replied.
Lucian turned to see a tall, stocky boy with honey brown hair speaking to a rather intimidating-looking woman. She had dark brown hair which was pulled into such a tight bun it seemed to be pulling her face into an even longer, grimmer expression. The boy muttered something under his breath.
“What did you say?” his mother snapped.
“Nothing, Mother, nothing,” he said quickly. “I suppose I’ll see you in December. I love you.”
The woman attempted a motherly smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “Yes, I suppose so. I love you too. Goodbye.”
The boy waited for the woman to stalk off before whispering, “Not as much as you love precious, perfect Moira.”
“Hi,” Lucian said as the boy came closer “Are you new here?”
“Yeah, I am,” the boy said.
“Me too. My name is Lucian. I’ve been here for a few days.”
“Adrian,” the boy replied. “As you can see, Mother just left me here.”
“I did see. Where’s your father?”
“Dad died five years ago.
“Oh,” Lucian replied, “I’m sorry.”
Adrian shrugged. “It’s okay. So, who’s forcing you to come here?”
“Mom and Dad. Dad more than Mom. He didn’t get to come so he feels like he’s not really good enough for my mom,” Lucian explained.
“I think Mom just wanted to get me out of the house. My twin sister is going to the girls’ school so that she can get the prince she deserves.” Adrian made a face. “The only prince I would wish her on is one who could turn her to stone or something equally silent.”
“I know what you mean,” Lucian said with a grim expression. “My little sister, Allegra, gets away with everything.”
“Yeah. Did you say Allegra?” Adrian asked suddenly.
“Yes.”
“Where are you from?”
“Maltisten.” Lucian was feeling more confused by the second. “Why?”
For a moment Adrian gaped at him before saying, “Your sister is my princess.”
“No way, that can’t be right.”
“Unless you know of another Allegra of Maltisten,” Adrian replied.
Lucian knew there wasn’t another Princess Allegra. One was bad enough, but two? He would have gone insane. “I guess she is. I’m sorry.”
“She annoying?” Adrian asked.
“She’s a pest,” Lucian said sourly before describing Allegra’s latest escapade with his sword.
When he’d finished, Adrian asked curiously, “Who’s your princess?”
“Princess Moira of Lictthane,” Lucian replied.
“Wow, now I’m sorry. Moira is my twin sister. She’s the most horrid, conniving, evil girl on the entire planet. Maybe even in the whole universe!”
“That bad?” Lucian asked.
“Yeah. Well, I guess we’ll suffer together. You with my sister and me with yours,” Adrian said, looking glumly brave about the situation.
“I guess so,” Lucian replied. “I suppose somehow it could be worse.”
“I don’t see how,” Adrian said.
The next day, they both saw how things could get worse. They were wandering around the grounds talking when a gleaming carriage pulled up. Calista was standing in front of the steps as she had been when Lucian had arrived. The carriage was pulled to a stop, six golden horses panting after their long ride. Behind the carriage, a tall young boy was riding in on a brilliant white stallion. He was wearing the school uniform, but his jacket was dripping with medals and ribbons. A footman jumped from the back of the carriage and rushed to the door. “Presenting their royal highnesses, King Roland and Queen Angelique of Coleston and their son, Prince Kaelen of Coleston,” the man said in a nasal voice before rushing to pull open the door with a sweeping bow.
Calista smiled as a couple exited the carriage and the prince dismounted his horse and stood next to his parents. “King Roland, it has been far too long,” she said. “I’ve not seen you since you completed your quest and that has been many years ago.”
“Yes, well, the pressures of ruling a province,” he said. “You understand.”
“Indeed,” Calista replied with a mysterious note of disappointment in her voice. “It would seem you missed our uniform policy. There is to be no ornamentation at this time.
“Well, surely a few awards can be overlooked,” Queen Angelique said. “He is, after all, third generation.”
“That is neither here nor there. In this school, all begin as equals. Surely King Roland remembered that.” There was some spluttering from the king before Calista continued, “I’m afraid you will have to remove every ribbon and medal before you leave today. Charming Academy makes exceptions for no one. Shall we go to the stables? There your horses will receive some much earned rest and Kaelen’s horse will be housed.”
Adrian and Lucian watched Calista lead them away. “Can you believe that?” Adrian asked. “I’ve never seen so many medals on someone our age.”
