The class resumed after Black apologized for the disruption caused by his grandfather showing up. All of the girls understood and accepted the apology, because they all knew that when an elder of your family showed up, you had better give them all of your attention.
I helped Vanessa with the actual class enchantment and she did really well with it, especially using my smaller and well sharpened tools. I had used the fortifying waterproof potion on them as well, so there was no chance that she would harm them, even if she made a mistake, slipped, or dropped them.
We were done a long time before the end of the morning classes and I had also given her a square of wildwood to do the completed enchantment on. After a brief discussion, Black said it had to be solely Vanessa's work that went into it and she couldn't use my enchantment potion. They talked for several minutes and the teacher helped her add her blood to the wood and then she infused it with her magic.
Black picked it up and used his magic to activate it, then smiled when it glowed. “Very good. Well done, Vanessa.”
Vanessa blushed at the praise and her hand on my knee squeezed a little. “Thank you.”
“Are you thanking me or the teacher?” I asked her.
“Both.” Vanessa said and her blush didn't lessen.
“Both of us.” I said to Black and he chuckled.
“Keep it up, both of you.” Black said and wrote out a mark on a piece of paper to give to us. “You can stay or go, since there's not much more you can do after all the work you've already done.”
I glanced at Vanessa and she whispered to leave. “We'll go, so as not to disrupt the class further.”
Black nodded and moved off to consult the other students.
Vanessa and I packed up our things and left the classroom. The hallways were bare of students, or any activity really, and we left the main student classroom building.
“I need to head over to the library. I have a new map of the marsh and I need to compare it to the general map that Eludora has.” I said and Vanessa agreed to come with me and clung to my arm.
We were halfway to the student administration building when I heard many horse hooves rapidly approaching. I grabbed Vanessa with my free arm and twirled us around and out of the path of what I assumed was an out of control carriage. I was half wrong with that assumption.
“Whoa! WHOA!” The driver said and yanked on the reins.
It was almost comical the way the team of horses reared back while all four of their hooves remained flat on the ground and skidded in the dirt for about fifteen feet before the carriage stopped.
“Good dodge there, young man.” The driver said and wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. “The horses took my fast trot command as a run command.”
“What's going on? Did we catch him?” A man's deep baritone voice asked from inside the carriage. It was familiar and I turned to see the royal crest on the side of the carriage.
“Yes, your highness.” The driver said.
“Good.” The voice said and the coachman opened the carriage door and added the stairs. The king stepped out and looked to be dressed in a lot of fluffy refinery.
I gave him a regal bow and Vanessa did a perfect curtsy with my arm as a brace.
“David! It's so nice to see you.” The king said.
I stood up straight and raised my eyebrows at him.
The king laughed. “I take my daughter's words to heart.” The king said. “She declared you a family friend for agreeing to do what you did. I don't want to disappoint her.”
“Did Rose come with you?” I asked.
“No, she and her mother had several functions today.” The king said and waved at the carriage. “Despite her incessant begging, I couldn't pull her from her duties. Those meetings have been planned for months and she shouldn't ignore her commitments to go traipsing off on her father's whims.”
The three of us climbed into the carriage and there was a beautiful young woman that was impeccably dressed sitting on the backwards facing seat with a clipboard. Vanessa and I sat beside her, which left the king to sit by himself on the forward facing seat, and the carriage trotted off at a normal pace.
“Why are you here, your highness?” I asked.
“It's just a quick visit between my own appointments. Unlike my daughter, I can postpone a lunch meeting to go do what I want.” The king said with a chuckle. “Once, anyway. My wife will be angry that I made the trade minister wait for an hour, though.”
“Not the minister himself?” Vanessa asked and I repeated it for the king.
“Ha! No, Micheal and I have been friends for decades. He knows I shuffle things around some days, just for a change of scenery.” The king said. “We have a quick stop at the main administration building, then the student administration building, and then your dorm.”
“My dorm?” I asked, curious.
“You remember my promise to relieve you of your problems here at the academy.” The king said and I nodded. “I'm here to fix them or remove them.”
Vanessa's mouth opened in shock and the king laughed.
“This might be a mage academy; but, it's funded by the crown. I own all the land, the buildings, and pay the salaries of the staff and teachers.”
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“Does that mean the student fees all go to you?” I asked.
“Only partly. I arranged it a while ago to fold any excess money into improving the place and maintaining everything.”
That immediately brought my thoughts to my dorm building. “You might need to check where all of that money is going, your highness. I've seen several buildings in a semi-ruined state. The botany workshop and part of the library are two examples. I won't mention the old dorm building that was abandoned and left to rot, since I've fixed that up myself to live in it.”
“My wife did mention that.” The king said. “It's one of the reasons why I want to visit there.”
I nodded and the carriage came to a stop in front of the main administration building. The carriage door opened the the king stepped out first. I was a bit surprised, because there were no guards. When I stepped out and held a hand back for Vanessa, she blushed at being treated like that and not being offered an elbow.
We walked behind the king as a red carpet seemed to roll out in front of us. The king ascended the stairs, the carpet rolling up them unhindered, then the doors of the building opened without anyone there. The carpet went right inside and turned to flow down the hallway. The king walked on, ignored everyone there as if they were beneath him, and he went right to the director's office. He even ignored the secretary that didn't even try to catch his attention. She knew better than that.
