---

May the goddess give him strength. The very first day and her highness had revealed a weakness that the others were already scheming to exploit. That was when Theodoric approached them, a person he found slightly less intolerable than most other nobles. The information about wyverns had already been spilled so he was more so ready to move past this incident "You know that I don't have the luxury of extended personal time." He glanced over at the princess briefly "Otherwise, I'm healthy and in good condition to protect her highness so I have no right to complain." He expressed with a forced sense of contentment in his assignment.

Before he could return the courtesy of the question to Theodoric, he felt the familar, chilling gaze of his liege "Of course, your highness." Roland quickly turned to Theodoric and Eleventhia and half-bowed, exchanging a look with them that he hoped expressed they would talk later. He assumed his position alongside Sherry off her right-side, trailing a couple steps behind so that she might lead. Roland's expression remained neutral throughout the rest of the tour, merely nodding and exchanging brief replies to her highness when spoken to. The monastery was a place where the promising youths and nobles of the continent would hone their futures and dreams. It was difficult to feel excitement when he was an outsider in that regard.

Despite the long day, Roland appeared steadfast and alert as they entered the dormitories. He was under the impression that he would be rooming with her highness so that he may keep her safe during her time here. His brows furrowed when he heard the names her highness spoke and moved quickly to join her in examining the list. His stone-cold façade briefly broke from the surprise that he would be paired with someone else...a stranger at that. It would seem his majesty's influence had its limits. Her highness seemed equally disturbed by the revelation of their rooming assignments.

Roland moved to break the line of sight between her highness and Leonid "I will begin moving your belongings into your room. I'll also conduct a sweep for anything suspicious. I humbly ask for you patience while I finish, your highness." He would have to voice his objection and put in room transfer request to the Arch-bishop, but in the meantime her highness would need to...parley with Leonid. Here he thought looking after the world's most spontaneous princess was already a major pain. Was it possible she would grow during her time here? The idea was almost laughable.

As he'd thought. Poor Roland. Theodoric had known him for long enough to understand just how much of his life was dedicated to House Grimdall's service. Plenty of bannermen served in that role for any great house, of course. Doric was acquainted with more than enough such knights. But most bannermen didn't serve to this extent. He resisted the urge to sigh. Roland deserved to, at the very least, be his own man. Doric made a mental note to himself to speak to Sherry on his behalf at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later.

The rest of the tour passed by uneventfully. By the time the Foxes arrived at the dormitories, Doric wasn't quite ready to go to bed, but a rest certainly wouldn't go amiss. Though he still had to unpack his things. Best to get that done with sooner rather than later. No point putting it off. He'd reward himself with some rest after he was good and settled in. But then another one of Sherry's screeches brought him out of his musings.

Cohabitation...? Well, this was new. Neither his father nor his sister had ever mentioned something like this. It must have been a policy that the Officers' Academy only implemented in recent years. Being a duke's son, Theodoric had never quite had to share living space with someone before, and the thought was...well, he wasn't quite sure what to think of it yet. Nor of his roommate. They'd only just met, after all. Godson seemed a personable sort, but that was only a first impression. Who knew how long it would last?

"Well. Shall we, then?" Doric nodded to Andrion before checking for the room number they had been assigned to. "I've never had to share sleeping quarters before, so apologies in advance if I offend in some way."

@ERode

Well, he understood at least, why the Arch-Bishop had chosen to set their rooms in a manner that encouraged, or at least, forced an adaptation towards others. Tear down the shelter of nobility early and all. Slightly more questionable, of course, that the man would have allowed for mixed genders, considering how exceptionally truthful the rumors surrounding Andrion's own nighttime escapades were, but what can one do?

He'd end up with a warm bed, no matter how many people the Arch-Bishop jammed into his room.

"No need to be so uptight about it, mate," Andrion replied, pulling the door open. "First time sharing it with a prince myself, but hey, can't be worst than having twelve to a room." Once it had opened, it was clear too that Andrion had already moved in a fair while ago. Despite the relatively sparse furnishings on the side of room that had been claimed with his stuff, the man had already set up a divider that cleanly partitioned the room into two halves. A cold draft aired out the room and beyond the potted flowers by the windowsill, he had but a thin rug draped over the stone floors, as well as a bundle of furs that were collected over his bed. Beside it, hanging from crude iron mounts, was a hunting spear and a fishing rod, while a shelf held various bundles of parchment that smelled of spiced and cured meats.

