A month had come and gone. The dorm was almost complete with the final touches being worked on such as the beds and the closets, along with the few decorations they could afford. Most of the females had gone home for the last final weeks of the break, which left Lenore, Saena, and Ophelia to finish the garden. The gazebo would not be built, but Lenore informed them that she could locate a fountain or at the very least bird baths.
However, today was a day of rest after many weeks of work. Twenty bedrooms in all had been constructed, and forty bunk beds were being finished. Though they had wanted to paint the dorm white, they did not have any more money left and therefore it remained with the look of fresh wood. Lenore promised that they would paint it someday.
A large porch wrapped around the dorm with two stairways down on each of the four sides, and the old musky scent was finally gone replaced with the scent of fresh cut wood. Wood that had taken weeks to polish down to prevent splinters in unlucky hands and feet.
Ophelia looked at the porch as Routine sat on one of the freshly built benches that were now decorating the dorm. Next to her was Remus, who was also looking at the Souchan.
He took a deep breath, "You have to discuss this with him, and I will deal with the other half."
She nodded her head as he walked away. Wiping her hands down on her skirt, she inhaled and made her way over to the porch where she quickly sat down beside him.
Routine was looking over new information on fiancees and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"More prospects?" She asked with a worried voice, and watched as he gave a nod. "Anyone catching your eye?"
He shook his head as he continued to look through the papers.
"What about me?"
Routine blinked a couple times, before putting the paper down and looking at the woman next to him. "The traitor's daughter? I am uncertain what my parents would conclude, but more precisely, you have shown no regard for me. Therefore, what is your ploy, Romanus?"
Straightening her back, she cleared her throat. "Remus and I are attempting to create a way that we can remain in our positions, but also stay together. If we both enter a marriage with someone that understands our plight, then perhaps he and I could manage to remain together."
He swallowed as he thought over her offer. "I would need heirs."
She nodded, "Of course, Remus and I discussed this. I am willing to bear two of your children. One to replace you and one to replace myself at the fortress. Your flesh and blood would take my place, and not Remus' child. However, after we have done so there would be no more between us."
"How could I be certain they are indeed mine?"
"Remus and I will only contact one another by way of mail, until the two are born. To ensure that you feel satisfied." She folded her hands nervously and watched as he thought it over. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel it in her throat. Of course, she couldn't believe she was even having this conversation with someone. Offering to bear him children so she could cheat on her own husband with his permission.
"I do not conceive how this deal is favors me, but we will stabilize the details after we have gained my parents' permission." Routine stood up with the papers in hand.
"Does that mean you agree?"
He gave a firm nod before walking into the dorm hallway.
"It's so very quiet now that everyone has gone home." Anton said as he held two boards together for the frame of the bunk bed.
Jolon slowly nodded as he began to hammer the beds together. They were building each bed inside the room they would remain in. "I learned far too much about the other men in this school by simple accidental eavesdropping."
Anton chuckled, "Indeed. Intimate details that will forever remain burned in my mind. I learned that women are not delicate flowers when they believe a man can not hear them. The things I heard some of them utter are far worse than anything I have ever heard in a drinking den."
"Even prostitutes know better than to speak such vulgarities." Jolon grinned as they two talked over the loud banging of the hammer. "Though, I did hear one interesting tidbit about our future king."
"Oh?" Anton knew he was about to engage in gossip, but the fact of the matter was that he and Jolon had exhausted all conversation over this long break.
"I overheard a girl saying that the Prince has had many girls throw themselves at him, and he has always rejected them." Jolon stood up and shook the bed frame and seemed satisfied with it's sturdiness. "Most powerful man in the country next to his father, and yet not one woman claims to have shared his bed. My father told me stories of the King and how many women came and went from his dorm room. Women of all guilds and positions."
"Perhaps, he is overly cautious. After all, his father did create a bastard child which has Lesatan constantly on edge over whether or not she has plans to take the throne." Anton walked out into the hall and pulled some more boards into the room, so they could begin making the top bunk. The beds would be capable of being separated if need be. "I could imagine he might learn from his father's mistakes."
"You view the Princess as a mistake?"
He shrugged, "If not for the King's affair, he would have married an entirely different woman and had entirely different heirs. He might have even been able to love that woman, and he a much different king. Santh's own father could be alive, because the rebels would not have had cause to revolt. They loathed a Vinson queen if you recall."
"Among other issues, but yes Queen Aletta's coronation seemed to break the last thread of peace." Jolon leaned against the wall as the two took a break.
Anton sat down on the floor next to the pile of wood, he had brought in. "Strange, isn't it? How Lenore's existence changed the world before she was ever born, and she continues to do just that." He looked around the room that they had built together.
Jolon was about to speak, when they heard running up the stairs and then down the hall.
"Boys!" Harona's voice called out.
"In here!" Jolon called to her as Anton seemed unwilling.
Harona appeared in the doorway and jumped up and down. "She waved! She waved!"
Looking between each other, neither understood what the woman was so thrilled about.
Rolling her eyes, and taking a deep breath. "Saena, she waved from the window. She said she would do that when the professor passed her test. Now, the final say goes to the student professor, and she will be a student here!"
Of course, they already knew how it worked. A professor had graded them both and gave higher marks than the student professor did, however that latter's grade would be made permanent.
Anton stood up, and wiped his hands on his pants. "We should get some sweets and mead to celebrate."
Jolon agreed, "It is not every day that someone from the Servant's Guild manages to enter this school." He turned to Harona, "Gather everyone while Anton and I go into town for supplies. She deserves to be treated upon returning."
Harona gave a firm nod, "Yes!" She turned around and hurried down the hallway, ignoring that the two yelled for her not to run in the hall.
"Where is your lap dog?" Remus asked as he approached Lenore who was in the room that would be hers. The beds were already done, though the curtains needed to be hung.
"He went into town to buy us something to eat." Lenore informed him as she sat on her bottom bunk and read over a scroll. She was studying again to brush up on the lessons she would have this year.
Clearing his throat, Remus sat across the room on the other bottom bunk bed. "They aren't ornate, but they seem sturdy." He commented on the bunk beds as he touched the wood. "Need to be polished down, however." He mumbled as he pulled a splinter from his hand and tossed it to the floor.
"What is it, Remus? Do you need me to make a Fox run tonight?" She asked as she continued to read.
Remus bounced up and down on the mattress for a moment as he thought over his words. The old mattresses were disgusting, and so the girls had managed to gather together enough straw to stuff into the newly quilted cases they created. It was exhausting work, but the beds were eventually finished. Though less uncomfortable than the ones provided in the other dorms that were made of down and other soft materials.
"What if I informed you that I had a way for you and Santh to remain together after our schooling is finished?"
Lenore stopped reading and looked up at him. "Our relationship is new, why would I plan such things at this early of a stage?"
"Hear me out, and think it over. If Ophelia married Byron, she and he would keep their lands and titles. If you and I married, then you would be remain one of the most powerful women in this land. Ophelia will need to have two children by Byron to put into position in their rightful positions, however you and I will need only one. After which, you are free to be with Santh and myself with Ophelia." Remus seemed nervous for the first time that Lenore ever knew him, and she heard his rambling loud and clear.
"What of Santh?"
He raised an eyebrow, "What of him?"
"Who will he marry?"
Remus was quiet for a moment, "He is of no rank and title, does he need to marry?"
