With news beginning to circulate regarding William Windblade's temporary removal from his Head Director position, the students are left to wonder - who will temporarily take his place?
Rumors began to go around amongst the students that either Martha Clark or Walter Garet, the two other vice directors, would take his place. However, before anyone could get a definitive answer of their own, the Triumvirate came in with a replacement of their own.
Allen and his friends were in the assembly room, where the announcement being held on who would take over would be taking place. Many students, including Allen, had a lot of mixed feelings about it, as they had seen William as their Head Director, not someone else. But just who could the Triumvirate deem more worthy than one of their current Vice Directors?
"Greeting students, I will be your new Head Director," a woman's voice came from the front of the assembly.
When all of the students could see her, Allen had a sense of familiarity with her. She seemed to be in her thirties, with short, blonde hair, and from what Allen could tell, blue eyes.
Wait, she looks like Rose, Allen pointed out in his thoughts. Could this be a coincidence?
"My name is Ellen Marion, a former Triumvirate member, since now I will be your new Head Director," she introduced herself, a small smirk on her face. "A pleasure to be with you all"
Wait, Marion?, Allen thought, suddenly caught off guard.
Rose, their friend and Student Council President, last name was also Marion. Could this Ellen be related to Rose, and how?
Allen would have loved to ask Rose himself, however, he has not seen her since the fire mage attack incident on their academy. Supposedly she has been working with the student council as well as the directors to get the academy back in order, so she most likely hasn't had time to see them. However, with this 'Ellen Marion' now the Head Director, just where could Rose be?
"For those who may not already know, of course my elemental attribute is water, just like any other member of the Marion household," she continued. "But enough about that. What I wanted to talk about to you today, is the dire state of the academy"
Murmurs went throughout the room as everyone wondered what she could be talking about. The recent fire mage attack, or something more?
"I am just absolutely disappointed and saddened about how your previous head director, William Windblade, has left the academy, and I honestly would have hoped for better…"
"Wait what?!," Allen said out loud, as he started to get out of his chair, however Cecily immediately stopped him.
"Don't," she shook her head, giving him a look.
"Right," Allen said, as he tried to calm himself down.
"This academy, the Magical Knights Academy, is supposed to be a prestigious institution in which prominent, young mages are urged to study and learn so that one day, they may become the protectors, or magical knights, of our beloved country," she continued to explain.
"However, due to changes made to the academy since William had taken over, many of our original principles put in place to ensure the success of our students have been unnecessarily altered, and I am to change that as your new Head Director"
"Temporary Head Director," Allen murmured, but just loud enough where Cecily and Thomas could hear him. Allen couldn't help but start to get annoyed with her already, even though this is her first day here.
"For I believe in a system in which our talented mages are rewarded, and taken care of. Elemental magic is everything in this country, so we should be putting effort into letting them grow, should we not?"
Murmurs had gone throughout the students once more. All of the students in the front, which were mostly A and B ranks, seemed to be the most interested in what she had to say.
"Unfortunately, that means that those without talent are left in the dust, where they should be. A small price to pay to guarantee the success of our talented, young mages, no?"
Murmurs once again went throughout the rooms, but now mostly the students in the back, which consisted mostly of C and D rank, seemed to be against what she had to say.
"I swear, I-"
"Don't-" Cecily once again stopped Allen.
"Look, I'm not very excited about it either," Thomas jumped in. "Let's just hear what she has to say first, okay?"
"Alright…," Allen breathed out a deep sigh.
"With this short, but sweet announcement, it will be a pleasure working with all of you," Ellen did a small nod with her head, as the students mostly in the front began to clap.
"There was nothing sweet about it," Allen commented, as he leaned his head onto his hand.
"Well, we certainly have our work cut out for us the rest of the year," Thomas added. "Maybe she'll make us not study as hard?"
"Oh shut it Tom," Cecily slapped him with a few pieces of paper she had on her. "But all things considered, I am not looking forward to what may be coming for the rest of the academy year"
"Agreed. Just what's going to happen with the magical knights tournament coming up?," Allen asked, a bit worried.
As the rest of the students began to shuffle out of the room, Allen Thomas, and Cecily continued to talk about what may come now with Ellen Marion now in charge. They had yet to see Stephen, Rose, Alice/Sarah, or even August for a while, but at least the three of them were together.
The three of them finally made their way out of the auditorium, with the intention of course to return to their classes, which would run for the rest of the day. However, they were stopped by someone highly unexpected.
"Ah perfect timing, I was hoping to have a bit of a… word… with the three of you," a voice came from behind them.
The three of them turned to find none other than Ellen Marion behind them, with a blank yet refined expression on her face. Seeing it reminded Allen of Ms. Florence's expression, however hers, was something that brought uneasiness to him.
