After adjusting his uniform for the 50th time, Aemilius once again stared out the window, watching the trees fade into houses and houses into trees. His mind was simply preoccupied on something else; the declaration he had made to his butler. I will

find myself a tutor, that I can assure you. He smashed his head in his hands and released a loud sigh. Perhaps I said too much… He scratched his head, ruffling his perfect golden hair in the process. How am I going to find one? In his moment of confidence, he had completely overlooked how he was to acquire a suitable tutor. In an attempt to cheer himself up, he looked upon his beautiful reflection. Yet sadly his dazzling face brought no happiness to his situation. Another sigh left his mouth.

 "We have arrived, young master."

"Already?" He glanced out the window to see a magnificent building that stretched as far as his eyes could see. Grand ivory columns graced the front of the building with vibrant red bricks complimenting them. Its gothic roof shined, reflecting the brilliance of the sun. And students in beautiful red and black uniforms walked leisurely towards the school, talking happily among themselves. Aemilius gave a wry smile as he stared upon the school, on a regular day he would smile confidently at this mass of a building but today he felt intimidated. It was Silverwood Academy after all, a school built to cultivate the skills and minds of the nation's youth. A school for the elite of the elite by the elite. 

"Young master?"

Aemilius shook his head of such useless thoughts, thanked his driver, and stepped out of the limo. There is no need to worry, he thought, I got this. It is the great me after all. He stepped into the crowd of students merging into the growing sea of red and black.

"Aemilius." Though the voice was not loud, it caught Aemilius’ attention immediately. He turned his head to the voice and smiled at a girl who leaned sleepily upon a tree, her ruby red sunglasses glinted in the morning sunlight. 

"Elizabeth." He said as he made his way towards her. She had the same uniform as his own, yet instead of an elaborate pair of pants she had on a skirt with golden swirls embroidered on its edges. 

She gave him a sheepish grin, "Morning prince boy, and Eli is way easier to say than Elizabeth. mind striking a pose for my prince scrapbook thingy? Bet the other princesses will pay tons for these."

Aemilius smiled at the suggestion, "Gladly." He was always ready to strike some poses for his beloved princesses, they especially loved his good side. Aemilius struck a pose for her then another as she took pics with her camera. Yet today he wasn't feeling it like he usually was.

 Elizabeth looked down at her camera and frowned. "You doing fine princey? Your aura ain't really beaming today."

"Yes… it seems that I had gotten myself into quite a predicament."

Eli slid her camera back on her neck. "What happened? Another tutor fiasco? Daddy issues? Lay it on me."

"Well… all of them?

"Aemilius…" her voice grew softer "What happened?" 

So, he told her everything that happened this morning of course making sure to leave out some bits like how disappointed his father was in his actions. 

"So you need a tutor? Aren't you like really rich? Can't ya just buy another one?"

"Yes… I can but..."

"But?"

"They are quite boring.” 

Eli's eyebrow twitched, "Try saying that again?"

Aemilius sighed once more that day, running his hand through his hair he said, "They're so boring. My taste on the matter is whether refined… I simply want a tutor that will keep me from dying of absolute boredom." 

Eli sighed at her troublesome friend for she knew that his pickiness held no bounds. "Aemilius, you can't really afford to be picky. Tutors aren't supposed to be interesting circus acts, they're supposed to teach you, get paid then leave. No wonder you keep on cycling through them. Lower your expectations some."

"These count as expectations?" He rubbed his chin in confusion, "I simply thought that these qualities should be expected of them…"

Eli rolled her eyes, but due to her rosy sunglasses the action remained unseen.

"Aemiliussssss!"

"Prince!"

"Good morning!"

Voices upon voices called upon his name. He turned his head to a crowd of girls all decorated in the lavish uniform of his school. These were his princesses, a nice crowd of 13 girls. Of course, there were more but they swore to not overwhelm Aemilius with their vast number of groupie-… fans. Aemilius was unaware of this though since his mind was still on his issue. Perhaps they can help me concerning my issue?

A sorrowful expression crossed his face. "Ladies… may I ask for your assistance?"

"What happened?"

"Should I call my bodyguard to assist you?"

"Prince Aemilius!"

The girls quickly swarmed him, their faces holding expressions of worry, some even took out their handkerchiefs in an attempt to catch his unfallen tears. Eli rolled her eyes at the display and thought How the hell does he switch like that? She then shook her head, at such a futile thought. Never mind its just Aemilius being Aemilius.  Eli clapped her hands in an attempt to quiet down the girl's hysteria. 

"Alright, alright, as princess number one-" she cringed at the title then continued, "As princess number one I'm gonna have to declare some order. Girls chill, let the prince talk." At her words, the others quieted down, yet one girl was trembling with indignation. And from the looks of her uniform, she appeared to be a first year.

"Wait who declared you as the number one princess?" Demanded the girl, her brown hair practically raised with fury. The older princesses lowered their heads in sympathy, since they knew that the young princess had made a grave mistake.

