After learning our points yesterday, we were told to go to the classroom first thing the next morning. It was annoying, but I made sure that I was one of the first people there, seeing as I still wanted to make a good impression.

We started filing into the room, with Thalia and Julian arguing about something, while Alec and Chris watched. Iris was talking about her siblings to a not-very-interested Demi, Kyra was playing rock-paper-scissors with Katherine and Iason simultaneously, and Kora and Robin were quietly discussing something. When we were all eventually gathered in the room, Andreas arrived and stood at the front.

"Good morning, Children of Aster. Today's lesson will be short, as I just want to go over a few things."

When are we going to have an actual proper lesson then?

"Tomorrow will be the day when you are presented to the palace. There will be a ceremony in the throne room, and it will be the first time you are officially seen as Children of Aster. It will be an important day for you, as well as for our kingdom."

Tomorrow? Why didn't they tell us earlier? Why on such short notice? Things like this were quickly starting to become annoying.

"You won't have to do much at the actual event, as you'll only have to go up when they call your name, utter a few words, and sit back down afterward."

Suddenly, Thalia raised her hand again, I'm guessing with another question.

Andreas sighed. "What is it, Miss Demo?"

"Will our families be in attendance?" she asked, resting her hands on the desk.

Andreas nodded in response. "Yes, those of you from Altair will have your families attend, but those from the other cities will not, as it's on such short notice."

Thalia nodded. "Thank you for answering my question."

"Moving on, all your personal servants have been tasked with preparing your outfits for tomorrow, and you'll all be dressed in similar attire," he went on, looking like he just wanted to leave. "The ceremony will only be approximately an hour, and as well as your families being in attendance, the king's court will be as well. It'll be the first time that most of them will see you."

It looks like I'll have to make a good impression again, and looking at everyone else, I could see that they were thinking the same.

"Another event that will be taking place is a ball in two months, to celebrate all of your birthdays."

I had almost forgotten that we all had the same birthday. Not to mention that it seemed like it was going to be a big deal. All my previous birthdays were celebrated with a bit of extra food on my plate, and before I knew I was a Child of Aster, the upcoming one was going to be celebrated with me becoming a slave.

"As it's your first birthday at the palace, it will be a big event, even bigger than the ceremony. Foreign lords and ladies will be in attendance, and the ball will be very important to the royal family. You are to be on your best behavior." He stared us all down as he said this. I wonder what would happen if we messed around.

Andreas picked up some papers that he had found on the desk and sorted through them. "Now, moving on, I have papers for all of you. This is to help you understand your magic better. You cannot look at anyone else's. If you're caught looking, you will be punished."

He then got up and proceeded to hand out the pieces of paper.

When he dropped mine on my desk, I reached forward and studied it.

My name was at the top, and the date was from four days ago. From when I first arrived. Underneath my name, there was a heading titled "Power." I sucked in a breath and looked at what was written.

Starfire - Can create and control fire, with the potential to reach the temperature of a star. Possible for there to be more to the ability.

That made sense. I read the last part again. Possible for there to be more to the power. If that's true, then I'll find out what it is. I'll need to if I want to raise my point.

I dared a glance behind me and saw that everyone was looking closely at their papers, taking in everything it said. When I looked at Katherine, though, I saw that she seemed like she might burst into tears. Finding out what her power is is definitely a priority.

Andreas went back to the front of the class and cleared his throat, getting all of our attention.

"I'm sure that you've all had the chance to read about your powers now. Hopefully, this encourages you to train harder and push your magic to its limits," he said, like he was reciting it from a script.

"Now, we're going to quickly go over your relation to the Gods."

That's so random, why now? These people keep throwing stuff at us last minute.

"As I'm sure you all know, the Aster, the stars, are our heavenly Gods that care for and look after us. As a show of their love for us, they sent down you, the Children of Aster, to help our kingdom prosper," he said it like he barely believed it himself.