Lenore snorted, "You planned poorly. Ophelia should have married Santh, though he is a Mondue commoner, his father's rank would have easily allowed it. Not to mention the son of Varden and the traitor's daughter would have healed wounds. After which, you and I would have married and moved near the fortress. A much simpler solution."
Smacking himself in the forehead, he cursed under his breath. "Of course! Well, I am certain Byron will not be bothered if we cancel such plan, though I do not know if he has accepted yet." Standing up, he grinned. "I shall put this plan into action. Thank you, Lenore."
"No." Lenore hissed. "I only informed you of a much cleaner plan, I do not wish to participate in it, and I would have little respect for Santh if he agreed to it. I shall not live my life one way in front of the public, and another behind closed doors. Our parents are already in discussion of our marriage, and they would rush to wed us if we offered it ourselves."
Remus swallowed, "You jest."
"I do not!" Lenore stood up. "I will not play part in this ruse."
"If you do not, then eventually you and Santh will end."
She shrugged her shoulders as she remained on the bed. "If that is how Santh chooses it to be, then I will accept his decision."
Again, Remus was confused. "How is this his choice?"
"His father was granted lands and titles after his death that now belong to Santh if he accepts it." Lenore cocked her head. "He never told you?"
"Santh is a member of the Royal Party?" He mumbled before looking completely dazed and walking from the room.
Ophelia walked down the hall with a grin on her lips. She couldn't believe that Routine had agreed so easily to her proposal. At first, she wanted to seek out Remus and inform him, but she decided to wait in case he was still speaking to Lenore. Something about him asking Lenore to marry him bothered her, and she did not want to bear witness to it.
As she passed a room, she noticed someone hanging curtains which was a job meant for only Harona, Saena, and herself. She knew that Harona and Saena were not in the dorm today, so she stopped and looked inside.
"Authin." She said meekly.
The thinning Royal stopped what he was doing to look over his shoulder for a moment. "The last dorm did not have windows as I recall. It will be nice for all of us." He told her as he pushed the metal pole through the careful crafted opening in the fabric.
Each room received one window in the center of the room. The bunk beds were on both sides of the room, and at the end of the bunk beds were the closest with two drawers under them. They had no finish and no paint, but that would come later more than likely next long break.
"I can barely believe that we managed to build this place in such a short amount of time." He said as Ophelia leaned against the door frame of the sliding doors.
"It must be difficult for you."
Stepping on the stool, he hung the curtains above the window and spread them apart. "What must be?"
"Being a Royal and having to live here instead of your own dorm." She watched him pause for a moment, before he picked up the stool and walked toward her. She followed behind him as he walked into the next room to hang another blue curtain.
Authin sighed as he put the stool down and sat upon it after he grabbed the curtains from the bed and the pole. "It is certainly a lesson in humility. Though we both agree life could be much worse for me at this moment. I could be at home and a cousin would be coming here this year to earn the right to my rightful position."
Ophelia nodded her head. "I suppose so." She watched him push the curtain onto the pole and then step on the stool to hang them. "Why did Lenore allow you to stay here?"
He shrugged, "I do not know." He answered as he stepped down off the stool and turned to face her. "In truth, I have done my very best to stay out of her way and assistant only when asked. This is my last home here and I can not become the subject of Lenore's ire."
Picking up the stool, he moved to the next room where he began to hang the next curtain. Ophelia watched him with a frown upon her lips and her head cocked to the side. She knew what he had done to Lenore, and she loathed him for it. She was also aware of his reputation before he come to this dorm, but he did not seem like any of those people anymore. Something had changed within him or at the very least he was holding part of himself back.
"If that is pity on your face, you may toss it aside." Authin finally spoke when he stood on the stool once more to hang the curtain. "I quite enjoy living here. I may be a low Royal, but I realize how coddled I have been my entire life." He stepped down from the stool. "I wanted to complain hundreds of times about our accommodations under that damnable canopy, but do you know why I said nothing?"
"You realized how lucky you were to still be in this school?"
He chuckled, "Other than that."
"You didn't want to anger Lenore?"
Authin laughed once more, "Lenore never complained. If the Princess of our nation can live like a pauper than so can I. These lessons I am learning here, I shall take into my future and perhaps I will be able to change a small portion of the world around me."
Santh sat near the stream with his back against a tree. He had one knee up and one leg against the ground as he tried to thread some string through some beads. He mumbled curse words under his breath as his big fingers failed to nimbly deal with each bead.
"If you were a man, I'd have killed you by now." He hissed at the necklace that was barely even begun even after an hour of work. He kept losing the beads and had to search for them in the leaves under him.
"What is this?" Remus asked as he approached his friend and pointed at the necklace.
"I am attempting to make a necklace for Lenore." Santh lowered his work to his lap and looked up at his friend. "The merchant in the hamlet explained how it could be done swiftly and easily. Though apparently I am not adept at such fragile matters."
Sitting down, Remus held out his hand. "Do you want my help?"
Santh looked down at the necklace and then shook his head. "No, I will continue my struggles."
"You realize that Lenore is a princess. At the castle, she has necklaces made from the rarest of gems."
Santh nodded, "Not one of them is made by my own hands, however."
Remus grinned and nodded his head, "I suppose, if any one could appreciate the hard work it took for you to build a cheap necklace, it would be Lenore."
Pressing his lips together, Santh frowned. "If you are here to discourage me, simply leave."
Leaning back against the tree, Remus sighed as Santh continued to thread the beads through the string. "I actually came to speak to you on a matter, I have recently learned about you."
"Hm." Santh grunted.
Remus swallowed, "You have lands and titles awaiting you in the Royal Party."
Santh's struggles with the neck stopped and he lowered it to his lap once more. "Where did you learn of this?"
Remus knew he could tell Santh that Lenore had informed him, and that it might even start their first fight as a couple. However, he cared too much for his friend to begin such havoc in his life, no matter how much he would like to see the two fall apart. "I am the right hand of the Fox, did you expect to keep it from me forever?"
Santh remained silent.
"Why did you never tell me?"
"You are an opportunist, especially before you learned you were your father's heir. If I had told you, I would have spent years listening to you trying to convince me that I should take what is mine. Also, I do not want the lands and title, therefore it was an issue not worthy of discussion." Santh watched the water of the stream nearby.
"Why do you throw it away? Your father died to ensure these lands went to you, didn't he?" Remus watched Santh think for a moment as he leaned forward.
"That's why I do not want them. My father set out on a mission to return my mother's land and titles that she lost by marrying him, and in the end he died so that I could have what she gave away freely." Santh stood up and looked down at Remus after wiping some leaves from his pants. "I would have rather had my father. I will not beg for the things my father wanted me to have."
"Why not beg in order to keep something instead?"
Santh raised an eyebrow.
"Lenore."
"I will not beg, not even for her." With that Santh turned around and left the area with haste.
Remus was no longer resentful of his friend's relationship with Lenore after that conversation, even though he didn't understand why he had been in the first place. What he did know was that Santh's pride was standing in his way once again, and it always lead his friend to heartbreak.
On the table, Harona and the two commoners had set out a small feast for Saena's return. It was mostly mead from Ophelia's shop, and meats and other foods from the stalls around the hamlet. Everyone had been gathered as they awaited Saena to return with the good news, but the minutes ticked by and they grew concerned.
