The crisp morning light filtered through the tall windows of the Royal Academy's east wing, painting long golden lines across the pristine stone corridors.
A quiet hum of excitement buzzed among the students as they shuffled toward their designated classrooms.
Luke adjusted the collar of his academy uniform as he walked steadily toward the upper floors of the east wing.
His steps echoed in rhythm with his heart.
Despite the chaos that had marked his arrival in the capital just days earlier, today was different.
Today was a new beginning.
Ahead, just before the doors to the Class S homeroom, Gwen and Elysia stood waiting. Gwen's chestnut braid was wrapped into a regal twist, and her emerald eyes sparkled as she caught sight of him.
Elysia, standing just beside her, gave a small wave, her gaze as sharp as ever.
"Took you long enough," Gwen said teasingly.
"Could've waited inside," Luke replied with a grin.
"We did. But someone," Elysia said with a pointed glance at Gwen, "wanted to make a dramatic entrance."
Gwen gave an unapologetic shrug.
"First day, impressions matter."
Together, they pushed open the tall wooden doors of their classroom.
Inside, the energy was chaotic.
A loud smack resounded from the far end of the room, followed by a very undignified yelp.
"I told you not to breathe near me!" Lady Sarah Maplewood snarled, her fiery hair practically sparking with fury as she raised her textbook menacingly over Lord Edward Fairfax's head.
Edward, his dark curls disheveled and his extravagant mustache twitching with glee, didn't even flinch.
"Yes, but you didn't say not to look at you lovingly, dearest flower—"
Another smack!
Edward's chair wobbled slightly as Sarah stormed away, fuming, her cheeks flushed with rage.
Callen leaned toward Linette and whispered with a grin, "That's the third time she's hit him this morning."
"Masochist," Linette whispered back, snickering.
Luke blinked and turned to Gwen.
"Should we… be worried?"
Gwen sighed, though her tone was more amused than concerned.
"Edward and Sarah. Two of the capital's most prominent noble houses. Unfortunately engaged. Even more unfortunately, Sarah despises him. And he… enjoys that."
Luke stared as Edward adjusted his sleeve and brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder, smiling dreamily after Sarah like a love-struck puppy.
"Beautiful," he said simply.
At the front of the room, Tamsin and Rylen were quietly organizing their supplies, while Jorah and Callen debated over who had managed to complete more push-ups during combat training.
The group was diverse, each student carrying the weight of expectations, whether noble or common-born.
The door creaked once more, and the instructor entered.
A tall man in dark robes, his presence brought immediate silence.
"Good morning," he said, voice clear and commanding. "I am Instructor Halvar, your homeroom mentor for Class S. You will be expected to conduct yourselves with discipline and dignity, regardless of how mismatched your engagements may be."
That last bit earned a few snickers and a fiery glare from Sarah.
Halvar continued.
"Before we proceed to today's lesson schedule, we will be conducting a brief magical aptitude measurement. Her Majesty will join us as well momentarily."
Gasps and murmurs erupted across the classroom.
Almost on cue, the door opened, and the Queen herself stepped in.
She wore deep blue royal robes trimmed in silver, her presence commanding silence instantly.
She carried herself with a strong poise, and her gaze was searching, especially when it landed briefly on Luke, Gwen, and Elysia.
"Students," the Queen said, her voice calm but firm, "today marks a new chapter for Eldoria. You are our brightest, our finest. But as you will soon learn, your path will not be easy. Your skills will be tested. Your minds challenged. Your loyalty measured."
She nodded to Instructor Halvar, who brought forward a velvet-lined box containing three crystalline orbs the size of apples.
"We will measure your magical resonance," he said. "These orbs are relics we recently recovered along with ancient texts. These relics allow us to detect one's capacity and affinity for magic."
Halvar gestured.
"Remove your uniform coats and roll up your sleeves."
There was a collective rustling as the students obeyed, baring their forearms.
One by one, they came forward and touched the orbs.
Flashes of color glowed in the orbs, from reds to greens to pale yellows.
Halvar announced results briskly.
"Lady Sarah: fire affinity, moderate capacity."
"Lord Edward: wind affinity, low capacity."
"Callen: earth affinity, moderate-high."
"Linette: water affinity, moderate."
On and on it went, each student revealing their nature through the orb's glow.
But when it came to Luke, Gwen, and Elysia, everything changed.
"Luke Greythorne," Halvar called.
