Chapter 1: Welcome to Apisarn
The university city of Apisarn was set in the center of the Ronea, a country that was considered the strongest the world round. Apisarn was a place where future leaders were cultivated. All leaders of the country sent their children to the university to come home wiser and fit to take over a father's position, or for daughters prepared to marry a man of stature.
The four political parties had been attending the university for generations and it had always been the same. The Royal party ruled over everyone, while the Souchans handled the east and the Mondues the west. The Commoner party was suppressed by all three and most did not attend the school. When they did they would usually leave within two years after months of ire from the other classes. It took a strong man to make it to the full two years and an even stronger to make it to four. At the four year mark, one could begin working their way up to another political party though it had not been done for decades.
It was a beautiful spring morning when the freshmen began to shuffle into the city. The smell of sweet breads being baked to welcome the newcomers filled the air. However, this only occurred in the outer circle of the city once they made it onto university grounds it was almost like the scent knew it was not welcomed.
Inside the university there were several large buildings but with enough space in between to make it seem open. Flowering trees were strategically placed everywhere and there was plenty of green grass. Students wearing different colored tabards moved around the main courtyard talking or reading. They didn't seem to pay any attention to the newcomers that were gathering in front of the headmaster's hall. It was a large building where it was assumed by the freshmen that the professors lived. The front doors were two large wooden doors with gold painted symbols on them. There were two stone stairways that lead up one to the right and the other to the left and where they met was a platform that lead to a final set of stairs.
The freshmen all wore their uniforms proudly. White leggings and shirt with a distinct light blue tabard that fell to mid-thigh. It didn't close on the sides and had to be held down by a white belt. Each person wore a gold embroidered symbol on their chests that told their political affiliation.
As the doors to the university closed, telling any freshman that hadn't entered in time that they would need to go home and try again next year, the headmaster's double doors opened and out stepped a kindly old man along with several other men that were most likely professors. He wore the black garbs of the teacher that matched the students own apparel. He had a long white beard that seemed trimmed and well groomed. Walking down the stairs to the platform that lead to the two stairways, the headmaster smiled at the sea of light blue.
"Welcome to Apisarn, first years." As he spoke the freshmen began to notice a group of students with strange yellow robes beginning to form. This was not a color any of them knew informed of the students rank. "I am Headmaster Beroris, and you all are my students. Apisarn is a place to gain wisdom, learn your role in life, make friends and enemies, but most importantly Apisarn is a place where the students learn first hand about being leaders. You are not here because of who your father is, but because you took a very difficult test and it was in this schools best interest to invite you. Therefore, it would do you a disfavor to not allow the students to rule over themselves." He cleared his throat as he looked at the yellow garbed students that were lining up. "Your professors may from time to time interject to assist you, but you will find yourselves at the mercy of your peers and the student government you and the students before you have put into place. It is yours to alter if you can do so or it is yours to subjugate to if you would rather. Please, remember that while you study here." He smiled briefly, "Now Professor Thiach will say a few words."
A younger man than that of the headmaster with a similar beard and the same uniform came forward. He didn't seem as friendly as the man who had spoken before. A deep scowl seemed to cover his entire face. "We work on a point system for every year you are here you need to gain at least five hundred points to advance to the next level, if you receive negative thirty points you will be removed from the school. There is a curfew of eight o'clock when the doors to the school will be shut, if you are not at your dorm in time for roll call five points will be deducted. You will receive points for attending classes and lose points for bad behavior. All rules can be found in the handbooks that were sent along with your robes, please study them." Lifting up his hand he motioned toward the students in the yellow garbs. "These student volunteers will answer any remaining questions, show you around the school, and take you to your dorms. Please group up then choose a volunteer." He bowed quickly before all the professors seemed to scurry back inside their hide away.
Standing in the crowd was a thin, but tall freshman. His hair was short and black while his face unshaved from the three day journey to the Apisarn. The symbol of what appeared to be a hoe and a mining axe crossed on his uniform told the rest of the crowd that he was of the Commoner Party. It seemed a bit strange that those were the symbols of his party considering that the Souchans and the Mondues were more famously known for overseeing farming and mining, though it was the commoners that did any of the actual work. Nevertheless, the other groups seemed to ignore his presence whenever he attempted to speak to anyone.
"Excuse me, do you have room..." He tried to ask a group of Mondues, whose embroidery looked like a series of vines on on a shield, that had found themselves a Mondue volunteer, but they just glared at him before walking away. It was the sixth time that he had been snubbed since the speech had ended and he found his excitement for the day to be dwindling.
"I'm not having any luck either." A voice spoke from behind him.
He turned to find a shorter but well built freshman with the same symbol as him. His sandy blonde hair was unkempt and his eyes were a deep blue. "Anton Pugh, Thatcher's Guild from Nemen." He gently bowed his head to the man who had approached him.
"Jolon Marsh, Carpenter's Guild from Baida. We are practically neighbors." He smiled before bowing. "I don't suppose you have seen more of us? I couldn't find a single Commoners' Party volunteer. Do you suppose they don't volunteer or there just isn't any?" He asked as he tried to glance over Anton's shoulder into the crowd that was slowly moving away from the courtyard.
Anton smirked. "I don't know which is worst. Not being willing to help your fellow party members or us being the only two."
"I suppose we will show ourselves around then." He motioned with his hand toward the pathways that led out of the main area.
"Would you like..." A girl's voice began but was uprightly stopped. "My apologies." She told a group of three Souchan members who raised their hands at her to silence her.
The two boys turned to look at the girl with a yellow tabard and long brown hair that fell to her mid-back. She had a rather sweet looking face with large brown eyes and a constant look of excitement though she was continuously rejected. She continued to walk around asking groups if they wanted her help, despite that no one seemed to pay her any attention much like the two boys. Her yellow tabard didn't have anything embroidered on it but there was a small gold pin attached near her neck, but they were too far away to see the symbol. She exhaled when she decided she had been defeated, her shoulders slumped over and for the first time a frown appeared on her lips. That moment was short lived as it was almost like the wind itself had whispered for her to turn her head. Before the two commoners could call out to her, she twirled toward them and made eye contact.
Jogging over to them, her smile returned. "Do you need a volunteer?" She began to ask before she was even properly in front of them.
"We do." Jolon answered for them both of them.
Continuing her smile, the girl clasped her hands together. "Great! Ophelia Romanus, Souchan Party." She bowed twice in her excitement; once for each of them.
"Jolon Marsh, and this is Anton Pugh." They both bowed to her. Though Anton briefly took note of how he thought it was rude of Jolon to introduce him considering they had just met themselves. "If you are part of the Souchan party..." He stopped himself. "Nevermind, we appreciate the help."
"I'm female in case you hadn't noticed." Ophelia smirked but it faded when she realized that the two men had no idea what she was suggesting. "Aren't you familiar with the hierarchy of the school?" When they both seemed to shake their heads she continued. "Females are on the bottom always. It's because we are only here for two years, and the majority are just here to find a husband. They don't care that much about learning unless they plan to marry a prominent figure, then they want to learn just enough to not embarrass their groom. Any girl who stays more than two years is always bullied." She spoke quickly as if she couldn't share the information with them fast enough.
"So you are a third year?" Anton questioned.
"No, second year, but still female and I am pretty low in the Souchan hierarchy as well. I might as well be in the Commoner Party that's how low they view me." She suddenly realized what she had just said and to whom. Clearing her throat, she tried to hide any hue in her cheeks with her hands. "I didn't mean that you are lowly or anything, I meant..."
"We understand." Jolon smiled.
The groups of freshmen had dispersed from the area and they seemed to be the only ones left, however Ophelia didn't seem ready to leave yet. "Back to what I was saying. After females, is the Commoner Party males. You guys aren't welcomed more than two years either, if you stay for the whole four years then they will make things difficult for you."
"Why?" Jolon asked, he seemed genuinely concerned about her statement though neither Ophelia nor Anton felt it was their place to pry.
"Because if you stay four years you'll have opportunities to move up in your political affiliations and they consider that making their clear water murky." She waved her hand in front of her face. "Uh, I am being morbid again. I don't know why I always start conversations with negative information. Apisarn is a lot of fun. We have monthly tournaments that you can get points at if you participate and special prizes if you win. Of course, the student leader and his kind always wins."
"Student leader?" Anton raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you hear? We rule ourselves, but the truth is it's not like you and me could be the 'king' of the school. That always goes to the person with the highest ranking, which is always a Royal Party member. This year and for the past three years, it's been the Crowned Prince Lesatan Cromwell." She sniffled briefly. "A word of advice, stay out of his way. He's just a haughty noble, who thinks we are all his slaves that should do his bidding. He has already scared the other Commoner Party members out from last year. He doesn't like you guys being at the school, so the best thing you can do is stay out of his line of sight."
"Great, we have an enemy and it's our future king." Anton spoke but it was more filled with worry than meant to tease which his new found male friend didn't seem to pick up on.
Jolon smirked. "And here I was going to wait until my second week in before I start sorting out friend from foe."
"That doesn't happen at Apisarn. Your party makes friends and enemies for you. I have been told that before the prince took over that commoners would just attach themselves to a person of another party and they would be left alone, but the prince has none of that now." She gave a deep sigh. "Anyway, I should start showing you around. The three buildings around the courtyard here are the professors' dorms, the library, and the dining hall. Meals are served at six in the morning, noon, and six at night. If you miss a meal, you get a point deducted and you'll have to buy it from outside. Food is pretty good here, so I wouldn't miss it." She began to walk. "I'll show you to your dorm and point out buildings to you on the way."
"We haven't told you where we are assigned." Anton scurried up beside her.
She smirked. "As if I don't know. You are commoners, they'll put you in the unmentionables dorm."
"Says South Dorm." Jolon told her as he pulled out a slip of paper.
"Yep, unmentionables. It's way in the back of the woods and it'll take you twenty minutes every morning to get to the dining hall if you rush." She raised her hand and pointed. "That huge dorm in the distance is the Royal dorm. Everyone gets their own private room and they are the only ones. I've never been in there, but I hear there is a large center community room where everyone kisses off to the prince." Turning around she pointed in the opposite direction, "Way over there," They had to look far down a stone path and past what appeared to be a fountain and garden, "are the five other dorms except yours. One is the girls dorm where I stay, and the other four are for Souchans and Mondues. Usually two to a room there unless there is an overflow of scholars." She continued to walk. "The gardens are over there, don't sit on the east bench, it's not a healthy decision." Anton wanted to ask why, but she didn't stop for breath. "All the classrooms are over there. They are clearly marked, so it shouldn't be hard to find your classes."
As they continued to walk Ophelia continued to talk, even when there were no buildings to point out. She seemed to know all the gossip about every scholar that they passed by and didn't care if they overheard her telling it. There were times when Anton or Jolon would attempt to interject a comment, but she didn't seem to take notice.