"Does it usually take this long?" Lenore asked. "I took the test in the Royal Dorm with my brother, and we had our own professors grade them." She explained why she didn't understand the process.
"The rest of us have to wait in long lines to get the professor to grade it, and then another line for a student professor to examine it. The student professor gets the final say." Remus informed her.
"I never understood that." Harona crossed her arms as they all stood around the table waiting for their friend's return.
"The school is an experiment of a running government." Ophelia sighed. "The students get final says in everything that occurs here."
Harona huffed, "There would be a great deal less corruption if the professors were in charge more, and the students less."
Santh, Lenore, and Remus all snorted at the same time, causing everyone to look at them, except for Jolon who continued to stare at the dirt path.
"Professors could easily be purchased by the higher ranking officials if that were so, not to mention that life is not fair and all of our positions will be surrounded by corruption. We might as well grow used to it now, before we are in the real world and suffering without experience." Lenore spoke confidently with her arms crossed.
Harona frowned, "I still do not like it. We have to pick between two corrupt systems?"
Remus nodded, "Very much so. There is always corruption, because there will always be people that want to maintain their position above others, or gain further power. That is the world, and we all have a place within it to change it, even Jolon and Anton. We were all born into the world of politics, and that is a strange world for people like Saena. She is just a common woman, and I suppose Santh as well... to some degree."
Santh frowned, but said nothing as he stood beside Lenore. He looked more like her personal guard than anything else.
"Saena." Jolon called out the girl's name when she came into view, which ended the conversation that was happening around them.
The small woman approached with a frown on her lips. "The professor said I passed by only ten points, but the student professor said I failed by eight. He didn't even look it over, and just tossed a failing grade upon it as soon as I informed him of my party."
Routine, who had been quiet through all this and was sitting on the stairs leading up to the dorm, stood up and went inside. He was obviously disappointed to those who knew him well enough, mainly Lenore.
Saena looked at the feast on the table, "Did you do this for me?"
Jolon, Harona, and Anton nodded their heads. "Remus loaned us some money as well."
She held back her tears, "I am sorry to have wasted your effort."
Everyone stepped forward to pat her back and cheer her up with words of comfort, except for Lenore and Santh.
Lenore looked over at the Mondue, who looked fierce and leaned forward. "I'll play politician, if you play soldier."
He gave a firm nod, and the two slowly made their way out of the dorm's court without being noticed by the rest.
"We can try again next year, Saena." Jolon had his arm around her shoulders. "That student professor will be onto other tasks by then."
She shook her head, "No, I have learned my lesson. I can not leave my place in this world. You may be able to as they have to allow you in, but they will never tolerate me."
Everyone lowered their heads and fell silent, before no matter how much they wished to deny it, they knew her words were true.
"Where did Santh and Lenore go?" Ophelia asked.
Remus sighed audibly, "Even at a time like this, those two sneak away to be alone."
Saena chuckled, "Leave them be. Let's eat my consolation meal."
Remus found Ophelia sitting in the room she would share with Lenore. Laying on the bottom bunk, she had a plate full of food from the gathering downstairs and a cup of mead in her hand. She had sneaked away while everyone was consoling Saena.
"I brought you another cup." Remus walked into the room and set the mead on the floor next to her bed. The room smelled of fresh cut wood, but also a lingering scent of butter cream that seemed to inform the world that this room belonged to the Princess. "What did Routine say?"
"He seemed agreeable. He said he had to ask his parents' permission. What of Lenore?" Ophelia asked as she popped a piece of meat into her mouth from a kabob. She chewed it slowly as if she wasn't hungry and instead forcing herself to eat.
Remus sat down on the edge of the bed and shook his head. "She had a far simpler solution as she put it. You marry Santh and I marry her, and then she and I move near the fortress."
"Oh, that would be less convoluted." Ophelia grinned briefly, though after a moment the plan seemed to come to her in it's entirety. "Should we speak to Santh then? How would I tell Routine that the plan has changed? He would be upset. His troubles over picking a bride have once again almost come to an end."
He shook his head once more as he laid his hand on her knee. "The Princess would not agree to the ruse. It seems she possesses a degree of honor that we do not when it come to our relationship."
With a look of disappointment, Ophelia leaned deeper into the pillow behind her. "If not Lenore, then who?"
Remus look undeterred with a casual shrug, "We will locate someone in a similar position as us. It occurs quite frequently."
Ophelia licked her bottom lip, "What if this does not work, Remus? What if we are caught? What if we never find someone? What if I become with child during our time here together? Who would want to raise their husband's mistress' child?"
An amused look ran across his lips and he stroked her leg gently. "Those are all bridges we have yet to foresee on the horizon. Let us try walking this one first before we worry about the next."
She nodded her head. "Is Saena doing well? I wanted to comfort her, but I needed some space to myself. Routine... it was strange speaking to him so nonchalantly about marriage and children. I always thought that would be a conversation I would have with a man that held my heart."
"Did he offend you?" Remus couldn't imagine Routine saying anything inappropriate. The man only seemed to tolerate Lenore's affection, and that was the most intimate relationship that he had with another human.
"No." She picked up a grape from her plate and popped it into her mouth. "It was more or less a dry conversation. He listened to all the details, and informed me that he would discuss it with his parents. He even looked slightly pleased when I informed him that his child would sit as the head of the fortress."
"Routine may not show much interest in other people, but he understands what it means to have progeny. To have the Romanus' family name change to the Nicoletti name would be a great boon to his family."
Ophelia's eyes widened, "He believes that the child will take his name? Romanus name must be passed down, even my own father took the Romanus name when he married into the fortress."
Remus chuckled, "Let him believe such things for now. He can be disappointed later, but if you explain the tradition to him, Routine will not argue against it. He will be pleased enough to have his heir in the fortress and knowing that his blood has joined your family's great lineage."
"His name is Marius Decoste." A student professor informed Lenore and Santh as they stood outside the great hall. "He was still inside as I was leaving."
Lenore nodded her head, "You are certain that this is the man that graded the servant girl's entry exam?"
He nodded his head with the blue hood covering most of his face and the robe falling to his feet. "He was informing everyone in jest over his deeds today, milady."
Santh stood behind Lenore as would-be students slowly filtered out of the great hall and passed them to their carriages that awaited outside the hamlet. The two had just approached when this student professor exited the hall. He sounded nervous when he was approached but seemed to calm himself when he realized that Lenore was not looking for him.
"How much longer before he finishes his task?" She asked.
The student professor shrugged his shoulders. "He only had two or three more students assigned to him, after which he should return to his dorm."
"What is his guild?"
"Royal, milady."
Lenore waved the man away and looked over at Santh. "I do hope this doesn't become physical, as it could only be myself doing any of the damage."
"You expect me, a Mondue, to stand aside and allow my woman to fight another man, while I watch on?" Santh sounded offended as they both moved to the side of the white path to sit on a marble bench.
"If you harmed a Royal, you would be removed from the school." Lenore reminded him. "It is best to follow my lead. Unless I seem to be in desperate trouble, then you may step in to protect the Princess. That would most assuredly make you a hero in everyone's eyes, including Lesatan's."
The two waited for some time and every student professor that exited the build was asked their name. It took nearly an hour, but finally a blue robed young man exited with a grin on his lips.
"Marius Decoste?" Lenore asked as she walked over to him from the bench.
