The earlier hours of The Dolls day seemed to pass by in a single motion. Foreign Relations ended up not having a teacher and being treated more as a social period to build relations with your classmates. The Doll made the objective choice to not partake, instead choosing to sit in the back.
There wasn't really a point anyway; she already had her life planned.
In etiquette, they simply expanded upon what was taught previously, learning about the rules of etiquette. In history Sir Sommus simply slept once again and simply had the class read.
Everything had been remarkably normal just as The Doll wanted, yet her mind kept wandering to earlier in the day as she sat in mana theory, half-heartedly paying attention to the lecture. She began to absentmindedly run her hand across where her strand of hair would be had it not been ripped out.
Looking to her side, The Doll saw Malina sitting next to her with her head down. Lila sat on a farther end of the classroom due to her social standing, while Lukaz sat on the opposite side of Malina. Despite being a full classroom, she felt oddly isolated sitting next to Malina.
The Doll knew that another student sat next to her and the teacher was lecturing, yet she couldn't seem to take her eyes off Malina.
What was that outburst earlier?
It almost reminded The Doll of her meeting with The Strings the day prior. That feeling of possessiveness and the lack of control it evoked in The Doll were nearly identical. Thinking of The Strings, The Doll noticed that its presence had been notably lacking today.
Perhaps Cecilia knew why this was; she did seem to know something about whatever The Strings was that The Doll didn't notice. Perhaps it was tired from taking over her actions the other day?
Suddenly a sultry, almost alluring voice broke The Doll from her thoughts, "Lady Ashencroft, perhaps you would like to go more in depth on what I've taught, as you clearly seem to already know given your lack of attention.” Looking up, The Doll saw the source of this voice to be her teacher for mana theory, Madame Aziza, who was sitting at her desk.
How had she not noticed that?
Madame Aziza was part of a relatively notable family from the same kingdom as Lukaz. She had long curly hair that alternated between many different colors, none of which The Doll could make out. Her skin was pale and heavily covered with cosmetics to enhance her appearance, most notably the deep lipstick and obviously fake mole.
But despite all of this, the most noticeable part about her was her attire, which The Doll considered to be heavily inappropriate for a teacher. She wore an excessively large single-colored sark-brimmed hat that resembled what mages would wear in a far more ancient time. Further supporting this ancient look, she wore a silk robe in place of proper clothing that went down in a very deep, very revealing V, making it evident that it was the only clothing she wore.
The Doll pulled her gaze away from the teacher and looked towards the front of the classroom, hoping for any clue as to what she had been talking about.
There was none.
So rather than pretending, The Doll simply bowed her head as best she could while sitting down and let out an apology, "I'm sorry; it appears my mind was elsewhere.” This earned a quiet laugh from the teacher.
Instead of immediately replying, Madame Aziza chose to lean in close to The Dolls ear and whisper, "Perhaps I need to give you private lessons." As she said this The Doll heard her lick her lips with a smack.
The Doll felt her stomach churn at this declaration.
A loud smack was suddenly heard from the side of The Doll that Malina was on. Both The Doll and Madame Aziza looked over to see a very angry-looking Malina. She opened her mouth to speak but was suddenly interrupted by the bell that signaled the end of class.
Malina quickly got up from her seat and roughly pulled The Doll away from Madame Aziza. "Let's go, Dollie; we have to get to the next class.” Malina declared, not bothering to hide the displeasure she held towards the teacher on her face.
The Doll felt her stomach churn again.
Madama Aziza simply covered her mouth, hiding an evident giggle as she got up from The Dolls' desk. Malina turned away and walked out the door, pulling The Doll along with her. The Doll chose to follow without resistance, seeing Malina was already in a clearly foul mood.
Once they reached the hallway, Malina finally let go of The Dolls hand and said with a huff, “What an annoyance! I mean, did you see what she was wearing?" Malina crossed her arms after saying this.
The Doll gave a simple response, careful to not anger Malina: “She is still a teacher.”
Malina simply rolled her eyes and said, “Prehaps I should report her and do the whole school a favor.” The Doll thought back to the rules she read prior to coming to the academy and couldn't think of any that Madam Aziza had technically broken.
Lukaz’s voice came from behind, interrupting The Doll's thoughts. “Report her for what? Annoying you in specific?” Lukaz asked the rhetorical question that confirmed The Dolls thoughts.
Malina narrowed her eyes. “Of course you would want to keep her.” She accusatorily said to Lukaz for a reason The Doll didn't understand.
Remaining completely stone-faced, Lukaz said, “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Despite his face remaining the same, his tone notably had more venom in it.
It seemed that these two were bound to get into their fifth argument of the day. The Doll prepared to tone them out as she had already grown used to. However, fortunately for her, Lila made her appearance, distracting Malina from her argument with Lukaz as she jumped up to hug her.
