Packing was simple enough, but the actual travel to the territories was a long ordeal. Osmond had them split into ten groups, one for each territory, and led each one through the pavilion. With this he took them not to the manors they would be living, but to carriages waiting at the edges of each territory to bring the students to their new, albeit temporary, home.
Maximus’s group left first, with Caleb having just enough time to do one last quick test of their communication charms before leaving with him. Cassandra went last as Teber was at the border and the farthest away. At the very least, it gave her some time to say her goodbyes to Yuki. The fox seemed perplexed by her hugs and whispers, but let her do as she pleased.
The manor of Teber was closer to the border of Tethia and Beraud than Cassandra had expected, making her wonder if the territory had a hidden diplomatic purpose. The steward of Teber was waiting at the manor gates to greet them, but Cassandra couldn’t help but notice he seemed to be looking for someone.
“Was Alois not in your faction?” he asked.
“He is,” Cassandra confirmed, “Alois is in Dyment. Headmaster Osmond had our faction split up to govern both territories.”
“I see,” the steward said, unable to hide the disappointment in his tone, “Are you the faction’s elected leader, then?”
Elected? Well, no one had been against it. Cassandra hadn’t been aware that faction leaders were chosen by an election system. Then again, she might be thinking too deeply.
“She is,” the third year Heart confirmed. He had accompanied Cassandra to help organize the guards and other security in Teber since he had experience.With all of the danger involved in a border territory, Cassandra was glad to have him.
The steward looked between the both of them before quickly reclaiming his role and duty. “I am Tobias, the steward of Teber. I will serve you during your stay here and assist you with your management needs.”
“I am Cassandra, temporary lord of Teber,” she replied in turn, “I look forward to working with you on Teber’s betterment.”
Once they finished their greetings, Tobias guided them to rooms they could stay for the night and had servants set up their things. After that, he showed Cassandra the main office and where the management materials were kept. After the tour, they were all brought to the dining room to have a meal. They had barely arrived and it seemed their schedule would be packed. So much for downtime to adjust.
During the meal, Tobias started a chat with Cassandra. “Teber is known as one of the hardest of the ten territories,” he said, “Why did your faction decide to choose it?”
“I chose Teber because I am confident I will be able to learn from it,” Cassandra answered, “As a Tear, a territory with interactions with another country would be the most beneficial for me. Trade will help me learn to negotiate on a higher level as well.”
Tobias seemed surprised she actually had deeper reasons for choosing Teber. “I am glad that Teber wasn’t just an unfortunate extra for your faction.”
“That was Dyment,” Cassandra admitted, “But we have made the most of it and I believe it will be a benefit to us in the end.”
“You have quite the good outlook,” Tobias told her, “I wish you luck in your efforts.”
After the meal she needed to look into the territory’s management and assign everyone who had followed her a role and a job. She decided to keep Rena close as an assistance, set Keane and Autumn in charge of surveying the territory and working on any improvements. Juliane was given the choice and decided to work directly with the steward of Teber. The rest of the roles were sorted out before the night was done, and Cassandra was more than ready to collapse into her new bed.
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Cassandra stepped into her room and immediately froze at the sight of an unexpected guest. “Yuki? How did you get here?”
The fox yawned and stretched before turning slightly to expose its ears for her usual scritches. He seemed to find nothing wrong with his mysterious presence there and Cassandra decided to just accept it. Instead, she should just be happy that the clearly magical fox enjoyed her company.
“I’m glad you are here,” she told him, “I already missed you and a full day hasn’t even passed.”
As usual, the fox made no movement or response, but the fact he was here in the first place gave his reply for him. Tomorrow she would work on the distinct lack of cookies she had seen in Teber.
==========
From the moment Maximus had arrived in Dyment things had been odd. He was used to people staring at his wings or being surprised by his appearance, but something about the way the citizens of Dyment looked at him made Maximus incredibly uncomfortable. The strange feeling only became worse once they arrived at the manor and met the steward of Dyment. This man also froze for a moment to stare at Maximus’s fae wings before turning to speak to Alois.
“I am Carson, steward of the territory of Dyment,” he introduced, “It is my pleasure to welcome the apprentice of the Headmaster of Nobility.”
Maximus immediately didn’t like the man, and it seemed Alois felt the same from the clear scowl on his face to his curt reply.
“The one you should be welcoming is not me,” he corrected, “Maximus is the one who will be the temporary lord of Dyment.”
As Alois gestured in Maximus’s direction, Carson flinched and quickly bit back a scowl of his own. What was going on here? Was it because he was a first year? He was apprenticed to the ninth prince so surely he wasn’t lacking in that regard. Or was it possible that this man disliked fae? Maximus found it hard to believe someone with such obvious discrimination would be left in a position to care for one of the ten territories of Nobility.
“I will take you to your rooms,” Carson told them, skipping the common courtesy Maximus had been practicing to return. He also noticed that the Lord’s Chambers were given to Alois despite the correction, and Maximus was given a much smaller room far away from any of the administration offices.
“Steward, you’ve made a mistake,” Caleb told him, “Maximus is now the lord of this territory, not you. You must serve him whether you like him or not.”
His words upgraded Maximus’s room to one more appropriate, but Caleb ended up with the shabby room instead. Caleb didn’t seem to mind, but he passed a message through the communication device that they should not blindly trust Carson. Something about him was off.
The strange treatment continued throughout the day. Carson failed to invite Maximus to dinner, happened to lose an important document about the management of the Dyment territory and gave it to Alois instead, and when Alois would not respond, he turned to Wayde. It was the first time in his life that Maximus had been so obviously ignored like this, and it stung more than he would like to admit.
Once he finished what he had to guess were the day’s duties, Maximus immediately wrote a letter to Prince Nero, asking Caleb to send it just in case Carson’s strange grudge made the piece of mail mysteriously disappear. In it he described the oddness of the situation and asked for advice on how to deal with it.
Prince Nero usually had quick responses, but this one took a bit longer than usual. When it did come, Maximus found out it was because of the sheer length of the response Nero had written. The letter began with the usual greetings that were expected of a prince before getting into the meat of the issue.
“I wasn’t expecting you to become the temporary lord of Dyment of all places,” it began, “Unfortunately, the suspicions you told me are all correct. Dyment is a place full of discrimination against the fae kind. It will be a difficult place for you to lead, but should you follow in my footsteps as a prince, that is something you would eventually have to face.”
Nero knew about it? And that steward was allowed to keep his position? Maximus was starting to get the feeling that there was something deeper going on here.
“Now for my advice. Your only path forward is simple. Ignore them and succeed anyway. Lead just as you would have without their judging stares. Once they have dropped their guard against you, take the chance to gather evidence. Corruption never stops at surface level. That is the best thing you can do for Dyment and how you will pass the test.”
What had once been a field experience trip for students had quickly become a plot to uncover corruption in the political webs of Tethia. As always, Prince Nero was one to take advantage of opportunities that landed before him, even if that opportunity was his apprentice’s dangerous situation. As the apprentice in this scenario, Maximus could only feel resigned. Nero had always been like this, after all.