Sigismund got up early in the morning. Though, he was still tired from being woken up in the middle of the night. He ate breakfast and went to his classroom as soon as possible. It was another hour before classes started.

"People will definitely think that I'm trying to avoid Gustava now," he thought.

The lecture hall was long and narrow. It had two rows of chairs going down either side. There were two long tables in front of each set of chairs. A single chair with a podium for lecture notes next to it was at the end of the room. As Sigismund took a seat, he noticed that the backs of the chairs were ornate with elaborate carvings. He took out his notebook.

“History class is first, followed by magical theory, arithmetic, law, logic, and then physical classes. Tomorrow, I’ll have music, grammar, rhetoric, etiquette, astronomy, and physical classes again,” Sigismund recalled as he took the seat closest to the door.

The sound of footsteps entered the room. Sigismund turned to the door. He saw a boy of 14, a year younger than him, step inside. This kid had short, pale hair with a capotain hat on top of it. His face was sharp, and he was somewhat thin. The boy’s mouth was curved in an empty smile. His clothing was black, except for white socks, and modest. It covered all of his body except for his face, neck, hands, and a bit of his arms. Still, the exposed parts were enough for Sigismund to see that the newcomer had athletic muscles.

“Oh, good, you’re here,” the boy said. “I was hoping that I’d talk to you or Gustava Lejon before classes.”

“What do you want to talk about?” Sigismund asked.

The boy took a bow.

“First, introductions. I am Thomas Aleworth. I’m from what you people call the Western Colonies; though, we call it the Land of Those Who Are Devoted to the Gods.”

“That’s a long name,” Sigismund said.

“Yes. Unlike my father, I don’t blame foreigners for calling our home the Western Colonies," Thomas replied.

Then, Thomas’ expression turned dark. He was still smiling.

“So, onto business,” he said. “I hate your guts, you honorless piece of dung lower than the lowest worms.”

Thomas still had that same empty smile on his face.

“I have a code of honor. It’s just my own and not society’s code.”

“Then maybe you’ll prove me wrong someday, but I still hate you,” Thomas said.

“That’s fine with me. If you hate me, then you hate me,” Sigismund shrugged.

“You don’t care?” confusion crossed the younger boy’s face, but the smile didn't fade.

“I’m a bit worried that you’ll try to kick my ass, but aside from that, I don’t.”

Sigismund was suspicious. No 14-year-old would be in his class without having great talent.

“You’re a strange person,” Thomas stated.

“Did you just come here early to tell me that you hate me, or is there something else?” Sigismund asked.

“Yes. It’s about you and Gustava,” Thomas answered.

“What about her?” the older boy said.

“I know that you’re enemies, but you’re staying in the same room together. An unmarried boy and girl doing that is unacceptable. Don’t worry, though, I know that you can’t move to another room. I asked the school to move you, and they refused.”

“Then what’s the point of this?” Sigismund wondered.

“If you and Gustava have sex, I’m dragging you both to a priest. You’ll be married by the next morning,” Thomas said.

Sigismund burst out laughing.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” he asked. “You don’t have to worry. There’s no way Gustava would ever have sex with me.”

“I know that you’re enemies, but sometimes, people who hate each other have sex. I think it's called: "hate fucking." I don't like swearing, but you should call things by their proper terms. If you want to do that, get married to Gustava first.”

“I'm not gonna hate fuck Gustava,” Sigismund said.

“Are you sure?” Thomas questioned. “She is a very beautiful woman.”

Sigismund thought, “She’s also working through a bunch of issues. I don’t want to distract her from those.”

“Someone like her could never be beautiful to me,” he said. “That wretched bitch has a heart of stone and a face like a dog.”

“Well, I guess that settles things for now,” Thomas walked to the far end of the room and took a seat.

A few more people came in as time passed. Classes started at 6 in the morning, and it was getting close to 5:30.

John Lancaster entered the room with a boy and a girl that Sigismund didn’t recognize. The duke’s son had a piece of paper in his hand. He placed it at the end of one of the tables that was closest to the door. Then, John walked to the other end of the room.

