Selene
"Hey, did you hear? There's going to be a foreign exchange program this year, with students coming from beyond the Serpentine Isles! Isn't it exciting??" Colby ranted, his eyes shining.
"Mhm."
Selene sat with her legs dangling off the edge. The balcony next to her classroom had a marvelous view, and Selene had found herself drawn to it as she waited for Don. It was much larger than last year's and overlooked the tournament grounds and training field behind the school building.
It was there that she met Colby, an enthusiastic classmate with fiery red hair and the fitting attribute of Blaze. His tunic was only buttoned in the middle with a thick woollen vest over it that was completely unnecessary. The boy had taken it in his head that she'd be the perfect candidate to tell the recent gossip to, and she had found herself too bored to protest.
Tuning the chatter out, Selene found her mind wandering to a conversation she'd had the day before, with a person she had least expected to find here. She had asked Amethyst why she'd transferred here, only to get no proper response besides excuses. Perhaps part of her wished she would be the reason…but that was too unfair to ask for.
It seemed her friend was still salty about what had happened seven years ago, although that was to be expected. Selene had never been the most emphatic of people, and Amethyst had failed her test, regrettably. She chewed on her perfect nails anxiously.
Colby kept going on and on and on, until finally her would be companion arrived. He was 7 minutes late. She decided to let it slide as he ran over to her, sweating profusely and red in the face. Don promptly fell to his knees at her feet, his face frozen in fear.
"What happened to you?" she asked. "I just had an unwelcome brush with death, that's what," he struggled to get out. "People here are a lot scarier than they seem."
"Indeed we are. You'd best keep that in mind next time you're late." She shook her head and crouched down next to him to pat his back. Once his breathing slowed down she got up, brushing the nonexistent dust from her trousers. "Let's go now," she said, only turning back to wave goodbye to Colby.
He waved back at her reluctantly, clearly unwilling to let his new friend go. She knew most people found him annoying so the fact that she'd stood there listening to him probably meant a lot. Colby may be a blabbermouth, but he knew all the latest news and ongoings in the school. Keeping him as an acquaintance would benefit her.
"So where are we off to first?" Don quipped. "We'll start from the tourney grounds at the back and end at the library in the tower," she responded. Selene had spent the past half hour mentally mapping out a route for them to take. It wouldn't do for her to be sloppy when providing a service to a classmate.
They spent the next two hours touring the entire school, her in the lead and him following closely behind her. She showed him the training ground, the ele-ball court, the changing rooms near the foyer and courtyard, the meeting rooms for each of the four clans and the attribute assessment room.
"Oh, I forgot to ask earlier. What's your attribute?" Selene asked as she showed him the machine used to assess new students. Don thought for a second before answering, "Fire." Selene frowned.
"The attribute itself is called Blaze, and it allows the person with the power of fire. Are you not aware of that fact? Even toddlers know that." She raised an eyebrow as Don flushed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
"Ah yeah…about that. I wasn't exactly raised properly here. Since I come from a line of long forgotten Nobles, I never had a proper education. It's a miracle I survived this long and managed to enter this school." Something about his tone seemed off to Selene, but she shrugged away the doubts. It certainly was plausible. Without proper guardians or basic education, it is only natural he did not know such basic knowledge of the world. But it still irked her. If he had not received any means of education, how was he able to be polite and form coherent speech?
She wanted to inquire further but Don looked uneasy enough as is. Perhaps she could question him further when they become closer.
"Very well then. I suppose I'll have to teach you a lot then. We shall head for the library straight away." Don's eyes lit up and his nervousness seemed to disappear. "Really? You'd do that for me?" he asked excitedly. "Of course. It's the least I could do for a struggling classmate," she smiled slightly.
Hence, they ended up in the library till way past midnight, the hours flying by as they poured over countless beginner level texts. Don was a fast learner, and eager to attain knowledge. He already had a decent grasp of the social hierarchy in Wutn and the alphabet by the time Selene was yawning from fatigue.
She assigned a few fairytales with simple language to Don as some homework for the next time they met. She had decided they would meet after class in the library daily for his lessons, to make it easier for him to catch up to the actual syllabus they would be studying this school year.
They bid each other farewell soon after and parted, Don heading for the male dormitory and Selene towards the female one. Her curls bounced merrily with each step she took, her head light and ecstatic with anticipation for their next lesson.
It had been quite fun teaching Don, his wits matched hers and in no time he'd be on par with her for their studies. She was thrilled to have someone on the same wavelength as her to go head-to-head with.
The mana-powered lights flickered on when she flipped on the switch in her dorm. It was smaller than her bedroom back home, but it served. A few potted plants were on the windowsill behind the twin beds on either side of the room for greenery, and a bookshelf near the door was adorned neatly with novels and textbooks alike. Her dressing table was just as simple, only a hairbrush and a small jewelry box sat on it.
Her bed was as well made as she'd left it, but the other one had the duvet all ruffled up in a ball. She groaned. Her room had to be perfect when she returned, elsewise she could not sleep at night. And she was bone tired too.
