Cassandra was in the midst of enjoying the odd combination of peanut butter and candied pumpkin when the door to the room opened for the second time. As soon as the man and the younger man who followed him entered, the maid gave a reverent bow. Since the cookie was already partially in her mouth, the best course of action was to finish it off.

The man who entered was elegant and professional, though his gaze was a bit unsettling like a craftsman looking at tools. The younger man looked to be just older than Cassandra. Then again, he was an elf so it was hard to say for sure. She found herself momentarily distracted, wondering if it was elvish culture to wear their hair long. His straight crimson locks were neatly tied back with a ribbon that matched his jacket.

It was not that hard to guess who their new visitors were. It seemed the final exam was about to begin in earnest. As the silence elongated, Cassandra reached for her final cookie, lemon celery.

The elegant man smiled. “I am glad to see you are enjoying the refreshments I provided, but should you really be eating in front of unknown guests?”

“These refreshments were brought here to be eaten. Why should I waste the Headmaster’s generosity when he is present?” Cassandra asked back. After his words she was now certain exactly who he was.

“That is an interesting take on the situation,” he mused, “but you were right. I am the Headmaster of Nobility, Osmond. This is my apprentice, Alois. Before we begin the final phase of the entrance exam we will give you the opportunity to ask any questions you might have.”

Surprisingly it was the timid boy who spoke up first. “My second test results said I am best suited to be a shadow Tear. What does that mean?”

Osmond gave his apprentice a nudge, and Alois quickly jumped into an explanation. “Nobility has six main courses. Heart, Tear, Soul, Dusk, Quill, and Sage. Some of these courses train for multiple positions. Tear trains both future princesses and shadow agents.”

Six? Cassandra felt like she had fallen behind somehow. “I can guess what the first four are, but what are Quill and Sage?” she asked.

Alois answered again. “Like you guessed, the first four refer to the famous artifacts. The King’s Heart, the Queen’s Tears, the Archmage’s Soul, and the Headmaster’s Pavilion of Eternal Dusk,” he explained, “The Quill is a symbol for those who serve both as normal servants and more specialized ones. Sage refers to the herb known for its healing properties. That is why Sages are the medical future of Tethia.”

It made such perfect sense that Cassandra felt ashamed for not thinking of it before. The country could not run on four pillars alone, and Nobility had hundreds of students. Not all of them could become royalty. That must mean the headmaster’s apprentice was in the Dusk course.

As if sensing her thoughts, Alois continued. “I am a Dusk,” he told them and gestured to a small silver pin on his lapel. At the center of the pin was a purple gem shaped like a star, “Every Dusk wears a pin similar to this. You will get pins with the symbol of your course if you pass.”

Osmond nodded in approval of his apprentice’s words. “If you pass,” he stressed, looking between them, “and I can already say that one of you won’t be.”

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The ginger flinched as his eyes locked onto her. “Me? But the test hasn’t even started yet,” she argued.

“I believe Ms. Cookie here has already told you otherwise,” Osmond replied calmly, not shaken at all by her resistance.

Ms. Cookie again? Was this because she was eating his bizarre cookies or was it because he had heard the rumors going around school? Cassandra had already suspected that everything going on was being observed and reported to the headmaster but this was embarrassing.

“Then at least tell me one thing,” the girl demanded, “Did you really poison the cheesecake?”

“I did,” Osmond replied with a smirk, “Did you want a piece?”

She turned red, whether from embarrassment or anger, and bolted out of the room. Osmond appeared neither guilty nor concerned about her reaction, and Alois seemed indifferent. It was as if the both of them were already used to this kind of situation. Cassandra found herself pitying Alois. She could never handle all of the work that came with being the headmaster’s apprentice.

“Now that the nuisance has left us, shall I guide you to the finale?” Osmond asked.

Cassandra quickly got up, giving her plate to the maid. She didn’t want to see how much patience the headmaster had before she also became a nuisance. The blonde boy was still somehow faster, practically hiding in Alois’ shadow. Both of them were guided past the magically made rooms to the second level of the ballroom. Waiting for them was a handful of others and a man who had a strong magical aura.

Could it be? After the queen, Cassandra’s favorite person in Tethia was the archmage. No one would fit that role better than the man before her. However, now that she was on the second level of the ballroom she could also see the large audience that had not been visible before. Both royals sat on their thrones, surrounded by their princes and princesses. There were also other important looking people Cassandra had no way of identifying. Some of them wore silver pins similar to Alois. Did that make them students or apprentices?

“This last phase of the exam is very simple. You don’t need to do anything at all,” Osmond told them, “Our fine archmage’s magic will do everything for you.”

He must have worded it in that way to make it seem uncomfortable, right? Regardless, once it began, all the archmage did was make uncomfortably long eye contact. Another one was eliminated with no explanation right before Cassandra. She wished she could at least know why, but perhaps that was a privilege one only got if they passed.

Finally it was her turn, but instead of being put off, Cassandra found herself drawn in by the flow of magic and the archmage’s cool blue eyes. They were a deeper blue than the boy from earlier, and they appeared to be focused on something only he could see. Was this what if felt like to experience top tier magic in person? It would be a dream to work with someone like this every day. It was as if the world was reminding her in this moment how much she adored magic.

Then he moved on, and it was over. All of the strange feelings that had begun to surface slowly faded away. What was that? How did he perform that kind of magical manipulation without the slightest change in expression? No matter how long he stared, he remained stoic and cool. If she was going to lose this much composure meeting the archmage, how bad would it be when she met her idol, the queen?

“Congratulations! You have passed,” Osmond told those that remained.

Cassandra did a quick count. Five. There were only five. Lily and Caleb were there, of course, and then there was that blonde boy who was now nervously folding a new paper into an impressive rendition of the ballroom’s chandelier. The last was a girl whose thick hair resembled porcupine spines with a prickly scowl to match.

“Now it is time for you to choose. All of you should now know what each symbol represents,” the headmaster announced, “Choose carefully. Whatever you choose today will be your life once you enter Nobility.”

“I will be a Tear,” Cassandra replied with great confidence. She heard a cheer from the crowd of princesses on the second level across the ballroom. Alois took a silver pin like his own from one of the servants who had been waiting in the shadows. This one was set with a deep blue sapphire shaped into a teardrop. She accepted it with care, closely examining her new trophy.

The porcupine beastkin was next. “I will also be a Tear.”

This process was repeated for all five of them. Caleb became a Soul. His pin had a green gem shaped like a flame. Lily became a Sage. Her pin had a carefully crafted gemstone depiction of a flowering stalk of sage. The blonde boy was last, choosing to follow his recommendation and also become a Tear.

“Now that you have chosen, I will tell you what to expect in the future,” Osmond began, “Once spring comes to an end, your first semester will begin and you will attend the prestigious Nobility. However, you cannot expect the school to do everything for you. Your goal should not just be your studies, either. The only way for any of you to graduate Nobility is as an apprentice. To whom, is all up to your own efforts.”

Cassandra looked again to Alois, who could not hide his own little smug smirk. How could one become the apprentice of the queen? That might be impossible, but there had to be some way to be the apprentice of a princess.