"You are all Children of Gods, and so you have a strong connection to the Aster. This kingdom sees you all as holy figures, so it would be wise for you to visit the chapel regularly."

Like hell I'm doing that.

"You're now dismissed. It would be best for you all to try and prepare for the ceremony in any way possible," he said with a barely stifled yawn.

We all rose from our chairs and exited the room in a crowd.

✭✭✭

As I walked through the hallways with Lyra and Demi, we passed by Thalia, Chris, Julian, and Alec. They were all snickering about something. Actually, more accurately, it was Thalia and Chris. Julian looked like he was thinking, while Alec seemed like he couldn't care less.

I glanced behind them to try and get an idea of what was so funny, but it was just Katherine, again.

She seemed like she was on the edge of a breakdown, most likely because of the ceremony tomorrow. I can understand why she's so scared a little; we were told on short notice.

I rolled my shoulders and sighed silently. "I think I'll stay behind for now, you should go on without me," I said to Iris and Demi, deciding that I should go and console Katherine again.

Iris looked behind me curiously, but she understood when she saw Katherine, so she nodded and dragged Demi off somewhere.

With them both out of the way, I stepped towards Katherine, who had completely stopped in her tracks.

"Are you okay, Kat? Where are Kyra and Iason?" It seemed like they stuck around Katherine less and less lately.

"T-they said th-there w-was something th-they needed to do, and they went into Kyra's room."

I raised an eyebrow at that. I was completely right about her being a third wheel. It looks like they're in a romantic relationship or something.

"Oh. Well, are you okay? If you're not, you can do breathing exercises with me again." I put an arm on her shoulder.

She smiled and seemed to calm down a little.

"I-I think I'll be okay now, thanks, Ara." And she walked away.

I rolled my eyes. What a drama queen.

✭✭✭

I was reading on my bed with a book from the library. It was well into the night now, and the whole day was boring, except for the 'class' this morning. I sighed and rolled over. I'm sure we're going to do a lot more than what we're doing now, but when would that time come? I'm getting extremely bored.

Just as I was complaining in my head, I noticed a tapestry on the wall starting to flutter in the wind. I sighed and got up from my bed towards it. It was annoying me, so I was going to take it down.

But when I did, I was absolutely shocked. There was a door. A hidden door. It had a gold handle, and I tugged on it before it opened to show a passageway. This is one way to cure my boredom.

I left my book on the desk before I took a candle and entered the passageway, shutting the door behind me. I wonder where this leads. I ended up climbing for a while through a dark hallway that I guess hadn't had anyone in it for a while, seeing as there were so many cobwebs, before I reached a cross in the road. There were eight doors, and I heard snoring from five of them. I guess that means these are doors to everyone's room.

I decided to go down one of the three where I didn't hear snoring, as I could learn valuable things from the other children when they thought they were alone. I couldn't decide which one to go down first though, so I did eenie-meenie-miney-mo, and ended up with the one on the far left.

Keeping my hand on the wall, I kept walking until I heard voices talking. I came up to another door, which I guess meant we all could access this passage, and pressed my ear up against the wall so I could hear better.

"Come on, Iason, you're not scared, are you?" a voice said teasingly.

Katherine had said that Kyra and Iason had gone to Kyra's room together. So I guess that this is her room.

"I-I'm not. It's just, should we really do this?" another more unsure voice asked.

"It'll be fine.And y'know, you look cute when you blush."

A startled noise came from the room.

I moved back at the speed of light. I had heard enough of that.

Rubbing my head, I moved up the passage and back to the fork in the road. This time I went into the one on the right.

Again, I pushed my ear up against the wall, and I heard... nothing. No talking, snoring, or a bath running. I don't know whose room it is, but they're not in it right now.

I guess it's not that suspicious since we don't really have a curfew, but it's still odd. I went back up the passage and into the final route. This one was by far the longest—I felt like I was walking forever—but eventually, I came to a door and pressed my ear against it.

This time, I heard... trees rustling? Why would... oh. It goes outside.