"I of course am aware of you two, Thomas Terrastone, and Cecily Rivertide. I would've expected better from you two, yet here you two are, at a lowly D rank," a hit of disgust came from her voice.
"Excuse me?," Allen stepped in front of them, before Thomas or Cecily could say anything.
"And I have heard of you, Allen Fleming," she glared at him, as if just looking at him annoyed her. "Called 'The Weakest Mage', and yet you've somehow managed to make it to D Rank? Just what kind of ranking system did William approve of?"
"Say that again I-"
"You two, Thomas and Cecily, while you may be on the… lower end of things, I would advise you to not associate yourselves with someone such as this," she gestured over at Allen, while maintaining eye contact with Thomas and Cecily. "If you wish to get past D rank and be in a rank suitable for someone of your lineage, I would highly suggest you put yourself around those like you"
She did not just say that!, Allen thought to himself, his anger rising. She did not just say that to my friends!
Allen had to try to calm himself down a little, as he could sense the fire mana reacting to his emotions. One slip up, and even his glove covering his right hand could not save him. Ellen seemed to be glaring at him, but from what Allen could tell, she did not notice his mana. Hopefully, she is not as "mana-sensitive" as William is.
"Hey, you may be our new Head Director, but I think I am going to have to decline your recommendation," Thomas had a small smirk on his face, as both he and Cecily were now in front of Allen.
"Hmph, you two have certainly been in the dirt for too long," she sighed. "Well, I was planning on doing this later, however I suppose now is a good time as ever"
"Huh?," Thomas asked, caught off guard. Just what is she going to do?
"As of this very moment, with my authority as Head Director, Allen Fleming will hereby be demoted to F Rank, and will return to his F ranked class with Ms. Florence as his teacher," she explained, a small smirk forming at the corner of her mouth.
"Huh?," Allen asked, his eyes completely wide. He could not comprehend what had just come out of her mouth.
"Both Thomas Terrastone and Cecily Rivertide will retain their D rank status, however I expect both of you to do much better and to make it at least C rank. Wouldn't want to disappoint your families, you two understand?," she looked at both of them, as if they didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Hold on just a moment," Allen tried to intervene, while trying desperately not to do anything rash.
"In addition, your 'Training Club' you all called it, with Allen annoyingly as the club president, will be hereby disbanded, and any sort of continued 'club activities' will be up for punishment"
No, she just can't-, Allen thought, as the anger in him suddenly changed to fear. Back to F rank? Club disbanded? She can't take that all away, can she?
Allen had been so proud of the accomplishments he had made throughout the year, as it became a step towards his ultimate goal - to become a magical knight. However, with each word that came out of Ellen's mouth, all of that began to crumble away.
"Wait, you can't just do all of that!," Thomas was the first one to speak up.
"Thomas has a point. While you may be our head director now, you are still a temporary head director. I'm sure you have your restrictions," Cecily pointed out.
A small chuckle came out of her mouth, which only annoyed them further. A snarky grin then formed at her mouth before she continued to speak.
"Unfortunately, while my status as head director may be temporary, I have been given the same authority, if not more, as an actual head director by none other than the Triumvirate themselves," she explained. "If you have any sort of issue or complaint on how I plan to operate things, you can take it up with them, even Solomon Windblade himself, if you so dare"
"No, no way," Thomas managed to say, as he started to back up from her.
Just what could they do? With Ellen Marion now as head director, and the Triumvirate backing her, there wasn't much that the three of them could do now, and deep down, the three of them knew it.
But, there was something that bothered Allen. Her sudden appearance, instant disdain towards Allen, and the actions she has already taken against them, on their first day. Could she be?
"A question for you, Ellen, Allen spoke, with a hint of disdain towards using her name.
"You will refer to me as Mrs. Marion," she corrected him, an annoyed expression forming on her face. "However, I will allow you to ask your question"
Allen bit his tongue with what she said, but he decided to hold it in. Asking the question and getting an answer would be more important to him.
"You wouldn't have been involved with the Demon of Finance, would you?," Allen asked, waiting for his almost expected answer.
"Ah, Reynold Windblade, you mean. I do occasionally work with him, since I was a Triumvirate member. But why do you ask?," she asked, seeming to be glaring at him further.
"You wouldn't happen to be the said client that was looking to sabotage me, were you?," Allen asked her directly. It was a bit risky, given his situation, but he needed answers.
She sighed before continuing. "I suppose it doesn't hurt much to tell you. Yes, I am the client who asked Reynold Windblade specifically to do what he can to remove you from this academy"
Allen took a moment to process what she had just said. Right in front of him, was the person who he had been wondering who could be trying to get Reynold to remove him from the academy. Luckily, Reynold promised to remain a neutral party, however now that the same person was now the head director of the academy, just what could he do now?
