He carried me over to the wooden bleachers in the corner of the room, placing me down gently. I sighed with relief, pulling my wet hair tie out of my hair, allowing the wet mess to fall. I seriously needed a shower.
A navy-blue towel appeared before me. I smiled, taking the towel and pressing it against my face, the smell of pine hit my nose. I took a moment to appreciate its divine smell, before wiping the sweat off my face and neck.
“I didn’t mean to disobey your orders Commander Hunt. I just got caught up in practicing.” I admitted, sitting up straight as my hand went up to my temple in a salute gesture.
He chuckled at my little display, walking over to my left, leaning down to grab a metallic blue water bottle. He opened the cap, raising it to his lips to gulp down the clear fluid that poured out.
I stared at it, my mind taking that moment to send a signal to my brain of how thirsty I was. I looked around the training room, wondering if there was a water fountain nearby, my eyes catching a glimpse of the silver metal contraception on the other side. I looked down to my legs, barely having enough energy in them to stand up. I frowned in defeat.
I felt a hand stroke my cheek, the soothing touch made me shiver as I lifted my head.
“If you want water Princess, you can simply ask.” Marcus said quietly, his softened expression made my heart race with excitement. Ugh, these hormones.
“Can I have some of your water please?” I asked kindly, relieved at being inches away from enjoying the cold clear liquid.
He nodded in response, giving me his water bottle. I gave a quick thanks before centring my attention on my target, not wasting any more time before gulping the bottle contents in one quick motion. Marcus simply stood there, a wide grin on his lips as he watched me consume the rest of his water. I removed the bottle from my lips, sighing in relief. Water; Mother Starlight’s gift to the realms…besides milk. Milk was number one.
“You have a serious addiction to milk, don’t you?” Marcus accused, his amused tone made me want to pout at him.
“Milk is life. Don’t hate its gloriousness.” I objected.
He merely smiled, taking a seat next to me. I took a moment to stare at his relaxed posture, his camouflage top matching his avocado green shorts. His hair was loose, the long, silky, carmel brown strands laid messily down his back. His hand reached out, his thumb trailing slowly across my lower lip causing me to gulp. My heart continued to pound against my chest, the lingering feel of his finger making my stomach flip.
“Don’t push yourself unless I’m around. This isn’t the facility where you were forced to work non-stop. You can take breaks when you start to feel exhausted. I don’t want to find you passed out on the floor. I get enough of that from Daniel. Understood?” He stressed, his hand trailing upward, moving a few strands of wet hair out of my face, placing them gently over my ear. I took a moment to breathe before nodding.
“Okay…as long as you don’t get tired of training with me. It’s not very entertaining.” I admitted, softly. His hand caressed my cheek as his face softened.
“Ryder’s hobby is reading; Elias’ hobby is exploring the forest. Daniel’s hobby is sleeping and mine is training. Besides, you’re more than enough entertainment for me.” He explained, whispering the last sentence, leaning forward.
I felt my face burn up as I felt something soft press against my forehead; soft moist lips. I’m going to die from tachycardia…
“Admit it, you’re falling for all of them, slowly. You should listen to your hyperactive heart. The heart doesn’t lie.” Rose mused, her voice sounding pleased with me having multiple interest. Damn you and my hormones.
I bit my lip as his lips left my skin, a tingling feeling rushed through me. We stared at one another, his expression filled with both happiness and admiration. I allowed my lips to curve into a soft smile, appreciating his company and support.
“C’mon Firefly, let’s go home and freshen up.” Marcus said gently.
He stood up, grabbing his empty water bottle before turning to face me with his hand extended. I placed mine in his, allowing him to help me up, I held onto his towel, pressing it against my chest. I’ve claimed you now. Mission Souvenir from Marcus. Complete. Two down – two to go.
“Don’t worry, if you get too tired. I’ll carry you again.” He whispered, before walking forward, gently tugging me along. I squeezed his hand in response, as we headed towards the exit, my eyes noticing a small pair of red glowing balls of light in the top vent of the auditorium. I used the back of my hand to rub at my eyes, before peering back at the vent; the illuminated red eyes were gone. What the hell?
