Chapter 4: Life at the Military Academy
THE new term started the day after the ball.
We had roll call each morning in the courtyard. I put on my breeches, shirt, vest, and school blazer. A glowing insignia, the mark of a cadet, adorned its collar.
The morning bell rang just as I bunched my hair up into a ponytail, indicating that we were to rush to the courtyard and form a neat row. The instructors kept strict time as it was considered part of our training.
After the morning assembly and workout came breakfast in the mess hall.
The military academy didn’t discriminate with regard to social standing. All students were routinely deployed on large-scale engagements, and on the battlefield not even a prince could get away with asking for second servings of tea.
Arrayed on the table was the usual breakfast fare: black hardtack, soup, boiled eggs, seasonal fruits and veggies. When not on missions, second helpings were optional, and we could sit wherever we liked.
Our morning classes were centered around theoretical subjects such as history, politics, economics, and military theory, among others, while the afternoon period consisted mostly of elective subjects practical in nature. Afterward was self-study and various extracurricular activities including sports, ballroom dancing, board games, and survival contests and whatnot.
Free time lasted from dinner to bedtime, although some upperclassmen allegedly managed to avoid curfew through careful coordination with their fellows.
There were around twentyish first-year students. We’d been assigned living quarters based on our performance on a test at the beginning of the academic year. First place was granted his own dormitory room, second through fifth got two-person rooms, and the rest were relegated to four-person rooms. The dorm housed a bathroom, shower, and kitchen. Those who wanted to take a bath had to do so at a bathhouse. Each room contained one to two double bunk beds, a small desk, and a centerpiece sofa.
Stern had been awarded his own room not because of his princely status but because he’d received top marks on the exam.
Felzen and I shared a room because we’d come in second and third place respectively. I had to get the same room as Felzen no matter what, which was easier said than done.
The physical gap between me and the rest of my class was becoming more and more apparent. I couldn’t build muscle as fast as boys my age, so I’d gradually started falling behind in strength. Such a disadvantage was likely why women weren’t permitted to become knights. I did my best to narrow the divide by focusing on studying and magic.
I met up with the usual suspects for dinner. Unlike breakfast, the evening meal had meat on the menu.
Stern sat down beside me, beaming, seemingly unaffected by the day’s travails. Felzen settled across from me. Our eternal seating arrangement.
Stern was Second Prince. In Regenbogen Kingdom, all royal offspring but the crown prince became ordinary noble vassals upon turning twenty. Some lower princes pursued matrilocal marriage, a few even assuming their spouse’s family name. Either way, they had to carve their own path in life. Perhaps that was why Stern was such a free spirit. He was nice but mostly blinding.
“How’d it go last night, Felzen?” Stern asked with a cheery smile. His default question following a ball or any other social event. He inquired half-jokingly, aware of Felzen’s playboy reputation.
“I got to dance with Princess Marlena,” Felzen replied, grinning—in other words, implying he had “made a move” on Stern’s sister.
Stern laughed him off. “Try not to break her heart. She’s a princess, lest you forget.”
Despite Felzen’s rakish notoriety, his friends knew there were lines he’d never cross. He whispered sweet nothings to dance partners but did little more than that and never anything that would land him in hot water.
I, however, found their conversation a bit unsettling as a woman myself.
“I got to dance with the lady of the hour too. She’s a landmine,” Felzen continued.
“Landmine?”
“She flirts with anyone and everyone.”
There it is. Felzen invited women to dance left and right yet regarded similarly coy females somewhat contemptuously. “Sorry to butt in, but what lady wouldn’t get a little excited about you inviting her for a dance?” I had no idea who this “lady of the hour” was but felt the need to speak up nonetheless. I thought it perfectly normal for someone to feel elated about being chatted up by the Solar Fire Knight, even if they were uninterested in a serious relationship.
“I can think of one,” replied Felzen sulkily.
“Really?” I was genuinely surprised.
I wonder who that could be.
“Said landmine brought a blue fan to the Sword Dance.”
“She also happens to be one of my potential fiancées,” Stern added, smirking ominously.
Wait…
“You’re getting engaged?!” I blurted out.
“Is it that surprising? I’m at an age where engagement talks are starting to crop up every now and then. Nothing’s set in stone yet, but I’ve received some indirect offers from foreign kingdoms.”
“Foreign kingdoms?! You’re not planning on leaving, are you?”
“That’s why I’m rejecting them. Political marriage proposals just tend to pop up sometimes.”
“…I see. Has Felzen evaluated any of your other prospects?”
“I don’t recall asking him to,” Stern said, looking annoyed.
Felzen scoffed. “Would you want one of your friends to get engaged to some bad news?”
