Oh Max was mad. He was mad, he was going to shank her, and he was going to make sure to yank out her earrings and stab her in the eyeballs. What was worse was that Lilie was definitely expecting more of a tongue lashing than that one word. But if Max was anything like Ren, then she had properly ignited a hatred so icy that it made her feel empty. He definitely left her squirming enough for it--he was really good at his stares, even neutral-looking Max looked like he was angry.
Should she say something? Say she was kidding? Insist they're friends? No, he said they weren't friends! Right? Classmates wasn't bad, she didn't even say anything bad, he was just being a jerk again. Unless she actually hurt his feelings? Oh no, what if she ruined what little good rapport they had? What if even if he didn't consider them friends they were on the way to friendship? Or maybe he actually didn't care and had nothing better to say?
Lilie was getting stressed, dropping her gaze as he spoke to Maddie. Yup, she needed air like right now, the awkwardness was going to kill her. And the glass in her hand was a perfect excuse! She realized Aaron wasn't around, so he wasn't going to stop her from escaping, either.
Quietly excusing herself, she decided to drop off the glass in the kitchen first. She was surprised to find Aaron there, stopping in place as she watched him for a second. He didn't notice her, absorbed in the glasses and bottle. He looked kinda tense, too--did something happen? Well, she was usually tense around vampires, so she couldn't blame him, but he was usually more composed.
Placing the glass in the sink, she approached him. "Hey," She greeted him. "Are you okay?"
Euphemia was quick to whip around with a smile and a fire in her eyes, albeit they were extinguished as soon as she noticed it was a student; her wrath was quelled enough that she knew better than to hit an unintended target. Once she straightened up, she threw on a more perky, enthusiastic smile as she listened patiently--though it was obvious she wasn't prepared for his comment. She let out a quiet hum before straightening up considerably, pointing the rod at Jorah.
She decided that despite what he had said, an impression was left to be made, though her blue eyes examined his face carefully. She tapped his chin up slightly to get a better look. "Indeed, it is. Of course, so long as you follow the rules and avoid any trouble, you won't have to acquaint yourself with Priscilla," She replied cheerfully, pulling her rod back as she tapped her own chin.
"I don't know, that Priscilla is just gorgeous," Michail happily added, perching his elbow on Euphemia's shoulder.
"She's only gorgeous because you're wearing armor, otherwise you'd be cowering right now," She couldn't help but retort before giving Jorah her full attention. "I was going to leave learning my roster tomorrow, but now you have my attention. Let me guess...Jorah von Riegan, son of Duke Rodolph von Riegan. You don't resemble him too much, but I can see some similarities. I think you took more after your mother."
"She's completely guessing, she has no idea," Michail rolled his eyes.
"I've had the pleasure of actually meeting Duke Riegan and the other Lords of the Alliance at one of their meetings. Not of all us spend our free time chasing skirts," She shot him a look before giving Jorah a smile. "I'm looking forward to our year together! Do you have any questions for me?"
Meanwhile, the green haired girl had taken advantage of Euhpemia's direct hit on Michail and decided to eavesdrop on Lysander's conversation. She couldn't help but look over the girl, a small frown on her face.
"Excuse me for the interruption, but I could not help but notice you look a little pale," Kaira said softly, giving Lienna a small smile. "I am actually the academy's nurse, so if you would like I could try to relieve your symptoms with magic."
Isolde stared down at the paper in front of her, looking distressed. After finally having worked up the courage to even show her face in public, now that she was here, she was suddenly regretting it. She wanted nothing more than to go back to her room at home and hide under a blanket. Of course, that wasn't gonna really help, but she was at a complete loss. It had been so long since she had been around people her own age that she wasn't exactly sure what to do right now. People were already talking to one another, excitedly checking that they were in units together, but everyone here was a stranger to her.
Letting out a sigh, she jumped in place as a pair of boys got loud. She shrunk back in her seat, taking far too long to realize that they weren't hostile to one another. Was she really so unsocial that she didn't recognize they were friends? Well, yes, but still, she should've guessed.
She was surprised when they introduced themselves; one was from House Gloucester and the other from House Riegan. Another girl decided to introduce herself and reveal she was from House Edmund. How coincidental that three of the five houses had sent their children this year! Unfortunately it had been many years since she had seen two of them, but it was so brief and she had been previously attached to her father's side that she couldn't really say she knew much of them. Maybe she should introduce herself as well? But she wasn't anyone important anymore. At least they were nobles.
