It was still afternoon as Ray sat on the ground staring at the sky. I wonder what the world looks like to birds. He thought as he spotted a bird high in the sky.

  Iuna’s voice soared throughout the grounds as she scolded the apprentices under her, all of them still doing a handstand. Maximus and Brant were answering the questions the apprentices had.

  “Ray!” Lysa called out from the entrance to the academy. “Julia told me you liked books.” Then, pointing to the right side of the building, she continued, “The library’s over there.”

  Ray shot to his feet and strode toward the library with a smile that reached his ears.

  Mei Zhi scoffed. “He looks happy.” Sighing, she glanced at Brant. If he tries to question me about it, I’ll have to kill him.

  Ray stood before the library’s door. Nice. He thought as he opened the door, revealing a large room full of books on both sides. “It’s smaller than the one on the Korax estate, but of course, people don’t read much, anyway.” He muttered, glancing at the few apprentices inside — so few he could count them on his hands. Stretching, he continued, “Doesn’t matter, I hope I find something I haven’t read.”

  He walked through the door of the dimly lit library that smelled of wood and paper. The lamp’s light reflected off his blonde hair while he walked over a chessboard - like floor. The apprentices already inside paid him no mind as he scanned through the shelves.

  Elaira and the group sat on the edge of the ground near the gates. Cassandra swung her sword while Aidan, Victor and Jon sparred. Elaira stared at her daggers as if waiting for them to talk to her, while Sera looked around at all the apprentices doing their own thing, everyone except the ones under Iuna.

  The sun high in the sky began its graceful descent as winds carried the scent of distant lilies. Sera frowned. “Where did Ray and Vivian go?”

  Elaira, still staring at her daggers, replied, “Listen here, they’re probably doing their own thing.”

  Cassandra stabbed her sword into the ground and said, “Oh yeah, didn’t you guys see the move Vivian used while fighting Lysa?”

  Sera nodded. “I did. It looked like an afterimage.” Elaira then said. “She’s pretty fast, faster than Ray even. I wonder who would win between them.”

  Jon jumped in and said, “Of course my Vivian will win.”

  Sera and Elaira stared at him blankly while Cassandra chuckled. Aidan, wiping his sweat off, said, “Did you just say ‘my Vivian’? Are you an idiot?”

  Jon glared at him and then smirked. “I guess you want the princess to know, huh?”

  Aidan immediately jumped at him, and they started wrestling each other. Victor struggled as he tried to break Aidan and Jon apart.

  Cassandra suddenly gasped, which grabbed everyone’s attention, and said, “Sera! What about Ray?”

  Sera tilted her head and replied, “What about him?” Cassandra’s face dropped as she continued, “Did you forget already? Similar hair and eyes?”

  Sera smirked. “No, I didn’t. Let’s go.” Elaira, sheathing her daggers, asked, “Listen here, Sera. What are you going to do?” Sera tried to speak, but Aidan and Jon crashed into her. She punched both of them into the ground and then replied to Elaira. “Talk.”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Jon and Aidan groaned, covered in dirt, while Victor took a deep breath.

  Elaira scoffed. “You think he’s just going to tell you?” Sera shook her head. “Of course not. I’m going to try anyway.”

  Cassandra interrupted and said, “He will not talk about it. So let us investigate it without telling him.”

  Victor helped Aidan and Jon up as they wiped the dirt off their clothes.

  Aidan lashed out. “Sera! My clothes are all dirty because of you,” Sera raised her fist. “Want me to tear them apart?”

  Aidan backed up. “N-no?”

  Elaira crossed her arms and said, “But how are we going to investigate?” Cassandra shook her head while Sera scratched her chin and then blinked. “How about we check the library? There must be something important regarding the royal lineage.” Elaira stared blankly at her for a moment and said, “I can’t read. And you aren’t that much better than me.”

  Cassandra tilted her head and asked, “You can’t read? Why not?” Elaira replied, shrugging her shoulders, “I never tried learning because it’s not exciting.” Sera patted both their backs and said, “Cassandra will read for us. Let’s go.” And pushed them toward the library.

  She turned around toward Jon and Aidan. “Don’t do something stupid.” And they continued forward.

  Maximus called out to them, his voice carrying over the wind, “Come to me, brats.”

  Sera, Elaira and Cassandra sighed. Maximus shattered their dreams of investigating. Aidan, Jon and Victor quickly stood in front of him.

  As the apprentices under him gathered around him, he said, “We’ll go hunting tomorrow.” He glanced over them and continued, “Choose your leader.”

  Everybody looked over at Cassandra, and Maximus tossed her a bronze plaque with his name engraved on it. “All of you go down into Teqa now and buy supplies for tomorrow.”

  Cassandra raised her hand and asked, “How will we pay for it?”

  After a moment of silence. “Figure it out,” he replied and walked away.

  The apprentices glanced at each other and murmured among themselves. Jon frowned and said, “What does he mean, figure it out? How are we going to pay for the supplies? Don’t tell me wants us to work in the town.”

  “Why are you acting like you’ve never worked before?” Sera asked, glancing at the bronze plaque in Cassandra’s hands.

  “Becaus—”

  “Listen here, stop complaining and let’s go.” Elaira interrupted and started walking toward the gate. Cassandra agreed with her and led the apprentices to the back gates.

  Footsteps and chatter filled the forest around them as the apprentices made their way to Teqa. Dust flew around; winds carried the scent of wildflowers and distant lilies.

  Cassandra walked alongside Sera and asked, “What are we going to do about the money?”

  “We’ll figure it out, don’t worry.” Sera replied as she took the bronze plaque from her. “He must’ve given us this for a reason.”

  Soon the scent of spices and iron filled the air as they passed by the Acacia Guesthouse. The loud ramblings of the crowd behind the walls made some apprentices sweat. The guards at the gate stopped them and asked, “Who are you?” One of them, an older guard, spotted the bronze plaque in Sera’s hands and laughed. “So Maximus sent you? Go on ahead.”

  The apprentices shared the same look, but nobody questioned it and entered Teqa. As they stood in the middle of the bustling market, the surrounding people did not care and went on about their business. Some merchants tried to sell goods to the apprentices. A few apprentices, mostly nobles, immediately lost their valuable belongings. Cassandra tried to gather them around, but most of them were too frantic to pay attention to her. She turned to Sera, who sighed and helped her gather them around.

  The ones who lost their belongings complained about how Teqa was uncivilised and dirty. But Cassandra silenced them and said, “Let’s split up and find the supplies needed. Since we do not have funds, we will find the respective shops and then return here.”

  Suddenly, a girl with a plastered smile on her face interrupted their discussion. “The guard told me Maximus’ apprentices are here. Follow me, please.” Cassandra, skeptical at first, nodded, and the group followed the girl to a building made of stone and bricks.

  A man wearing green robes and an eyepatch walked outside the building, his body filled with rare and shiny jewelry.

  “Welcome to me humble abode, apprentices.” He spoke, his voice smooth and calm. “I see Maximus has sent you to procure supplies for a hunting trip, yes?”

  Cassandra tried to speak, but the man interrupted. “Come inside, come inside. Not all of you, though.”

  Cassandra told them to wait outside and took Sera and Elaira with her. Jon and Aidan followed them without permission, and Victor had no choice but to do the same.

  Sera asked, “How did you know Maximus sent us? Is it because of the plaque?”

  The man nodded. “Yeah, that too. But Maxi sends his apprentices here every year to procure supplies for hunting.”

  Sera frowned with a smirk. “Maxi?”

  “Yes, Maxi.”