“Me neither,” Lucian replied. “I feel badly for the fairies. He’s going to be a handful.”
“Yeah, well don’t feel too badly for them; we’re the ones who have to live with that snob,” Adrian pointed out.
“Well, maybe it’s just his parents,” Lucian said. “He could be in the same boat we’re in.”
“You honestly think that kid isn’t enjoying all the attention?” Adrian asked incredulously.
Lucian hesitated, “Well, he might not be so bad. It could just be an act he’s putting on to keep his parents happy.” They watched as Calista led the family past the witches’ hovel and towards the castle.
“I hope you’re right,” Adrian said.
It didn’t take long for them to find out that Lucian was wrong about Kaelen. He was every bit as selfish and arrogant as he had seemed that first day; and he was a bully. He was the best, the biggest, the strongest and the smartest in his not-so-humble opinion and you’d best remember that or else. Lucian and Adrian found themselves avoiding Kaelen whenever possible, but as the days wore on to the start of school, it became quite clear that avoiding him would not be possible. They very soon received their class lists in their mailboxes. Lucian and Adrian were thrilled to discover that they had all the same classes at the same time, but horrified to discover that so did Kaelen.
“Are you quite sure?” Lucian asked again.
“See for yourself,” Adrian replied, handing him the copy of Kaelen’s schedule he’d written down while Kaelen had been out.
Lucian took the schedule Adrian handed him and compared it to his own. What he read was disappointingly identical. There was no escaping it; Kaelen would be in their classes
.
Class Schedule
Day Time Class Teacher
Monday, Wednesday
8:00-9:30 Language Arts Airlia Willowlimb
9:30-11:00 Mathematics Marius Hawkeye
11:00-12:00 Lunch
12:00-1:00 History Clio Stormcloud
1:00-2:00 Hunting Diana Foxglove
2:00-3:00 Botany Russett Snapdragon
3:00-4:00 Foreign Language Lorelei
Tuesday, Thursday
8:00-9:30 Physical Education Achilles Stardust
9:30-11:00 Etiquette Gelasia Stardust
11:00-12:00 Lunch
12:00-1:00 Orientation Honoria Peregrine
1:00-2:30 Horsemanship Phillipa Rosepetal
12:30-4:00 Fencing Raphael Peregrine
Friday
8:00-9:30 Language Arts Airlia Willowlimb
9:30-11:00 Art Stefanos Stormcloud
11:00-12:00 Lunch
12:00-1:30 Beginner’s Alchemy Aurelia Sundance
1:30-3:00 Music Amadeus Comettail
Adrian sighed, “I suppose you’re going to say we may as well make the best of it.”
Lucian grimaced. “That’s exactly what I was going to say. We’ll have to find a way of dealing with him. At least there will be ten other guys in these classes for him t
o pick on.”
“Yeah,” Adrian said. “And we don’t have to share rooms with anyone. Can you imagine having him as your roommate?”
Lucian nodded but said nothing as he tossed the copied schedule into the fireplace.
Year 1 Chapter 2
Back to Table of Contents
When classes started, Lucian was more than ready. The two weeks with little to do had been torture, despite all the fun he had with Adrian. During the day, he and Adrian worked with Rusty, trying to teach him to hunt. Lucian and his father hadn’t gotten very far with the playful puppy over the summer. Adrian’s dog, Clover, was an older, experienced dog with enough love and patience to run with Rusty. She was a dark brown dog with a white patch over her heart resembling, vaguely, a cloverleaf. Rusty slowly improved, but still had trouble following basic commands. “He’ll get it with practice,” Adrian would often say to reassure Lucian after a long day of working. “He’s just having a hard time concentrating. This is a brand new place after all.”
Lucian would smile and nod, but he was becoming more and more frustrated. Rusty limped less as the days wore on. He wondered if perhaps the puppy had been hurt while still very small and was finally beginning to heal. Or perhaps it was being around the fairies that was healing Rusty’s leg. Lucian wasn’t quite sure which it was, but didn’t particularly care. He found more and more each day that he loved that little puppy. He had even started letting Rusty sleep in his bed at night, mostly because it was nighttime that was hardest for him. Left alone with his thoughts, Lucian would dwell on how homesick he was. He missed his parents dreadfully. He even missed Allegra, though he would never have admitted it to Adrian. He began to look forward to Mondays when he received letters from home. He wrote back telling them about his progress with Rusty and, once school started, about his