"Of course, complaining about your points?" He asked before he looked over at the woman who was approaching him. "Ah, Princess Lenore." He bowed his head. "What do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"
"You were not far from the truth." Lenore crossed her arms as did Santh who was standing behind her. "Your actions today were not that fitting of an Apisarn Professor who seeks fairness, but one of a child who forgets in a very short amount of time, he will have no say in the Royal Guild whatsoever. You lose all guild status, remember? You become a teacher for all."
"Save me your lectures, Princess, and speak plainly." Marius sounded aggitated.
"That servant girl that you did not even bother to look over her exam, do you remember her?" She watched him nod. "She is a very dear friend of mine."
Marius swallowed but seemed willing to hold his ground. "We do not need that sort of rubbish in our school unless they are here to clean up other rubbish."
"Hmm, I believe you have had a change of heart, and that you will go back inside that building. You will locate her exam, and you will judge it fairly." Lenore spoke calmly, and Santh was slightly impressed that she was acting like a woman of character.
Marius laughed, "Will I?"
"You will or I will turn away as my Mondue guard ensures that you can never hold a position of power again due to your hideous nature... and you inability to create children." She raised an eyebrow. "When asked what happened, I will inform them that you attempted to attack me and my Mondue stepped in to protect me."
"The Prince will hear of this!" Marius snapped.
"Yes, I am certain he will. The only choice you have right now is whether you will be explaining this conversation to him with or without limbs." She grinned.
The man thought it over for a moment, before turning back around to head back inside the large building.
Lenore chuckled and looked at Santh, who was still frowning. He would not be pleased until the student professor returned with the results.
The carriage pulled up in front of the Royal Dorm. Most students would return two or three days before, but anyone in the student council appeared a week before the first day of the new year. There would be hours of meetings to finalize events for new students, and vote on projects that were placed on hold until the next year.
Lesatan sat in the carriage and frown at the empty seat in front of him. Piera was meant to join him on his journey to the school, but her mother was not feeling well and she returned home though she had spent most of the break at the castle with him.
The door to his carriage was opened, but to his surprise it was not his driver. Damek stood aside to allow him to step out, and Lesatan could see the slight grin on his cousin's lips.
"What is it, Damek?" He knew his cousin enjoyed appearing before him to bring him bad news. It seemed to be the only entertainment he had in his life.
"I have terrible news, milord." He motioned with his hands toward the dorm as the carriage driver pulled the Prince's luggage down.
With a sigh, Lesatan lead Damek to his study. The room smelled musty as if the windows had not been opened all season long. As he walked over to the window, Damek was quick to rush before him.
"Allow me." He opened the window and began to open the other four as Lesatan sat down behind his desk.
Once Damek was done, he hurried to sit in the chair in front of the desk where he folded his hands on his lap. The grin remained on his face.
"What is the news?" Lesatan asked as he looked over scrolls of paper on his desk that he had long forgotten were his to worry about. A break filled with dancing, parties, and evenings with Piera had taken away his troubles.
"Your sister, milord. She stayed behind this break." Damek began.
"She never returned home. What of it?"
Damek was beginning to seem almost giddy. "Milord, she rebuilt South Dorm without the direct permission of the student council. Therefore, it is an illegal building and must be torn down."
Lesatan looked up from the scrolls on his desk. "She rebuilt an entire dorm?"
"Yes, and from what I have seen it is much larger and far more grand than commoner's will ever need. Not to mention, that without Souchan paperwork to verify that you approved this building, it will show the school that she acted without your blessing and everyone will believe the Princess hold power over you." Damek watched as a vein in Lesatan's forehead began to grow bright in color.
"Just when I believe I have settled the dragon, it destroys an entire village!" Lesatan slammed his hand on his desk, and looked up to Damek. "Draft orders to have that damnable thing torn down, immediately!"
Damek bowed his head, but remained seated and took a deep breath before speaking. "If I could, milord. I believe I know a way to 'put the dragon to sleep' as you say, and end this embarrassment that is Lenore's behavior once and for all."
Something deep within Lesatan told him that this was Damek's plan all along, but the prize of ending Lenore's outrageous behavior was too much. "What plan is that?"
Damek's grin widened as he scooted forward in his chair. "This is guaranteed to ensure Lenore's compliance."
Anton was sitting on the ground against a tree as his friends ate their meal at the table and bench. Saena tried to look undeterred, but he seriously doubted she would try taking the entry exam again. Harona and Jolon told jokes and attempted to encourage her, while Authin sat next to her and watched the scene unfold before him.
He felt sorry for Saena as he knew how hard she had tried. It had been difficult to enter the school for him and Jolon as well, but their parents were in positions high enough that their tests were fairly graded. As low as he thought he was, he now understood that there were those in positions far beneath his own. The unfairness of the world that he lived through would be joyous occasions to someone like Saena.
A movement from the dirt path caused him to turn his attention to the couple walking toward them. Santh and Lenore had returned from where ever it was they had disappeared.
"The lovebirds return." Jolon teased. "Mead?"
Lenore shook her head and seemed to notice that Remus and Ophelia had also disappeared. "Where is everyone?"
"Routine is pouting in his room, and Ophelia and Remus ran away together, I assume." Authin informed her.
Saena smiled up at the Princess as best she could in order to stop everyone from pitying her. Suddenly, Lenore held out a rolled up scroll to the girl.
Looking at it, she took it from her and unrolled it. Santh stood behind Lenore and placed his hand on her shoulder. His heart warming up further as he watched Saena's false smile slowly turn real.
"You passed." Lenore finally announced when everyone else seemed to be holding their breath in wonder of what the scroll contained.
A tear escaped Saena's eye. "How did you..."
"I spoke to the student professor about fairness and not judging others, and when that failed, I threatened to have Santh rip his arms off." Lenore's words sounded as if she was joking, but something about the way she and Santh looked at each told everyone that it was the truth.
The group laughed together as Saena stood up and wrapped her arms around Lenore's neck. "Thank you."
"My pleasure." Lenore patted her back as Saena detached from her and gave Santh a hug around his chest as he was too tall to hug around the shoulders.
"Ophelia!" Saena realized and looked at Lenore. "I have to tell Ophelia. She seemed rather upset! I'll return!" She ran up the stairs and into the dorm.
Harona chuckled, "I cannot believe that you managed to get her grade changed. Can you?" She turned to Jolon who was sitting there was a empty stare in his eyes. "Jolon?"
"Jolon?" Lenore put her hand on his shoulder and that jerked him out of his reverie. "Are you alright?"
"I... am." Jolon stood from the bench, "I just... I can barely believe that you two would do some thing like this for a servant girl. It goes against the very foundation that I grew upon all my life."
Lenore waved her hand and seemed to ignore his comment. "Come, let's return this party to its natural state, and celebrate!"
Anton watched as the conversation changed and the laughter began. He remembered in those moments his father's words. They told him how everyone above him would use him and then toss him away when they were finished. He was not meant to gain any form of relationship with these people, but he wondered if it was alright for a little. Even if it cannot remain forever, it can be memories of the past that bring smiles to his lips in the future.
If it was untrue that they all could be friends then what use was it to bring Saena into this school. Someone like her could never be accepted unless such acceptance started somewhere. Anton looked at his friends, and thought to himself that South Dorm could be that place and these people that reason.
