The Hidden Heiress : Welcome To The Academy

The registration form trembled in my hand at the Nightfael Academy registration desk. I tightened my grip on the pen, but my fingers cramped instead. The registrar looked at me for a moment, then their stamp fell with a short thud. “Welcome to Nightfell Academy, Miss Elara Vale,” they said flatly. “Thank you, Ma’am,” my voice came out too small. The envelope containing my schedule and a map of the school felt heavy against my chest. I turned to the entrance one last time. Neither my father nor anyone else came to pull me home. Freedom sometimes sounded like a breath that could finally fully enter. But it felt fragile. I stood tall because if I sat down, my knees would buckle. I couldn't collapse now. Three days ago, I was still in that house. Still believing my father might choose me. Still hoping the door to my house wouldn't close right in front of my face. How naive, Elara. Your father has thrown you away for his new family. FLASHBACK “In three days, you will leave,” Eleanor said. The woman who became my stepmother looked at me with full severity. Her voice was soft but cold. She pressed the St. Barron brochure onto the table in front of me. My father stood by the window. The man refused to look at me. While Elise, my stepsister, just stood beside her mother, giving me a mocking look. “Since when did I agree?” I asked with a sharp gaze. "Your agreement isn't needed here, Elara." "Yes, you just need to follow whatever your father has decided for you. It's for your own good." Elise chimed in on her mother's words. “Since when was my life decided without me?” My chest ached, but I wouldn't cry in front of Eleanor and her annoying daughter. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing my tears. “Since you couldn't be controlled,” Elise said. My stepsister had been talking so much since earlier. I felt like tearing her mouth apart. "Yes, Elise is right." Eleanor nodded in agreement with her daughter. "This house needs peace and quiet, and you need to be disciplined." “Dad? Don’t you want to say something?” I called out. I looked at my father, who hadn't said a word the whole time. Would he really let his own child face these two wicked women? "What your mother and sister said is true. You should just obey, Elara." "You shouldn't say this, Dad. Are you really being this heartless to me? Look at me, Dad." I begged him to look at me like he used to. But my hope was in vain; those eyes no longer looked at me with a spark of affection. There was only a cold look there that made me realize I no longer had a place in this house. He cleared his throat, stared at the floor, then said softly. “This is for the best, Sweetheart.” “For who?” I asked softly. “For you? For her?” I continued, pointing at Eleanor and Elise. “Because it's clearly not for me.” Eleanor lowered her chin, her smile neat. “You should learn to be grateful. St. Barron is a renowned school. You’ll be happy there.” My father also chimed in. "Yes, I also think St. Barron's Boarding School will be the best," he said, his tone flat. "Its discipline and strict rules are really good for education." “It's a dumping ground,” I retorted, my voice rising slightly. “Everyone knows it. The kids who come back from there... they come back worse off.” I waited for my father to defend me. But no, he just stayed silent. "Why are you sending your own biological daughter to the worst school while Elise, who is clearly just your stepdaughter, gets a school with the best facilities? Why are you treating your own child this badly?" My voice broke, getting louder. "I'm also his child," Elise interjected, which made me even angrier. SLAP! "Shut up, dammit! I'm talking to my dad. Don't interrupt me." Elara, unable to control her emotions, slapped Elise. Eleanor shrieked, seeing her daughter slapped. She quickly pulled Elise into her arms. "Look at your wild daughter, Erick! It was absolutely the right decision to send her to St. Barron. She truly needs harsh discipline." Elara glared at her father in anger. "Don't just stand there, Dad! Say something!" "Yes, your mother is right. You have to go to St. Barron to change your rude behavior!" "She's not my mother! Never call this woman my mother, again!" Eleanor sniffed. "You see that, Erick? She can't even respect me." Erick looked at his daughter with a cold stare. "I've decided. You are going to St. Barron." Elara fell silent hearing her father's final decision. "You're truly heartless to me, Dad." Elara hugged her arms, trying to suppress the trembling running through her body. Her chest felt squeezed, not just by the words of Eleanor and Elise, but also by her father’s cold, cruel attitude. “Dad…” her voice cracked, faint. “I’m your daughter. Your flesh and blood. How can you be so cruel as to throw me out, while them—” her eyes glanced at Eleanor and Elise with hatred, “—you treat them as more valuable than me?” Eleanor gave a short chuckle. “See? You heard it yourself, Erick? This girl doesn't know how to be grateful. All she knows is demanding and protesting.” Elise peeked out from behind her mother's embrace, her face red from the earlier slap. “You're jealous, Elara. That’s your problem. It's not my fault Dad cares more about me now. Look at your rude and impolite behavior. No one would acknowledge you as their daughter with this kind of rough attitude.” Elara was furious. “You dare speak again, Elise, I’ll—” “Enough, Elara!” Erick’s voice finally rose, bringing silence to the room. The man’s eyes looked at his daughter with a firm gaze, but there was a slight tremor there. “I've decided. You will leave for St. Barron. There's nothing more to debate.” Elara stood still, her chest rising and falling quickly, as if the air was too thin for her. Those words felt like the final knife plunged into her back. “Fine.” Her voice was soft, but firm. “If that is your decision, Dad… then I will remember it for the rest of my life. Today… you are no longer my Father.” Eleanor smiled with satisfaction, pulling Elise tighter into her embrace. Meanwhile, Erick remained silent, his face taut as if he wanted to say something, but once again, he chose to keep quiet. I looked at the three of them and then stepped back. My tears finally fell, but I didn't care anymore. There were so many words I wanted to throw, but one thing was clear: I had been discarded. I was no longer my father’s favorite child. Now I was just a burden exchanged for my Father’s new comfort. Since that night, I knew, if I could no longer depend on anyone, I had to find my own way.