Wandering the castle halls alone, I hoped to stumble onto Professor Natasha’s office. Professor Geron instructed me to help her during the trip seeing as he wasn’t going. Sadly, due to my suspension, I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting her before, which left me with an odd sense of nervousness.
There was also the fact it was getting late. The last bit of sunlight illuminated the Central Grimhold Courtyard. Regardless that some time had passed since we arrived, it still took a bit of getting used to waking up in a novel-like haunted-looking castle.
After Alice stormed out of her room – enraged and all – we spent the entire day together dodging the subject, meeting Rose and Ron later for lunch. Despite having caught winds of it personally, Alice still denied it being anything more than a simple misunderstanding, refraining from elaborating further.
Penelope didn’t seem to agree with her but shrugged it off, seeing as it was Alice’s choice. However, I wasn’t as willing to let it go, knowing she was bottling it up and would eventually end up overwhelmed again. Despite her compelling demeanour, her confidence was quite sporadic. The longer something dragged on, the more carried away she got, good or bad.
However, patience was a virtue. Pushing her to tell me wasn’t going to do either any good. No, I was willing to wait. There was a time and place for everything. A time during which she’d trust me enough to share. After all, I had all the intention of being with her, making all her problems immediately mine.
Knock, knock.
Perhaps that sounded a bit too clingy.
“Come in,” a feminine voice called out from within the office I believed to be Natasha’s.
It was all the way up on the fourth floor.
“Excuse me,” I said, but when I opened the door, I was surprised to find a girl not that much older than me standing around in her school uniform, white unlike mine but with black outlines replacing the household colour. And while I’d never seen her or such uniforms around Grimhold, her blue badge hinted at her being part of House Kraken. “Oh, hey.”
Her chestnut eyes went wide the second they met mine, and her body skipped in place before she greeted me with a charming smile. “Hi. . . Perfect timing. Mind telling me what you think?”
Stepping over her left foot, she turned in place and flourished her skirt. Her wavy brunette hair covered her back, reaching as low as her thin waist.
“Amm. . .” I muttered, uncertain as to what it was she wanted a comment on.
“The uniform?” She furrowed her brows as if reading my mind before letting out an endearing childlike giggle. “The school asked me to help design the new uniforms for our dear apprentices. You know, just like how the student council and the disciplinary committee have their own?”
“Right. . .” I muttered while thinking of what to say. “In that case, yeah. It looks good. But I’m probably not the one you should be asking these types of questions. Most of the time, I’ll just go with what’s most comfortable.”
I was honest but didn’t seem satisfied with my answer, taking a good look at me as she fidgeted with her skirt.
“No, you’re just the man I need. Good-looking and honest.” She smiled, giving compliments without any hesitation. “The girls would die to attract attention from guys like you.”
“Then my roommates Egon and Andras would likely better fit your criteria,” I awkwardly chuckled, believing they were undoubtedly good-looking and popular among girls. “Ron’s good too, but his fashion sense worries me a bit.”
Who could blame me? His attire for the party held at the palace was unforgettable, pinkish with ivory patterns.
“And Egon’s a loudmouth, and Andras the quiet kid that’s only focused on doing everything diligently,” she commented as if she knew them well. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
She made me chuckle, and her carefree nature made her easy to talk to.
“My lips are sealed,” I smiled, pretending to lock my mouth and toss away the key before suddenly realising I hadn’t even introduced myself. Extending my hand for a handshake, I said, “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Alexander, but you can call me Alex.”
The girl took a good look at me, inevitably gazing at my hand. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, but soon enough, she returned a friendly smile and shook my hand.
“Natasha,” the Professor nonchalantly introduced herself, rendering me speechless as my eyes shot wide. “And I’ve heard all about you already.”
It was so obvious, seeing as we were alone in her office, but for some reason, I assumed her to be just another student also waiting for the Professor to show up.
“You okay?” she giggled, clearly caught on that I had no clue who she was.
“Hm? Yeah. . . Sorry about that,” I sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed. “My suspension left me with quite a few gaps in my knowledge and familiarity, Professor.”
“Who knew missing classes could do such a thing. . .” she slapped me with sarcasm before giggling again. “Oh. And don’t call me Professor. Natasha or Natt will do. Not like I’m that much older than you. I’m only twenty-seven.”
Her looks matched her age, though I guessed she was a few years younger because of the uniform.
“Twenty-seven and a professor already? Impressive.” I was genuinely surprised.
“Just luck, if I can even call it that,” she sighed, pushing her hair behind the ear as she looked to the floor. “One of our professors passed away last year. Old age finally caught up with him. The Headmaster tried finding a replacement but substituted him in the meantime. However, Professor Shawn quit last year, and another got laid off for inappropriate behaviour, meaning Grimhold was understaffed.”