“I have an announcement to make! This Saturn’s Day, I’m holding a tournament! I got one of the teachers to officiate it. We’ll be fighting with wooden swords, no magic allowed. Any student in our grade who wants to can enter,” John said.

One of the students raised his hand, “What do we get if we win?”

“A deluxe fish dinner made by the finest chefs on campus.”

Murmurs arose among the various students. Sigismund could tell that they were interested in the tournament.

Time passed, and all the students entered the room. Gustava came in last. She noticed that the sole free seat was right next to Sigismund’s.

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“Well, this is awkward,” she said.

“Just focus on the lecture, if someone like you is even capable of that,” he replied with an exaggerated flair.

“You’ll probably fall asleep in the middle of class, knave,” Gustava’s performance was very unconvincing.

She sat down next to Sigismund.

The teacher came in next. She was a tall woman of 67 wearing a nun’s habit. Her movements were graceful and measured. There was a stern look on her face as she surveyed the class. Taking a seat at the lone desk at the end of the hall, the teacher placed down a packet of lecture notes.

“Good morning, class,” she said. “I am Sister Theresa. Today, we’ll be studying the Reman Empire. Unless you have any questions, act as though you’ve taken a vow of silence. Or else.”

To emphasize the point, she conjured a ball of fire in her left hand. Theresa clenched her fist. The flame was crushed. No one dared speak after that.

“The Reman Empire started 3,000 years ago and fell 800 years ago. Though, by the time it fell, it was a shell of its former self. Men of the Sverd, Nordan, and Denman tribes took most of its Northern provinces. Then, numerous tribes came in from the East. These included the Valanders, Guths, Hoonics, and Elens. We won’t be discussing the Guths in much detail. While most of them invaded the Reman Empire, the Guths attacked the tribes that occupied the Northern provinces. The fighting reached a standstill in many places, and some Guth noble families joined the very people they invaded. It took 200 more years for the Reman Empire to fall after the Eastern invasions; however, they were its death knell.”

The rest of the day passed without issue until they got to their physical classes. These classes were in a training yard, and the students were doing spear drills under the instruction of Sir William. This training consisted of them moving in formation and then doing some strikes.

However, a look of frustration crossed John’s face. He spoke as the drills ended.

“Sir William, why are we just doing drills? We've been doing these since we were children,” John said.

“Not all of you have the same level of training. We’re doing the basics so that I can figure out where everyone’s at for future training.”

“Why not just have us all fight? That’ll show you who the best is.”

“As appealing as that might sound, all that would tell us is who's best at single combat. Formation fighting is far more important on the battlefield, and some of you didn’t have good enough cohesion,” Sir William explained. “Now, let’s go to the horses. We’re doing lance drills next, and then you’ll practice on the quintain.”

“Yes, the quintain, that’ll be good for competition,” John smiled.

He thought, “I’ll make everyone here want to kick my ass!”

However, when they got to the quintain, Sigismund sent the target moving hard. Gustava’s blow was just as good. John gritted his teeth in frustration as he mounted his horse. He held his lance between his elbow and body, using a hand to guide it.

“They think they’re better than me? I’ll show them!” he said.

John pressed his spurs into his horse, making it rush forward. He aimed his lance at the quintain but focused on raw power. A great roar escaped from his mouth as he slammed his weapon into the target. The boy was certain he’d hit hard; however, the quintain just moved a few inches.

“What? How is that possible? I should have crushed it!” John felt like throwing his lance to the ground and stepping on it.

Sir William walked over.

“You focused more on power than accuracy. If you’d hit it straight on, you’d have done very well. But you only got a glancing blow,” the knight said.

“Dammit,” John gritted his teeth.

“Keep practicing but don’t push yourself too hard,” Sir William stated.

The class went on for a while longer. It moved on to poleaxe training before doing some sword practice. By the end of it, the students were breathing heavily.

“Finally, it’s over!” one of them said.

