Chapter 2 Vesper
Denise, a senior female led the pack of new students down the vaulted marble corridors of the dormitory wing. Beside me, Alicia, the chatty girl from the sorting line, kept matching my pace.
“Curfew is at precisely ten o’clock,” Denise called out, her voice echoing off the high stone ceilings. “Any student caught outside the dormitories after hours will face immediate disciplinary action by the perfects. No exceptions.”
I looked around, slightly awed at the sheer splendor of the hallway. The walls were lined with polished gold, and massive glass windows looked out over the perfect academy grounds.
A sudden, sharp ache hit my chest. It was funny, really. Four years ago, my parents had talked about this place with smiles on their faces, excited to eventually send me here to learn. That was before the royal family decided to betray us and burn our entire history. Now, I was here, but not to learn.
“Hey,” Alicia whispered, nudging my arm. “Look ahead.”
A group of older boys blocked the center of the corridor. They wore the academy uniform, but they looked completely roguish. Their ties were loose and crooked, their shirts were unbuttoned at the collar, and their hair looked entirely uncombed.
It was deeply ironic. I had lost my actual family. I had seen real blood and real survival. Seeing these high-born idiots try so hard to look perfectly imperfect and rebellious was almost funny.
The boy in the center of the group stepped forward. I recognized him immediately. He was Riven Ophir, the second prince. This time it wasn’t a surprise to know him. He was on the face of everything in the kingdom. His pretty face enchanting the teenage girls everywhere.
“Denise,” Riven said, flashing an easy, charming smile as he walked up to our guide. “You’re looking exceptionally beautiful today. Is it just me, or did your hair get shinier since yesterday?”
Denise’s cheeks flushed a bright, deep pink. She looked down, nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and let out a soft laugh. “Your Highness. Please don’t start.”
“Come with us,” Riven said, leaning in closer to her. “Leave the freshmen for a bit. My friends and I are heading down to the courtyard. You should join.”
“I can’t, Prince Riven,” Denise said, her voice shaking slightly as she tried to regain her professional posture. “The Crown Prince gave me explicit instructions to lead the new students directly to the residential hostiles. I have to follow his orders.”
Riven’s smile stiffened for a second before turning dismissive. He waved his hand through the air. “Oh, Kaelen is far too serious. He won’t even notice. Just give them the basic directions and let them walk the rest of the way themselves.”
Alicia leaned toward me, her eyes wide as she stared at Riven. “Oh my god,” she whispered frantically. “That’s the second prince. He is so incredibly handsome.”
I rolled my eyes. Out of pure instinct, my sarcasm slipped out before I could stop it. “Someone that’s is a massive attention seeker,” I scoffed under my breath.
Unfortunately, Riven’s ears were incredibly sharp. His head snapped toward me, the charming smile returning to his face, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “What did you say?”
The group of boys behind him went completely silent. Riven walked past Denise, stepping directly into my personal space.
“Sweetheart,” Riven said, tilting his head as he looked down at me. “I am not an attention seeker. It’s not my fault that attention simply seeks me out wherever I go.”
“No,” I said, looking him dead in the eye. “You are definitely an attention seeker. You are doing all of this drama right now just because she mentioned it was the crown prince’s instructions.”
I tilted my head, putting on a perfectly fake, innocent expression. “Why are you looking for your older brother’s attention so badly? If you want to pester him, you can just go directly to his quarters.”
Riven’s charming expression completely fell. His face went flat and rigid.
Behind him, his entire gang of roguish friends burst into loud, mocking laughter. They slapped each other on the back, thoroughly amused because I had hit the exact truth. Riven was notorious for trying to get reactions out of Kaelen.
Riven stepped even closer, bending down until his lips were right beside my ear. “I won’t forget this,” he whispered, his voice dangerously low.
He straightened up, turned on his heel, and walked away down the corridor, his laughing friends following close behind him.
The moment they were gone, Denise grabbed my upper arm in a tight grip and yanked me forward. “Never do that again,” she hissed, her voice trembling with anger. “Do you want to get us all in trouble?”
“I was just stating the obvious,” I muttered.
“You think I was blushing because I like him?” Denise whispered sharply. “I was keeping the peace. There is a weird, dangerous tension between all of the princes in this kingdom. Nobody gets involved in it if they want to survive. I insisted on Kaelen’s orders because it keeps me safe, not because I wanted you to insult the second prince.”
I stayed silent as we kept walking having the crushing realization that I may have caused issues for my mission.
We finally reached the female dormitory rooms. Denise unlocked a heavy oak door and handed us our keys. I was assigned to a room with Alicia and another girl named Maureen.
The room had three small beds, three desks, and three wardrobes. Alicia immediately dropped her heavy bags onto the middle bed and turned around with a bubbly smile, looking at the third girl who was already quietly unpacking her things in the corner.
“Hi!” Alicia said, walking over to her. “I’m Alicia. And this is Vesper,” she added, pointing back at me. “What’s your name?”
Maureen didn’t stop unpacking. She folded a uniform jacket, placed it neatly in her wardrobe, and kept her back turned to us. “Maureen,” she said flatly.
Alicia waited for more, but Maureen simply ignored her, picking up another book. Alicia’s bright face fell, her shoulders slumping slightly. But a second later, she shook it off, brightened up again, and started organizing her own desk.
I watched her from my bed. A sad thought crossed my mind. I genuinely wished I could be just as bright, naïve, and naturally happy as Alicia was. But that version of me had died in the fire a long time ago.
Night came quickly. The heavy stone walls of the academy grew cold, and the only sound in the room was the rhythmic breathing of Alicia and Maureen sleeping.
I sat upright on my mattress, staring into the dark. I reached up and pulled the small glass pendant out from beneath my collar. I gripped it tightly in my palm. The magical glamour pulsed against my skin, glowing with a very faint, hidden light.
Images of my burning village, the screams of my people, and the ash-pale hair of my family flashed vividly behind my eyes.
“Aunt, don’t worry,” I whispered into the quiet room, my knuckles turning white around the glass. “I got in. I will avenge our people. Even if I have to die trying.”