Standing up, he made his way over to the table where he sat down. He was going to make memories with these people, and he was going to call them his friends. No matter how such friendships ended.
However, today was a day of rest after many weeks of work. Twenty bedrooms in all had been constructed, and forty bunk beds were being finished. Though they had wanted to paint the dorm white, they did not have any more money left and therefore it remained with the look of fresh wood. Lenore promised that they would paint it someday.
A large porch wrapped around the dorm with two stairways down on each of the four sides, and the old musky scent was finally gone replaced with the scent of fresh cut wood. Wood that had taken weeks to polish down to prevent splinters in unlucky hands and feet.
Ophelia looked at the porch as Routine sat on one of the freshly built benches that were now decorating the dorm. Next to her was Remus, who was also looking at the Souchan.
He took a deep breath, "You have to discuss this with him, and I will deal with the other half."
She nodded her head as he walked away. Wiping her hands down on her skirt, she inhaled and made her way over to the porch where she quickly sat down beside him.
Routine was looking over new information on fiancees and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"More prospects?" She asked with a worried voice, and watched as he gave a nod. "Anyone catching your eye?"
He shook his head as he continued to look through the papers.
"What about me?"
Routine blinked a couple times, before putting the paper down and looking at the woman next to him. "The traitor's daughter? I am uncertain what my parents would conclude, but more precisely, you have shown no regard for me. Therefore, what is your ploy, Romanus?"
Straightening her back, she cleared her throat. "Remus and I are attempting to create a way that we can remain in our positions, but also stay together. If we both enter a marriage with someone that understands our plight, then perhaps he and I could manage to remain together."
He swallowed as he thought over her offer. "I would need heirs."
She nodded, "Of course, Remus and I discussed this. I am willing to bear two of your children. One to replace you and one to replace myself at the fortress. Your flesh and blood would take my place, and not Remus' child. However, after we have done so there would be no more between us."
"How could I be certain they are indeed mine?"
"Remus and I will only contact one another by way of mail, until the two are born. To ensure that you feel satisfied." She folded her hands nervously and watched as he thought it over. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel it in her throat. Of course, she couldn't believe she was even having this conversation with someone. Offering to bear him children so she could cheat on her own husband with his permission.
"I do not conceive how this deal is favors me, but we will stabilize the details after we have gained my parents' permission." Routine stood up with the papers in hand.
"Does that mean you agree?"
He gave a firm nod before walking into the dorm hallway.
---***---
"It's so very quiet now that everyone has gone home." Anton said as he held two boards together for the frame of the bunk bed.
Jolon slowly nodded as he began to hammer the beds together. They were building each bed inside the room they would remain in. "I learned far too much about the other men in this school by simple accidental eavesdropping."
Anton chuckled, "Indeed. Intimate details that will forever remain burned in my mind. I learned that women are not delicate flowers when they believe a man can not hear them. The things I heard some of them utter are far worse than anything I have ever heard in a drinking den."
"Even prostitutes know better than to speak such vulgarities." Jolon grinned as they two talked over the loud banging of the hammer. "Though, I did hear one interesting tidbit about our future king."
"Oh?" Anton knew he was about to engage in gossip, but the fact of the matter was that he and Jolon had exhausted all conversation over this long break.
"I overheard a girl saying that the Prince has had many girls throw themselves at him, and he has always rejected them." Jolon stood up and shook the bed frame and seemed satisfied with it's sturdiness. "Most powerful man in the country next to his father, and yet not one woman claims to have shared his bed. My father told me stories of the King and how many women came and went from his dorm room. Women of all guilds and positions."
"Perhaps, he is overly cautious. After all, his father did create a bastard child which has Lesatan constantly on edge over whether or not she has plans to take the throne." Anton walked out into the hall and pulled some more boards into the room, so they could begin making the top bunk. The beds would be capable of being separated if need be. "I could imagine he might learn from his father's mistakes."
"You view the Princess as a mistake?"
He shrugged, "If not for the King's affair, he would have married an entirely different woman and had entirely different heirs. He might have even been able to love that woman, and he a much different king. Santh's own father could be alive, because the rebels would not have had cause to revolt. They loathed a Vinson queen if you recall."
"Among other issues, but yes Queen Aletta's coronation seemed to break the last thread of peace." Jolon leaned against the wall as the two took a break.
Anton sat down on the floor next to the pile of wood, he had brought in. "Strange, isn't it? How Lenore's existence changed the world before she was ever born, and she continues to do just that." He looked around the room that they had built together.
Jolon was about to speak, when they heard running up the stairs and then down the hall.
"Boys!" Harona's voice called out.
"In here!" Jolon called to her as Anton seemed unwilling.
Harona appeared in the doorway and jumped up and down. "She waved! She waved!"
Looking between each other, neither understood what the woman was so thrilled about.
Rolling her eyes, and taking a deep breath. "Saena, she waved from the window. She said she would do that when the professor passed her test. Now, the final say goes to the student professor, and she will be a student here!"
Of course, they already knew how it worked. A professor had graded them both and gave higher marks than the student professor did, however that latter's grade would be made permanent.
Anton stood up, and wiped his hands on his pants. "We should get some sweets and mead to celebrate."
Jolon agreed, "It is not every day that someone from the Servant's Guild manages to enter this school." He turned to Harona, "Gather everyone while Anton and I go into town for supplies. She deserves to be treated upon returning."
Harona gave a firm nod, "Yes!" She turned around and hurried down the hallway, ignoring that the two yelled for her not to run in the hall.
---***---
"Where is your lap dog?" Remus asked as he approached Lenore who was in the room that would be hers. The beds were already done, though the curtains needed to be hung.
"He went into town to buy us something to eat." Lenore informed him as she sat on her bottom bunk and read over a scroll. She was studying again to brush up on the lessons she would have this year.
Clearing his throat, Remus sat across the room on the other bottom bunk bed. "They aren't ornate, but they seem sturdy." He commented on the bunk beds as he touched the wood. "Need to be polished down, however." He mumbled as he pulled a splinter from his hand and tossed it to the floor.
"What is it, Remus? Do you need me to make a Fox run tonight?" She asked as she continued to read.
Remus bounced up and down on the mattress for a moment as he thought over his words. The old mattresses were disgusting, and so the girls had managed to gather together enough straw to stuff into the newly quilted cases they created. It was exhausting work, but the beds were eventually finished. Though less uncomfortable than the ones provided in the other dorms that were made of down and other soft materials.
"What if I informed you that I had a way for you and Santh to remain together after our schooling is finished?"
Lenore stopped reading and looked up at him. "Our relationship is new, why would I plan such things at this early of a stage?"
"Hear me out, and think it over. If Ophelia married Byron, she and he would keep their lands and titles. If you and I married, then you would be remain one of the most powerful women in this land. Ophelia will need to have two children by Byron to put into position in their rightful positions, however you and I will need only one. After which, you are free to be with Santh and myself with Ophelia." Remus seemed nervous for the first time that Lenore ever knew him, and she heard his rambling loud and clear.
"What of Santh?"
He raised an eyebrow, "What of him?"
"Who will he marry?"
Remus was quiet for a moment, "He is of no rank and title, does he need to marry?"
Lenore snorted, "You planned poorly. Ophelia should have married Santh, though he is a Mondue commoner, his father's rank would have easily allowed it. Not to mention the son of Varden and the traitor's daughter would have healed wounds. After which, you and I would have married and moved near the fortress. A much simpler solution."
