A distant explosion wakes me from my slumber. The birds outside my window scatter, abandoning their nest. In a similar manner, I roll out of my bed and land flat on my face. With one hand rubbing my forehead, I fumble around on the ground in the dark for my belt. I reach for where I left it, a hook on the end of my bed, and touch the first crystal my fingers find. 

My mind jolts, and I connect to the aer within. “What was that noise?”

“That, Aliyah, was the sound of you falling out of bed and onto your face,” a loud voice shouts into my mind.

I cover my ears, even though it doesn’t make the voice any quieter. “Oh, it’s you Flandre. Perfect. What was that explosion earlier?”

“Oh, what, you’re asking me about that just because I’m a fire aer? What, do you think I did it?”

“No. You can’t do anything without me, so that’s not even possible… I was just asking since you like explosions so much.”

He laughs. “Oho, then you asked the right aer. Being the explosion connoisseur that I am, naturally, I know what that noise was.”

“Can you please tell me then?”

He laughs again, this time with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what they’re talking about. “You see… It was the sound of a distant explosion.”

A moment of silence passes before I disconnect my mind from his. It’s too early for me to deal with Flandre’s nonsense.

My hot-headed fire aer likes the sound of his own voice. His interests include talking, talking again, and acting like he’s an expert on whatever he talks about. It can be annoying at times, but I find him amusing. Besides, he always tries his best to help, even if it doesn’t always work out that way.

I peel myself off the floor and stare out the window over my bed. Rays of light have just begun to flood in over the windowsill. Based on where the sun is, just above the horizon, it's too late to go back to sleep now, so I resign myself to the day ahead.

My morning routine doesn’t take long. After changing into my shabby, gray uniform, I grab my academy-standard aether belt and fasten it around my waist. Three of the four sockets are filled with aer crystals, but Eren’s crystal still rests on my pillow. I pick her up, secure her into her socket, and begin to brush my hair.

By the time I finish, the sun’s invasion of my room is complete, and all but the furthest corners are illuminated. My eyes find their way to the empty bed across from mine, the bed that will remain that way until I leave this place, and I’m once again reminded just how big this room is. 

The dorm rooms are designed to house two people, but with only myself in it, it’s like I’m standing on a stage without a second actor. Like a stagehand pretending to be the lead, I’ve moved the furniture around. Both desks face each other, staged to look like a tea party that no one ever attends. The clothes I never wear hang neatly in the wardrobe mirroring my own, my poor attempt to make it appear like someone else lives here. Light marks and deep scars litter the red floorboards, a testament to the number of times the furniture has been moved to try to fill the emptiness of the room.

Unfortunately, whether I am a stagehand or lead, I cannot change one simple fact: This stage was built for two. The only way to fix it would be to get a roommate, but the administration team said that because I’m the only noble at the academy, I should get my own living space. I’m sure my father used his influence as a member of the High Council to make sure I was alone. It didn’t bother me when I first got here, but now, if I were suddenly forced to share my room with someone, I wouldn’t complain.

It's about time for me to go to class. Not that class starts anytime soon, but I dislike staying in my room if I don't have to. I might need to find something to do before class, but it's better than sitting here alone.

The last part of my morning routine is to water the milin flower in the windowsill over my bed. My older brother gave it to me as a gift for entering the academy. He said it reminded him of me, and I can understand why. Milin flowers are small and plain, with white petals that glow in the moonlight.

I reach down to my belt and touch the blue crystal. With a jolt, my mind connects to the aer within. "Wallace, it's time to water the flower."

A silky-smooth voice responds. "Understood, mister Aliyah."

With my guidance, water flows from the crystal into the flowerpot. "Why are you still calling me mister? My hair isn’t that short anymore."

"Sorry, force of habit. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. And, if it makes you feel any better, I think you were charming, even with short hair.”

I stop producing water and nod at my work. "Thanks, but my hair is still short, isn’t it?"

He coughs. “Ah, what I meant to say was, no matter how short your hair is, you’re still a very charming young lady. In fact, I bet you’d still be beautiful even without hair. Why don’t we test it right now. Let’s cut it all—”

I interrupt his rambling. “Thanks, Wallace, but that’s enough.”

A moment passes in silence. “I’m sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

Another silent moment passes before I disconnect my mind from his. “Don’t worry about it,” I say, tapping Wallace’s crystal.

With my morning routine now fully complete, I leave my room and enter the empty hallway on the fifth floor of the dorms. Most students are still waking up or waiting around in their rooms right now, so I don’t have to worry about bothering anyone as I make my way to the entrance of the building. The administration team gave me the room at the end of the hall on the top floor because, “As the daughter of Duke Krehn, she should be above everyone else.” To this day, I don’t know if that was meant to be a joke, but my room’s placement isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It may take a while to climb up or down four flights of stairs, but I get plenty of exercise from it. 

Before I can leave the dorms, I have to check out at the front desk. The attendant nods without looking up from her book as I tell her I’m going to the main building. I push open the heavy wooden door and step into the warmth of the sun. 

A gust of wind slams into my face, sending my hair into disarray and nearly knocking me off my feet.