Chapter 4-1: Crimson, Fluttering in the Wind

Days in the academy passed slowly. Ren's life had eased into a new rhythm. Every morning, shortly before dawn, he'd train in the northern courtyard. Then, he'd have breakfast with Aiden and Mirielle and head to class. Thankfully, due to his prior knowledge, basic inscriptions were fairly easy to read and Ren could get away with only a small amount of studying on that subject.

Then, usually he'd get badly beaten by Battlemage Warthorn in his class. Due to those 'battles', he wound up in the infirmary way too often, which caused the development of a one-sided friendship between him and Daymon.

He had quickly gotten used to Battlemage Fiora's healing magic, though he still hated it and the pain that accompanied it. While he missed most of his history classes because of his injuries, he didn't really mind as Mirielle and Aiden helped him study for it.

As for Professor Doran's class, it was… interesting. He would randomly ask difficult questions to random people, though Ren had probably been asked the most thus far. It was almost as if the professor was intentionally giving only him even more work.

And today was no different, Ren had just collapsed on his bed after the Professor's class. As if having to memorise all local flora wasn't enough of a workload, the Professor had just requested a report on wildmagic from him.

"This will be the death of me…" He mumbled, as he pushed himself off the bed. He opened one of the windows to let some air flow in. He could see the orange glow on the horizon, the sun was setting.

"Let's see…" Wildmagic wasn't an easy topic to cover. He glanced at the books covering his desk. He had a lot of reading to do.

A knock on his door distracted him some time later. He rubbed his eyes, pushed his chair back and opened the door.

It was Aiden, holding a book and two steaming mugs. He handed one of the mugs over to Ren as he came inside. "You really need to light up your room a little, Ren. How can you even see anything with a single candle?" He raised his hand in the air and Ren felt the flow of his mana as a small orb of light appeared.

Ren squinted; the bright light hurt his eyes. "Wait, you're still studying?" Aiden asked in surprise. "Why? There are still weeks before the midterms and you're already studying plenty as it is!"

Ren took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Professor Doran wants me to write a report on wildmagic." He sighed, then glanced outside. It was dark, the sun had already set, probably hours ago. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. I saw your light from my window, so I came to see what you were doing." Aiden shook his head. "Seriously, did you do something to anger the Professor? He's constantly giving you more tasks, isn't he?"

Ren nodded as he sat back down on his chair. "I'm sure I didn't do anything…" He placed the mug on his desk and flipped through the pages of Basic Concepts of Wildmagic. "I'm almost done with a rough draft. Then I'll get some sleep, he wants this finished by the end of the week, so I don't have much time to waste."

Aiden awkwardly stood there for a few seconds. "I see…"

Hesitantly, Ren gestured to the book in his hand. "Are your roommates being noisy again?"

"Yeah. The other guy doesn't really care but I can't stand the twins. Besides, they are doing everything in their power to annoy me." He shook his head. "I… don't really want to get in the way of your studying though, so I'll head back." His shoulders dropped as he turned around to leave.

"I don't mind if you want to read here." Ren forced a tired smile. "You can sit on the bed, since I kind of need the chair for now."

"Thanks, Ren." Aiden sat on the bed and crossed his legs. Within seconds, he was completely absorbed by the book. Ren silently laughed, then turned his attention to his notes. He still had plenty of work to do.

* * *

The muffled sound of something hitting wood pulled Aiden's attention from his novel. Slightly confused, he lifted his head to see Ren with his head resting on the pile of paper and books. The young man was fast asleep.

"Really?" He whispered as he put the book aside and stood up. With a sigh, he raised his hand and released his mana. With a simple spell he lifted Ren up and placed him on his bed.

Glancing out the windows, he could see it was clearly past midnight. He quickly masked his mana again; he didn't want to wake Ren up. Then again, he didn't know if Ren could sense mana when he was asleep. Would a strong presence of mana wake him up? Or was he more 'normal' as he slept?