He could be disgustingly cool sometimes. He’d danced with her to assess whether she was suitable for Stern, I just knew it.
Stern broke into a smile. “What about you, Felzen? Any ladies catch your eye for the long haul?”
“I’ve gotten a few offers here and there, but I’d rather take my sweet time, being the oldest son and all.”
“And you, Bern?” asked Stern, brimming with curiosity.
“…None for me.”
How could I? Not that it mattered, since I didn’t understand romance or marriage all that well anyway. It did come as a shock, however, to hear my friends gossip about tying the knot when I hadn’t even experienced love yet. The subject wasn’t unprecedented though, since we similarly discussed Lilia’s marital candidates on occasion.
“I kind of feel like I’m falling behind a little,” I admitted.
It felt…lonely. I’d never really given it much thought before, but we would all go our separate ways once we graduated.
“Not if I refuse to get married.” Stern laughed.
I felt an odd sense of relief at his words.
“I suppose there’s no need to rush,” I said. “It’s not like either of us is taking over the family headship or anything.”
“Anyway, why did you stand up for the lady of the hour, again? Are you acquaintances? Was it the blue fan? Did you meet at the White Lily Tea Party?” Stern fired off question after question, smiling wickedly.
W-Why are his eyes so scary? Is it because she’s one of his potential fiancées?
The White Lily Tea Party was an afternoon tea hosted by Lilia. I was invited from time to time, and it was always a terrifying experience. I felt like a sugar cube tossed directly into a swarm of ants. I hadn’t spoken with many of the attendees at length but more or less knew all their names and faces.
“I don’t know. Does she have a name?” I still had no clue as to who she was, so I could hardly comply with his interrogation.
“Like father, like son,” guffawed Stern in amazement. “You’re better off not knowing then.”
“Tell me!”
“No.”
“Why not? I can talk to her at the next tea party.”
“I said no!” Stern snapped, glowering. “Don’t you understand what her choice of fan means? If you approach first, her infatuation with you might just swell into something bigger.”
He had a point. I didn’t actually want to get involved, nor did I feel like stepping on anyone’s toes and getting consequently kicked by a metaphorical horse.
“All right, forget I asked then,” I conceded. “Wouldn’t want to be a bother anyway.”
“You’re not being a bother it’s just…” Stern sighed, scratching his head. “Aren’t you…curious?”
“About what?”
“About her,” he clarified, although he ostensibly had no intention to quell said curiosity.
Sure, I was intrigued, but it wasn’t worth upsetting him. “Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing what she looks like for you two to bring her up in conversation, but you seem to be getting uncomfortable, so it’s whatever. I value your feelings more.”
Stern looked embarrassed, his cheeks flushing pink.
I feel like I’ve seen him make that face a lot more often as of late. I wonder why.
“I hate it when you do that,” he muttered.
“Do what?”
“Sweet-talk me to get what you want!” he exclaimed, puffing out his cheeks.
“Sw-Sweet-talk? Me? Do I look like Felzen to you?!”
“I’m nowhere near as bad as you are, trust me,” interjected Felzen.
“You’re so handsome that I just feel like squeezing the life out of you!” gushed Stern ironically, locking his arms around me
It hurts. “Get off! You haven’t showered yet!”
“I don’t smell, do I?”
“Of course not! Now, stop smelling me! No, really, stop! Someone get this man off me!” Even Stern’s sweat had a noble fragrance. Some people, I swear.
Felzen forcefully separated us. “We’re in the middle of dinner, people.” He sighed.
“Another time then.” Stern laughed, retreating a distance.
Another time? I don’t wish to be smelled, dinner time or not. “Give me a break.”
Stern smiled, not having learned his lesson at all.
✦ ✦ ✦
❄❄❄
CARD games, pool, chess, and reading were some of the ways we spent our free hours in the evening. And in a boys-only environment, dirty jokes and tales of naughty escapades were inevitable.
I returned to my dorm room. I took a shower then got into bed. My thoughts drifted back to the conversation at dinner. The revelation of my friends’ marriage offers and potential fiancées seemed to have left me thoroughly discombobulated.
A hazy mist of emotion blanketed my chest. It resisted classification, my strained mental efforts notwithstanding. I couldn’t identify what I was feeling, no matter how hard I tried. It was…weird. Anxiety? Not quite. Jealousy? …I don’t think so. What could it be…?
The best way I could describe it was a fear of being left behind, a fear that I was like a child among adults, but even that didn’t feel quite right.
“Bern, let me in! Bern!” sounded Stern’s voice from outside the door.
Felzen cursed. “He’s actually here.”
“It is what it is.” I redid my ponytail, hopping out of bed.
Enough brooding. Couldn’t brood with all this noise even if I wanted to.
And so the day passed, just like any other.