A new day, in a new room, with a new bed. Although there were two them, the comfortable mattress under my body washed away any concerns I had. It was nothing like the bed I used at the lodging the night before. What a morning that was.

  Sleep did not come easily that day. The thing that resembled a bed made it’s sole purpose of existence to attack my weary back. Turning to my side only made my arm go numb and sleeping on my stomach made my jaw ache.

  Maybe I had been spoiled by the bed at home and could no longer sleep on something sub-par. Be that as it may, it didn’t really matter. For a knocking sound immediately woke me up when I finally managed to get a wink of sleep. The sun had risen, signaling that a new day arrived.

  “My lady, you have to prepare for the entrance test!” The muffled voice of my always so faithful maid filled me with inane thoughts. And a feeling of irritation reared its head as she helped me dress for the day.

  With the soft mutterings of the carriage-horse at my back, I stared dazedly at the gates of the royal academy. Were I to describe the palace as an ocean that connected two continents, then this was the great lake neighboring our Kingdom. In other words, it was huge.

  A main building stood in the middle with two wings stretching to either side. The windows indicated how many floors it had, but I lost focus when I reached the upper part. At least seven floors did I count. Imagining the building from a bird’s point of view, it had to look like the letter H. Or a capital I if its hat and feet were longer than usual.

  Turning my head to the sides, the standalone dormitories could be seen. Left one for the females and right one for the males. It reminded me of the annex our staff lived in. Flat walls with an equally flat roof; they must have used the majority of the budget on the main building.

  I saw silhouettes of people flitting behind the windows when I focused my eyes again. Those had to be the students waiting to take the test or student’s that didn’t make use of their break. Perhaps studying, or even loitering around. There looked to be enough activities for them to arrive a week early.

  The courtyard in front was filled with the refreshing smell of evergreen leaves and neatly cut grass. Soft shadows painted the ground with pleasant shapes and hues as the light passed through them. The waist-high bushes beside us acted as guardrails or highlights on where to go next.

  My shoes beat on the paved path giving off clacks each time my heel touched down. It snaked endlessly through the trees and flower beds and honestly, it was a tad too long for my legs. Made me consider taking a break on the many benches that sat on the side, but they were all decorated with flowers. Acting as a me-repellent.

  Melissa seemed to enjoy herself, letting out an exclamation when we finally reached the entrance stairs. Just thinking about walking up these steps everyday for the next years already made my aching feet ache even more.

  She stood in front of them with her arms puffed out. “I can’t believe that I get to see these famous grand steps in person.”

  She wore a practical dress today, nothing too formal like the black and white uniform she used in the duchy, nor the extravagant silk dresses that my grandmother liked to use. Holding my bespoke briefcase, she could even be mistaken for a noblewoman or at the very least, a rich merchant’s daughter. Maybe even my older sister? Nay, we didn’t have the same eyes nor hair color.

  “How are these steps famous?” I asked.

  She looked almost distraught. “My lady, how can you not know about them? Even I who don’t know much know about these.”

  I stared at the stony stairs. “Raviel didn’t tell me anything about some stairs.”

  “Well, let me tell you in her stead. They say that each of those steps represents one’s stage in life. The first step being birth, the second childhood,” she continued to list the stages until she raised all five fingers of her free hand.

  “The last step must be death then,” I guessed.

  Melissa wagged a finger at me. “That’s why these steps are so famous, my lady. The last step is actually birth again. It symbolizes that no one truly dies forever with the Goddess watching over us.”

  “Interesting,” I said. Then I took two steps at once, skipping over the last step.

  We entered, and a woman clad in what must be the academy’s staff uniform greeted us. “Are you here to take the entrance test? May I have your name?” She was leafing through a book in her seat.

  “Esther Nikodemus.” With a jerk, she jumped upright.

  “O-oh, let me show you to the waiting area.”

  We followed after her through the hallways that looked as grand as the outside. Paintings of nature and portraits of the previous headmasters filled the walls. Funnily enough, they all had white hair and a beard.

  The lounge we arrived at was shockingly empty.