"The medical facilities and bath house are at least closer to your dorm. Though I think the Royals have a bath house to themselves built into their dorm." She motioned toward the large buildings and then quickly turned off the main stone path onto a small dirt one that lead into the woods. "Nice thing about this place is you are so far out here that the other parties don't bother to come out here to harass you, and you get to be by the stream. Actually, besides it being only four rooms, I think it's a place of solitude and peace."
The small path that forced them to walk one by one or be stabbed by leafless bushes, soon opened up to an old wooden building. It seemed to need some work done on the roof which Anton noticed right away, and Jolon began to notice how it leaned and the other minor and major problems with it. The doors to the room faced each other and there was a hallway in the center that lead outside without any doors to keep the wind from blowing past their bedroom doors.
"You guys are kind of lucky that the other commoners left and unlucky too." Ophelia walked up to the three stairs that led up. "There are only four people living here right now."
"I thought you said all the commoners were gone."
She chuckled at Anton. "I told you this is the unmentionable dorm. A place where the other parties hide people they don't want around them."
"At least, it's only one person per room right now." Jolon tried to see the bright side. "Means we only have one roommate to deal with."
Ophelia chuckled again. "It doesn't work that way. The professors want us to make friendships and have a sense of togetherness. You don't get a spare room because it's there. You fill out the rooms that already have people." She reached out and took Jolon's sheet that he had been carrying around. "Oh, goodie for you. Remus Grey and Santh Aguilar are your roomies."
"Is that bad?"
"These are the unmentionables, of course it is. Remus is from the Merchant Guild."
"I thought you said there were no more commoners." Anton crossed his arms.
"Please, you know as well as I do that the Merchant Guild might officially be considered part of the Commoner Party, but any of the three other parties can line their pockets. There are plenty of Merchant Guild members here but they are all at the Souchan and Mondue dorms, where they are weaseling their way into our future leaders' hearts and coin purses." She giggled again. "Remus isn't too bad of a guy, he just really doesn't seem to get along with the other people from his guild. I think he is a fifth year, and he moved here on his own. He seems to like to dance in and cause chaos than stand back and watch it happen." She shrugged. "It's Santh, you should worry about. He is from the Mondue Party. He's a bully. Picks on people. Scares them. Gets into fights all the time. Remus seems to be the only one that can tolerate him."
"Lovely." Jolon sighed.
Ophelia gave him a sympathetic look and then turned to Anton. "Which means you get the worst of all. You have Routine or rather Byron Nicoletti. He hates change and if you are ever away from a time telling device, if you find Routine, you know what time it is. The man does everything the same way every day. He hated how noisy and chaotic the Souchan Dorms were, so he moved in back here when it was empty four years ago. He ended up with a full dorm room by the next year, but he refused to change anything." She smirked, "Of course, one of his roommates scared away the other two but Routine refused to leave, so I guess they are at odds with each other."
"There is a second roommate then?" Anton lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes, the worst one ever." She seemed to be taking joy in telling him. "Lenore Cromwell, the crowned prince's sister."
"Princess Lenore lives back here? Why not at the girls' dorm?" Anton didn't like the idea of sharing a room with a girl.
"Better yet, why not at the Royal Dorms where she as a third year should be." She shrugged. "No one knows for certain why she ended up back here. She keeps to herself mostly, except for those that tried to pick on her. They ended up needing the medical facilities. I've never seen her fight myself, but I hear she doesn't let up until you're near death." She shrugged again. "Don't worry though, I hear she rarely comes to her dorms at night. She's an outcast."
"A princess outcast?" Jolon didn't believe her.
"Do you two know nothing about the royal family?" She sighed. "The princess was born out of wedlock, her mother being a servant girl that the king loved. They found out she was pregnant just days before the Queen married him. The queen then got pregnant very quickly and the prince and princess are only a month or two apart, but after the princess was born the queen announced she would raise her as her own. A decision I think wouldn't have happened if she was born a male."
"Ah, yes, I think I remember hearing something like that." Anton nodded. "Why can't she take one of the empty rooms?"
"More importantly, if she isn't coming to the dorms at night, how is she staying at school with points being deducted every night?" Jolon questioned.
Ophelia snorted. "Like they would deduct points from the Royals, and the princess no less."
"I suppose we should get in there and unpack." Jolon motioned toward the small pack he was carrying, he had noticed that only he and Anton had carried one. He assumed everyone else's servants had brought their items ahead of time.
Ophelia smiled and briefly bowed, but as they made their ways up the stairs she decided to be brave. "Um, a question if I could?"
They both stopped and turned to face her.
"I... If I help you guys out, like keep you away from the prince and make things easier for you by giving you information and just helping you out..." She cleared her throat nervously, "Do you think I could study with you? I have to study by my own right now and frankly my points are not doing so well."
The two boys looked at each other and both couldn't help but think of how she rattled on during the entire half an hour that they had known her. Sympathy over took Jolon, however, as he realized she might just be lonely.
"Sure." He answered.
Ophelia once again clasped her hands together, "Great, I'll come get you in the morning, oh and tonight for dinner! Sleep well or wait, I'll say that later." She began to run away never hearing Anton's answer. As she left she looked over her shoulder and would wave. The bell sleeve that was different from the males tighter fit sleeve seemed to catch a couple times on the branches, but she continued to wave at them never learning from her mistake.
Looking at each other once she was out of sight, both boys shook their heads and smirked. Their rooms were the first two they came to and across the hall from one another.
"Well, I suppose we will be seeing each other a great deal over the next couple of years." Jolon told him. "From the sounds of things, we are going to need friends so lets make sure we are each other's first."
Anton gave a nod. "Deal."
Opening the sliding door, Anton was met with a small room. There was a bunk bed on left side of the room and a single bed on the right. There was no wall behind the bunk bed, but a sheet that hung up that Anton assumed was the changing area, but due to this their room was smaller than it should have been. There were small stackable writing desks that could be used on the floor in the corner next to the single bed and a long dresser, two drawers high between the beds that also had a small closest attached above it. The floors and wall were wood but had grayed with age as had the beds.
He assumed that two of the dresser drawers were his as well as the closet. He opened them until he found the center closet to be empty as well as the drawers. He was pleased that his roommates hadn't taken it over which would force a confrontation. Though his next worry was that none of the beds seemed to suggest that anyone had claimed them. It was simply white sheets and pillows on all three. He decided that he would take the single bed and see how his roommates would react.
Once he was unpacked, he laid down on the bed and stared up at the water stained ceiling. He wondered if it leaked when it rained. Turning his head, he looked at the clock and counted the hours until dinner time.
The sliding door opened and in stepped a young man with spectacles. His hair was a silky looking black pulled into a ponytail that sat at the base of his neck. He wore a red tabard that explained his five years at the school, though it could have been six since there was a dark red for six years and a lighter red for five years. Anton had yet to see the difference so he couldn't be certain.
"That's her bed." The man spoke and didn't seem interested in introducing himself. He simply grabbed one of the small desks and sat himself on the floor. Removing a book from a bag he carried he began to study.
Anton got up from the bed and moved across the room to the lower bed of the bunk beds.
"That's mine." The roommate announced before he could even lay down.
Standing up straight, he looked up at the top bunk with trepidation. He had feared that he would be the one sleeping on the rickety looking top, but then realized that if it fell it would more than likely kill the one on the bottom bunk. Even still, he didn't want to test it's strength just yet so instead he sat on the floor.
Giving a quick bow with his head, he decided to properly introduce himself. "I'm..."
"Anton Pugh, Thatcher's Guild from Nemen. We were sent advanced notice. You will need to shave before you can attend classes tomorrow." He never looked up from the book.
"You must be Routine."
The man's eyes peered up over the frame of his spectacles. "No, I'm Byron Nicoletti."
"Oh, sorry. I thought..."
Routine's hand slammed against the small desk that he was using. "Are you blind or stupid? Do you not see that I am trying to study and that you are bothering me? From four until five thirty in the evening, I study in my room and I am not to be disturbed." Standing up, he moved to the bookshelf beside the stackable desks and pulled out a book. He threw it at Anton and then sat back down.
Opening the book that was now in his lap, Anton read the title of the handwritten work. 'Byron Nicoletti's Rules For Roommates by Byron Nicoletti." Was in one hand writing and underneath the original title another handwriting came into play. 'Co-written by Lenore Cromwell.' Anton smirked but his smile faded once he realized how thick the book was and how small the handwriting was.
He could easily make out Routine's handwriting from the princess'. Mostly due to the fact that Routine's was not only neater, but that Lenore's additions to the book mostly included her commenting on his rules. Normally it was something along the lines of, "No" or "Not going to do that" or references for Routine to perform oral reciprocation on her male genitals.
"I don't mean to disturb you," He watched as Routine looked up from his book, "but did you know that the princess has written all over this book?"
Reaching out his hand, Routine snatched the book away from him and began to look through it. His face didn't seem to give away any of his feelings as he read over her comments. When he was done, he tossed the book back to Anton. "She didn't write over any of my words, as I asked. Therefore, the information I was trying to convey is still intact and legible." He returned to studying. "Also, for future reference, don't call her the princess. She doesn't take kindly to that title."
"What should I call her?"
Annoyance covered his face as he looked up. "Read the damn book! All your questions are answered in there. That's why we wrote it!"
"Alright, I'm sorry." Anton began to skim the book, but his mind wandered to how Jolon was doing with his new found friends.
Jolon watched Anton disappear into his own room, before he gathered up the courage to walk into his. When the door opened, he was immediately met with the sight of one roommate asleep on the single bed, and the other reading what appeared to be a rather deviant book, at least the nude drawings on the cover suggested that.
The man on the bed didn't wear the school uniform and his shirt laid open to reveal his chest. His dark brown hair was not short nor pulled back like the school rules dictated, instead it looked rather unkempt and was long enough to reach his shoulders. He was rather tan and had about half an inch of hair growing on his chin but the rest of his face was shaved.
The other man in the room was rather delicate looking. A dress and a wig and he might be able to pass for a woman, though his shirt was open as well and one could clearly see he was male. His hair was a light brown that was pulled back but kept long. He didn't wear the school garbs either, but instead a rather elaborate looking shirt. The slashed sleeves revealed a gold satin inner sleeve and it appeared to be made of velvet, his black pants matched.
"Greetings." Jolon bowed, "I'm..."
"Jolon, we know." The man on the floor informed him. "You get top bunk and the middle dresser."
"You are Remus?"
Looking up from his book, he smiled. "You have heard of me? Well, doesn't word travel fast." He closed his book and stood up from the ground. Walking towards him, he flung his slender arm around Jolon's shoulders and pulled him in close. With his free hand, he grabbed his face and began to examine him. "Hmm, Santh bet you would be rather manly because of your origins, but I think that despite your build that you could probably be seen as a girl."
"What does that matter?"
He released him and walked over to his bed to lay down. "Oh, because we plan on hazing you and the best thing we could think of was to put a dress on you. Make you prance around the school grounds and see who is invited to offer you money for your services."
"Excuse me?" Jolon held his bag closed to his chest. "I am not..."
"Don't worry, your arms and chest are too much. It would be a dull experiment, no one would purchase anything from you unless their preferences were towards the same gender." Remus sat up and looked him over again. "It would be interesting to know of others sexual escapades, however."