Smacking himself in the forehead, he cursed under his breath. "Of course! Well, I am certain Byron will not be bothered if we cancel such plan, though I do not know if he has accepted yet." Standing up, he grinned. "I shall put this plan into action. Thank you, Lenore."
"No." Lenore hissed. "I only informed you of a much cleaner plan, I do not wish to participate in it, and I would have little respect for Santh if he agreed to it. I shall not live my life one way in front of the public, and another behind closed doors. Our parents are already in discussion of our marriage, and they would rush to wed us if we offered it ourselves."
Remus swallowed, "You jest."
"I do not!" Lenore stood up. "I will not play part in this ruse."
"If you do not, then eventually you and Santh will end."
She shrugged her shoulders as she remained on the bed. "If that is how Santh chooses it to be, then I will accept his decision."
Again, Remus was confused. "How is this his choice?"
"His father was granted lands and titles after his death that now belong to Santh if he accepts it." Lenore cocked her head. "He never told you?"
"Santh is a member of the Royal Party?" He mumbled before looking completely dazed and walking from the room.
---***---
Ophelia walked down the hall with a grin on her lips. She couldn't believe that Routine had agreed so easily to her proposal. At first, she wanted to seek out Remus and inform him, but she decided to wait in case he was still speaking to Lenore. Something about him asking Lenore to marry him bothered her, and she did not want to bear witness to it.
As she passed a room, she noticed someone hanging curtains which was a job meant for only Harona, Saena, and herself. She knew that Harona and Saena were not in the dorm today, so she stopped and looked inside.
"Authin." She said meekly.
The thinning Royal stopped what he was doing to look over his shoulder for a moment. "The last dorm did not have windows as I recall. It will be nice for all of us." He told her as he pushed the metal pole through the careful crafted opening in the fabric.
Each room received one window in the center of the room. The bunk beds were on both sides of the room, and at the end of the bunk beds were the closest with two drawers under them. They had no finish and no paint, but that would come later more than likely next long break.
"I can barely believe that we managed to build this place in such a short amount of time." He said as Ophelia leaned against the door frame of the sliding doors.
"It must be difficult for you."
Stepping on the stool, he hung the curtains above the window and spread them apart. "What must be?"
"Being a Royal and having to live here instead of your own dorm." She watched him pause for a moment, before he picked up the stool and walked toward her. She followed behind him as he walked into the next room to hang another blue curtain.
Authin sighed as he put the stool down and sat upon it after he grabbed the curtains from the bed and the pole. "It is certainly a lesson in humility. Though we both agree life could be much worse for me at this moment. I could be at home and a cousin would be coming here this year to earn the right to my rightful position."
Ophelia nodded her head. "I suppose so." She watched him push the curtain onto the pole and then step on the stool to hang them. "Why did Lenore allow you to stay here?"
He shrugged, "I do not know." He answered as he stepped down off the stool and turned to face her. "In truth, I have done my very best to stay out of her way and assistant only when asked. This is my last home here and I can not become the subject of Lenore's ire."
Picking up the stool, he moved to the next room where he began to hang the next curtain. Ophelia watched him with a frown upon her lips and her head cocked to the side. She knew what he had done to Lenore, and she loathed him for it. She was also aware of his reputation before he come to this dorm, but he did not seem like any of those people anymore. Something had changed within him or at the very least he was holding part of himself back.
"If that is pity on your face, you may toss it aside." Authin finally spoke when he stood on the stool once more to hang the curtain. "I quite enjoy living here. I may be a low Royal, but I realize how coddled I have been my entire life." He stepped down from the stool. "I wanted to complain hundreds of times about our accommodations under that damnable canopy, but do you know why I said nothing?"
"You realized how lucky you were to still be in this school?"
He chuckled, "Other than that."
"You didn't want to anger Lenore?"
Authin laughed once more, "Lenore never complained. If the Princess of our nation can live like a pauper than so can I. These lessons I am learning here, I shall take into my future and perhaps I will be able to change a small portion of the world around me."
---***---
Santh sat near the stream with his back against a tree. He had one knee up and one leg against the ground as he tried to thread some string through some beads. He mumbled curse words under his breath as his big fingers failed to nimbly deal with each bead.
"If you were a man, I'd have killed you by now." He hissed at the necklace that was barely even begun even after an hour of work. He kept losing the beads and had to search for them in the leaves under him.
"What is this?" Remus asked as he approached his friend and pointed at the necklace.
"I am attempting to make a necklace for Lenore." Santh lowered his work to his lap and looked up at his friend. "The merchant in the hamlet explained how it could be done swiftly and easily. Though apparently I am not adept at such fragile matters."
Sitting down, Remus held out his hand. "Do you want my help?"
Santh looked down at the necklace and then shook his head. "No, I will continue my struggles."
"You realize that Lenore is a princess. At the castle, she has necklaces made from the rarest of gems."
Santh nodded, "Not one of them is made by my own hands, however."
Remus grinned and nodded his head, "I suppose, if any one could appreciate the hard work it took for you to build a cheap necklace, it would be Lenore."
Pressing his lips together, Santh frowned. "If you are here to discourage me, simply leave."
Leaning back against the tree, Remus sighed as Santh continued to thread the beads through the string. "I actually came to speak to you on a matter, I have recently learned about you."
"Hm." Santh grunted.
Remus swallowed, "You have lands and titles awaiting you in the Royal Party."
Santh's struggles with the neck stopped and he lowered it to his lap once more. "Where did you learn of this?"
Remus knew he could tell Santh that Lenore had informed him, and that it might even start their first fight as a couple. However, he cared too much for his friend to begin such havoc in his life, no matter how much he would like to see the two fall apart. "I am the right hand of the Fox, did you expect to keep it from me forever?"
Santh remained silent.
"Why did you never tell me?"
"You are an opportunist, especially before you learned you were your father's heir. If I had told you, I would have spent years listening to you trying to convince me that I should take what is mine. Also, I do not want the lands and title, therefore it was an issue not worthy of discussion." Santh watched the water of the stream nearby.
"Why do you throw it away? Your father died to ensure these lands went to you, didn't he?" Remus watched Santh think for a moment as he leaned forward.
"That's why I do not want them. My father set out on a mission to return my mother's land and titles that she lost by marrying him, and in the end he died so that I could have what she gave away freely." Santh stood up and looked down at Remus after wiping some leaves from his pants. "I would have rather had my father. I will not beg for the things my father wanted me to have."
"Why not beg in order to keep something instead?"
Santh raised an eyebrow.
"Lenore."
"I will not beg, not even for her." With that Santh turned around and left the area with haste.
Remus was no longer resentful of his friend's relationship with Lenore after that conversation, even though he didn't understand why he had been in the first place. What he did know was that Santh's pride was standing in his way once again, and it always lead his friend to heartbreak.
---***---
On the table, Harona and the two commoners had set out a small feast for Saena's return. It was mostly mead from Ophelia's shop, and meats and other foods from the stalls around the hamlet. Everyone had been gathered as they awaited Saena to return with the good news, but the minutes ticked by and they grew concerned.
"Does it usually take this long?" Lenore asked. "I took the test in the Royal Dorm with my brother, and we had our own professors grade them." She explained why she didn't understand the process.