“Still, I doubt the Headmaster would hire someone who wasn’t qualified,” I argued.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m more than qualified,” Natasha chuckled, gazing back at me as she jumped to sit on her desk with her legs crossed. Because of how short the skirt was, barely reaching halfway down her thighs, it wasn’t as if she could’ve sat any other way. But there was no way I was telling her that. “Perhaps I hadn’t beaten the record for the youngest ninth-circle mage, but I did reach eight the fastest. And I’m more than accomplished in my fields.”
If I wasn’t mistaken, she taught enchantment and transmutation.
“As I said, doubt the Headmaster would’ve hired someone underqualified,” I said, taking a look around so she didn’t feel like I was staring too much.
My initial thought was how much more organised and neat it looked compared to Professor Geron’s, but then it hit me that that wasn’t much of a compliment. No. The office looked closer to how I imagined Penelope setting up.
“Thanks,” she paused, taking a deep breath before slapping her thighs. “Right. Well, now that we met, I assume you came here for a reason?”
“Yes. Professor Geron requested that I help with any preparation regarding the next week’s trip,” I explained, scratching my head while thinking how I felt like a headless chicken, aimlessly wandering the castle up until like a few hours ago.
“Great! We can go through my notes and make sure I hadn’t missed anything,” she said, reaching for the small notebook resting on the table.
“I’ll be in your care.”
----------------------------------------
Time flew by after that, and soon we ventured to the Beast Lands. Having used the school’s teleportation circle, we and the first years found ourselves riverside, joined by Professor Dark, Professor Arden, and Profesor Natasha, including a few senior apprentices.
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While everyone was busy setting up the rest of the tents, Natasha told us to gather in hers. We were to discuss our plan of action.
Seeing everyone gathered all at once made me realise just how many students actually attended Grimhold, but because of the sheer size of the place, it felt like I was alone whenever I wandered its halls. And while I was happy to see so many young people around, they didn’t seem to reciprocate those feelings.
Their piercing gazes felt like daggers, matching what Ron said about me not being popular after everything that happened. And while I knew there was no way they’d see me as someone who risked his life to save others, it was still shocking to hear rumours about me being a selfish asshole who hid his powers to save his ass.
News of me wielding necromancy didn’t help.
“Well, whatever. . .” Ignoring others, I sighed and pushed the tent flap to the side before waltzing in.
The first thing I did was look over the seven people that arrived on time. Eliot and Egon were among the people that I knew, including the guy who introduced us to House Dragon, but I couldn’t remember his name. However, while it was nice to see familiar faces, life always had to complicate things for me.
“Aleksandre,” Aymon greeted me in elven as I walked over to where he stood, an oily grin etched on his face.
“Aymon,” making sure to keep my voice calm, I hoped to avoid any trouble. However, with the way he looked at me, it seemed I had to watch my back.
“Is he the one?” chuckled another senior assistant, a male elf with shoulder-long ashen hair and piercing sky-blue eyes. He looked pale and frail, stature comparable to Alice, yet something about his appearance left me feeling the need to be watchful.
“Elwyn’s student? Ha. I imagined he’d be taller,” said a freckled girl with wavy crimson hair, green eyes matching mine, and short pointy ears barely sticking out of her hair. “If our princess is all over him, then Ollie, you might actually have a shot.”
“What does height have anything to do with it?!” Ollie yelled, continuing to argue in Elvish despite other people being there.
“So sensitive. . . You’ll never get a girl that way, shorty,” she teased, giggling while covering her mouth.
“Shorty?! We’re the same height!” he kept yelling.
“Quiet down,” Aymon said sternly, and the two immediately dropped their heads apologetically. Undoubtedly, he was their leader, and now that I was more familiar with magic, I could tell why.
He was strong. Anyone could tell just by looking at him.
“About time you told your hounds to stop barking,” said a girl whose eyes gleamed with mana like rose quartz, matching the pink colour of her hair; Amelia Renik, the Crown Princess of the Notish Empire.
“Princess Amelia,” Aymon said, giving her his undivided attention. “I wasn’t aware you spoke our language.”
“Humans can’t be bilingual?” she asked, standing her ground despite staring at three seniors chosen by the professors as the best in their generation. They were fourth years too.
“Is it surprising I’d think that?” Aymon grinned, both glaring at each other. Hatred between humans and elves being far from uncommon.
“Moronic even,” Amelia fired back, staring him down with her chin raised as she was fairly shorter than him.
Aymon clicked his tongue at the Princess’s sass.
“Are you seriously looking to pick a fight?” he asked, raising an eyebrow while looking at her confused.
“No, you?” Amelia asked, glancing over at me and then back at Aymon.
Silence consumed the room as Aymon took his time to answer.
“It wouldn’t be much of a fight,” he claimed, so full of himself.