"You are not going to make me into some prostitute." Jolon snapped and moved to put away his belongings.
With a smirk, Remus laid back down on the bed. "We could make you do whatever we wished whenever we wished it." He sniffled and began to look through the book. "Then again, you are from the Commoner Party, which means that whatever humiliation you suffer will be through the prince's hands. So, I'll just keep mine clean for now." He chuckled, "Of course, there is also the princess. She should make things interesting as well."
"Will you two quit the chatting." The man on the single bed that Jolon assumed was Santh barked as he rolled over. "If I wanted to be surrounded by gossiping women, I would have gone to the drinking den."
Remus chuckled then turned his attention to Jolon. Placing one finger on his lips, he shushed his new roommate. "The beast is sleeping."
Ophelia was as good as her word. She appeared a half hour before dinner to walk her new found friends to the dining hall. Jolon and Anton were waiting outside for her, when she appeared through the brush and smiled at them. As soon as she jogged up and stopped in front of them to greet them, one of the sliding doors opened and Routine stepped out. He was carrying his bag with him, and pushed past his new roommate without a word spoken. His eyes briefly made contact with Ophelia before he disappeared down the path.
"Are you ready?" She spoke with excitement. "There is assigned seating, so I can't sit near you, but I think I might be a couple rows behind you."
Before they could answer, Remus stepped into the hall with Santh close behind him. Santh continued on down the path without a word spoken to anyone, but Remus seemed to take interest in their guest.
"Jolon, already have female callers?" He walked over to Ophelia and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Remus Grey."
"Ophelia Romanus. Souchan Party." She smiled at him.
"Which one of these two boys sparks your interest, dear? I'll help you to win his heart or just his body if you prefer."
Her smile faded and her cheeks reddened. "Excuse me?"
"That's enough." Jolon stepped forward and pried his roommate away from the girl. "Can't you see you are embarrassing her?"
Remus looked between them and then winked at her. "My apologies, it's he that has an interest in you." He chuckled and began to speak again before Jolon could disclaim his words. "I would watch how much liberty you take when speaking to me, carpenter. We may share the same room, but we certainly do not share any sort of friendly relationship." Turning around, he soon disappeared.
Jolon turned to Ophelia, "I'm sorry that you were subjected to that."
She seemed to calm down with his apology. "Don't worry. I am used to being picked on." There was a silent moment of awkwardness, before Ophelia suddenly clasped her hands together and skipped briefly in place. "Come on, it's dinner time! I brought us some sweets for afterwards." She began to jog ahead of them.
"She does have a lot of energy." Anton commented.
With a nod, Jolon began to walk beside him. "Let's hope there is no pressure on our side to keep up."
"Hurry up! If we are late we get points deducted!" Ophelia called to them and the two boys began to pick up speed to follow behind her.
The dining hall was filled with long tables and was three floors tall with other dorms eating above them. They were squeezed in tightly into each room and there was very little elbow room to enjoy the meal, but it seemed that the unmentionables' portion of the table was given more. Those that sat around them gave them a person's width or more of space.
"Does the princess eat here often?" Anton asked.
Routine seemed more willing to talk during their meal as he had offered some information on how meal time worked. When they arrived all their food was already set up and some of the Mondue officials had gone around to count who had arrived for the meals. None of the Royal Party was there, but Routine explained they had their own dining hall in their dorm.
"Lenore comes and goes as she pleases. There is no pattern in her daily schedule." Routine informed him. "I also have already explained that one shouldn't call her the princess. She dislikes being referred to as a title, she is after all a person with a name."
Santh snorted. "If she is a person perhaps she should act like one and stop getting us into trouble."
"Trouble?" Jolon questioned.
Remus answered this time. "Because she's almost never in her dorm or at the meals, we as her dorm mates have to do extra chores at the end of the week."
"I thought they didn't deduct her points?" Jolon looked at Anton to confirm that was what Ophelia had told them, and he gave a nod of confirmation.
"They may not deduct her, but they deduct our time and man power. We are responsible for each other, and she doesn't seem to understand or care." Remus put a spoonful of peas into his mouth. "If she wants to act like this, she should move to the Royal Dorms and stop inconveniencing us."
Santh's lips were pressed together. "She's an ingrate and a bitch. There is nothing more to say. She probably does sleep in the Royal Dorms and is just screwing with us."
Routine slammed his fork onto the table and glared at the other two men. Remus seemed to fear his look and silenced himself, but Santh only glared back.
"Running to defend your lady love, Routine?" Santh chuckled. "I don't get it. You have to do the chores as much as we do because of her inability to concern herself with others, but yet you defend her every time when we try to voice our complaints."
"My name is not Routine, it's Byron and she is not my lady love nor does she sleep in the Royal Dorms. I defend her not because I approve of her behavior, but because I disapprove of your assumptions about her." He took a drink of water before he continued. "If you wish to voice concerns over her behavior, I will tolerate it, but when you attack her person or say things that are blatantly untrue about her, I will put an end to the discussion. When you speak untruths, others can overhear and begin rumors about her, yourself, or others." He picked up his fork and began to eat his precut chicken.
"If she doesn't sleep in the Royal Dorms and doesn't sleep in ours then where does she sleep?" Remus' question was a valid one and was not meant as an insult, though he doubted that Routine would have seen it that way. The man didn't seem to get offended by anything except obvious attacks on his person or Lenore's.
"I do not know." Routine's response ended with those words.
"Then how can you know, she isn't in the Royal Dorms?" Jolon thought that this too was a valid question.
"I do not know, but I have known Lenore for two years. She wants nothing to do with the Royal Party, so I doubt she would sneak into their dorms for a night's rest."
"What does she have against her own party?" Anton inquired.
Looking up from his meal plate, Routine seemed annoyed by his question though than others had been bombarding him. "I will not answer that as it could be construed as gossip. If you wish to know, then you should ask Lenore herself when she comes to the dorm." He turned his attention back to Santh. "Also, she has slept in our dorm on several occasions throughout the years. If she was sleeping in the Royal Dorms and was the spoiled princess you believe her to be, then she wouldn't even bother to do that."
Santh shook his head. "You continue being blinded by your love for her, Routine, but I guarantee you that you are headed for heartbreak when the truth is revealed."
"My name is not Routine, it's Byron and I am not in love with Lenore." Grabbing his plate, he stood up. "It is time to retire to the dorms. I will see you there." He spoke to Anton and bowed to the group before leaving.
"Is he really in love with her?" Jolon watched the absurdly straight postured man turn in his plate and head out of the room through the large double doors.
"Who knows." Santh answered. "He is certainly her knight to fight for her honor whenever an unkind word is spoken."
Remus looked at Anton. "You'll be sharing a room with them soon enough, so I'm sure the answer of their relationship will come to light eventually." He smirked and leaned forward. "You'll be a good lad and let us know what you've witnessed, won't you?"
"I... I suppose." Anton looked briefly at Jolon who was nodding his head.
"I got sweets!" Ophelia appeared and set down four pieces of candy wrapped into a waxy paper; one in front of each man. "They were sent from Gruear from my mother. She makes them."
Remus seemed to turn his nose up to it before grabbing his plate and walking away. Santh didn't pay any attention at all and simply left, leaving his plate on the table.
"How rude." Ophelia briefly pouted once the two men were out of sight.
"We'll eat them." Anton told her as they both reached out and took one more piece of candy.
"Yes, I'm sure they are delicious." Jolon unwrapped his and looked at the white, sticky candy. He quickly popped it in his mouth and then smiled. "Vanilla?"
She smiled before wildly nodding her head then clasped her hands together when Anton confirmed they were good with a moan. "I have some mead that was sent over. I don't really drink that much, so if you two would like we could celebrate in the garden. I mean tomorrow we are having the freshmen welcoming party after classes, and you'll drink quite a bit there, but I don't go to those parties. I always seem to be the one getting pranks played on me, even though with you two here it might not be so bad."
"Sure, Ophelia, thank you." Jolon answered, before Anton could object. "Let's use one of the spare rooms at our dorm though."
They only drank for an hour and a half before Ophelia had to leave for the nine o'clock roll call. She left the rest of the mead she had with them as she complained that her roommates had been stealing her things lately. For the time she had been there, she had rambled on about gossip and the professors. The two men hardly got a word in edge wise, though she would from time to time answer their questions.
When she left, the Mondue officials appeared to take roll call. Ophelia had explained that the Apisarn school grounds did not have guards or any other such officials. The students themselves took care of all the crime and investigations. She explained that the Mondues were usually the ones to take roll call, check people out of the university, or catch the criminals. Normally, the Souchans were more of the paperwork oriented ones when it came to such affairs, while the Royal Party took care of punishing and hearing court cases.
The Mondue officials that came to their dorm were three men. The leader was a rather pudgy looking man who wore a dark green tabard that told he was a forth year. The other two behind him wore dark blue for second years, they simply wrote down who answered the call.
All six roommates were suppose to stand out front and answer when their name was called, which five of them did.
"Princess Lenore Cromwell." The Mondue called out. "She's here." He answered before there was any time for her to answer, not that she was there to do so. Without a bow of acknowledgment, the Mondues left and everyone scurried back into their own rooms, except Jolon and Anton.
"She just gets away with breaking the rules then?" Anton felt victimized already by this woman. She didn't seem to care at all about her roommates or the rules of the school.
Jolon shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why you are so upset. It has been pretty obvious all day that the Royal Party has perks at this school. Their dorm has it's own dining hall, bath house, and they get individual rooms. They probably eat better and have nicer classrooms than us too." A smirk came over his lips. "At least, we get everything the same as the Mondues and Souchans. That's probably one of the reasons they hate us. We are seen as equals to them." He stretched out his arms. "Come on, let's go to bed. Roll call is at five in the morning and breakfast at six. I think I read that they bring basins of water for us in the morning to clean up with."
"Who is they?"
"The servants. They run around in all white. Who do you think cooked your meal?" Jolon laughed as he turned around and headed up the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning. I'm exhausted."
Anton soon followed his new friend's example and headed into his room after briefly looking around the immediate area of their dorms pathetic court. Routine was already snoring when he arrived and the candles were out. Moving to climb on the top bunk, he heard some eerie creaking noises that made his heart race. He couldn't do it, he decided. The bed was too terrifying.
Grabbing the blanket and pillow from his bed, he made himself a place to sleep on the floor. He thought about sleeping on the single bed, but feared that either Routine or the princess might find him. So, onto the cold floor he laid, knowing this would be an unpleasant night for him.
It was cold, dark, and late when Anton's eyes open and his bladder urged him to empty it. He was moments away from going on himself and knew he would never make it to the bath house in time. Racing outside in nothing but his white breeches, he hurried over to a tree and hurried as quickly as possible to free himself. Once he had started to go, he rested his hand on the tree and exhaled loudly.
"Ahh, yeah." He cursed himself mentally for drinking before bed. No matter how little he drank, he always seemed to wake up in the dead of the night in dire need.
