Students come from around the world to attend four specialized and prestigious schools - The Kings' Alliance Royal Academies. They are the future of royalty, defense, magic, and the arts.
But everything is not as it seems. Rumours circulate about e...
Oups ! Cette image n'est pas conforme à nos directives de contenu. Afin de continuer la publication, veuillez la retirer ou télécharger une autre image.
Lord Dren D'Avanzo of The Kingdom of Albania Magic Academy, year three - 17
Thiana Eshan of The Kingdom of Albania Arts Academy, year three - 17 ✧❈✧
The day was dark, when she buried them. Her parents were laid to rest in a small Albanian cemetery with small headstones to mark the graves.
She was named after her mother, Thiana, and had her same golden hair. But her father's blue-grey eyes would be her last memory of him.
Were it not for his sister, that is. It was this sister that she went to go live with, dressed in drab colours as she walked solemn streets in the drizzling rain.
When she arrived at her aunt's tavern, she checked the name in the letter twice, just to be sure. This dark place hardly looked like a reputable establishment. Her gut twisted at the realization that there was blood on the sign.
The door creaked open when she pushed it, and she stepped inside to the less-than-welcoming smell of smoke. Going towards the back, she could see the kitchen, and the short haired woman she'd never met.
"Auntie Drita?"
The woman looked around the corner with a cigarette hanging from her lips. "You must be the brat. Huh. Too much of your mother in you, by the looks of ya. Come on then, if you're going to stay here you don't get a free ride." Shoving a mop and bucket into her hands, the woman shook her head. "You ought to have been married already. Go on then, get to work. Keep your head down, do as you're told, no questions, and don't interrupt. Got it?"
"Y-yes, ma'am." She was turned away and sent off to clean, and did so freely until customers arrived.
The men that walked in looked murderous, and she finished mopping the room in a hurry. All but one of the men refused drinks, and none of them spoke after that.
Out of the silence, one nodded. "You play?"
Thiana looked up and saw that he was gesturing to an old piano in the corner. "A little."
"Then play."
She hurried over to the old instrument and prayed it wasn't too out of tune. Fortunately its sound was passable, and she played classic sounding melodies.
A panic was starting to rise up inside her as she was running out of things to play, when more men walked in.
"Thiana! Come!"
Relieved - and yet still terrified - she hurried to the kitchen.
"These are regulars. Bring them their drinks." Waving a finger at her she added, "And don't spill one drop."
"Yes Aunt Drita." Very carefully, she opened the kitchen door and walked out with a tray. Facing this direction was a particularly handsome young man, probably about her age.
Probably murderous as the rest, she reminded herself, going about the task of delivering drinks without spilling.
✧❈✧
"This is an important day, boy and I hope you realize it."
Here he goes again, Dren thought with a quiet sigh.
His uncle was nodding. "This is the first time that the D'Avanzos and the Kastratis have met since before you were born. We have agreements to come to today. Keep quiet and everything might go according to plan."
"Ah yes, I'm hoping that's the plan where we all live," he chimed in.
"Mob meetings are nothing to be joked about boy," the man said sternly. "But yes, that is the plan everyone's hoping for. This is it. Stop here, driver."
Dren looked out at the dark facade of the tavern, just minutes away from the border of their two rival mobs. As they got out, he half expected to see snipers in the upper windows.
They walked in silently, and he noted that the place seemed cleaner than he remembered from last time. (The tavern was on their home ground.)
Uncle D'Avanzo waved his hand to call over their drinks, and sat down at a table across from the Kastratis. Everyone was tense as he and the Kastrati boss started whispering.
This went on for a while, but he did note that the barmaid was pretty. He'd heard piano music from outside, and he wondered if she'd been the one playing. She had very graceful hands, not used to hard labor. He was glad for her, life was too-
He along with everyone else gasped when the girl was tripped, covering his uncle in frothy alcohol.
He'd seen the Kastrati man who purposefully did it, and glared daggers at him while the rest of his family watched to see what their boss would do.
The poor girl was on her knees scooping up the broken glass, visibly trembling. She looked afraid for her life.
His uncle then got up, took a fork and stood in front of the Kastrati man who'd tripped her. Without a word, he stabbed the man in the shoulder and sat back down.
They knew the D'Avanzo way - punish those who deserve it, not just anyone. Knowing it was deserved, not one Kastrati moved as the man shrieked and cursed.
While the injured - and slightly inebriated - man stumbled to the door, the girl finished raking up the glass. She looked up, her big blue eyes desperately afraid as she silently pleaded with his uncle. The man waved his hand and winked.
Relieved but still trembling, she rushed to the back to discard the glass.
Seeing how shaken she was, Dren excused himself to go find her. He caught her just as she was coming back from the kitchens.
He reached out for her hand. "I am so sorry for what happened, miss. That was cruel of that man to do something like that."
The girl's eyes were wide. "I... I'm just sorry someone got hurt."
Dren cringed. "Yes, my uncle isn't quick to forgive the undeserving." Seeing her fear, he knew this pretty thing needed to get away from this place. "Are you taken care of here? Are they good to you?" he asked in a hushed voice.
The fear in her eyes turned to sadness. "I've only just arrived. I know little of my aunt, but I... I don't think she would be cruel to me."
Images of a drunken woman going after her with pots and knives crossed his mind. "If she is the owner, then she knows the D'Avanzos. Tell her she'll have to answer to us if any harm should come to you."
The pretty girl nodded though she looked confused. "I- Yes sir..."
