1300 HOURS
ALPHEIM
THE COURTYARD
ONE HOUR BEFORE THE SECOND EXAM.
As Ilise left the examination hall, she found herself getting pushed along by the ebb and flow of the tide that was the student body. The silence that came with taking a written exam had been a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Mistilteinn, but that had ended after their presiding professor had finished collecting all their scripts.
It was what she would've had to go through had she simply waltzed through the front gate. Most of the journalists had already left, but there were still plenty of students to jostle her around. Ilise was glad she'd taken the alternate entrance - even with her cap pulled over her eyes, some people still recognised her.
Had it not been for Siegfried, Ilise probably would've been curled up in a ball in some storage room. He'd taken to shielding Ilise by using his reputation (or lack thereof) to draw attention away from her. Siegfried treated it like a form of penance for doubting her legitimacy. She wasn't sure if he was doing it because he was genuinely sorry or he was that scared of Bianca, but she was grateful to have someone she could talk to.
"Are you...holding up okay?" Ilise guiltily asked, witnessing Siegfried endure his fifteenth ribbing of the day.
"I'm peachy. I've had worse. Normally they'll beat me up and shove me in a locker. I guess they don't have the guts to do it with a Rossweisse around. It's like a symbiotic relationship, eh?" Siegfried said lightheartedly. He appeared to be unaffected by the fact that a bunch of students had just disparaged his entire family and his bloodline. On seeing Ilise's worried face, he laughed and patted her on the shoulder.
"Loosen up a bit, yeah? I'm used to this. Look on the bright side. No one called me Kallen today. Except for your sister, but she's an exception."
Ilise's look of worry had changed into one of disbelief.
"Seriously? You're getting beaten up and mocked and what you're worried about is getting called 'Kallen'?"
Siegfried shrugged. "What can I say? I don't like the name. Say, why don't we change the topic? How was your exam?"
"It was easy. I've seen these questions thousands of times. Bianca lent me her papers from last year so I could study. She's practically a human answer sheet. She helps out with all my work, too." Ilise said flippantly.
"Heh. Lucky. I wish I had a sibling who could help me with my work. It's just me against the world, right now."
"Why did you have to retake the exam, Siegfried? Didn't you pass last year's?" Ilise queried. Siegfried arched an eyebrow.
"You don't know? That's how getting retained works around here. They guarantee you a slot in the entrance exams, but fail those and you won't be returning to Mistilteinn. This is basically my redemption round. I've got to ace everything this time round, though I'll probably get eliminated in the next round. C'est la vie. Here's to hoping my written paper will be good enough to carry me through it like it did last year." Siegfried tossed Ilise a bottle of orange juice. He picked up another bottle from the vending machine next to them, and offered it up for a toast.
Ilise popped the cap off hers with a tiny little blast of kinetic magic. She examined the contents of her drink. It smelled nothing like the freshly-squeezed kind that she'd been served for the past three months. Taking a hesitant sip, Ilise nearly spat it out. Siegfried chuckled good-naturedly, and chugged his bottle down in a single gulp.
"It can't be that bad, can it? Or are your rich girl tastes too refined for a commoner like me? I wouldn't mind having that, if you don't want it." Ilise gratefully passed her bottle over to Siegfried, who downed it like he had his previous one and tossed it into a nearby bin. "Thanks." He leaned in to whisper into Ilise's ear. "You took my first kiss, by the way. Even if it was an indirect one."
Ilise turned red for what must've been the third time in less than two hours. "N-n-no I didn't!" She stuttered. The part of her that had resigned itself to making inane observations earlier in the day said, "You sound like Alphaeus."
"I-I didn't take your first kiss! T-that's not how things work!" She instinctively shoved him, unaware that she had, in her flustered state, summoned a Concussive Force glyph. It struck Siegfried, sending him to the ground with a loud oomph. When Ilise opened her eyes again, she found him lying there, rubbing his shoulder.