Dropping her gaze down at the page Professor Euphemia had given then, she realized that she was placed in the same unit as them. Ah, maybe she really should introduce herself after all! Or was it too awkward? Maybe she should omit her last name? Oh, who was she kidding, everyone knew, she couldn't hide it. No, no, she had to get some courage, she was never going to get anything done drowning in self doubt. That being said, by the time she finally made up her mind, both Jorah and Clarissa were gone, much to her dismay. She decided not to linger, instead dragging herself out of the classroom. Exploring the monastery was something she could do that she wouldn't mess up.
With her head held high, she strode across the courtyard, taking in the fresh breeze. Ah yes, this was definitely the right call--except that thought went away as her foot hit something. Letting out a quiet cry, she found herself on the ground, eyes blinking as she tried to process what happened. She tripped? But there was nothing but grass! No, wait, she tripped over someone!
Scrambling to her knees, Isolde looked at the pink haired girl with tears in her eyes. "I--I--I am sorry!" She managed to squeak out a horrified apology, bowing her head down. "It was an accident, I was not looking at where I was going, I just wanted to explore and--and--I am so sorry please forgive me."
Mr. Abadi, not Duke or Count, so it was a mage. Well, at least Aaron didn't seem too worried. But Lilie didn't know how she felt about Butler Aaron--at least that's what she called this persona in her head. Well, he was just doing his job, she couldn't really fault him for that. But she wished he would relax and talk to her! Oh well, that's what she got for hoping they'd get to spend a little time together. The Academy really liked to dangle things she wanted in front of her, didn't it?
Hm, maybe Lilie should have replied to Maddie's commentary--but honestly, she had no idea how to respond. Obviously it was some sort of small rebellion people felt like they could get away with, but she wasn't entirely sure that was the way to go about it. Not that she disagreed! If no one was going to do anything about it, it was nice to see that someone was doing something. But listening to Aaron's response and Salem having said what he said made it obvious that she couldn't really voice that opinion. The only person that would agree with her was someone she was barely on good terms with, but she also felt like he wouldn't exactly voice that.
And speaking of the guy, Max decided to ask if she had talked about him. How was she supposed to respond to that? 'No, you kinda made it clear we're not friends'? 'No, I don't talk about people who barely tolerate me'? 'No, you still kinda scare me and I don't want you to rip my earrings off because these things cost more than my parents' house'? She could say she only talked about her neighbors, but he'd probably call her out on copping out of an actual response.
Oh, whatever, he was gonna glare and scowl at her anyway. "Oh, no, you don't have to worry about that, I just talked about my friends," It was much too late for Lilie to realize what she had said, and she immediately tried to play it off as best as she could manage. "Because you know, we're classmates. And I know you like your privacy. And...why ruin a good thing?" She finished off lamely with a tiny shrug, her hand occupied with her necklace.
"Honestly! Have you no shame at all? You are a Knight of Seiros, you of all people should be acting the most professional!" Euphemia continued to reprimand Michail, who remained behind a bewildered Kaira, all too glad to use her as a shield. "Do you want me to report you to your superior or do you just like to cause trouble?"
"Kalliope isn't my superior anymore. Lysander is," Michail announced proudly, placing both his hands on Kaira's shoulders. "I'm just trying to have a little fun, you wouldn't believe how nervous some of these kids are. You're the one that said our goal is to make sure this year is as smooth as possible, and humor is always a great ice breaker."
"I also said 'act like a professor' if you recall," She replied, though she relented. "Alright, fine, I should have figured you'd embarrass me one way or another. But why write on a book belonging to the church's library? That's a little over the line, isn't it?"
"I...actually didn't know that belonged to the Church," He admitted, trying to ignore Tomai's glare. "But I'll replace it! Our uncle has a vast collection, I'm sure that he may have an edition in his own library."
"How unchivalrous that a knight would resort to buying forgiveness," Tomai muttered, crossing his arms in disproval.
"This is a poor first impression..." Lysander sighed, shaking his head. A tap on his shoulder took his attention away from the professors, violet eyes landing on a student. He waited patiently for her to finish talking, focused entirely on her even as the pair would likely hear another thwack. Once she finally stated what she needed, he perked up considerably, a hand on his chest as he gave her a warm smile.
