A week has passed since that small game, and no other significant activity has happened since. The dormitory scores have gone up in a very confusing and explosive way. Those who excelled in class earned points on tests or in class, but what brought more movement to the scoreboard were the "fun" side of the castle.
Challenges were proposed all the time, and a high number of points were awarded every day. Everything done at the Academy could be a reason for points. Annabell thought it was complete madness. Sometimes people earned points just by existing, and those who did so keep talking about it for a week. The princess felt like she had returned to kindergarten.
"Are you sure you’re okay? It’s been four days, and you still have that angry look on your face." Rosália asked, staring at her.
"I’m not angry, I’m just thinking!" Annabell shook her head back to her usual expression.
However, her thoughts did not leave her mind and continued to torment her. She needed something to distract herself, so she replayed the conversations she had in those days in her mind.
All the people she had talked to said the same thing about their brothers:
"In last year, they were extremely competitive. They were dorm bosses and took the competition very seriously. They made the dormitory have its best result in several years, but unfortunately failed to win."
The last part intrigued her the most. The dorm had the best result, but still lost.
That was not a trait of her brothers, especially since they would never give so much attention to something like winning an academic competition, let alone making the dorm follow a rigid training routine. Definitely not something Mark and Johnny would do, based on their reports outside of school. All the time they talked about how they hated the activities and the competitive air that made them stressed. They hated living under that kind of pressure.
"Gael!" The princess's voice was completely animated as she turned to the brunette and held his hands. Annabell's smile was kind, and her animation made her even more beautiful, causing Gael to swear he could hear birds singing behind her. "What do you remember about the White Kingdom's relationship with the Kingdom of Hearts?"
His expression became confused, and he wondered if the princess was in a good state of mind. "I think everyone knows about it... but as the princess asks, I will answer! We still have a great deal of tension between the kingdoms, even though we haven't fought a war in many years. The Kingdom of Hearts remains as arrogant as ever, threatening our kingdom." Annabell stared at Gael, completely confused. She knew that people had a somewhat distorted view of the relationship between the two kingdoms, but she didn't imagine it would be like this. "We had until that attack, a few weeks before I entered the academy."
"Attack? Gael, we were never attacked after the war." the princess's voice was soft, and she was quite shocked by her colleague's words. Annabell was about to continue speaking when a scream was heard, causing the princess to make a small jump. Everyone in the courtyard prepared for an attack by some beast, as the cry had been so animalistic that everyone was frightened. All eyes turned to the exit of the castle, and in the middle of the people, a corridor began to open.
"Get out!" A blonde girl pushed her way through the crowd, her steps quick and forceful. "Take her name off the Dorm Chief list." Lizzy pointed to Annabell, her anger palpable.
"We've had this conversation before!" Annabell stood up from the bench, not wanting to be part of the scandal. "I need to go to the library, if you'll excuse me." she said as she walked past the blonde, trying to get away from the commotion. She wasn't in the mood to discuss the issue again.
"If you don't withdraw your name, several people will turn on you. People only like you because you're the princess, and you're pretty!" Lizzy's smile grew wider as she pointed her finger at Annabell's platinum hair. "Princess Annabell is not a good option for Dorm Boss. She lost the first game to Ezariel! How can we trust someone like that?" Lizzy's tone was arrogant and superior, which only made it more unpleasant for Annabell to hear her being called "princess".
"If you don't withdraw your name, many people will turn on you. People only like you because you're the princess, and you're pretty!" Lizzy's smile grew wider as she pointed her finger at Annabell's platinum hair. "Princess Annabell is not a good option for Dorm Boss. She lost the first game to Ezariel! How can we trust someone like that?" Lizzy's tone was arrogant and superior, which only made it more unpleasant for Annabell to hear her being called "princess".
"If you don’t withdraw your name, several people will turn against you. People like you for being a princess and being pretty!" Lizzy said with a huge smile as she pointed her finger at the platinum-haired Annabell. "Princess Annabell is not a good option for dorm boss. She lost to Ezariel in the very first game! How can we trust someone like that?" Lizzy's tone was convinced and seemed superior to all.
Lizzy turned to the people in the courtyard and crossed her arms. People began to comment and, based on their comments, most people began to agree with Lizzy.
"It’s not very smart to turn against royalty, Lizzy!" Annabell laughed softly at the end of her sentence. She stopped walking, but did not turn to face the blonde. "Here, you are just another student, not a princess."
Annabell began to laugh, her laughter calm and controlled, but contagious to everyone around her. As she walked slowly towards Lizzy, white flowers bloomed under her feet. Her footsteps left a trail of white flowers, preventing Lizzy from soiling her heel. A light enveloped Annabell's body, making her image increasingly heavenly, and a white crown appeared on her head.
"I will always be the White Princess, and a person like you is not qualified to talk about who I am or who I cease to be." Annabell declared. It was the first time people had seen such a look on the princess. It was not kind, much less pleasant, and people wanted to be far away from it. "None of you can compete with me. Ezariel won because he is the only one with the ability to compete with me. Don't think just because I don't get involved in public life that I'm useless."
Annabell held Lizzy's chin and made her look into her eyes. She approached her and whispered in her ear.
"My kindness has a limit. Do not abuse it." Annabell let Lizzy go.
Her expression made it look like she was touching something disgusting, and her fingers touched Lizzy's clothes as if she was cleaning them. She went on her way, feeling tired from the whole situation. People thought they could abuse their luck, and that everything would work out for them. The princess just wanted to go back inside the castle and go to the library, but suddenly a huge chaos erupted in the courtyard.
People screamed and others started running. Annabell couldn’t understand what was happening. For her, everything happened in slow motion, her eyes widened and an explosion of white petals appeared behind her. It was an involuntary reaction due to the fright. The wind began to blow and carried the petals towards the two. Annabell tried to process what was happening. Some people ran towards her, while others went to Lizzy.
The courtyard became a huge chaos, explosions of colors ran all over the place. Benches were stained with paint, and the light clothes of the Lotus Dormitory became a beautiful color screen. Annabell couldn’t understand how that peaceful courtyard had turned into such a chaotic scene.
But that wasn’t the biggest reason for her confusion. Ezariel was standing in front of her. He looked the same as always: messy red hair, dark clothes, and the feeling that he would kill the first person who appeared in front of him. One thing was different, however: his eyes looked different.
He held the princess's waist and spun her around, causing her to see the paint explosions behind him. She became increasingly confused as time returned to normal, and she searched for an explanation for the situation. She tried to form a question, but nothing came out of her mouth.
"Enough!" Ezariel shouted, causing Annabell to flinch at the force of his imposing voice. Even though she was the intended target, her ears hurt, and she took a few steps back.
Just as suddenly as the chaos had begun, it ended. The students began to grumble and withdraw. Annabell tried to understand what had happened and how Ezariel had appeared there.
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