After eating with friends and showing off her hoverbike for a bit, they went riding off onto the Sky Highway together until they eventually parted ways. Elizabella did not come back until it was nearing four in the morning. Her guards that followed her also came quietly behind her in their own hover vehicle. Steward Josaf was there waiting for her and greeted her as she came to park her hoverbike before heading to her bed. She slept until lunch and after eating, began to work on the wedding dress. She was so busy the rest of the weekend that she had no clue what was being spread through the gossip channels about her and the upcoming wedding.
**********
Walliams had left with his younger brother on Friday, leaving two other Shadow Guards and Ganthony to follow her to school on Monday. She had been a bit stressed with everything and had stuffed her bag with snacks. Her skit was trashed, she should be focused on her exams like everyone else; instead she has to make sure that her weeding dress is perfect, which she did finish the past weekend, the accessories are set aside just so she can look like the perfect princess bride for a guy she knows she does not like nor does he like her.
The only comfort she has is that she is treating it all like a huge, extravagant play that she is starring in, though even that can get tiring. What did not make it feel any better was that everyone's gaze this morning felt a bit hostile and more judgmental than when she first started going to school here. What is happening? At times like this, Walliams, who enjoyed a bit of gossip, would tell her what the problem could be by hiding in the shadows and listening in on their conversations.
She tried to ignore all the stares as she continued to walk towards her locker when she bumped into a male student, making her drop her papers in her arms that did not fit in her bag because of all her snacks and her glasses fell off. She stood there frozen for a moment before elegantly going down to pick up her things when she heard a male student talking to her.
"I am truly sorry, Miss. I just started attending here and was not paying attention to where I was going," said the student as he also bent down to help pick up her scattered papers, making her look up at him and freeze for a moment and putting on her glasses.
"...It is fine. I was not paying attention as well," said Elizabella with a smile as the student smiled brilliantly at her while helping her pick up her papers.
"My name is Zander, by the way. I just moved to the capital from Edalelia," said Zander with his hair recently cut and dyed back to his original color, flaming red.
"Oh, well, welcome to Glear! I hope your stay in this school is a pleasant one; however, you seem to have transferred at the time that we are going to do our exams," said Elizabella as she felt she should not get too close to this student because he felt a little off, though her teachings had taught her to be polite even if she felt uncomfortable. "My name is Aphra, but everyone calls me Ginny or Director Ginny. What department are you registered in?"
"I am in the Arts department. I thought it would be an easier course since I thought the other departments would be harder," said Zander as they stood up with the papers in their hands.
"Well, the Arts department has classes that only require effort and participation to pass, but we do have some classes that need more than just effort and participation, like Home Economics," said Elizabella as she took a step away from him and he casually approached her.
"I heard that Home Economics only has one exam to pass and many take that exam on their final year here. Is it that hard?" asked Zander as he began to follow Elizabella to her locker.
"I am not sure, but the exam is that you have to successfully host a party from scratch. Even the food has to be made by you. It even needs to be properly themed. You get higher marks if you host a more difficult party. The guests are the judges of the party you host," said Elizabella as she opened her locker and placed her things in there, while Zander noticed the poster on her door. "The other departments that wishes to graduate from here also take the exam even if they never take the class. Most students will take at least one class to make sure that they will pass the exam."
"If that is the case, can you not just invite your friends to the party? Would that not just help you pass the exam with flying colors?"
"You can, but you still need to invite an instructor from the school to be a guest and a member from society that is at least one rank higher than your home," said Elizabella as she finished her sorting and closed her door.
"So, it is not as easy as it sounds..." said Zander as he saw that Elizabella was ready to leave for class and smiled at her gently. "Well, I should thank you for the information. I need to report to my first class before it gets too late. I hope to see you around, Ginny."
"Yes, see you around," said Elizabella as she felt glad to get away from him.
"My Lady, should you be getting close to this student? What if he recognizes you from back home..." the voice of one of her Shadow Guards was heard through a whisper making her stop in her tracks before continuing on.
"That is not the only thing we should be worried about," said Elizabella, loud enough so that her Shadow Guards could hear.
"What do you mean, My Lady?"
"He seems to hide darkness inside him," said Elizabella as she walked towards her class while the students seemed to continue looking at her funny.
"Darkness...?" said a Shadow Guard while she went to her seat and sat down without responding to them.
"A bigger monster can always sniff out a smaller monster, but not necessarily the other way around. His darkness was not as big as mine. His has just sprouted and maybe he himself is not even aware of its existence. I hope he is not someone I need to constantly keep interacting with..." thought Elizabella as she sat on her chair and waited for the bell to ring and the teacher to start her lecture. "Darkness does not sprout unless there was a seed first. I hope he does not nurture it to grow as mine has. Well, I shall just have to avoid him in the future and we will be fine."
The bell rung, indicating that classes were starting and a younger female teacher entered, followed by a male student that the class had never seen before.
"Class, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you, a fellow student. His name is Prince Zander Berengar Slade. He is the royal cousin of the Crown Prince Wolf," stated the teacher, prompting the rest of the class to whisper merrily while Zander smiled politely at the rest of the class. "We will need to have a seat change as well. Prince Zander-"
"Please, just Zander will do," said Zander with a brilliant smile, making the others talk a little louder and the teacher smile politely at him.
"Zander then, you will sit next to the future Crown Princess, Aphra Ginny Harkins. Or, how she is widely known as Director Ginny," said the teacher as she gestured for the class to change seats again, like when the news broke that Elizabella was to marry the Crown Prince. "You will sit in the front. I am sorry, but exams are starting today, so I must ask that you introduce yourself when class is over."
Zander politely smiled at her before he made his way to sit next to Elizabella. He turned to her with his polite smile and nodded to her.
"Nice to see you again, future royal cousin-in-law. Glad we can share classes together."
"Yes, likewise. I hope we get along well in the future," smiled Elizabella with a smile on her face while thinking that she has been introduced to a pesky character to the grand play, making her sigh heavily in her heart.