Soon, the rows of lines were formed at the instruction of the princess and the students who had appeared with her behind the professors, and Alex found himself standing in the boys' rows at the middle of the line.
Lara and Thalia had immediately run away to the girls' line.
Before him stood a boy with black hair whose back was thin but who carried a similar height to Alex, and the boy avoided him without sparing him a single glance, as if looking at Alex was bound to create trouble.
Behind Alex was a boy with a similar look who too seemed unwilling to stand behind Alex at any cost. As a matter of fact, the boy avoided his eyes and did not open his lips even once, as though being acquainted with Alex was a nuisance he had to avoid at all costs.
"Students, stand straight. Morning prayer will start."
Alex straightened and dismissed his thoughts. He looked at the princess who stood in front of the lines with the other students, and he noticed something different about them. On their chests they carried golden stars which he tried hard to recall from his conversations with the princess.
Alex soon remembered that the golden stars signified that they were part of the student council, and she had also told him multiple times that she had joined the student council. So students who had arrived with the princess were all student council members as they all carried the golden stars in varying counts, and there were like five or seven of them standing in front of the students lines with their backs turned against the crowd and their faces turned towards the elevated platform at the front of the auditorium hall, where the professors stood rigidly and the vice headmistress stood before the microphone at the centre.
The prayer followed.
Born of flesh and blood,We pray to the almighty gods and goddesses,To give us their blessings and guidance,To move us into the right direction…
After a minute it stopped, and Alex released the breath he had unknowingly been holding in. He had learned this prayer long before, this prayer was the national pride of the empire, written by the first founding emperor, so everyone without much of a choice had to learn it because in most important ceremonies it was sung.
"We welcome the new batch of students into our academy, and soon the second years and upper year students will reach out to you and guide you through the academy. Today the classes will start one hour later to give you time to grow familiar with the surroundings, and make sure to ask everything you wish to know from your guides." The vice headmistress said and let her words settle down. "The student council members standing before you will help you in any way should you find any problems. Make sure to reach out to them."
As the vice headmistress finished her words, the student council members turned toward the students with a practised ease, their faces now turned against the crowd and their backs against the elevated platform.
After a few more pleasantries from the vice headmistress and the other professors, the hall was dismissed, though the first year students were told to stand by and not leave the auditorium hall until someone from the senior classes reached out to them to show them around.
The vice headmistress was the first to walk out and the professors followed soon after, and some senior students also exited since there were only around two hundred students in the first year and not all seniors were needed to guide each one of them, so most started leaving.
The student council members, however, stayed in the hall and started talking among themselves. Alex stole glances at the princess, who had avoided making eye contact with him, and it did not feel nice at all. He wanted to ask how she was feeling and how they could give up so easily like this.
But before he could do anything of the sort, a girl he had seen twice already appeared in front of him.
She was the girl he had once bumped into in the hallway during the written exam and had seen once again when he had walked out of the final exam at that infirmary-like room, where she had been sitting beside Thalia.
"Hello, I am Bella. We have already met." Bella said, and with a slightly raised brow added, "Haven't we?"
"Sorry about that time I bumped into you," Alex apologized. He had apologized previously as well, yet the girl seemed to taunt him, or more so tease him, for reasons he could not quite point out.
"Hehe," Bella giggled and added, "No need to apologize for the past. I just wanted to make sure you remembered me."
Alex found himself staring at her as her giggle drew more of an audience than he liked. She was unapologetically beautiful. She had long black hair braided into a single ponytail that reached her waist, and her white eyes, like fresh snow, were filled with a bright and open curiosity. She wore a white uniform like him, except she had orange lapels and two silver stars on her shoulder board while he had yellow lapels and only one silver star on his, and she wore a white skirt that swayed gently as she moved.
"Shall we start your tour of the academy, Mr. Ex-Fiance of Eva?" Bella said mischievously, and she looped her arm through his and started dragging him toward the entrance of the hall.
Alex froze at her words. "Are you friends with the princess?" he asked, stunned.
"Of course I am. How could I not be? After all, I am the heir of the Veilcaster family, you dumb Alex." She said it as a matter of fact and started pulling him forward with force, making him walk despite how he had stopped in shock just a moment ago.
"Then," Alex struggled to force his words out, "can you tell me how she is feeling right now?"
***
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