I wake up another morning to the sunlight streaming into my conveniently placed room. The feeling is so familiar, yet feels so foreign the second I open my eyes. I'm not in my comfortable place in the castle. I can't just leave the walls of my room behind and go gallivanting around the city. I let a sigh escape the confines of my soul.

No, I'm in school. Liken Academy of all places. The crown jewel of Raekoft.

'Why am I here?' I ask myself despite knowing the answer.

All the royal children go to Liken. Its become a tradition at this point. So, I'm stuck, spending four years in Liken Academy only to be trapped under Kalim's thumb the second I leave. How irritating.

I dreaded my first day here. Students swarmed me as I walked through the Academy gates, which were to be expected. But then, and unexpected element introduced himself to me.

Ritz Dravus.

The boy I met seven years ago on a routine visit around Raekoft. I continued to spot him in Carder every year-round. Hanging out with friends, in the middle of odd-jobs or helping out the family. He always seemed to be busy with something; his mind clouded with multiple differing thoughts and emotions.

At first, he only felt useful. People tend to avoid the black sheep of the family, and Dravus was expectantly treated as such. Having him around finally gave me a chance to breathe.

Needless to say, the school's opinion of him changed fairly soon.

I expected a clean sweep. An absolute humiliation, heavily favouring Domer. I didn't know what I could have done to help him. I gave him a pat on the back, a little boost in confidence and hoped he stayed. I wouldn't consider myself pessimistic, but that route made the most amount of sense. Still, I didn't want Dravus leaving so soon. 

Maybe a pat on the back was all he needed. He achieved something that someone in his position rarely ever does.

From then on, Dravus became an interesting subject. Despite winning the fight and securing his place in the school, he continued to witness every fight. He continued to note every single movement, no matter how minuscule it may be. He continued to make estimations in his head, creasing his eyebrows whenever he hit a brick wall in his head.

It looked like too much for him.

It probably was.

Yet, he soldiered on. 

Yesterday's incident with the idiot trio was unfortunate. I did not want to lose Dravus' peace so early. I thought it would be all over before I looked into his eyes and saw the rage he held within them. At that moment, it looked like something was threatening to escape him. Like he would lose control and go berserk.  It looked like he felt this hate his entire life despite meeting Lish just a few hours before. He might not leave the school yet, but his reasons for that might be something I could never have expected.

I let another sigh escape my lips as I realise the futility of that line of thinking. He's bound to leave soon enough, better keep him around as long as I can. 

I dress in the school-issued black undershirt and open my room door. The corridors remain silent for now, but that is to be expected. Suddenly, a door opens from the front of the hall. Relqis sleepily emerges from her room wearing her own black undershirt.

It suits her.

"Good morning Leyna. You're up early, I see," I say with a small smile.

I watch as Leyna goes stiff, turns and reciprocates with a small smile of her own.

"Good morning, Prince Malik," she replies.

Her response is one of the better-practised ones I've seen, which makes sense. Her father owes a lot to my family. I make a gesture to get her to follow me, which she reluctantly obeys, deciding to walk behind me slowly.

"A bit odd to have us wake up so early after what we went through tomorrow hm? Think its another test?" I ask

"It could be. I wouldn't know. My father never told me about the...the Uhm, proceedings, of the school" she replies.

Knowing the proceedings of the school before entering would be a breach of trust. She saved herself and her father quite well.  I nod my head in agreement, unable to expend the effort to keep up the conversation. I continue making my way to the toilets with Relqis shifting uncomfortably behind me. 

We move closer to the toilets before- what is that sound?

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

As we move closer, it evident that someone is already preparing in his or herself in the sink. I sneak a glance at Relqis and witness the confused the expression on her face as someone snatches the coveted position of being the first to get ready away from her.

We quickly turn the corner and are faced with the back of-

"Dravus?" exclaims Leyna.

"Oh, good morning," he groggily replies while manoeuvring his toothbrush in predetermined actions. He has not turned to even look at the both of us. I look to my left again and realise Relqis has vanished into the women's side of the toilets, eager to regain whatever lead she had left. I turn back to Dravus and can't help but smile at his effort.

Despite the nonchalance in his greeting, he has been keenly observing his surroundings since the moment I left my room. His eyes dart to the corners of the mirror, keeping an eye on me and Relqis. His head is turned slightly to pick up when anyone else would be leaving their rooms.

For him to be on high alert so early into the semester is admirable, if not a futile effort. Ironically, trying so hard to take in his surroundings at all times means that he's been performing the same two movements for over three minutes now.

"Hey, Prince Malik, are you going to take a shower?"

I crease my eyebrows in confusion.

