BLUE BLOOD

1 | the academy and helen

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"The smallest coffins are the heaviest."

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"Would you like a tour of the academy, Ms. Du Sang?"

My gaze focused on the Dean. He had been filling in the paper work for me, signing the thick papers embroidered with the seal of the school, for the last hour. When I signed my name with his fountain pen, I knew it was official.

I was enrolled in Queens Academy.

When I didn't answer him, the Dean hastily added, "Your father thought it would be a good idea for you to warm up to the school."

My lips curved to a cold smile. "Then I suppose you didn't have to ask."

The Dean knew better than to answer and gestured to the doors of his grand office. Though my expression was clearly impassive, I was internally burning with fury. Of course he did. Father wanted to make sure I wouldn't change my mind. He had been wanting me to go to this school since I was born.

Of course, Queens Academy did not hesitate to bend some rules for my father. He was a Du Sang, and everyone who was someone knew the Du Sangs. The irony laid in the fact that no one but a select few really understood the Du Sangs for who they were.

Who I was.

"This is the main hall," said the Dean as we walked down an elevated hall. "The stairs lead up to the student cadre houses. There are different towers for different cadres."

The academy had thick banners draping down the tall ceiling wherever we wandered. My heels tapped against the smooth obsidian floors covered with sage green carpet. Light spilled from the large glass windows framed with dark wood.

"The student cadre houses?" I glanced at him, hiding my confusion. "Are those dormitories?"

"I apologize. I forgot that you have never attended the place." The Dean smiled wryly. "You hold yourself like every other student here."

I had no idea if I should be offended by that.

"Student cadre houses are more of a second home for students. When your schedule doesn't have a course booked at the moment, you can choose to rest at your house with your student cadre."

"Could you elaborate on student cadres?" I was intrigued by their system.

"Think of them like your group or sorority." I thought of Hogwarts. "We have twenty of them. For example, we have cadre VI that tends to stay in the technology lab, cadre XX filled with year one students, or cadre I that dominates student council."

"How do I know what cadre I'm in?"

"You get invited by the head of each cadre," the Dean shrugged. He glanced over me as if he knew something I didn't. "Though I really wouldn't worry about not getting invited. If I were you, I would worry about which cadre I would choose. "

I wanted to know his personal thoughts. "What cadre do you recommend me choose?"

A slight flash of surprise passed his face. "In my opinion?" I nodded. "Oh, well, I would choose a cadre higher than five."

"Why?" I asked even though I had already guessed his answer.

"The top cadres tend to be... exclusive." The Dean said carefully. "Only certain people get invited."

In other words, there was a social hierarchy in this school.

Of course there was. This was a school of the wealthy and powerful. It was a given for there to be competition for the most wealthy. The most popular. The most pretty.