“Hey, did you hear that three houses burned down last night across town?” Van leaned back in his seat, resting his elbow on Alexander’s notebook, to speak over him.

Alexander’s eye twitched as his pen shifted, messing up his notes and creating an unsightly squiggle across his page. “Van, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?” he growled. They were in a classroom, one row from the windows. Alexander’s seat was second from the back, with Van ahead of him. Nana was in the seat next to the window beside Van, but she hadn’t looked back from her notes as the others seemed to lose interest in the teacher’s lesson.

“Come off it Princess, can you even read what he’s writing? Nana’s the only one that can decipher it,” Van laughed.

Alexander let out a frustrated noise, “I need to keep my grades up if I want a scholarship to uni,” he said flatly.

A boy with neatly brushed black hair and gold-rimmed glasses framing his sharp dark blue eyes spoke up from behind Alexander. “Aw, is Princess poor?” he sneered.

Alexander frowned and looked back over his shoulder slightly, “I prefer the term ‘unmuggable,’” he replied, causing Van to laugh softly. “Also, I told the class my name is Alex,” he added, eyes narrowing.

“Allen, be nice to Alex,” Nana said, still not looking up from her note-taking.

Allen scoffed and folded his arms, looking away from Nana pointedly. “I’ll say what I like,” he grumbled.

Alexander merely shook his head in dismay and turned back to his notes, trying to look past Van who was now purposefully blocking him. “Seriously, Van,” Alexander warned.

“Did you hear about the fires?” Van asked again.

“No, why would I?” Alexander sighed, giving up. He leaned back as Van propped his elbow on the desk, resting his chin in his hand, leaning in more closely.

“Well, seeing as you seem to be pretty close with the witch hunters, I thought you might,” he cooed.

Alexander’s blood ran cold. He was aware that most of the class was listening. “What makes you think I’m close with them?” he frowned.

“Dad told me they came here last night, to the school dorms. Who else would they be seeing?” Van questioned. There was a hushed murmur from the class and even Nana looked up from her notes in surprise.

Alexander hunched up in his seat, “T-they’re treating my injury,” he said quickly. “They said that they didn’t want to cause me trouble with the other students by showing up at normal hours,” he added his lie more quietly. “B-besides, they seem to operate more at night by the looks of things…”

“So they did come here,” Allen reaffirmed darkly. “Why would they be treating your injury?”

Alexander hunched up further, trying to make himself as small as possible. “I got burned by the witch,” he said softly and the room erupted into a chorus of fearful whispers. He looked to Van, “you knew that, why would you bring it up?” he asked, hurt.

Van simply smirked and ran his hand through his hair, “Because everyone’s curious about you, Princess,” he said coolly. “It’s better if they hear it from you rather than second hand. And plus, I know you won’t talk to anyone by yourself,” he winked.

“Van,” Nana sighed from her seat, “If you don’t stop teasing Alex, I’m not going to give you my notes anymore,” she warned.

“Wha? C’mon Prince, why are you calling him by his name,” Van whined. He mockingly wept into his arm, “Prince must hate Princess, refusing to acknowledge him—oh what a sad world! What a sad King I am!”

Nana sighed, exhausted and frustrated, “Van…”

“He calls you prince?” Alexander raised an eyebrow at her.

She flushed slightly, closing her notebook and stowing it in her bag with her pencils. “Yea, he gave me my nickname much in the same way he did you,” she explained. “No rhyme or reason for it. Just met me and said ‘You! You’re a dashing prince!’” she mimicked Van perfectly, including his ridiculous gestures, “And that was that,” she shrugged.

Alexander frowned, “But he calls you by your name,” he said suspiciously.

At that, she laughed, “That’s because I ignored it—besides,” she tilted her head at him, causing the sun to catch on her dangling starry earring, “I rather like it. And it suits me.”

“I don’t like mine, nor does it suit me,” Alexander grumbled. He was surprised when she and the others actually laughed. “Seriously!?”

“Oh, Alex,” she said between giggles, “You’re way too dramatic to not be a princess. The way you get upset—it’s rather cute,” she winked.

Alexander’s ears turned red and he sputtered, hunching up in his seat again, “I—I really don’t like the attention,” he mumbled awkwardly.

Behind him, Allen scoffed bitterly. “Witch-hunter-princess doesn’t deserve attention,” he hissed. The mood of the room flipped, everyone stopped laughing, worry crossing their gazes as some whispered and cast furtive glances at Allen.

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife—even Van had shut up.

“And that concludes today’s lesson,” croaked an aged voice from the front of the room—the teacher, an ancient man with a beaked nose and a hunch that made him look like a vulture turned from the blackboard, either oblivious to his student’s antics, or uncaring of it.

The bell rang and Allen snapped his books shut, not taking his eyes off Alexander until he had packed his bag and stood, striding out of the classroom without a word. His friends quickly followed him, casting angry glances at Alexander as well.

Alexander, meanwhile, had frozen in place. Once Allen was gone, he let out a tentative breath he’d been holding. He frowned, frightened by Allen’s outburst. “I—I’m sorry,” he mumbled, shakily packing his things into his messenger bag.

Van finally heaved a sigh, “No, Princess, it’s my fault,” he said. “Allen is kinda my major opposition on campus. He makes a point to dislike anything I seem to enjoy.”

“He seems to hate me,” Alexander mumbled, rising from his seat. Van followed him. The rest of the room was also already packing, still firing furtive glances in their direction. “And, I don’t think it’s your fault,” he added.

“And why’s that?” Van arched one his shockingly white eyebrows at Alexander as he shouldered his backpack—a strangely perfect emerald green that matched his eyes.

“Remember what I told you yesterday about my old school?” Alexander said quietly, leaning a little closer to keep his voice as low as possible. “I don’t want you to broadcast that one, if possible, please?”

Van smirked, “Ask me properly, Princess, and I’ll consider it.”

Alexander looked hesitantly to Nana who had come to stand close to them. “I—uh, please?”

Van seemed to legitimately pout at that. “Really, is that how you ask a King for mercy?” he grinned.

“He wants you acknowledge him, Alex,” Nana finally prompted.

“Ho-how am I supposed to know that?” Alexander sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This guy needs a professional translator…”

“Not helping your case any there, Princess,” Van said, idly checking his nails.

Alexander bristled again, “I shouldn’t have to cater to your strange whims in order to keep my privacy, Van,” he growled. He slung his bag over his shoulder and started for the door, but Van grabbed him and pulled him close.

Van snaked one arm around Alexander’s waist, his free hand grabbing his chin and lifting Alexander’s face close to his own. “Now, now, Princess,” he cooed in a whisper, now dangerously close, his eyes half-closed, “No need to get angry.”

A few things happened all at once—the girls still in the classroom all squealed with delight; the boys whooped and cheered; Alexander got scared and angry, shoving Van away from him; Nana turned a brilliant shade of red and hit Van in the face with her notebook as he stumbled backwards; then half the lights in the classroom over-brightened with an electric surge before they exploded, making everyone duck and scream as the power to the whole school went out.