second level and continued to curve upward on either side. The walls were decorated in tapestries and paintings depicting Prince Charmings who’d gone years before. The hall was riddled with windows allowing the sunlight to stream through and light the hallways. Carpeted in plush velvet, Lucian couldn’t hear anyone’s steps as they walked through the halls. “On this level of the castle,” Calista said, breaking Lucian’s thoughts, “we have most of our specialty classes.” A burst of flames, followed by a loud roar, shot through an open door on their right. “Dragon fighting, for example,” Calista said as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She waved her wand and a rain shower appeared over the blaze and quickly put it out. “We also have fencing, spell breaking and alchemy on this level of the castle. This is also where our dining hall, infirmary, and common area are located. If you’ll follow me, we’ll head upstairs and continue the tour.”
They followed Calista up the staircase. It was made of polished oak and carpeted with the same dark blue, velvet carpet as the floors below. As they reached the landing for the second floor, Lucian could see into one of the rooms. Had classes already started? A green fairy was lecturing on romantic poetry and he could see several boys taking notes. He also saw a few that were staring off at nothing in particular.
His father had noticed the class too and asked in a panicked voice, “Did we miss the first of the school year?”
“No,” Calista replied,” the older boys begin classes earlier. Our first year students start the fifteenth of September while our sixth year students begin August first. Each year begins a little earlier than the year before it. We do this to help ease the students’ transition and to make time for individual parent orientations for our new students.” She paused to allow for further questions, but continued when there weren’t any. “This level of the castle is primarily for our academic courses. The class you can see is language arts, led by Airlia Willowlimb. We also have mathematics, history, art and music. Also on this level are our teachers’ offices. Each teacher has their own office which is used for meetings with students to go over strengths and weaknesses, trouble areas, or anything else the students may feel the need to discuss with their teachers. Now we’ll head upstairs to our third floor.”
They went up the left staircase and spiraled up to the next level. On this level, Lucian could see a few boys who appeared to be his age. His only disappointment was that it appeared they were all taller than he was. He shouldn’t have been surprised. There was always someone taller than him; especially since he was short for his age. This level also had a very high, cathedral style ceiling. Between the large, slanting windows hung more paintings depicting brave princes completing their quests. It appeared to be simply a long hallway with three doors.
“Here,” Calista said, “we have the entrance to the dormitories to your right and the tower to your left. In the tower we teach orientation, hunting, etiquette and astronomy.”
“How can you teach hunting indoors?” Lysander asked.
“The technique and ethics of hunting can be taught in a classroom. Our students also receive plenty of outdoor experience. But first they must understand safety and nature’s laws. The third door,” Calista continued, “is the door to my office. If you’ll step inside for a moment, we’ll complete orientation and you will have the rest of the day at leisure to see that Lucian is comfortably situated in his room.”
She held open the door as the three entered the spacious room. It was comfortably furnished with large, golden chairs covered with blue cushions. There was an oak desk neatly arranged with papers, pens and other necessities. The walls were pale blue and decorated with an oak bookcase, large chalkboard with a jar of chalk, and a portrait containing several fairies, including Calista and the fairy king and queen. It appeared to be a wedding. Lucian noticed that Calista seemed to have the opposite problem he did. Everyone in the portrait was shorter than she was.
“It’s a lovely picture, isn’t it?” Calista asked.
“Yes,” Lucian agreed. “Are you friends with the queen?”
Calista laughed, a merry sound like the babbling of a brook. “In a sense; the queen is my sister.” She motioned for them to have a seat while saying, “Here at Charming Academy, we make every effort to make sure that your son is ready for his quest. This includes meeting his princess every quarter. I’m sure you’ll agree that love at first sight is a romantic notion, but a myth.”
“Not always,” Alexandra replied, squeezing her husband’s hand.
