***** Trigger Warning: Bullying, Violence ******
Aayla was relieved that nothing seemed to be wrong with her grades. The elusive Chris had just walked in to the residence hall when Aayla left the medical ward. Aayla made a beeline towards him to give Chris some 'good' news. He gave her a lot of grief last semester for her magic theory grades. This time she would rub her grades into his face.
"Hello, Mr. Vear. Have you checked your mail today?"
Chris looked suspiciously at Aayla who confidently stood in front of him with a Cheshire cat-like grin.
"I have Ms. Glowery. The exam scores were sent out today. Did you struggle with one of your classes again? Should I find a few people to tutor you?"
"I got an 'S'."
"Oh, just an 'S'? Wait, what? Let me see that!"
He snatched the letter out of Aayla's hand.
"Tsk, tsk. Mr. Vear, snatching a letter out of a person's hands is very rude."
Though she scolded him, Aayla still kept that wide grin on her face. Chris stared in disbelief at her exam results. Then he looked up at Aayla, and back down at the paper.
"What on Tellus? Your common sense is horrendous."
"First of all, there's this thing called 'studying' that I suggest you look into. Second, there's a reason why I'm an Ancient History major, not a magic major. I can kick your butt out of the country with everything except for magic."
Aayla cackled and snatched her paper back.
"I win this time, you jerk!"
Chris looked straight into her eyes and pulled out his own results. Her face twitched as she looked through his results.
"I don't think so, Ms. Glowery. Sorry, but I have two 'S' grades. Try again next time."
Aayla puffed out her cheeks. This jerk! She had really looked forward to having something to rub his face in this time.
"Both of you did really well this round. Getting an 'S' is very difficult."
A friendly brown haired young man walked over.
"I'm glad that I found both of you. Do you have time to talk? Let's go to the medical ward. The rest of you busybodies can go back to your regular business. It's not polite to eavesdrop."
The nearby students awkwardly laughed and pulled their chairs away. They had secretly scooted their chairs closer to listen in. They had rarely seen Aayla so smug, so naturally they were highly curious. Chris took his letter back and the trio locked themselves in the medical ward. Nurse Rousse was busy healing the burned student in the private room.
"What's going on Theo?"
His face instantly darkened.
"Vanessa Landrienne's going crazy. Chris, have you heard about the rumors of Vanessa dating Sir Forolan? She's been spouting that nonsense everywhere. Whenever someone calls her out or if a lady appears to get near Sir Forolan, she attacks them. Horrible rumors appear about them the next day."
"… What?"
"… You haven't heard?"
Pure fury dyed Chris's face. Someone had blocked this information from him. They must have taken advantage of the professors leaving and the factional disputes to distract Chris and the other Forolan vassals. Or one of the Forolan's allies was aiding this rumor.
"Someone has made a mistake, apparently. Could you please let people know that the pair are not dating? Rather, Vanessa's been the annoying one. The Forolan family will never let her date the young master, let alone marry in."
Aayla perked up her ears. The laughing and chattering outside had stopped. She thought that she heard the shattering of glass.
"Did you all hear glass shattering?"
The boys shook their heads.
"Could you give me a second please? I need to check on something outside."
When Aayla walked into the lounge, it was completely still and quiet aside. A young lady sat petrified as trickles of blood fell down her face. Vanessa Landrienne stood in front of her with a broken wine glass in her hand. The Butterflies stood behind her, snickering at the bewildered young lady.
"Who got an 'S' grade? Who's the best in the Ancient History major? Who's trash that Deputy Heston and Sir Forolan would never touch?! Stop spouting such nonsense."
"Yeah, if Lady Landrienne says that she's number two, then no one will say that they are number one. No one would be a better Ancient History scholar or wife to Sir Forolan than her!"
Corrine slightly stoked the fires of Vanessa's anger as she pretended to help. Eventually, Vanessa would get angry enough to do something irredeemable. Hopefully, that would be today. If not, Corrine would gladly help Vanessa vent her anger some more.
The young lady reached up to her face and felt the glass shards, wine and blood on her skin.
"You – You hit my face with a wine glass?! How dare you fly into a rage when you eavesdrop on our conversation?"
The young lady's friends snapped out of their shock. In an instant they furiously started scolding while they helped their friend off of the ground.
"We were just stating the truth. Unlike a certain violent idiot and her airheaded cronies, Miss, no Lady, Glowery got an 'S' grade on her exams this past round. She talked about it with Sir Vear in the lounge."
"Nafriton found a truly excellent Ancient History major, unlike a certain spoiled princess looking for a bridal class. No wonder Deputy Heston chose Lady Glowery over you."
"Hmph. A violent brute with nothing in between her ugly ears. No wonder Sir Forolan doesn't want to date you! No one else really wants you either, now that I think of it."
Before anyone took the fight any further, Aayla quickly dragged the injured party back.
"Whoa there. Fighting is strictly prohibited in the residence hall. Let's all move this out of a public place and into the medical ward, okay? This young lady needs medical attention."
The Butterflies sniffed in disdain while the other young ladies glared at them. Neither group yielded. Vanessa's sharp gaze scanned over Aayla. The more she looked, the more she didn't like what she was looking at.
Rumors about how spectacular Deputy Heston's goddaughter was have been making their way around campus for months. Her professors loved her. This infuriated Vanessa. No one else was allowed to rival her, especially not some country bumpkin who crawled out of some unknown hole.
"So, you're Aayla Glowery? Deputy Heston's goddaughter?" Vanessa spat.
"That is correct."
"You don't look like much for the girl whose supposedly Deputy Heston's goddaughter. You are truly shameless claiming to be her goddaughter and that you get 'S' grades."
The other Butterflies quickly chimed in.
"Or cheating to preserve Deputy Heston's honor. She didn't even come to class for two whole weeks. Participate in the fourth-year trip? Ha, she's probably so scared of everyone knowing that she's a screw up that she skipped class."
"Not even the best cosmetic surgeon could save your ugly face. Don't you feel bad scaring people when you go to class? Wait, that must be why she skipped class! She didn't want to show her ugly face."
"How old are those rags? Did you dig them out from the trash? You won't even get the oldest, ugliest and poorest husband with your face and personality if you don't at least dress nicely."
Several of the other students stood up. Bullying a first-year like that and dragging in Deputy Heston was going way over the line. This was fun to watch at first, but The Butterflies were going more rabid than usual. Technically, Lady Glowery was a part of the Student Council. The resident disciplinary officers could arrive any minute, too. Are they on drugs or something?
Aayla was taken aback. Seriously? Did they really not realize that Dormi was one good reason away from throwing them out? And they're trying their best to give Dormi a good reason with those juvenile insults. She gently held back the injured girl who looked ready to rip out a chunk of Vanessa's hair.
"A student's grades and other academic affairs are their own private matters, however any genuine academic concerns you may report them to the student council. Thank you all for your concerns, but I am comfortable with my own appearance and all of my essential needs are being more than adequately met.
"Again, fighting is strictly prohibited in the residence hall. Let's not disrupt the public anymore and move into the medical ward, okay?"
Vanessa looked at the bleeding young lady supported by her friends. A smirk hooked her cruel lips. She had set enough of an example today. It's better to stop before her beloved fiancé sees anything unsightly. That 'thing' that interrupted her lesson could be taught later.
"Hmph. Go ahead and bring that dirty thing to the medical ward. It's what she deserved, but I'll let her go for now. Make sure she sends the proper reimbursement for getting blood and wine on my dress. Also, if I hear any more nonsense out of that dirty mouth of hers then I'll rip it off."
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