However; Instead of the soft embrace of true love, they are snared by the tangle of vines and roses that rip them from the facade. They’re slammed into the ground and a bed of hedges is laid upon them. The two struggled but, the tight clasp of the magical ability held them down. 

Viole Galdon, the Secretary of the student body trembled with her hand outstretched. 

"We seem to have one each year, huh?" Zamir chuckled, his voice echoing off the walls.

Nora's face twisted into a scowl as she spoke through gritted teeth, "Such insubordination shall not go unpunished. This is a disgrace to the school of Zenith and the King."

“They almost hurt each other,” Viole states, her voice barely a whisper.

“Oh, babes don't you worry,” The man grabs her hand, He has a collection of golden rings and a pair of gold-tinted shades. If money could talk it would probably sound like the student body treasurer, Ainagi Maistrov, “I'm here to soothe those worried thoughts of yours,” he says. Viole shivers and an involuntary sound of disgust flees from her mouth.

Before Viole can reply, Zamir steps in, pulling her closer before wrapping his arm around her. "Thanks for the offer, Ainagi, but sadly, she wouldn't want a posh rat-faced brat holding her. Truly, your smell is scarier than anything in there," he remarks with a sneer.   Ainagi's impulsive nature was on full display as he fumed with anger, his short hair bouncing with every angry gesture he made. Zamir on the other hand stood serenely by Viole's side with his calm demeanor providing a stark contrast to Ainagi's visible frustration.

Zamir turns his attention to Kara, the two stared at each other for a moment before Zamir waved his hand. The moment made her uncomfortable and feeling forced to do so, she looked away.

Nora continued scolding the freshmen, “You three will face serious repercussions for your actions today. In-school suspension, and 5 hours of community service after school, both of you starting now!” Viole releases her grasp on Azurae and Kara who embarrassed, leap away from each other. Nora continues, “Viole take that unconscious kid to the nurse's office, I’ll take these two to get their uniforms changed-”

Nora is interrupted by a pair of boots beating across the school floor. Lizen who had just finished his encounter in Waldenstead had arrived with his uniform scorched, soaked, and shredded. “I’m here! I'm here!” Panting like a dog, he holds his hand on his chest and leans on a column. He looks around the room and is met with strange glances, to which he responds, “The hell are you all looking at? I didn’t miss anything did I-” He notices Kara’s torn and slimy uniform and the Dragonborn not too far from her, “Kara!” He gleefully calls to her.

“Yuck, what happened to you?”

“You’re one to talk.”

She looks over her clothes momentarily as the taste of hypocrisy lingers on her lips, “Touche.” 

Nora looks at Lizen with disgust, she clenches her teeth as her nails dig into her hand. “Another one, and somehow he looks even worse than the others, you’re practically wearing rags. Such tattered clothing is unacceptable, you will also follow me.” She marches forward with a lingering thought, How is that kid burned and wet? Lizen, Kara, and Azurae look at each other as they walk behind Nora. “Zamir, you stay here and ensure nothing like this happens again.” Zamir nods and places his hands behind his back, standing as a servant would.

Nora leads the group down the dimly lit hallway, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she walks briskly. Kara and Azurae exchange deadly glances wanting to finish the fight that had started. Lizen trails behind them, still catching his breath.

As they reach a large wooden door, Nora turns to face them with a stern expression. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves. You both should know fighting in the academy is strictly forbidden, and it's a disgrace to the name of Zenith.” she scolds. Looking at Lizen she continues, “As for you, your appearance is the utmost thing one can have, you need to maintain a clean one if you wish to be a hero." 

Kara opens her mouth to speak, but Nora cuts her off sharply, "Save it. I don't want to hear any excuses. You will all be punished accordingly." She opens the door, revealing a large room with rows of desks and chairs.

"Take a seat," Nora commands. The group sits down, their faces downcast and remorseful.

Nora paces in front of them with her hands clasped behind her back. "Names?”

