The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

The Woman in the Portrait

When I reentered the hall, I was immediately beckoned over by a group of students. They were snickering and seemed anxious to have me there with them.

I got nervous for some reason.

"Come, come!" the boy with the dark skin and the pink hair waved his hand over.

"Go ahead," Professor Kartik said as he closed the door behind him. "Meet your fellow mare members. Now that you've just met our more ancient members, I suppose it is now time to meet with the rest."

I laughed a little at the simple joke, making me remember the rows upon rows of portraits I had seen in the previous room. For a short moment, I found myself surprised at the prospect of having my own face in those portraits in the future.

However, that won't happen until a long time. I have more pressing issues to tackle now.

The students kept waving me over. One of them actually made his way towards me when I hesitated to move. I gulped a little, waiting for the boy to arrive.

Although I felt a bit of dread, I couldn't deny the curiosity I had about them. Even though most of them were teenagers, there were some who were only five or so years older than me. Maybe I would get a better grasp about this secretive mare once I befriend a few of them...

"Greetings. This one is called Eleftherion." I bowed towards the boy.

"Oh, 'nuff of that," he told me casually. "Nobody in Mare Desiderii cares much 'bout these noble traditions and whatnot."

When I rose up, I found myself staring at him. He had the most exotic of faces. With his dark, chocolate-brown skin, his richly pink and spiky hair made him look even more uncommon. His eyes too...

"Oh, dear, I've been staring. I apologize," I murmured with a fluster, and the boy just laughed it off.

"The name's Norc," he declared proudly. "I may look younger, but I'm actually 18 this year, but no worries, I ain't having plans of graduating soon!"

"Not that he could, since he's been stuck as a Frigoris for almost seven years now!" an ash-blond haired girl shouted out from the group.

I pursed my lips, not knowing whether I should laugh or grimace. Norc, however, simply shouted back insults about how "a Cognitum always feels they're the best, but they're just stuck-ups and know-it-alls!".

Soon enough, there was a fierce shouting match between the couple, and while most of the students were only watching with mild interest, no one was stepping forward to stop them. Unknowingly, someone had begun his way towards me. He was only a few steps away when I noticed him.

He poked my arm, and I pretended to be surprised.

"Oh!" I shouted as I whirled around to look at him with wide eyes.

He was short. Well, I was shorter than him, but he might just be the shortest one in the room afterwards.

He peered down at me with his still chubby cheeks. "How old are you?"

I grimaced at the sudden question. "... Seven?"

"Are you not sure?"

"Uh, no. I'm quite sure I'm seven," I declared more loudly.

He stared at me for a long moment before finally shrugging. "Oh, well. That ends my time as the youngest member of Mare Desiderii."

"Oh, get a noggin'! Carlisle, you haven't been young in ages!" the spiky-haired boy shouted back at him before going back to his shouting match with the girl.