He was beaten, that much was obvious. His tender body was purple and blue with bruises, and light cuts appeared here and there, streaming little blood. It was surprising that he made his way to the lounge with all that happened to him.

He was incredibly light when Aviana carried him in her arms, unnervingly so. It was not a body of someone that should attend this academy. Not of someone tough enough. She couldn’t help but pity him then.

She placed his body on the long armchair. He fit in it enough.

She took the book she was excited to read and put it back into her room, sure that she wouldn’t have enough time to read anymore. Then she got to work.

She washed the leaves of Sengen and put them into a bowl, added a few balls of red pepper and cut some ginger into little cubes. While she left a kettle to boil, she slowly gone over the little cuts and bruises and treated them with ointment. He was hurt everywhere, though she didn’t find any fractured bones. Those that got to him must have been careful not to damage him too much.

The kettle let out a whistle and Aviana poured the boiling water over the herbs. A sharp scent instantly rose up, making her nose itch.

She let the water do its thing and covered the bowl with a clean towel, so the essences wouldn’t escape.

And then she was at a loss.

On one hand, she did all she could, she could just leave a note, that he should drink the remedy after he wakes up, and be done with it. She spent all her free time with him and now cut a part of her rest as well. Tomorrow would already be less effective than it would have normally been.

On the other hand, would she even be able to sleep now? She was nervous about the boy’s condition. He may have looked at her a bit longer than was comfortable, but he didn’t necessarily try to spy, he was incredibly embarrassed after the fact too. There was also something about him. She wasn’t attracted to him, to his looks, but something did tug at her. Something made him intriguing. She just wasn’t sure what yet.

But now, seeing him up close. He was no Academy material. Weak, frail, small. In the battles he fought in the arena, he could only just run and he wasn’t especially great at that either. Still, he came here. In the first two weeks, no less than a third of the first years left the school on their own accord. Many of them with a much better chance to graduate than him. She put a blanket over him, lest he would catch a cold too.

But it was all a little pointless, brave it might have been. If he continued on the way he did, he would get expulsed anyway. The rules were too strict and they wouldn’t bend for anybody. Not even if she wished it. That was the main reason she came here.

In the end, she couldn’t help but get a blanket and rest on the other armchair. She fell asleep in the scent of ginger and leaves.

Before he even opened his eyes, Cormac felt the pressure all around his body. Even thinking of moving sent sharp pain into his limbs. But at least he was warm, that was his only solace, along with the pleasant scent in the air.

He opened his eyes. He made it. He was lying on one of the long armchairs in the common room. Gavin probably.

He watched the ceiling for a moment, afraid of the pain of moving even his neck. But then he registered something. A rhythmic and gentle breathing sounded opposite to him, on one of the other armchairs.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Even though it pained him greatly, even against his better judgement, Cormac hefted himself by his arms slightly. Stifling the sounds, he wanted to make from the pain. He looked in front of him.

And of course, there she was.

Her long red hair flowed from the armchair over her body. Her face peaceful and relaxed. She was beautiful. It took a few moments for Cormac to shake her enchantment off, but he managed after letting himself sink into the armchair’s embrace again.

It was incredibly kind of her to take care of him. He could feel the greasiness on his bruises, probably of an ailment of some kind. Cormac’s head grew hotter at the thought.

He never was able to talk with her. She was always out, doing something on her own and the only times he spent any time in her proximity, he must have come off as weak and perverted.

Even now, she took care of him when he was weak. Rodrick and his buddies beat him to a pulp only because he was weak. He was attending this academy and running from his family because he was weak. And even in his dreams of the fictional future he was weak.

It seemed a curse of some kind must have flowed through his veins, making him a coward.

A feeling of reminiscence overtook him. A spiral of self-loathing and angered thoughts growled in his mind. Enough for him to do anything to make it stop, even move.

He grunted loudly as he sat up on the armchair. His body screaming over his thoughts, making them vanish in the pain of moving.

Unfortunately, he also woke up the other sleeping resident.

Aviana stood up sharply and looked at him eyes wide. More surprised and confused from her sleep than anything.

"Thank you," whispered Cormac weakly. "For taking care of me."

Aviana sighted lightly, then she nodded. She pulled off a towel from a table, revealing a bowl beneath. A potent scent of ginger and other herbs assaulted his senses.

“Drink this,” she said “Should help to get you back together quicker.”

He tried to reach for the bowl, but when he put his arms above his waist a sharp pain made him yelp out. Without a word, she gently grabbed his cheek and hefted the bowl to his mouth. Angling it slightly she helped Cormac drink a bit from the warm brew. Then she put the bowl back on the table.

Still silent she sat down next to him. Her natural scent making its way towards Cormac even through the strong smells of the remedy. Though the silence might have felt awkward normally, Cormac was much too broken at the moment to care about it. He just enjoyed her presence, unsure of why.

“What happened?” she asked after a while.

“Wouldn’t believe me if I said it was stairs?”

“No.” she replied with little chuckle. She quickly regained her composure, targeting her green emeralds of a pair of eyes at him. “I would not.”

“Ok, a little disagreement with some other students then. They did not like me, I did not like them.”

“Who exactly?”

“I won’t say.”

“Out with it.” Her brow deepened in irritation.

“I…I really won’t. Not that I don’t want to say it to you. I won’t say it to anybody.”

“What did they tell you? That they are from a powerful family? That they have strings to the school maybe? You don’t have to worry. The Academy is resolute about its neutral stance.”

“No…well yes. But that’s not what I am worried about.”

“What are you worried about then?”

“It just wouldn’t fix anything.”

After eyeing him for a hot minute, Aviana abruptly stood up and quickly started heading to her room. Cormac just watched her go.

It really wouldn’t fix anything. He kept telling himself. For the position of his birth, for all the personal trainers his family hired , for all the other advantages he had in life, he had nothing to show. Beaten and tired, he wobbled his way to his room. He was alone. Again.