The next morning came in due course, as did the box that contained my newly acquired antique. Talia was leaving her dorm room when I arrived on the scene. She immediately locked onto the heavy metal piece of furniture I was lugging up to my room in my arms like a newborn baby.

“What are you doing with that candelabra?”

It was made from Kursiela. I’d visited the antique store that Gladly pointed me to and point-blank asked the man in charge if he had anything at all that was made from the metal. It didn’t matter what it was – I was going to buy it at any expense and bring it back with me.

The peach-coloured compound was heavier than I expected. The candelabra was designed to be a hefty thing. I could happily strike someone across the dome with it and have a good shot at knocking them out cold.

“It’s a candelabra. I saw it in a store yesterday and thought it would look good in my dorm room.”

Talia was confused, “I’ve never seen you decorate your dorm room before.”

“There’s never a bad time to start.”

I left it at that and snuck inside my room, placing it down on the bedside table and trying to work the kinks out of my arms. My old body wouldn’t have had a problem carrying that up the stairs – but Maria was a different beast. It was still so easy to forget my own limits thanks to years of muscle memory.

Technically I could use the candleholder as the least practical wand of all time. It would be a much better solution to melt it down and forge it into a pair of greaves or cuffs. That, or turning it into a staff, was the most common practice performed by foreign magicians. A candleholder was as close as I was going to get without getting my hands dirty and commissioning a more practical form.

Since most spells involved transferring magic to the hands and fingertips – the metal would react when casting a spell and increase your power. The fingers were the most precise and nimble part of the body, so they were useful for mages who wanted to use a plethora of different methods with a high level of control.

“What a gaudy piece of crap,” I muttered. It was covered with elaborate inlaid details, swirling patterns and blooming plants. I couldn’t wait to destroy it and turn it into something useful.

That was easier said than done. Blacksmiths weren’t rendered extinct by the advent of machines just yet – but it was on the horizon. There was a widening gulf between small local businesses making horseshoes and tools for farmers and the big players who produced far more than they could ever hope to. Those factories didn’t make to order like I needed.

I took a tape measure from my drawer and made precise measurements of both of my forearms and wrists, marking them down onto a small piece of paper for later. With that job taken care of, I removed my outside coat and started to switch to my uniform for the first period.

Black skirt, white shirt, and now that the weather was turning cold again we were expected to wear a matching jumper or blazer – depending on our preference. I chose the jumper, pulling the frill of the shirt over the front and keeping the collar in line.

Finding a blacksmith and smeltery would have to wait. I had obligations and appearances to keep. My Father would start to ask more questions if I started skipping school, and I was still recovering from the shock of getting away with that cult ordeal without him raking me over the coals.

While I was crisscrossing the room to gather my things, a sudden flurry of movement in the area of the garden that my window could see drew my attention. At first, I presumed that it was some of the other students taking a shortcut to reach their first lessons, but on closer inspection, I discovered that to not be the case.

Yeah. That was a marauding gang of armed goons alright.

They were infiltrating the campus grounds through one of the exterior gates, having removed the guard from his post and disarming him. I counted at least ten of them mulling around on the rear patio and by the greenhouse. They were all wearing long coats with rifles slung over their shoulders.

Far from the violent incidents that occurred prior, these men were downright polite by comparison. There were no shouted threats of random assaults. They weren’t even smashing anything or trying to steal whatever they could get their hands on! The other students were starting to notice and were clustering by their own windows to spy on what was going on.

Even if it was a socially conscious takeover of the campus by armed men, I was not going to risk being caught without a weapon. I hurried to the wardrobe, busted out the suitcase and got tooled up for another fight.

By the time I’d grabbed my pistols and some magazines, concealing them on my person, the majority of the student body was already packing the outside hallway like a can of sardines. I forced my way through and headed across the second floor to where the main entrance was located. My progress was stopped dead by another roadblock of warm bodies hiding out at the top of the stairs.

The students were whispering.

“What is going on?”

“There are men with guns!”

“This is the party all over again...”

I pushed my way through the crowd to get a better view over the bannister. The entire lobby area was swamped with hundreds of observers. A group of five gunmen were keeping watch by the front door. The Principal was the one taking point and confronting the guy in charge.

“Have you lost your good senses? What are you doing here with those weapons? This is a school!”

“I can assure you that harm will not come to any person on the premises.”

Their leader was wearing a yellow armband. He also had extremely pale skin like the kid who attacked the funeral. He didn’t display any of the same outward signs of elevated aggression or a lack of reason. They’d dispatched a loyal one to handle this job. They didn’t want some trigger-happy buffoon sparking a massacre at the Royal Academy.

