Chapter 28: The Royal Representative
Inside a different dorm from Reynold’s room, he was sleeping on a couch with a blanket on him.
His body suddenly felt heavy on the couch and his head was starting to throbbing. A low groan left his lip as he stretched his body on the couch.
Strange! Why does it feel so soft? His bed is not this soft. Reynold blinked his eyes and then flipped them open. The first thing that his eyes saw was the ceiling of the house.
Where was he? Reynold had a confused look. He shifted his eyes away from the ceiling and to his body to see he was sleeping on a couch and not a bed. A thick green blanket covered him.
The scent in the parlor was nice, and the furniture inside it was luxurious and nothing like his cramped dorm room.
He frowned, checking his clothes. Black T-shirt, slim-fit trousers, all intact. Only his shoes were missing. His eyes scanned the large decorated room, stopping on a figure in the corner.
It was a girl, she was seated on a chair, her back to him.
Then, the memories of last night hit him like a blow. The party. The dancing. Gwyn leaving. The beers he drank. The dizzying corridor. The two Magic Users.
And the lip touching.
Dammit! Reynold gritted his teeth as his hand unconsciously went to brush his lips, then he dropped it as shame or maybe self-reproach showed on his face.
Nymeria was stirring a teacup with a spoon, she did not turn around. Beside the cup was a flat plate and inside was toasted bread.
The sound of the spoon against the teacup was the only sound in the parlor.
"Finally awake, Starweaver?" Nymeria broke the silence.
𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Reynold slowly raised his head. "I—I’m sorry about last night."
Nymeria finally stood up, not looking at him, and walked toward a small cupboard. She pulled out a small jar of honey and started walking back to her seat.
"Sorry about what?" she asked, her back still to him. "I don’t recall anything happening last night." She sat down and carefully poured the honey into her tea, and mixed it in with the spoon.
Reynold gritted his teeth. Was she teasing him?
"You know what I’m talking about," he said, swallowing hard.
"No, I don’t," she replied simply. She finished stirring and picked up the teacup, and took a slow sip. She set it back down, picked up a slice of toasted bread, and bit into it.
She did not even bother to look at Reynold, in fact, she acted as if he was not even there.
Reynold’s fists clenched. "I was drunk. And that little lip-touching... that was not supposed to happen. I’m sorry about it."
Nymeria finished chewing, then spoke without turning. "If you know you get easily drunk, you should not have had more than one glass. Not everyone is interested in having your lips on theirs, Starweaver."
Dammit! Reynold cursed internally, pushing the blanket off. He was not in the mood to argue. Luckily, his shoes were right next to the sofa. He slipped them on and headed for the parlor door, which was slightly ajar.
As he reached it, the door slammed shut with a loud sound right in his face, almost hitting his nose.
Reynold paused, his eyes wide, before turning around. "What the hell is your problem?"
Nymeria ignored him, taking another sip of her tea and biting her toast.
Seeing her completely ignoring him only fueled Reynold’s frustration. He had to yell to get her attention. "Why are you being so difficult? I said I was sorry! What else do you want?"
Nymeria took her time, finishing the bread in her mouth before murmuring, "Maybe a ’thank you’ for literally saving your ass from a couple of Magic Users who were so obsessed with getting under your pants." She stood up, holding her teacup and bread, finally turning slightly. She still did not spare Reynold a look. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have something important to do this morning."
The grey dressing gown she was wearing was short, stopping just above her knees. Reynold swallowed hard and immediately shifted his gaze away from her.
"Fine. Thanks for helping me," he mumbled.
Nymeria gave a slight tilt of her chin. She didn’t turn back, but simply flung her hand towards the door on the side. The door clicked and swung open.
Reynold let out a sigh of relief. He turned immediately and left.
The hallway outside was also furnished and decorated, it was the very opposite compared to his own dorm building.
This was clearly the high life. If there was a heaven on earth, Reynold was pretty sure he had just stumbled out of a wing of it.
He shook his head and started walking towards the exit door.
The outside of the magic user academy building was totally different from the Riders building. The building was tall and had white marble spires that looked like it was made from ice and quartz running through it. When the sun hit it, the whole thing seemed to shine with a silver glow.
Huge parts of the walls were not stone at all, but were made of clear shining glass. And It was not anything like the thick, tough glass used at the Rider building, this one looked like you could shatter it with just a small rock thrown at it.
The entire environment was just too clean and also looked expensive. And it looked more like a church or a quiet museum.
Compare this to the Rider Academy: that place was built from dark grey, rough solid stone. It was a solid, low-to-the-ground fortress.
But the magic building looked so light like it would just float away if someone did not use a powerful spell to tie it down.
Reynold was so lost in the beauty of the buildings and the environment that he almost bumped into someone.
But he managed to find his way back to the Rider building and headed straight for his dorm. The moment he stepped into the common area, the small parlor he shared with his roommates, he saw Gwyn. She was sitting on the floor with her back resting against the door. She had a worried frown showing on her face. She was not wearing the party dress from last night but a simple blue jean trouser and a blue top.
Seeing Reynold walk in, Gwyn stood to her feet and rushed to him.
"Reynold! Are you okay? What happened? When I came back to the bar, you were gone!" Her voice was laced with much relief.
Reynold just nodded, managing to let out a half-smile. "Yeah. I’m fine."
....
Meanwhile, inside the Headmaster’s big size office, the air in the room was filled with heavy tension. Sitted inside the room were professor Valerius, the Headmaster and the Royal King personal representative, Magnus.
Professor Valerius was seated at the left. He was wearing grey pants and white short sleeve shirt. His face turned into a frown and furious as the King’s representative finished speaking. His hand clenched tightly at his side. "That is bullshit!" he almost yelled, his voice echoing off the entire room. "I do not agree with this! It has not even been a month since they were accepted into the academy, and you already want them to skip the basic classes and have them bond to dragons? Does that sound logical in your ears?"
The royal representative visibly flinched as he shifted in his chair uncomfortably. He was picking his words with extreme care because he was clearly afraid of Valerius’s temper and the chances of Valerius to use a rogue spell sending him across the room.
Professor Valerius had almost the same social standing with the King and Magnus would not be so stupid to annoy the most feared magic user still alive.
"V-Valerius" he stammered, adjusting his royal sash. "The decision came directly from His Majesty, the King. The war at the East Border is... getting a little out of control. They desperately need reinforcement as their Rider legions are declining very fast in numbers. The King wants these Freshmen to bond to a dragon now and begin taking field lessons immediately. To strengthen their numbers, the next batch recruitment for the East will not come from the East alone. Each other region will support the Eastern Front with at least fifty Riders each."
Valerius scoffed as a a deep loud sound left his mouth. "Then the King should take his fifty Riders from the Third and Fourth-Year Cadets! Leave Year Two and especially Year One out of it! These people have not even acquired the basic knowledge! You will just be throwing them into the battlefield to die!"
Valerius shifted his furious eyes to the Headmaster, trying to get his reaction. But the Headmaster was just sitting behind his grand mahogany desk, and he was dead silent, his face was also unreadable.
Valerius threw his hands up in a dramatic gesture of disbelief.
" This is unbelievable. Throwing these kids out there will not solve the problem of the east, instead, we are just throwing future dragon riders to their early death."