I was called up to the Headmaster's office one day without any information as to why I was being called up.
When I opened the door, I saw Charlotte and six other people that I had never met before all lined up.
Charlotte waved at me when she saw me walk in.
I stood beside Charlotte and faced Headmaster Ingram.
"We are missing two more people," Headmaster Ingram said as she laced her fingers over.
She seems irritated.
Just then, Prince Erik and the Second Prince of Nariel walked in.
My heart and body felt unsettled upon seeing Erik walk in. My entire body shook with fear as I remembered the cruel Erik from my dream.
"Are you going to let me die a second time then?" Erik asked.
A shiver ran down my spine.
Charlotte grabbed my hand and held it behind her back.
This person is not my Erik.
I calmed myself down as I squeezed Charlotte's hand back.
This person is not my Erik.
I repeated the spell as if it were a chant.
For now, just die...my feelings for you...
The Prince of Nariel made his way towards me and stood beside me with a gleeful expression. If only Garett was here...
I soon shook my head.
This is bad...I am becoming one of those overly reliant women on others.
It is because Garett keeps spoiling me because he is a true gentleman even though his mouth is not where everything else is at. Even I am not dense enough to not notice everything Garett has done for me.
I will end up relying on him for everything at this rate...
"Since everyone is finally here," Headmaster Ingram said as she held up a poster, "I would like everyone here to participate in a special event at the Fall Ball. Midway, we will have all of you paired up and dancing with each other in the center of the dance hall while the rest of the student body watch along the sidelines. There will be a rotation in partners several times for a total of three songs, so everyone will experience dancing with at least two other people. Keep in mind the couple dance will only be between male and female partners."
"...Oh darn," Charlotte said under her breath.
A male raised his hand and asked, "Is there a particular reason why the people present here were chosen?"
"There are a total of four grade levels. For each grade level, we had the top scorers of both male and females arrive here. Normally, we would only have four couples. However, we are gifted with the presence of our country's crown prince as well this year, so there will be five couples," Headmaster Ingram said.
Top scores? I had not really checked my scores since coming here. I thought I was around mid ranged, but to be considered one of the top of my grade level?
Charlotte raised her hand.
"I did not score at the top in my grade level," Charlotte said. "The young miss beside me is the top scorer of our grade level. I just wanted to know why I am here."
"With our prince, we were in need of another young female. We chose a female student at random. However, we could not possibly choose someone lacking in looks, so we only chose out of the most beautiful girls within the school."
"Will we get to choose our partners?" a female asked.
Headmaster Ingram hung a large poster.
"There will be rehearsals for this, so I may not be he best to explain this...The couples will be like this, where the males are aligned in a circle. The girls are able to choose any of them and dance with them until the song is over. When the song is near the end, there will be some shuffling, but the males will stay in a circle position. Do not worry about finding your exact place...As for partner rotations, the girls will move in a clockwork rotation and got to their next dance partner. There is a chance that you may end up with the same partner again, so be aware."
Does this mean that I could possibly end up with Prince Erik as a dance partner?
"I heard that the Fall Ball is a masquerade ball," Charlotte asked. "How will we find out who our partners are?"
"I have designed ten white masks for all of you. Design them as you wish. Only these ten people will have white masks. When it comes time for you all to dance, we will do an announcement before then. Any further questions may be taken with your other rehearsal instructors," Headmaster Ingram said as she sat down.
I raised my hand and asked, "Is there anyway to opt out of this?"
Headmaster Ingram's eyes widened along with almost everyone in the room.
Nobles value these kinds of events...
"I apologize, but this is mandatory... You are all the pride of our school. When the other students see you all get special attention, they will also try their best to get to where you all are. I hope that you will all accept this troublesome task."
This seems like a lot of work for something with little reward...
I released Charlotte's hand and drew an 'A' into her palm.
Charlotte then smiled at me.
Charlotte raised her hand.
"Yes, Lady Castile?" Headmaster Ingram called.
"I believe that it is wonderful to gain recognition from the school as well as envy from our peers, yet the reward seems far too little for our efforts," Charlotte said with her usual innocent expression.
Headmaster Ingram seemed rather intrigued by Charlotte's remark.
"Lady Castile is certainly right... I was planning on keeping this a surprise for later, but I will tell you all now. A specialized team of dressmakers and tailors will arrive at the school and handle all of your clothes from scratch for the ball. Afterwards, you are all free to keep them for your own use."
Specialized clothing, especially clothes suited for a ball, are much more expensive than regular already made dresses. For high society, no one would ever think of reusing an old dress or would probably opt to buying expensive dresses for just one day.
This is a pretty good deal if we can get this for just dancing to three songs...
Charlotte did not seem excited about Headmaster Ingram's proposal.
"I thought we were the pride of the school. For us to be given so little..." Charlotte said. She soon pretended to gasp. "Oh my... I said it out loud by accident."
"Are you saying that it is not enough, Lady Castile?" Headmaster Ingram asked.
"Forgive me if I sound rude, having a specially tailored outfit does not really make us special. This school is mostly consisted of upper class and wealthy nobles. One would expect to have their families already prepare a specially tailored outfit for an extravagant event. This is especially true for royalty attending this school like the Crown Prince here who probably has all of his clothes specifically tailored for him," Charlotte said as she narrowed her eyes.
She began looking more and more like a dirty business tycoon.
"I have connections... I will set you all up with royal dressmakers and tailors," Headmaster Ingram said with a smile.
Charlotte soon gave her usual smile.
"Correct me if I am wrong... This dance is to show off our academic excellence, am I wrong?"
"No, you are correct, Lady Castile."
"We would all like to keep our top spots. Even maintaining our grades require efforts outside of the classroom. With rehearsals, our time spent studying will surely decrease. It will be more difficult to maintain our top spots for the next time there is another event for awarding our excellence. Shouldn't we be offered a buffer? It should not be that easy to obtain top spots after all."
Charlotte...
"Very well... I will offer 10 points towards your next exam."
"10 measly points will not help defer that much... I believe 30 points is reasonable."
Now, Charlotte is being just greedy...
"True... People will question if I rigged the top scores if I accepted that. I will offer 20 points and three vacation passes that are useable all throughout the year including exam days."
"Headmaster Ingram is so generous!" Charlotte said with a smile.
"People are a resource... I intend to work you all thoroughly, so be prepared," Headmaster Ingram said.
We were soon all excused. Charlotte and I were the last people in the office.
"Lady Castile is much smarter than your rank suggests," Headmaster Ingram said. "Why hide it?"
"I heard that if you act less smarter than your husband, he will be easier to control later on," Charlotte said with an innocent smile.
Headmaster Ingram let out a small laugh.
"What a strong minded young lady... Lady Arielle too... I wonder who is the real Great Manipulator?" Headmaster Ingram said.
"Who knows?" I answered her with a smile.
Charlotte is a genius even though she does not act like it. She often gets bored with things like tests, so she often fills her answer sheets to where she will get an above average grade and all of her answers will always be right.
I draw an 'A' on her hand as a secret code to tell her to bring out her alpha personality.
"Arielle, spoil me!" Charlotte said as she threw her arms around me.
I pat her head gently.
I have to spoil her like this every time I make her expend her energy...