As I realized this, I opened the door and stepped onto a balcony.

From here, I could see a separate part of the gardens, a view that I couldn't normally see from my room. Standing there on the balcony was surprisingly peaceful, and it was easy to forget about everything stressful, like the point system.

But as I was staring up at the sky, I noticed another door. As I reached and opened it, I realized that it was another passageway, which I guess leads to the boys' rooms. This passage was long too, and I marched forever until I came to another crossroad.

Similar to the girls', I could hear snoring coming from many paths. There was only one from which I could actually hear talking. Holding my candle even tighter, I went down the path and pressed my ear to the door.

"And you're actually him, right?" someone asked hesitantly.

I know that voice; it's Demi. Does that mean the room that was silent was hers? Who's she talking to right now?

"Mhm," a bored voice replied, which sounded like Alecs.

I pressed my ear on the door even harder. This is the perfect opportunity to find out what he's hiding!

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I thought you matched the description that I was given." Silence, but then: "Will you try and escape, then?"

I heard Alec sigh and put something down. "I have been trying, haven't I?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"I've decided that it'd be better for me to get more information here right now. But I have been trying to get people inside the castle."

What does he mean?

"Really? Do you have information, then?" Demi asked excitedly.

I widened my eyes in shock; this is the most emotion I've ever heard from Demi.

"Why should I tell you?" he questioned skeptically.

I agree with his question. How does Demi know about him?

"Well, after I left... my family, I mean, I heard about you, and it inspired me to do what you have, and I've recreated exactly what you do, but in Altair," she whispered reluctantly.

What is it that he does? Are they not gonna say?

Alec sighed again, and I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"It sounds like you're a copycat to me." Demi whimpered. "And I don't like people from Altair."

It was silent for a while, and I had to resist the urge to jump in there and tell someone to say something.

"At the ball, there are going to be many people from Cetus, but more specifically, their queen is coming. I think she's been invited to show her that we're not a threat, but that just confirms for me that we are," he finally said.

"How can I help?" Demi asked even more excitedly, and my eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

Even more silence fell, but he eventually told her:

"There's not a lot we can do right now, but we can follow the king's plan and try to show her that we're not a threat. It would also help if we knew what exactly was threatening her."

Threatening her? A queen?

"Maybe we could try and sneak plans from the high chancellor or the general, but it's risky. I'd like to wait until more people are in the castle."

"I understand. I'll also try and get some of my people in the castle," Demi stated.

"That'd be helpful," Alec replied, and I heard them both drink something, most likely tea.

"So, what do you think of our fellow children?" she asked, somewhat playfully.

"What do you think?" Alec replied, and there was silence. "Think of it as me testing you."

"Ah... well..." she started, flustered. "Okay, well, the ones I know best are Iris and Ara, so I'll start with them."

I listened even more closely; it's kind of entertaining to hear what she thinks she knows about me.

"Well, Iris is nice, but she talks a lot. She doesn't seem to think too deeply about things, though."

That's exactly what I think about her.

"Ara is polite, despite her coming from Aries. She also seems really smart too, so she's a surprising person. Her life seems a bit tragic, though, since her mother is dead, and she lived in Aries alone with her little brother and blind older sister."

I balled my free fist. I am not tragic.

"I'm not sure about everyone else, though. Chris seems to hate everyone from the poorer cities, but now that I think about it, he's friends with you. Why is that?" she asked with curiosity.

"He's not my friend. It's just that their families were told when I was captured about who I was, then they told their children to get on my good side. It's not going to do them any favors, though."

"Oh. Do the other Altair children know anything else that we don't?"

"I'm not sure. But all of their families are on the good side of the king. That's why I'm sticking around them. To get information."

"Ah, that makes sense."

Gods, even more silence. Just talk. It's not that hard.

"Your test isn't over, you know. What else do you think about the other children?"

Demi made a shocked noise.