Aiden pondered these questions for a moment. It felt as if there was so much to learn about Ren. He was like a fun puzzle to solve and the more answers he got, the more questions formed in his head. He hesitated, then threw a blanket on Ren and silently left the room.

As he entered his room, he heard a sly voice. "How is your source of entertainment doing, Lord Condor?" It was Alfred, he was sitting on his bed cross legged with a wicked smile on his face. He spun his dagger around his finger as he spoke. "I've heard he's a constant visitor of the infirmary. Do treat him well, would you? It wouldn't do if he were to-"

"Excuse me." Aiden cut him off and approached his desk. "I believe Class II has combat practice tomorrow, I wouldn't want to keep you awake for no reason. Being well rested is crucial for that class, no?" He placed the book on his desk and blew the candle. Under the fragile protection of darkness, he went to bed, though what awaited him was only a restless sleep.

* * *

"Really?" Mirielle gently touched the lavenders. "I never knew these could be used for so many different things." Her eyes glittered with curiosity. Ren and Aiden glanced at each other as Lena laughed and kept talking about another plant she saw as they walked to the northern courtyard. Mirielle listened to her intently.

"She has Mirielle under her spell." Aiden said with a joking voice. "How about you, Ren? How much do you know about botany?"

"More than I knew yesterday, that's for sure." Ren sighed. "The Professor's report is killing me, I don't even remember going to bed yesterday." He desperately tried to fix his messy hair. "And if you hadn't come to wake me up, I'd have missed Battlemage Warthorn's class too." He could imagine how furious Warthorn would be if he missed any of his classes. He shivered and tightly grasped the hilt of his tachi. "Thanks, Aiden."

Aiden grinned and lightly patted his shoulder. "Don't mention it!" Though, even beneath that smile of his, the bags under his eyes were clearly visible. Ren hesitated; he'd never seen Aiden tired like this. He wanted to ask but ultimately decided otherwise. Aiden was a noble - a powerful and influential one at that. Asking unwanted questions would only cause him more trouble.

"Can you… try not to get sliced up today Ren?" Aiden asked hesitantly. Ren flinched. "I'll try." He touched the mark on his chest. Warthorn had made it a point to utterly destroy him every single day since their first class. No matter what he tried, Ren wound up in the infirmary.

As they reached the northern courtyard, they paused in surprise. Usually, the courtyard would be empty at this time of day, since Class II's combat practice would start after Class I was done with their practice. Now however, they could see several Class II students clashing against each other.

Ren stumbled and groaned as their mana assaulted his senses. He had gotten somewhat used to other people's mana, but it still caused some pain. He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Aiden's concerned voice. "Are you ok? We can wait further back if you'd like."

It was a tempting offer. Ren hesitated, he wanted to take him up on it, but it felt as if he was just a burden. Aiden had missed several history classes because of him already, he had to forego several hours of his free time just help Ren catch up with the classes as well. After taking a deep breath, he shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Let's go."

Aiden's lips formed a thin line as he stared off to the distance. After a brief moment of hesitation, he nodded and walked into the courtyard. Ren stared at his back for a few seconds. Was Aiden disappointed in him?

"Oh, hey!" Lena suddenly dashed forward, dragging Mirielle along with her. They were headed towards Serana who was standing off to the side, watching the fights unfold.

Just as he was about to follow Aiden, he felt a shiver down his spine. He didn't have to turn and look to know who was here. He wrapped himself in his cloak as Princess Iris approached him. Her icy cold mana surrounded them, blocking everything else – even the other student's mana.

"Your Highness," Ren bowed. He gulped, hoping to get rid of the lump in his throat. As always, her fine control over her mana was impressive.

"There is no need for that." She reached out and touched his shoulder, prompting him to stand straight. "Shall we?" Her voice was just as distant and cold as her mana. She gently, yet firmly grasped Ren's wrist and pulled him towards the courtyard. Ren flinched, then quickly matched his steps to hers.