"Yes, of course," He replied kindly, looking ahead towards the path. "If you walk through the courtyard you'll reach a path--simply take it right and you will reach the dormitories. All the rooms at ground level belong to our commoner students while the nobles reside exclusively on the second floor. To make finding your room easier, each set of doors holds a plaque with the students' name. The Blue Lions will find their rooms to the north part of the building, the Black Eagles are situated towards the center, and the Golden Deer will find their rooms to the south closest to the Greenhouse."
Once he finished explaining, he added, "Would you like help finding your room? It'd be our pleasure."
Stories always paled in comparison to the real thing, this much Derec knew. Even still, Garreg Mach had a serenity that no tale could ever do justice; from the grand cathedral to the bustling marketplace, it was almost everything he had hoped for. Here the borders between lands were nonexistent and both commoner and noble walked side by side. In a sense, it was the perfect escape for anyone looking to hide from the world. Not that he was hiding from anyone in particular, but at the very least he could probably sleep better at night not worrying about any possible assassins sneaking into his room past the guards.
The Archbishop's speech was nice, but Derec found it hard to concentrate when the words were coming out of a child half his height. At least he looked like he was having a nice time. Speaking of which, their professor was certainly a character. He had heard of a Knight of Seiros joining the ranks of the Officers Academy, but he figured it would have been as a combat advisor. The last name sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't place it; at least it wasn't any major noble house of Faerghus.
The professor left the room so quickly that Derec almost wanted to follow suit, but it was probably a good idea to find out which students he would be spending the year with. He stood from his seat and approached the chalkboard, towering over most of the other students. Finding his name wasn't too hard, but he did raise his eyebrow at only seeing 'Ballard'. Well, the Royal family had yet to recognize him, so maybe he had been expecting too much. Then again, Lord Leon had said he was free to use the Blaiddyd name, and he had the crest to match.
The house leader decided to introduce himself, and he watched with great interest. Galatea, now that was a name he did recognize. At least he sounded like a leader! He finished with such a flourish that Derec couldn't help but clap, though he realized his mistake shortly afterwards. "Oh--okay," Derec stopped clapping, turning back to the board. The best thing to do was to avoid the nobility--no doubt he wasn't exactly popular with those who would stick to the original heir--so he figured he should stick to his classmates.
And of course that meant he was placed in a unit with not only Faerghus nobility but Alliance nobility and even the Imperial Prince from the looks of the Black Eagles. "Great," Derec mumbled, scratching the back of his head. Galatea and Fraldarius? Really? Why not add in Gautier and Dominic while they were at it? How was he supposed to lay low?
He may as well try to bring about a good first impression. But where would he start? House Leader? Or the timid Fraldarius? The latter seemed like the obvious answer, but Derec would rather know his enemy first and foremost and the Galatea seemed more problematic. He approached the blond somewhat reluctantly, running a hand through his hair to smooth it out.
"Well said," Derec decided a little compliment to hopefully butter the guy up would help. "And well met. I'm Derec Ballard, it looks like we'll be in the same class unit for the year."
Not a single ray of sunshine fell on Fódlan that day. The funeral was brief as this was the life of a mercenary, after all. But his life had ended much too soon, taken from him before he could truly live. And all for nothing; the girl he had died saving would never again see the light of day. It was a tragedy of unspoken proportions, the effects calamitous. It would take much good will to prevent Fódlan from cracking further.
Letting out a sigh, the woman looked up at the sky. So much had gone wrong in so little time. It was clear now that no one could be trusted. For Sothis to return among the living, stricter measures needed to be put in place. Yes, that was the way. Next time, she would make sure that the child would be protected. No harm would come to it--she must take things into her own hands. She would not make the same mistake twice.
Before taking her leave, she would gaze upon the gravestone that bore one name: Byleth Eisner.
The opening ceremony of the Officers Academy took place in the cathedral of the church. An assortment of knights and members of the Church had decorated the place with a multitude of red, blue, and yellow ribbons, celebrating the arrival of the students. Although the seats weren’t filled, it was clear the number of students didn’t matter; each one was welcomed whether they were noble or commoner.
Among the clergy was a young boy who stood out among the rest. The garb seemed to swallow the child whole, but he stood proud nonetheless, as if channeling the spirits of the previous archbishops before him. His stature did little to impede him as he strode over to the center of the floor, a humbled smile on his face as he looked over the many faces before him.
“Welcome, one and all,” The volume in his voice betrayed his size, easily carried over the entirety of the hall with ease. “The goddess blesses us with another group of hopefuls! It warms my heart to see so many new faces here at Garreg Mach. I am Archbishop Ioannis, and I am humbled that I have the opportunity to accompany you all through your year at the Officers Academy.”