“What’s wrong?” Marcus, who came to a stop to look over his shoulder asked.
“Ah it’s nothing…my eyes must be playing with me.” I admitted, turning my head to smile lightly.
“Once we get some food, you can take a nap to rest up.” Marcus encouraged.
I nodded, taking one last glimpse at the vent. Marcus tugged me lightly, encouraging me to start walking again. I followed suit, allowing the image of red glowing eyes to fade away.
Just a figment of my imagination.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
After four weeks of studying at Knightwood, I had come to one solid conclusion; Knightwood was filled with a bunch of stuck up, weak little shits. I thought Leonardo was bad, yet the last couple of weeks proved my assumptions wrong.
By the end of my second week, I had been challenged ten times, my winning streak strong as ever.
Rose enjoyed every confrontation, surging to life to cripple her opponent without even lifting a finger. I honestly assumed that people simply challenged me to confirm whether my large amount of power was fake or the real deal.
My other spirits didn’t even bother making an appearance, coming to an agreement amongst themselves that Rose would be the prime let’s make them beg for mercy, spokesperson.
I couldn’t blame them; this lot of shifters made me wonder who actually graduated from this academy, and if they truly were living up to Knightwood’s infamous best of the best title.
My schedule was laid back, only having to attend the mandatory two classes and assigned to a fourth period class with Matthew, giving him the opportunity to teach me more about the realms and their dynamics.
I couldn’t help being intrigued, specifically with the realms connected to the boys. It made me feel like I had a glimpse of their upbringing, trying to match their characteristics and attitudes with their appointed homelands. I still couldn’t believe they were all Royal children, one day to be heirs of their corresponding kingdoms. I attempted to drill EliaseAnne about her last name, Kingsley being the same as the King of Realm Nine.
“What makes you think I’m related to Elias? Let me guess, it’s due to the first half of my name, isn’t it?” She questioned, her face scrunched together in a displeased expression.
I waved my hands in front of me as I shook my head in denial.
“No, no. It’s your last name; Kingsley! Isn’t that the surname of Elias? Ryder said he was the only son of the King of Realm Nine! So, wouldn’t that make you two related?” I questioned, pointing out the facts. She sighed, shaking her head.
“I simply use Kingsley to give off the impression that we’re related. Me and Elias look very similar, our matching green eyes and blonde hair don’t help with the accusations either. I simply approved of the alias because it would be easier to blend in. Plus, you know how Elias is, he never shows up for class. Someone has to take notes for him.” Eli explained calmly, shrugging her shoulders.
“How does Elias have perfect attendance, but he’s never here?” I pondered.
“Maybe he has a doppelganger! Or he simply tells Matthew to change the attendance records.” Eli suggested, raising both her hands up to shrug again.
“Figures. That’s something he would do.” I agreed, nodding. Eli leaned across our desk, smiling wickedly.
“I can do the best Elias impersonation you’ve ever heard.” She admit
ted. I laughed. Now THIS sounded interesting.
“Try me.” I encouraged, leaning closer in anticipation. She closed her eyes, clearing her throat before leaning further, only inches away from my face.
“For a girl as smart as you, you’re truly oblivious as to who I really am, aren’t you, blue-eyes.” Her voice was deep and stern, sounding exactly like the green-eyed boy, sending shivers down my spine as my eyes grew wide.
“How the fuck did you do that!!! You – that sounded JUST like him!!!” I yelled, pointing a finger in her face. She laughed, causing a few of the surrounding students to look in our direction.
“Oh Mako, I love you. It’s just a little bit of fairy magic, nothing more.” She cooed in delight.
“You ARE a fairy!” I accused, not caring about the growing number of stares, glancing at our little exchange.
“Aw shucks, I wanted you to figure it out. You’re too cute when you sit there trying to solve a mystery.” She pointed out, leaning back against her chair, looking satisfied.