”Kara Brandugald.”

“Lizen Ishakura.”

“Azurae Flourenzire.”  

Nora continues, “Kara, Lizen, and Azurae. You three will each serve a day of in-school detention however, only Azurae and Kara will perform 5 hours of community service. Is that clear?"

The group nods in unison, knowing better than to argue with Nora. “For the rest of the school day, you’ll stay here. I will return shortly to bring you all clean uniforms, and Zamir will bring you your student IDs in the evening.” She briefly exits the room before returning shortly with a box of folded uniforms. “The restrooms are on the second floor to your left, please enter your respective bathroom. later we will give you a rundown of orientation– You three will need it.” 

That last remark was spoken with venom. It felt more like a threat to the three than some friendly advice. Lizen and Azurae break from Kara and enter the boy's restroom. They each enter their respective stalls. “So,” Lizen starts in an attempt to break the ice, “your name’s Azurae huh? Pretty neat, I’m Lizen Ishakura.”

“Ishakura?” Aurae asks raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s the name of my clan, they all are gone but you know how it is.”

“Hmm, my father also died a while back.”

“Aww man, that’s sad to hear, I hope you’re doing well. That type of stuff messes with your head you know,” Lizen, already in his new set of clothes walks to the mirror and inspects himself. He makes a few adjustments, tugging the slightly oversized jacket and wrinkled pants.

“That is why I’m on a quest to kill the Hero of Aisenhower. But to do so I must prove my strength. I am going to be the strongest. My mother had always told me to find a strong woman and now that I finally have I can crush her and prove my strength once and for all!” Azurae slams his fist into the thin, flimsy barrier, separating the two stalls. It slaps the other wall tearing the toilet from the ground. Good thing Lizen wasn’t in there.

He could only stare in shock as Azurae approached him, “H-haha, you’re pretty funny.” His palms leak like a faucet and the air becomes dry and thick, comparable to when breathing through a straw. Lizen thinks about Azurae’s intensity and questions the sanity of the Dragonborn. “You said, you’re going to Kill The Hero of Aisenhower, did you hit your head or something?”

Azurae growls at Lizen, “He took my title the day he killed my father.”

“Who was your father again?” Lizen asks.

“Narakka, the Dragon King.”

Lizen leaps to Azurae in shock grabbing his shoulders, “DRAGON KING!? The same Dragon King that destroyed several states a decade ago?”

He shoves Lizen, “Yea nun too special, I wish I killed my old man myself though, that's the dream of every Dragonborn.”

Lizen chooses to ignore that statement. They stand in silence momentarily until Azurae sheepishly asks,

“So, why were your clothes all torn?”

Azurae’s sudden burst of interest came as a shock to Lizen, however, instead of pulling back he desired the conversation. He puffs out his chest as he spoke “ Oh that, well I just finished kicking the asses of an entire school!”

Lizen notices that for the first time– The first time this entire encounter, Azurae wore a smile. His eyes reflect a child-like curiosity, like when you wondered why the sky was blue and if the Sun was the moon. Lizen continues the story as the two stroll into the hallway.

“Did you punch em’!”

“Of course I did, it wouldn’t have been a proper beating if I hadn’t.” The two lift their arms over the other’s shoulders laughing loudly as tears fill their eyes. 

Kara, who had been watching the whole time clears her throat to gain their attention.

“Oh hey, Kara.”

Azurae buries his face in his shoulder, “Fire girl–”

“My name is Kara, AzUrAe” She mocks. He becomes visibly frustrated and his face burns with irritation. Before anything can escalate, however, Zamir appears between the three.

“Hello you three, you all look great in your uniforms,” every word like an arctic breeze. His chilled voice echoes in the empty hallway as he bows to the three. He hands them their student IDs and continues, “It seems you three will miss orientation on your first day, how sad. Well, nothing we can do about it besides— one thing.”

Are you already finished? Check out these wonderful series down below!