"Feel free to take some if you're feeling peckish," he said, gesturing towards the shelf. "Though maybe keep to your side if you hear me with another. I don't mind too much, but some ladies are more comfortable with a bit of privacy.

of House Ciran

---

Had Parthenia had lesser self-control, the disappointment on her face would have been palpable. Oh, sure, she had still outplayed Leonid at his game, but there was little better than seeing someone who deserved it eat crow… or rather, flowers, in this case. Not every plot or play could always be a complete winner, though. He had bowed out, but he had given her so much more ammunition in doing so… well, overdoing it was a thing, too, so she held back a bit.

“A social butterfly you are not, to refuse such a flower,” she chided, even as he turned faked disrespect into a real one. Parthenia still wasn’t sure if the girl was actually a lowborn, but that didn’t even matter, here. As far as she was concerned, any lowborn student that had made it to the academy had earned their place, and was worthy of their station and place alongside their noble peers.

Even if some of the commoners did look rather… unorthodox.

“Really, what a poor performance,” she lamented, as the Sylmare heir beat a swift retreat before Parthenia could properly chastise him for the real breaches in etiquette. Well, there was always later.

Turning back to Lapis, she canted her head slightly as the girl made her introduction. Parthenia was sure they had met before, even if she insisted otherwise. She idly suspected Lapis was lying in some way. She was tempted to press her on it, but thought better of it. Everybody had their skeletons in the closet, and the way she had introduced herself was telling in and of itself… Well, she had the entirety of school to figure it out. Patience was the virtue of nobles, after all.

“Is that so?” she answered. “What a strange title you have there, but a pleasure nonetheless,” she continued, with a little curtsy. She had a good guess of what that implied, shifting her perceptions of Lapis’ upbringing slightly, even if she was still skeptical of her implied origins as a commoner. A very, very poor one. She didn’t comment on it. “If Leonid Sylmare decides to give you anymore trouble, don’t be afraid to come to me. Disrupting some of the self-important or harebrained schemes of my peers is a bit of a pastime for me.” Parthenia gave her a grin before she excused herself to mingle with the other students as the tour continued, properly, this time.

The little group tour was more or less what she expected; she took a closer notice of the mess hall, enjoying the alluring smell of food being prepared for the coming dinner banquet, but glossed over the cathedral itself. The architecture was pretty, though. The Academy itself she would explore on her own time.

Lastly came the dorms and their room assignments, which surprised Parthenia on the sheer audacity of some of the assignment penned on the parchment outside. To her absolute delight, if she didn’t know better, it seemed almost as if the combinations were designed for maximum chaos among the student body. Cohabitation? Roland and Elivinthia? Sherry and Leon? Perhaps she would have to reevaluate her opinion of the Archbishop. Either he was as clueless as a duck or he was a master of her craft, and a kindred spirit…

She would have to find out.

Her own assignment with Lapis was interesting, too. It wasn’t as interesting as being paired with Elivinthia or as amusing as sharing a room with Sherry or Roland, and would make a late-night liaison –if she wanted one—harder, but Parthenia could certainly work with it. It would make uncovering Lapis’s mystery easier, she was sure.

“It would seem we’re one of the few girls with a traditional dorm experience,” said Parthenia with some amusement when she found her dormmate again. “The archbishop has an interesting sense of humor…”

---

Roland checked the board once more to confirm her highness's room number and excused himself from the larger group. He would need to be swift and efficient if he wanted to perform a proper sweep, unpack his things, and be in time for dinner. Roland knocked firmly on the door when he approached it to measure its sturdiness. Content with the results, he examined the lock and gave the doorknob a few rotations. It was not the most advanced security system he'd seen but it'd suffice against basic intruders and delay them until he arrived. With that finished, he entered the room but advanced no further than a few steps.

The furnishings and design of the room were of passable grade for her highness, knowing that the academy did its best not to cater to the nobility over commoners. Roland wasted no starting his examination. His first target were the pair of beds in the room. He had an idea of which one her highness would take but even so his duty required him to check both. Tripwires and magical runes came to mind first followed by secret compartments. Seeing her highness's luggage in the room, Roland was tempted to check them as well for sabotage. Her highness, however, was quite adamant about leaving her belongings alone so he relented.

Roland moved towards the window looking out at the monastery ground, searching for potential sniper locations and/or vantage points. His face tensed up a degree as he noticed plenty of angles an assassin could make use of. Peaks, bastions, outcrops...the architecture of the monastery would make infiltration from the rooftops difficult to detect. The only saving grace was its position on the mountain. Roland turned towards the interior of the room and paused for a moment. Concentration flashed in his eyes as his eyes dart from corner to corner, trying to picture how a potential assassin might rig the room.

