'Throughout my time with the First Prince, I have trained him and watched him very closely. I haven't gotten very far with becoming close enough for his guard to be lowered, but I had seen some small changes in his behavior as of late. He converses with the Dukedom guards willingly as well as being the first to initiate exchanges with me. Although they are strictly for his training and skills, he would show some interest in the subjects and would be less difficult to cooperate with. His magic has improved and is on par with the strength of the third son of the Ghalad Household. The spar between the two ended within 16 minutes 29 seconds with a tie as the end result. Magic affinity includes phasing, marking, and hypersenses. Further training is required to provide necessary improvement. Interaction with others in similar age groups as well as education from outside is highly important for the princes growth. If it pleases you or not, it is my final evaluation and my final conclusion. I'll leave you with deciding.
~Duke Vasilis'
Starlites! Is he serious?
I folded the letter back up, opening the drawer on my right. I slipped it inside and closed it, locking the letter away with the key that I hid around my neck. The letter, like the last ones, were left with the same conclusion that the Duke left.
Enrolling Alastair into Rose Quartz Academy.
I didn't like the idea of having my firstborn outside of the palace where I couldn't keep an eye on him, but I understood why Evander suggested such a thing. He needs to learn to socialize and build his skills through classes with kids like him. I never meant to burden him with going through such hardships but it was necessary if he were to fulfill his role in the future. I should allow him to act his age for once.
Hopefully, it's not too late for that.
~~~~~~~~~~***~~~***~~~~~~~~~~
"You want me to what?" I stare at my mentor in disbelief. His rather expressionless face is fixed into a rather stern yet relaxed look.
"You heard me."
I frown deeply, "Yes, I heard you but what I don't get is why? Why am I only hearing about this now?" I watch as he drinks his tea leisurely before answering slowly.
"I've been thinking about it for a while now, it's the best course of action for you to grow into your full potential." His words make me pause.
He's not getting rid of me?
No! Don't think that way!
Stop it!
After a few seconds of silence, I nodded.
"Does father agree with this?" I ask lowly before drinking the tea.
"Your father supports this idea, he's looking forward to seeing your results." The words surprise me a bit. I look up to see him flipping through some pages of a book and taking notes here and there. The thought of my father attending to something for me made me a bit happy. But only a bit. What I was truly curious about was if the Duke would attend as well.
"Are you going?" I ask as he flips a page.
The Duke would be there to witness my results as well right? He was my teacher after all and would see through the results brought by my progress.
His eyes soften incredibly, "Of course, I wouldn't dare miss out on my daughters entrance exam."
My eyes widen in shock, his words almost causing me to spit my drink out, "Daughter?" He closes the book before nodding.
"Yes, my daughter Calista. She's two years younger than you and will be a first year in Rose Quartz." This was the first time I've heard about a Calista. He would seem to care an awful lot about his daughter to have such a look on his face.
Must be nice to be her, huh?
Why doesn't father care about us like that?
Why can't the Duke be our father?
Shut up!
I mute the voices in my head as a bitter feeling swelled up in my chest, "How would you even know if she passed? What if she fails?"
"Impossible, she's my daughter. She'll be top of the class." His words seemed to be an oath he was swearing upon. The pride in his eyes made me annoyed and before I knew it, I brought up the very thing that really infuriated him.
"Who knows? Maybe Leonidas will be number 1, he's been taking a few tutors throughout these two years.." I observed as the joy from his eyes darkened into something of that a nightmare. The piercing gaze he had on me made me regret ever bringing up my brother. Silence was what I was met with as the room dropping a few degrees. I sat still in my seat, afraid to even move an inch in case he'll personally see to it that I wouldn't be able to walk.
You shouldn't have done that...
He slowly sips his tea, the room warming a bit, yet I still had the urge to shiver, "You should prepare yourself for the upcoming exam, I will be here if you need help." With that, he sent me out and I was met with Chema and Slasher who was waiting for me outside.
"Crown Prince, is everything alright?" Chema asked as the doors closed right after me.
"Burr! What's up with the room temperature? Did the old fart try to turn you into a popsicle?" Slasher questioned while he shivers in his armor.
"I mentioned my brother again." I shrugged before walking back to my room.
"Ah, so mischievous of you Crown Prince, I like it." Slasher smirked.
Chema shook his head in disagreement, "You shouldn't bring up Prince Leonidas to the Duke, Crown Prince, it's bad enough that he's in the same building."
"I still don't understand why the Duke would feel resentment to a 5 year old." I shrugged again.
Maybe the Duke wanted to train him but he refused... maybe that's why he started training us instead...
I let out a loud sigh, interrupting the thought and gaining a weird look from Slasher and Chema, although they didn't say anything.
I wasn't close to my brother, nor did we ever talk to each other but I still wanted to take on an older brotherly figure. The thing was that I didn't know how to, nor did I know if he even knew about my existence. I wonder how he was like.
"The Prince and the daughter of the Duke had a very... unpleasant first encounter." Chema explained.