An elbow came to rest on his shoulder, "Don't piss so close to da dorm." A drunk female voice spoke.
Anton's urine stopped flowing as he turned his head to the woman who he could barely make out in the dark. When the sound of his urine stopped, she peered over his shoulder and he quickly moved to hide himself.
"What? Can't piss wif someone 'round?" She stepped back but was barely able to keep her footing. "Are you mine?"
"What?"
"Mine. Are. You. Mine?" She said it as if the sentence made sense and that he was the one who was dumb for not understanding.
He stared at her blankly for a moment, before he remembered that there was a female roommate. "Oh, you mean am I your new roommate? You are Princess Lenore?"
"Not no princess!" She spat, before her anger dissipated and she smacked herself in the chest. "I'm Lenore, and you?"
"Anton Pugh, Commoners' Party, Carpenter's Guild from..."
"Too long!" She hiccuped and stumbled toward the dorms. "I am going to call you, Ann or Annie." She announced once she got to the three stairs, putting her hands down on them she began to climb up. "Finish your pee pee." She ordered when she got to the top of the stairs and was able to stand up.
Anton watched her disappear into the room and then did as she had told him, before returning to the room. As soon as he opened the door, he found she had lit two candles, but his eyes didn't stay there for long as in the center of his room, standing on his blanket, was a woman with only her chest wrapped. Her pants were still on, but she had removed her shirt.
"Uh! Uh!" He covered his eyes unsure if he should shut the door and which side he should be on when he did.
"Some-fing da matter?" She turned to face him.
"Could you put some clothes on?" He didn't know if it was the right decision, but he didn't want to be outside in the cold air so he shut the door behind him after he stepped in.
"Never seen a naked woman before?" Lenore asked. "How old is you? Eighteen, nineteen? Ifs you haven't by now then I am doing yous a huge favor." She stretched out her arms to show how huge of a favor she was doing, but his eyes were covered.
"Lenore!" Routine sat up awoken by his roommates' conversation. "Damn it, Lenore!" He barked when he saw she didn't have a shirt on. "I thought I told you to change behind the sheet! We have a new roommate now!"
"And I thought I told yous to give... to give oral stimo-lation on male genital until said genital comes to da logical conclusion!" She had stumbled when she turned to talk to Routine, and Anton had peeked. Apparently during her speech she had moved closer to him and even put her hand on the wall behind him that Anton didn't know he was leaning against until then.
"You reek." Routine moved to stand up and help her, but it was too late. The blankets under her feet wrapped around them from all her stumbling about the room and she slipped onto her bottom. Her back hit the wooden frame of her bed behind her.
"Byron!" She whined. "I haf fallen."
"I see that." He moved toward her. "Did you hurt your back?" He grabbed her upper arm when she nodded and pulled her forward to check for any wounds. "You are not bleeding." He sat her back up then opened her closet door where he pulled out a long chemise with sleeves. He pulled it over her head and helped pull her arms through, before picking her up and placing her on the bed. "Take your pants off." He turned his back on her and motioned for Anton to do the same.
"Done!" She announced.
Routine turned around first and helped to cover her up with the blanket. "Do not leave this bed until the coming morning. I refuse to play nude hide and seek in the woods during the middle of night again."
She nodded before turning over to fall asleep.
"Have you created a nest on the common floor?" Routine asked when he looked at the blanket on the ground. "That is a hazard and you very well could have caused her damage."
"Blanket or not; that woman was going to topple over."
He frowned. "Please, sleep in the assigned bed that you were given."
"I do not trust that bed and I refuse to climb into it, besides if it does break due to my weight it's you that will be crushed."
Routine glared at him for a moment, "I am too exhausted to debate this with you at the moment, therefore you shall have your way tonight and tomorrow during breakfast we will discuss this behavior."
The university bells dinged loudly to announce that it was time for everyone to awake, even though Anton's dorm was so far away he was easily awoken by them. He thought that they must wake everyone in the city up as well.
As he slowly opened his eyes, a pair of gold eyes framed by dark gray fur stared at him. He scooted back startled before he realized that it was just a cat. It took him a moment before he realized that he was laying in something wet. Sniffling the blanket, he was certain that it was cat urine.
"He urinates on any cloth-like item left on the floor." Routine was already dressed and reading on his bed.
Anton spun around and looked at the man. "Why didn't you tell me that last night?"
"I felt you needed to experience such things for yourself in order for you to better understand the rules." He looked up from his book at Anton. "It is best for everyone in this room that they simply do as I ask or face consequences."
Standing up from the bed, Anton's nose was suddenly struck with the smell of butter cream. It's sweet smell reminded him of the cakes that his mother made him. He was about to ask about the origin of the smell when he noticed that the princess was no longer in her bed.
"Where'd she go?" He pointed at the empty bed.
Looking up from his book again, Routine simply shrugged. "She usually only stays a couple hours to sleep off the alcohol."
"How often does this happen?"
"She sleeps here more often then Santh and Remus are aware of." Standing up from his bed, he closed his book and placed it on his pillow before stepping out of the room.
Anton was quick to dress and follow him out to find the servants had left a basin for each person to wash themselves. It seemed both he and Jolon were unaware of how this worked and watched the others for guidance. Everyone started with their face and then moved to their arms and legs. When they finished they dumped the excess water beside the building and stacked the basins in the hallway.
"Morning!" Ophelia's friendly voice chirped.
It was five thirty in the morning, which meant that she had to have gotten up earlier than everyone else in order to make it all the way across campus to take them to breakfast.
Remus nudged Santh who was obsessively drying his feet. "Is she a planned regular visitor, do you think?"
Santh barely looked up at her before he returned to his task without offering any answer to his friend.
"Are you ready for breakfast?" Ophelia asked the two commoners. "I think we are having soup this morning."
"On this day, morning breakfast is always a cream soup." Routine announced before he headed down the path with Santh and Remus soon following behind him. The three people left behind were quick to catch up.
Entering the dining hall, each person gave their name to the Mondue at the door in order to not lose any points for the meal. Ophelia hurried to her spot, and the males made their way to their table. In the spot that was empty the day before sat a fair skinned red head with dark green eyes. She wasn't what Anton or Jolon expected in their princess. Though she was pretty, she was far from the beautiful woman that they expected. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail but was curly. The light green uniform told them she was a third year, but she had the bell sleeves pinned up at her shoulders and her shirt was ripped to show cleavage, there was also no belt to keep the tabard close to the body. Her overall face seemed gentle, but the look she carried was not.
"Ah, our fair princess has honored us with her presence today." Remus smirked as he sat down, knowing that this would upset his roommate.
A creamy potato soup was served to everyone along with bread and some vegetables. Lenore was already half way through hers when they had arrived, even though they were supposed to wait until everyone was seated and the professors spoke the daily words of wisdom. When they were released to eat their meals, she was almost finished.
"It's good to know that rules and tradition are of no concern to our beloved princess." Santh seethed.
Lenore didn't seem bothered by his comment, in fact she didn't seem to hear it at all. Instead, she finished her bowl and began to use the remainder of her bread to clean out the soup that her spoon couldn't get. When she was left with some soup and no bread, Remus offered her half of his own which seemed strange to Jolon and Anton considering how he had spoken about her the day before.
Lenore took the offered bread but offered no words of gratitude. She simply finished her soup, and turned to her mixed vegetable plate.
Anton was sitting next to her and once in a while he would get a whiff of that butter cream smell. "Does anyone else smell butter cream? I have been smelling it since I woke up."
Routine motioned toward the princess, which caused Anton to lean into the woman that was ravaging her plate of boiled vegetables. She did in fact smell like butter cream, but why he wasn't certain.
Before he could gather the courage to ask, everyone in the dining hall immediately stood up including Santh. It was only the princess and Remus that remained seated, but Jolon and Anton knew better and quickly stood with everyone else although it was a beat after the others. One of the boys that was sitting near them saw their delayed reaction and mumbled something about first years. The reason for the interruption was soon answered.
The group of four men moved across the dining hall receiving short bows from people that they passed, but they soon stopped in front of the unmentionables table.
The man who appeared to be the leader of the group was tall and toned. He carried a similarly disgusted look on his face that the princess had. His chestnut hair was long and pulled back into a low ponytail as the rules of the school dictated. There was no doubt that this was Prince Lesatan.
The three men following behind him were his advisers. They would soon learn from Ophelia that the prince had four advisers but only three were old enough to enter university, the forth son wouldn't arrive for another two years. Krius La Croix was at least a foot taller then most men, built with dark brown hair pulled back and held at the base of his neck. He was intelligent, but also the muscle that the prince needed during these times. He was a handsome fellow that the girls seemed to flock to once they realized the prince wanted nothing to do with them.
Krius was followed by Enoch Pompadour. Tall and lanky, the prince always thought of him as a dofus with his big teeth and ridiculous comments, but the man had always been willing to do whatever he was told. Just explain to Enoch what he needed and it would be done promptly.
Finally, there was the wild card in the group, Armand Borges. He was a dashing blonde with a roguish smile and all together too normal for the prince's liking. There was something about him that didn't sit right with him, but he could never put his finger on it. The man did as he was told, advised him when necessary, but his tone always seemed to hold some sarcasm and disdain for his future king. Lesatan didn't trust him fully.
Lesatan stood straight and only moved his eyes to look at his sitting sister. "I heard that there were new commoners at the school, but never did I believe you would sit beside them while you ate. Are you not sickened by the smell?"
"I only became sick when you entered the hall." Lenore quickly responded, she didn't look up from the food she was eating. "Are you going to finish your bread, Byron? I'm starved."
"You may consume it." Routine seemed nervous.
Lesatan looked at Remus who was smirking at the reaction of all those involved. He just loved watching this chaos unfold. "Remus Grey, it is good to see you again. You have not come to visit in a couple weeks."
"I apologize, milord. I have been predisposed lately, but I will certainly have a meal with you soon."
"I will send you an invitation." Lesatan's face seemed more friendly when he spoke to Remus, which made Jolon and Anton curious how a man from the Merchant's Guild could garner respect from the future king.
"Lesatan, you are being rude. These people only get a certain amount of time to eat their meals, and you are forcing a pause." She told her brother as she began to eat the bread she had taken from Routine.
"I wish to speak with you in private." Lesatan stepped back and motioned for her to come with him.
Jolon looked over at Santh who was glaring down at the princess as if he was waiting for her to make the wrong move.
"No." The word from her lips seemed to be the verification that Santh needed as he gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes.
"Everyone out!" Lesatan ordered and the dining hall was soon cleared.
Santh walked next to Routine, though Remus remained. "Selfish woman. I knew she would cause us more discomfort." He barked at his roommate.
The university city of Apisarn was set in the center of the Ronea, a country that was considered the strongest the world round. Apisarn was a place where future leaders were cultivated. All leaders of the country sent their children to the university to come home wiser and fit to take over a father's position, or for daughters prepared to marry a man of stature.
