20 And so the year begins

Raindrops fell from the grey cloudy sky like gemstones. They drowned out the world below in a humdrum chorus of consistent beats. They danced, everywhere from the dorms, where the students gradually rolled out of bed to prepare for the busy day ahead, to classrooms and the great halls.

Adrian was a bit apprehensive about starting class. After all, it was so many new people at once, and new subjects that he worried it would be overwhelming. However, when he woke up to the calming sound of the rain pattering outside his window, he smiled softly.

The water mana concentration in the air was denser today, which helped him relax.

He always loved when it rained; it made the grass greener and the heaviness of the air felt good on his skin. It was like a free sauna in many ways, but one for mermaids.

"Good morning!" He yawned sleepily after noticing the sound of footsteps from his fellow roommate Callan.

"Morning," The other boy replied as he headed to the bathroom to freshen up, leaving Adrian to sink back into the sheets sleepily.

By the time the two of them managed to leave the room, they had to hurry down the halls to their first class.

According to Callan, it was all Adrian's fault for sleeping like a log and vice versa, Adrian blamed Callan for having spent half an hour in the bathroom.

Still, they both looked very smart in their brand new uniforms, murky black pants and white shirts with ruby red ties. Callan wore one of the blazers, however, Adrian preferred the jumper on top of it as it was stretchier and the fabric more comfortable and fleecy.

He had also tied his platinum blonde hair partially back in a small ponytail. Although it was a bit weird being so exposed, Adrian took a deep breath in and steadied himself.

They would get used to it in time, he was sure of it. He also had a new friend now, well two if he counted Eliza although he wasn't too sure whether or not she knew they attended the same academy...

Oh well! They would meet one day again, surely.

His communication device notified him that Damien was already seated in the classroom and waiting for his arrival, so Adrian urged Callan that they should hurry.

The grey-haired boy smirked back at him and then chuckled, agreeing that they should quicken their pace but amused by the look of impatience on Adrian's face.

"Well, this is it." Adrian stared up at the sign of CS-1, which stood for Class S, first years.

Despite the closed door, there was a fair deal of chatter from inside the room. It seemed like everyone was in high spirits, however, Adrian's nerves immediately resurfaced.

Callan noticed his distress and patted the top of his head, stroking his soft blonde locks, "It's okay." He whispered words of comfort under his breath, "let's go in together."

Adrian nodded, "Yes. Let's do this."

The oak door slid open and the chatter instantly died down as curious heads whipped around to see who the newest entrants were.

All of a sudden, Adrian felt the weight of their scrutinizing stares, but hurriedly settled his own on the familiar sight of Damien's round face. Sneakily tapping Callan's hand to signal him to follow, Adrian kept his gaze steady as he weaved through the center and slipped into the bench next to Damien who had on his left another stranger seated.

"What took you so long?" Damien hissed into his ear, casting a judgemental glance to Callan who helped himself to a seat next to Adrian, before giving the gnome a small, forcefully innocent smile.

"Sorry," Adrian murmured back as he turned his gaze to slowly survey the classroom.

It was a rather rustic and airy room. Large windows lined the walls where, from the third floor, a spectacular view of the gardens and the rest of the academy was shown, covered in rain. The room was also really spacious, the seats were separated into slightly slanted benched rows and at the front of the classroom was a large platform with a desk and huge blackboard.

The teacher wasn't here yet and Adrian could count that with himself included, thirteen students had already arrived meaning that only one was missing.

Adrian's blue eyes courageously glanced at the unfamiliar face next to Damien. It was another young man, who had a stern expression but curious eyes.

"Hello." Behind a pair of dark-rimmed glasses, his gaze was firmly rooted upon Callan and where he sat, and his voice remained neither friendly nor rude, but a placid in-between.

Callan returned his stare and the two of them were seemingly communicating something with their eyes.