"The rest of us have to wait in long lines to get the professor to grade it, and then another line for a student professor to examine it. The student professor gets the final say." Remus informed her.
"I never understood that." Harona crossed her arms as they all stood around the table waiting for their friend's return.
"The school is an experiment of a running government." Ophelia sighed. "The students get final says in everything that occurs here."
Harona huffed, "There would be a great deal less corruption if the professors were in charge more, and the students less."
Santh, Lenore, and Remus all snorted at the same time, causing everyone to look at them, except for Jolon who continued to stare at the dirt path.
"Professors could easily be purchased by the higher ranking officials if that were so, not to mention that life is not fair and all of our positions will be surrounded by corruption. We might as well grow used to it now, before we are in the real world and suffering without experience." Lenore spoke confidently with her arms crossed.
Harona frowned, "I still do not like it. We have to pick between two corrupt systems?"
Remus nodded, "Very much so. There is always corruption, because there will always be people that want to maintain their position above others, or gain further power. That is the world, and we all have a place within it to change it, even Jolon and Anton. We were all born into the world of politics, and that is a strange world for people like Saena. She is just a common woman, and I suppose Santh as well... to some degree."
Santh frowned, but said nothing as he stood beside Lenore. He looked more like her personal guard than anything else.
"Saena." Jolon called out the girl's name when she came into view, which ended the conversation that was happening around them.
The small woman approached with a frown on her lips. "The professor said I passed by only ten points, but the student professor said I failed by eight. He didn't even look it over, and just tossed a failing grade upon it as soon as I informed him of my party."
Routine, who had been quiet through all this and was sitting on the stairs leading up to the dorm, stood up and went inside. He was obviously disappointed to those who knew him well enough, mainly Lenore.
Saena looked at the feast on the table, "Did you do this for me?"
Jolon, Harona, and Anton nodded their heads. "Remus loaned us some money as well."
She held back her tears, "I am sorry to have wasted your effort."
Everyone stepped forward to pat her back and cheer her up with words of comfort, except for Lenore and Santh.
Lenore looked over at the Mondue, who looked fierce and leaned forward. "I'll play politician, if you play soldier."
He gave a firm nod, and the two slowly made their way out of the dorm's court without being noticed by the rest.
"We can try again next year, Saena." Jolon had his arm around her shoulders. "That student professor will be onto other tasks by then."
She shook her head, "No, I have learned my lesson. I can not leave my place in this world. You may be able to as they have to allow you in, but they will never tolerate me."
Everyone lowered their heads and fell silent, before no matter how much they wished to deny it, they knew her words were true.
"Where did Santh and Lenore go?" Ophelia asked.
Remus sighed audibly, "Even at a time like this, those two sneak away to be alone."
Saena chuckled, "Leave them be. Let's eat my consolation meal."
---***---
Remus found Ophelia sitting in the room she would share with Lenore. Laying on the bottom bunk, she had a plate full of food from the gathering downstairs and a cup of mead in her hand. She had sneaked away while everyone was consoling Saena.
"I brought you another cup." Remus walked into the room and set the mead on the floor next to her bed. The room smelled of fresh cut wood, but also a lingering scent of butter cream that seemed to inform the world that this room belonged to the Princess. "What did Routine say?"
"He seemed agreeable. He said he had to ask his parents' permission. What of Lenore?" Ophelia asked as she popped a piece of meat into her mouth from a kabob. She chewed it slowly as if she wasn't hungry and instead forcing herself to eat.
Remus sat down on the edge of the bed and shook his head. "She had a far simpler solution as she put it. You marry Santh and I marry her, and then she and I move near the fortress."
"Oh, that would be less convoluted." Ophelia grinned briefly, though after a moment the plan seemed to come to her in it's entirety. "Should we speak to Santh then? How would I tell Routine that the plan has changed? He would be upset. His troubles over picking a bride have once again almost come to an end."
He shook his head once more as he laid his hand on her knee. "The Princess would not agree to the ruse. It seems she possesses a degree of honor that we do not when it come to our relationship."
With a look of disappointment, Ophelia leaned deeper into the pillow behind her. "If not Lenore, then who?"
Remus look undeterred with a casual shrug, "We will locate someone in a similar position as us. It occurs quite frequently."
Ophelia licked her bottom lip, "What if this does not work, Remus? What if we are caught? What if we never find someone? What if I become with child during our time here together? Who would want to raise their husband's mistress' child?"
An amused look ran across his lips and he stroked her leg gently. "Those are all bridges we have yet to foresee on the horizon. Let us try walking this one first before we worry about the next."
She nodded her head. "Is Saena doing well? I wanted to comfort her, but I needed some space to myself. Routine... it was strange speaking to him so nonchalantly about marriage and children. I always thought that would be a conversation I would have with a man that held my heart."
"Did he offend you?" Remus couldn't imagine Routine saying anything inappropriate. The man only seemed to tolerate Lenore's affection, and that was the most intimate relationship that he had with another human.
"No." She picked up a grape from her plate and popped it into her mouth. "It was more or less a dry conversation. He listened to all the details, and informed me that he would discuss it with his parents. He even looked slightly pleased when I informed him that his child would sit as the head of the fortress."
"Routine may not show much interest in other people, but he understands what it means to have progeny. To have the Romanus' family name change to the Nicoletti name would be a great boon to his family."
Ophelia's eyes widened, "He believes that the child will take his name? Romanus name must be passed down, even my own father took the Romanus name when he married into the fortress."
Remus chuckled, "Let him believe such things for now. He can be disappointed later, but if you explain the tradition to him, Routine will not argue against it. He will be pleased enough to have his heir in the fortress and knowing that his blood has joined your family's great lineage."
---***---
"His name is Marius Decoste." A student professor informed Lenore and Santh as they stood outside the great hall. "He was still inside as I was leaving."
Lenore nodded her head, "You are certain that this is the man that graded the servant girl's entry exam?"
He nodded his head with the blue hood covering most of his face and the robe falling to his feet. "He was informing everyone in jest over his deeds today, milady."
Santh stood behind Lenore as would-be students slowly filtered out of the great hall and passed them to their carriages that awaited outside the hamlet. The two had just approached when this student professor exited the hall. He sounded nervous when he was approached but seemed to calm himself when he realized that Lenore was not looking for him.
"How much longer before he finishes his task?" She asked.
The student professor shrugged his shoulders. "He only had two or three more students assigned to him, after which he should return to his dorm."
"What is his guild?"
"Royal, milady."
Lenore waved the man away and looked over at Santh. "I do hope this doesn't become physical, as it could only be myself doing any of the damage."
"You expect me, a Mondue, to stand aside and allow my woman to fight another man, while I watch on?" Santh sounded offended as they both moved to the side of the white path to sit on a marble bench.
"If you harmed a Royal, you would be removed from the school." Lenore reminded him. "It is best to follow my lead. Unless I seem to be in desperate trouble, then you may step in to protect the Princess. That would most assuredly make you a hero in everyone's eyes, including Lesatan's."
The two waited for some time and every student professor that exited the build was asked their name. It took nearly an hour, but finally a blue robed young man exited with a grin on his lips.
"Marius Decoste?" Lenore asked as she walked over to him from the bench.
