The Rivalry (Part 1)

The Dorm patron checked Anne's register documents while humming. Makes Anne more nervous than she should.

"I must admit it, miss, you got the registered document so fast than the others, even from the golden pass recipient."

"Really? I thought I wasn't that fast, though."

"Miss, you got back here in less than three hours. Even the golden pass recipient who forgot to register needs to wait for half a day." Said the dorm patron while handing Anne her room key. "Your room is on the third floor. That's the floor for the silver pass recipient, there are five silver pass recipients this time, so good luck making friends."

"Thank you… uhm… sir?"

"Jeffry, but call me Jeff."

Anne put her travel bag on her shoulder, while the demon kitten yawned on his basket, "Alright, so, room one on the third floor, thank you Jeff, and nice to meet you."

"The same, miss." Jeff is smiling and begins to sweep the floor in the lobby once again.

She was so happy that Anne even skipped down the stairs. She never minds that her room is on the third floor. Anne likes to take a view from above, having the room on the third floor is already an advantage. When she reached the second floor when her body collided with someone else.

Almost falling from the crash, Anne thankfully grips the wooden railing.

"Oh, for the love of God! Careful!"

Her head looks up and sees a beautiful girl with golden hair and blue eyes staring at Anne with an angry expression. The demon kitten hissing at the girl, Anne needs to calm him down while she checks on herself. She felt a pain coming from her back, possibly from the impact, and her knee got a cut.\

"Hey, you, girl! Were you listening to me?"

After taking a deep breath, Anne looks up once again and smiles.

"Yes, I hear you."

"Good, now do something about this!" yelled the girl with her hand pointed at her cufflink that almost bust out from the seams.

"Look, I'm sorry about this. Just give me your dress and I will stitch it back for you."

She can feel her back aching like crazy, she really needs to drink a tonic and put some salves in it. The girl still berated her, even after Anne apologizes to her. Anne takes her travel bag and all of her belongings, when she tried to pass the girl when a hand then hold her arm.

"What's your name? silver pass girl."

Anne pulls her arm away from the hold and says it loud and clear to the girl, "River Anne, my name is River Anne. Nice to meet you, golden pass girl." She left the snobbish girl on the stairs and climb to her floor on the third.

The only thing that she wants right now is to check on her injury and take some much-needed rest. When she opened the door to her room, all of her problems earlier dissipated immediately. The room is comfy, with a canopy single bed, and a desk with a window with a view. The room also has its own bathroom, which is a bonus for her.

"We are going to love here, right… err… kitten?"

Anne looks at her kitten and thinks, this is a good time to name her kitten. She put the demon kitten on her bed, and arrange all the bottles of medicines on the table. Anne needs it to address her wound first but also trying to look for a good name for her soon to be familiar.

"Hmm… Randolf?" Asked Anne, with a tonic in her hand.

The demon kitten did not even look her way. She takes a sigh and thinks of another name.

"Ifrit? Wow… No!" Anne doesn't even want to use the name, and then she remembers something, an energy drink in her old world, she liked the taste and also the name of the energy drink, enthusiastically, she turn to the kitten and said, "Chikara?"

The demon kitten looks in her way and meowing. Anne smiles right away. She holds Chikara in her arms and kisses her soft fur. Afterward, she drink her tonic and took her salve into the bathroom. It is time to treat her wound carefully.

The night is still young, but all Anne wants right now is to take a rest with the demon kitten beside her. She opens her window a bit, to take the breeze from the outside. She then realizes she can see the palace from here, smiling while looking at the palace, her eyes feeling heavier and heavier. Anne got a good night's sleep that night.

The next morning, our purple hair girl is having a headache.

"Oh God, is it because of the tonic?" Grunted Anne.

She tried to ease the pain by taking a shower; it helps a bit, but it wasn't much. Anne decided it must be because she goes to sleep without eating. The dorm has accommodated a free breakfast and lunch. The only thing that she needs to take care of is her dinner and food for her kitten.

After she put on her clothes and descends to the ground floor, she looks at a woman, serving breakfast in the breakfast room, there are four people inside the breakfast room, all of them are nobles, and they look at Anne with a condescending look. She used to it, having graduated with the townie nobles in her school. For her right now, all she wants is a tea to ease her headache and a portion of good food.

"Oh, good morning miss, what a lovely morning, my aren't you a pretty one with your rare color of hair."

Again, Anne is already used to someone noticing her irregular color hair.

"Good morning, Missus? Miss?"

"Oh, it is Missus. My husband and I have been running the Icarus dorm for ten years. My name is Delilah, you can call me missus Del."

"Nice to meet you. Missus Del, can I have two slices of butter bread and bacon?"

"Of course, miss, coming right up, what's your name, pretty miss?"

"Anne, my name is Anne." Said Anne, smiling at Delilah.

"Oh, just as pretty as the owner, so, need anything else?"

Anne looks around the table and shakes her head. "But I have a question. Where can I shop for my groceries and also pet food?"

"We have it near the dorm, but if you want to find anything on your list, you need to take the central carriage and go to B Street. they have the largest marketplace in the capital."

Said her thanks to Delilah. Anne eats her breakfast and immediately goes to B street. Just like Delilah said, it is a very huge marketplace, with shops, stalls, and even cafés and restaurant. She is so impressed her headache is mostly gone. After the grocery shopping, Anne needs to find a stall that sells some Catnip flowers, the principal food for every kitten. She presumes that the demon kitten, being a hybrid, a catnip flower will do him fine until he grow up.

"Heirim, would you stop talking so much?!"

Anne recognize the voice, it was Henry. She immediately pokes at the man.

"Henry!" Anne calls his name with a very wide smile.

Henry turns around to see her, the expression on Anne changing drastically. There's a girl beside Henry, the girl that she met yesterday, the girl that snobbishly asked for her name after clashing with her at the stairs. The golden hair girl with blue eyes, who's staring at her with stinky eyes.