(BETA) Flowers of Deceit: The Dried White Rose

Chapter 1: The Bannon, the Artist, the Prince

Cresaria, the country of magic, swords, and flowers, and lords. Most citizens that live here are living a very content life thanks to the Royal Family and the Six Great Houses: Yuxiana, Sitrame, Tridian, Arin, Solas, and Neris.

Underneath the cheerful exterior, lies a place where slave trading and illegal artifact trading are very common and often overlooked.

And in this dump of a country lives the hated Bannons, a race of humans that have a great affinity for magic to the point that their blood is rich in mana.

And I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? I am Mirai von Meril, a student at Yuxiana Academy for Mages and Squires, also known as Yuxiana Academy, I'll be graduating on February 29th of next year. I am a Bannon and living by myself in a small house in the capital city of Lafré, Yuxiana.

Lafré city is where the most prestigious academy in the continent lives, Yuxiana Academy. Owned by the Yuxianas, it always produces graduates that have become one of Cresaria's elites.

Remarkable swordmasters, mages, heroes, knights, scholars, and more have graduated here. Many have tried and failed the infamous entrance exam while those who have passed might've dropped out early because of the high expectations of the academy.

Today is a school day, so I woke up early and wore my warm slippers and went to the bathroom, and took a nice lukewarm bath.

I went out of my tub and opened my small cabinets then changed into my dark blue winter uniform, combed my annoying hair, and wore my mother's favorite necklace.

The necklace was a small clock with no hands and has a small piece of emerald embedded in the middle. The necklace also served as a locket since the back can be opened and has a small magic circle written inside.

You can store almost anything in the locket, except for stuff that require oxygen to breath.

I went outside my bedroom, I saw the winterberry outside my window, it had wonderful blooms, the cold winter air caressed my cheeks while the birds outside were chirping. I closed the curtains and went to the kitchen.

My small house was cozy. It was one of my late mother's gift to me. It had two bedrooms, one of them turned into my study, one bathroom, a small kitchen, then a small living room with a fireplace.

I prepared my lunch money then counted my books and cleaned my wand, I made sure my papers were complete and my quill still in proper condition.

I wore my socks and shoes. I locked my door and knocked on my dear neighbor's door.

Andy Boran, my childhood best friend, wakes up late every single day. "Good morning M," he yawned, still in his funny pajamas, "Good morning to you too" I greeted the sleepyhead in front of me.

"Gosh, look at the time! We're going to be late for the first lesson!" I exclaimed, he woke up and rushed to change into his uniform. I laughed since he looked terrible, his green eyes were still sleepy and his brown hair was a riotous mess!

Getting late at Yuxiana Academy is a big no no. When you get late, for mages, you'll have to decipher three tomes by the end of the day or they'll face suspension for three days. For squires, their punishment is to jog around the whole school, no breaks, within school hours or they'll do tenfold of their regular homework.

His uniform was all wrinkled, his books were jammed in his bag, and his shoes were so dirty. He frowned at me and locked his house.

Andy always wakes up late, not even his alarm clock can wake him up, so I tend to go over to his house and wake him up for school.

I learned that the reason why Andy wakes up late and always forgets to answer his assignments is that he paints the day away, to the point that he loses track of time.