The four political parties had been attending the university for generations and it had always been the same. The Royal party ruled over everyone, while the Souchans handled the east and the Mondues the west. The Commoner party was suppressed by all three and most did not attend the school. When they did they would usually leave within two years after months of ire from the other classes. It took a strong man to make it to the full two years and an even stronger to make it to four. At the four year mark, one could begin working their way up to another political party though it had not been done for decades.
It was a beautiful spring morning when the freshmen began to shuffle into the city. The smell of sweet breads being baked to welcome the newcomers filled the air. However, this only occurred in the outer circle of the city once they made it onto university grounds it was almost like the scent knew it was not welcomed.
Inside the university there were several large buildings but with enough space in between to make it seem open. Flowering trees were strategically placed everywhere and there was plenty of green grass. Students wearing different colored tabards moved around the main courtyard talking or reading. They didn't seem to pay any attention to the newcomers that were gathering in front of the headmaster's hall. It was a large building where it was assumed by the freshmen that the professors lived. The front doors were two large wooden doors with gold painted symbols on them. There were two stone stairways that lead up one to the right and the other to the left and where they met was a platform that lead to a final set of stairs.
The freshmen all wore their uniforms proudly. White leggings and shirt with a distinct light blue tabard that fell to mid-thigh. It didn't close on the sides and had to be held down by a white belt. Each person wore a gold embroidered symbol on their chests that told their political affiliation.
As the doors to the university closed, telling any freshman that hadn't entered in time that they would need to go home and try again next year, the headmaster's double doors opened and out stepped a kindly old man along with several other men that were most likely professors. He wore the black garbs of the teacher that matched the students own apparel. He had a long white beard that seemed trimmed and well groomed. Walking down the stairs to the platform that lead to the two stairways, the headmaster smiled at the sea of light blue.
"Welcome to Apisarn, first years." As he spoke the freshmen began to notice a group of students with strange yellow robes beginning to form. This was not a color any of them knew informed of the students rank. "I am Headmaster Beroris, and you all are my students. Apisarn is a place to gain wisdom, learn your role in life, make friends and enemies, but most importantly Apisarn is a place where the students learn first hand about being leaders. You are not here because of who your father is, but because you took a very difficult test and it was in this schools best interest to invite you. Therefore, it would do you a disfavor to not allow the students to rule over themselves." He cleared his throat as he looked at the yellow garbed students that were lining up. "Your professors may from time to time interject to assist you, but you will find yourselves at the mercy of your peers and the student government you and the students before you have put into place. It is yours to alter if you can do so or it is yours to subjugate to if you would rather. Please, remember that while you study here." He smiled briefly, "Now Professor Thiach will say a few words."
A younger man than that of the headmaster with a similar beard and the same uniform came forward. He didn't seem as friendly as the man who had spoken before. A deep scowl seemed to cover his entire face. "We work on a point system for every year you are here you need to gain at least five hundred points to advance to the next level, if you receive negative thirty points you will be removed from the school. There is a curfew of eight o'clock when the doors to the school will be shut, if you are not at your dorm in time for roll call five points will be deducted. You will receive points for attending classes and lose points for bad behavior. All rules can be found in the handbooks that were sent along with your robes, please study them." Lifting up his hand he motioned toward the students in the yellow garbs. "These student volunteers will answer any remaining questions, show you around the school, and take you to your dorms. Please group up then choose a volunteer." He bowed quickly before all the professors seemed to scurry back inside their hide away.
---***---
Standing in the crowd was a thin, but tall freshman. His hair was short and black while his face unshaved from the three day journey to the Apisarn. The symbol of what appeared to be a hoe and a mining axe crossed on his uniform told the rest of the crowd that he was of the Commoner Party. It seemed a bit strange that those were the symbols of his party considering that the Souchans and the Mondues were more famously known for overseeing farming and mining, though it was the commoners that did any of the actual work. Nevertheless, the other groups seemed to ignore his presence whenever he attempted to speak to anyone.
"Excuse me, do you have room..." He tried to ask a group of Mondues, whose embroidery looked like a series of vines on on a shield, that had found themselves a Mondue volunteer, but they just glared at him before walking away. It was the sixth time that he had been snubbed since the speech had ended and he found his excitement for the day to be dwindling.
"I'm not having any luck either." A voice spoke from behind him.
He turned to find a shorter but well built freshman with the same symbol as him. His sandy blonde hair was unkempt and his eyes were a deep blue. "Anton Pugh, Thatcher's Guild from Nemen." He gently bowed his head to the man who had approached him.
"Jolon Marsh, Carpenter's Guild from Baida. We are practically neighbors." He smiled before bowing. "I don't suppose you have seen more of us? I couldn't find a single Commoners' Party volunteer. Do you suppose they don't volunteer or there just isn't any?" He asked as he tried to glance over Anton's shoulder into the crowd that was slowly moving away from the courtyard.
Anton smirked. "I don't know which is worst. Not being willing to help your fellow party members or us being the only two."
"I suppose we will show ourselves around then." He motioned with his hand toward the pathways that led out of the main area.
"Would you like..." A girl's voice began but was uprightly stopped. "My apologies." She told a group of three Souchan members who raised their hands at her to silence her.
The two boys turned to look at the girl with a yellow tabard and long brown hair that fell to her mid-back. She had a rather sweet looking face with large brown eyes and a constant look of excitement though she was continuously rejected. She continued to walk around asking groups if they wanted her help, despite that no one seemed to pay her any attention much like the two boys. Her yellow tabard didn't have anything embroidered on it but there was a small gold pin attached near her neck, but they were too far away to see the symbol. She exhaled when she decided she had been defeated, her shoulders slumped over and for the first time a frown appeared on her lips. That moment was short lived as it was almost like the wind itself had whispered for her to turn her head. Before the two commoners could call out to her, she twirled toward them and made eye contact.
Jogging over to them, her smile returned. "Do you need a volunteer?" She began to ask before she was even properly in front of them.
"We do." Jolon answered for them both of them.
Continuing her smile, the girl clasped her hands together. "Great! Ophelia Romanus, Souchan Party." She bowed twice in her excitement; once for each of them.
"Jolon Marsh, and this is Anton Pugh." They both bowed to her. Though Anton briefly took note of how he thought it was rude of Jolon to introduce him considering they had just met themselves. "If you are part of the Souchan party..." He stopped himself. "Nevermind, we appreciate the help."
"I'm female in case you hadn't noticed." Ophelia smirked but it faded when she realized that the two men had no idea what she was suggesting. "Aren't you familiar with the hierarchy of the school?" When they both seemed to shake their heads she continued. "Females are on the bottom always. It's because we are only here for two years, and the majority are just here to find a husband. They don't care that much about learning unless they plan to marry a prominent figure, then they want to learn just enough to not embarrass their groom. Any girl who stays more than two years is always bullied." She spoke quickly as if she couldn't share the information with them fast enough.
"So you are a third year?" Anton questioned.
"No, second year, but still female and I am pretty low in the Souchan hierarchy as well. I might as well be in the Commoner Party that's how low they view me." She suddenly realized what she had just said and to whom. Clearing her throat, she tried to hide any hue in her cheeks with her hands. "I didn't mean that you are lowly or anything, I meant..."
"We understand." Jolon smiled.
The groups of freshmen had dispersed from the area and they seemed to be the only ones left, however Ophelia didn't seem ready to leave yet. "Back to what I was saying. After females, is the Commoner Party males. You guys aren't welcomed more than two years either, if you stay for the whole four years then they will make things difficult for you."
"Why?" Jolon asked, he seemed genuinely concerned about her statement though neither Ophelia nor Anton felt it was their place to pry.
"Because if you stay four years you'll have opportunities to move up in your political affiliations and they consider that making their clear water murky." She waved her hand in front of her face. "Uh, I am being morbid again. I don't know why I always start conversations with negative information. Apisarn is a lot of fun. We have monthly tournaments that you can get points at if you participate and special prizes if you win. Of course, the student leader and his kind always wins."
"Student leader?" Anton raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you hear? We rule ourselves, but the truth is it's not like you and me could be the 'king' of the school. That always goes to the person with the highest ranking, which is always a Royal Party member. This year and for the past three years, it's been the Crowned Prince Lesatan Cromwell." She sniffled briefly. "A word of advice, stay out of his way. He's just a haughty noble, who thinks we are all his slaves that should do his bidding. He has already scared the other Commoner Party members out from last year. He doesn't like you guys being at the school, so the best thing you can do is stay out of his line of sight."
"Great, we have an enemy and it's our future king." Anton spoke but it was more filled with worry than meant to tease which his new found male friend didn't seem to pick up on.
Jolon smirked. "And here I was going to wait until my second week in before I start sorting out friend from foe."
"That doesn't happen at Apisarn. Your party makes friends and enemies for you. I have been told that before the prince took over that commoners would just attach themselves to a person of another party and they would be left alone, but the prince has none of that now." She gave a deep sigh. "Anyway, I should start showing you around. The three buildings around the courtyard here are the professors' dorms, the library, and the dining hall. Meals are served at six in the morning, noon, and six at night. If you miss a meal, you get a point deducted and you'll have to buy it from outside. Food is pretty good here, so I wouldn't miss it." She began to walk. "I'll show you to your dorm and point out buildings to you on the way."
"We haven't told you where we are assigned." Anton scurried up beside her.
She smirked. "As if I don't know. You are commoners, they'll put you in the unmentionables dorm."
"Says South Dorm." Jolon told her as he pulled out a slip of paper.
"Yep, unmentionables. It's way in the back of the woods and it'll take you twenty minutes every morning to get to the dining hall if you rush." She raised her hand and pointed. "That huge dorm in the distance is the Royal dorm. Everyone gets their own private room and they are the only ones. I've never been in there, but I hear there is a large center community room where everyone kisses off to the prince." Turning around she pointed in the opposite direction, "Way over there," They had to look far down a stone path and past what appeared to be a fountain and garden, "are the five other dorms except yours. One is the girls dorm where I stay, and the other four are for Souchans and Mondues. Usually two to a room there unless there is an overflow of scholars." She continued to walk. "The gardens are over there, don't sit on the east bench, it's not a healthy decision." Anton wanted to ask why, but she didn't stop for breath. "All the classrooms are over there. They are clearly marked, so it shouldn't be hard to find your classes."
As they continued to walk Ophelia continued to talk, even when there were no buildings to point out. She seemed to know all the gossip about every scholar that they passed by and didn't care if they overheard her telling it. There were times when Anton or Jolon would attempt to interject a comment, but she didn't seem to take notice.
"The medical facilities and bath house are at least closer to your dorm. Though I think the Royals have a bath house to themselves built into their dorm." She motioned toward the large buildings and then quickly turned off the main stone path onto a small dirt one that lead into the woods. "Nice thing about this place is you are so far out here that the other parties don't bother to come out here to harass you, and you get to be by the stream. Actually, besides it being only four rooms, I think it's a place of solitude and peace."