"Oh well, uh, I think Julian is someone who calculates a lot. He was the heir to his family, but now that he's a Child of Aster, that isn't true anymore. I met him as a child, and I'm sure he's not taking it lightly."

"Kyra's also from Altair, but you wouldn't know it. She seems to have a carefree spirit, but I also met her as a child, and I'm sure her carefreeness is another side to her. When I met her, she was extremely polite and composed. She also seems really close to Iason, but I don't know how they met; he's from Aries, after all."

"Iason himself doesn't talk much, so I don't know a lot about him outside his relationship with Kyra."

"Kora is generally surprising; she was really well composed at lunch, and I didn't expect it."

"Robin just seems to be a nice person, but he's a bit whimsical sometimes. He's probably the most normal among us."

"Katherine's definitely not a confident person; she always looks like she's about to cry at the smallest inconvenience, and I'm pretty sure she has cried. I'm not sure what her power is, though; she didn't use it once during the duels yesterday."

"But overall, I think all of them are interesting characters."

I realized that she didn't say anything about Thalia.

"That's a good observation, and I mostly agree, but..." Alec responded.

But what? She's pretty much right.

"I don't feel the same way about Ara. I mean, I agree with everything you said, but I don't trust her."

Don't trust me? Don't trust me? Does he know how hard I try to make myself seem like a trustworthy person? Why does he think that anyway!?

"Really? Ara? She seems kind to me," Demi argued.

"It would be best for you to be careful around her," he ordered.

Well, now I know to be careful around them, Alec especially.

"Anyways, can I count on you if I need help in the future?"

"Absolutely," Demi replied straight away.

"Good, you can go now."

I heard the sound of a chair scraping, and I knew it was my cue to leave.

As I made my way back, I thought hard about all I had learned, and I had to fight the urge to twiddle my thumbs, even though I was holding a candle.

✭✭✭

A knock came on my door.

I closed my makeshift journal quickly and stored it in the gap behind my bed.

After everything I learned yesterday, I realized I didn't want to forget anything and ordered a maid I found to get me paper. Despite it being the middle of the night, it was brought to me straight away, and I wrote everything I heard.

I wanted to double-check it before I had to leave for the ceremony this morning, but it seems like it'll have to wait. I sighed and got up from my chair before heading to the door.

I was wearing a beautiful long dress that my maids put on me earlier this morning, which looked like it was made of the sea. The sleeves flowed freely around my body, and constellations were dotted around the dress. I also had a long veil to match that covered my face completely. I felt like I was getting married.

As I opened the door, I looked down on just Lilly, who was bowing low.

"Lilly? Where are Mary and Rebecca?" I questioned.

She looked up at me with scared eyes. "Oh, um, Lady Bella, only I was sent to escort you to the common room before the ceremony. The king doesn't want too many... maids near the Children of Aster right now."

The king's so dramatic. Does it really matter that much?

"Okay then. Let us depart, Lilly."

She nodded slightly, and we were on our way.

✭✭✭

I was seated with everyone else in the common room. There was an excited buzz in the air, but I couldn't feel very excited after last night. Now, I'm just curious.

I looked at Demi. She seemed the same as she always did, but there were things about her that I'd noticed. She's cautious, for example; I noticed her checking her surroundings when she thought no one was looking. I didn't bother looking at Alec, seeing as he was already suspicious of me.

I did look at everyone else, though. All the girls were wearing the same dress as me, and the boys were wearing similar-looking robes.

After waiting for a while, Andreas walked in. He, on the other hand, was wearing the same clothes he always did.

"Good morning, Children of Aster. I hope you're all excited," he said without a trace of excitement. "It's time for the ceremony. Follow me."

We all rose from the sofas and followed Andreas down to the throne room. On the way, I noticed many courtiers and maids running around frantically in a panic. I had to stifle a laugh.

Eventually, we arrived at the doors to the throne room, and Andreas opened them to the decorated throne room.