Lila's face changed color as it tended to do rather often as she uncomfortably shifted in Malina's arms. "Le-Let's just he-head TO CLASS.” She suddenly shouted out the last part, causing all heads in the hallway to turn to the group briefly.
Letting go of Lila, Malina smiled, clearly pleased with her reaction as she said, “Okay!” and skipped over to The Doll, grabbing her hand. "Let's go." Before The Doll could confirm, she was walking with Malina alongside Lukaz and Lila to the next class.
Unsurprisingly, the walk mimicked how every walk today had gone. Things started out at least partially cordial before Malina and Lukaz started arguing about something while Lila attempted to break them up and The Doll silently watched on.
How annoying.
But was it really that annoying?
The four arrived at the location for swordplay, which was shockingly outside. It seemed that the four different years were divided into four different training yards behind the school. Looking around, she saw various students of higher years already sparring with wooden swords before class.
The Doll shuddered at this sight as a small grimace appeared on her face. She had never been one for physical activity, and having her life already planned out, Father never taught her swordplay.
Why was this even a class?
Seemingly noticing The Dolls grimace, Malina leaned in closer to her and asked, “Are you alright, Dollie?” Concern was etched on Malina's face despite The Doll's discomfort being minimal.
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The Doll spent a while thinking about what the right answer would be to her question before a loud voice suddenly cut through the yard, “ATTENTION!” Everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to the man who now stood at the front of the courtyard with his arms crossed.
The man made an intimidating figure, towering over all students present despite standing on the same ground as them. His skin was a slightly dark color that looked very similar to Cecilia's. He wore full plate armor on his entire body with the exception of his head, which was noticeably uncovered and bald. On the scalp of his head was a sun marking with waves that ran down the sides to his covered body.
These markings caused The Dolls eyes widened; it was a practice of the most devout followers of the god of the sky, Flos. Openly practicing religion was an exceedingly rare practice among nobles considering their devotion to the royal family. It was a practice typically done by those of lower class, and even then, marking your body to show your devotion was even rarer.
Once everyone's attention was on him, he spoke again in a firm but quieter tone, "Now, I told you all my name yesterday, but one of you decided there was something more important than being here, so I will inform you all one more time.” His eyes narrowed at The Doll as he said this, “I am Jilkan. Just Jilkan, no family name, no title.” He didn't have a family name?
There were only two cases where The Doll had heard of someone not having a family name. The first was if they chose to willingly discard it, be it out of shame in their family or simple rebellion. The second one was far more extreme, having your name forcibly stripped from you, something that only the four major families and the royal family had the power to decree. Both implied that this man was unfit to be a teacher, but The Doll could hardly complain; she herself did lack a given name.
Nobody spoke up in protest or acted surprised given that they were already informed. Seeing this, Jilkan gave a quick nod to the class before he spoke once again in that firm tone, “Now that you all know who I am, we can get started with what's important: making sure you all can defend yourselves." His voice got slightly warmer towards the end before he put on a scowl as if to make up for letting up on his firm tone.
The Doll heard a quiet yawn from Malina as she muttered, “How annoying.” Jilkan either didn't hear this or didn't care to acknowledge it. Most likely the former considering his rather stern disposition thus far.
Clapping his hands together, Jilkan proclaimed, “Today will be easy. You are to practice the fundamentals that I displayed yesterday. Richard, you shall pair up with Ashencroft and teach her what was shown yesterday given your apparent skill with a sword already.” Richards' eyes widened in shock at this.
After recovering, Richard gave a salute to Jilkan and said, “Yes, sir." This caused Jilkan to flinch slightly, but he made no move to correct Richard.
Looking back to the rest of the class, he began to speak again, but Malina spoke up instead: “I believe Dollie would be far more comfortable if I taught her the basics.” Malina spoke as if this were common sense with a polite smile on her face. The whole class turned their gaze on her, giving The Doll the impression something similar had happened yesterday.
Jilkans' brow furrowed towards the princess, his contempt evident. "Unfortunately for you, Malina, your sword skills are lacking. Perhaps if you practiced more, I would pick you.” His tone shifted to be somehow even firmer than before.
Malina didn't back down but rather seemed more encouraged as she leaned closer. “My skill is hardly what matters; what's most important is Dollie’s comfort. I highly doubt that one would learn much from someone she's not comfortable being taught by.” Jilkan didn't flinch in the slightest, clearly not intimidated by Malina's title.
It seemed that neither of them would give up unless The Doll said something herself, so she decided to interject, “I don't care who I am paired with.” The Doll immediately regretted saying this as both of their eyes shifted onto her.
Jilkans' face smiled for the first time since The Doll had seen him. “Since she doesn't care, she shall be placed with Richard. It is settled.” Malina scoweled.
It was clear Malina did not see the matter as settled: “No, it's not.” Malina's smile strained as she said this.
Jilkan pinched the bridge of his nose like a child dealing with an annoying child. “Do I need to inform the headmaster of your refusal?"
