Realistically, I didn't see why I despised her so much, especially after the disgraceful event she’d experienced. With what occurred, I assumed she'd be taught what she wanted to know and then return back to that makeshift hut of hers.
She wouldn't survive a day at this school, and I was pretty confident we wouldn't see her blonde locks and striking purple eyes.
How my mother expected this woman to be queen, let alone stand by my side and fight against those much stronger and more frightening than what fae children believe go bump in the dark, left me mentally shaking my head again and again, but today would prove her misjudgment.
Maybe then she'd acknowledge a better suitor for me.
I wasn't attracted to Esmeralda in the slightest, but she had the looks and was well trained in all areas of magic and knowledge. With her past relations with the royal family, she seemed to be a good candidate for me, but alas, her rose wasn't sitting in the deep chambers of our kingdom.
I'm sure it's sitting in Prince Rainer's...
That man was filled with secrets, and it was only a matter of time before Rosadette saw his true colors. At least I wore mine on my sleeve, not caring to look upon the weak and surrounding myself with those that would lift me up.
"Well, the queen may be teaching a class or two! I'm sure for you that isn't as big of a deal since she is your mother, but for many of us, we're excited to receive the divine knowledge and witness bits of her power. It's like being taught by a legend."
"If you see it that way." I shrugged and began to walk once again. We headed to the main courtyard, one that was surrounded by flowers and contained a massive fountain that allowed rainbow water to flow from the peak of its unique, peacock structure. The sun's rays bathed us in warmth.
It was winter, but the snow that graced us yesterday was now gone, an intriguing sign from my father's perspective.
* * *
"Snow?" I questioned and reached out of the window of the library to feel the crisp snowflake that landed in the palm of my hand and melted in seconds.
"A blessing." My father drew my attention as he walked to the other side of the window sill, reaching out to catch one of the flakes.
"Snow is a normal occurrence," I noted, glancing at my father but frowning at his expression. He seemed troubled by the fluffy white flakes that slowly fell from the dark, cloudy sky.
"Father?"
"Snow on the brink of the New Year has a meaning," he voiced, his wide eyes continuing to stare up while his grimace only deepened. "Change is coming."
"A good change?"
"I'm not sure, nor is it my right to say." He finally turned his attention to me, and his conflicted gaze left me a little nervous.
Does this have to do with me and Rosadette?
"Father, if this has to do with Rosa-"
"Who knows what it's in regard to," Father interrupted. "But Xavier, this is the last warning I'll give you. Stop acting out in fear of changing yourself, and give Rosadette a chance. If not, do not ask for my assistance if that rose begins to fade away."
He didn't allow me to argue as he turned around and began to head to the door. "Your mother will be teaching this semester. Be on your best behavior, especially with Prince Rainer being around."
"Why did you allow him to attend?" I finally had the guts to question, which prompted my father to stop in his tracks and look over his shoulder at me.
I carried on, "His family has their own academy. Why accept him? He wasn't even there for the first semester. Half the year is done and he's returning as if he deserves to be within our lands."
"We do not own these lands," Father corrected. "The universe is the creator and ruler of the very ground we walk upon. We're privileged to live here in luxury thanks to her abundance and forgiveness. The mistakes we make do not alter our destined paths, even though they should, but there's only a matter of time before those mistakes stack up and block us from our final destination."
He looked away. "To you, Prince Rainer is competition. To us, we are allies. There are far greater things out there that despise our existence. Remember to create bridges, Xavier. Don’t burn them down."
I tried to speak, but he was already walking out the door, the guard bowing and closing the door behind him.
* * *
Due to his words, I struggled to sleep, worries flooding me as I fought the doubt in my head. I knew what I needed to do to gain Rosadette's trust, but to belittle myself for a woman was appalling to me. Unless she proved to be worth my time, I wasn't going to waste anymore thinking time on her.
Yet I still couldn't get her out of my mind.
"Do you think Rosadart is going to show up?" Esmeralda inquired tauntingly. "Everyone's speculating that she went running back to the lower world and the queen is training another student. Good riddance."
"Just admit you don't like her being close to Prince Rainer," I mumbled.
"I'm over him," she spat out like I'd insulted her. "He's nothing to me. I'm in better hands."
"And whose hands are those?" I inquired.
"Yours, of course." She grinned and wrapped her arms around my left arm. I rolled my eyes, noticing the few looks we were receiving, but I was far too exhausted and a bit irritated to care at this point.
I just wanted to reach the classroom, sit down, and get lost in my other studies and books of knowledge instead of listening to the boring lectures of amateur teachers who deemed themselves worthy of being called “professor.”
"Hmm?" Esmeralda suddenly stopped, tugging me to pause in my stride. I was going to give her a glare, but her eyes were glowing before they darted around.
"What?" I questioned her.
"Attack," she muttered, her body growing stiff. Her quiet whisper made my senses spike up, and I caught onto what she was anticipating.
