The other guard brought out a pen from her sleeves. She wrote spells in the air, and the square was instantly covered in red light. The ground formed blocks of seats and desks behind everyone.
They all sat down, the air growing tense at the seriousness of the test.
Nalia brought out a stack of papers containing the test from her dimensional bag. She threw them into the air, but her magic kept them from falling, allowing them to float.
Nalia spread her hands, and the papers scattered towards the desks, dropping onto each one.
"Begin." These words echoed through the silent square as a floating hourglass appeared in front of them, adding more tension as they began writing on the papers.
Time ticked by slowly, and the last grain of sand slid to the bottom. As the hourglass turned, the papers floated out of everyone's grasp.
Different emotions filled the air as the papers floated away- some with expressions of resignation, others confident or calm, certain that their connections would work in their favor with the queen.
The papers were handed to Sir Charleston, who would screen the candidates for the next stage of assessment.
The first stage tested their proficiency in numbers. The next would test their memory.
There were a hundred candidates, and it took some time for Sir Charleston to finish the results.
Elora's backside was already feeling numb. Yawns threatened to break through, but she held them back, knowing she had an image to uphold.
To keep herself from sleeping while waiting, she brought out a platter of diced fruit.
Nalia noticed this from the corner of her eyes and cast a spell, causing the ground to form a comfortable table for Elora to place the platter on.
Elora's lips curved into a smile of approval. She made a mental note to reward her guard later.
Nalia's back straightened at the queen's look of approval, her heart swelling with happiness, though her expression remained stoic.
Elora held a silver toothpick and pierced a piece of fruit, bringing it to her lips. She felt comfortable, her nauseous settling as she ignored the crowd before her.
She didn't realize someone was watching her closely, scrutinizing her every expression.
'So, she likes fruits,' Thorn thought, mentally filling away every detail about his target for future use.
After several minutes, the marked papers were returned with a list of those eligible for the next round.
Nalia called out the names on the list. The crowd tensed with each name, hoping theirs would be called.
Some were lucky, while others left in disappointment and sadness.
The crowd thinned to fifty after those who failed left. Now it was time for the second test.
"Pay careful attention to this text," Nalia warned before bringing out a paper filled with a short passage.
She read the text aloud to them three times before they were given blank sheets to write down exactly what she had read.
Some muttered under their breaths to read out her test but they stumbled over their words. They broke out in sweat, from their strung-up emotions.
Some bold ones looked at the queen, a blue-haired woman asked. "Your majesty, If we write down some of the words but not all, would we be disqualified? I think the rules should be adjusted a bit." She spoke calmly, facing the queen directly.
The crowd nodded in agreement with her words. They all stared at the queen, awaiting her response, while Thorn wrote without pause on his paper.
Elora cast a lazy gaze at the blue-haired woman. "The time you wasted asking me this question- how much of the text do you still remember?'' she asked in a calm tone, her eyes sweeping over the crowd, which froze.
Realizing their mistake, the blue-haired woman quickly sat down, desperately trying to recall the text. She managed to write down barely half of the words, her mind blank on the rest.
Elora thought they were foolish; they should have quickly written down what they remembered instead of wasting time asking her that question.
She was sure some of them had written almost nothing based on their reactions.
Her gaze briefly paused on the fae, and she nodded to herself. At least he was obedient. He followed instructions without asking questions.
With those fleeting thoughts, she returned to eating her fruit, unaware that the one she considered obedient was far from it.
The papers were collected, and only ten people passed. The blue-haired woman was the last on the list, she barely scraped through.
Elora's lazy expression dropped as she turned to the ten remaining candidates, her gaze passing over them, heightening the tension in the air.
Even the blue-haired woman felt intimidated by Elora's aura. They watched as the queen brought out the final paper.
Elora passed the paper to Nalia, who made its contents visible in bold letters.
The group looked confused at the accounting table- it was new to them. The usual accounting tables didn't distinguish between dates like this one. Every invoice was written on the same line.
Thorn studied the table thoughtfully, surprised that such a simple method of accounting existed. His interest was piqued, and he examined it carefully as Sir Charleston brought out an invoice and placed it in front of them.
Elora explained briefly, "You are to settle the accounts of this invoice using this table." Her words left them feeling lost. Some gave up, believing it was too difficult and unfamiliar.
"Your Majesty, this is different from what we know. It's too much to expect us to solve this. I have studied through books and in our history there has never been such a form of accounting table. We can't do this," the blue-haired woman said, frowning, wondering what the queen was thinking when she set this absurd question.
"Have you made any attempt to try?" Elora's cold tone froze the woman in place.
"Your majesty, the table is not correct, we have never done such calculations before," the woman rebutted stubbornly.