It was somewhat disappointing to watch Leon slip his way out of eating the flower, but Elias supposed there would be more chances for teasing the others. Especially since it seemed like there was something else going on with that whole situation. That would be something to unravel later when they weren't being carted along by the Archbishop.

The mess hall reminded him of the fact that he hadn't eaten since much earlier and that thought lingered until they got to the Officer's Academy itself. He was excited to explore the winding halls and towers when he had the chance, but for now it seemed like they had other things to attend to. That thing being the arrangements for the dormitories. The fact that they were staying two to a room, and that there was no separation between themselves and the commoners was...surprising. A choice and one that he wondered about the reasoning of. For them to get to know each other better? He had a feeling it would lead to shenanigans more than anything and that, that he was looking forward to.

The outrage coming from Sherry was enough to make dealing with another person in his living space worth it. Not that he was unused to it, he spent much of his time sharing with his siblings at home, but this was a bit different. He shifted his weight enough to see the parchment and make a note of who he was with. Alphonse, the lordling with the baby wyvern that had so quickly gained attention from the Princess. Gave him the perfect opportunity to reintroduce himself since he did remember the Croix family.

Picking the white haired boy out of the group was easy and he moved around his peers to approach him. "Alphonse Croix right? I believe I remember you from some years ago. Your family works for the Ravaleths if I'm not mistaken?"

She will admit, she didn't expect Parthenia to be as courteous as she was. She introduced herself kindly, gave a proper little curtsy (that Lapis didn't even bother trying to give back), and offered to (verbally) protect Lapis if Leonid started bothering her. She wasn't sure what to say as Parthenia walked along, letting their conversation end there. Was she planning something? A false sense of security to pull the rug from under her? Or maybe she wanted as many people on her side as possible? Just what did she do to commoners if messing with self-important nobles was a hobby for her?!

Regardless, if she meant what she said, then it felt good to have someone on Lapis's side for once. But how quickly would that change? In the end, Lapis was just a commoner who would offer nothing worthwhile to Parthenia. Besides information and labor, but Lapis would rather start a farm with her bare hands than offer her labor to nobles.

Lapis shook her head a little to clear her mind of all the questions and thoughts that jumbled it. The biggest thing was that Parthenia didn't press her on her lie and let it end there. Good. At least now Lapis could get a break from her and maybe start avoiding her where she could. She didn't need Parthenia to start remembering what was the best and worst time of Lapis's life.

The tour went about as well as she expected, and by the end, Lapis was ready to take a nap and maybe tear up the mess hall trash later. Maybe she could examine the gardens and find some flowers to eat...

While Lapis was thinking about what she wanted to do next, the Archbishop was reading off the names paired up for the dorms which immediately made her snap her attention back to the present situation.

Paired?

Lemonhead with the other lemonhead, Bootlicker with the third lemonhead, flower boy with the prickle princess...

Oh.

Of all people...

When Parthenia found her, Lapis would have her eyes closed in a quiet prayer. She would hear what Parthenia was saying, but Lapis seemed to be asking her own questions right now.

'Yhirel, did I do something? Did I offend you? Why did I get stuck with the one person I lied to? What is your plan here? Whatever it is I'm hating it right now.'

With the short barrage of questions to their God finished, Lapis would then open her eyes and addressed the silver-haired girl. "Or he just wants to watch the world burn... Either way, room's all yours. Just let me keep my stuff under the bed or something and I won't bother ya, okay?"

Thank Yhriel that Andrion seemed to be personable, at least. A bit too personable, judging by his comment about catching him with "another". It took a signficant amount of self-restraint for Doric to maintain his poise and not react to said comment. He had a feeling that if he didn't just brush it off, it would prove for significant amounts of mockery no matter how he reacted otherwise. Best to just gloss over it. Instead, he made an educated guess.

"That jerky does look quite good." Doric remarked as he began unpacking some of his own things, having been delivered by the porters as they'd taken the tour of the monastery. "As a trade, help yourself to some of my wine, if you wish." He said, pulling out a bottle of the aforementioned. "I know the monastery tends to discourage drinking by officer candidates, but I couldn't quite help myself from bringing a few bottles to relax with. The last few years have produced some rather good vintages, if you'd care to try."

___

The next day...

