- Damien -

I arrived at the university earlier than expected. I'm carrying all the equipment that the team would probably need in this mission. The duffel bags weighed a ton. They contain magical trace trackers, communication devices, laptops and lastly weapons. Enough for all five of us. Or all of the S.P.A.D..

Carrying them would have been exhausting for an average person, but I am not any average person. Being the only son of the Prime Minister means I have to be trained in both my studies and physical abilities. That being said, as the leader of S.P.A.D., I need to be skilled enough to lead a team of demi-faes. So I have to condition myself to be at the top of my game, to make sure I don't lose out to the preternatural reflexes of my squadmates.

I already asked Fenrys to scout the campus grounds before my arrival so that I could avoid the unnecessary crowds of paparazzi that haunt me mercilessly. Seriously, do these people have so much time in their life that all they do is keep track of my movements?

I thought I didn't need to worry about the public media since most of the time I'm away on missions and I spend the rest of my time in the Paranormal Headquarters or HQ for short. But it was my mistake to underestimate them. Sometimes I wonder if they're even humans.

They managed to track my daily routines during the brief in between of me taking missions and handling duties. There are pictures of me eating my meals in my favourite dining places and me having my hair trimmed in my frequented barber shop. The next thing I know they're all camping there waiting for me to show up.

I tried changing my preferences and it worked out well at first. But then they caught up to me after a few weeks. So I decided to change my strategy - eating randomly, dining at places without a particular pattern, and showing up at places far apart from each other. But damn they are persistent.

They changed their tactics as well and decided to play a game. A game called Hide-and-Seek. Groans internally.

Whoever manages to spot me in public, just has to take a picture and seconds later they're there standing outside of the shop or waiting at some alleyway. I almost had a heart attack when they sprang onto me from the dark alley of a bar, squealing and trying to steal a kiss. Luckily, my squadmates were there since we were hanging out at the bar after completing one of our missions. By some form of miracle, they successfully managed to extricate me from that tangle of limbs and squealing girls. I swear the next time this happens again, I don't know if I could escape unscarred...

I shook my head violently. Gosh I need to get that out my head. It's a horrible trauma I swear.

This exchange program to Soren's University was supposed to be a cover. Father had arranged it to make it look as if it was for me to broaden my horizons about what people my age do. The real reason behind it was I'm sent to the school to do some scouting.

My mission this time is to search for the faerie gate situated somewhere in the university.

However, news about my exchange in Soren's University has been blown far and wide. Soon all the fan tabloids and reporters are reporting about this latest bout of gossip. It's hard to maintain secrecy, if this goes on, I'm afraid the cover will be blown. Last night was so bad that I had to ask one of my squadmates to disguise as me and create a diversion for me to escape. Even the Paranormal Department had sent their agents for crowd control since I only have two bodyguards tagged to me.

How are we to carry out our mission if we're tracked by a bunch of people? I can only pray somehow this will work.

I pulled the cap lower down my head and adjusted fake spectacles before I grabbed the duffel bags and made my way up to our designated living quarters. It's situated near the school's dormitories, but a more private and luxurious extension, given to only the guests of the university. Several ministers have stayed here temporarily before and also their children who are here on an actual exchange trip.

My mission this time is complicated. On top of searching for the source of magical energy in the University picked up by one of the Scouts of Paranormal HQ, Me and my team also have to investigate the kidnappings of the students from the University. There's around three cases of students mysteriously disappearing, which is comparatively lower than other places but we're not taking any chances.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

We discovered that the waves emitted here are almost as strong as the ones emitted near gateways to the Fae Realm. So we theorized that there may be a gate in the university and it may be the reason behind the kidnappings.

"Never mind about the uproar. It should form the perfect cover for you to investigate the place without anyone suspecting a thing." One of the ministers involved in the plan had said. With that in mind, I decided to arrive earlier than the scheduled timing. One needs to strike when the iron is hot.