“I’m going to go right back to my dorm and sleep,” another stated. “It’s a shame that I didn’t get to beat the crap out of that honorless dog, but I guess I’ll get a chance to fight him later.”

“I just feel sorry for Gustava. She has to live in the same room as her worst enemy.”

“Bunch of fools. I’m the one you should worry about. No matter what, I will surpass those two!” John said.

After everyone left, John stayed. He got on a horse and charged into the quintain. The boy did this again and again, staying up all night. His horse got too tired to continue after a while. So, he got on another horse.

John was dead tired by the end of it. His body was in agony from riding all night. He held his lance in the same position for so long that his arm could barely move. Still, there was a smile on his face as he looked at the quintain. It had moved far several times during the night.

“There, now I know that I just need to…” John started, only to collapse onto the ground.

He fell asleep on the spot, just to be woken up by someone pushing him. John opened his eyes to see Nathaniel and Maria standing over him.

“What the hell were you doing last night?” Maria asked.

“I was training,” John answered.

“All night?” Nathaniel said. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Sleep is from the weak. I need to get stronger, no matter what!”

“You also need to attend classes. If we don’t hurry, we’re going to be late,” Maria said.

“Right, classes,” John groaned and forced himself up. “Thanks, you two.”

His eyes locked with Maria’s. There was an expression of frustration on her face.

“Nathaniel, go to class and leave us,” she commanded.

“I’m going,” he said.

Then, John and Maria were alone.

“We need to talk,” Maria stated.

“Say whatever you want,” John replied.

He forced a yawn down.

“I don’t want to be your rival. We’re fiancés, John,” Maria said.

“If I’m going to get stronger, I need everyone at school to be my rival,” John stated.

“Why do you care so much about getting stronger?” she asked. “You want your own fiancé to be your rival! That’s ridiculous!”

“Well, you might be right about that last one. As for why I want to get stronger, I need you to tell me something first. What does being a noble mean to you?”

“It means being a member of the top class, being superior to commoners in every way, and ruling the nation because the commons are incapable of it,” Maria said.

“That's what most nobles would say. To me, being a noble means being someone who can be a beacon of hope for people, someone who can inspire commoners to be great,” John replied.

“That isn’t a bad thing, but we already do that. The commoners love us.”

“Tell me, when was the last time you talked to a commoner?” John asked.

“I think some of the chefs here are commoners,” she answered.

“You’ve never had a real talk to a commoner,” John said. “Let me tell you something: the commoners don’t look up to us. They think we’re out of touch, corrupt idiots. And they’re right!”

“You’d insult our entire social class like that?” shock overcame Maria.

“I’m only saying the truth. Our ancestors must be rolling in their graves, seeing the state of the nobility these days. I bet they’re waiting right for us at the gates of hell to beat the shit out of us before the demons can claim our souls,” he stated.

“Our ancestors are proud of us!”

“Maybe your ancestors are proud of how corrupt the nobility is, but mine aren’t. I’m going to fulfill my ideal of nobility, make myself someone who can inspire the commons, and crush the corruption that’s infested our social class,” John said.

“I can’t deny that there’s some corruption. It needs to be dealt with,” Maria admitted.

“That’s why I need to become the strongest. I want to make sure that when I talk, everyone listens. And that the commoners do their best to become just like me.”

John then held out his hand.

“Maria, I know that our marriage was arranged since we were little kids, and we met for the first time just a few days before we got into this school,” he said. “But one thing you’re right about is that we’re fiancés, and we should act like it. If you won’t be my rival, then be my support. Cheer for me at every fight I’m in, bring me water when I’m thirsty after training, and check on me when I’m tired. In exchange, I will support you in whatever your goal is.”

“My goal…well, more than anything else, I want to become the world’s greatest poet,” she replied.

“Then I’ll listen to whatever poetry you write. I’ll read other peoples’ poetry too so I can know how well your poetry stands up to theirs,” John said.

Maria took his hand.

“It’s settled, then. You’d better keep your end of the promise," she stated.

“I was about to say the same for you," John smiled.