章 5: The Banquet's Surprise!

Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

That's right, the newfound witch of Thornwood Academy had her heart pumping so hard and fast that even Vladimir could hear it from such a distance!

For what it's worth, Raena's nervousness is justifiable.

A man with an apparent age who has seen the growth and rise from ashes to the sunrise of Kingdom Elaria has barged through the door, flaunting his old robes adorned with intricate patterns and symbols of ancient wisdom through the aisle.

Mixed feelings of excitement, anticipation, and nervousness took over the crowd as the headmaster faced in front of the students, standing beside a 7-foot diamond dubbed in red and shaped like a thorn. The headmaster's rich baritone voice echoed through the vast hall, silencing the murmurs and drawing all eyes to him.

"Welcome, new students of Thornwood Academy," he began, his gaze sweeping across the assembled students. "You are the 21st batch to join our esteemed institution since its inception, each carrying the legacy of your ancestors and the hopes of your respective lands. Do not waste your time here; we do not want to waste our most precious time with you, too."

Raena gulped. She can finally feel the intensity just by listening to the headmaster's words. It is true. She is not only bearing the hopes of her grandmother but of all the Shadowmen who have begged to be called citizens of Elaria just for once!

"I am Headmaster Zelbus, as most of you know," he continued as he reached out with his fingers, all decorated in various rings, to the diamond floating beside him. "And this, as you all know, is the Thorn. All of you would not have been here today if your passion and desires had not been heard and acknowledged by Thorn. That is why be grateful, as it is an honor to be here!"

Everyone clapped. Raena smiled, trying to put her mind at ease as the headmaster was proper again. She was not here by mistake! The thorn chose her. The academy chose her.

This is her moment. This is the moment for the Shadowlands!

The headmaster gestured towards a line of professors standing behind him. "Allow me to introduce you to the esteemed faculty who will guide you. Each of them is a master in their field, and together, they form the backbone of our academy."

Nine figures stood up from their seats, each with various personalities as to find from their expressions. There was a woman with hair so rare that it seemed to be vines, or there was a man with both hands covered in dragon scales!

However, Raena's eyes widened in surprise before each professor took their seat. One of the professors, dressed in somber black attire, stood out among the others. His presence exuded an aura of mystery and power, reminiscent of the shadowy figures from her homeland. She couldn't shake the feeling that he might be from the Shadowlands, a realm shrouded in darkness and secrecy. Her curiosity piqued, but she quickly shrugged it off as the headmaster continued with the introductions.

"Now, it is time to welcome the noble families from the seven regions of Elaria," the headmaster announced, his voice carrying a note of pride. "Each family has a rich history and has contributed greatly to the prosperity and protection of our lands."

The hall was filled with whispers and hushed conversations as the headmaster called out the seven regions of Elaria. The atmosphere was electric with anticipation, each student eager to see and be seen.

Raena, however, was in a bit in between. Her mind could still not forget the amount of humiliation she had to go through earlier, and for what it's worth, it might as well happen again this time!

As usual, the Shadow princess almost got her lips bleeding again from biting her lips in nervousness.

Suddenly, her cold palms were covered by the warmness of Vlad's hands!

Raena, who was startled by the action of the Shadow prince he had just met earlier today, looked at the person she sat with right away. To her surprise, Vladimir was already looking directly into her eyes.

"Don't panic," he whispered, his raspy voice reding the princess' cheeks.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub... 'What? No!'

Raena gasped internally as she felt her heartbeat rising. The young woman looked down to break the eye contact, not wanting the young man to see her cheeks flushed up!

"From the Emberfall!"

Thankfully, the headmaster broke off the awkwardness between the pair. Raena used it as an advantage to turn her head towards the four students who stood up — two boys and one girl — and one of them was the guy who had been with Lucius earlier.

Confident was the word that best fit the faces of the red-haired students, with their hands placed on their hips and their smiles brimming to the ends of their cheeks, garnering a roar from the students, including the amazed Raena.

"From the islands of Tidespire!"

The proud and confident Embers squinted their eyes as they darted their gaze to the now-standing Tidespires, with eyes as blue as the ocean and their hairs of the sky, the triplet daughters of Lord Aquilas showed their modesty, making sonant cheers in the halls.

"From the Vales!"

Another pair of boys and girls clad in blue and silver stood up. Their eyes sparkled with intelligence and determination, with movements of expressions as fluid as the wind itself. One of them was the girl with golden locks of hair, whose eyes roamed around to end up glaring in confidence towards Raena.