The door opened without being touched and the director stood up. “Who dares to...” He stopped mid-sentence as the red carpet rolled in and the king walked on it to stop right in front of his desk.
“What's this I hear about you giving Lord Drake a hard time over his birthplace and then accusing him of a crime that he was innocent of?” The king asked without any pleasantries being exchanged first.
The director's voice was caught in his throat and he just opened and closed his mouth several times without speaking.
“I see. So, it was true. You can't even lie to deny it because your guilt is too obvious.” The king said with a nod. “I hope you enjoyed bullying him, since it will be the last time that you will do so. You are relieved of duty, your authority, and your responsibility to this academy and the student body as a whole.”
The director's face drained of all color and he started breathing heavily.
“You have until I leave this building to gather your personal things.” The king said. “If you try to take anything from the academy or what's considered Academy property, you will be prosecuted for theft of crown property.”
The director dropped back into his seat with a look of utter defeat on his face.
“You still have your position in the mages guild, assuming you want to return there.” The king said and looked at me. “David, I hope you can reconsider challenging him when you graduate. I won't tell you not do, I will just say that killing him or his proxy won't make you feel any satisfaction after not having to deal with him after three years.”
“I will consider your words, your highness.” I said and the king smiled.
“That's all I ask.” The king said and waved Vanessa and I out of the office. He stopped by the secretary and spoke to her. “If you aren't vowed to him, you may remain.”
The woman gave him a sad look and shook her head.
“Then the same conditions apply to you.” The king said. “Please refrain from taking anything that's not yours or doing any damage. I would regret having to send my men after you.”
“Y-yes, your highness. I understand.” The secretary said, her face red.
We went back out to the main area and the king stopped walking for some reason. The red carpet had rolled back up behind us as we left the office, in a reverse of going there. I turned to look and saw a sneer on the cooking department head's face. The red carpet shifted and flowed out towards the middle desk where the cooking head sat. The king walked over to the man and the cooking head caught his breath and started to visibly sweat.
“This academy has always been known for its exceptional food and feeding the students very well.” The king said, his face showing anger. “I provide extra funding specifically because I don't want the students to worry about getting enough to eat. You. Know. This.”
The man paled and nodded.
“I didn't hear you.” The king said.
“Y-yes, your highness. I know.”
“Yet, you disregarded over a hundred years of tradition and issued a Bronze Card to a student. Why?”
The man clamped his mouth shut and didn't respond.
“If you don't answer, you will be relieved of your duties.” The king said.
“Your highness, it was necessary to...”
“...starve a student because of where he came from?” The king asked.
“He's a convict and a conscript, your highness.” The man said, a bit more confidently.
“You are wrong. He was convicted and sentenced to death. It was commuted into a conscription to the army. He was severely injured while on duty and was given a medical discharge, which nullified his conscription.” The king countered. “What's your excuse now for his treatment?”
The man couldn't say anything and just sighed.
“You are relieved of your duties. Take yourself and your personal belongings from the premises before I leave this building.” The king said. “You are not to return to the cafeteria kitchens or the teacher's kitchens and you are not to take anything that belongs to the academy.”
The man sighed and nodded.
“Do you have a recommendation of who can take over for you?” The king asked.
“Yes, Mage Jackson is my chosen successor and a spectacular...”
“He's fired as well.” The king said and everyone gasped. “If he's someone you'd recommend, then I don't want him on staff, either.”
“But, your highness! He didn't do anything!”
“Right. He didn't tell you that you were being unfair, did he? That starving someone was all right, because he was a charity case and didn't need to eat with the normal students. Are those not your words?”
The man clamped his mouth shut and didn't say anything.
“I am not uncaring, however. I will remain here for ten minutes before I step outside.” The king said and walked back over to Vanessa and I. “I suggest you hurry.” He said as the carpet rolled up behind him. The funny thing was, the roll never got bigger or smaller, no matter how far we walked.
“The next stop is the proctor's office.” The king said and we went down another hallway and he didn't knock as the door opened for him. What followed was ten minutes of him berating the academy's police for not enforcing the rules to ensure the safety of all students, regardless of who they were. He also quickly checked to see if anyone else had the bright idea to steal from students and claimed their things as their own. Luckily for them, no one else was guilty of that particular crime.
The young beautiful woman that had been completely quiet and making notes on her clipboard the entire time, finally spoke. “Your highness, can I remind you to institute the patrols of the academy grounds?”
“Ah, thank you Melanie. I knew I forgot something.” The king said and ordered the proctors to do their jobs and reminded them of the patrols that the guards are required to do, three times a day and preferably at random times, to catch any wrongdoings. We could all see by their guilty faces that they hadn't been doing that at all, let alone three times a day.
When they were sorted out, we left there and the middle desk was empty in the main room. The king nodded to Melanie and she strode down the hallway to see if the director and his secretary were gone. She came back and smiled happily at the king.
“Next stop is the student administration building.” The king said and we climbed back into the carriage, even though the building was not that far away.