•Elia
The interview only lasted thirty minutes, which means we still have some time before Leon returns.
"How was it?" I ask Lita, referring to the interview.
"I don't think you wanna know. You?"
"Same."
Lita reaches into her bag, and pulls out something wrapped in foil paper, then hands it to me.
I open it to see that it's a sandwich.
"When? And from where?" I arch an eyebrow.
"When you were taking your sweet time in the bathroom, I got hungry, went into the kitchen and whipped this up, with some help. Figured you haven't eaten yet." She smiles.
"Looks like you already know your way around the palace." I take a bite.
"Nah, just the way to the kitchen."
I pause mid-bite. "You ate this?"
"Yeah, why?"
"This has eggs in it. You're allergic, aren't you?"
She winces at my question, before letting out a defeated sigh. "I am…When you make it."
I should be angry at that, but even I know cooking isn't for me-
"I see you are done with your interview."
I turn around when I hear that familiar voice.
"Oh, it's you." Lita's expression changes into an irritated one when she sees Kyron.
"What are you doing here? Are we in some kind of trouble again?" she asks.
"This is my school, I am supposed to be here." He returns her irritated look, before turning to me and speaking like she isn't there. "Leon is pre-occupied at the moment, so he has asked me to take you back."
•••
After dropping us off, he returns into the carriage, probably heading back to ACA.
We begin to make our way to our rooms, but encounter the king while doing so. I almost take a step back, when everything that happened last night comes rushing back.
"I want to discuss something with you," he says, calmly. He looks at Lita, indicating he wants to speak with me alone, but she shakes her head.
"Nah-uh, not after your temper almost fried my sister." She folds her arms.
She probably should not be talking to the king that way, but she's not wrong.
He turns to me, after a moment of silence. "I heard you want to attend Alpha-Centori Academy."
Thanks for being discreet about it, Leon.
"Yes," I answer.
He nods slowly. "There is an option, for you to either stay in their quarters or not." He pauses.
"You can stay here, if you want to," he offers.
I raise my eyebrows at his offer.
Why?
Does this have to do with his belief that he had a hand in mom's death?
Is this all because of his guilt?
If that's the case, then I-
"Pa, I-" The girl that looks like Ian starts, but pauses when she see us.
"Hi," she addresses us.
Lita and I both reply with an awkward smile.
Pa?
That answers a few of my questions.
Ian shows up immediately after.
"Koe!" He narrows his eyes at the girl. "My ring."
"Pa, can I not have it for today?" Koe gives the king a pleading look.
"That decision is up to Ian." He turns to me.
"I hope you choose to stay with us." He flashes me a little smile, before walking away.
Lita and I also turn to walk away but Koe stops us.
She leans in and whispers in such a way that Ian wouldn't hear, "Support me in this, please."
When she pulls away, Lita and I exchange glances, before shrugging.
Lita opens her mouth to say something, but he stops her.
"It won't work," he says bluntly.
He must have heard what Koe whispered.
Maybe along with the long ears that elves have, comes super he-
"Because I have longer ears, does not mean I have enhanced hearing." He glares at me, before turning an even sharper glare at Koe, who ends up giving him back his ring. He walks away after that.
I guess what I was thinking was written all over my face.
Koe thanks us for attempting to help, before leaving as well.
"That was scary. Almost got entangled in sibling drama." Lita shudders.
•••
"Remind me again why we skipped dinner?" Lita asks.
"You didn't have to. I just did not feel like sitting with the royals for another awkward dinner," I answer.
"If you weren't going, I won't either. But only because it would have been even more awkward without you. Right now, I'm really starving."
I try to hide my hunger, but the rumbling noise from my stomach gives me away.
She raises a brow. "I'll go get something from the kitchen."
I stop her. "I'll go, don't worry."
"You won't get lost?" she asks.
"I won't," I say, with a reassuring smile.
When I finally get to the kitchen, I start searching for anything eatable. I don't think they have a refrigerator here, but there should be a pantry.
"What are you doing?" A voice from behind me makes me jump.
When I turn to see it's Ian, I sigh in relief. "You scared me."
"This is almost midnight, what are you doing here?" he asks again.
"Umm… I-I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a stroll… around, and ended up here. Yeah."
I need to improve my lying skills.
He looks at me for a second before nodding like he just realized something.
"I could also ask you the same thing," I say.
Really?
"Yes, but I would rather not respond."
Damn. That should have been my answer.
I feel a hum on my finger, where the comms ring is, and I tap on it to figure out what's going on, ignoring the fact that Ian is standing three feet away.
A misty display appears: Welcome to Alpha-Centori Academy, Elia Richwood. We are excited to have you join us.
I gasp, and a hand flies to my mouth in surprise.
I've been accepted!
"Protectors district? Interesting." The corners of his mouth turns up.
"I heard it was the dangerous part of ACA." There's still a smile plastered on my face.
"I would not really call it dangerous, nor would I call it safe. But I will tell you that half the students there change to the preservers halfway through their first year." He walks towards a door, opening it.
I peer through the doorway and realize it's the pantry I've been looking for.
"You know so much about the districts. Did you attend ACA as well?" I ask.
"I did." With a whirling movement of his hand, some of the edibles start to float.
A week ago, that would have fazed, no, terrified me.