"As for your 'conditions' you received when you were first accepted into the academy, fortunately for you, you can keep those," she continued. "If it was up to me, you would have been expelled from this academy as you do not fit here. But, that's the one thing I am not able to overturn… at least for now"
"For, for now?," Allen asked, his anger starting to rise again. "I have been able to hold my weight here, despite my magical capabilities, and yet you would just overturn all of that if it was up to you?!"
"Indeed, it would be," she answered, her words starting to grit through her teeth. "People like you, mages like you, are the reason that great, talented mages do not get the full recognition they deserve. The full attention and effort put in to nurture them and to keep them at the top, so that they may do well for all of us, and themselves!. If not for mages like you, then the mage that I had looked up to, Chr-"
"That's enough Ellen!," A familiar voice came from down the hall, but from the tone of the voice, Allen almost didn't recognize her.
Allen, Thomas, Cecily, and even Ellen herself looked down the hall to see none other than Martha Clark, or Ms. Clark, their Vice Director.
Perfect timing, Ms. Clark, Allen thought to himself with a smile on his face, as he didn't think he would ever be so happy to see her.
"Oh, it's you," Ellen spoke, the dissatisfaction on her face growing even more with the longer she laid her eyes on Ms. Clark.
"It is, in fact, me," Ms. Clark responded, a look of annoyance on her face as well. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"
"Quite honestly should have been longer," Ellen crossed her arms in disapproval. "Then again, I knew I'd see you here eventually"
At this point in time, the students surrounding them began to take more of an interest, with now the Vice Director here across the hall from the new Head Director.
Ms. Clark paused for a moment before speaking. "All of these new 'rules and regulations' you are starting to force, especially on my students, I will not stand for"
"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?," Ellen asked, smirking.
"As a Vice Director of this academy, and with the authority that comes with it, I stand by our rules already in place, alongside those approved by our Head Director William Windblade, and in his absence, I declare your new rules invalid!"
The tension in the hallway increased as everyone reacted to Ms. Clark's statement, and began to wonder what Ellen Marion would do in response. Ellen had only frowned in response, but soon turned into a snarky grin.
"Oh dear, that would only be if you were a Vice Director," Ellen spoke, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Excuse me?," Ms. Clark asked, starting to move in a bit closer. "Could you repeat that for me?"
"An order by the Triumvirate themselves, which includes a sign off by Solomon Windblade himself-," Ellen spoke, taking out a document and showing off the contents. "-clearly states here that Martha Clark is hereby removed of her position as a Vice Director of the academy"
Allen, Thomas, and Cecily are all suddenly shocked at the news. Ms. Clark, also being removed from their academy? Just what is going on? Why are they doing this?
"I-," Ms. Clark started to say, but chose to stand her ground. "On what such grounds? You cannot just-"
"The Triumvirate can, and the Triumvirate will," she answered, a smirk forming at the corner of her mouth again. "Just a friendly reminder that the Triumvirate owns this institution. Not you, not Walter, not even William himself. If the Triumvirate deems you no longer worthy to be a Vice Director at the academy, you can and you will be removed"
Ms. Clark could only stand there, almost in denial over Ellen's words. Allen could not blame her, for what could she do further? At least she tried to stand her ground.
"Remove her please," Ellen commanded.
With the snap of her fingers, several magical knights came from behind her, almost out of nowhere, surprising everyone.
"They of course are here to protect our academy's students, due to the recent fire mage attack the directors failed to stop, as well as to of course oversee the repairs to the academy brought about by the damages made," she explained, as the magical knights started to force her to move. "But of course, you don't need to know that. After all, you're no longer a vice director, are you?"
"Ellen!," Ms. Clark's voice rang across the hall, as she was promptly removed from the academy's grounds.
Allen, Thomas and Cecily could only stand there, completely not sure what to do now. After all, what could they do? If they can remove Ms. Clark, their former club sponsor and vice director, then what else could Ellen do?
Just as they began to think of what they could do next, yet another familiar face showed up, one they were totally unexpected, but ultimately happy to see.
"What's going on?," the voice asked, coming from down the hall where Ms. Clark was taken away. "Why was Ms. Clark being removed from the academy grounds?"
Rose Marion, their Student Council President, who Allen hadn't seen since the fire mage attack, finally showed up when they were least expecting it.
"Finally, you showed up," Ellen spoke, a disappointed look on her face. "I have been patiently waiting, Rose"
Rose's eyes completely widened, as her face turned from confusion, to surprise, to fear. "M-Mother?"