For all the stories of the Officer's Academy that his father and his sister had told him, Theodoric hadn't quite been prepared for their ostensible instructor to be half an hour late to their own class. And counting. He couldn't quite help but to wonder what exactly was happening here. A sudden bout of illness? Or perhaps they were a new hire and simply got lost on the way to the monastery. Certain other hypotheticals in his head were just unthinkable. After all, imagine if his house's instructor was simply an inveterate drunk and just couldn't be bothered to get up in time to teach. But that was unthinkable for a reason. After all, the instructors here were supposed to be among the best on the continent, and vetted by the monastery besides. Surely, the archbishop wouldn't be so clueless as to hire someone unfit to teach, right? Surely.

Instead, to pass the time, Doric glanced to his side, where Sherry was sitting next to him, Roland on her other flank as usual.

"So, Sherry..." He started, still wondering where in the hells their instructor was. "Have you settled in? How have you found your roommate to be, thus far?"

Doric and Andrion had, indeed, arrived at the same time.

Unlike the golden princeling, however, once five minutes passed and there was no instructor in sight, Andrion had stood up from his desk (too small to really be comfortable) and left, just like that. After all, if the instructor was going to be late, the instructor ought to certainly excuse anyone else for being late too.

Of course, a half hour visit to the cafeteria apparently wasn't sufficiently late enough to summon the instructor...but it was enough for him to slice some bread, load it up with some meats, vegetables, and cheeses, before tossing them into the stone oven. Wrap it up with some cloth, and voila. Food for waiting!

The door to the room swung up once more, Andrion poking his head in to see the ever-sour little princess, pouting over how the world didn't revolve around her minor ass again. "Ey, Doric, catch!"

It was a testament of his wrapping skill that the sandwich didn't scatter everywhere when he hurled it at his roommate. It was a testament to his precision that it didn't accidentally smash right into Sherry's face.

"Got two more for y'all as well, if any of the rest of y'all want it." A wink, towards Lapis and Parthenia. "Ladies first, if they wish."

Of course, there were five sandwiches balanced on his hand, but Andrion didn't grow big as a barge by dieting.

---

Roland had been rather surprised with his roommate's candor about their living situation. Their first real conversation was more like a negotiation between two nations, discussing the rules of their shared border. A divider wall served to separate their living spaces and grant them privacy. He wasn't exactly comfortable sharing a room with a woman, much less one he didn't know. Roland resigned himself to dealing with the situation as is, praying to the goddess that a dagger wouldn't end up in his chest one night.

The next morning he woke up rather early to prepare for the day. He then went over to her highness's room and knocked on the door so that he could escort her to class. Her highness had apparently got an earlier jump on the day than he did, so he decided to head to class on his own. Roland was already seated when her highness arrived "How was your night, your highness?" He attempted to inquire as she sat down, but it seemed other matters had her attention. Whatever had gotten her in this mood he hoped it would pass once their professor finally arrived. Roland being the punctual person he was had arrived five minutes early to the class. The tardiness of their instructor was not something he would be quick to forgive.

"Nothing was out of the ordinary." He chimed in. Roland was fully aware of the pressures her highness was under. It was his duty, after all, to bear some of the burden. His father had trained and instructed him to be her highness's right hand man, not just her bodyguard. Her will and dreams superseded any of his own "I agree that it has been a rough start, but I'm sure it will only pick up from here." He did his best to console the princess, even refraining from directly using her title. The only time one would ever hear Roland call her highness by her first name would be if they eavesdropped on a private conversation between them.

"You two seem to be getting along." Roland noted towards Doric after relaxing back into his seat after being ready to intercept the flying sandwich. Truth be told he felt like time was being wasted waiting for the professor to show up. He had plans to try out the training grounds and if there wasn't going to be class he'd know right now.

"It's only been one night thus far. Surely it can't have been that onerous." Doric replied to Sherry with only mild surprise. "Of course the archbishop isn't going to take a single day's worth of complaints into consideration, considering all those that have come through the academy before. At least give him a chance, would you? I'll not disagree about the current situation, though."

Indeed, it was absolutely absurd that the professor still hadn't arrived yet after nearly forty minutes. Fortunately for Theodoric, Andrion finally decided to reappear, tossing him a wrapped package. Doric deftly caught it in one hand with a raised eyebrow, unwrapping it to reveal a rather appetizing sandwich. It was even hot. Well, then. Sharing his wine last night was paying dividends already.