Taking a small pause, Ioannis continued, “This is but a final step for many of you before taking your place in the world, and all of us are eager and willing to ensure that this year is a smooth one. We here at Gareeg Mach implore you to lean on your neighbor, to support those who may need it. While the world will always present challenge after challenge, we hope to supply you with the knowledge and wisdom to take hold of your future; no man is a nation, and we must all work together for the sake of Fódlan and the people.”
He looked over to his left side, gesturing to a taller man with silver hair. “My right hand, Sirius, will be supporting the school faculty in addition to his usual duties of overlooking the Knights of Seiros,” He introduced the man. “He, as well as Cleric Arianthe, have been vital in the transition from one archbishop to the next.”
The man motioned to the boy’s right. Remembering something, Ioannis sheepishly looked to that side, clearing his throat. “This year’s faculty is a little more varied than in previous years. With Lady Geraldine’s return to Adrestia, we decided to better assist the students with more professors to lead classes. Professor Lysander Roland oversees much of the school’s curriculum and is the liaison between the school and church--that said, he has a generous open-door policy and is one of the kindest souls you’ll likely meet. Assisting him will be a nurse who serves both school and church by the name of Kaira Simeon--their offices are located on the second floor.” The dark haired man’s jaw dropped, his gaze following as his face flushed with color, quietly shaking his head as he avoided looking anyone in the eye. A green haired girl nudged him, clearly trying not to laugh as she gave the students a small wave.
Ioannis looked like he had more to say, but after a moment decided against it, once again giving the students a warm smile. “Your professors await you in your homerooms. May the goddess watch over you all.”
“Listen up, the sooner I finish talking, the sooner I can leave,” The dark haired man stated, clearly disinterested in the students as he threw himself into his chair. “I’m Tomai Malathice, I’m from the Empire, yes I am the author of the recently published study of crests, no I am not interested in talking about it. Unfortunately I am obligated to assist any that come to my door after class hours, but I’ll save you a little time: I’m a mage specializing in dark magic. So if you’re looking for that, fine, come along, otherwise you can go bother one of the other professors.”
Messing with the stack of papers in front of him, he managed to get them into a neat pile before smoothing them out on top of a book. “Professor Lysander has decided on a new initiative in an effort to ‘encourage inter-country relations’. Because people don’t mingle enough or something, I don’t know, I stopped listening halfway through the explanation,” He admitted with a slight shrug, squinting at the page in front of him. “While you’ll still belong to one house and should come to me first with any issues, on a day-to-day basis you’ll all gather here for homeroom, and at the first bell will be joining a smaller class with mixed members.”
He paused, looking up at the ceiling as he tried to remember something. “...eh, you don’t really need much more information than that. If I call your name at the end of this--oh, one thing, right,” He snapped his fingers, laying out several pages on his desk and snatching up his book. He seemed to notice something on the back cover, his expression souring. “This year, your class leader will be His Highness, who has graced us with his presence for whatever reason. With that out of the way, you’re free for the rest of the day to talk or mingle or get to know your fellow students. As for me, I need to have a word with Professor Michail. Dismissed.”
He outright ignored any raised hands as he stood from his desk, a scowl discouraging anyone from asking anything as he walked out of the room.
A blond knight finished writing his name on the board, turning to face the classroom with a dazzling smile. “What a first day, am I right?” He asked the students at large, placing the chalk down as he chose to remain standing. “My name is Michail Kalonic. I’m a Knight of Seiros--it’s basically my first time here, too. From guard to professor! Who would’ve thought?” He chuckled. “Like you guys, I’m also from the Kingdom of Faerghus. Aside from that, I share Professor Lysander’s approach--my door is always open even after hours. Of course, you’re more likely to find me in the Arena than any classroom, but you know what I’m getting at.” He paused for a moment, scratching his head. “...Hm, I don’t really know what else to say. I guess I should get to the technical stuff?”
He went off his thoughts, walking over to his desk. “So things are getting changed up a little from my understanding. The school decided to go off a plan Professor Lysander came up with; instead of your classmates only consisting of those in the same house they’re breaking you guys up in groups. Of course, I’m still the person you should come to if you have any problems--I mean it, I’m here for you guys--but otherwise your classmates are going to be people from all three houses. It’ll be interesting for sure, at least!”