"And you were in the protectors district?" I question.
"My father wanted me in the preservers district." He places the edibles onto a tray, along with a jar of water.
"So you aren't a protector." I stare at the food tray he just arranged, hoping the growl in my stomach is not loud enough to be heard.
"According to him." He meets my gaze.
I smile, not needing to hear any more explanation.
"Why doesn't he want you to be a protector?"
"Too many questions," he replies. "You did not come down for dinner at my father's request. That can be seen as defilement of royal order."
My eyes widen. "Really?!"
His only response was a small smirk, before walking away, leaving the tray of food he just prepared.
He did this for me?
That's strange. He doesn't strike me as the nice type.
•••
The next morning, Lita and I wake up early to get ready to leave for ACA.
I already made the decision not to stay here, because I feel like the king offered that out of guilt, and also because I would prefer to stay in the dorms.
Lita isn't particularly happy that we are not going to stay, but her excitement over being accepted overshadows that.
It doesn't take long to pack up, because I convinced her that we would only need a handful of clothes. ACA has its uniforms.
But packing some of the clothes in the closet isn't stealing if it was offered to you, right?
"Ready?" I ask Lita.
"Duhh," she replies.
Throughout the ride, Leon tries to convince us to change to the preservers district by listing out its pros, and for a moment I'm almost convinced, but only for a moment.
Kyron, who is also in the ride with us, could not be more uninterested.
"Take care of them," Leon tells Kyron, when we finally reach ACA.
"I think this one can handle herself." He points at Lita, who just scoffs and rolls her eyes.
I honestly don't know why it feels like their enmity intensifies everytime they interact with each other.
After Leon leaves, Kyron actually escorts us up until a certain point.
"You see that building over there?" He points at the glass globe building. "That's the main library. You certainty don't know everything you need to know about ACA, so I suggest you do some research after your test today."
"Another test?" Lita asks.
"Those who chose to be protectors are given a trial test after being accepted. It is like a second chance, to choose whether you want to proceed, or change to the preservers," he answers. "Your trial is today, after which you will be grouped into classes. That is, if you pass."
He gestures towards the building in front of us. "This is where it all begins. Best of luck," he says, before walking away.
"Another tests." Lita sighs.
I have a feeling that this test is going to be different from all others I have taken in my life.
But I know that no matter what, I'm not leaving the protectors district.
•••
"Welcome, future protectors of Anodohra, to the protectors district," a tall man announces.
This place looks like an assembly hall, seeing as it's big enough to take a thousand people.
But it doesn't look like there's up to a thousand people in here—I'd say we're at least two hundred.
That electric feeling surrounds me again, and this time it's stronger. I can't seem to figure out what kind of feeling this is.
"I wouldn't welcome them just yet, seeing as they haven't passed the trial test," a shorter man says.
"And that's why they're all gathered here," a woman adds.
"Shall we begin then?" the first man asks.
"Are there any rules or directions?" one of the students questions.
"Yes, we were getting to that," the first man answers. "First rule… survive."
A series of gasps and murmurs break out, before complete silence takes over.
Did he just say 'survive'?
The man laughs out. "A little humour to lighten the mood."
His expression then changes to a serious one. "The first instruction is to stay in your designated chambers until the time runs out."
"You can leave the chamber anytime you want, but that would let to an automatic transfer to the preservers district," the woman adds.
"You get to start as the top class, if you defeat the obstacle before the time runs out," the shorter man says.
"Any questions?" the woman asks.
"What is our obstacle?" another student questions.
"You will know once the trial begins," she answers.
"Any other question?" the tall man asks, but no one speaks after this.
"Good. In that case, let us begin."
I hear the sound of gates being pulled open, right before everywhere goes dark.
The same series of gasps and murmurs erupts again, but the hall falls silent when a large black door is illuminated.
Another door becomes illuminated, then another, and another. Until five doors becomes the only source of light in the hall. Each being marked with letters 'P', 'E', 'N', 'H', and 'C'.
"You may now enter your designated chambers," one of the men directs.
How do we know which-
A hum on my finger interrupts my thought. When I tap on the ring, a misty display of the letter 'C' appears.
Looks like that's my chamber.
"What letter did you get?" I ask Lita, who has been standing beside me this whole time. I can't see her, but I know she's been there from the moment she grabbed onto my arm when the lights went off.
"'C', you?"
"Same." I am so relieved we are in the same chamber.
We follow the light coming from the door, occasionally almost tripping, and when we all enter our chambers, it becomes bright again.
"Woahh, it feels like we're in a gladiator tournament or something." Lita gapes at the stone-walled and stone-floored chamber, that is illuminated by fire torches. But that doesn't mean this place is dimly-lighted, as the ceiling is basically transparent, allowing for natural light.
I notice four huge stones placed at least five feet away from each other.
Perfect for hiding. That is, if we would have to.
I hear another sound of gates opening from behind me, and I turn around to see that's what is happening.
This gate is huge. If something is coming out of it, we might be doomed.
I hear a loud growl from inside the gate. The sound was loud enough to cause a mini earthquake.
That can't be good.
A series of mini-quakes occur as the loud sounds of giant footsteps get closer, and closer, until the creature comes out of the darkness, becoming fully visible.
This cannot possibly be good.