I got to class just before the tutor by the time I changed my clothing and grabbed my materials.

She flashed me a welcoming smile and waited for a few other students to come in. Some students had to get to the class from the other side of the campus and didn’t always have a lot of time to make the trip. Today we’d use one of the canvas we’d made to paint a model. I’d been looking forward to this all week. Art history was my favourite subject. I loved looking at the evolution of human artwork over the centuries. From simple charcoal cave paintings to the modern digital splicing of entire city billboards.

The small classroom had all the desks stacked around the back of the room. We set up easels in rows before a large throne-like chair Miss Mei found from an old drama closet. It was a bit dusty and worn, but very reminiscent of the sort of portrait work we would be doing.

“Earth European nobles used to commission artists to paint them in a flattering and grandiose manner. During the middle ages, they didn’t have cameras or videos so painters had to work quickly and capture the form of their target, before they could work on the colours.” Miss Mei explained, she sent a short video to our phones with a wave of her fingertips across the in-class lesson display. A ‘re-enactment’ of a painter and a noble showed how the noble stood rigidly in a pose while the painter sketched and then coloured with oils.

“How long would a noble have to stand still for? How did they not even have a basic camera?” One of the students asked.

“This was before photography was invented. Back then, painters were the only means of photograph. A noble could stand still for hours.”

We baulked at the idea of someone standing in one place for hours on end. It sounded pretty barbaric.

“Today,” Miss Mei said, “We have our very own campus noble coming to be our model. You can come in now!”

The side door opened and Aiden Wu entered the class. He dressed in similar ancient clothing from the middle ages. The puffy black overshirt and long boots really suited his dark hair, making his skin stand out even more. His slim waist and pretty face made him look like a tiny doll. Aiden gave the room a bright smile and sat down on the throne, shifting around into a comfortable position, one leg over the left arm rest like a lazing prince. The very picture of casual elegance and ancient royal beauty. His tail swayed in the air behind him.

“Ah, isn’t our campus prince the perfect model for this piece?” Miss Mei asked.

I had to admit, he was a good fit for a young lord. I doubted Aiden could lift a sword, but certainly, I could imagine loyal knights kneeling at his feet, begging to fight for him. Probably female knights.

Aiden rarely spoke, he was a quiet, timid young man. If he wasn’t also enrolled in the college, I would think he was still in high school. His wide peach blossom black eyes and rosy cheeks were cheating when it came to being popular.

Some of the anger from this morning dissipated as I focused on using the pencil to start sketching the school prince. No doubt I could sell the finished piece to one of the rabid fangirls on the Imperial Star. The unusual medium, the costume… I could probably buy a new phone if the picture sold well.

Thus inspired I got to work. The uneven texture of the canvas was strange to work with, and more than a few of us had broken pencils in the last few attempts to use them over the semester. I’d discovered ancient artists used sharp razors in a specific shape to maintain their pencils. It was too expensive to buy an antique ‘sharpener’ but I found out that just a sharp art knife worked.

The room quietened as we worked. Miss Mei moved around, checking on the structure and giving tips and hints as she went. Reminding us to get the pose and shape then work on the small details.

Aiden sat still, like he really was a noble, gaze shifting around the room, watching us paint him with a faint, bemused smile. His tail, to my irritation, kept swirling in the air.

How to draw the position if it was always moving? I couldn’t layer this with the digital painter and make a moving image. This ancient method could only be done with a still sketch. I frowned, glaring at his offending tail and its serpentine movements.

After fifteen minutes, Miss Mei looked at our campus prince, “Do you need to take a break, little Aiden?”

He shook his head.

Miss Mei smiled, “Just like a real noble! So tough to sit still for so long!”

I rolled my eyes. If an adult couldn’t sit still for fifteen full minutes, something was going on. Besides, Aiden was a model, right? Surely he managed to sit in place for a while most days. If his damn tail would stop moving.

Miss Mei stopped next to me, “Wei Ling, very good so far.”

I nodded, wanting to ask her if she would speak to the prince and tell him to keep his tail still- but the gurgling of my stomach echoed in the quiet room, choosing that moment to make keen that it was very empty and wronged.

Mei chuckled, “Did you skip lunch, student Wei?”

I nodded, embarrassed, “Sorry.”

She patted my shoulder and moved on. One of the girls next to me flashed a sympathetic smile.

I rubbed my loud stomach and returned to painting. I’d eat something when I got home. This tutorial was only three hours.

I concentrated on my outline. Deciding to work on Aiden’s expression. His tail finally stopped swaying, now it was wrapped around the edge of the handrest, tapping languidly. The way it tapped, almost like something angered him. I looked at his face and his smile had cooled.

Was he bored?

The expression of annoyance, the cold smile, I actually felt that suited him more than the sickeningly sweet aura that hung about him in most photos. A haughty arrogance, a spoiled brat who got whatever he wanted. That sparked closer to a true expression than innocent and pure.

I examined the slant of his lips, the folds of his eyes, the way his ears faced. An annoyed cat prince, about to punish a misbehaving servant. His eyes warned me, this displeases me. Like an emperor whose favourite concubine refused his favour.