In seconds, the two of us were back to back, our stronger elements coming to our calling - mine being ice while Esmeralda called to nature, vines popping out from the nearby bushes to aid her.
Other students around us were finally picking up on the random shadows that formed from the ground, seeping up and shifting into dark knights with glowing red armor.
"We're under attack!" a student screamed. You'd expect panic to burst through the courtyard, but many of them drew out their elements, creating weapons to aid us in the approaching battle.
It actually made me grin slightly, taking note of those who didn't quiver in fear at the chance of a fight. Always observe who is willing to lay their life down in a battle. You never know when you'd need to join forces.
The shadowed, armored beings didn't frighten me. Their magic was average, and a few simple attacks would vanquish them with ease.
Child’s play.
"Destroy them swiftly!" I ordered, taking the leadership role in this fight. No one fought against my command, diving straight towards the enemy forces with my simple command.
It always boosted my confidence and gave me a power boost to see how easily my people listened to me. Just proved that I deserved the right to the throne, regardless of what fate had destined for me. A mere mortal wouldn't hold me down.
I called for the ice magic that trickled to my fingertips, creating a sword of ice that replicated glass but was as sharp and sturdy as a blade itself.
Pushing forward, I charged into the group of dark beings, lifting my sword up as vines shot out by my sides to give me backup. I had no doubt that Esmeralda was assisting me. That was one of the reasons she was a reasonable candidate to have as queen.
At least she knew how to fight.
I let my magic surge into my sword, just as I slid to a stop and sliced my sword through the first being of darkness. It screamed in pain, just like many around the courtyard that felt the wrath of our attacks.
I moved onto the next target, needing no second to waste on the dying creature. This wasn't the first time we'd experienced an ambush from an unidentified source, but I figured it was a simple trick that Father instilled to test what we've g
ained from the previous year.
Easy prey to destroy.
I continued slicing one by one until I was back next to Esmeralda and the other students. We gathered in the middle of the courtyard, huddled close in defensive positions as the enemy knelt on their knees, clinging to their wounds.
Their blood was pure black, and some fell to the ground, the headless bodies remaining still. All we had to do was wait for them to fade away and we'd be back to our scheduled program.
Why aren't they fading away?
We waited patiently, figuring they would return into nothingness or that whatever spell that cloaked their bodies would have been broken by our attacks, but as the clock continued to tick, nothing happened.
They remained as still as statues, leaving us to wonder if we'd done something wrong.
"Why aren't they fading?" a student questioned. I could sense the hint of nervousness in his tone, and it pissed me off.
"Don't fear what hasn't been revealed," I muttered in annoyance. Setting panic when there was no need for it was a premature act of cowardice. We didn't have time for doubt right now.
The silence thickened, everyone frozen in place as we waited for any indication that we'd won the battle, but when that sign finally came, our eyes widened, and a few people gasped when the creatures rose back up, their wounds healing in seconds.
I looked over to the headless group of shadow warriors, and their heads faded away, only to reappear on their once headless bodies.
"Attack again! Regroup after. Make sure you cut right through them!" I ordered, and screams of agreement echoed through the courtyard as they charged towards the enemy. They remained in place, not fearing our approaching assault as swords, beams of elements, and other attacks went through their bodies, slicing body parts and limbs until all of them were on the ground like lifeless dolls.
We quickly regrouped, and I could tell some of us were winded. Fae were strong warriors in terms of weaponry, but only a select group could call on immense magic and other capabilities and not feel drained.
Patiently, we caught our breaths as we aimed to take this precious moment to recharge our magic, but in seconds, the same beings we'd spent tons of energy bringing down were back in their full form and instead of standing there, they were racing towards us.
I immediately went into defense, just in time for a sword to clash against mine. I grit my teeth, not expecting the force that pushed against me as their glowing red eyes looked into mine.
My own eyes narrowed, staring into the depths of the creature, but what threw me off was the familiarity of the magic.
I know this magic...but who is it from again?
My dark opponent pushed me back, and I sent a wave of icicles their way while I pushed off the ground to make more distance for myself. Before I could land, a vine platform formed beneath my feet, and I quickly scanned below to see Esmeralda working on creating a protective wall of vines and attacking any dark creatures that got too close.
From the sweat dripping down her face, she was already struggling, the light around her dimming tremendously as she fought to finish the protective vine circle she was forging while defending those who were struggling to keep up.
I frowned when I noticed the incoming shadow from behind Esmeralda, the opening clear as no one else tried to protect her while she was fighting to protect everyone else.
"Tch." Part of me wanted to push off the platform and aid her like she was me, but that would be utterly pathetic of me.
If she can't protect herself, she doesn't deserve to wear the crown to our throne.
"ALA FLAMEANDO!"
The loud cast of magic came from afar, but I didn't tug my eyes away fast enough before a shot of fire came from the ground, protecting Esmeralda from the shadow that ran right into it.
The scream that followed made us all look at the creature, watching the darkness burn up in flames until black ashes remained in its very spot.