“I would much prefer for you to vacate the area entirely. You should know that trespassing on the academy grounds has become a more rigidly enforced criminal offence after recent events.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. We have control of the perimeter of the academy. As I said, there’ll be no harm to you or any of the students. You should go about your usual business.”

“I can hardly start a new term with a group of armed strangers lingering!”

What the hell was this supposed to be? My mind was quick to associate this with Welt and my present problems. The worst-case scenario was the one now unfolding before my eyes. Welt was pushing the big red button early. He was rumbled by the police and desperate to execute his plan while he had the chance.

“If these student’s parents do the right thing and listen to what he has to say – then there’ll be nothing to worry about. That’s all. Now clear out before I start to lose patience!”

The other teachers were more willing to relent than the Principal. They turned on the gallery of observers and started to wave us away.

“First period is about to start! Get to your assigned classrooms now!”

Sensing that the party was over for the time being – a large number of the spectators did as they asked and started to slowly shuffle back towards where they were supposed to be. I stuck behind for a second to try and scry more details from the argument raging between them, but the teachers were moving up the stairs to ward away those who stubbornly remained.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

What followed was the most surreal school lesson of my two lives. Everyone in the lecture room knew what was going on outside the door, and aside from an opening buzz of discussion between my classmates, nobody saw fit to address the issue until the end of the period approached. The teacher stepped out for two minutes and returned with a concerned expression.

“Everyone, the Principal is still attempting to reason with the man who has invaded the campus. I’d like for everyone to return to their dorms and remain inside until further instructions are given.”

And that was that. We filed out of the lecture hall and moved back up to the dorms. Along the way, I spied several of the guards lurking around the doors and main avenues through the building. There was no shouting or fighting, just an uneasy cloud hanging over the heads of everyone involved.

Adrian caught up with me on the way back.

“What the hell is all this?” he whispered harshly.

“I think Welt is in a panic about being pursued by the police and WISA. He’s going ahead with his plan whether his allies are ready for it or not.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

“We are his insurance policy. He will need all of the nobility in the capital and parliament to fall in line and avoid making a fuss, and what better way to do that than to take all of their children hostage?”

“Goddess help me. He’s a craven psychopath.”

“Correct. There’s no helping it now. They have the entire building under lockdown.”

When we reached the dorms, Adrian was forced to part ways and move ahead to get to his room. I stepped into my own, only to be ambushed from behind by Samantha, who shoved me in and closed the door behind us.

“Do you know what all of this is about?” she asked with an almost accusatory tone.

“I can guess. It wouldn’t be a term at this academy without something terrible happening.”

Samantha groaned and sat on the edge of my bed, “What is this?”

“Gerard Verner Welt is making his move. He wants to restore the monarchy, and part of his plan is to hold us all hostage to make the nobility play nice.”

“I thought the nobles wanted the Van Walser family to reassume control?”

“The old blood does. The newly minted nobles, the ones making large amounts of money from new technology and business ideas, are normally dedicated to the republican ideal. They come from a different background. Common-clay nobles are what they call them.”

“Even when they’re fabulously wealthy?”

“Being a noble was entirely about wealth and recognition, but they will sooner redefine what it means rather than equate themselves with them. A new variable will be introduced. They had to be a noble long before a date of their choosing.”

She got back up from the bed and paced to the window, peering out into the garden to spy on the men who were standing by the fence. This was a professionally done operation from them. They neutralized the guards with numbers and speed and assumed control before anyone could call for help from the police. Now they were keeping a close eye on every possible escape route.

“What a mess. Is this country always on the brink of a major political crisis?”

“Yes.”

Samantha hid out in my room for the next two hours. It was almost time for dinner and there was no sign of lessons resuming. I kept observing the guards at the outside fence and tried to figure out what shifts they were running. I didn’t see them switch places before the teachers knocked on our doors and asked us to go to the dining hall for lunch.

When we stepped through the doors and saw the stage being prepped, we knew that the man in charge was going to explain what was going on to the staff and students. None of the gun-toting mercenaries he brought with him were in the room with us. The Principal managed to get some concessions from him during their argument.

Everyone grabbed their food and sat down at the tables. The Principal stepped up onto the stage and cleared his throat. For once the entire hall fell silent, rather than playing games by continuing to talk during his announcement.

“Good afternoon everyone. This is an announcement about... our new guests. I understand that many of you will be profoundly worried about this invasion of the campus and the presence of armed individuals.”

There was an uneasy ripple through the crowd. Bad memories of what happened at Beatrice’s party were still strong in their minds.

“I’ve spoken with the leader of this group and wrangled some compromises from him. They will not enter the school without reason. They will refrain from intimidating the staff or students. In exchange, they will be temporarily housed in the unused block away from the main buildings. I need not say that you should stay away from that area.”