She led him straight to the farther end of the courtyard, where Warthorn was standing. "Instructor," She placed her hand on her heart and bowed slightly. Ren quickly saluted Warthorn as well, though his bow was much deeper.

"Princess Iris, Ren." Warthorn acknowledged them, then once again directed his attention towards the Class II students.

"May I ask what the occasion is?" Princess Iris asked.

"Your class will be facing off against them." Warthorn grinned. "I wanted to see their abilities first." As he finished his words Aiden, Mirielle, Lena and Serana approached.

"Sir, Your Highness." Aiden bowed, then glanced at Ren. His lips formed a thin line as his gaze lingered on Princess Iris. Ren avoided meeting his gaze, instead choosing to glance at the Class II students. They were using mana but their spells were crude, some of them even resorted to chanting.

"Your Highness," Serana's voice caught his attention. She approached Princess Iris. "It is good to see you well," She bowed. Her lips formed a fake smile that her eyes betrayed. The look she gave Ren was filled with hostility.

"Likewise." Princess Iris didn't even glance at Serana. Instead, she looked at Ren. "I'd like to be teamed up with him, Instructor Warthorn." She still hadn't let go of his wrist. "Is that possible?"

Ren flinched. "Y-your highness," He couldn't use any offensive spells, he'd only weigh her down. She was the crown princess, she should have been teaming up with Aiden or the Ashthorn sisters. With nobles like her.

As he tried to protest, Princess Iris' grasp tightened. It was clear she wouldn't take no for an answer. Worse than that, Ren could feel the hostile gaze of Serana. The princess had outright ignored her, for a noble, that must have been embarrassing and humiliating.

Warthorn grabbed Ren's shoulder and grinned. "Of course, Princess Iris." He then leaned closer and whispered. "Don't mess this up, kid." Ren gulped.

"Alright!" Warthorn suddenly stepped forward and shouted. "Classes I and II, assemble!"

Once everyone was gathered around him, Warthorn lodged his shield between the stones on the ground and leaned on it. "Now, I will from three groups for each class; group one is Mirielle and Aiden, group two is Lena, Ophelia and Persephone, group three is Iris and Ren." He gave each team a long, red cloth ribbon. "The enemy team wins if they take this ribbon away from you. Go prepare. Class II, your teams are…"

Iris inspected the ribbon for a moment before glancing at Ren with an ominous smile. "Shall we?" Without waiting for a reply, she moved to the farther edge of the courtyard. Stunned, Ren looked around. He really was teamed up with the crown princess - the person he wanted to avoid the most. He shook his head and ran after her; he didn't have time to think about that now.

"We'll probably be fighting more than two people." Princess Iris calmly spoke. "Turn around, you can't fight if your hair is messy like that."

"It's fine-"

"Listen carefully," Princess Iris explained her plan as she undid the crimson ribbon on his hair, then tightly tied his hair up using the red ribbon. It was a good plan, Ren had to admit but it didn't help with the uneasiness he was feeling at all.

"Help me with this." She extended her right hand and handed him a piece of jewellery. It was an exquisitely crafted piece; a golden bracelet, connected to five rings via delicate chains. As he touched it, he felt a tingling sensation at the tip of his fingers. "Is this… your conduit?" He quietly asked as he helped her put it on.

"It is." She then handed him the ribbon. "Tie this around my arm. Let them see it." An almost cruel smile formed on her face. Ren loosely tied the ribbon around her arm. He couldn't help but feel awkward. "Did you know what Instructor Warthorn was planning, your Highness?"

"Who knows?" She whispered with a cunning look in her eyes. "Our opponents seem ready, Ren. Show me what that blade of yours is capable of." As she said that, her mana spread through the courtyard.

"The first battle will commence now! Princess Iris Londe Andor and Ren against Alfred Rush, Edward Rush and Serana Tesfel. The first to seize the enemy teams ribbon wins." He raised his hand. The Rush brothers and Serana formed a line, their weapons in hand. Ren stepped up, grasping the hilt of his tachi, blocking the way to Princess Iris.

"Begin!"