Luke stepped forward, his expression calm. He pressed his fingers to the orb.
For a moment, it didn't react.
Then the orb gave off a flickering glow, part blue, part silver, but then dimmed, as if the magic itself refused to be fully seen.
At the same moment, a soft light pulsed from Luke's forearm.
The Queen's eyes narrowed subtly as she notices the sword tattoo.
"Princess Gwenevere," Halvar called next.
Gwen's fingers barely brushed the orb before it glowed in soft pink and gold, then shuddered and dimmed.
The glow on her forearm shone, shaped like a small heart, faintly humming with power.
"Elysia Ravenshade," Halvar announced.
Elysia's hand met the orb.
A piercing light of star-like silver flared briefly from her forearm, then vanished.
Silence fell.
Halvar glanced at the Queen, puzzled.
"Your Majesty…?"
Queen Adrian stepped forward slowly.
"The rest of you may return to your seats."
She looked toward Luke, Gwen, and Elysia, her voice steady.
"The three of you. I would speak with you after today's classes. Alone."
They nodded, uncertain but obedient.
As the Queen left, Instructor Halvar continued with the day's lesson.
Schedules were distributed, history, magical history, business, etiquette, physical training, and elective specializations in governance, language, swordsmanship, horsemanship, and archery.
Luke glanced at Gwen and Elysia as they returned to their desks.
Their eyes met briefly, and unspoken questions swirled between them.
What did the Queen want?
Why were their magical readings so different?
And what did it mean for their future?
The answers would have to wait until later…
...
The sun had already dipped low behind the towers of the Royal Academy, casting long amber shadows across the marble halls.
As the bell rang out the close of the first official day of lessons, students began to filter out of classrooms and into the open-air courtyards.
Excitement and curiosity buzzed in the air like static.
Luke, Gwen, and Elysia walked side by side down a quieter hallway, led by a royal attendant in silver-trimmed robes.
None of them spoke, but the tension between them was palpable.
Luke glanced down at his arm where the faint glow of his sword-shaped tattoo had already faded.
He could still feel a strange warmth beneath the skin.
The trio arrived at a richly appointed antechamber within the Queen's private wing of the academy.
Heavy velvet curtains muffled outside noise, and guards stood like statues along the wall. The room was quiet save for the soft whisper of parchment and the scratch of a quill.
Queen Adrian stood at the window, her hands clasped behind her back as she looked out toward the setting sun.
She turned when they entered, regal in posture yet warm in expression.
"Thank you for coming," she said softly, eyes studying each of them in turn. "Sit, please."
The three obeyed, taking the cushioned seats before her.
The queen walked forward and stood before them, arms relaxed at her sides.
"What happened today during the magic affinity testing was… unprecedented," she said. "For the rest of your class, the magic orbs gave clear readings, elemental leanings, strength capacities. But for the three of you, the results were clouded. Incomplete. Obscured by something we do not yet understand."
She paused, her gaze sharp.
"And the tattoos that glowed when you touched the orbs, those were no accident. I'd like to see them. Please, show me your arms again."
Luke and Elysia glanced at Gwen, who calmly unrolled her sleeve.
Luke followed, then Elysia.
The light was dimmer than it had been in the classroom, but as each tattoo was revealed, a faint shimmer returned, pulse-like glows of residual magic.
Queen Adrian narrowed her eyes, clearly intrigued.
She gestured to her attendant, a scribe who had entered quietly with ink and parchment. "Sketch them. Every detail."
The scribe moved quickly, eyes flicking between the three arms as quill worked in deft strokes.
He began with Luke's forearm, etched with a sleek sword surrounded by curling wisps. Then Elysia's, marked by a luminous six-pointed star with a circle of dust.
Finally, Gwen's heart-shaped glyph, encased in what looked like flowering vines and arcs of light.
When the sketches were finished, Queen Adrian received them, studying them thoughtfully.
"Take these to the royal historians. Have them search every known record, glyph, arcane symbols, divine relics. I want to know where they came from."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the scribe said before swiftly exiting.
Adrian turned her attention back to the three. "Do any of you know what these symbols might be? Where they came from, or what they mean?"
There was a long silence, until Elysia finally spoke, her voice quiet but certain.
"I've only had... thoughts, Majesty. Dreams, perhaps. I wondered if it could be tied to the old magic. Or the gods, those spoken of in the oldest stories. But I don't know. I wish I did."
Queen Adrian's brow lifted slightly in surprise.
