The source of this voice was an exceptionally skinny elderly man with a braided white beard and long hair pulled into a tight ponytail. He wore a dark doublet with long sleeves and equally black pants. Across his whole outfit was this light embroidery that The Doll couldn't quite decipher.
The Doll quickly assumed a bow similar to the one she took with Madame Octavia and said, “I apologize for our lateness, sir; we had to attend a meeting with the headmaster.” After finishing her apology, she remained in the bow, awaiting permission to stand.
Despite The Dolls head being bowed, she could feel the gaze of who she assumed to be the instructor boring into her. “A curtsy is far more appropriate for a girl; if you are to bow as a girl, you should clasp both hands together and hold them beneath you. Furthermore, your back is far too high up for an apology; you seem to imply you're on equal standing with me with that weak bow.” The Doll looked up at the instructor, shocked by his critique. “Bringing your head up before you've been forgiven is also unbecoming. I grade your attempt at an apology mediocre at best. Your grade will reflect this.”
Well, this was already a bad start. “Very well.” The Doll simply said.
“No, sir, after your statement, further docs your grade for the class.” The instructor said.
I really dislike this guy.
He was a lot like Father, The Doll thought before trying again. “Very well, sir.”
The instructor gave a slight smile and said, “You may be able to improve your grade after all." He then turned his attention to Malina, who was, unshockingly, just standing there with her hands in her pockets. “As for you, I see no attempt at an apology. Would you like to rectify that mistake?” The instructor asked in a rhetorical manner.
Malina took her hands out of her pockets and did an exaggerated shrug. "I'd rather not; I don't enjoy bowing. I appreciate the offer though.” She then turned her attention to the class, “So should we just sit there or…?”
The instructor simply sighed, “Quite the hopeless student." He didn't elaborate further and instead also looked towards the class. “You two would typically sit in the center next to Zephyr, but as you two showed up late, you shall sit in the two available side seats for the remainder of this class.” The instructor stated.
The Dolls heart sank when she heard this information; she already figured this would be the case, but it being confirmed was so much worse. She turned around and looked at the class. Eight people sat there, but she only saw one.
Sitting in the very front seat was her fiancée.
Lukaz Zephyr.
I am disliking this class even more.
She obviously hadn’t spoken to Lukaz since the incident two hours earlier, but it was safe to assume he was unhappy. Malina seemed to have noticed him as well and was grinning for reasons The Doll couldn’t decipher.
The Doll turned back toward the instructor, intending to offer a proper bow of thanks, but before she could, Malina suddenly grabbed her hand and began dragging her toward the two empty seats at the end of the front row.
“Come onnnnnnn, let’s sit down already. We’ve been standing forever.”
Despite the class having only ten students, the classroom still held four separate rows of desks corresponding to the academy’s four classes: Terra, Caelum, Mare, and Abyssus.
As members of Terra, the highest-ranked class, they were expected to sit in the front row. At the far end of it sat the only two unoccupied seats, left empty during their absence.
Malina sat in the seat closest to the instructor next to a girl whom The Doll didn't recognize nor pay much mind to. This left the absolute corner seat to The Doll, who sat in it without a moment's hesitation, looking at the instructor. She would finally get onto the schedule she had intended to follow when she came here, a simple life where she did as she was told.
I find that rather boring.
It was perfect.
The instructor coughed and began speaking, “Now for those of you who missed introductions, I am Cassium Aurum, but you shall refer to me as Sir Aurum, as is proper.” As he said this, he entered a short bow, customary for greetings. “I would typically have you introduce yourselves, but this interruption has already put us off schedule, and we were already in the middle of a lesson.”
He then turned around and began writing on a chalkboard. When he finished, there were three E’s sitting on top of each other. “These are the Three E’s of etiquette and represent the basic foundation of not only what you will learn but also the nature of etiquette as a whole.” The Doll was naturally already familiar with these, and she assumed that was the case for the rest of the class.
Sir. Aurum pointed his chalk towards the top E and began writing, “The first E is elegance; this is the physical aspect of etiquette and how you present yourself in your actions." An example of this would be the pathetic attempt at a bow by Braveheart at the start of this class.” The Doll vaguely recognized Braveheart as the name of a noble family that had once held major status but recently fell to ruin when they couldn't produce a daughter.
How eerily similar to the position her own Ashencroft family was currently in. At least they still had a hope in her.
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Sir. Aurum pointed down to the next E now that he had finished writing "elegance" and moved on. “The next E stands for expression, the emotional aspect of etiquette. The most important rule about expression is to never express the emotion you truly feel. Expression is all about expressing the right emotion and the right amount of emotion.” The Doll figured herself to be an expert in this aspect until recent events tested this.
Moving on to the final E, Sir Aurum wrote it out before speaking on it: "Expectation," a word that The Doll was far too familiar with.
She didn't need an explanation to know the weight that expectation held, but she would get one anyway. “This is the most important aspect of etiquette. Expectation is how you are viewed by others and expected to act. If you defy what is expected of you, that would be by far the most unbecoming sin you can commit.”
He circled it and looked at the class. “Expectation is everything. Always remember that.” That previously elegant voice had now shifted to one of complete seriousness.
