12 Two Of Seven

Chapter 12: Two Of Seven

Preaditi,

"The coach will come back for you."

Eliana nodded lazily at the Lord while looking at the window, her arms against the rail supporting her chin.

A day after the incident from the Capital. The Lord was informed about the unfortunate scene Eliana got herself into. She received a bit of scolding from the Lord himself. Though she didn't understand why the Lord refused to give the young man's name saying she'll meet him in the academy anyway. Plus, he was unsure who she really bumped into at the market, he doesn't want to drop names without certainty. But she couldn't care less, she was on the stage of adjusting in Praediti, that little accident was nothing compared to her dilemma.

"Eliana," The Lord called. "Are you listening?"

The girl heavily sighed before giving her full attention to the Jury.

"Yes."

"Good, we're almost there." The Lord informed.

"This Fortem Academy..." The Lord raised his eyebrows urging her to continue. "What is the school like?"

"It's a special school Eliana. Not everyone has the privilege to attend there. However, you are a niece of mine, at least that is how we are related, you have the permission to go there." He explained.

"Privilege? How exactly do they pick students who can enter? And what does me being your niece work like that?" Eliana asked, visibly confused.

The Lord patiently explained. "You see, Fortem Academy is a school for aspiring knights. Youth, even adults, are welcome to attend in Fortem anytime as long as they pass the standards. The school does not accept those who are physically weak and the training they offer is not for the faint hearted as well. Fortem is famous for producing noble, brave and strong knights."

"I see."

The Lord continued. "Aristocrats are no exception. It is mandatory they train, not only to be an internally strong leader, but to be strong inside and out. Our people rely on them, it is crucial they must know how to protect the mass using their abilities." He met Eliana in the eye. "I am Jury Wistal, second cousin to the late King Edryfed. That makes me a noble." He finished with a proud look on his face.

Eliana caught on. "So that means, I am.. a noble?" She didn't bother hiding her ridiculed amused reaction.

"Yes. That alone is an unquestionable permit for you to admit in Fortem without further reasons." The Lord peeked outside the window before returning to look at Eliana's flabbergasted reaction.

A smile stretched across Eliana's lips, seeming to find the situation interesting.

"Wow, not that I'm excited or anything. I actually don't know how to react, this honestly just feels like it's a movie or something." She pinched her nose before returning to slump her arms on the carriage window. "Well."

The Lord blinked at the girl remaining quiet. He decided to look outside as well.

They passed by a forest following a path that led to a seeming place of uncertainty. It took almost thirty minutes before the carriage finally halted at a large chocolate milky building standing alone in the middle of the forest.

Eliana found it unusual, but then again 'everything is unusual in Praediti'. The Lord stepped out the carriage first holding the door for Eliana to get down. Eliana looked around confirming the building was indeed isolated. She noticed a few carriages around the area and some people too.They must be there for the same reason as her. She returned her attention to the Lord.

"Eliana, everything you need is in there. I'll be in court all day. The carriage will be back for you after I arrive in the Court." The Lord reminded passing a pouch to Eliana. "Stay on guard. As much as you can, do not get in trouble like the last time."

Eliana nodded. "Yeah, thank you."

The Lord nodded at her before returning back to the carriage.

The coach pulled on the ropes urging the horse to move. Eliana watched as the carriage strolled away from her going along the path where they just came from. When it was almost out of sight she scoffed worriedly feeling nervous. She was now all by herself.

She turned to face the towering three storey building. The design was similar to what she'd seen on greek museums. The building painted milky brown with swirls of white on the edges giving it's immaculate looks.

Eliana walked towards the open double door entrance. From the distance a crowd forming inside was visibly seen. She walked faster.

She still couldn't understand why the office of Fortem Academy, one that's connected supposedly to the students' families, is in a different location.

The Lord told her Fortem Academy was actually on the other side of this place, much further away. She shook her head to get rid of the bothered questions.

Once she was inside, she noticed the simple interior. It was all beige, the space was big enough to hold the growing crowd. Some walls have window desks, a door with people lining up which will be found out later.

She noticed the diversity of the crowd. People wore different apparels. Individual colors of green, red, blue and yellow all paired up with white layering together.

'They must have come from different places,' Eliana thought.

She shook her head, she felt out of place wearing all white. Everyone wore paired up colors. She saw a sign saying number one on it. People were lining up on the window desk beside it.

"That must be the first step." She quietly thought out loud.

She lined up with the rest of the crowd. She realized everyone was most likely the same age as her. They all looked young, some a bit older but she was certain they must be near her age.

The waiting took less time than she expected. A woman behind the window smiled politely at her once she was next to be entertained.

"Your documents young child." The woman held out a hand.

Eliana was momentarily confused but nevertheless checked the pouch the Lord gave her to find the said documents. There was only one binded papers inside the bag, she pulled it out from the pouch and handed it to the waiting hand of the Lady.

She watched as the lady read through her documents. The woman's eyes popped before stealing some glances from her back and forth to the papers. Eliana wondered what was wrong but she chose to watch quietly.

"Hold on a minute." The woman stood up and went to the desk beside her.

Eliana was fascinated seeing a different way of photocopying papers. The woman used a small rectangular box putting the documents inside with some clean papers. The box glowed within seconds, and when it was opened the blank papers were now tampered with scripts from the documents.

The lady went back to the window and stamped something on the other copy inserting it in one of the drawers under the desk.

"Here you are." She returned the original documents to Eliana along with some papers. "That's your transcript and schedule. You will be dealt with on the second day of school. Don't worry, you are now officially enrolled at Fortem Academy. Congratulations." The woman smiled sweetly at the girl.

Eliana returned a small smile before asking. "Oh, what do I do next?"

The lady pointed at the door where she previously saw a crowd lining up. "Your Identity Card should be issued there. That's the second step." The lady explained.

"Thank you."

Eliana left the window and proceeded to line up for the second step. She read through her schedule.

House Meeting.

Demonology.

General Training.

Power Enhancement Class.

Those were the subjects that stood out to her. She still did have math, healing, history, Spells and Potions and language class. The normal ones previously mentioned were classes she'd go to everyday. However, during Mondays was where an hour of 'House Meeting' was inserted. 'Demonology' would be from Tuesday to Thursday. 'General training' took the whole afternoon of Thursday. And 'Power Enhancement Class' took the whole afternoon of friday.

She was confused why there was this so-called, 'Power Enhancement Class' thing. Before her thoughts could run wild, she felt a soft tap on her shoulder from behind.

She turned to meet a girl slightly shorter than her. Her doe-eyes a beautiful hazel brown. She wore an elegant dress, the colors dancing in green and white. Her face was innocent and cute. Her hair freely cascading down in waves of auburn.

A smile formed on the girl's face. "Hello."

Eliana returned her smile and greeted back. "Hi."

The girl extended a hand. "My name is Larsanel Gyn." Her smile grew wider showing her perfectly lined teeth after the introduction.

Eliana took her hand for a handshake. "Eliana, nice to meet you Larsanel." She smiled.