Unbeknownst to Adrian or Damien, the bespeckled boy was Eliza's older twin brother who was meant to be Callan's original roommate, meaning that he knew his true identity as the Crown Prince.

Although for various reasons the Synclaire family was pretty estranged so the two twins had barely spent any time together. Ethan had spent most of his time around the imperial palace and grown close to Callan; they were old-time childhood friends, while Eliza had remained at the estate doing other things.

Thinking back on Eliza's apparent ability as a 'seer', Callan wondered if Ethan was aware of this too.

But right now, all Ethan's eyes seemed to be communicating was annoyance; his eyes flickering to the top of Damien's slightly unruly oak brown hair, and Callan smirked back.

It must suck to be roommates with the gnome, especially for someone like Ethan who found social interaction to be a chore. Or maybe it was a blessing in disguise, considering how much time the gnome spent in their room or trying to get into their room, he would practically never be around.

Annoyed by the prince's smirk, Ethan switched his gaze over to Adrian, the person who the prince had traded himself for, and who his roommate was seemingly obsessed with.

He'd only arrived two days ago and hadn't seen Adrian yet, but his heart already held somewhat of a grudge towards him. How could he not when their messaging went;

C: "Arrived in the dorm, but was put in random placement. Tomorrow I'll go to the Headmaster and change it"

E: "Okay, don't make a mess of the room"

~2 hours later

C: "Nvm, I prefer my assigned roommate. I'm not switching"

E: "..."

However, he could now see and understand at least a little where Callan was coming from. Same as everyone else in the room, his eyes became transfixed on that pearly white face, flowing blonde hair and depthlessly blue ocean eyes.

Simply put, Adrian was breathtaking, however, Ethan was quick to recover. From being around the crown prince for so long, he had somewhat gained immunity towards pretty faces, especially when faced with one so devious so often.

Still, Ethan frowned slightly and his thoughts synced up with most of the others in the room. The world was a large place, but surely within this kingdom, they would've heard rumors of such beauty before, no? Especially one genius enough to join the S-class.

And the remainders who had either seen Adrian wandering around before simply felt their eyes sparkle in intrigue. The rumor of a breathtakingly beautiful blonde first year was indeed true!

"Hello," Sensing the awkwardness, Adrian decided to introduce himself to the stranger, "I'm Adrian, what's your name?"

Ethan stiffened up a little before saying in a neutral tone, "Ethan Synclaire."

Adrian's eyes widened in recognition of a familiar surname and his gaze deepened. The two of them had similar features now that he looked closely, however, their hair colors were polar opposite. Ethan's was a darker brown and as well as his eyes, and they seemed a little cold and detached, whereas Eliza was quite a lively chatterbox.

He was about to open his mouth again and tell Ethan about his meeting with Eliza when the class door opened once more and as their professor strode in, with a student trailing next to her the words instantly got stuck in Adrian's throat.

The professor wore a long black cloak, on top of a deep purple suit that covered up her body. Her hair was like burning embers, curling in long tendrils down her shoulders. She took the appearance of a human but Adrian instantly knew what she was.

A soft tremble overtook his hands, which he scrunched up at his side, involuntarily catching the eye of Callan.

Under the benchtop, Adrian felt the warmth of Callan's hand wrap around his right hand.

"Just breathe, it'll be okay." Adrian's ear turned red at the tips as Callan's deep voice whispered gently into it.

That's right. Adrian reminded himself that the incident was a long time ago. He was older and bigger now, better disguised and able to fend for himself. He relaxed his hand under Callan's reassuring grip.

The student who had entered alongside the professor slipped away into the seats. He sat in one of the bays at the front and Adrian's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to his head.

Light green hair that was streaked with silver.

By this time, the rest of the students had already settled down into their seats and the professor's gaze nimbly fluttered over them before she smiled from up the top of the room and began to speak.

"Welcome to Gaiwarth Academy!" She began to speak, "As you all know, you're the 215th S-class, and just like your predecessors, the Academy expects great things from you."