A Mild Case of Homesickness

As everyone in class started to settle down, so did Victoria. Looking at the classroom she was in, she would've have been fine with how things were. She could continue to live as a Clive and be able to send letters to her father in the Everdeen household. She could meet her brothers at school every day and be able to make some new friends along the way.

But deep down, Victoria knew this was all hopeless fantasy. Even if she could manage to live normally, she can't, because in the inevitable future, everyone in the dark kingdom will be sent to the Nether Realm. Including her.

Regardless, Victoria still didn't know much about the world she's in. Like how the magic system works, or how she ended up in Victoria's body.

But what really worried her, was that she had no concrete plan on how to avoid the ending.

*It won't be long until Prince Arroyo finds Aurora, and even if I do find Aurora and replace Arroyo, I couldn't possibly hide her away from her parents. She has every right to return to the Kingdom. Bringing Aurora to the school will only cause Amelia to be banished of the title crown princess. *

Victoria bit her lip, trying to think something through.

*But what if I don't return Aurora to the Kingdom? What if I make her stay with the Clive's? I'll just have to make sure nobody sees her birth mark. *

Victoria's eyes widened.

*No. There's no way I could do that. If that does happen, then something might go wrong. The Clive's might be executed for treason, they might even get blamed for the disappearance of the princess. *

Victoria rubbed her head in frustration.

*Wait. Prince Arroyo. I remember that in one of the book's illustration, he was wearing black. He was also wearing the same type of uniform this morning. I didn't think much of it at first, but looking back at it now, it means that Arroyo is enrolled in the School of Dark Magic! *

Victoria made up her mind.

*I'm sorry Aurora. But bringing you back to the king and queen will only cause trouble for many innocent��s lives. You're better off lost than found. *

Gus noticed that Victoria was burying her head in thought.

"Victoria? " Gus spoke.

Victoria's train of thought was interrupted by Gus.

"Huh?! Oh Gus. What is it?" Victoria asked.

"Nothing much, I just noticed that you seem to have a lot to think about. "

"Yeah, I've got a lot on my plate. "

"Penny for your thoughts? "

Victoria thought about what she should say to Gus. After all, they did just meet for the first time. She didn't know whether or not she could trust him. but right now, she needs information.

"Gus, I have some problems with my powers. You see, my magic awakened three days ago and for the past two days, I haven't been eating anything. Yet for some reason, I'm still not hungry?"

"Ah, well that's a normal body response. Vampires can last for weeks without drinking any blood. But for newly awakened vampires, it's a bit different. The reason why you weren't hungry, is because the magic inside of you is growing, but you can't go on without drinking blood from your host. "

*My host? *

Gus's expression changed from attentive, to amused.

"Victoria, aren't you a Clive? From my knowledge, the Clive family is a family of Vampires, how do you not know the basic information about your body? "

*Shit. *

"Ahahaha, well my dad did tell me about it, but I slept through all his classes, I guess I'm paying the consequences of my actions. "

"Hmm.... " Gus grinned.

Just then the door slammed open and a tall, dark woman came inside the classroom. She had no hair on her head, instead she had twisted horns. She had bright yellow eyes that seemed to contrast her dark skin, with huge black wings on her back, and a snake's tail for legs.

She slithered her way into the classroom and stood in front of the students. Victoria could not help but stare at the woman, it was her first time seeing a person that looked so... different.

"I am Tamyrus Grefaldia, and you will address me as Madam Grefaldia. I will be your history teacher and your homeroom adviser. I expect great things from everyone, after all, this is Class A! "

*Hmm, the School of Dark Magic also has a Class A. *

*Class A is where the children of influential people are placed. They have different subjects and are usually put in charge of many school activities. I guess the Clive's are also a very influential family since I'm placed here. *

"You are the future of this Kingdom. One day you will all become Dukes, Duchesses, Marquess and Marquis. Some will even become kings and queens. " Ms. Grefaldia said as she turned towards Victoria.

Victoria flinched at the Madam Grefaldia's gaze. Her bright yellow eyes were so sharp, they felt like they could throw daggers at her.

"Miss Clive. I expect many things from you. Your sister was an exceptional student!" The teacher praised.

*Ugh! Shit. Now I actually got to do good. *

Madam Grefaldia returned her gaze to the rest of the class.

"Now Children. Here is your first lesson. The Crown Prince will be here any moment to attend class, when he enters, I want you all to greet him as you would the king and queen."

*Prince Arroyo? Coming to this class? Does that mean he's my classmate? *

Footsteps could be heard outside the class and the sounds became louder and louder every time it stepped closer towards the door. When the footsteps stopped, everyone in the classroom turned their attention to the door.

Someone outside opened the door, and when everyone saw that it was Prince Arroyo who entered, everyone bent down on their knees and bowed.

"We greet Prince Arroyo, the Crown Prime of the Dark Kingdom!"

Everyone said in unison, except for Victoria, it was her first time meeting a royal, so she didn't know what to say or do.

Gus noticed this and grinned.

"You may all rise. " Arroyo spoke.