We continued for another half an hour. Normally most of the class would have been able to sketch and fill in details during that time, but that was if we were drawing digitally. This old-fashioned method, there was no control over the canvas, we couldn’t zoom in and flip it about properly, I leaned to one side, trying to work out how I was going to capture the epaulets on Aiden’s jacket, the angle was a pain. Because of the lack of digital tools, drawing symmetrical was a little more difficult in some places as well. The ancients of Earth sure had it tough!

“Break.” Aiden’s light voice broke me out of my reverie, I released the pencil I’d started chewing on. Abruptly returned from my contemplations by the model standing up and stretching.

“Oh, of course! Everyone, work on your piece while Aiden takes a fifteen minute break. Can I get you a water or tea, little Aiden?” Miss Mei left the class leader, a blonde senior who had won a few competitions around the Star Net. She was receiving a lot of praise for the piece already.

Aiden didn’t respond to Miss Mei and walked out the door. He’d probably be back in a few minutes.

The girls sighed, “Miss Mei, how did you get the prince to say yes to this class?” Jessica, the class leader was the first to ask.

Miss Mei grinned, tapping her chest proudly, “Pretty impressive, aren’t I?”

I started filling in the details of the chair that I’d only boxed in before while Aiden was gone. I had been concentrating on his pose and expression, not considering the background yet. My plan was to detail sketch everything then work from the inside out with my colours- normally I would layer the colour palette, but I’d picked oils for this and I wasn’t confident. My first experiments were… well.

Abruptly, while I was adding in some curtain outlines for background, my phone buzzed.

Forgetting that my phone currently had the power to ruin my whole day, I looked at the message.

You didn’t eat anything, you naughty boy! I’m going to give you a big punishment tonight, you better be prepared.

What? How the hell did this crazy psycho know I hadn’t eaten?

I looked up, trying to see if anyone in the class was on their phone but everyone was concentrating on their work.

“Student Wei, please put your phone away during the tutorial.” Miss Mei noticed my distraction.

“Sorry.” I put the phone down, frowning. How the hell did my crazy boyfriend find out? No, more importantly, what the hell did he mean by a punishment?

No, it would be fine, I would skip my evening class and hide in the dorm. The security lock on the door would prevent any unauthorised entry and that bastard would just have to cry out in the cold!

A grin cracked my melancholy. He thought he was smart, but this was the Imperial Star and Dawson Academy student dormitories were not to be underestimated!

He could just try and mess with me! I dared him!

Fifteen minutes later, Aiden Wu returned holding a large tray of cold tea drinks.

He didn’t hand it to Miss Mei to distribute but walked around, offering up the bottles to us.

As much as it was a pain having such a high profile celebrity around classes, the guy had his moments. I got the second last bottle and nodded my thanks. He flashed a brilliant smile at me. “You should take better care of your body.”

I had wanted to try and talk about the credit chip being stolen, but his comment made me embarrassed. I could afford to eat, okay? Today was just unusual!

The whole room must have heard my stomach growling all lesson.

The lid was already half open, I undid the whole thing and took a sip. I was a bit thirsty and this was actually my favourite type of cold tea drink.

Aiden finished handing out his present and sat back down in the seat.

I drank half the bottle a little eagerly, ignoring the girls who made a fuss about saving this precious gift. It was just a bottle of tea, okay? No need to get starry eyed over it. And storing it for future generations- these things had an expiry date!

If my stomach growling and gurgling was loud enough for the whole room to hear, maybe my crazy boyfriend was outside the room? Was he watching me right now? Like a lion, waiting to pounce on my young nubile body?

I gave myself shivers. Better not to imagine what that bastard was thinking. More likely, if he was stealing credit chips… was he monitoring me with my phone’s speaker?

Some sort of master hacker! One of those pervy guys from the computer science department? A man who looked normal, but spent all night looking at dirty porn until he finally snapped.

Why the hell did he target me, then?

I mean, I’m not exactly the ugliest student on campus, but I’m not some glorious beauty. I spent most of my time indoors, drawing and painting, so I was a bit on the pale side, my hair is naturally a little curly and I don’t cut it often so I usually keep it in a messy hairtie. I wear adjustment glasses during class, and having no sporting inclination, I’m not exactly the buff, handsome body type. A weedy, average guy. Not exactly the type you’d expect to kidnap.

I yawned, fighting a sudden wave of tiredness and focused my misty gaze on the canvas. There was still a lot to get through and the class wasn’t even half done. It wouldn’t do to get tired and distracted.

I took another sip of the cold tea, hoping to refresh myself.

The class was really dragging on. I normally breezed through this tutorial but today, after another half hour, it was all I could do to keep my eyes open.

“Are you alright?” Miss Mei was standing next to me and I didn’t remember when she’d stopped beside me.

I nodded.

“You don’t look well, student Wei. Do you need a break?”

“I’m fine.” It took a lot of effort to twitch my lips in a polite smile. Her face was starting to fade out of focus, the world was rocking about, misty edges starting to take everything away in a gentle haze I couldn’t quite shake.

It occurred to me, there was something wrong.

I went to finish my cold tea, but the bottle was empty and I was warm and comfortable, I really wanted to lie down.

“He looks sick, I’ll take him to the nurse’s office.” Someone said.

I shook my head, “Fine….”

An arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me close to a warm, comfortable chest.

The world faded into a comfortable hazy darkness.