  I turned to her. “Where are the others?”

  “The test won’t be for another hour and I must say, you are the first to arrive.”

  “An hour?” I turned to Melissa who had a smile on her face. She mouthed the words, ‘first come, first place.’

  “Should I bring out some refreshments while you two wait?”

  Refreshments? For a mere test-taker? “No that won’t be necessary.” Our guide gave us a bow and left the room.

  “Do you want to do some last-minute reading, my lady?”

  I plopped myself down on the surprisingly comfortable armchair. My back melting into the soft cushions eliciting a sigh from my lungs.

  “I think a power nap would benefit me more.”

  She chuckled. “Naps are surely powerful, should I wake you up as usual, then?”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  I didn’t have enough time to answer before my vision drifted.

  ***

  “Okay class, we have a new transfer student today, make sure to give her a warm welcome.” If stares and whispers transmitted heat, then I must be burning right now. I gave an introduction that included my name, age, and a fun fact.

  “Lets see, you can use that desk over there.”

  A girl raised her hand. “Teach, that seat is already taken.”

  “Well, then they shouldn’t have skipped class today, should they? Speaking of, have anyone seen them lately?”

  The desk was at the back by the window and the girl that had raised her hand was my desk neighbor.

  I walked up to our desks. “Nice to meet you—”

  “Hey.” She cut me off. “That seat is already taken, take a hint will you?”

  The teacher raised her voice. “Ann, what did I just say?”

  I dragged out my chair, letting out a grinding sound as it bounced across the floor. Then I sat down.

  The girl scoffed and turned back to stare at the blackboard.

  ***

  A power nap later, the academy looked like a proper academy now. Eyes that were filled with confidence juxtaposed against the slumped shoulders and sighs of others. It was a familiar sight, even more so when the murmurs were saying, “I should have studied more”, or prayers to the Goddess asking for luck.

  We were led in a room filled with nothing but chairs and desks. I found a free seat at the back after wading through the jungle of perfumes coming from my future classmates, making sure to avoid those that had an inclination for flowery smells. On the desk sat a lonesome charcoal pencil that broke up the monotonous yellow surface. And when all the seats were filled with giddy students, a tall man bearing a teacher’s uniform entered the room with long strides.

  “Good morning and welcome to this year’s entrance test. I will be your examiner today and I have only one thing to say to you candidates.” He leaned forward on the podium. “Do not cheat.”

  “Don’t even think about cheating. That pencil you’re holding? Using the latest magic technology we at the academy developed, that pencil has been outfitted to detect any forms of external help.” He listed the forms of cheating that I didn’t even know about. Self-writing magic? Sound transferring magic circles? Maybe I could use that to talk with my mom.

  “For the next four hours, the only thing that will be on your desk is that charcoal pencil and a copy of this.” He smacked the stack of papers he brought. “Is that clear?”

  A boy raised his hand, his blue hair familiar, and said with a confident voice, “What if we finish before the four hours are up?”

  The examiner crossed his arms with an unmoving face. “Then I will personally write you a recommendation to the student council.”

  Immediately, whispers filled the room. “My future will be set if I manage to join that,” some student said.

  “I heard the second prince is a member. Maybe I will get to shake his hand?” My neighbor muttered.

  Blue hair sat down, not before announcing that he would remember that deal.

  And so it began. A year of studying, a year of preparation. I did all that to fill up these blank pages in front of me. Would my parents be proud this time? My mouth smiled; of course they would.

  First question: “Describe one moment in your life when you felt the closest to the Goddess.”

  My pencil tip went to the second question. “Write a poem about how it felt to experience healing magic.”

  Darn. I forgot how Goddess-loving this kingdom was.

  ***

  Two hours passed and the students were still hard at work scribbling down their thoughts. It sounded like a flock of cicadas with the amount of scritches and scratches they made. Armen found it pleasant, standing there holding overwatch. Then a grinding sound broke the droning as one of the students moved their chair.

  She sauntered from the back of the room, all the way to the front where the podium stood, through row after row of students trying their best. Test in hand, she even ignored their flustered stares.