The chandelier was sparkling, reflecting light all around the room, and many statues were spread across the room. The sides of the room had marble seats facing the middle, and at the front of the room were three thrones. The one in the middle belongs to the king, I can tell—it's the most extravagant, after all. The one on the right must be Queen Ariana's, so the one on the left must be Prince Lukas's. They really paled in comparison to the king's. In front of the stage for the thrones was a table that carried a gold box.

On each side of Queen Ariana's and Prince Lukas's throne were six mini-thrones. I wonder if the smaller thrones were meant to signify the "extended member of the royal family" title, even though I don't really feel like that right now.

Andreas turned towards the crowd we had formed. "Go and sit in your point orders, the highest point on the far left."

We all scrambled to our seats, and I scowled on the inside. I had to sit next to Chris for an hour. Bleh.

Andreas looked up at us from the bottom of the stage.

"When the king enters, you are to rise from your seats. You can only sit down when he does. Also, put down your veils; they'll stay like that the entire ceremony. When you're called up, make sure to kneel. When I've finished saying my part, you say, 'For the prosperity of Calypso.'" He huffed. "I'm being nice to you and letting you sit down; you're most likely going to be waiting a while."

He was right; we were waiting a while, and I was extremely bored. I talked aimlessly with Demi, but at some point, I didn't even know what we were talking about anymore, and I had to listen to Chris and Thalia babble on about something stupid.

After what felt like forever, I heard a trumpet sound outside the room, announcing the king, and we all rose from our seats and bowed our heads.

Guards were near him, but the king entered wearing blood-red robes and mountains of gold. His crown was blinding, and he was smirking for some reason. The queen followed after him, wearing an equally red dress that trailed behind her. She wore a golden necklace with many charms, along with her crown. Their son, Prince Lukas, followed behind them wearing even more red, but he had a black cape that was a breath of fresh air. Like his parents, he was also wearing a crown.

There was a gap, but after the prince, the high chancellor marched in, wearing green. More guards also filed in, taking their positions behind the seats. After them, many more people in sparkling dresses and suits walked in, and I noticed that none of them were wearing blue or red. They all looked at us with curiosity, and they all chatted amongst themselves.

The king cleared his throat, and they all quieted down.

"Lords and ladies of the court, I thank you all for joining me today. Today is an important day for our court and for our kingdom. Today we officially recognize the Children of Aster into our court and celebrate their achievements. The Children of Aster are vital to the flourishing of our kingdom and our greatest gift from the Gods. We are thankful for them."

I'm glad I'm wearing a veil so they can't see me rolling my eyes.

"The Children of Aster have already undergone tests in our palace and will no doubt go through many more, but the most recent have tested their magical power as well as ranked them, and for that, we must reward them. That is why we are having this ceremony today. Let us pray to Aster to continue to give us gifts." He finally sat down, and there was applause.

I finally sat down myself, and I had to fight the urge not to sigh.

Andreas walked to the table with a box, carrying a scroll.

"We will now go through the ranks of each Child, named the point system," he read from the scroll.

"Twelfth point, Katherine Aster."

When did they change our last names!? This was news to me, but maybe it was done to hide the fact that some of us are from Aetos and Aries.

Katherine wobbled over to Andreas and kneeled way too quickly. Whispers went up in the crowd.

He lifted her veil and made a symbol on her forehead.

"Will you work hard for the good of our country?" he asked with no emotion.

Katherine stuttered, and I had to stop myself from hitting my face.

"F-for the prosperity of Calypso," she finally managed to say.

Even more whispers went up in the air. At least I can't look worse than that.

He opened the gold box to reveal twelve badges, pinned a twelve-pointed one to her chest, put her veil back down, and she almost dashed back to her seat.

I stole a glance at the king. He didn't seem to be impressed.

"Eleventh point, Kora Aster."

Kora made her way over with a surprising amount of grace.

She kneeled perfectly, and Andreas lifted her veil.

He repeated what he had said earlier, and she replied perfectly. Has she practiced for this or something?

