The night ended without any more incident, but the next morning, Prince Lann was freshly rested and full of energy. Energy he spent divided between avoiding Nero, tormenting Alvis, and bothering Cassandra. Rather than flirting, he spent the entire time trying to convince her of the repulsive nature of beastkin and the danger they posed. Of course, escaping to the far safer Beraud by his side was always posed as an option.

Whenever he did this, Cassandra had taken to calling Maximus with her jabber jewel to take her away for some urgent business for the territory. Perhaps it was his sparkling appearance or the dazzling smile Cassandra always gave him when he arrived, but Lann quickly got the wrong idea.

“Why do you like that fae boy more than me?” Lann demanded, “Do you have some kind of preference for demihumans?”

Demihumans, the name most countries used to refer to humanoid magical beings. It came as no surprise that those beings in question found the term insulting as it insinuated they were somehow lesser than humans.

Deep down Cassandra knew she needed to keep her cool. No matter how much of an idiot their prince was, she couldn’t give Beraud a reason to reconsider their alliance. However, that question was the final straw.

“If humans were all like you, I would,” she snapped, “Thankfully you happen to be one of the most rude, obnoxious, and clueless humans I have ever met. You spent plenty of time lecturing me on Beraud’s superiority as a nation, yet none of your words carried any substance.”

Lann had become a frozen statue as she berated him. It was refreshing to finally let all of her feelings out, but Cassandra was far from done.

“Had you been born in Tethia you never would have entered Nobility, much less become a prince,” she continued, “Now, unless you want a firsthand experience of exactly how impressive Tethia’s magic really is, I suggest you not bother me again!”

Cassandra turned to leave, and Lann could only watch, still stunned and speechless. As the first prince of a classic monarchy it was possible no one had ever spoken to him like that before, but it was too late for her to take back her words. Whatever damage they had done was done.

To her relief, Lann really did leave her alone. Instead he seemed to focus all of his frustrations against Alvis. Perhaps it was a bit cruel, but Cassandra felt if he pushed Alvis too far he deserved whatever retribution the founder would deal to him. That retribution came swiftly and rather publicly after Lann had attempted to banish a beastkin servant who had dared to bump into him.

“After all this time it seems you have not changed,” Alvis announced with disappointment as he stepped between the prince and his prey, “I convinced King Ryne that there was still hope for you and set about trying to reform you. I worked hard to turn you into a worthy prince, but even I am not willing to wait forever.”

“Alvis?” Lann asked, a tremor of fear seeping into his tone.

“Your time is up young prince,” Alvis told him, “I can no longer condone your misbehavior.”

“What are you talking about?!” Prince Lann demanded, “You are nothing but a butler now!”

“I will offer you a choice,” Alvis continued, undeterred, “Will you choose Beraud, your homeland, or will you choose Gaia and become Tethia’s enemy?”

“I can’t choose anything if you won’t explain what is going on!” Lann argued, “What do you mean, choose between Beraud and Gaia?”

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“I cannot tell you that,” Alvis replied, “But I will say that this choice will change the course of your future. So, what will it be?”

Lann looked around at the crowd that had begun to form and furrowed his eyebrows in agitation. Cassandra felt a particularly heated glare sent in her direction. She had a hunch based on what Autumn had mentioned before which side he would choose.

“I will choose the land I conquered with my own hand,” he replied with conviction, or perhaps a fair share of baseless bravado, “I will prove my capabilities as a leader of a nation and see firsthand the magic Tethia is so proud of.”

Cassandra recognized the use of her own words as he stared her down. It turned out that Lann had taken them very personally after all. Unfortunately for him, the person he was talking to was Alvis, not Cassandra. Alvis seemed to find the moment entirely unimpressive.

“Very well, prince,” he said, “Ah but, I suppose I should not call you that anymore. Lann El Beraud, as you have made your choice you are now exiled to Gaia and will take on the name Lann El Gaia as the reigning Grand Duke of Gaia.”

Cassandra expected Lann to lash out following Alvis’s announcement. To her surprise he grinned. Alvis also appeared to be taken aback by his smug behavior.

“You think I didn’t know what you and father have been planning?” he scoffed, “I still despise you, but in this case I must thank you. Gaia is the best gift you could have given me. See you never, old man!”

Just when Cassandra was about to wonder if Lann wasn’t as bad as he seemed, he blew a kiss in her direction on his way out. He was still a nuisance, perhaps even more so now that he had cut himself loose from the reigns of his father and Alvis.

As one might expect, Prince, no, Grand Duke Lann demanded an immediate departure from Teber so he could properly see to his new role. Before he left he told King Nero that Gaia would only ally with a puny nation like Tethia if he got something valuable in return. Whatever he asked for, Nero refused to give.

Lann also took the time to call for Cassandra to see him off. “Despite everything that has happened, I still like you,” he told her, but at least kept a proper distance, “You are welcome in Gaia anytime, though I can’t promise I will let you leave.”

“Thank you for your offer,” Cassandra replied, though she doubted she would have any reason to ever visit Gaia. She also couldn’t fathom what Lann had seen during their brief encounters that made him like her so much.

“Until then, farewell,” Lann said with as much willful bravado as he had come with. Luckily he did have another servant that could drive his carriage. They still had plenty of things to discuss with Alvis about what had just happened.

Alvis himself appeared to have no intention of leaving and had already taken over Lann’s old room. Even though he had been there less than an hour, the atmosphere of the Nothern Wing had changed completely.

With any shot of an alliance with Gaia out the window, King Nero redoubled his efforts to ensure their pact with Beraud remained solid. Cassandra was left with a different sort of dilemma. Should they warn Nero and the other about who Alvis really was?

Cassandra decided to meet with Princess Rosalind and see how things went. First things first, she needed to apologize. Lann’s choice and hasty departure had definitely happened because she lost her cool.

“Did you need something?” an exhausted looking Rosalind asked when she answered her door.

“Can we talk?” Cassandra asked, and waited until she was invited inside before she spoke, “I’m sorry.”

Rosalind frowned and activated a privacy spell. “For?”

“It was my fault,” Cassandra began and explained everything that had happened between her and Lann. Especially the moment when she had lost her reason and snapped at him.

“Well done,” Rosalind told her, taking her by surprise, “Cassandra, keeping silent is not always the correct answer. There are times things need to be said. Had you chosen to keep silent, Lann may still be here in Teber and still be a prince. I find it unlikely that he would have ever chosen an outcome that was favorable for Tethia with or without your interference.”

That was a relief. Now there was one more thing she needed to get off her chest to release the remaining guilt. “About Alvis-”

“It’s alright,” Rosalind cut her off, “We know. You and your faction have done enough. Don’t forget that you are still just students. Take some time to rest.”