Selene had a newfound respect for their Instructors, teaching multiple students at a time each day with no break. She wondered how they did it so well. Then again, they got paid and she earned nothing from her tutoring besides some self-satisfaction.
A short scream left her when the balled-up duvet moved. It bobbed up and moved to the other side of the bed, closer to her. Selene tried to regain her composure, for a lady does not scream like a damsel in the face of danger. Moving quickly, she snatched a book from the shelf and smacked the monster with it.
"What the hell?!" a voice screeched from underneath the sheet. She smacked it again. A head popped out, the face surrounded by long purple hair, strands flying in every which direction. "What are you doing here?" Selene sneered.
"What do you mean, what am I doing here? This is my dorm!" Amethyst shouted back. Selene made a face. She had considered herself lucky when she found out no roommate had been assigned to her, but why did it have to be Amethyst of all people? Might as well kiss her peace of mind goodbye.
"I see. Very well then." Selene stomped over to her own bed.
"…what are you doing?"
"Drawing a boundary," Selene said, crouching down to mark a line with the white chalk in her hand to divide the room in two. "There," she declared triumphantly, "You stay on your side, and I'll stay on mine, understood?"
"We only have one bathroom dingus."
"Then you'll go after me."
Selene felt the glare on her back as she fluffed up her pillow and wore her nightdress. Turning off the lights, she tucked herself in bed amid the much needed darkness. She could hear Amethyst tossing and turning, the bed creaking with each movement.
A few minutes passed, and Selene was unable to sleep due to how noisy her new roommate was being. Annoyed, she propped herself up on her elbow to face her. "Can you stop moving and just go to sleep?" she whisper-yelled.
"You know I'm afraid of the dark," Amethyst whispered back. "Could you please turn the lights on?" Selene fought back a groan of frustration. This used to be a frequent problem at their sleepovers. She could not sleep in the light and Amethyst could not sleep in the dark. Thinking back, in the end it was Selene who had figured out a solution to this problem.
Just like she used to when they were kids, Selene conjured a small snowflake, feeding it with her mana to make it glow dimly in the dark. She placed it on her bedside table. "Happy?" she said. She instinctively knew Amethyst had nodded in response, despite being unable to see her. The light was just enough to provide a safe corner for Amethyst to look at.
Selene turned her back to it and faced the flower-patterned wall. She dozed off to the sound of light snores.
The next day, she visited Phobos again in the art room during break. He was tidier than he had been the last time, and glad to see her. They talked about anything and everything, he was surprisingly easy to have a conversation with. He told her dumb art jokes and she laughed at them, in turn she told him fun facts about their studies, and he listened to her intently.
All too soon, the sun had set and Selene made her way to the library. When she arrived, Don wasn't there yet. She decided to kill some time and find a textbook on how to make ice sculptures using Floe.
After much searching, she spied it on the top most shelf of a bookcase. It was near a table with a lovely view of the school outside, so she claimed it and went back to get the book.
She stood on her tiptoes, stretching her arm as far as it would go. Selene was by no means short, but the bookcases were gigantic and she had not found any of the ladders they kept for such purposes. Her fingertips just barely brushed against the spine of the book, not enough to get a grip on it.
A hand shot up from beside her, effortlessly reaching the book she had so desperately been trying to reach and pulling it down. She turned around to the owner of the hand.
"It's about time, did you get lost despite my tour yesterday or wh-" The words caught in her throat as soon as she processed who stood in front of her.
"..Eros." The word was a whisper, little more than a gasp. Her former lover and consort was there in all his glory. She had tried so hard to avoid him this year, why now did he have to appear, while she awaited another man?
"Selene," he greeted her. A soft smile played around his lips. His golden blond hair had grown even longer with time, now bound in a ponytail that swept across his shoulder. His thick eyelashes fluttered over his eyes, which glowed like the embers of a dying fire in the dim lamplight of the library.
"You look disappointed to see me. Were you expecting someone else?" he questioned, his voice igniting something deep within her. Hatred. She had always disliked his voice, it was too velvety, too soft and dangerous and dishonest.
"It's none of your business. Why are you even here at this hour? I thought you liked your beauty sleep. I daresay you need it," she jeered. A light flush rose to his face.
"Sleep escaped me and I decided the night was too young and beautiful to be spent tossing and turning in those shabby bunks they assigned us. Such a night is to be enjoyed with a book in one hand, wine in the other and a lady on your lap," he said, holding his hand out towards her suggestively.
Selene felt bile rising up her throat. She swatted his hand away indignantly and held her out her own, gesturing towards the book still in his hand.
"I thank you for getting that book for me my lord. Now I must continue my work so if you'll excuse me," she reached for the book, only for him to move it away from her reach and behind his back.
"Could we talk some more? Far too much time has passed since I last heard your voice, and I find myself longing to listen to it more."
She reached for the book again yet he stubbornly refused to give it to her. "Forget it," she said, exasperated.
