick, the general requests you, both of you, go immediately to the office."

When I heard that, I knew they already knew. Arturo may have already figured it all out and tried to intervene when he saw the way we were called.

"Lieutenant, you can't do that, these are two important cadets for ......."

"They are cadets who broke the rules, and she is the leader of all of you. They had relations with cadet every day. Acts like these and relationships are forbidden because of the problems they create, even if they are of age."

We silently made our way to the general's office.

As we walked to the general's office, I felt a knot in my stomach. I knew we were in trouble, and the fact that the lieutenant seemed to be aware of what had been going on between us only made it worse.

We entered the general's office, where we met his serious and penetrating gaze. The general was known for his strict sense of duty and unwavering discipline. He gestured for us to sit down in front of his desk. Jhon and the lieutenant also arrived and addressed us. He removed his helmet and revealed his face.

"Lucia and Nick, I have received reports of inappropriate behaviour between the two of you in that warehouse, one of the lieutenants was following you and corroborated what you were doing there, he saw you. Lucia I'm disappointed in you, I can see why you defended some students so many weeks ago, but well I'm going to make an exception for you, it's damaging to remove you, Nick you will be expelled, your presence here has given us a lot of trouble."

She didn't keep quiet and intervened.

"I prefer to get out, I was the one who manipulated and took advantage of Nick by being the leader of the cadets, I seduced him for weeks until he accepted, I incited him to do this kind of things."

Jhon showed some anger when he heard that and clenched his fists, I felt like he was going to hit me.

The general took time to respond and spoke his mind.

"I'm not going to accept your resignation, you are the leader of the cadets, and it would be detrimental to remove you, you will only receive a days suspension."

"No, I am going to stay here, I have plans elsewhere, besides, I started this myself. I take my responsibility and leave this."

The general couldn't force her to stay if she didn't want to. I felt quite sorry, I knew that Lucia wanted to leave, and I was calm, so I took all the blame, but knowing that she would leave made me feel bad.

The general frowned as he considered Lucia's words. He seemed surprised by her determination and refusal to accept the days' suspension.

"Lucia, I wish you all the best in your future plans. I hope you find success in whatever you undertake. Should you ever decide to return, rest assured that the doors of this academy will always be open to you," the general said sincerely.

He turned to me with a sorrowful expression.

"Nick, I'm so sorry I dragged this down with you. I know we had dreams and goals in common, but now I must go my own way. I wish you the best and hope you find success in everything you do," Lucia said in a breathy voice.

I felt a mixture of sadness and understanding. I knew Lucia was making a difficult but necessary decision for her. I watched her leave the general's office and walk away, leaving an indescribable emptiness in our office.

I stood there, silent, processing everything that had happened. I knew things would never be the same again, but I also knew I had to move on. I would be punished for what happened, and I would be blamed for Lucia's departure.

When she left the room, the general was quite upset and said some things to me. He was visibly upset about Lucia's decision and looked at me with a serious look on his face.

"Nick, I regret to tell you that the consequences of your actions cannot be ignored. While I understand that Lucia has taken her responsibility, you also bear your share of the blame in this matter. I cannot allow you to break the rules and affect discipline in this academy," the general said firmly.

I was overwhelmed by his words. I knew I had made a mistake in getting involved with Lucia and allowing our relationship to affect our conduct as cadets. Now I would have to face the consequences.

The general continued: "As a result of your actions, you will be subject to disciplinary punishment. You will be suspended from all academic and training activities for two weeks. During this suspension, you will reflect on your actions and must demonstrate a change in your behaviour."

[...]

I went to the cellar to think about what I would do from now on, everything would be more difficult for me; however, Lucia appeared at a moment's notice.

"Hey .... Are you okay?"

"Lucia?"

"Yeah, I came to say goodbye, I had to see you the last time."

"Lucia, I think it's time to tell you the truth, I am not Hero Harrison's nephew, I am his son."

She was surprised to hear me, and didn't hesitate to speak to me.

"I'm glad I spent all those nights with you."

She came up to me and kissed me on the mouth. That made the goodbye all the more agonizing, I would miss her so much. I would just hope she was doing well in her new destination. I wanted to leave too, but I needed the training and I still had nowhere to go. Without my father, I didn't know where else to turn. Yes, there were holidays here in the middle of the year. I didn't know what to do with my life after this. I didn't think it would hurt to see Lucia leave. 

My fear increased so much that I told her I would walk her to the track. I wanted to see her go, so I could be reassured that nothing would happen to her. I told her about what the ungeizefer wanted to do to her.

"They wanted to do things to you... Let me walk you to the track, I want to see you leave here".

"Yes I could imagine that, in the city where I was I heard horrible cases of the ungeizefer. I would rather die than have a child with those things. It's repulsive."

I was pleased to hear that she was aware of everything that was going on, and was willing to leave to avoid having anything done to her. 

As we walked towards the track, I felt looks of disapproval and anger directed towards us. It was clear that our relationship and recent events had made an impact on our fellow academy members. Lucia was admired and respected, and seeing her go left a void in the institution.

We arrived at the runway and stood there, watching as the ship carrying Lucia slowly took off. I was sad to see her go, but also relieved that she was moving away from the dangers that threatened her safety.

"Stay safe, Lucia. I wish you well on your new path."

She looked at me with sadness and affection in her eyes. "Thank you, Nick. Take care of yourself and avoid being discovered, if you feel you can't, leave this place. You shouldn't stay here."

"I have to fulfill the mission my father gave me, otherwise it will all have been in vain, goodbye."

With those cold words we said goodbye, avoiding physical contact so as not to further anger the cadets who warily looked at me.

I watched as he got on the plane and flew away, and a mixture of emotions filled my heart. I didn't think it would affect me so much.

After his departure, I went back to the hold and tried to face my disciplinary punishment and reflect on my actions from now on.

I decided that I should focus on my training and fulfilling my responsibilities as a cadet, pretending that everything was fine, I had no idea what my life was going to be like from that point on, the murderous looks they were giving me showed that they would do more than just claim me.

My colleagues at the academy were not happy with me, and I could feel the hostility in the air. It was clear that my presence was uncomfortable for many of them, and I began to fear for my safety.