“My new goal; become a fairy.” I vowed to myself.
She shook her head, her expression softened at my declaration.
“One-day, sweet Mako. No harm in believing.” She replied.
We we’re heading towards the second half of the Solace semester, which meant exams were around the corner.
I thought it was hard to get an empty training room before with the level of activity during the day, but now it was full all-day. Not that I was one to train during the day, but it sure was a pain when I learned a new spell and had no choice but to patiently wait till the wee hours of the morning to get an empty room to myself.
Marcus became my new training partner in crime. We would start training at three in the morning; Marcus usually having to look in every bedroom to see where my sleep walking self had ventured off too.
Apparently, I alternated between Ryder’ and Elias’ beds, though lately in the past week I’ve been found in Daniel’ and Marcus’.
We would do a quick run around Knightwood every morning, typically following different trails in the forest as a warm up.
I personally loved running, allowing my mind to zone out and enjoy the fascinating atmosphere nature had to offer.
Back at the facility, running was done at the small running course. Unless you liked staring at the white walls as you ran, there wasn’t any enjoyment. The only downside of our warm ups was the chances of running into the three gossip girls: Brittany, Amanda and Courtney.
Brittany was apparently born here in Minato, being the daughter of some royal cousin or something along those lines. Even though she wasn’t direct royalty, it didn’t stop her from constantly reminding the world of how utterly amazing she was, being only a point or two away from gold rank, or so she proclaimed. Regardless of her inferior personality, it was very evident that she had a major crush on my Ryder. Yes, I claimed him so he was indeed mine.
Her two mascots, Amanda and Courtney had their own crushes, Amanda lusting over Marcus and Courtney over Daniel. I bet if it wasn’t for the fact Elias skipped class ninety-nine percent of the time, they would have a fourth member dedicated to him.
Needless to say, the trio couldn’t help “stalking” us every morning, watching us run from afar. I thought it was amusing, watching them frantically hide when me and Marcus turned the corner, onto the sandy path leading back to the academy. I bet if they played a game of Hide and Seek back at the facility, they would be killed before they could even attempt to find cover.
I had noticed the numerous rumours circulating around the school – the most common one being I was sleeping with all of the boys. I had a hunch Leonardo, being the complainer and apparent gossiper, he was, devoted his time in telling the lower ranks of my nightly raids, my sleep walking a mere excuse to get into the boys’ beds. I was fine with girls being jealous of my current status, being allowed to sleep at the boys’ place.
Boy jealousy, however, was immature in my opinion. Who starts spreading rumours just because they don’t get to hang with their crew? Leo was well aware that this whole situation was temporary. I wish he could act like a man, suck it up and find some other friends to chill with in the meantime.
My days started off with Marcus and our morning training, followed by breakfast with all of them. As the day progressed, I would have reading time with Ryder in the library, healing lessons with Daniel, free time with EliaseAnne to gossip and do girly stuff, dinner with the boys, and night walks with Elias in the forest, and returning to drink a glass of milk before bed.
Hope was interested in enhancing her healing skills, not getting much opportunity to train such assets back in the facility.
Daniel and his angel were honoured to teach us, always taking his time to teach me the basics. He figured out I learned quicker by reading the material so he took the initiative to find multiple books in both Ryder’s sanctuary and the school library. He even went through the trouble of highlighting all the information that would be useful for our lessons in each book. I was improving with each day that passed. I liked being praised by him, always complimenting me of how focused and determined I was.
Reading time with Ryder consisted of us having a miniature book club. We each would decide on a book we would want to read, finishing it and exchanging it. I discovered that Ryder loved Sherlock Holmes, or anything that dealt with mystery and problem solving. Detectives were his groove, surprising for the demon in my opinion. I thought he would be into the typical fight or sports books like the other males in our classes, their usual morning routine consisted of gathering together and discussing the latest boxing magazines from Realm Six.
EliaseAnne was my class buddy, always sitting with me during my two main classes and consistently walking me to my last class with Matthew. In the past four weeks, we went down to the main town twice, grabbing some school essentials and Eli splurging on a whole new wardrobe of clothes for me.