"Of course, complaining about your points?" He asked before he looked over at the woman who was approaching him. "Ah, Princess Lenore." He bowed his head. "What do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"
"You were not far from the truth." Lenore crossed her arms as did Santh who was standing behind her. "Your actions today were not that fitting of an Apisarn Professor who seeks fairness, but one of a child who forgets in a very short amount of time, he will have no say in the Royal Guild whatsoever. You lose all guild status, remember? You become a teacher for all."
"Save me your lectures, Princess, and speak plainly." Marius sounded aggitated.
"That servant girl that you did not even bother to look over her exam, do you remember her?" She watched him nod. "She is a very dear friend of mine."
Marius swallowed but seemed willing to hold his ground. "We do not need that sort of rubbish in our school unless they are here to clean up other rubbish."
"Hmm, I believe you have had a change of heart, and that you will go back inside that building. You will locate her exam, and you will judge it fairly." Lenore spoke calmly, and Santh was slightly impressed that she was acting like a woman of character.
Marius laughed, "Will I?"
"You will or I will turn away as my Mondue guard ensures that you can never hold a position of power again due to your hideous nature... and you inability to create children." She raised an eyebrow. "When asked what happened, I will inform them that you attempted to attack me and my Mondue stepped in to protect me."
"The Prince will hear of this!" Marius snapped.
"Yes, I am certain he will. The only choice you have right now is whether you will be explaining this conversation to him with or without limbs." She grinned.
The man thought it over for a moment, before turning back around to head back inside the large building.
Lenore chuckled and looked at Santh, who was still frowning. He would not be pleased until the student professor returned with the results.
---***---
The carriage pulled up in front of the Royal Dorm. Most students would return two or three days before, but anyone in the student council appeared a week before the first day of the new year. There would be hours of meetings to finalize events for new students, and vote on projects that were placed on hold until the next year.
Lesatan sat in the carriage and frown at the empty seat in front of him. Piera was meant to join him on his journey to the school, but her mother was not feeling well and she returned home though she had spent most of the break at the castle with him.
The door to his carriage was opened, but to his surprise it was not his driver. Damek stood aside to allow him to step out, and Lesatan could see the slight grin on his cousin's lips.
"What is it, Damek?" He knew his cousin enjoyed appearing before him to bring him bad news. It seemed to be the only entertainment he had in his life.
"I have terrible news, milord." He motioned with his hands toward the dorm as the carriage driver pulled the Prince's luggage down.
With a sigh, Lesatan lead Damek to his study. The room smelled musty as if the windows had not been opened all season long. As he walked over to the window, Damek was quick to rush before him.
"Allow me." He opened the window and began to open the other four as Lesatan sat down behind his desk.
Once Damek was done, he hurried to sit in the chair in front of the desk where he folded his hands on his lap. The grin remained on his face.
"What is the news?" Lesatan asked as he looked over scrolls of paper on his desk that he had long forgotten were his to worry about. A break filled with dancing, parties, and evenings with Piera had taken away his troubles.
"Your sister, milord. She stayed behind this break." Damek began.
"She never returned home. What of it?"
Damek was beginning to seem almost giddy. "Milord, she rebuilt South Dorm without the direct permission of the student council. Therefore, it is an illegal building and must be torn down."
Lesatan looked up from the scrolls on his desk. "She rebuilt an entire dorm?"
"Yes, and from what I have seen it is much larger and far more grand than commoner's will ever need. Not to mention, that without Souchan paperwork to verify that you approved this building, it will show the school that she acted without your blessing and everyone will believe the Princess hold power over you." Damek watched as a vein in Lesatan's forehead began to grow bright in color.
"Just when I believe I have settled the dragon, it destroys an entire village!" Lesatan slammed his hand on his desk, and looked up to Damek. "Draft orders to have that damnable thing torn down, immediately!"
Damek bowed his head, but remained seated and took a deep breath before speaking. "If I could, milord. I believe I know a way to 'put the dragon to sleep' as you say, and end this embarrassment that is Lenore's behavior once and for all."
Something deep within Lesatan told him that this was Damek's plan all along, but the prize of ending Lenore's outrageous behavior was too much. "What plan is that?"
Damek's grin widened as he scooted forward in his chair. "This is guaranteed to ensure Lenore's compliance."
---***---
Anton was sitting on the ground against a tree as his friends ate their meal at the table and bench. Saena tried to look undeterred, but he seriously doubted she would try taking the entry exam again. Harona and Jolon told jokes and attempted to encourage her, while Authin sat next to her and watched the scene unfold before him.
He felt sorry for Saena as he knew how hard she had tried. It had been difficult to enter the school for him and Jolon as well, but their parents were in positions high enough that their tests were fairly graded. As low as he thought he was, he now understood that there were those in positions far beneath his own. The unfairness of the world that he lived through would be joyous occasions to someone like Saena.
A movement from the dirt path caused him to turn his attention to the couple walking toward them. Santh and Lenore had returned from where ever it was they had disappeared.
"The lovebirds return." Jolon teased. "Mead?"
Lenore shook her head and seemed to notice that Remus and Ophelia had also disappeared. "Where is everyone?"
"Routine is pouting in his room, and Ophelia and Remus ran away together, I assume." Authin informed her.
Saena smiled up at the Princess as best she could in order to stop everyone from pitying her. Suddenly, Lenore held out a rolled up scroll to the girl.
Looking at it, she took it from her and unrolled it. Santh stood behind Lenore and placed his hand on her shoulder. His heart warming up further as he watched Saena's false smile slowly turn real.
"You passed." Lenore finally announced when everyone else seemed to be holding their breath in wonder of what the scroll contained.
A tear escaped Saena's eye. "How did you..."
"I spoke to the student professor about fairness and not judging others, and when that failed, I threatened to have Santh rip his arms off." Lenore's words sounded as if she was joking, but something about the way she and Santh looked at each told everyone that it was the truth.
The group laughed together as Saena stood up and wrapped her arms around Lenore's neck. "Thank you."
"My pleasure." Lenore patted her back as Saena detached from her and gave Santh a hug around his chest as he was too tall to hug around the shoulders.
"Ophelia!" Saena realized and looked at Lenore. "I have to tell Ophelia. She seemed rather upset! I'll return!" She ran up the stairs and into the dorm.
Harona chuckled, "I cannot believe that you managed to get her grade changed. Can you?" She turned to Jolon who was sitting there was a empty stare in his eyes. "Jolon?"
"Jolon?" Lenore put her hand on his shoulder and that jerked him out of his reverie. "Are you alright?"
"I... am." Jolon stood from the bench, "I just... I can barely believe that you two would do some thing like this for a servant girl. It goes against the very foundation that I grew upon all my life."
Lenore waved her hand and seemed to ignore his comment. "Come, let's return this party to its natural state, and celebrate!"
Anton watched as the conversation changed and the laughter began. He remembered in those moments his father's words. They told him how everyone above him would use him and then toss him away when they were finished. He was not meant to gain any form of relationship with these people, but he wondered if it was alright for a little. Even if it cannot remain forever, it can be memories of the past that bring smiles to his lips in the future.
If it was untrue that they all could be friends then what use was it to bring Saena into this school. Someone like her could never be accepted unless such acceptance started somewhere. Anton looked at his friends, and thought to himself that South Dorm could be that place and these people that reason.
Standing up, he made his way over to the table where he sat down. He was going to make memories with these people, and he was going to call them his friends. No matter how such friendships ended.