SHANON
Today was the first Monday of March and the inauguration ceremony of the Wisteria Fest.
Wisteria Fest is a week-long series of events. It includes sports, other competitions, singing, dancing, talent show, etc that ends with the Grand Ball.
The Wisteria Fest is a coveted event of Elowyn as all the rulers from the fourteen major kingdoms contribute their illustrious presence at the beginning, i.e., the inauguration ceremony and at the end, i.e., at the Grand Ball.
A reason for which the Wisteria Fest is so pivotal is because the rulers get to brag about students from their kingdom.
The significance of the Fest will be on the next level for the next five Fests is because the offsprings of the rulers of the major kingdoms, almost all of whom are the crown prince and princesses of their respective kingdoms will be participating for the next five fests.
Last but not the least, another gravitas of the Fest if the Grand Ball. The Ball is held on a whole different level as compared to the Newcomers' Nite.
People are more fancily dressed and the weightage of the event is much more than a mere little celebration.
Most of the fifth-year students are expected to find a partner and dance with the one they are intending to tie the knot after graduation. Sometime later in life. Therefore, the dance is a big deal. If someone who is in their fifth-year asks you to be their date to the Grand Ball, it signifies that they are looking forward to something more than the dance. It might not always end in getting hitched to the one but at least, it signifies that the person is serious about you.
In most cases, the parents arrange who will be going with who.
But we do not have to bother about it.
We are in the first-year only. We will have to stress about life later. Hence, unless a fifth-year student is asking you to be their date, it is all fine. You can go with whoever you want.
No one has asked me out yet.
I do not expect anyone to. I am contented with going to the ball alone. It will at least provide me some liberty.
The inauguration ceremony was held in this spacious arena with bleachers encircling it. The arena was round in shape.
A segment of the arena that was more adorned as compared to the others was where the seats of the fourteen major rulers were. The higher the significance of the kingdom, the higher was their spot.
Brindlemark, Athenburg and Delphinia were designated the topmost seats, followed by the other kingdoms and towards the tail was Versona.
The rulers were already in their seats.
Their royal advisors, sorcerers and a huge number of guards surrounded the area.
The ceremony had begun with speeches by Sir Frostbane and Professor Huxley, followed by a torch enlightenment ceremony lead by Prince Uchtred and Princess Susannah.
The two representators each from the Trues, the Partials and the Pretentious were selected. Prince Gilber and Princess Victoria from fourth-year were the representators of the Trues.
I did not know the names of the representators of the Partials and Pretentious as during the announcements we were on the area floor. We were standing there, ready to sing a welcoming chorus.
The chorus was to be sung succeeding the torch enlightenment ceremony.
Being a representative is profitable politically as those people are often selected to be the next head boy and head girl and honestly the Partials and Pretentious do not really stand a chance.
Usually, students that are True are voted as the head boy and the head girl.
The chorus went on smoothly. It was to be followed by a dance performance including feathers and fans. It consisted of students from varying years, Irene and Princess Patricia were a part of it.
About ten performers were included in the performance. Each performer occupying the stage for a certain number of seconds.
By the time the performance started, we had settled on the True's side of the arena.
Princess Bernice of fifth year, followed by others. Irene appeared second to the last. Everyone was clapping, cheering and whistling when she seized the moment. King Morpheus, Irene's father was overcome with pride as he watched his daughter.
I sighed.
My father warned me to secure the first position in the quiz competition to be held on one of these days by hook and crook.
The last one to perform was Princess Patricia. She swayed into the arena as Irene twirled out of it. But the exit of Irene must have disappointed the spectators as a chorus of 'boo' echoed around the arena.
Princess Patricia continued to perform.
The watchers must be so disenchanted with the exit of Irene and the entrance of Patricia that they started to flung down wastes down at her.
This is extreme, in my opinion.
Pauline made an attempt to convince a True senior who sat beside her to not yank his trash at Patricia timidly. But the senior overlooked her request.
"This is ridiculous." Kristian hissed from two seats away as he watched Princess Patricia eroding her self-esteem.
She was on the verge of tears.
The moment she exited the arena, she did not join the other dancers who were approaching the bleachers but instead she scrambled away to somewhere out of the arena.
"Oh, no…" Kristian must have noticed it.
The performance had ended and Irene had reached us while being showered with praises on her way. "You people are acting as if she sacrificed herself to save the world." Kristian muttered as she walked past him.
Irene scoffed with a clenching jaw and turned around to face Kristian, ditching her journey to the seat beside Pristine.
"Sensitive much after seeing your girlfriend being treated like toerag?" Irene sneered, crossing her arms. "She is finally being recognised for who she is."
"Get lost. I do not desire to engage in a pointless brawl with you." Kristian hissed.
"You started it, Kristian." Irene scowled. "Besides, won't it be ideal to go follow your little girlfriend. See if she has drowned herself in the lake after facing the humiliation. Oh, what a news it would make!"
Kristian muttered something under his breath as Irene continued her journey to her seat.
Benjamin who was seated beside Kristian murmured something in his ear. Kristian grudgingly nodded and leapt to his feet, and strode away with heavy steps.
I do not understand their relationship.
Sometimes Kristian ignores Princess Patricia but then the next moment he gets into a spat with his ex-girlfriend as he defends his present.
Soon, the next event succeeded the performance. Professor Patrick had started listing down the events that would be taking place on each of the following days of this week.
The classes are being cancelled for the week.
But as he was moving on to the events for the third day, a commotion took place. Clamour from the area where the rulers were seated was heard.
Professor Patrick stopped halfway.
"Excuse me for a moment." He announced and darted off to the rulers.
The students all over the bleachers were on their feet now. They were all trying to get a better view of the situation there. Because of countless amount of heads, I was not able to catch a sight of the situation even after getting on my feet.
The others were stretching their heads to the extent that they could.
But nothing did them any good.
"We won't see anything like this." Benjamin muttered and climbed onto his seat.
This might be a normal practice to people. But we were far from normal. If anyone saw that the prince of a major kingdom was stepping on the seat he was sitting in, people would label him as uncouth and ill-mannered.
But he was in fact maladroit.
He was blessed that everyone was so engrossed to catch a sight of the situation that no one paid any heed to him.
He was not anyone worth paying heed to anyway.
Benjamin gasped.
"What is happening?" Aprialla worded the question that emerged in my mind. All of us had their attention fixed on Benjamin right now.
"There is an attack!" Benajmin turned to us.
"A-attack?" I stammered as the worst scenarios unfolded in my mind. My father is there! W-what if- But the rulers were surrounded by redundant number of guards. Even the sorcerers were there. How could they be attacked even in such tight security?!
Everyone was panicking around us as Benjamin announced the mishap.
Everyone was enquiring about their own father. They appeared to have the same concern as me. No matter how overly expectant my father was, I love him. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to him.
"The rulers are unharmed." Benjamin declared.
It quietened down the uproar.
"The sorcerers have been attacked." Benjamin said.