The small path that forced them to walk one by one or be stabbed by leafless bushes, soon opened up to an old wooden building. It seemed to need some work done on the roof which Anton noticed right away, and Jolon began to notice how it leaned and the other minor and major problems with it. The doors to the room faced each other and there was a hallway in the center that lead outside without any doors to keep the wind from blowing past their bedroom doors.
"You guys are kind of lucky that the other commoners left and unlucky too." Ophelia walked up to the three stairs that led up. "There are only four people living here right now."
"I thought you said all the commoners were gone."
She chuckled at Anton. "I told you this is the unmentionable dorm. A place where the other parties hide people they don't want around them."
"At least, it's only one person per room right now." Jolon tried to see the bright side. "Means we only have one roommate to deal with."
Ophelia chuckled again. "It doesn't work that way. The professors want us to make friendships and have a sense of togetherness. You don't get a spare room because it's there. You fill out the rooms that already have people." She reached out and took Jolon's sheet that he had been carrying around. "Oh, goodie for you. Remus Grey and Santh Aguilar are your roomies."
"Is that bad?"
"These are the unmentionables, of course it is. Remus is from the Merchant Guild."
"I thought you said there were no more commoners." Anton crossed his arms.
"Please, you know as well as I do that the Merchant Guild might officially be considered part of the Commoner Party, but any of the three other parties can line their pockets. There are plenty of Merchant Guild members here but they are all at the Souchan and Mondue dorms, where they are weaseling their way into our future leaders' hearts and coin purses." She giggled again. "Remus isn't too bad of a guy, he just really doesn't seem to get along with the other people from his guild. I think he is a fifth year, and he moved here on his own. He seems to like to dance in and cause chaos than stand back and watch it happen." She shrugged. "It's Santh, you should worry about. He is from the Mondue Party. He's a bully. Picks on people. Scares them. Gets into fights all the time. Remus seems to be the only one that can tolerate him."
"Lovely." Jolon sighed.
Ophelia gave him a sympathetic look and then turned to Anton. "Which means you get the worst of all. You have Routine or rather Byron Nicoletti. He hates change and if you are ever away from a time telling device, if you find Routine, you know what time it is. The man does everything the same way every day. He hated how noisy and chaotic the Souchan Dorms were, so he moved in back here when it was empty four years ago. He ended up with a full dorm room by the next year, but he refused to change anything." She smirked, "Of course, one of his roommates scared away the other two but Routine refused to leave, so I guess they are at odds with each other."
"There is a second roommate then?" Anton lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes, the worst one ever." She seemed to be taking joy in telling him. "Lenore Cromwell, the crowned prince's sister."
"Princess Lenore lives back here? Why not at the girls' dorm?" Anton didn't like the idea of sharing a room with a girl.
"Better yet, why not at the Royal Dorms where she as a third year should be." She shrugged. "No one knows for certain why she ended up back here. She keeps to herself mostly, except for those that tried to pick on her. They ended up needing the medical facilities. I've never seen her fight myself, but I hear she doesn't let up until you're near death." She shrugged again. "Don't worry though, I hear she rarely comes to her dorms at night. She's an outcast."
"A princess outcast?" Jolon didn't believe her.
"Do you two know nothing about the royal family?" She sighed. "The princess was born out of wedlock, her mother being a servant girl that the king loved. They found out she was pregnant just days before the Queen married him. The queen then got pregnant very quickly and the prince and princess are only a month or two apart, but after the princess was born the queen announced she would raise her as her own. A decision I think wouldn't have happened if she was born a male."
"Ah, yes, I think I remember hearing something like that." Anton nodded. "Why can't she take one of the empty rooms?"
"More importantly, if she isn't coming to the dorms at night, how is she staying at school with points being deducted every night?" Jolon questioned.
Ophelia snorted. "Like they would deduct points from the Royals, and the princess no less."
"I suppose we should get in there and unpack." Jolon motioned toward the small pack he was carrying, he had noticed that only he and Anton had carried one. He assumed everyone else's servants had brought their items ahead of time.
Ophelia smiled and briefly bowed, but as they made their ways up the stairs she decided to be brave. "Um, a question if I could?"
They both stopped and turned to face her.
"I... If I help you guys out, like keep you away from the prince and make things easier for you by giving you information and just helping you out..." She cleared her throat nervously, "Do you think I could study with you? I have to study by my own right now and frankly my points are not doing so well."
The two boys looked at each other and both couldn't help but think of how she rattled on during the entire half an hour that they had known her. Sympathy over took Jolon, however, as he realized she might just be lonely.
"Sure." He answered.
Ophelia once again clasped her hands together, "Great, I'll come get you in the morning, oh and tonight for dinner! Sleep well or wait, I'll say that later." She began to run away never hearing Anton's answer. As she left she looked over her shoulder and would wave. The bell sleeve that was different from the males tighter fit sleeve seemed to catch a couple times on the branches, but she continued to wave at them never learning from her mistake.
Looking at each other once she was out of sight, both boys shook their heads and smirked. Their rooms were the first two they came to and across the hall from one another.
"Well, I suppose we will be seeing each other a great deal over the next couple of years." Jolon told him. "From the sounds of things, we are going to need friends so lets make sure we are each other's first."
Anton gave a nod. "Deal."
---***---
Opening the sliding door, Anton was met with a small room. There was a bunk bed on left side of the room and a single bed on the right. There was no wall behind the bunk bed, but a sheet that hung up that Anton assumed was the changing area, but due to this their room was smaller than it should have been. There were small stackable writing desks that could be used on the floor in the corner next to the single bed and a long dresser, two drawers high between the beds that also had a small closest attached above it. The floors and wall were wood but had grayed with age as had the beds.
He assumed that two of the dresser drawers were his as well as the closet. He opened them until he found the center closet to be empty as well as the drawers. He was pleased that his roommates hadn't taken it over which would force a confrontation. Though his next worry was that none of the beds seemed to suggest that anyone had claimed them. It was simply white sheets and pillows on all three. He decided that he would take the single bed and see how his roommates would react.
Once he was unpacked, he laid down on the bed and stared up at the water stained ceiling. He wondered if it leaked when it rained. Turning his head, he looked at the clock and counted the hours until dinner time.
The sliding door opened and in stepped a young man with spectacles. His hair was a silky looking black pulled into a ponytail that sat at the base of his neck. He wore a red tabard that explained his five years at the school, though it could have been six since there was a dark red for six years and a lighter red for five years. Anton had yet to see the difference so he couldn't be certain.
"That's her bed." The man spoke and didn't seem interested in introducing himself. He simply grabbed one of the small desks and sat himself on the floor. Removing a book from a bag he carried he began to study.
Anton got up from the bed and moved across the room to the lower bed of the bunk beds.
"That's mine." The roommate announced before he could even lay down.
Standing up straight, he looked up at the top bunk with trepidation. He had feared that he would be the one sleeping on the rickety looking top, but then realized that if it fell it would more than likely kill the one on the bottom bunk. Even still, he didn't want to test it's strength just yet so instead he sat on the floor.
Giving a quick bow with his head, he decided to properly introduce himself. "I'm..."
"Anton Pugh, Thatcher's Guild from Nemen. We were sent advanced notice. You will need to shave before you can attend classes tomorrow." He never looked up from the book.
"You must be Routine."
The man's eyes peered up over the frame of his spectacles. "No, I'm Byron Nicoletti."
"Oh, sorry. I thought..."
Routine's hand slammed against the small desk that he was using. "Are you blind or stupid? Do you not see that I am trying to study and that you are bothering me? From four until five thirty in the evening, I study in my room and I am not to be disturbed." Standing up, he moved to the bookshelf beside the stackable desks and pulled out a book. He threw it at Anton and then sat back down.
Opening the book that was now in his lap, Anton read the title of the handwritten work. 'Byron Nicoletti's Rules For Roommates by Byron Nicoletti." Was in one hand writing and underneath the original title another handwriting came into play. 'Co-written by Lenore Cromwell.' Anton smirked but his smile faded once he realized how thick the book was and how small the handwriting was.
He could easily make out Routine's handwriting from the princess'. Mostly due to the fact that Routine's was not only neater, but that Lenore's additions to the book mostly included her commenting on his rules. Normally it was something along the lines of, "No" or "Not going to do that" or references for Routine to perform oral reciprocation on her male genitals.
"I don't mean to disturb you," He watched as Routine looked up from his book, "but did you know that the princess has written all over this book?"
Reaching out his hand, Routine snatched the book away from him and began to look through it. His face didn't seem to give away any of his feelings as he read over her comments. When he was done, he tossed the book back to Anton. "She didn't write over any of my words, as I asked. Therefore, the information I was trying to convey is still intact and legible." He returned to studying. "Also, for future reference, don't call her the princess. She doesn't take kindly to that title."
"What should I call her?"
Annoyance covered his face as he looked up. "Read the damn book! All your questions are answered in there. That's why we wrote it!"
"Alright, I'm sorry." Anton began to skim the book, but his mind wandered to how Jolon was doing with his new found friends.
---***---
Jolon watched Anton disappear into his own room, before he gathered up the courage to walk into his. When the door opened, he was immediately met with the sight of one roommate asleep on the single bed, and the other reading what appeared to be a rather deviant book, at least the nude drawings on the cover suggested that.
The man on the bed didn't wear the school uniform and his shirt laid open to reveal his chest. His dark brown hair was not short nor pulled back like the school rules dictated, instead it looked rather unkempt and was long enough to reach his shoulders. He was rather tan and had about half an inch of hair growing on his chin but the rest of his face was shaved.
The other man in the room was rather delicate looking. A dress and a wig and he might be able to pass for a woman, though his shirt was open as well and one could clearly see he was male. His hair was a light brown that was pulled back but kept long. He didn't wear the school garbs either, but instead a rather elaborate looking shirt. The slashed sleeves revealed a gold satin inner sleeve and it appeared to be made of velvet, his black pants matched.
"Greetings." Jolon bowed, "I'm..."
"Jolon, we know." The man on the floor informed him. "You get top bunk and the middle dresser."
"You are Remus?"
Looking up from his book, he smiled. "You have heard of me? Well, doesn't word travel fast." He closed his book and stood up from the ground. Walking towards him, he flung his slender arm around Jolon's shoulders and pulled him in close. With his free hand, he grabbed his face and began to examine him. "Hmm, Santh bet you would be rather manly because of your origins, but I think that despite your build that you could probably be seen as a girl."
"What does that matter?"
He released him and walked over to his bed to lay down. "Oh, because we plan on hazing you and the best thing we could think of was to put a dress on you. Make you prance around the school grounds and see who is invited to offer you money for your services."
"Excuse me?" Jolon held his bag closed to his chest. "I am not..."
"Don't worry, your arms and chest are too much. It would be a dull experiment, no one would purchase anything from you unless their preferences were towards the same gender." Remus sat up and looked him over again. "It would be interesting to know of others sexual escapades, however."
"You are not going to make me into some prostitute." Jolon snapped and moved to put away his belongings.