"Ow."
"Omigoshiamsososososorryididntmeantodothat." Ilise said, her words jumbled up by her panic. She quickly helped Siegfried to his feet. He was much heavier than he looked, and as she laid a hand on his arm, she felt his muscles beneath his Mistilteinn uniform. That explained how he'd only been knocked to the ground - a lighter person would've been sent flying.
"Relax, relax! I told you, I've taken worse. This'll leave a bruise, at worst. I've gotten second-degree burns from a fight before. No offence, but this is nothing."
"Still- I should've controlled my powers! I didn't mean to-"
"Shhhh. You're drawing attention to yourself." Siegfried placed his hand around her mouth, shushing her. Ilise turned slightly redder. "I'm fine, Ilise - look." He rolled up his sleeve and pointed to where her spell had hit. A small red weal had begun to form there, but Ilise's eyes widened at the patchwork of scars that surrounded it. Cuts and scrapes dotted the entire length of Siegfried's arm.
He smiled ruefully at Ilise's surprise. "I hate to say it, but told you so. 'Least this one won't give me another scar. God knows I've had enough trouble with the ladies. Can't have them seeing all these, can I?" He rolled his sleeve down, covering them up again. "There. You've seen it now, so please, stop worrying every time you accidentally hit me or something, okay? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Remember that."
Ilise nodded quickly.
"Let's go, then. We've got an examination to get to. Let's see if we're on the same team, hm?"
They joined the mass of students at the giant bulletin board. All the names of the first-years who'd qualified for the second part of the entrance exams had already been sorted. Apparently Mistilteinn's teachers were very efficient markers, for it appeared that they'd parsed through every student's paper in the time it took for Siegfried and Ilise to move from their examination hall to the courtyard.
Siegfried heaved a sigh of relief when he saw his name on the board. Just below his was Ilise, and together they were grouped up with three other people. Roza, Rei and Tobias, whoever they were. Students left the pack in droves, having failed to make the cut. Eventually, the pool was narrowed down to about four hundred of the original two thousand or so that had shown up for the entrance examinations.
Ilise jumped when someone tapped her on the shoulder. A boy and a girl stood behind her. The girl was practically bouncing with excitement, her pink hair flying wildly. The boy leaned against the wall and regarded Ilise with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. Her inner panicky self told her, "he's probably wondering if you're the real deal. A real Rossweisse, like Bianca."
"Hi! I'm Rozaliya! But you can call me Roza. This is my brother, Rei! We'll be working with you today."
Roza's brother pulled her aside and whispered something into her ear. Blushing, Roza turned to Ilise and asked, "You are Ilise Rossweisse, right?"
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Roza's enthusiasm had rendered her catatonic. Ilise stood there, her mouth opening and closing like she was a goldfish. Siegfried answered for her. "That's right. She's Ilise, and I'm Siegfried."
Roza stopped bouncing. Her face darkened.
"Ew. Why're you hanging around a low-tier like him? Aren't you a Rossweisse?" Roza completely ignored Siegfried's presence. "You'd be much better off with us. I mean, your sister already said he was a low-tier. Didn't he insult you or something? You should, like, totes ditch him. I mean, I bet his power levels aren't even in the hundreds. And he kinda looks like an old man, dontcha think? With that hair and-"
"Roza, that's enough. Show some respect." Rei got up and walked towards Siegfried and Ilise. He inclined his head at Siegfried, who smiled nervously. "I apologise for my sister's behaviour. She's awfully forward about things like this. It's just the way we were raised. Siegfried, was it? I'm really sorry."
"Don't apologise to a low-tier, bro! I oughta teach him a lesson for making you go to the trouble of apologising." Roza's fingertips crackled with lightning. the intermittent flashing was what it took for Ilise's brain to kick nto gear, as everything fell in place. Siegfried was slowly backing away, his arms raised and ready to take another beating.
"Roza! STOP-"
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