Esmeralda looked at the spot where the ashes remained, before glancing over to me. She frowned, looking almost disappointed that I'd remained where I was versus putting myself in harm's way to protect her.
She looked away, a scowl on her face as she sent a wave of vines at the running dark figure racing towards her. It went flying back upon impact, but the attack didn't get rid of the dark figure like the flames had.
I gazed around to find out who was the one to cast that spell, but the platform beneath me disappeared in a flash, and I quickly had to compose myself as I did a quick spell to create an ice platform that stopped me from hitting the ground completely.
Before I could look back at Esmeralda and glare at her, I realized five dark men were running towards me from all angles. I frowned, quickly trying to figure out what spell could vanquish them like the flames, but I bit my lip to hold back my curse, realizing I'd have to avoid the ambush attack if I didn't want to get hurt.
Or embarrass myself in front of my people.
"Esta la vermara!"
The male voice boomed around the courtyard, and as if a storm was summoned to bring destruction in its wake, five lightning strikes came from the sky and struck the dark creatures.
The strike was both calculated and filled with enough power to leave the creatures screaming in pain before they were nothing but ashes that sizzled on the ground where the burnt marks of the thunder strike remained.
The courtyard grew silent, and the creatures that remained all turned their attention to the source of the new threat.
I followed their gaze, only to be left in a confusing state of disbelief.
This can't be real.
Rosadette ran into the courtyard, directing a bunch of students to head down one of the two paths that led to the auditorium.
The dark warriors screamed in unison, startling many of us and grabbing Rosadette's attention as she ushered the last group of individuals, some of them being children that attended the daycare programs.
They charged towards her, and I shook my head, knowing her good deed would only repay her with death, but then her voice reached my ears.
Not asking for assistance but conducting a spell.
"Thou shall burn by the flames that tremble in my presence! LERA FLAME NORDANDO!"
My head shot up, my eyes landing on her body as it became surrounded by blazing magic. Her platinum blonde hair levitated with a red glow as her striking purple eyes began to glow. Her skirt fluttered as the magic rushed around her, flames igniting like an enhancing dance as rose petals formed out of nowhere, only to ignite into flames the next second.
The flames wrapped around her, growing stronger and stronger and picking up the wind from all around us. I sank my hands deeper into the ground beneath me, watching as others squealed and fought to grab anything they could to keep them from being sucked into the ground and the masterpiece of dancing flames.
It grew in strength, to the point that Esmeralda created a wall of vines to aid students from being swept away. The shadow people, on the other hand, raced towards the growing flaming tornado, confident in whatever powers they possessed, but soon came to their doom as shots of flaming petals dashed straight into their chests.
One attack was all it took to leave them screaming in agony and bursting into ash, like vampires being struck by a stake and meeting their end.
It became obvious that they were losing the battle, and those that fought to run away were easily sucked in by the force.
Throughout all of this, I could see Rosadette's silhouette in the spinning madness and feel the oozing magic and power that radiated off her body in waves. Every last dark creature in the courtyard was sucked into death, and when it was all clear, she clapped her hands once. The booming sound that followed was like a loud crackle of thunder as the spinning flames dispersed.
Embers rained down on all of us, the winds slowing down until they eased off completely. Those floating from the strength of the winds fell to the ground like gravity had finally found its purpose, and I looked at her wit
h my jaw hanging open, watching as she opened her eyes and her energy retreated inside of her.
I then noticed the book hovering over her left hand, the pages turning in an endless cycle until the glow it emitted began to dull and those pieces of paper came to a stop. The book closed, dropping into her hand, and she let out a long breath before our eyes locked.
What was obvious was the dramatic difference in that gaze. As if she'd experienced a lifetime of struggles and pain and had grown wiser and stronger in all the areas she’d lacked.
The naive look she once carried was no longer present, determination and confidence thick in those purple orbs that twinkled with hints of silver. The woman who lost all bit of motivation to be among us now stood there, surrounded by the very people who had once looked down upon her. She had practically saved us from the unforeseen enemy, with far more perseverance than any of us expected.
I didn't need to look around. I could feel within the depths of me the shame that followed. As much as I fought to submerge it from the surface, I was experiencing what humans would call regret.
The first set of footsteps drew my attention, and from Rosadette's left came Prince Rainer. He had a proud smile on his face and when he reached Rosadette's side, they exchanged a look.
A smile graced those smooth red lips of Rosadette's as her eyes brightened immensely with his attention. Those same eyes that had once looked at me with hope and longing, wishing to receive my acceptance and only being struck with disappointment and inner confliction.
Yet, from afar, next to another man of the same royal status as I, she blossomed like the rose she was meant to be. She beamed in pride that she'd done what no one expected of her, and it was like watching the winner of a competition receiving the news that they were the victor.
What made my eyes widen and heart flicker in anger was watching Prince Rainer reach for her hand and squeeze it gently. Who did he think he was to try and claim what was already mine?
Fae Rose Academy: Year One (For The Purely Divine Book 1) Page 20