Malina pulled The Doll to her and said, “Go ahead; you can't make me back down on this. I know The Doll would be far more comfortable with me.” After saying this, she pulled The Doll even closer to her.
Jilkan narrowed his eyes at the sight and said, “He will tell your Father.” The Doll felt Malina's grip on her tighten.
Squinting her eyes, Malina let out a "Tch!" As she released The Doll and said, “Whatever, I'll practice with Lila.” The Doll stood there in shock at the sight of Malina giving up.
Did Malina just back off?
The Doll thought back to their meeting with the headmaster earlier, where something similar had happened.
Were relations between Malina and her father strained?
Malina grabbed The Doll's hands and leaned into her ear to whisper, “If he hurts you, I'll kill him.” Malina pulled away with a smile, letting The Dolls hands drop before grabbing Lila by the hand and dragging her to a private part of the training grounds.
How reassuring.
The Doll turned her gaze to Lukaz, who blew a kiss that caused The Doll to recoil before going off to train with one of the boys from the class she believed to be Icar.
Now that she was alone, she looked towards Richard, who was already walking towards her with two wooden swords. The Doll moved toward an open spot on the yard, assuming that Richard would follow her.
When she reached a spot that seemed suitable, she turned around and saw that Richard was right behind her at a respectful distance. After her experiences with Malina, this was a welcome change. Richard extended the wooden sword to The Doll, blade down, offering her to take it with one hand. "Here, you're going to need this.” He said with a smile.
The Doll didn't reply, instead choosing to silently grab the sword. She had never held a sword before, but it was shockingly light in her hand. After feeling it in her hands for a moment she attempted to mimic the stance that she had seen soldiers in Gelun take. Holding the sword with both hands, she put it in front of herself and brought one foot forward while keeping the other back.
She thought it was pretty good, but the look of horror on Richards face led her to believe otherwise.
Seeing this horrified look, The Doll asked Richard, “What?” She didn't quite understand what the problem with her stance was.
Richard spoke, “You have the right principle, but your stance is unstable. You look like you would fall over with a single strike.” Instead of yelling, he took on the proper stance and attempted to explain it to The Doll. “Your main problem is your back legs; you want them lined up with your shoulders more.” The Doll attempted to follow this instruction.
Once she believed herself to be done, she looked up for confirmation only to see Richard shaking his head. “Not exactly.” Then, as if to encourage The Doll, he added on, “But you're getting there; it's an improvement." The Doll didn't reply.
She kept struggling for a while, receiving encouragement from Richard, before it seemed he finally had enough. He walked towards The Doll and she expected some form of lecture or yelling, but instead he simply said, “May I fix your stance? I believe if you feel it yourself, you'll find it easier.” His tone was gentle but still confident.
The Doll was too shocked by the gentle approach to respond with words; instead, she just nodded. This approach to teaching was so different from how Father would handle teachings before he gave up on her completely.
He moved behind The Doll and shifted her shoulders slightly, which inadvertently caused her legs to move as well. After doing this, The Doll noticed that she felt noticeably more stable where she stood than before. Looking at her feet, she tried to commit this placement to memory so she could replicate it later.
Richard stepped away and looked at The Doll satisfied. “There, that's a lot better. Now we can move on to basic swings once you're comfortable with that.”
This felt strange. The Doll thought that she was incapable of learning anything.
Ever since she lost her magic, it felt like she was destined to not be able to do anything.
But this sent a feeling of pride through her.
It was strange to feel so happy about something as simple as a stance.
The Doll looked up to Richard and almost felt a smile come upon her face as she began to tell him she was ready to move on. However, she would never get to as a loud voice echoed throughout the training grounds, “ASHENCROFTTTTT!!!!” All eyes turned to the source of the voice that commanded a similar presence to that of Jilkan.
The source of this voice was a male student whom The Doll hadn't seen before. He was tall, not quite as tall as Jilkan, but still noticeably tall. Despite the uniform, the muscles that he had could almost be seen. His hair was long and dark, being exceptionally well-maintained, and his skin was just as pale as The Dolls, and his eyes were a gray tone.
He was breathing heavily, which revealed the fact that his canine teeth were sharpened and beast-like. This was matched by his face, which held a roughly grown-in beard that lacked proper care, far contrasting the hair on his head.
Overall he made a rather intimidating figure who was marching straight at The Doll. As he approached, he began yelling again, “YOU SHALL PAY FOR THE SINS OF YOUR FATHER!” Before he could get any closer Jilkan moved quickly, restraining the student due to his obvious aggression.
The Doll's view of the student was blocked by Malina, who rapidly flew in front of The Doll, and Lukaz, who shortly followed Malina. Despite being unable to see their faces, The Doll figured they were likely staring daggers at the student.
As if uncaring about his current situation, he continued shouting while restrained. “I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL, ASHENCROFT!” He suddenly shouted.
The training yard fell silent.
The Doll was at a loss for words.