My phone vibrated in my left pocket and I placed the duffel bags gently down on to the floor before reading the text message. It was from Fenrys. "All clear. Good to go. Regulations state that sch grounds are banned from outsiders. Come ASAP when you reach nxt week." I punched the air with a fist. This is the happiest news I've ever heard in the 18 years of my life. Months of freedom from that bunch of craziness. Hell yeah, it's vacation time baby.

I hefted the bags after quickly texting a quick message of thanks to my second-in command, and continued with my journey. Whistling a happy tune, my brain started to picture all the scenarios that I can finally fully enjoy. I'm preoccupied with imagining myself eating a hot cheese burger in the school's cafetorium when suddenly I knocked into someone. Or she knocked into me. Both of us weren't looking at the front.

My reflexes were quick enough to prevent the straps from falling off my grip and I heaved a sigh of relief as I managed to place the bags gently on the ground. The girl on the other hand, didn't have as much luck. The books in her arms went flying from our encounter. I caught a glimpse of her shocked expression before she bent down and picked up her books while saying, "Oh gosh. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry about this. Are you okay?"

I watched in bemusement and astonishment as her hands flew with increasing speed to snatch up each and every book off the ground.

Finally, she stood up and looked at me, her chestnut hair falling into her eyes. "I'm so sorry. Gosh. Are you hurt?" She's hugging the books to her chest and her flustered eyes are a pretty shade of molten gold. That's a rare color. I noted with surprise. In fact, I've never seen a human with eyes the color of unspun gold. Is she wearing some sort of contacts? That's pretty cool.

Shooting her a smile, I said "I'm alright. You, on the other hand... are you okay?" I studied her form, checking for signs of any bruises. I think it's a miracle that she's unharmed, no one survives that well after knocking into a pack of lean muscles. Her skin must be made of steel or something hard. Funny, why do I think that way about a girl? She is obviously a fragile breathing human, like me. It seems Vesna has been influencing my opinions about girls lately. I rolled my imaginary eyes in my head.

She shook her head. "No, I'm great. I'm sorry about your bag. Is anything broken?" Worry creased her eyes.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. I mean she couldn't have known but there's a reason why the equipment is stored in such bulky bags. They are padded with extra protection. The weapons and equipment I carry require extra care, so my bags were padded so much that the things inside wouldn't even break if I dropped them several meters below. Still I always made sure to handle them with care. A cautious hobby of mine.

She stared at me puzzledly, a curious frown on her face. Oh right, her question.

"Nothing's broken. No worries." I flashed her my signature smile, the one I use in front of the cameras. She nodded in relief but then she frowned again. "Have I met you before? Like see you somewhere around?" She asked me.

Oh crap. Please not now. Not when I just had a taste of the most relieving freedom of my life. It was just 3 minutes. Ugh. Cut me some slack.

I cocked my head and stared at her with one of my brows raised. Before I could say something to deny her question, she said, "Oh maybe I'm wrong and I mixed you up with someone else. Anyways I got to go, bye." She shot me a quick apologetic smile before she walked away towards the direction of the student dormitories.

Phew. I let out a relieved sigh. She hadn't recognized me, right?

I'm expecting to hear a girl's squeal or someone appearing out of thin air but several minutes passed, and it's only the silence of the early morning filled with crickets chirping. I finally let my guard down and headed to our lodgings, this time without interruptions.

Fenrys is going to have the shock of his life when he finds me sitting in the dorm room later. I thought with a smile. And he is going to be even more pissed when I tell him my plans to disguise myself.

I've already heard about the Science Department students hosting a welcome party in the dorms. So I decided that I will attend it not as Prince Damien, but as a rich foreign exchange student interested to stay in the spotlight. For my plan to work, I've prepared my disguise - dying my hair brown and wearing contact lenses to mask my onyx irises. In case that I might still be discovered, I also decided to pull on a pair of glasses. A bit over the top you might say, but I'm not taking any chances.

Now all I need is the cooperation of a certain demi-fae to make my plan perfect...