"The freshmen should learn to keep their mouths shut. That way, they would avoid trouble on the very first day." the darker-skinned man spoke, chuckling softly at the end of his sentence. "You are the favorite to assume the position of Jack within the Black Rose. Within the Black Rose, you must be well-beloved. Perhaps you should stay quiet to maintain your good reputation." Dominick sighed deeply.
The first day was always the most eventful, until someone had the courage to challenge another. After that, rumors would do the rest.
Ezariel didn't seem to have any intention of backing down. One of Dominick's classmates handed him a sword. The room started buzzing with excitement again as people rushed to find a good viewing spot.
Annabell felt apprehensive about the confrontation. She knew Dominick's skills, but was unfamiliar with Ezariel's. She also feared that Ezariel might employ... unorthodox methods.
"The rules are the same for everyone. It ends when a drop of blood falls." Dominick positioned himself at the center of the room. "Apologies, but we don't have courtesy for freshmen. You should have gone to the intermediate level if you were looking for something easy."
Ezariel didn't say a word; he simply took a sword and positioned himself in front of Dominick. People began whispering, and bets on who would win were being made.
"I hope Dom cuts his tongue off. That way, he'll learn to keep his mouth shut." Annabell whispered to herself. She glanced at the astonished faces of the two sisters and ended up chuckling softly. "Sorry."
"Annabell, I thought you would be more like... an..." Diana trailed off.
"An angel? People from outside the capital tend to think that way about the royal family. Rumors cause these problems. People usually take them literally." Rosália nodded, still looking dazed by the princess's words. "The rumors are a bit exaggerated. I'm just a normal person. Don't believe in people who seem too perfect; they're suspicious!" She pointed at the redhead. "And he can be incredibly irritating. We had to spend two hours together! That was the worst experience of my life."
"That must be a gift of people from the Kingdom of Hearts." Diana agreed with her sister. "Their fight is about to start. Dominick should defeat this guy in three minutes."
"It won't even reach two." Annabell spoke with certainty.
Annabell didn't understand much about fights, but she knew that Dominick was one of the best. It was difficult to make him fight for more than 5 minutes; the only ones who had a fair fight with Dominick were his brothers. Those who lasted 5 minutes were the knights of the White Kingdom's Elite. If Ezariel could surpass the 3-minute mark, he would be considered lucky.
A whistle sounded. Neither of them waited a second to start attacking. The movements were swift, and Annabell couldn't keep up with the sword's rhythm. She could only hear the sound of metal clashing. No one in the room spoke; they were afraid of missing any move in the fight.
The princess could tell that Dominick's expression was starting to grow irritated, while Ezariel seemed to be enjoying the situation.
The sound of metal clashing grew more aggressive, and the duel between the two became more intense. The difference in their styles was evident. Dominick attacked aggressively, gripping the sword tightly and aiming his strikes at crucial points on Ezariel's body. In his defense, as soon as he found an opening, Ezariel retaliated with his own attack.
Ezariel, on the other hand, appeared incredibly calm. His strikes didn't show aggression, but the sound of metal indicated that he used force. The sword seemed like an extension of his body, following Ezariel's every move with mastery.
Dominick spun his body, and the sword followed suit, defending against one of Ezariel's strikes and causing the sword to go upwards. The dark-haired man maneuvered the sword, making a small cut on the redhead's face. What he didn't realize was that Ezariel had regained control of the sword and made a cut on his arm.
Two drops of blood flew across the room but met the same destination: Princess Annabell's clothing. Two red stains stood out on her white attire. The people in the room looked at Annabell and the two fighters, unsure whether they should help Annabell or inquire about the result.
"It's a draw." Annabell spoke as she looked at the two of them.
The colors of the room began to change, but only on one side of the room. The white colors were replaced by black and red, refined furniture and paintings were substituted with rustic furniture, all in black. On the ceiling, banners with the emblem of the Black Rose started to appear.
Annabell was impressed by the efficiency of the Academy's transformations.
Seeing the change in colors, the members of the Black Rose rushed to congratulate Ezariel. Most of them claimed that next time he would win, and the room would belong to them. On the other hand, the members of the White Lotus approached Annabell, asking if she was alright and if she needed a change of clothes. Annabell brushed her face with her hand, feeling overwhelmed by the exaggeration of their reactions.
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"Apologies for staining the pure princess with my blood." he bowed dramatically, but his expression showed clear mockery. "You should wear red... preferably the shade closest to blood. It suits Your Highness." Annabell felt a wave of nausea just hearing those words coming out of his mouth.
Annabell stared at Ezariel and forced a smile, trying to figure out whether her disgust was triggered by his words, his expression, or the blood. It was probably a combination of all three
"It's alright, it was just an accident." she smiled genuinely to reassure her dorm mates. "I will excuse myself to change my clothes."
