“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” — Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

  ???

  The moment that one of the school administrators pinned the placement lists up on the wooden bulletin board near the entrance of the Academy’s central wing, a horde of excited first years immediately started swarming, with a growing tide of voices rising and weaving through the corridors.

  The verdicts were in—who had earned their places in the Advanced classes, and who would settle for Standard. With the number of students in this year’s intake, there would be two Advanced classes and two Standard classes.

  The poor administrator barely managed to squeeze his way out of the excited and dense crowd of first years that pressed forward, crowding around the bulletin board to find their names. Several of them craned their necks to catch a glimpse, pointing and murmuring. Several of those at the back have to stand on their tip-toes in order to be able to catch a glimpse of the placement lists, hoping to spot their names through the sea of bodies.

  Some who managed to locate their names gave cheers when they saw ‘Advanced Class’ beside them. Whereas others groaned in quiet disappointment.

  “Damn! I didn’t make it!”

  “Alice, I found your name! You’re in Advanced Class 1!”

  “Me too!”

  “Kaela, you’re in Advanced Class 1!”

  “Look, Prince Rem made it as well! Advanced Class 2!” A voice rang through the crowd from somewhere near the back.

  “No surprise there. He’s the Crown Prince!”

  Rem, meanwhile, stood quietly at the edge of the crowd, being crowded by a growing cluster of wide-eyed girls and fawning nobles, all trying to curry favour with the Crown Prince. He felt overwhelmed and uncomfortable with the attention, especially with the beaming smiles and voices pitched with admiration surrounding him. Rem felt oddly removed, with his calm fa?ade masking the uneasiness that he was feeling.

  Not far away, Rem’s Crownsguard was surveying the scene with a critical eye. Seeing no immediate danger to the Crown Prince even as Rem offered the occasional smile or nod, the Crownsguard made no move to interfere, simply keeping watch.

  Leighton lounged against the wall beside Rem, his arms crossed and a faint smirk tugging at his lips. He observed the scene with amusement, wholly unbothered by the attention swirling around them.

  “As popular as ever, Your Highness.” Leighton teased Rem lightly, and the prince gave Leighton a dirty look. “Best get used to it. We’re going to be here for three years.”

  Rem looked as if he wanted to cry, much to Leighton’s amusement.

  On Rem’s other side, Nathan’s voice cut through the excited voices of the crowd. “Back off. You’re standing too close. The prince needs space.” Without hesitation, Nathan stepped in front of Rem, placing himself between the prince and the encroaching students, a warning scowl on his face.

  “Oh, come on, Hunt, we just want to say hello!”

  “Yeah, we’re going to be classmates for the next three years, after all!”

  “Don’t be so uptight!”

  “You can’t hog the prince all to yourself!”

  Nathan didn’t flinch. He kept his glare fixed on them, and the girl who had spoken wisely backed off with a huff. “You can say ‘hello’ from a distance,” he said coolly. “Where the hell is Nightray? Shouldn’t it be her job to deter this group of vultures?” He muttered irritably beneath his breath, his head whipping around in search of her.

  Rem’s chest tightened at the mention of Yulia. And indeed, if anyone could scatter the crowd with just a look, it would be her.

  And then, as though summoned by name, Yuliana Nightray appeared.

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  She moved through the entrance hall with quiet authority, being flanked by Gale Valemire and Elias Rovaryn, with the steps of all three being almost silent.

  Yulia didn’t so much as look in Rem’s direction as she passed. Nathan Hunt, now reduced to almost wrestling with an overly eager boy who had gotten too close, barely had time to notice.

  She walked right past Rem without so much as an acknowledgement or even a bow, acting like Rem was a mere fixture in the hallway. Or even a shadow in the hall.

  To the rest of the Academy, Rem was the Crown Prince. The symbol of Alathia. The heir to the throne. The next king.

  But to Yulia, he was just another uniform walking these halls.

  Rem’s chest tightened as his gaze remained on her retreating back. Gale caught his gaze briefly, with curiosity flickering in his eyes, before he turned away. Elias lingered just a moment longer, the expression on his face unreadable as he glanced at Rem, before he too followed suit.

  ‘When was it when she started looking at me with those eyes?’ Rem wondered, staring at the door where Yulia had just walked through with Gale and Elias. ‘When was it…when Yulia started giving up on me?’

  The question hung in the air between the cheers and chatter. And not for the first time, Rem had no idea how to begin fixing the damage that he’d caused.

  ???

  The noise and chattering of their fellow students faded into the distance, even as the doors leading to the entrance hall shut behind them.

  Gale and Elias cast lingering glances over their shoulders at the closed doors, where they had seen the crowd of students swarming the Crown Prince excitedly, their faces all shining with admiration and excitement, all of them trying to curry favour with the future king.

  As the heirs to their families, Gale and Elias had seen Rem before. Whether it was in newspapers, or even at diplomatic events that they have attended alongside their families. They had even been present at the coronation ceremony held several months after the war against Nuvelle had ended, and when Prince Rem was officially recognised as the Crown Prince in front of not just the ministers and military commanders, but also in front of the heads and heirs of the Ten Great Houses.

  Gale’s voice dropped to a low murmur as they walked down the hallway, and up the stairs, taking one last look back over his shoulder. “That was Prince Rem, wasn’t it?” Yulia didn’t break her stride. She only made a noncommittal sound in her throat. “Is it all right for you? Not to stay by his side? You’re his guardian, aren’t you?” He pressed.