Selene began to walk back towards her table when Eros grabbed her arm, dropping the book in his hand. "Unhand me! Just what do you think gives you any right to-" "Just listen to me!" he said, struggling to keep his voice low as per the rules of the library. His hair bounced with each word he spoke, falling out of its meticulous style and into his eyes.
When he glanced up, his eyes burned into her. She had once been attracted to them, but that time was long gone now. He was nothing to her, not anymore.
"What will it take for you to accept me?" he pleaded. There were tears in his eyes, glistening like globs of gelatin. Does he think that will move me? Ugh, how did father ever consider him as my marriage candidate, even Don is better than him and he's a commoner.
She pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head in irritation. Eros was still just as needy. It annoyed her to no end. Just as Selene was about to lash out at him, a shadow moved behind Eros.
"What's going on here?" a gruff voice called out. It was the most pleasant sound Selene had heard in a while. Don stepped out from behind Eros, a hefty pile of tattered and yellowing scrolls bundled in his arms.
His eyebrows were furrowed, and he kept glancing between the two of them till his gaze finally rested on her arm, still in Eros' grip. Something like anger overtook the confusion in his eyes, and he dropped the scrolls in a flash, his hand swiftly pulling her from Eros and into his own arms.
"How dare you lay a hand on a lady. Have you no shame?" Don demanded. His speech had gotten much better over time, his manner of speaking almost Noble. Selene felt an unfamiliar feeling inside her as he held her protectively, his arms hugging her tightly. It felt….nice.
While she was lost in her thoughts, Eros had already left, huffing furiously with his hair swishing like a horse's tail does when it swats away flies.
If only it could swat away his terrible personality.
Don was still holding her, his grip not loosening even slightly. His crisp new uniform felt soft under her fingertips, his spiky hair tickling her cheek. Their embrace only ended when she pulled away awkwardly, not able to stand the heat of him much longer.
"I could've handled it myself, you did not need to interfere," she pouted. A chuckle escaped Don, and he smiled gently at her. "I'm sure you could've, love." Taking no note of his ridiculous nickname for her, she bent down and started picking up the forgotten scrolls still on the floor. Don helped her, and together they neatly stacked them on the table, along with the book Selene had been trying to attain previously.
"Now," she declared, sitting down on her chair with a soft thump, "We can begin."
"Today I shall tell you about the four elements, and their respective clans." She spread out one of the scrolls Don had brought. It depicted the four elements through figure drawings, the ink's original black color faded to a musty reddish-brown.
"See this person with an icicle? That represents the element of ice, the attribute of Floe. It's the attribute that I have," she explained, letting a few snow particles dance along the paper for reference. "The one with the fireball is Blaze, the rock is Terra and the wind is Aeronia. A person can only have one attribute. The only person in history to have two attributes was the First Emperor Navinia, and there has not been another case since."
Don leaned forward, smiling in fascination. "So, are these attributes inherited or do you get them at random? Do commoners also have attributes? Can a person be born without an attribute?" He fired questions at her rapidly. "Hold your horses, I'll tell you all of that in a moment," she chuckled.
"Attributes are indeed inherited. However, that does not mean you will have the same attribute as your mother or father. It's just like how genetics works. If someone in your family line had a Blaze attribute, there is a small chance you may also have a Blaze attribute, even if there have only been Terra attributes for the last four generations. However, if there have been only Floe attributes in your entire family like my own, it is impossible to have another attribute. The strength or power of an attribute relies on blood potency. Commoners have attributes too, but due to their low status and weak bloodline, they have barely any mana and cannot use proper spells. A Blaze commoner could at most produce a small fire for cooking, and an Aeronian commoner could summon a small breeze to blow away the heat."
"I see..." Don muttered; his features furrowed in concentration. "Then what are these?" he asked, pointing to the small animals drawn near the figures.
"Those are familiars, you attain one at the age of seventeen, or when you enter your third year of advanced schooling. Each province has a castle dedicated to the summoning of familiars, and those born in that province can only get one from their own castle. Familiars divided into different classes, but we can study more about that later. We shall continue with basic sentence formation and etiquette now."
Don protested, saying he was more interested in familiars, but Selene shushed him and began with her lesson.
And such became her routine for the next few weeks. She would attend classes in the morning, chat with Phobos during break in the afternoon, tutor Don in the evening, and avoid her bothersome roommate at night.
"Greetings, students. I hope you had a good sleep and are prepared for the day's classes. Now before we pray, I have an announcement to make. In four days, the clan recruitments shall commence. As you all know, there are different subclans for each element. You will be evaluated and given a list of choices based on your results. There are a large variety to choose from, ranging from Athletics and the Ele-ball team, to sewing and the Dressmakers." The HeadMaster cleared his throat.
"You will also be allowed extra classes for combat in the evenings, with options from swordsmanship, archery, polearms, and magic-based attacks. Now we must join our hands and pray for the day that lies ahead of us."
As they prayed, Selene glanced over at Don. He was standing next to her, so close that their shoulders bumped against each other.
His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be praying fervently. Not wanting him to notice her stare, she turned back to her own folded hands and prayed for her success.