She watched Elysia for a moment, as though measuring her answer, then finally gave a small nod.
"Curious. Very curious."
She stepped back and clasped her hands again.
"I will not press you further today. But know this, I am watching your progress very closely. All of Eldoria is changing. There are forces beyond these walls we must contend with, old and new."
She offered a slight smile then. "But, congratulations to all three of you. You've made it into Class S, the academy's most elite cohort. That means you'll be held to higher standards. But it also means you have more... opportunities."
Luke bowed his head respectfully.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"I mean what I say," she added. "Make the most of it, and be careful whom you trust."
She turned to Gwen then.
"Gwen, stay. I'd like a private word. Luke, Elysia you're dismissed."
The two exchanged glances with Gwen, who offered a faint reassuring smile.
As they rose and exited the room, the door shut softly behind them.
Only Gwen and her mother remained.
...
The chamber felt heavier once Luke and Elysia had gone.
Gwen remained seated, her back straight, hands folded neatly in her lap.
She watched her mother with measured curiosity, knowing that the Queen of Eldoria did not ask for private counsel without reason.
Queen Adrian turned from the sealed door and approached her daughter with a more maternal air.
The formal bearing remained, there was always a certain steel in Adrian's poise, but her voice softened.
"There's something I must speak to you about, Gwenevere," she said. "It concerns your brother."
Gwen tilted her head, brows knitting slightly. "Ethan?"
Adrian let out a slow, composed breath as she lowered herself into the seat opposite her daughter.
"He interrupted yesterday's court. Spoke out, publicly, in defense of Lord Larth and Lord Vernon's reform proposals."
Gwen's lips parted in disbelief.
"He what?"
"He questioned my judgment in front of the entire nobility. Suggested we "hear their plan," as though those men haven't been subtly undermining the Crown for years."
Her tone was laced with restrained fury.
"He even proposed that he be the one to lead the reforms himself."
A stunned silence fell between them.
Gwen's hands clenched in her lap, her jaw tightening.
"Has he completely lost sense? To speak up in court like that? And to those two... snakes?"
"I don't know what's influencing him," the Queen said, voice lowered with careful thought. "But I intend to find out. There is more going on behind the veil, Gwenevere. I can feel it."
The fire in Gwen's chest crackled with protective anger, not just as a princess of the realm, but as a daughter watching her family splinter under pressure.
"We have to be careful, Mother. If he's being manipulated..."
"I know. And I need your help in watching him," Adrian said, placing a hand lightly on Gwen's. "But that's not the only reason I kept you back."
She leaned back and shifted the conversation gently.
"Tell me, what do you think of the boy, Luke?"
The abrupt change in topic caught Gwen slightly off guard.
She blinked, then smirked faintly.
"He's... surprising. Humble. Strong in quiet ways. He sees things others overlook, and he's brave, though he doesn't boast."
Adrian's eyes narrowed, but not with suspicion, only insight.
"You speak highly of him."
"I think he'll be important," Gwen said carefully, glancing down. "To the Academy. To Eldoria."
"But perhaps to you, as well?" Adrian pressed, her gaze sharpening with a teasing glint.
Gwen huffed a soft laugh and tried to wave the question away with a flick of her hand. "Please, Mother. He's a classmate."
"A classmate who makes your voice soften and brightens your face," Adrian said knowingly. "You may not say it aloud, Gwenevere, but I know my daughter. You've inherited your father's heart, stubborn, compassionate, and loyal."
There was a pause.
Then, the queen's tone shifted again, still gentle, but serious.
"I'm not forbidding anything. But you must understand, pursuing a romantic tie with a low-born noble, no matter how talented, could stir resentment. Especially now. With tensions rising in the court, and unrest growing outside the capital…"
"I understand," Gwen said quietly, then met her mother's eyes. "But I won't live my life dictated by the spite of arrogant nobles. If I choose to follow my heart, then that choice is mine. I know what it means... and I'll face what comes with it."
Adrian studied her daughter for a long moment.
Then, a proud smile broke across her face. "You are every inch a queen, even now."
She stood and reached out to smooth back Gwen's hair the way she had when she was younger.
"I love you, my heart. Never forget that."
"I love you too, Mother."
"You're dismissed for the evening," Adrian said with a softer smile. "But keep an eye on your brother. And on yourself."
Gwen stood, nodded respectfully, and took her leave, her mind racing with thoughts of Ethan, of Luke, and of the days yet to come.