"How long will you keep up the false kindness? Actually... the question should be different. How long will people pretend not to see?" The same girl from before, now wearing different clothes, had a scar visible on her neck.
"Creating a scene won't change the fact that my clothes are dirty. You wanted a show. I apologize, but that's not my job." Annabell turned to leave, not wanting to engage with that kind of people. "As far as I know, my family isn't the one of lunatics who kill anyone who crosses their path. We're normal."
"What did you say, you..." the girl's voice was filled with anger as she made a threatening move towards Annabell. Dominick stepped forward to stop her, but Ezariel put his arm in front of her, blocking her from advancing.
"The beloved flower of the white kingdom isn't so delicate." Ezariel chuckled at the end of his sentence.
"Flowers also have thorns." Annabell didn't turn around, continuing her path out of the room.
If Annabell turned to look at Ezariel, the likelihood of arguing with him was high. Just seeing his smug smile would ignite her anger. Annabell didn't wait for anyone to accompany her; she headed towards the dormitories. Signs in the corridors indicated the direction.
Inside the sword room, all the people belonging to the White Lotus dormitory left. The members of the Black Rose laughed at the situation and exaggeratedly mimicked Annabell.
The White Lotus students followed Annabell, waiting for her to say something, any insult or dissatisfaction that would give them an excuse to retaliate against the Black Rose.
Annabell could hear the footsteps of the people behind her, and she started to feel irritated. She clenched her fists and turned around, finding Dominick in front of her. Her irritated expression melted away, and she widened her eyes, wearing a saddened look on her face, furrowing her eyebrows and pouting her lips.
"I'm not Johnny... and Mark made it very clear." Annabell crossed her arms and returned to her irritated expression. "Get out, all of you!" Dominick looked at the students, and the corridor quickly emptied.
"It wasn't my fault!" Annabell spoke loudly and turned her face away. "Don't you dare start with those endless speeches my brother taught you!" She pointed at him.
"Maintain good relations with the other dormitories and don't provoke the people from the Kingdom of Hearts, especially Ezariel." Dominick stared at Annabell. "Mark made that clear."
"If they don't cooperate, I can't work miracles! You heard what she said, they clearly think I'm the same as..."
"Annabell!" Dominick raised his voice and approached her. "You're not in the palace. If the Black Rose wants to, they can harm you."
The princess ran her hand through her hair and sighed. Of course, she thought Dominick was exaggerating. They wouldn't dare do something so blatant. They would be the first suspects if anything happened to her.
"Stop exaggerating. I'm not stupid, and neither are they." Annabell smiled. "I won't provoke them, but I won't accept whatever they say either!"
Dominick was about to say something, but Annabell put her hands on his shoulders. She smiled to reassure the dark-haired man, not wanting to discuss it further.
"I need to go to the dormitory to change clothes. You go back to the room, and I'll go with Diana and Rosalia to my quarters!" She patted Dominick's shoulder twice and turned around.
Annabell went to the end of the corridor, where she found Rosalia and Diana engaged in an animated conversation. The princess waved at them and walked towards them.
"Can you guys take me to my room? I still don't know where it is..."
"Sure, but we're not entirely sure where it is either." Diana and Rosalia spoke simultaneously and burst into laughter. The three of them were completely lost.
"Well, people did say that having you and Ezariel together would be interesting." Gael's voice suddenly emerged from nowhere.
Annabell felt her legs go weak. She had a slight problem with things appearing out of nowhere. She looked at Gael with widened eyes and leaned on Diana for support.
"Please don't do that again. Where did you come from?" Annabell's gaze was filled with fear. Someone appeared out of thin air next to her, was a clear sign of danger.
"I was trying to pass through the crowd. Well, that doesn't matter. Oh! Congratulations, in less than... five hours? You're on the candidate list for dormitory chief. That's a new record! The downside is that Ezariel is also on the list. You two appeared at the same time." Gael chattered about how unprecedented it was. "The last person to achieve something that quickly took a week. It was your brothers; they were the first to have to share the position. It wasn't bad for them! But you have to share such an achievement with Ezariel. That's pretty tough. At least you're not in the same dormitory. Imagine what a nightmare it would be with him in the White Lotus." a shiver ran down Gael's body as he rubbed his arms and spun around three times. "My parents say it wards off negative energy!"
Annabell thought it would be better not to ask. Some things were better off agreed upon. The princess puffed up her cheeks and nodded her head.
"Are you guys sure that the person in charge of that list isn't just a bored student?" The whole situation seemed like a cruel joke.
"Don't be silly, Princess Annabell. If it were just some student, it would be much worse, believe me! The students here can't be trusted." Gael placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"That doesn't exactly reassure me."