37 Chapter 23: Luke's Letter

The window beside us shattered.

"Someone really hates me." Raven stared numbly into the distance, the glass shards from the window, twinkling in his tea.

"Who's there?!" Kyle unsheathed his silver and black katana.

A small, blue, glowing water spirit floated in the room, with a letter in its mouth.

"An envelope?" I wondered out loud, taking the letter from its mouth.

"…I really want to murder that thing right now." Raven sighed bitterly, "But I'll do the right thing and go to the kitchen to get a refill of the tea."

The door shut gently as Raven's footsteps padded down the long flight of stairs.

"…There he goes." Kyle coughed to disguise his amusement at Raven's disappointment.

I unsealed the letter and check who it was from.

"Ah, it's from Luke." I informed Kyle, surprised about the sudden letter.

Luke hadn't contacted me during his stay at the All Boys Academy and only informed our parents on how school was going.

The water spirit exited the window and left.

I read over the letter and much to my amusement:

~~~

Dear Ivory, my little sister,

It's torture in this place.

Easton walks around the school like his soul has been destroyed.

Rei is a complete workaholic and achieves the highest test scores, much to the other students' displeasure.

And with complete honesty, I think I'm the only one sane now.

I wish I could say that the Academy has changed us for the better, but with Easton still being a complete idiot and Rei creating even more enemies with his snarky attitude, I fear that our ducal house is doomed.

Forgive me for not writing to you sooner, the students are only permitted to write letters to our parents about school and the teachers have permission to read our letters to prevent us writing anything offensive about the Academy. I had to sneak a letter to a water spirit I summoned. It took a while for me to successfully complete this spell, as I am not as magically gifted as Easton, but my spell isn't completely perfected. I hope it didn't cause any troubles on its way to deliver this envelope to you.

On the first day here, I versed Rei in 'rock-paper-scissors' to see who would share a room with Easton.

I lost instantly.

Currently, Easton's muttering something about being deprived of 'pretty girls' he even unconsciously says that during the night. Hopefully I won't murder him out of frustration.

I can't write much more because the feeble water spirit I managed to summon may not have strength to hold any more paper.

Tell Mother and Father I can't wait to go home and see you all.

Sincerely,

Luke

~~~

"What did it say?" Kyle asked, brushing the glass shards off the floor.

I folded the letter, inwardly laughing at Luke's bitterness.

"That he's loving school." I smiled, watching Raven walk back in with a refill of tea.

***

I was back in the palace after a few days. It was a sweltering day, the sun seemed to purposely burn us wherever we went.

"Let's go outside of the palace." Raven suggested, lying upside down on his chair, "There's nothing to do here."

"We'll have to dress as commoners today, too many people know your face." I suggested while fanning myself.

***

We sat on the second floor which overlook the first floor in a teahouse. Soft music played and dainty ladies danced elegantly downstairs.

A beautiful lady with emerald green eyes approached us, hiding her smile behind a feather fan. Her glossy, coral hair spilled down to her hips like a waterfall and her silk dress dragged along the floor as she slammed her hand on our table.

My hands automatically flew to my daggers while Raven muffled his tiny squeak and jumped in his seat.

"May I request why you're bothering us?" Kyle asked dryly, turning around to face her with a displeased expression.

"My, I haven't seen such a beautiful face like this in years." She lifted his chin up at her to take a closer look, "Should I take you in as a disciple?"

"I refuse that offer." Kyle swatted her hand off.

"Too bad." She smirked, "My offer still stands."

With that, she left the teahouse, her hips swaying as the door shut firmly behind her.

"Kyle, that gorgeous lady seems to like you." I blushed in awe of her beauty.

"That was a man." Raven stared at me with dead eyes.

An awkward silence.

I quickly stammered some words to break the pressuring silence,

"At least we can enjoy our tea!" I laughed too quickly, picking up my tea and spilling it on the table.