He gritted his teeth and said the next part very delicately.

“They’ve promised not to cause any trouble. I want everyone to continue with their regular schedule and act as if nothing were amiss. The staff will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that the academy is able to run safely and effectively.”

And that was all he had to say. No words of reassurance for the terrified crop of coddled teenagers he was in charge of, most of whom had never faced a single second of risk in their lives. He bowed his head and stepped down from the platform before disappearing through the back door.

When he was out of sight the hall exploded into a riotous discussion about what was going on. I could hear new insane rumours being concocted in the social cauldron as I sat there and chewed on a piece of buttered bread. Talia, Samantha, Adrian and Claude all looked mortified by what was going on. Max still wasn’t back at the academy. If only he knew how lucky he was.

“I have no idea what’s going on right now!” Talia hissed.

“They’re holding us all hostage,” Adrian explained, “This academy is filled with noble kids like us, and the sons of important police officers and the like...”

A potent mixture of upper-middle-class and high-class children, who held particular importance to a group that could control the direction of the nation as a whole. I’d been caught flat-footed by this. I was anticipating that there’d be enough time to take pre-emptive action against Welt. He was pushing the timeline up suddenly. He wanted to get out of the jam he found himself in as quickly as possible.

Springing part of the plan early could be a cause for friction later on, but Welt had no choice now. Veronica was hot on his tail - and if anyone was going to catch him now it would be her. He couldn’t stand back and let his planning and preparation go to waste. Some of it would have to be organized on the fly as and when it was demanded.

What other moving parts were in action remained a mystery to me. This wasn’t going to be the only string Welt was pulling. He was trying to use us as leverage to pull wavering nobles onto his side, or simply to keep them from fighting back while he assumed control.

The modified killers would be his enforcers. They could exert an outsized level of military force, upturning the number’s disadvantage and wreaking havoc on the militias, military and police. More traditional fighters would be deployed to handle more sensitive areas and operations.

What was missing from the picture was an inciting incident. There was not an upswell of public support for the restoration movement. Welt would have to provide at least a basic pretext for moving to restore the monarchy, yet there was no evidence of what they planned to do during my investigation.

Claude stared at me, “Is this your fault?”

“Why would it be my fault? All of these things happen independently of me.”

“Maybe they’re here to stop you from getting out and stopping them.”

“They haven’t noticed me. They want to keep the entire academy hostage, that’s all.”

“...Are you going to do something?” he asked.

“I’m certainly not going to launch recklessly into a fight. This situation is dangerous for all kinds of reasons. The least of which is the presence of bystanders. Someone will get hurt if I start a battle on the campus. I’m not doing that.”

Samantha nudged Claude in the side, “Maria doesn’t do stuff that puts other people in danger.”

Clean, precise, specific – those were the three words that I always kept in mind when working as an assassin. I was a scalpel, expertly dissecting a problem without causing harm to onlookers or interested parties. This was not a situation where I could do that. At least thirty gunmen were watching every entrance and exit to the grounds.

Either I’d have to get creative in picking them off, or I would have to throw the entire campus into chaos with a wide-reaching gunfight. The odds were not in my favour. It went against my instincts to risk it all unless I was forced to. Would they ditch the place and run for the hills if I killed the guy in charge? Unlikely.

There was also the risk that they’d issue collective punishment in response to attacks against their group. Welt’s other supporters were ruthless and violent at heart. They were treating the academy nicely because some of his existing backers were likely sending their children here to be educated.

“Sometimes the ideal course of action is to do nothing at all,” I said.

“Seriously?” Claude whispered, “They’re locking us up and pointing guns at us!”

“But I can’t predict what they’ll do if I start making trouble for them, and there’s no point in me escaping from their cordon anyway – I don’t have the faintest clue as to where Welt is, or how to stop him and make them withdraw.”

Samantha, Adrian, Talia and Claude were all surprised to see me adopting such a cautious approach in the face of imminent danger. Talia knew that I helped her brother and little else, but the other three were well aware of how I liked to go on the offence when the chips were down and bullets were flying.

Everyone went back to eating, considering my position more carefully. There were no easy answers to this problem. I could go all out and get nothing helpful in return. I emptied my plate and contemplated the problem until something else stimulating pulled my attention away.

Dalia was leaving through the same door that the Principal used earlier.

I watched as she snuck past the teachers and slipped through the crack. The gears in my head started to turn again. There were students within the school whose families were heavily involved in the restoration movement.

Samantha noticed where my eyes were pointing.

“What are you looking at?”

“...Nothing. Nothing at all.”