Everyone rises on their feet, but kept their heads down. Victoria who didn't know what was going on, stared at the Prince's direction. When her eyes met his, she noticed that he looked exactly like how the book described. Unlike Amelia, who was terribly underrated in her description, Arroyo was described perfectly.

Arroyo had deep red eyes that looked like the ripest apple, he had dark black ebony hair and a pale skin that blushed under the touch of the sun.

Though Victoria has already seen the prince at the school assembly, but she couldn't really pay much attention to him, since she was mostly staring at Amelia.

*Even though I really hate him, I can't deny the fact that he's actually pretty handsome. *

Victoria's head was pushed down by Gus, making her eyes stare at the floor. Out of confusion, Victoria glanced at Gus.

"What are you doing? " Victoria whispered.

"What else? This is our first lesson. Do you want to fail by not greeting the prince properly? "

*Oh, this is a lesson. I thought this is how we're supposed to greet the prince every time we see him. *

"Don't worry, in school, the prince is our equal, we don't have to greet him every time we see him. This is just a test." Gus explained as he let go of Victoria's head.

"You may raise your heads, for the prince is ready to see you. " Arroyo commanded.

Everyone raised their heads and stared at the Prince. Including Victoria.

*I guess it's a good thing that I'm classmates with the prince. Even if I don't end up seeing the other main characters, there won't be a story if Arroyo doesn't find Aurora. *

Victoria glanced back at Gus. Even though Gus was a side character, his looks were just as good as the prince, if not even better.

*I need to somehow get close to the prince.

In the book, Prince Arroyo heard the singing voice of a maiden. When he heard this beautiful voice, he had to search for the source. So, he sneaked out of school through the secret entrance that Vince, Victor and I, found.

The prince eventually found the source of the voice, and to no surprise, it was Aurora.

In the book it says that he fell in love with her at first sight, and then he continued to visit her every single night. When he could no longer hold back his horny ass, he made love to Aurora. Whilst banging her, he noticed that she had a lion's birthmark. A symbol of royalty. After that, he convinced Aurora to go back with him, and when Aurora was recognized by the king and queen, Amelia was stripped of the crown princess title and was left to die.

Amelia obviously took her revenge by starting a war that lasted for over three years, and it all started because Arroyo....... found Aurora. *

Prince Arroyo ordered everyone to sit down.

As Victoria sat back down on her seat, she continued to think.

*I don't need to be best friends with the prince. I just need to be close enough so that I can keep him away from that garden. *

But how?

Victoria looked back at the front, where the Madam Grefaldia was speaking to Arroyo.

Victoria noticed that Arroyo kept glancing back at her.

*Hmm.... he's probably going to tell the teacher I failed to greet him properly. *

When Madam Grefaldia finished talking to Prince Arroyo, she motioned him to sit down. Arroyo looked around the classroom, and it seems as though the only empty seat left, was the one in front of Victoria.

Arroyo walked towards the seat, but Victoria hasn't really noticed his intention.

"Why is he walking this way?! Is not greeting him properly a punishable offense?" Victoria whispered to Gus.

Gus looked at Victoria and thought about what he was going to say.

"Hmm.... In normal circumstances, yes! You could be punished for treason and get your head cut off!" Gus whispered back at Victoria.

Victoria's face turned into sheer terror, and she felt her soul almost leave her body.

As Gus grinned mischievously and as Victoria cried internally, she noticed that the prince was already in front of her. Her eyes met with his, and for a second there, she couldn't stop staring.

*His eyes remind me of Ellen's blood. *

As Arroyo sat down on his chair, Victoria's mind floated towards the clouds. She started remembering what she did to Ellen back in the dark forest. She could remember his smell, his taste, and his body quivering at her touch.

*WHAT THE FUCK AM I THINKING?! *

Victoria's face turned red and she could feel her heart beat pumping faster and faster, as if it were about to explode.

*I've got to stop thinking about Ellen! I feel like I'm going to get a heart attack every time I think about him! *

Victoria's senses came back to her.

*Wait, isn't my head supposed to be cut off right now? *

Victoria looked up and noticed that Arroyo was sitting in front of her.

*Oh, so he wasn't after me, he was just after the seat. *

Victoria glared at Gus, and stared at him with frustration. Gus, who was already interested in Victoria, giggled at her response.

*I'll get you for this! *

Victoria thought as she glared daggers at Gus. But Gus only giggled back in response, making her feel angrier at him.

The class started off, there were no introductions of the other classmates or a "getting to know each other games ", it was just history. Victoria did her best to focus on class, but at times, her mind started to wander elsewhere.

She found herself drawing something on her sheet of paper. She stopped drawing and noticed that she drew a picture of her dads back in the modern world.

Even though Victoria fully accepted her life as it is currently in, there were people in her past life that she wished she could be with.

*Sigh, I miss my dad's. I wonder how they're doing? They must've been really hurt when I died. I was their only child after all. I wish I could tell them that I'm doing fine. *

As Victoria continued to stare at the little drawing she made, Arroyo turned to glance at Victoria.

*She's the girl who kept staring at me. *

Arroyo looked down on the sheet of paper that Victoria was doodling on. He noticed that she was drawing two men holding a baby.

*She's a really good artist. *

Arroyo turned to face Victoria and asked,

"Who are they? "