"I doubt it." Kyle instantly shot me down, picking up his teacup perfectly, "Trouble seems to find us whenever we're together."

"I'll take care of it!" Raven smiled brightly; light seemed seep from him. His hand sliced his neck horizontally, while beaming innocently.

"…What's with that dangerous hand gesture?" Kyle asked with a disturbed expression.

"…Let's go outside, everyone's staring." I smiled weakly.

We stepped outside, the sun greeting us with harsh UV rays.

"It's really hot…" Raven commented with a weak and shaky light.

If only sunscreen existed in this world, I felt my skin burning under the sunlight.

"Ow!" I complained as I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head.

I picked up a ruler. Seriously, kids these days found pleasure in tossing their own belongings.

I tossed the ruler behind me without looking back, I was glad to part ways with it.

"OW! WHO WAS THAT?!"

I felt my blood chill as an extremely furious boy older than us pick up the ruler. An enraged aura seeped out from here, promising death and pain as his face scrunched to an expression of pure insanity.

"Hey, have you seen my ruler-" A laughing boy came running out from the bushes with the rest of his friends but his stopped laughing once he saw the angry boy.

"WHO. THREW. THE. RULER?!" The boy repeated, each word trembling with rage.

We all looked at the boy who had only been laughing moments earlier, before we all long at each other with a mutual agreement.

Everyone with one mind a purpose—

Pointed at the previously laughing boy as his face paled to an ash grey shade.

We slowly edged away from him as the angry boy stepped closer to him.

"We'll be at the bathroom!" His friends laughed nervously before ditching him.

"Ahaha." Raven stated with dead eyes, "Run."

***

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM MEEEE!" Raven screamed tearfully.

His voice faded as he sprinted down the hill.

"It's just a butterfly." Kyle tsked, chasing after him.

I laughed at them.

"Wait for me!" I yelled at them, running after them.

***

"You must come by more often." The King grinned brightly, "All the servants here adore you."

"Yes…" I sheepishly agreed.

I suppose bribing servants with food would reap benefits.

"I'm looking forward to having you as a daughter-in-law." The King beamed with rosy cheeks, "I trust you'll be here tomorrow?"

"Isn't tomorrow the Moon Festival?" I asked.

I had been going there since I had heard it was enjoyable.

"It's a commoner's party, and only debuted nobility attend the Moon Ball." The King smiled with a confused expression.

Guess where I was going tomorrow.

***

KYLE: *This section displays violence; however, the King loves Kyle dearly and didn't purposely aim to kill him, or Kyle would be sitting in a hospital bed right now.*

I yawned and headed for the sitting room to meet Ivory.

Seriously, Father probably wanted Ivory to be his child more than he cared about me.

I opened the door, and there was no one in sight except for a single piece of paper on the wooden table:

Dear Prince Kyle,

I'm running away today! Don't bother trying to find me. If you do something cheesy like coming to 'rescue' me, my fist might slip and hit your face.

Love,

Ivory

I silently laughed, what was she up to now?

I headed towards the gardens and found Father admiring the roses.

"Hey, Father!" I called out, waving Ivory's note, "Ivory's not coming today. Apparently, she's running away now."

"How terrible do you have to be to have your fiancé run away!" Father gasped tearfully, taking it literally and throwing a twig at me in anger.

"Aren't you meant to be on your son's side?" I asked calmly, catching the twig with one hand.

"SHUT IT! YOU FAILED!" Father wept tearfully, tossing a wooden bench at me.

"YOU'RE GOING TO KILL YOUR HEIR!" I ducked the bench.

"DIE THEN!" Father retorted.

"Even a beast wouldn't be as harsh as you." I sighed, "Be honest, I'm some kid you adopted and Ivory's your real child."

"I STILL HAVE STRENGTH TO THROW THIS AT YOU!" Father lifted the marble fountain angrily.

"I was just kidding." I dusted myself off, "She didn't actually run."