  Armen raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of him. “Are you giving up? Two hours still remain.”

  He had secretly been delighted when some boy had asked about the time usage. It meant that he was either confident enough to ace it, or dull enough to not make proper use of the all available resources. The hallmark of a great student was how they approached a problem, even if that problem was designed to be unsolvable in the allotted time.

  All the great minds of his colleagues had banded together this year to create a test that could not be realistically solved in a mere four hours. “The Fuse,” they called it. It was meant to give these naive kids a firsthand experience of what a scholar went through to meet their deadlines. Time was finite, as the headmaster oft said.

  But that begs the question: why would someone give up partway? Why else than to save face.

  All test-takers’ scores would be put up on bulletins for all of the public to see. One in the cafeteria, one in the dorms respectively, and even one in the main square in the capital. Written beside the scores would be their first name, their territory, and if applicable, their surname. The headmaster used this method to separate the riff from the raff in the aristocracy as too often did they try to bribe their children into the academy.

  Instead of failing and potentially humiliated for the whole kingdom to see, it was deemed better to give up and try again the next year. Armen thought it was quite the system, bringing both profit and real students looking to accrue knowledge.

  But even so, it was disappointing. Yesterday’s batch had lost half of the noble-children by the three-hour mark. The pressure must have taken hold of this aloof noble girl too. In a sense, it was an honorable thing to admit defeat. Some never knew when to—

  “I’m done.” What did she say?

  “You’re done?” Armen snatched the dangling pile of papers from her gloved hands.

  Done? She must be joking. Nevertheless, he had to do his job and look through them. In plain handwritten letters that showed no hesitation nor deliberation, this girl had answered all of them. Comparing her answers with the one’s he remembered, they were correct too.

  “Can I leave now?” He could only nod at her raised eyebrows.

  Esther Nikodemus, the name was written at the top of the page. Maybe this year’s students were something to look forward to after all, he thought, staring as she shuffled out of the room.

  But he wondered how the other proctors would grade some of her answers.

  “First question. I have never felt close to the Goddess.” How many points would such an answer give?

  ***

  It was quite unfortunate that I didn’t score high enough to get a private room, but it wasn’t as if someone died or anything. It was too much to expect to place among the top only after studying for a year after all. Yeah, for only one year, I did well enough. Look we even have separate wardrobes and separate desks, what more could I ask for? The bed let out a fwomp as it caught my body.

  “I hope my roommate is someone quiet at least…”

  Maids and servants were barred entry in the dormitory to foster a feeling of independence, they said. Which meant Melissa didn’t come with me today.

  She had been quite excited when she saw my test-results, I placed over average, and she made me dress in my finest today. I didn’t see the point. My uniform would be ready this afternoon and I had to change again anyway. She really did the most silly things sometimes.

  Still, loafing on the bed did feel nice as the silky fabric caressed my body. Would I miss wearing these sorts of dresses after today? I don’t know, as a knocking on the door interrupted my thoughts.

  A fluff of pink entered. “O-oh, hello!” And she was already a bit loud.

  Black shoes that showed some scratches even with the exorbitant shine and polishing. A soft brown skirt that went round the waist and stopped above her shoes. Shirt-sleeves that looked a tad too long with them crumpling at the wrist and slouching over her shoulders.

  Thin round glasses that framed her baby-blue eyes, and finally her cotton-pink hair that was flung across her shoulder in a braid, topped off with a plain-looking ribbon.

  Dragged behind her, the luggage she came with looked to have gone through a war or two. All these details made me sure that she was a commoner.

  I didn’t bother to raise myself from the bed as I greeted her back with a blink.

  “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Phila from Klippel, what about you?” She beamed.

  “Esther, Esther Nikodemus.” She didn’t beam anymore. In fact, it looked like she had just killed someone. Gaping her mouth and widening her eyes, the luggage fell to the floor with a thud as she had let the handle go.

  “I’m so s-sorry!” She bowed. “My lady!”

  I sighed.