Calista smiled. “There are always exceptions. But in our experience, it does not happen often. It is for this reason you’ll find that we have already selected a princess for Lucian based on the information you sent in your request.” She pointed her wand at the chalkboard and the pieces of chalk jumped to life. Soon they had sketched a colorful picture of a girl who appeared to be the same age as Lucian. Lucian was hardly impressed. The portrait showed a smiling girl with dull blonde hair and watery blue eyes. Written above her head was Princess Moira of Lictthane. “As you can see, Princess Moira is a lovely girl.” Lucian tried not to scoff. “She will begin attending Fair Damsels Academy this fall. Their first meeting will be in mid-October during our fall festival. Now do you have any questions?”
“When will we need to get Lucian?” Alexandra asked.
“We have a winter break starting after the celebration of the winter solstice,” Calista replied.
“Does everything center around the seasons?” Lysander asked.
“Well, yes, Your Majesty. Nature is the most precious gift we’ve been given. We celebrate all its beauties,” Calista explained. “You will need to pick Prince Lucian up on December twenty-third. He will be required back on January twenty-third. We give a full month for winter break. The school year ends on the summer solstice with a graduation ceremony combining the two schools which Lucian and our other princes will be required to attend every year. On that day we will meet together and we will then give you his certificate of completion, a grade card showing his mastery levels in each of his courses. Any other questions?”
Lucian was tempted to ask if he had to stay there, but decided against it.
“No,” Alexandra said. “Thank you.”
“You are quite welcome. Well, I’m sure you want to spend some time with Lucian before you return home. You have a long journey ahead of you. Good day,” Calista said as she ushered them from her office.
It did not take long for Lucian to find his room. There was a large golden plaque over the door that read “Prince Lucian of Maltisten” in sparkling blue script. When they walked inside, they found that Lucian’s luggage had already been brought up. There was a large window in the room and next to it was an oak desk with candles for late night studying. A large oak wardrobe was standing near a huge four poster bed. It was concealed by deep blue curtains. On pulling them aside, Lucian discovered that the bed was very soft and covered in light blue bedding with multiple gold fringed, blue pillows at the head of it. He stepped away from it and looked around. The room was huge, larger even than his room at home, which seemed very surprising considering he was in a school and not his home. The furniture was all very comfortable looking and had the old and yet loved look that made him feel slightly more at home. Outside the door was a row of small letterboxes. “I suppose that’s where my mail will go,” Lucian said, finding one labeled with his name.
“Yes, it would be the proper place for it,” Alexandra said. “Now you haven’t forgotten anything, have you? You have all your clothes, your supplies, everything?”
“Darling, we checked five times before we left home. Everything is here,” Lysander sighed. “You know how proud of you we are, don’t you son?”
“Yes, dad, I know,” Lucian replied.
“Well, your mother and I should be off then,” Lysander said.
Lucian nodded. He wanted to go with them. He didn’t want to be left here on his own. He didn’t want to be special. “Dad, I don’t…”
“You
’ll be fine, son,” Lysander interrupted. “Work hard, learn all you can. And remember, no matter what anyone else says; you’ll always be a Prince Charming to me.” He hugged Lucian tight before letting Alexandra say her goodbyes.
“Know that we love you, son. We’ll write to you every week,” Alexandra promised. “Now give me a smile before we go.” Lucian attempted a smile, but it didn’t quite work. “Oh now you can do better than that. Light up the room with it.”
Lucian couldn’t help but grin ear-to-ear at his mother’s favorite phrase.
“That’s much better,” Alexandra said with a smile of her own. “Take care of yourself and remember what we’ve taught you.” She hugged him close to her. Then she and Lysander turned and left, leaving Lucian alone, except for the sleeping puppy in the corner.
In the weeks before classes started, Lucian spent his time touring the castle and grounds, hoping to meet some of the other princes his age. He had been among the first to come for a new year at Charming Academy. One day as he was walking near the foreign language building, he heard someone behind him talking. “Mother, I don’t want to stay here.”
“Oh please. Don’t make such a fuss. Moira had to go a week ago and she didn’t complain,” a woman’s voice