After getting out of bed, Zonna decided to write letters to her parents and Enzo. She had to inform them that she had happily arrived in Raalo and about her new friend Etiene. Through the intense events of the past few days, she had completely forgotten that she had left her country for the first time. She thought she would need more time to adjust to the new situation. Everything was changed by Etiene's presence. She may seem shy and withdrawn, but as her brother said, when she opens up to someone she can show her temper, and is ready to support them in any situation. There were a few times when Zonna was admonished that she had been talking to the Magis for too long and should go to sleep. In addition, as time passed, Etiene's age began to show. The princess of Sangeria was able to act like the older sister that Zonna never had. She paid attention to whether Zonna was eating healthily or taking enough time to sleep. However, this sisterly behavior especially manifested itself after Raksa's attack. For two days, Balmaszeglodia's princess held her nerves. Etiene at one point locked herself and Zonne in a carriage. In a calm voice, she told her that everything was fine now and she didn't need to keep her emotions inside. Something seemed to break and the younger woman burst out crying. It was emotion and nerves of which she herself was unaware. However, Etiene remembered that Zonna is only fourteen years old and some things need to unwind. This was the first time that the mask of maturity and composure in any situation, broke in front of someone who is not Zonna's parents or Enzo. After this event, the last barriers between the princesses disappeared. They knew they could count on each other in difficult times.
After writing letters describing her experiences, Zonna went to eat breakfast and she and Etiene left the hotel to go to Raalo Academy. The previous day, they hadn't paid much attention to the location where the hotel was located and didn't notice that they were at the complete opposite end of town from their future school. So they decided to take the opportunity to explore the city.
After a few minutes of carriage ride, the princesses found themselves in a square where local artisans were offering their wares. These goods were luxurious and exclusive, as there were few Maji left in Raalo who made their own wares for sale. Their price was very high even for residents of the richest city on the continent. Zonna and Etiene, however, were not interested in spending money on items whose price did not reflect their real value. They left the square and continued their journey.
Moving toward the Academy, they came across a small stadium with two arenas. One was used for dueling without magic, and the other with magic. It was in the former that a duel was taking place between the young Nords. Seeing this, Zonna remembered her father's letter in which he asked her to learn to fight and became interested in the duel.
Dressed in black leather armor, the warrior thrust his sword toward his opponent dressed in red. The latter shielded himself with a shield then swung his blade taking a step back. Sword and blade clashed in the air, the warrior in black with a clever move slipped his sword over the blade of the adversary and made a turn. Thus unleashed, he struck the shield and knocked it out of his opponent's hand. The latter, shocked by the whole incident, stopped for a moment, which the swordsman took advantage of by performing a lightning-fast elbow attack to the abdomen. This ended with his rival collapsing in pain. The warrior in black ended the duel by putting his sword to his opponent's defenseless head.
The referee on the spot ended the fight, and a chant of "Sirius, Sirius" began around the arena. Zonna guessed that this must be the name of warrior with sword. Now as she took a closer look at him she saw that he was a young man around her age. He was tall and well-built, with long, shoulder-length black hair. His face wasn't particularly handsome, but the piercing look from his brown eyes left an impression on Maji which saw him. He was dressed in black armor that bore the marks of heavy use, and in his hand he held a sword that bore the marks of earlier battles.
Impressed by the battle fought earlier, as well as the sight of a seasoned swordsman, Zonna already knew what weapon she intended to choose during her time at the Academy.
After the fight was over, the princesses were about to continue on their way when they heard Sirius' opponent begin to shout in his direction.
"How dare you humiliate me like this in front of everyone, do you know who I am!" shouted the red-clad Nord.
"I don't care who you are, you were my opponent, and that meant I had to defeat you or I would lose myself. I won, you fell. Nothing else should matter." Said Sirius in a calm tone.
"You do not comprehend your situation. I am the son of duke Lolo Urino, Desmon. He is a powerful nobleman in Viohtari. I, on the other hand, entered the Raalo Academy. Looking at your equipment, an obdurate like you doesn't even have the slightest chance of getting in," the young aristocrat said with clear pride in his tone of voice. Murmurs could be heard from the audience to better not interfere. They also lamented Sirius' bad luck in offending the pride of the son of a duke of one of the powers on the continent.
Sirius was a resident of Raalo, a local orphan quite famous when it came to sword fighting despite his young age. He was popular among the town's residents. The local Maji were reluctant to see this situation, not wanting to see their champion become the 'enemy' of an influential nobleman. This could have ended his hopes for a successful career in the future, especially since he himself had no foothold among Altea's upper classes
"I don't understand why you refer to your father after losing a duel that had nothing to do with it. If you can't accept losing, become better and challenge me again. As for the Raalo Academy, I received an invitation to it and will be its student. I got into it because of my skills, not through connections like you. In addition, as a resident of this city I will receive money for attending the Academy, I won't have to pay for it like you." Concluded Sirius, who insulted with his words not only the duke's son, but also many other proud young nobles who felt offended by his words. He then turned around and began walking toward the exit.
Zonna wondered if the young man was not able to judge well in what surroundings he was uttering these words, or perhaps he wanted to mark his superiority over the nobles by being a student desired by the Academy. She did not know , which option was more likely, although looking at Sirius' behavior she was inclined to the latter possibility. While she was thinking about it, she noticed that Desmon threw himself towards his back-turned opponent in an attempt to wound him with his blade.
"Watch out!" Zonna shouted in arena's direction. Sirius, hearing this, turned around in one motion and knocked weapon out of the attacker's hand with his sword, then sent him to the ground with a kick.
"Who! Who dares to interfere with my revenge on this bastard! Come here now!" Shouted a furious Desmon.
"Zonna, maybe we should leave this place, we will draw too much attention to ourselves." Said Etiene terrified not so much of confronting the duke's son, but of finding herself the center of attention.
"Etiene if you want, you can stay, I'm not going to back out since I've already committed myself," she said.
"If you're going then so am I, I don't like crowds and attention from others, but I won't leave you alone." Etienne stated, her voice at the end changing tone from uncertain to not allowing one to doubt her intentions.
Zonna smiled broadly at her friend's behavior and moved toward the arena.