Eli smiled a devious smile. "Well, that's simple. I knew him the longest, which gives me tons of perks. Like...” She slid up to the girl placing an arm around her shoulder and began to whisper into her ear.  

“Ah!?” The girl squirmed at the initial point of contact, but soon her face took on a look of admiration. Her fury evaporating into a cloud of nothingness “Do... do... you really plan to give me that?" Drool had started to dribble from her mouth.

Eli gave another devious smile, “Of course why would I lie?”

The girl bowed, “I acknowledge you as the head princess” she said, while forking over some money. The older princesses silently cried as they saw the scene unfold, for they knew the true gravity of the situation. Head princess Elizabeth had acquired a new devoted underling.

Eli grinned as she took it. "Well, Aemilius? Ya plan to start talking?"

Aemilius who had been basking in the attention till now finally gathered himself. "Ah yes… I am in dire need of a tutor. Someone who is suitable for someone as great as me." All the girls nodded and clapped at the comment and one even chimed

in with a ‘your right’. 

"So, ladies do you think you can help?" 

All the girls perked up, if there was a chance of helping Aemilius they would gladly fight tooth and nail to take it. 

Eli simply shrugged her shoulders as she went with the flow. "I already told ya. Don't be so picky." Aemilius decided to ignore this comment as the girls threw answer after answer his way, hoping upon hope that one of theirs would be the right one. It didn't take long for a suitable answer to reach his ears.

"Then how about the smartest person in the school?" A curly haired princess asked.

"Hmmm" he rubbed his chin. I have never thought of that… such an interesting answer.

This idea was not a stupid one for Silverwood academy had a peculiar education system. The system was unique because it promoted competition through test scores. On a huge board near the entrance of the school was every student’s rank. Rank one was obviously the brightest student while the last rank was not so bright. To determine such ranks, every two weeks or so a test would be administered to each student to test their current academic abilities. Students with good grades were obviously placed on the top while students with lower grades were placed on the bottom. Yet just this setup was boring to administration, so to foster more competition a new condition was added. If a student were to earn a "C" or higher then they will remain inside the school. However, if a student were to receive anything lower than that, then they will be kicked from the school. Of course, this problem posed no threat to Aemilius and several other rich students. Since as long as their family kept donating to the school, they could do whatever they wanted. 

Aemilius smiled at the idea, turning to the girl who offered him the interesting idea. "And do you know who holds the number one spot?”

“Um... I think they were called Damien something...” the girl nodded her head, suddenly confident, “Damien. Damien Irving was his name!”

Damien huh? Never heard of him before... And of course, Aemilius had never heard of such a name, all that he ever paid attention to were his princesses and potential princesses. So, guys never fell into his radar. Damien was obviously not a lady, so he never paid attention to him. Still, a smile rose upon his face and he presented this smile with its bursting radiance upon the girl, “Thanks to you, I may have found my solution." He gently took her hand and planted a kiss upon her fingertips. "Thank you."

The girl fainted from the intense interaction, falling into the arms of two other princesses who dragged her to the school building like a hero. Yet Aemilius was oblivious to the girl’s fainting spell, for his mind was filled with delight. Damien Irving... and without him knowing he had already placed Damien upon a pedestal of respect. The bell rang signaling the start of class. And around them, students raced toward the building "Thanks for your help ladies," he gave them a small bow. "Now shall we be off to class?" It was the girls' giggles of yes that caused Aemilius to smile. Ah… my princesses always bringing light to my-

  "Eh?" Was the only word that came from his mouth as the blue sky filled his vision. He was falling, and he didn't know why. Inwardly, he cried at the embarrassing display he was presenting to his princesses. Ah… the embarrassment. He closed his eyes, waiting for the hard impact of his back hitting the ground. But nothing happened. There was no impact. In fact, he was being held up by a pair of strong arms.  

"Sorry, I was in a rush. You're fine right?" The voice was husky as it graced Aemilius with its presence.

"Ah... yes" he muttered as he jumped out of the boy’s arms. He looked up at his assailant and started to tremble somewhat. He was a tall boy with dark cocoa skin and long braids tied up in a ponytail. Yet what made him tremble was the boy's eyes, piercing brown eyes that stared through his entire being. Quickly, he looked away. 

The boy nodded, "Good." And with that he was off, head back in his phone as he sped towards the school. Aemilius sighed in relief as he watched the boy walk off. He turned back to his princesses with an award-winning smile. “Well, shall we be off to class?”

Eli giggled, “You should know that that was Damien Irving.”

"That was Irving?" 

The other princesses nodded their heads quickly in affirmation. A tremble course through his body. He had to admit that those sharp looking eyes had scared him to a degree. "And to be correct, he is number one?"

Eli pushed her sunglasses as she examined the prince like Aemilius' somewhat trembling posture. She smiled at such a sight, since a fluster Aemilius was a cute yet rare sight. 

“Yep, number one."