The Dulcet Bane

Chapter Four

Passing by the lockers on her way to the theater, Lyl noticed a piece of paper almost slipping out from locker #218, her locker.

It must be her admirer again. It's been so long since the last time she received gifts from him. Ever since her mother's "supervising" started, her admirer eventually stopped sending love letters and poems. They were being cautious, they must not wanna get caught by her own mother. Perhaps they were afraid because her father's one of the regals that took over after the fall of Argen. Or they just stopped liking her because it was also then that she started getting into trouble thanks to the Corbetts.

But suspiciously, it was white. The love letters she used to receive were written in purple paper contained in a purple envelope. So it must not be the admirer, or it could be another admirer, or they just ran out of purple paper. It could be a death threat! But who would try to kill her?

One thing for sure, she will not read it right now. She pushed the paper inside to keep it from slipping out and decided to read it later.

When she arrived at the theater, all seats were already filled with Argents of different clans.

At the left-wing was the mermaid clan from the Brine region wearing their blue neckties. They were all in their human forms. They have their magic shells in their accessories, may it be a necklace, bracelet, anklet, or ring. Should they lose it, they won't be able to transform into their human forms anymore.

At the right-wing were the demon and vampire clans from the Nether region wearing their black and red neckties. Their flashy fangs and bat wings were visible from afar. Although demons can hide their wings, some of them choose to show them off to feel superior towards the wingless clans. Those who showed their wings must be freshmen.

At the center of the theater were clans from the Coppice region; dwarves, werewolves, and Lyl's clan, the fairies. The dwarves have yellow neckties, brown for werewolves, and green for fairies. The front seats were prioritized for the dwarves as they are too short to sit from behind. The unoccupied seats were always fought over by fairies and werewolves. Even when they're from the same region, they never get along, take Lyl and Kite as an example.

Not all Argent clans are present in Scarlot High. The warrior clan, the centaurs, have their own way of education. As warriors and guardians of the forest, they learn how to fight, kill, and solve crimes for Coppice is the largest region in the land and is most susceptible to malefactions.

The angel clan from the Ether region are too pure to bring themselves into the earth. Impure ones are forcibly kicked out, they call them the fallen angels. As they are the rarest, only a few are actually seen alive. Some of them bore children from different clans, mixing their genes and blood.

As to the human clan from the Mecca region, it was long forgotten after the civil war that happened a decade ago. No human has ever stepped on to the lands of Argen ever again.

Lyl had to walk to the right-wing to get to the center. She had to pass by the demons and deal with some of their wings that blocked the way. When she reached the second last row, she saw Arren sitting at the third seat from the right. Her eyes were suddenly filled with hope.

"H-hey! Arren!"

When she caught his attention, her heart started beating faster than it ever did.

"You're the girl from earlier. Lilac, right?" he didn't stand up but his head was in her direction. He couldn't risk his seat.

"Yeah...." she smiled weakly.

"You should take your seat," he told her.

"O-okay. I'll go now." Lyl's legs were shaking and she walked as fast as she can away from Arren. Her heart started to relax when the program started and Arren's attention was on stage now.

"Good morning, students. I, Vera Helana, head of the Scarlot High Regents, welcome you all to ScarHigh," the emcee started speaking.

Since all the seats were now taken, she had to stand up at the back. Even though she's a regal daughter, they do not give her special treatment. They do fear her for being Lord Auberon's daughter, but she always causes them trouble so they'd rather not associate themselves with her.

"Hey!" Lyl saw Lucy sitting before her. She didn't know what race Lucy's from, but she reckons she's a werewolf.

"What?"

"You're Lady Lilac, yes?" Lucy asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"You should sit in front, my lady. You're too short to be standing behind everyone," Lucy said.

"I'm not a dwarf," Lyl crossed her arms, her eyes focusing onstage.

"You can't fully see the stage, can you? Now go find yourself a seat in front," Lucy pointed at the front seats.

"If I wanted to I would, but I do not."

"Sure, you don't. But you look so pitiable there," she eyed Lyl from toe to head and smirked.

Werewolves are really good at irating fairies. It's like they existed merely to mess with fairies.

Happy thoughts, she told herself to keep calm. She shouldn't lose her temper, especially not now in the theater when there are professors and a lot of students. Images of Arren flashed in her mind. It wasn't making her calm at all for her heart started to race again. But at least, she isn't getting angry.

"Hey, you're a third year, right?" Lucy whispered to a fellow werewolf beside her.

"Yeah, why?" he replied.

"And you know of her?" Lucy pointed at Lyl.

"Yeah, why?"

"Is she always this calm when offended?"

The fellow also looked at her. Both of them stared at her face.

"No. She usually raises her voice when she can't use her magic."

Lyl noticed their stares and stared back. The two werewolves turned their heads back to the stage, but Lucy's eyes would always go back and look at her.

"Hey, why won't you go ballistic like earlier?" Lucy couldn't help herself and put her arms on the back of her chair, facing Lyl.

The professors were being recognized on stage. Standing from the left were Professor Laurette, General Jean, Sir Gordon, Miss Berry, Professor Merrick, Professor Wendy, and Lady Fox. The headmistress wasn't present. Her meeting with Lady Cynthia must be more important than the assembly, Lyl thought.

"You should listen to what they are saying on stage," Lyl replied, her eyes focused on the program.

"If Kite was here, the assembly would have been canceled," Lucy yawned in boredom.

"Why is that?"

"His presence itself makes you mad," she innocently looked at Lyl. She caught Lyl's glare at her. "Looking down on me must feel really good now that I'm sitting, huh?"

"You should be thankful I did not kill you earlier for the moment you and I shall be alone, I'll choke you to death, you annoying witch," Lyl successfully spoke her mind without raising her voice, not drawing attention.

"Now that's what I've been waiting for," Lucy chuckled before turning back to listen to the program.

The assembly ended two hours before luncheon. Thankfully, the upperclassmen were allowed to leave the theater first. They are free to do whatever they wish to do for the time being while the first years were to have a session with the regents. They can eat their lunch earlier, sleep, or study.

Lyl was hoping to have a talk with Arren but she remembered that he's a new student. She left the theater heavyhearted and headed to the library. She was too gloomy to notice the people around her. She didn't know she was already bumping into people.

The first time she fancied someone, he didn't show up again after 10 years. The second time she's in love, he's from another class and they'll barely see each other every day. It's just the first day of class and she's overthinking everything.

"You're b****y hopeless, Lilac," Lyl told herself while repeatedly slamming her head on the wall in an empty hall.

A small soft hand poked her shoulder.

"What?" Lyl turned around and saw a blonde girl before her. She looked up and saw that the girl was a bit taller than her.

The girl gave her a folded paper and gave a smile. Lyl took it and opened it. It was her class schedule. The girl took her notebook and wrote something down.

"Your mother asked me to give this to you..?" Lyl read what the girl wrote. "She hoped that you'll always be happy now that your boyfriend is in the same class— What?!" she can't help but raise her voice.