Plain.

That one word is all Moirin Ni’ Lapain ever heard, whether it be from the other students or her own family outside of her mother and father. Never beautiful, never exceptional, just always there.

Existing.

It had been like an empty void within her heart for the past few years as the future seemed dimmer and dimmer. Doomed to a life of mediocrity in the halls of the Ascean Knight Academy, of just being another random squire within the hordes of the empire’s forces.  She had initially been excited, seeing it as a new opportunity and one that would help support her family.  That bit of delight had quickly soured as the daily boot camp regiments wore her down.  While she still wished to help her family, she had dreams, aspirations for more.

In the end, she just felt empty, because she knew that it was just another day of living a life where she was just another person in the crowd. A mere farmer's daughter among so many of the movers and shakers of the world.

The nobles among their ranks would probably take over their family’s lands and businesses once they got old enough, seeing the knighthood as a means of prestige and glory. Similar things would occur with the richer students, and even the more modest recruits had something to go back to in that world of theirs, full of lights and wonder she had never gotten to see, living so far out in the countryside as she had.

Just another town that dotted the landscape of the Ascean Empire.

Still, at least there was one good thing in this world.  Her eyes glanced across the library, her amber eyes looking over the book she held in front of her face and at the table of her true love.

Personally, she couldn’t care less, but she had an appearance to keep up that she was interested, even if there was nothing more that she wanted to do than stare at her beloved.  Demian Novikov sat across the library, his face planted in a book.  He was always so hard working, always wanting to present himself as the best of the best, and having succeeded as he was an Honored Esquire.  One of ten within the entire academy, and probably destined for greatness with how well he did in both the classroom and in the drills.

Considering he was one of the few esquires with the honors of representing the entire knighthood within the Tournament of the Seven Hills, that was to be expected.

“Moirin, you’re staring at him again.”  A bored voice caught her attention as she turned, spotting the customary dark-skin of her foreign friend.  Tarabai Garima, from the country of   Bharatavarsha across the Pantas Ocean, looked at her nails, feigning an interest in them even if it was clear that she was bored out of her mind.

Moirin didn’t know why that was. 

She never tired of watching Demian.

“S-so what?”  The redhead tried to say, her stutter getting the best of her.  “You know how I feel about him, so why do you care if I look?”

“There’s a difference between looking and stalking.”  Tarabai sighed as she fumbled in her pockets and pulled out a small can of Meha-Cola.  “And by the grin that slid across your face as you looked at him, I’m thinking it was probably the later.”

Moirin cursed underneath her breath.  She had to cut down on doing that, but she just couldn’t help it.  Sometimes she got a little excited when she saw her beloved.  She just wished he would see her too.

“It’s n-not stalking.  It’s research.”  Moirin fired back, a bit of venom in her words.  “How else am I supposed to know what he likes, or what his h-hobbies are?”

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“…By talking to him.  You know, like a normal person.”  Tarabai took a sip from her can, her tongue licking her lips afterwards.  The girl smirked as she looked down at Moirin, and the redhead personally wondered if her acquaintance thought it funny to get her so heated up.

“Easy for you to say!”  Moirin said loudly, drawing a bit of attention to the two of them, a few glares coming from the other students.  She winced as she muttered a quick “sorry”, the shy girl curling in on herself slightly before she turned back towards the foreigner.  “You’re t-tall and pretty, and you’ve got a nice figure.  Plus, you got that exotic appeal.”

“I know.”  Tarabai was quite smug.  It wasn’t enough that she could wear the military uniform and still look like a model in the heavy armor, but the beautiful golden jewelry that adorned her face made her look near divine. “It comes from decades of fine breeding to produce someone as beautiful as me, but I believe it is quite worth it.”

“Not everyone c-can have that.”  Moirin bit her lip as she looked down at the table.  “Some of us just g-got to live with the fact that we’ll never be as pretty as the other girls.”

“So why not level the playing field?”  Tarabai suggested as she leaned forward.  “There are means to…put things in your favor.  Potions, maybe a touch up by an alchemist-“

“All things I c-could do if I had the crowns.”  Moirin gritted out as she clutched the book in her hands.  “My family isn’t exactly rich like yours.  I-I can’t afford to hire an alchemist to improve me or…those other means.”

“Hmm,” Tarabai tilted her head.  “You say that, but I’m sure you could get your hands on a love potion.  My father used to favor men, but a few regiments of love potions fixed that.  Once it sunk into his bone marrow the only one who he’ll ever love is my mother.  As it should be.” 

Moirin bit her lip.  She liked the sound of that, having Demien only thinking of her, as it should be.  “But the consequences…i-if I get caught, I’ll be sent to Section Seventy-Seven for sure.  If I dosed one of noble blood like him, then I could end up as some lab experiment-“

“Relax Moirin.  All you need to do is not get caught.”  Tarabai waved her concerns off.  “And if you won’t take the potions, then you’ll need to do something else.  Maybe you might actually have to talk to him,” Moirin gulped.  “Or even find other ways to communicate with him.  Either way, this whole watching him from afar garbage won’t cut it.  If you don’t stake your claim on him, then I assure you, one of the other girls will.”

“I can’t let that happen.”  Moirin glared as a fellow student sat next to Demian.  “I won’t let that happen.”

“There you go.  Get mad and prove yourself better than them.  Or watch as he slips right through your fingers.”  The taller girl shrugged.  “Either way, I have homework to do, and I’d rather do it in the privacy of my room.  We can do it together if you’d like.”

“No thank y-you.”  Moirin muttered as she stood up, placing the book down on the table.  She needed to be alone.  “I just need some alone time r-right now.”

“Whatever.”  Moirin felt the girl’s eyes on her back as she left the library, the old musky smell of the book room giving way to the ancient scent of the stones that made up the Ascean Knight Academy.  Her boots clicked and clacked against the floor, and made her way down to the girl’s dormitory.

 Her room was small.  The Ascean Knight Academy wanted efficiency after all, so they weren’t too big.  Moirin didn’t mind though, since it did provide her with one thing that was a precious resource for her back home.

Privacy.

As Moirin closed the wooden door behind her, she slowly walked over to her bed and kneeled onto the floor.  She moved her hand around as it fumbled beneath the bed before she felt it.  She grabbed it and pulled back, revealing a small brown box.  She popped off the lid and pulled a few photos out of it.

She licked her lips as her take in the sight of her man. It may have been hard to get the photos, but she was nothing if not dedicated.  A quick snap when he wasn’t looking went a long way, and even better when he was with his friends since he was usually to busy talking to them to notice her.

He never noticed her.

No one really did.

That still left his friends in the pictures, but a few moments with a cutting spell left holes where their faces had been.  Demian really didn’t need them in his life.

Not when he could have her.

Not when he will have her...or the other way around. A spark of ambition filled her heart till it became a raging inferno, ignited with endless passion.

She had stood by the sidelines and watched him for so long...

It was time to do more than just watching.