Of course, Eli wouldn’t take no for an answer, lecturing me about how I need to dress to attract some nice sexy shifters to do lovely things with; particularly the boys. She thought it was amusing to see their flushed expressions everyday during Advanced Sorcery when we’d be training outdoors; my neon pink booty shorts and white tank attire always catching my classmates attention, especially the male shifters.
I didn’t think it was necessary. I was perfectly fine with two pairs of yoga pants and a few tops. I had to wear my uniform most of the time, only changing to regular clothing for Matthew’s classes. He didn’t think me sporting my pink and black uniform was necessary in his class. We were either focused on magic summoning or history lessons, requiring me to be in comfortable attire to sit or fight in.
I truly enjoyed Matthew’s classes. He always tried to focus on something new and different. Though it was pretty obvious that I wouldn’t know much about any of the realms, it didn’t hinder my learning progress. Every class taught me something new and I truly enjoyed learning about the galaxy we lived in.
After dinner, Daniel and Ryder were usually the first to retire to bed; Daniel because sleep was apparently his hobby and Ryder liked to meditate before bed, sparing an hour or two to centre himself. He said it helped him control his demon better, the peaceful state of mind was comforting. It was one of his coping mechanisms after Anya’s kidnapping, which he continued after his days of therapy were over. I joined one of his mediation sessions.
As much as meditation was good for the mind, body, and soul, my attention level was far to low. I couldn’t understand how anyone could simply cross their legs and clear their mind for such a long period of time. If I was forced to meditate than sure, put me in a room for five hours and I’ll do my best to not fall asleep. But willingly meditate for my personal benefit, no thanks.
Plus, with Ryder in the room, I think he liked making out more than finding equilibrium with my presences. I wasn’t complaining, kissing was a good coping mechanism.
I had stumbled upon Elias in the forest during the second week
of classes, trying to find Nightmare who had decided she suddenly wanted to play hide and seek at eleven o’clock at night. Nighty was snuggled in his lap as he sat comfortably on a large rock, staring at the stars above.
I took a moment to appreciate his relaxed posture as he aimlessly stared at the sky, lost in his own thoughts which made me smile.
I could tell that Elias appreciated Mother Starlight’s beauty. It was hard to find someone, especially a male, who could see such delicacy. For someone like me who never got the opportunity to enjoy the world around me, it never ceased to pull at my heart strings every time I stepped outside. When surrounded by nature, you truly could feel freedom at its finest.
We still hadn’t gotten word from Heila, Matthew stressing how vital it was for the information of me being rescued to be as secretive as possible.
If even a hint of speculation arises, pinpointing me as the princess, it would put me at risk, something they wanted to avoid at all cost. I wasn’t in any rush, still trying to adapt to the revelation of having a family.
Midnight seemed intrigued by the boys, Elias in particular. I had asked him if he could get me a book to communicate with her. He happily agreed, offering to keep the book safe in his room so the others wouldn’t read it, till I was ready to reveal her existence.
I took time everyday, writing about my interactions with everyone. I could share my insecurities and fears, the anxiety of King Aspen suddenly showing up and taking all of this away, still lingered within me. She read it all, comforting me the best way she could; through poetry. I had no idea where she got such talent from, my ability to make a sentence rhyme was a lost cause. I enjoyed it though, her responses made me feel like she was talking to me in code.
My attraction for the boys continued to grow. I vented to Midnight about my internal dilemma. If I had to rank my love for the boys, Ryder was currently at the top.
When we’re alone together, my body would surge to life, feeling content with his presence. When he held me during our nights together or kissed me secretly on campus, I felt loved and complete. Our love for books and my new addiction to hazelnut coffee was some of the few from the list of similarities we shared. We took every opportunity to learn more about one another, all the way down to the feelings we felt during different events in our lives. It was the first time I’d revealed so much about myself to someone other than Midnight. It was a delightfully satisfying feeling to know I would always have someone to lean on.
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