"I didn't think I smelled that bad," I reply with another one of my smiles.

Dravus spits out the leftover toothpaste in his mouth and flicks his toothbrush on the edge of the sink.

"I mean, there are only six stalls in there."

He turns and starts walking out the entrance only to briefly stop next to me.

"You better hurry before the rest wake up," he advises before walking away and back into this own room.

There was a strange bitterness to his words as he said them. I doubt that bitterness is directed at me specifically but I don't like it. I really don't like it.

<...............>

As expected of class 1-A, the students got up in time and ready for class. Interestingly enough, it looks like Dravus is the most exhausted one in the lineup.

"Good afternoon students. You've all done well getting here in time,"

Ruikan is our teacher for most of our classes as I just learned. I can only assume Kalim has some influence in this matter.

"Since you've all been introduced to one another we can begin our lessons promptly. As your combat teacher, we would start by learning on the basics of magic control."

My mind slowly starts to tune out Ruikan's script as do the rest of the students. To my knowledge, each class have their own little dojo for practical lessons. The usually consists of the things you would expect in a dojo like combat dummies, rubber mats for sparring, hollow weapons and even poly orbs.

The dojo itself is fairly standard, if not a little smaller than what I'm used to.

"Any questions?"

That was fast. That was unusually fast. I glance at the other students who seem just as surprised. I turn to Ritz next to me and-

Dravus is looking pale.

"Right, now grab a poly orb and space yourselves. I'll be taking note of your performance for future reference."

I look down to see a pile of poly orbs at his feet, already primed and ready. So we're doing a standard magic control test. Well, a standard for most of us at least. Ritz is looking at the orbs with an odd mix of fear and curiosity. I guess poly orbs are relatively expensive for someone like him. This might even be the first time he has ever seen one.

It looks like it could be too much for him.

It probably is.

I decide to take the initiative and take a poly orb for myself.

"My prince, that was awfully quick of you," Ruikan remarks.

"Shut it, Ruikan" I whisper, just loud enough to try and counter his snide comment personally. Of course, a small smirk is all I get. The other students quickly follow my lead, eager to show off their own skills on such a basic test. I am more interested in how Dravus would tackle this, "obstacle".

Poly orbs were created almost decades ago for Raekoft's War of Attrition. They were such a game-changer in the war that we continued their use to this day. Once primed to the user's specifications, they can absorb magic in a certain radius to a specified strength. A lot of magic users buy these things as an endurance test to check and improve their control of magic. The palm-sized ball in my hand are of excellent quality, obviously made to last instead of having too much functionality.

I walk over to an empty space and activate the orb with the push of a button. It starts levitating at the predetermined height and I stand about an arm's length away. I turn to find Dravus looking at me intently.

Better give him a good example I guess. Maybe it will help.

I take a deep breath and let my magic flow through me. I manipulate the air around me and focus. A concentrated stream should be enough to bypass the orb's current strength. I take a deep breath and go through the gestures, slowly allowing for the stream of air to orbit around the orb. Using just my hand should be enough, with my fingers maintaining a slow and controlled circular motion.

Now that I'm done with that, I can shift my attention to the rest of the students. Predictably, the rest of them seem to be doing just fine. Of course, they are all adjusting with different levels of control. Riker and Domer seem to be the next best, also being able to completely ignore the orb after a few short moments. 

"Ritz? What seems to be the issue?" asks Ruikan.

I turn to see Ruikan closely watching Ritz from behind as the poly orb continuity absorbs the smoke that Dravus is emitting. 

Strange, he should be powerful enough to pass the test. He must not know how to bypass a poly orb's suction.

What a shame.

"Ritz, you should be able to do this much at least"

Ruikan's words are not doing Dravus any favours. I watch as sweat starts forming on Dravus' forehead as he strains to overpower the orb. His hands start shaking as his fingers lock-up, trying to get a hold on his magic. I hear the snickers and giggles from the other students as they continue to watch Dravus struggle. It must be hilarious for them. Ritz finally regains control of his magic as the smoke stops and hovers over the orb. The moment of triumph passes almost immediately as Dravus winces in pain and recoils, holding his hands close to his chest. His hands refuse to stop shaking as Ritz tries to stabilise himself. His heavy breathing prompt Ruikan to steady Dravus and directs him to sit on the floor.

"That was a good effort Ritz but I expect to see a significant improvement soon."

Ruikan is doing his job as a teacher but the lack of any surprise on his face tells me he was expecting failure from Ritz already.

Yet another sigh escapes my lips. That was only the first test and yet it overwhelmed Dravus so easily.

Despite a strong showing at first, this school might be too much for him.

It most probably is.