"Much appreciated." Doric smiled back, taking a bite. Hm. Quite good. Ordinarily, he'd be far more reserved about the entire situation, fearing losing face with their new professor on the first day. But at this point? Whoever it was had far bigger concerns that that. So he'd enjoy the sandwich, and rewrap it and tuck it away should they actually bother to show up. He shrugged back at Roland's comment, swallowing his bite before speaking. "He's really quite easy to get along with so far. Evidently, I was rather fortunate in that regard." Again, free alcohol helped.

"Give the other to...Lapis, was it? Offer Parth anything free, and she'll just take advantage of your generosity in the future." He chortled, giving Parthenia a teasing grin. It wasn't as if what he'd said was untrue, after all.

@Ambra @Ithradine @ERode @Click This @Serei2477

Lapis was already up and ready by the time dawn had passed and morning had come. Around this time, she'd be singing hymns within the Church alongside the children and the clerics, offering prayers and worship before breakfast. If she were drifting, she'd be looking for her next meal wherever she could find it.

So when she woke up, her eyes registering that this was not the church or some random village, it reminded her that yesterday was real. She didn't have to fight for her life here.

Well, not yet anyway. The Nobles could always surprise her.

She arrived around the same time as the rest of her classmates, but to her surprise, there was no instructor. Weird. They didn't die, did they?

Lapis took a seat at one of the unoccupied tables and listened in on the conversations, idly picking at her hair as she waited for their instructor to show up. By the sounds of it, prickle princess did not have a nice night with flower boy. Did he not lick her boots enough like a certain someone? Did flower boy do something to offend her? She wanted to hear more now.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), she couldn't pitch anything into the conversation because she didn't sleep in her assigned room. Parthenia seemed unbothered by the idea of sharing a room with a commoner; even assuring Lapis that she should sleep in the room. However, it was Lapis who was bothered by sharing the room with a noble. So, she had placed her dispensable items underneath what would have been her bed then sought out the nearest tree to make like a squirrel for the evening and sleep up there. Aside from the birds trying to nest in her hair, it was pretty peaceful.

Just what in the world was the Archbishop thinking placing commoners with nobles? Lapis wished she could get a peak at his mind to see what he was thinking.

The thought stopped dead in its tracks upon seeing what Andrion held in his hand. She was out of her chair and in front of him, a starry look in her eyes as she gazed at the wrapped sandwich. Was it the look of astonishment or the look of a hungry, feral animal? Regardless, Lapis was all smiles taking the sandwich from him.

"Woooow~ Thanks! I owe ya one. Just let me know when I can repay the favor and I'll be there, 'kay?" She told him. Of course, this didn't sound like something that was negotiable. Even if Andrion was feeding his classmates out of generosity or because he was a child of Yhirel, Lapis wanted to repay his kindness any way she could.

With the sandwich in hand she returned to her seat, though she wondered.

"Should we tell the Archbishop our instructor is dead or something?" She asked aloud. If an instructor was forty minutes late, they had to be dead, lazy, or in trouble. If the professor was lazy, they wouldn't be teaching here. If they were in trouble, then they were probably dead by now. So that only left the one option.

of House Ciran

---

For the most part, Parthenia decided to leave Lapis alone when she moved into her room. Most of her things –consisting of a trio of trunks that contained most of the things she needed or wanted to bring to the academy—had already been delivered to her side of the assigned room, and she quickly moved to meticulously unpack and arrange her belongings.

When her reluctant roommate announced her intentions to abandon her use of the room, though, Parthenia had affixed Lapis with a withering stare and insisted that she use the room. She wasn’t sure just how touched in the head this girl had become, but she wasn’t going to let her just sleep outside. Despite her insistence, the next morning she had discovered Lapis had never used the room, and Parthenia resolved to harass the girl into actually sleeping in a bed like a normal girl.

She still wanted a roommate, after all.

She rose early, as was typical for her these days. After a quick stretching routine, she broke her fast in the cafeteria with some simple bread, some cheeses, and some fruit before she made her way to class. Surprisingly, she was neither early nor fashionably late, but plain on-time, arriving as everyone else had.

Curiously, their instructor was absent. On the first day?

Predictably, Parthenia had questions… as did everyone else. Sliding into a seat on the second row, she gave a wave to Doric and Sherry before catching Andrion’s wink. Preparing to accept the offering of wrapped sandwich, she shot Dory a scowl as he got in between her and free food. “Rude,” she sniffed, shaking her head at him as she set her bag down. “I’ll remember that.”

Nonetheless, she didn’t protest as the sandwich was handed to her roommate. No, she had other words to say to her. “One of us should tell him. We are paying for this education, after all. But never mind that. Where were you last night?”