Raena could only gasp. Amidst her innocence, she raised her eyebrows, thinking...

'What is up with her, really?'

Of course, the girl from the noble Vales of Elaria noticed even just the tiniest lift of the witch's eyebrows. But, before she could even react, the headmaster moved to another batch of students.

"The forest of Vingrove!"

Another pair of boys and girls stood up, and, to Raena's surprise, they did not get too much cheer from the crowd. Although some clapped their hands, most of the students looked at them.

Raena, however, was so mesmerized by their olive-green hair that she could not help but clap loudly! The two seemingly shy Vingrove students noticed this. Raena was eyed again by the other students, especially when the Vingroves couldn't react to the cheer of a noble coming from the Shadowlands.

The princess only smiled to brush it over. She knew in her heart that somehow, those two girls were happy that she cheered for them.

"From the fortress of Ironhold!"

It was as if the whole room became smaller when the two grown men stood up, their muscles almost coming out of their shiny, iron knight suits! Raena was petrified in her seat when the boys started growling and cheering for themselves.

Vlad, on the other hand, got his blood pressure up just by staring at those heavy armor!

"And, of course, the very center of Elaria with the Houses bound to keep the Crown Legacy for decades... From the Nirvana!"

They did not even need to stand up as they were already seated in the front. Everyone already cheered for them, especially when the guy who just barged into the Shadow dwellers and shoved Raena to the ground turned from his back to face the crowd, giving them the most playful smirk.

"Lucius..." Raena whispered. However, Raena's interest was piqued when she followed her trail towards the person sitting beside the boastful prince. It was a short-haired girl with white hair; the only thing you could see from her face was her pair of glasses.

Unlike Lucius, this girl did not bother looking at the crowd. Raena could only wonder why.

But she has no time to think of others... especially when—

"Here comes fresh from the depths of the Shadowlands!"

'This is it,' Raena thought in her head. She stood up, her hands clenched, trying to tough it out, with her expression trying her best to look stern beside Vladimir!

It took her so much time to muster all her courage to stand up from the crowd and present herself even though she had never been to any social gatherings besides being with the villagers, only to be booed by other students.

The reaction was immediate. Whispers turned into loud murmurs, and soon, booing filled the hall. Raena clenched her fists, her face a mask of calm even as her emotions roiled inside her. She could feel the judgmental gazes and prejudice her family had always faced due to their association with the Shadowlands.

She took a deep breath, holding her head high as she stepped forward. She had been taught to show no weakness, to let no one see the pain behind her eyes.

"What's a witch doing here?"

"The darkbane knight, I would accept. They helped the Kingdom at some point.."

"Yeah... but the witches?"

"The Thorn must have made a mistake—"

"Silence!" The headmaster's voice rang across the entire room. By the time he shouted, Raena's head was already looking down at her feet. The perseverance that her grandmother reminded her of... It has lost its touch since today.

'Why..? Why?'

'Why did I even think of coming here?'

Raena Ravenscroft was losing it. She was trembling in fear and humiliation. Her tears were visibly lurking around her eyes but she couldn't even hear whatever Vladimir was saying to console her. All she could ever hear was the whispers and boos, the dislike and discrimination from other Houses that did not stop even after the headmaster tried to silence them already.

"Headmaster! How could you even let them in? How could I even enjoy my stay in the Thornwood Academy?" Lucius' proud voice echoed through the room, with such questions supported by his mates as they started cheering for him.

"That's true! I would never want to be paired up with an ugly witch!" The girl with golden locks hair stood up, pointing her fingers to the now distraught Raena.

"You're right!"

"Girl, purr!"

"It would be such a disgrace to be in the same place as her..."

"She should go back to the poor where she belongs!"

"Raena..." Vladimir could not help himself but put his hands over the poor girl's shoulders. Her eyes were filled with despair. He indulged his hands against her in an attempt to make her feel comfortable, at the very least. "Do not mind them..."

Just as the poor, weak heroine raised her head, Vladimir gulped at the sight of the princess's beautiful face, now mudded with tears all over her cheeks. "Vlad... I should—"

BARGE!

Before Raena could even finish her words, all of their heads turned right away as the vast, golden, and guarded doors of Thornwood Hall suddenly blew up!

And just before everyone could process it, a girl had already screamed her guts in utmost fear.

"There's a monster!"

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