With a smirk, Remus laid back down on the bed. "We could make you do whatever we wished whenever we wished it." He sniffled and began to look through the book. "Then again, you are from the Commoner Party, which means that whatever humiliation you suffer will be through the prince's hands. So, I'll just keep mine clean for now." He chuckled, "Of course, there is also the princess. She should make things interesting as well."
"Will you two quit the chatting." The man on the single bed that Jolon assumed was Santh barked as he rolled over. "If I wanted to be surrounded by gossiping women, I would have gone to the drinking den."
Remus chuckled then turned his attention to Jolon. Placing one finger on his lips, he shushed his new roommate. "The beast is sleeping."
---***---
Ophelia was as good as her word. She appeared a half hour before dinner to walk her new found friends to the dining hall. Jolon and Anton were waiting outside for her, when she appeared through the brush and smiled at them. As soon as she jogged up and stopped in front of them to greet them, one of the sliding doors opened and Routine stepped out. He was carrying his bag with him, and pushed past his new roommate without a word spoken. His eyes briefly made contact with Ophelia before he disappeared down the path.
"Are you ready?" She spoke with excitement. "There is assigned seating, so I can't sit near you, but I think I might be a couple rows behind you."
Before they could answer, Remus stepped into the hall with Santh close behind him. Santh continued on down the path without a word spoken to anyone, but Remus seemed to take interest in their guest.
"Jolon, already have female callers?" He walked over to Ophelia and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Remus Grey."
"Ophelia Romanus. Souchan Party." She smiled at him.
"Which one of these two boys sparks your interest, dear? I'll help you to win his heart or just his body if you prefer."
Her smile faded and her cheeks reddened. "Excuse me?"
"That's enough." Jolon stepped forward and pried his roommate away from the girl. "Can't you see you are embarrassing her?"
Remus looked between them and then winked at her. "My apologies, it's he that has an interest in you." He chuckled and began to speak again before Jolon could disclaim his words. "I would watch how much liberty you take when speaking to me, carpenter. We may share the same room, but we certainly do not share any sort of friendly relationship." Turning around, he soon disappeared.
Jolon turned to Ophelia, "I'm sorry that you were subjected to that."
She seemed to calm down with his apology. "Don't worry. I am used to being picked on." There was a silent moment of awkwardness, before Ophelia suddenly clasped her hands together and skipped briefly in place. "Come on, it's dinner time! I brought us some sweets for afterwards." She began to jog ahead of them.
"She does have a lot of energy." Anton commented.
With a nod, Jolon began to walk beside him. "Let's hope there is no pressure on our side to keep up."
"Hurry up! If we are late we get points deducted!" Ophelia called to them and the two boys began to pick up speed to follow behind her.
---***---
Dinner was rather uneventful. Ophelia could be seen from their row. The tables were close to the ground and everyone ate while sitting on the floor. The two boys sat facing toward her and she would wave at them, and sometimes point and mouth most likely gossip about another person to them. Remus, Santh, and Routine sat on the other side with their backs to her while an empty seat was beside Anton.The dining hall was filled with long tables and was three floors tall with other dorms eating above them. They were squeezed in tightly into each room and there was very little elbow room to enjoy the meal, but it seemed that the unmentionables' portion of the table was given more. Those that sat around them gave them a person's width or more of space.
"Does the princess eat here often?" Anton asked.
Routine seemed more willing to talk during their meal as he had offered some information on how meal time worked. When they arrived all their food was already set up and some of the Mondue officials had gone around to count who had arrived for the meals. None of the Royal Party was there, but Routine explained they had their own dining hall in their dorm.
"Lenore comes and goes as she pleases. There is no pattern in her daily schedule." Routine informed him. "I also have already explained that one shouldn't call her the princess. She dislikes being referred to as a title, she is after all a person with a name."
Santh snorted. "If she is a person perhaps she should act like one and stop getting us into trouble."
"Trouble?" Jolon questioned.
Remus answered this time. "Because she's almost never in her dorm or at the meals, we as her dorm mates have to do extra chores at the end of the week."
"I thought they didn't deduct her points?" Jolon looked at Anton to confirm that was what Ophelia had told them, and he gave a nod of confirmation.
"They may not deduct her, but they deduct our time and man power. We are responsible for each other, and she doesn't seem to understand or care." Remus put a spoonful of peas into his mouth. "If she wants to act like this, she should move to the Royal Dorms and stop inconveniencing us."
Santh's lips were pressed together. "She's an ingrate and a bitch. There is nothing more to say. She probably does sleep in the Royal Dorms and is just screwing with us."
Routine slammed his fork onto the table and glared at the other two men. Remus seemed to fear his look and silenced himself, but Santh only glared back.
"Running to defend your lady love, Routine?" Santh chuckled. "I don't get it. You have to do the chores as much as we do because of her inability to concern herself with others, but yet you defend her every time when we try to voice our complaints."
"My name is not Routine, it's Byron and she is not my lady love nor does she sleep in the Royal Dorms. I defend her not because I approve of her behavior, but because I disapprove of your assumptions about her." He took a drink of water before he continued. "If you wish to voice concerns over her behavior, I will tolerate it, but when you attack her person or say things that are blatantly untrue about her, I will put an end to the discussion. When you speak untruths, others can overhear and begin rumors about her, yourself, or others." He picked up his fork and began to eat his precut chicken.
"If she doesn't sleep in the Royal Dorms and doesn't sleep in ours then where does she sleep?" Remus' question was a valid one and was not meant as an insult, though he doubted that Routine would have seen it that way. The man didn't seem to get offended by anything except obvious attacks on his person or Lenore's.
"I do not know." Routine's response ended with those words.
"Then how can you know, she isn't in the Royal Dorms?" Jolon thought that this too was a valid question.
"I do not know, but I have known Lenore for two years. She wants nothing to do with the Royal Party, so I doubt she would sneak into their dorms for a night's rest."
"What does she have against her own party?" Anton inquired.
Looking up from his meal plate, Routine seemed annoyed by his question though than others had been bombarding him. "I will not answer that as it could be construed as gossip. If you wish to know, then you should ask Lenore herself when she comes to the dorm." He turned his attention back to Santh. "Also, she has slept in our dorm on several occasions throughout the years. If she was sleeping in the Royal Dorms and was the spoiled princess you believe her to be, then she wouldn't even bother to do that."
Santh shook his head. "You continue being blinded by your love for her, Routine, but I guarantee you that you are headed for heartbreak when the truth is revealed."
"My name is not Routine, it's Byron and I am not in love with Lenore." Grabbing his plate, he stood up. "It is time to retire to the dorms. I will see you there." He spoke to Anton and bowed to the group before leaving.
"Is he really in love with her?" Jolon watched the absurdly straight postured man turn in his plate and head out of the room through the large double doors.
"Who knows." Santh answered. "He is certainly her knight to fight for her honor whenever an unkind word is spoken."
Remus looked at Anton. "You'll be sharing a room with them soon enough, so I'm sure the answer of their relationship will come to light eventually." He smirked and leaned forward. "You'll be a good lad and let us know what you've witnessed, won't you?"
"I... I suppose." Anton looked briefly at Jolon who was nodding his head.
"I got sweets!" Ophelia appeared and set down four pieces of candy wrapped into a waxy paper; one in front of each man. "They were sent from Gruear from my mother. She makes them."
Remus seemed to turn his nose up to it before grabbing his plate and walking away. Santh didn't pay any attention at all and simply left, leaving his plate on the table.
"How rude." Ophelia briefly pouted once the two men were out of sight.
"We'll eat them." Anton told her as they both reached out and took one more piece of candy.
"Yes, I'm sure they are delicious." Jolon unwrapped his and looked at the white, sticky candy. He quickly popped it in his mouth and then smiled. "Vanilla?"
She smiled before wildly nodding her head then clasped her hands together when Anton confirmed they were good with a moan. "I have some mead that was sent over. I don't really drink that much, so if you two would like we could celebrate in the garden. I mean tomorrow we are having the freshmen welcoming party after classes, and you'll drink quite a bit there, but I don't go to those parties. I always seem to be the one getting pranks played on me, even though with you two here it might not be so bad."
"Sure, Ophelia, thank you." Jolon answered, before Anton could object. "Let's use one of the spare rooms at our dorm though."
---***---
They only drank for an hour and a half before Ophelia had to leave for the nine o'clock roll call. She left the rest of the mead she had with them as she complained that her roommates had been stealing her things lately. For the time she had been there, she had rambled on about gossip and the professors. The two men hardly got a word in edge wise, though she would from time to time answer their questions.
When she left, the Mondue officials appeared to take roll call. Ophelia had explained that the Apisarn school grounds did not have guards or any other such officials. The students themselves took care of all the crime and investigations. She explained that the Mondues were usually the ones to take roll call, check people out of the university, or catch the criminals. Normally, the Souchans were more of the paperwork oriented ones when it came to such affairs, while the Royal Party took care of punishing and hearing court cases.
The Mondue officials that came to their dorm were three men. The leader was a rather pudgy looking man who wore a dark green tabard that told he was a forth year. The other two behind him wore dark blue for second years, they simply wrote down who answered the call.
All six roommates were suppose to stand out front and answer when their name was called, which five of them did.
"Princess Lenore Cromwell." The Mondue called out. "She's here." He answered before there was any time for her to answer, not that she was there to do so. Without a bow of acknowledgment, the Mondues left and everyone scurried back into their own rooms, except Jolon and Anton.
"She just gets away with breaking the rules then?" Anton felt victimized already by this woman. She didn't seem to care at all about her roommates or the rules of the school.
Jolon shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why you are so upset. It has been pretty obvious all day that the Royal Party has perks at this school. Their dorm has it's own dining hall, bath house, and they get individual rooms. They probably eat better and have nicer classrooms than us too." A smirk came over his lips. "At least, we get everything the same as the Mondues and Souchans. That's probably one of the reasons they hate us. We are seen as equals to them." He stretched out his arms. "Come on, let's go to bed. Roll call is at five in the morning and breakfast at six. I think I read that they bring basins of water for us in the morning to clean up with."
"Who is they?"
"The servants. They run around in all white. Who do you think cooked your meal?" Jolon laughed as he turned around and headed up the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning. I'm exhausted."
Anton soon followed his new friend's example and headed into his room after briefly looking around the immediate area of their dorms pathetic court. Routine was already snoring when he arrived and the candles were out. Moving to climb on the top bunk, he heard some eerie creaking noises that made his heart race. He couldn't do it, he decided. The bed was too terrifying.
Grabbing the blanket and pillow from his bed, he made himself a place to sleep on the floor. He thought about sleeping on the single bed, but feared that either Routine or the princess might find him. So, onto the cold floor he laid, knowing this would be an unpleasant night for him.
---***---
It was cold, dark, and late when Anton's eyes open and his bladder urged him to empty it. He was moments away from going on himself and knew he would never make it to the bath house in time. Racing outside in nothing but his white breeches, he hurried over to a tree and hurried as quickly as possible to free himself. Once he had started to go, he rested his hand on the tree and exhaled loudly.
"Ahh, yeah." He cursed himself mentally for drinking before bed. No matter how little he drank, he always seemed to wake up in the dead of the night in dire need.
