Royal Academy Diaries I

Fire & Ice ⚜ Ch. 3

The first time he saw her, he couldn't help but stare. She'd gotten even more beautiful over the summer.

"Ivan!" She ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I've missed you! Why did you only write once? It took Estella and I a full day to try to work out your cryptic messages."

"You must have been overthinking it, Liliya," he replied simply, and continued walking. His heart ached at having to be so cold to her, but she had to stay away. It was the only way.

"What's that supposed to mean," she asked, keeping up with his quick pace.

"If I really had put some kind of cryptic message in my letter, it would take even someone of your intelligence all year to decipher it."

"Are you saying there is a cypher in it?" she pressed.

He stopped in front of his next class and turned to her. "No. There is no cypher in the letter. Now if you would excuse me, my lady."

She was left standing in the hall, confused, annoyed, and a little offended.

Ivan sat in the back of the class, loathing his situation entirely.

He dreaded his next class, which would switch every other day between two professors, one teaching speech and eloquence, and the other teaching basic music and dance. He dreaded this almost as much as Liliya's firey temper.

When the bell rang, he went thought the (fortunately) familiar halls of the Royal Academy, and walked in to the downstairs room. He was a bit disappointed to see all the chairs lined up around the perimeter.

He was more disappointed to see the beautiful girl he was betrothed to glaring at him pointedly.

Oh no... "You have this class at the same time?"

Her tone was patronizing. "Yes, I'm a second year too, remember? Although you might not after this summer. Where have you been?"

Just then the professor walked in. "Boys to the left, girls to the right please."

Ivan sat down and set aside his things, wishing the earth would open up beneath him. He tried to keep his emotion down, because that made things worse. The absolute last thing he wanted was an episode in class.

"Come in, come in, quickly now children," the professor hurried as the bell rang. "Come have a seat and welcome to Basic Music and Dance. Tomorrow you will meet your other professor, but for today, you're mine. I am Professor Tatyana of Tuvan. Hello, hello. Now, we're going to jump right into things. Gentlemen, please choose a partner."

Ivan knew if he chose someone else, he'd have bigger problems than a curse to deal with. And so he stood and offered his hand to Liliya.

"Oh so you won't talk to me, but you'll dance with me?" she asked with a raised brow.

He half shrugged, and she sighed as she stood.

"Now gentlemen, show me your best waltz position," Professor Tatyana instructed.

Ivan took it naturally, putting a hand on her waist and holding her right hand in his left.

"Why are you snubbing me?" Liliya whispered.

"Who said that I was?" he asked.

"Now, begin a circular waltz, mostly in place to keep from bumping into each other."

"I did," Liliya replied. "What is going on with you?"

"Can't we just dance?" he suggested quietly.

"Come now Ivan, you can't have changed this much." She thought for a moment. "Is your favourite colour still maroon?"

Maroon was rather close to crimson - too close to the colour of blood. "No. I've also decided my least favourite colour is silver."

"Alright then..." she responded, confused. "Tell me, where have you been?"

He replied simply, "Home."

Liliya pursed her lips. "Yes, I figured that much. But why? You aren't sick, are you?"

Hesitating, he whispered, "If I said yes?"

Her eyes widened, and her gentle heart manifested itself. "No, are you? Goodness Ivan, why didn't you say something? Have you seen proper physicians?"

"They've tried everything," he lied. "I'm not myself anymore, and I don't know if I'll ever be cured."

Her hazel eyes met his. "What do you need?"

His heart broke as he said, "Space. It's the only way. I can't bear to hurt you with what I've become."

The girl's brow furrowed, and she finally sighed. "If that's what you need."

Unable to stop himself, he rested his cheek against her hair. "I'm sorry."