“Damn. You guys are really going at it,” Egon smirked, speaking up first in Common. “You’re not thinking of picking a fight with one of our classmates, are you?”
Eliot looked like he had something to say, but a single glance at Aymon made him reconsider. It weirded me out since I knew how unyielding he was.
“How come all the first years are so full of themselves?” Ollie asked, crossing his arms and tapping with his index finger. But before the conflict could escalate further, everyone’s attention got stolen by the appearance of the last two joining us.
Brimming with enthusiasm and with bright smiles, Penelope and Alice wandered in hand in hand, looking stunning as ever. Alice braided her hair, keeping it long while leaving the neck more exposed, and Penelope’s silky raven hair matched perfectly the new white attire. It almost looked like the uniforms were specially tailored for the two.
“Heyo,” Alice waved to everyone, skipping over to my side with Penelope following close behind, although her excitement quickly vanished as she set her eyes on Aymon. “Great. . . he’s here.”
Her comment made me chuckle, much to Aymon’s annoyance, but before he could say anything, Professor Natasha entered the tent wearing a black long-sleeved uniform with shoulder pads.
“Great! You’re all here,” Natasha said, marching to the centre holding a bunch of papers before handing them over to us. The first page of the ones I got had a list of names and numbers written all over it and the House Kraken symbol at the top right corner. “I’ll keep this short. If you have a list of items, go to Professor Olivia and make sure everything’s in order. And if you have a list of students, go around camp and confirm everyone’s present, and use the list to show them to their assigned tents.”
Egon loudly chuckled, attracting everyone's attention as he turned to look at me while holding up the list. “Looks like we’re still stuck together.”
Something about the way he said it made me laugh, breaking my prolonged silence. “And here I worried you’d miss me.”
“Now we’ll never know,” he returned the banter.
“I know it’s fun and all, but we need to finish this as soon as possible,” Professor Natasha interrupted, glancing at the papers she hadn’t handed out yet. They seemed important enough for her to focus on them intently, but after noticing we all stood still, waiting on her to say something, she just shot us a confused look with her eyebrow raised. “What? Were the instructions unclear? Chop, chop people.”
We left the tent shortly, tasked with responsibilities that would keep us apart for a while, but we were all just thankful to be there together.
It was a wild experience being back in the Beast Lands, and willingly no less. The forests swarming with mana beasts no longer even scared me, all because of my newfound ability to use dragon speech. While I wasn’t certain how it worked exactly, I figured a place so full of them would serve as a perfect testing ground.
“Hey, Alex!” Egon yelled, chasing after me as I left to do my task. “Wait up.”
“Egon?” I stopped in place, turning to look at him. He was smiling, scratching his head. “You need something?”
“Can’t I just want to talk?” he laughed, firmly tapping my shoulder while remaining carefree, constantly throwing me off with his demeanour. “But yeah, I wanted to see what everything that happened back at the tent was all about. Has it something to do with you courting Alice?”
“Courting Alice?” It wasn’t as if I was trying to deny what he said, but his claim still took me by surprise.
“Come on, Alex, an elven princess? Only a fool wouldn’t fall for such a beauty,” he practically spat as he chuckled, holding my shoulder firmly. “As I’ve always said, elves make the best wives. Beautiful. Caring. Graceful? And above all else, forever youthful. Their otherworldly beauty won’t abandon them before the day I die.”
“Really? That’s what you care about?” I asked, letting out a sigh.
“Well, no. I do love a woman who can cook,” he said, gazing passionately at the sky. “After all, what more could a man ask for than for a beautiful woman to look after him while he rests at home.”
“Maybe you’re right,” but I just imagined lazing around with Alice all day.
“I know I am,” he said it so smugly too. “But you know what I didn’t expect?”
“What?” I asked, noticing he wasn’t going to tell me otherwise.
“Amelia Renik getting involved,” he said, shifting his curious gaze toward me. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yeah? Well. I never even really spoke to her,” I argued, prepared for some outrageous claim.
“I know, and neither has anybody else other than her roommates, which is why it’s so peculiar. How perplexing.” He hummed, rubbing his chin before eventually blowing air out of frustration, letting go of my shoulder. “Oh well. I was hoping you could tell me more.”
“That’s it?” I asked, still a bit confused. But then again, the world didn’t revolve around me.
“Eh, we shouldn’t be slacking off,” he said, looking at the list as if he wasn’t the one who stopped me. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He tapped my shoulder one last time and just left, leaving me partially speechless as he shamelessly cut the conversation short upon finding out I had nothing useful to tell him.
“The audacity on that man,” I genuinely laughed, shaking my head in disbelief before looking back at the list. “Let’s see. . .”
That was when I felt it. Someone watching me.
Chapter End.
Thank you for reading.