An elbow came to rest on his shoulder, "Don't piss so close to da dorm." A drunk female voice spoke.
Anton's urine stopped flowing as he turned his head to the woman who he could barely make out in the dark. When the sound of his urine stopped, she peered over his shoulder and he quickly moved to hide himself.
"What? Can't piss wif someone 'round?" She stepped back but was barely able to keep her footing. "Are you mine?"
"What?"
"Mine. Are. You. Mine?" She said it as if the sentence made sense and that he was the one who was dumb for not understanding.
He stared at her blankly for a moment, before he remembered that there was a female roommate. "Oh, you mean am I your new roommate? You are Princess Lenore?"
"Not no princess!" She spat, before her anger dissipated and she smacked herself in the chest. "I'm Lenore, and you?"
"Anton Pugh, Commoners' Party, Carpenter's Guild from..."
"Too long!" She hiccuped and stumbled toward the dorms. "I am going to call you, Ann or Annie." She announced once she got to the three stairs, putting her hands down on them she began to climb up. "Finish your pee pee." She ordered when she got to the top of the stairs and was able to stand up.
Anton watched her disappear into the room and then did as she had told him, before returning to the room. As soon as he opened the door, he found she had lit two candles, but his eyes didn't stay there for long as in the center of his room, standing on his blanket, was a woman with only her chest wrapped. Her pants were still on, but she had removed her shirt.
"Uh! Uh!" He covered his eyes unsure if he should shut the door and which side he should be on when he did.
"Some-fing da matter?" She turned to face him.
"Could you put some clothes on?" He didn't know if it was the right decision, but he didn't want to be outside in the cold air so he shut the door behind him after he stepped in.
"Never seen a naked woman before?" Lenore asked. "How old is you? Eighteen, nineteen? Ifs you haven't by now then I am doing yous a huge favor." She stretched out her arms to show how huge of a favor she was doing, but his eyes were covered.
"Lenore!" Routine sat up awoken by his roommates' conversation. "Damn it, Lenore!" He barked when he saw she didn't have a shirt on. "I thought I told you to change behind the sheet! We have a new roommate now!"
"And I thought I told yous to give... to give oral stimo-lation on male genital until said genital comes to da logical conclusion!" She had stumbled when she turned to talk to Routine, and Anton had peeked. Apparently during her speech she had moved closer to him and even put her hand on the wall behind him that Anton didn't know he was leaning against until then.
"You reek." Routine moved to stand up and help her, but it was too late. The blankets under her feet wrapped around them from all her stumbling about the room and she slipped onto her bottom. Her back hit the wooden frame of her bed behind her.
"Byron!" She whined. "I haf fallen."
"I see that." He moved toward her. "Did you hurt your back?" He grabbed her upper arm when she nodded and pulled her forward to check for any wounds. "You are not bleeding." He sat her back up then opened her closet door where he pulled out a long chemise with sleeves. He pulled it over her head and helped pull her arms through, before picking her up and placing her on the bed. "Take your pants off." He turned his back on her and motioned for Anton to do the same.
"Done!" She announced.
Routine turned around first and helped to cover her up with the blanket. "Do not leave this bed until the coming morning. I refuse to play nude hide and seek in the woods during the middle of night again."
She nodded before turning over to fall asleep.
"Have you created a nest on the common floor?" Routine asked when he looked at the blanket on the ground. "That is a hazard and you very well could have caused her damage."
"Blanket or not; that woman was going to topple over."
He frowned. "Please, sleep in the assigned bed that you were given."
"I do not trust that bed and I refuse to climb into it, besides if it does break due to my weight it's you that will be crushed."
Routine glared at him for a moment, "I am too exhausted to debate this with you at the moment, therefore you shall have your way tonight and tomorrow during breakfast we will discuss this behavior."
---***---
The university bells dinged loudly to announce that it was time for everyone to awake, even though Anton's dorm was so far away he was easily awoken by them. He thought that they must wake everyone in the city up as well.
As he slowly opened his eyes, a pair of gold eyes framed by dark gray fur stared at him. He scooted back startled before he realized that it was just a cat. It took him a moment before he realized that he was laying in something wet. Sniffling the blanket, he was certain that it was cat urine.
"He urinates on any cloth-like item left on the floor." Routine was already dressed and reading on his bed.
Anton spun around and looked at the man. "Why didn't you tell me that last night?"
"I felt you needed to experience such things for yourself in order for you to better understand the rules." He looked up from his book at Anton. "It is best for everyone in this room that they simply do as I ask or face consequences."
Standing up from the bed, Anton's nose was suddenly struck with the smell of butter cream. It's sweet smell reminded him of the cakes that his mother made him. He was about to ask about the origin of the smell when he noticed that the princess was no longer in her bed.
"Where'd she go?" He pointed at the empty bed.
Looking up from his book again, Routine simply shrugged. "She usually only stays a couple hours to sleep off the alcohol."
"How often does this happen?"
"She sleeps here more often then Santh and Remus are aware of." Standing up from his bed, he closed his book and placed it on his pillow before stepping out of the room.
Anton was quick to dress and follow him out to find the servants had left a basin for each person to wash themselves. It seemed both he and Jolon were unaware of how this worked and watched the others for guidance. Everyone started with their face and then moved to their arms and legs. When they finished they dumped the excess water beside the building and stacked the basins in the hallway.
"Morning!" Ophelia's friendly voice chirped.
It was five thirty in the morning, which meant that she had to have gotten up earlier than everyone else in order to make it all the way across campus to take them to breakfast.
Remus nudged Santh who was obsessively drying his feet. "Is she a planned regular visitor, do you think?"
Santh barely looked up at her before he returned to his task without offering any answer to his friend.
"Are you ready for breakfast?" Ophelia asked the two commoners. "I think we are having soup this morning."
"On this day, morning breakfast is always a cream soup." Routine announced before he headed down the path with Santh and Remus soon following behind him. The three people left behind were quick to catch up.
---***---
As they made their way to the dining hall, Ophelia rambled on about the night before and told them that she had gotten up a half hour earlier than usual. She made the two commoners smell the perfume on her wrists, or rather she tried to get everyone to but the three others ignored her. She didn't seem bothered by their rudeness. Jolon thought it was sad that she was used to such treatment from others.Entering the dining hall, each person gave their name to the Mondue at the door in order to not lose any points for the meal. Ophelia hurried to her spot, and the males made their way to their table. In the spot that was empty the day before sat a fair skinned red head with dark green eyes. She wasn't what Anton or Jolon expected in their princess. Though she was pretty, she was far from the beautiful woman that they expected. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail but was curly. The light green uniform told them she was a third year, but she had the bell sleeves pinned up at her shoulders and her shirt was ripped to show cleavage, there was also no belt to keep the tabard close to the body. Her overall face seemed gentle, but the look she carried was not.
"Ah, our fair princess has honored us with her presence today." Remus smirked as he sat down, knowing that this would upset his roommate.
A creamy potato soup was served to everyone along with bread and some vegetables. Lenore was already half way through hers when they had arrived, even though they were supposed to wait until everyone was seated and the professors spoke the daily words of wisdom. When they were released to eat their meals, she was almost finished.
"It's good to know that rules and tradition are of no concern to our beloved princess." Santh seethed.
Lenore didn't seem bothered by his comment, in fact she didn't seem to hear it at all. Instead, she finished her bowl and began to use the remainder of her bread to clean out the soup that her spoon couldn't get. When she was left with some soup and no bread, Remus offered her half of his own which seemed strange to Jolon and Anton considering how he had spoken about her the day before.
Lenore took the offered bread but offered no words of gratitude. She simply finished her soup, and turned to her mixed vegetable plate.
Anton was sitting next to her and once in a while he would get a whiff of that butter cream smell. "Does anyone else smell butter cream? I have been smelling it since I woke up."
Routine motioned toward the princess, which caused Anton to lean into the woman that was ravaging her plate of boiled vegetables. She did in fact smell like butter cream, but why he wasn't certain.
Before he could gather the courage to ask, everyone in the dining hall immediately stood up including Santh. It was only the princess and Remus that remained seated, but Jolon and Anton knew better and quickly stood with everyone else although it was a beat after the others. One of the boys that was sitting near them saw their delayed reaction and mumbled something about first years. The reason for the interruption was soon answered.
The group of four men moved across the dining hall receiving short bows from people that they passed, but they soon stopped in front of the unmentionables table.
The man who appeared to be the leader of the group was tall and toned. He carried a similarly disgusted look on his face that the princess had. His chestnut hair was long and pulled back into a low ponytail as the rules of the school dictated. There was no doubt that this was Prince Lesatan.
The three men following behind him were his advisers. They would soon learn from Ophelia that the prince had four advisers but only three were old enough to enter university, the forth son wouldn't arrive for another two years. Krius La Croix was at least a foot taller then most men, built with dark brown hair pulled back and held at the base of his neck. He was intelligent, but also the muscle that the prince needed during these times. He was a handsome fellow that the girls seemed to flock to once they realized the prince wanted nothing to do with them.
Krius was followed by Enoch Pompadour. Tall and lanky, the prince always thought of him as a dofus with his big teeth and ridiculous comments, but the man had always been willing to do whatever he was told. Just explain to Enoch what he needed and it would be done promptly.
Finally, there was the wild card in the group, Armand Borges. He was a dashing blonde with a roguish smile and all together too normal for the prince's liking. There was something about him that didn't sit right with him, but he could never put his finger on it. The man did as he was told, advised him when necessary, but his tone always seemed to hold some sarcasm and disdain for his future king. Lesatan didn't trust him fully.
Lesatan stood straight and only moved his eyes to look at his sitting sister. "I heard that there were new commoners at the school, but never did I believe you would sit beside them while you ate. Are you not sickened by the smell?"
"I only became sick when you entered the hall." Lenore quickly responded, she didn't look up from the food she was eating. "Are you going to finish your bread, Byron? I'm starved."
"You may consume it." Routine seemed nervous.
Lesatan looked at Remus who was smirking at the reaction of all those involved. He just loved watching this chaos unfold. "Remus Grey, it is good to see you again. You have not come to visit in a couple weeks."
"I apologize, milord. I have been predisposed lately, but I will certainly have a meal with you soon."
"I will send you an invitation." Lesatan's face seemed more friendly when he spoke to Remus, which made Jolon and Anton curious how a man from the Merchant's Guild could garner respect from the future king.
"Lesatan, you are being rude. These people only get a certain amount of time to eat their meals, and you are forcing a pause." She told her brother as she began to eat the bread she had taken from Routine.
"I wish to speak with you in private." Lesatan stepped back and motioned for her to come with him.
Jolon looked over at Santh who was glaring down at the princess as if he was waiting for her to make the wrong move.
"No." The word from her lips seemed to be the verification that Santh needed as he gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes.
"Everyone out!" Lesatan ordered and the dining hall was soon cleared.
Santh walked next to Routine, though Remus remained. "Selfish woman. I knew she would cause us more discomfort." He barked at his roommate.