Taking a hold of the stack, he started scribbling names onto the board, diving the students into groups. “You can come over here and take a look, I suggest getting to know who’ll be in your class--I believe there’s a master list on the bulletin boards outside the classrooms, too,” He wrote surprisingly quickly, his handwriting neat and efficient. “Your House Leader is Auberon of House Galatea--that means you’ll have a few more responsibilities. See me later and I’ll let you know what that entails.”
Finishing his writing, Michail dusted his hands off as he grinned. “That’s everything from me. You have the rest of today off--we start bright and early tomorrow. If you need me, I’ll be right outside the classroom, possibly getting yelled at. Dismissed!” He gave the class a wave, practically giggling to himself as he walked out.
“Hello, hello! Settle down, settle down,” The woman’s blonde hair bounced after her as she scuttled into the classroom, heels clicking along the floors. She stopped before her desk, picking up a rod and whacking the chalkboard and underlining the name written there. “I am Euphemia Kalonic, and I’ll be leading the Golden Deer this year. Don’t worry, even though I normally teach the Blue Lions, this isn’t my first year with the Leicester Alliance. I’ll make sure to take good care of you!”
Walking down the aisle, she continued with, “As students of the Officers Academy, you are here to learn the ways of warfare. Your fellow professors and myself have made it our goal to educate you on that count and more. While you’re here, I recommend you take advantage of this opportunity to meet people from all walks of life; I don’t doubt some of you may know one another due to the Alliance's Roundtable, this academy is notable for accepting noble and commoner alike.”
“Normally, you stick with your fellow Deer during your classes, but this year you’ll all have a chance to experience something new. Professor Lysander Roland made a suggestion that Archbishop Ioannis approved of--he thought that to encourage a positive future for Fódlan it would be nice if the classes were more varied instead of sticking with the same house. Of course, once a Deer, always a Deer, so you don’t have to worry about alternate room assignments and I am still responsible for your well being! But now you’ll be joined by Black Eagles and Blue Lions, too. I believe the class sizes are around fifteen people, though how many of each class join varies. And of course, you all still have your House Leader for this year: and the lucky one--” She checked her papers. “--is future Duke Jorah Riegan! See me after and I’ll be happy to explain what that entails, okay?”
“Now, as for where you’ll be fitting in for these new class assignments…” Euphemia flipped the chalkboard to the other side but froze. Instead of an organized list of students that she had spent nearly half an hour writing in cute handwriting, instead was a (admittedly good) sketch of a blond knight on a horse--most students would notice that it looked an awful lot like one of the knights that had been in the church earlier.
Euphemia’s smile never left her face, but her smile became decidedly icy. She slowly looked at her students, clearing her throat as she slowly turned back to her desk. “...will be on these papers. I’ll...go ahead and lay them all out here.” Her tone was sugary sweet still, even if she looked like she was ready to choke someone.
Once all the pages were laid out, she held her rod tightly. “Now, you’ll have the rest of today to yourselves. If you’ll excuse me, I have to speak with Professor Michail,” She dismissed the students, her smile betraying her body language as she practically stomped out of the room.
Outside of the classrooms stood Professor Lysander and Professor Kaira, the pair in a spirited conversation. The two stopped long enough to to watch Michail run out of the Blue Lions classroom, a giant grin on his face. Said grin turned into a howl as he was promptly thwacked by a furious Euphemia, though it was Tomai stopping him in his tracks that really cause the knight distress. Lysander and Kaira looked at one another briefly before running interference, briefly catching the tail end of an accusation of sabotage.
"Have you any idea how humiliated I was?!" Euphemia kept her voice low as she cracked the rod on Michail's arm, right against the chainmail.
"Stop--how do you manage to hit my unarmored spots--it's just a harmless prank!" He defended himself, hiding behind Kaira.
"This book is centuries old and you decided to scribble all over it," Tomai said flatly, showing the group an identical sketch to the one in the Golden Deer's classroom etched onto the back of Tomai's book.
"Oh, Michail, we talked about how you should be acting in a position of authority..." Lysander sighed, shaking his head. "Sirius won't be happy to hear this."
Across the courtyard, the silver haired man in question watched the scene unfold, letting out a sigh. A small laugh caught his attention, and he looked down at the Archbishop. Ioannis watched the professors and students as they began to leave the classrooms, a sparkle in his eye. The man was aware they should head back to the church, but he was all too aware the boy was eager to interact with the students--even if they were all older than he was.
Taka
AlteredTundra
Cyadical
Asura
Xiro Zean
Lemons
Izurich
ThatCharacter
Kero
Mcmolly