Andreas pinned an eleven-pointed star to her chest and pulled her veil down.

Kora returned to her seat, and Iason went down. He sounded nonchalant throughout the whole thing.

The ceremony went on tediously, with Iris going down a bit too excitedly, Robin's turn somehow feeling like a dream, Kyra showing that composed side Demi had mentioned, as well as some whispers of recognition going up in the air, and Demi herself doing it perfectly.

When it finally came to my turn, I went down carefully, trying not to trip on my dress, and I walked up to Andreas and kneeled. He lifted my veil, and the light shone warmly on my face. I heard a few curious whispers go up, and I smiled.

Andreas looked at me with the most bored face in the world.

"Will you work hard for the good of our country?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question.

I nodded. "For the prosperity of Calypso."

He then made a symbol on my head, which I realized was a twelve-pointed star. He proceeded to pin a five-pointed star to my chest, and I rose and returned to my seat, feeling like I had made a good impression.

After that, the top four went up, and many not-so-quiet whispers rang around the room. It was most likely their families.

When it was Alec's turn, I noticed that he was given a bigger badge than the rest of us, most likely to show that he was the first point. I also noticed a man with a sly grin staring at him.

For a second, I panicked, thinking he might want to attack us, but then I realized that he could be one of the people Alec had snuck into the palace. If that's true, then when I get the chance, I should follow him. But if he snuck into the palace, he's probably cautious. I'll have to make a plan.

When Andreas was finished with Alec, he returned to the sides, and the king rose.

"That concludes the ceremony, and once again, I thank you all for gathering here." The king then exited, taking his family with him.

After that, I expected his court to follow him out, but I was surprised when they all came closer to the stage, and Andreas told us to go down to them.

It was overwhelming. Many people were trying to grab our attention, and I was introduced to many lords and ladies. Like Lady Marilyn, who runs the marble sales in the country, or Duke Tony, who looks after the whole west of Calypso, and Lord Weston, who controls... something. It was all a blur of names and greetings, and everyone from Altair seemed to be doing just fine.

I tried to keep an eye on the sly grin guy, but I eventually lost him. I did see Katherine, though, who, instead of being introduced to members of the court, was being bullied by them. The girls who were harassing her seemed to be the same age, and I decided not to do anything. A bit of bullying was good for her, to break her a bit.

After what felt like forever, we finally got to leave, and I dragged my feet all the way to my room.

✭✭✭

I sighed as I looked over my notes. If everything I heard yesterday was true, then I need to keep an eye on Alec and Demi, as well as find out what they're planning.

What's happening in Cetus? Why are we threatening? What are Alec and Demi up to? I sat back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. What I needed right now was peace. My mind wandered back to the balcony between the girls' and boys' rooms. If I went there, I could relax for a minute.

My mind made up, I snapped the journal closed and made my way to the tapestry.

✭✭✭

As I approached the door to the balcony, I thought about how I was alone. And I needed to get some things off my chest. Stopping and checking that no one was really there, I inhaled and started rambling.

"It's really annoying that the king keeps dropping things on us at the last minute. And you know what? The king himself is annoying. Is he actually going to do anything with us? The queen is weird, and their son seems stupid. If I'm being honest, everyone in this castle gets on my nerves." I came up to the door and pushed it open with one hand. "And... I don't want to admit it, but I miss Lydia and Damian."

I almost lost my breath as I looked onto the balcony.

Robin was there, staring at me with a smile.

"D-did you... hear me?" My voice was shaky.

He smiled even wider. "I've been able to hear you since you started chirping down there."

He looked back at the garden. "You don't sound the same during the day."

"N-no, I guess not." I put my hand on the door and prepared to make my way back, but he stopped me.

"You can sit here too, if you want." He patted the space next to him.

I stood staring at him for a minute, and I'm not sure why, but I relaxed and did what he said.

As I sat down, I looked up at the starry night sky, and for some reason, my heart fluttered.