  “There’s a Crownsguard with him. And my duties as his guardian don’t officially commence until we’re both of age,” Yulia replied, her voice tight.

  Gale and Elias exchanged looks, but said nothing.

  The first year classroom hallway on the third floor stretched before them, with each door marked with a number plaque. Finally, they arrived outside a door with a plaque labelled Advanced Class 1.

  “Here it is,” Elias murmured, his eyes flickering towards the plaque above the door, before turning his gaze back to his friends. “No doubt that the rest are still mingling in the entrance hall. We might as well find some good seats.”

  Yulia shrugged, sliding the door opened, stepping inside with Gale and Elias close behind. To her mild surprise, the classroom wasn’t as empty as expected. There is a single figure already slumped in one of the chairs at the front row seat by the window. His head was tilted back, and his mouth slightly agape in his sleep. The slow, steady rise and fall of his chest told them that he’d been there for some time.

  “I recognise him.” Gale frowned, even as they walked past the sleeping student. “He’s this year’s top scorer in the scholarship program. Rowan Mercier, I think. He’s from one of the industrial slum areas outside the Imperial City. Mirebend, I believe.”

  Yulia said nothing. She remembered Rowan Mercier from the placement tests earlier that day. While not the strongest in combat, it was his tactical mind that made him formidable, outwitting his opponent with ease. She’d already heard a few nobles dismiss him as a ‘street rat from the slums’, but she ignored it.

  This was the Imperial Officers Academy. Here, skill, effort, and character spoke louder than titles or bloodlines.

  Yulia spared Rowan Mercier one last glance before making her way to the back of the classroom. Gale and Elias followed her, with all three of them choosing seats near the windows that offered broad views and minimal blind spots.

  Yulia lowered herself into the chair, folding her hands neatly on the desk in front of her, her posture rigid and unyielding. Her gaze, however, wasn’t on the classroom door, or even on the board, or even the cabinets at the back of the classroom. She looked out of the windows at the Academy grounds, gazing at something that only she could see.

  It had been over a year since she’d last seen Rem. Not since the day when she’d stormed the Imperial Palace to demand that Rem send aid to the provinces. Even the little aid that Lord Merren was able to send to the Northern Holds, and even to the lands near the eastern border, hadn’t been nearly enough.

  The situation in Alathia was steadily worsening. Yulia knew that the Ten Great Houses were growing disillusioned with the Crown, especially with Prince Rem. House Kael, in particular, stood on the brink. Even members of her own House were getting disgruntled and growing restless with Prince Rem, and it isn’t solely because of the kingdom’s deteriorating state either.

  It had begun with Luca’s banishment. Her father’s death in the war against Nuvelle definitely didn’t help. A war that majority of House Nightray believed could have been avoided if only King Edric had listened to Hamilton Nightray.

  Elias was the first to break the silence. “Do you think Prince Rem even knows what’s happening in Alathia right now?” he asked suddenly, as if continuing a conversation rather than starting one. Both Gale and Yulia turned to him. Elias’s face was grave. “Even members of my House are losing faith in the Crown. And I heard that Lord Kael is on the verge of storming the Imperial Palace any day now, due to what’s been happening in the Northern Holds these past few years.”

  “I hope for Lord Kael’s sake that he doesn’t do anything reckless. He could be arrested for treason if he snaps,” Gale murmured with concern. His gaze then shifted towards Yulia. “You practically ignored the prince, and treated him like he’s part of the wall or the furniture, even though nearly every single student in the Academy is fawning over him.” He pointed out.

  Yulia’s jaw tightened. “All I want to do right now is hit him. So it’s probably best I keep my distance,” she replied coolly. “I give thanks to the Goddess that we’re in different classes. He has his Crownsguard with him. And even Nathan Hunt. I’m not worried about his safety. He got three years in the Academy. Just like us. Let’s hope he can learn what he needs to, and actually become a decent leader, though I’m not holding my breath on that.” She scoffed. “Unless he can pull his head out of his ass and actually see reality, and not look at the world through those rose-tinted glasses of his, I won’t accept him as the Crown Prince, let alone as king.”

  Gale and Elias exchanged looks. Yulia rarely spoke about Prince Rem. And on the rare occasions when she did, it was always with disdain or anger. Even annoyance. And in recent years, it seems like it’s getting worse.

  “You used to like him,” Gale said quietly. He remembered a time when Yulia visited the Imperial Palace almost weekly. That was before the war against Nuvelle.

  Yulia didn’t respond immediately. Several long moments of silence passed between them. Finally, she sighed, turning to face Gale and Elias. Her expression was one of regret. “I still do,” she whispered, her voice soft and laced with something neither boy can identify. “And that’s the problem.”

  She sighed again, her gaze drifting to the classroom windows once more. “I wanted to believe in him. I still do, even now. I’m supposed to protect him. House Nightray are the guardians of the royal family. But protecting someone doesn’t just mean shielding them from assassins, or poison, and arrows. Sometimes, it means protecting them from themselves. Pushing them, so that they can be the leader this kingdom needs. Forcing them to learn. To grow.” Yulia’s voice hardened. “But right now? Unless Rem wakes up and sees reality for what it is, I don’t see him being a good king. And until he does, I won’t accept him as the Crown Prince, let alone as the king.”

  Gale and Elias exchanged glances.

  There was nothing more to say.

  Not yet.