The fifth room contained one of the most talked about rising stars of the magic world, it was noticed publicly when she’d gone missing a few months after the previous graduation ceremony, so it was all but confirmed that she had been allowed enrollment, and now the media was already drafting stories about the brilliant performance she’d displayed during the expo. All they needed was a few actual facts to pepper in, and they were set to print.
It shows just how powerful a pureblood Avalonian family name can be. If Kaitlyn Walsh grew up with silver spoon, then Gwendolyn Ashcroft grew up with a mithril one, and forks and knives to match.
And similarly she didn’t neglect that privilege, getting best in class all throughout primary school up until her enrollment in a traditional Avalonian Wizardry School.
Her parents wanted her to get assigned to the snake house but somehow, she managed to get placed in the badger one. But all that is of little importance, so moving on.
After graduating with all honors, and finally having completely grasp on her budding strength, Gwen knew she wanted more.
In the past she’d found inspiration when dueling so she first decided to join a few tournaments. But quickly those got boring, once her competitors started to forfeit before the whistle even cleared, she instead turned back to books and buried herself deep into the endless libraries of the Mediterranean.
She’d had a recognizable name to begin with, but by the time she was twenty she’d more than made a name for herself even beyond her family’s sphere. Not just the tournaments; she’d already been certified as fifth level mage, most can’t even reach that point at fifty, let alone twenty years old.
But since she needed more and had no source for it, behind the scenes she was constantly at an internal mental battle, how could she strive to learn more when she didn’t even know what she was missing. Every book said the same thing, and the source scrolls were no better. At night she’d occasionally pray that she could just speak with Merlin himself.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
And then she spotted a white letter sticking out between two book she’d been searching for day and night. It felt like coincidence until she saw her name on the front of the envelope.
And on the back, that notorious return address that occasionally went viral on social media.
[1, The Ocean, Isla Lantis, 11111-1234 ]
Then it finally dawned on her, that had been her goal. That’d surely be where she’d find it.
Four years and some change later, she was prepared to show how much growth is truly possible. But one thing was wrong that she hadn’t yet realized.
“You must be the littlest Ashcroft then.” An unfamiliar voice asked pushing open the fifth door after Carter Walsh had exited.
“And you are?” Gwen rebounded with an irritated glare. She’d worked endlessly to build her own name, who’d be so brazen to patronize her so blatantly?
“Right, Not used to these rules, I’m new to this you see.” The man stepped further under the light and smiled wide as he answered the question. “My name is Goddard Sinclair-Pendragon, and although still unannounced, I’m to be the King of Avalon in the coming days.”
“My… Liege.” Gwen quickly corrected, falling to a knee with too little information to counter his claim.
“Ah, you are still a citizen of the Island as I understand it. So raise your head.” Goddard pandered weakly with a plastered-on expression.
Matching his gaze again, Gwen got a look of the man and could immediately confirm he was indeed a royal, the recessive slit irises that they all incessantly claim as proof to their blood-right were clear as day in his wide shimmering eyes.
“So I take it that you are representing the Avalon Royal family then?” Gwen prodded, knowing the headmaster wouldn’t allow protocol to be ignored.
“I am here in lieu of my father, who would never sleep well knowing that a Pendragon was not present at this most important occasion.” Goddard continued, clearly skirting the issue a bit wide.
Gwen was a loyal citizen to her true nationality but she also wasn’t dumb. Goddard, if she remembered her royal acronym correctly was, at best, fifth or sixth in line to the throne unless things had changed dramatically in the four years she’d been out of the loop. And with the addition of him clearly dodging the issue of ‘representation’ to not get himself ejected from the Academy prematurely, that meant he wasn’t officially sanctioned by parliament to make any offers of employment or benefits beyond his own personal means.
She’d continue as usual, but Gwen was immediately on edge as she began her presentation.