I couldn't agree more.
The Doll couldn't agree more.
As he finished this explanation, the bell rang, signifying the end of the hour and transition to the next class.
Sir. Aurum put on a smile and swiftly switched demeanor. “It seems we have less time than I thought. How unbecoming of me. It doesn't matter; we shall pick up from this point tomorrow. Now be on your way.” Upon completing his dismissal he walked out of the classroom seemingly to greet the next class as they walked in.
The Doll stood up and looked to her right for Malina who was…
Asleep?
She had put her head down on the desk and seemed completely unresponsive.
They were only here for about ten minutes; how could she already be asleep? She seriously made no sense.
The Doll debated whether or not she should bother waking Malina up but ended up having the decision made for her when a gloved hand similar to her own, with the exception of holes for the fingers being present, showed a simple ring that appeared to be silver with a rune on it that read "DIE." The metal sat strangely against her finger, almost seeming embedded into the skin itself rather than worn normally.
Very hesitantly this hand tapped Malina's shoulder once before instantly retreating back.
A meek voice began to speak. “Uh ma-ma-ma'am, yo-you ne-ne-ne-need to um…” The Doll looked up to the source of this very shaky, shy voice and saw the girl who Malina sat next to, whom she had previously paid no mind to.
She wore the same uniform that the rest of the students wore, with similar modifications to The Doll that seemed designed to minimize the amount of skin shown. She had a darker shade of hair that wasn't quite as black as the doll's, pulled into a long ponytail.
She brought her hand down to her side and suddenly yelled out in a very squeaky voice, “YOU NEED TO WAKE UP.” The yell echoed throughout the whole room, and the girl brought both hands up to her face to cover it as a blush appeared across it.
The Doll was completely taken aback, but despite the unconventionality, it did work as Malina suddenly woke up with a jolt. She immediately looked to her left towards The Doll. “Oh hey, Dollie, is that guy finally done talking?” After saying this, she deeply yawned, arching her back and performing a feline stretch.
The Doll simply nodded to confirm, still in shock from the scream that the girl released. Malina seemed to notice that The Doll's gaze was not on her, causing her to turn to her right and see the girl who was still covering her face with her hands. The Doll could practically feel the joy radiating off of Malina at the sight.
Malina lurched forward towards the girl, putting her hands on the desk and saying, "Oh, and who might you be?” She asked with a slight edge to her voice.
The girl leaned back, her blush growing even further. "I-I-I'm Li-Lila, Lila Kurath.” After saying this, she thrust out her hand for a handshake.
Kurath was a name The Doll didn't recognize, which she assumed meant Lila was part of a very minor noble family. This made much more sense for Dreadwood, but would such a seemingly low-ranking family be in the Terra class?
These thoughts were interrupted as Malina eagerly shook Lila's hand and introduced herself, "I'm Malina, Malina Regius and that's Dollie, Dollie Ashencroft, my best friend. The three of us are going to be great friends!” She was as bold as ever.
Upon hearing this declaration, Lila lurched backwards, practically cowering in her seat, in an attempt to cover her face. “R-Re-Regius and A-A-Ashencroft. I-I-I’m, IM HONORED TO BE IN YOUR PRESENCE.”
Malina giggled upon hearing this as The Doll continued to stare on in confusion. This entire interaction made no sense to her. "It's okay; you don't need to do that; we're friends after all." This wasn't how nobles were supposed to act.
Every moment of her life had been so controlled and uniform, and she expected this academy to be the same.
Yet this…
This was different.
I find this to be rather nice.
The Doll felt a tugging feeling on her sleeve, which turned out to be from Malina. “Hey Dollie, say something. I think I broke Shyla.” Shyla? That must be the nickname Malina decided on for Lila.
She could just leave and go to her next class.
But for some reason when The Doll looked down and saw Malina smiling, there was this urge to stay behind. Things were increasingly making less sense to the point The Doll couldn't even truly make sense of her own feelings.
So for whatever reason, The Doll looked towards Lila, who was still covering her face but could clearly be seen peeking through her fingers. “I find it best to agree with whatever she says; it resolves most things in the most efficient manner.” After saying this, The Doll put on a polite smile on her best attempt to alleviate Lila's stress.
Slowly Lila lowered her hands. "Ri-Right," she very quietly muttered under her breath.
Malina clapped her hands together. “Now that we've got that settled, let's all skip this next class!” She turned to look at The Doll with pleading eyes as she said this.
“Sk-SKIP?” Lila shouted out.
Sighing, The Doll said, "I'm going to class; you two can follow me if you like.” At this rate she figured they might barely make it to class on time if the three left immediately.
Malina let out a very exaggerated groan, “Never any fun; you think we should skip right Shy—" Very suddenly Malina cut herself off and leaped towards The Doll with her hand reached out as if intercepting something.
Turning around, The Doll saw Malina holding Lukaz’s wrist that had seemingly been trying to grab her shoulder.
“Back.” Malina said as she pushed The Doll back, causing her to stumble into Lila, who lurched backwards.
Lukaz looked down at Malina and calmly pulled his hand away from her grip. “I would like to speak with my fiancée." Lukaz said calmly while rubbing his wrist.