Walking in the palace, I looked around in awe. If the outside of the palace was magnificent, the inside was elegant. We walked through a halla with a blue carpet and silver and white wales. The ceiling was with dazzling gold designs. I was captivated by the beauty of the palace. We arrived at a door and master Pacillo told me to wait. "We're about to meet the emperor, have you taken an etiquette class?" she asked. I was taken aback with the news of meeting the emperor, but I was suspecting this when the Master told me to be presentable. I nodded, remembering the time I took etiquette at the Raven Household. "Good we are going in now," she stated as she pushed open the doors.
The room was mostly silver and blue, with steps that led to a throne. Sitting on the throne was a man in his mid 40s with silver hair and piercing blue eyes. There was also a man in his 20s tried to who also had silver hair and bright blue eyes. The two men were Emperor Arron Macari and the Crown Prince Nicholas Macari. We walked forward and both knelt in front of them. "Greeting to the Emperor and the Crown Prince." Master Pacillo greeted. "Rise" the emperor ordered. His voice was strong and confident, but it wasn't as stern as I would have imagined. We both stood up and the emperor continued, "So you finally have chosen an apprentice Archmage Valentina Pacillo." "yep I followed your wishes and found someone who is quite suitable," she answered and gestured to me. Taking my cue I stepped forward and bowed slightly, "greeting Emperor and Crown prince, I am Master Pacillo's apprentice Lydia Raven." I kept bowing waiting for the Emperor to call me stand up. I started to fidget my hand behind my back, nervous. "You may raise your head" He called out. I raised my head and took a step back. I scanned their faces to see if I offended them in any way, but instead a flash of an undefined emotion flashed through their expression. Tilting my head in confusion I looked at the two in front of me, but their expressions were back to stone cold. I probably just imagined it. "Well, it's good to see you have an apprentice now, I hope to see Lydia follow in your steps." "She will, your Highness" Master Pacillo replied, confidently. Her compliment caught me off guard and My face got a bit hot in embarrassment. After that the emperor dismissed us and we walked through the halls again. We walked into an office with a desk in the middle, shelves on the wall and a window behind the desk. She sat down at her desk and I sat down on a chair across from her. "Okay so I talked with the head professor of the mage department and we figured out your schedule including your visits with me." Master Pacillo stated getting straight to the point. She handed me a calendar of the rest of November. "You'll visit me at least 12 times a month on designated days. I'll give you your schedule for the month on our last visit of the previous month.Your teachers also cooperated on making the schedule so don't worry about that. You will stay at the Palace until 5 pm on regular days, there are some exceptions that will be specified on your schedule." Master continued. I looked over the schedule and saw that I had 2 other visits this week, One on thursday and the other on saturday. Nodding along I folded the calendar and put it in my bag. "I understand" I confirmed as I looked up at my master. "Good let's start your evaluation" Master Pacillo smiled standing up.
…
We eventually arrived in front of a set of dark oak rubble doors. Master Pacino pressed her hand on them and they both opened revealing an enormous room. The room had high ceilings and the floor was made out of cushioning material. "This is where we will hold most of our training sessions. This is the sparring and training room for the royal guard." Master explained walking towards the middle of the room. I followed her, still amazed with such a nice room. There was a room like this at the raven residence, but it was probably a third the size of this. Then Master turned around and looked me in the eyes, sending a shiver down my spine. "Now, let's see what you got.
Master pacillo then proceeded to test me on everything about my mana. She tested my control, diversity, knowledge on avantages, and spells. She also tested my raw strength, reflexes, instincts, and stamina. The grueling tests took around 6 hours to go through, taking a break 3 hours in. at 4 pm, I collapsed on the ground after we finished the last evaluation. I laid down and caught my breath, I don't think my legs work anymore. "Like I thought, you're really capable. Your control, diversity, instincts, and reflexes were all outstanding. You also have a good knowledge of avantages, but that might be something to look more into. Your weaker points are spells and your raw strength and stamina. Even though they aren't bad, they need to be improved. For the rest of the month we will focus on those aspects." Master told me, while looking through a tablet. I sat up nodding still heavily breathing. "Well we're done for the day, so I'll send you back now" she said pulling me off the ground. At first my legs were too wobbly to stand but the master cast a spell that stabilized them. "This should last you until you get back, remember to take an ice bath when you do" she reminded me. "Okay, I got it" I said, walking to the side of the room and grabbing my bag. "We started to walk through the halls again. I didn't notice before but all the staff were looking at me in awe. Why were they looking at me like that, was a newcomer that uncommon.
"Is there anything I should bring for my visit on Thursday?" I questioned. "No, just bring what you did today, but wear training clothes," master answered as we arrived