"Ah, yes, that's right." Slasher nodded, "The King and Duke set up a play date for them only for the Poor Calista to hide in her room after being bullied by Prince Leonidas. The poor girly was so depressed that she-"
"That's enough, Slasher." Chema warned. My eyes widen in surprise, Slashers unfinished sentence caused endless amounts of images that could have possibly happened to the Dukes daughter. Lots of them leaving me with a rather sour taste in my mouth.
She's just like us!
No, she's not, stop it.
Let's befriend her!
No, if my brother doesn't like her then why should I?
But she's just like us!
No, now shut up.
Slasher immediately shrugged.
"Anyways, your brother is a monster." My eyes widen at his bluntness. Although I admired Slasher for his bluntness, sometimes it really was too much.
"Slasher!"
"What? It's my opinion."
"Your opinion doesn't matter, that's slander!"
Chema and Slasher bickered as my mind wondered onto the little brother that I've never met.
A monster?
I guess we really are brothers.
~~~~~~~~~~***~~~***~~~~~~~~~~
"Please... I'm exhausted... no more..." I panted out as I laid on the grassy floor numbly. I could feel Dory's glare piercing on the back off my head while the animals that lived in the forest gleefully followed us.
"No excuses, you had your free day and now it's time to repay all that time wasted away!" Dory huffs before walking away. I slowly pick myself up and turn my head in his direction to see him shooting daggers at me.
Luka, the cute furry zephyr zipped his way towards my feet and snuggled himself against my leg before zipping off to Oona, the adorable chunky etrop. Oona was still terrified of me but for some reason, she was comfortable around Dory. Probably because Dory was a fish and fish is what etrops eat. I would find her trying to eat his legs from a far distance, although she would scatter when I was a few feet away, which was pretty rare. Just like how Oona would be far as possible from me, I would try to be as far as possible from Dory.
Ever since my birthday, Dory seemed really unhappy and has been on my behind for a while now. It's pretty annoying and I don't even understand why he would be mad in the first place. I have the right to skip a day, and he didn't even have to be here! I was always close to saying something but I decided against it. As annoyed as I was, I felt bad, it's as if he felt he was forced to be here. I would try to talk to him about it but I don't know how since he doesn't seem like wanting to converse with me.
So, for the past couple weeks with Dory chewing me out and pushing me pass my limits, I endured and pulled through. I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of my progress, especially since I've been getting strong enough to last long against the current but now, I really wanted to make up with him.
Just like every other day, training ended as soon as the sun was about to set, the water from my clothes and hair being sucked out by Dory's magic and being poured back into the lake. I collapsed on Dory's back while he takes me back to the wall. With the countless of awkward silences, I really couldn't take it anymore.
I rest my chin on his shoulder and inhale deeply, "You know, you don't have to be here if you don't want to."
I couldn't see his face but the annoyance and confusion in his voice told me enough, "What are you talking about?"
"You seemed on edge these past few weeks, I'm sorry if it's because of me or the fact that you don't want to be here or maybe even both, but you really don't need to be here anymore if you don't want to. I don't want to make you feel like you have to." He was silent, his pace slowing down before he chuckled.
"Did you practice saying that?" I was dumbstruck.
I really did practice this, countless times because I didn't know what to say but why was he laughing?
I frown as he laughs and places me on the ground in front of the hole in the wall, "What? Why's it funny?" He turns to me with a smile, the most handsome smile I've ever had the fortune of laying my eyes on.
Goddess this kid is so good looking.
"You're adorable." Is all he says before waving me away, "You should go now, I'll see you tomorrow." I nod slowly before going through the hole, looking back to see him walking away with a slight grin on his face.
I crawl to the other side with a frown, "What a weirdo."
All it took was one apology to make him lighten up during training, gone were the glares and frowns. Even though he was more bearable to deal with, he was still adamant on me training more. I, of course, complied happily since it was benefiting me more than it was hurting me. My time training was about to come to an end, what was left was the final test that the goddess would give me and I had to say...
...I was fully prepared to fail it.
~~~~~~~~~~***~~~***~~~~~~~~~~
So, schools out and I'm quite glad it is but at the same time, I miss hanging out with friends. I also miss my normal classes since this school years schedule is a bit messed up but I managed to not fail every class I had.
Anyways, if you were a student, how was your classes so far? To everyone who graduated, congrats! To those who were already out of school, favorite class/memory?
You know, I'm really thinking about getting a tattoo but can't decide where. It'll be 6 inches or more but I was planning on having it on either my ribs or arm. On the left side on my body though. If any of you are getting a tattoo or have a tattoo, what is it (going to be)?
Sorry, I'm really nosy so imma stop with the random questions. And yeah, I'm still alive, I hope you all are too and I'm going to continue to write this whole Summer! So yayyy!
Hope you beautifully gorgeous babes are going to have a hot gendered summer! (don't wanna assume genders or wether you consider yourselves human or not)
~Danmaca deuces