The Royal Academy

Chapter 2 - Nicholas

I knew the moment I saw her.

The new girl stood there as if she had never been in a crowded place before. She wore the same expression I had when I first got to the Academy. Like no mater how much you want to disappear, you just can't. I was 13 years-old when I got here. I didn't come by choice, and I wasn't prepared for what was in store.

My parents never cared for me much. As the 4th son of the King of England, I was always entrusted to the care of some servant or tutor. Every teacher basically taught the same things. To be silent and obey orders. Those were the qualities my father valued most, or rather required, of his children. I never was very good at sitting still though, and would run and hide every chance I got. My father tired of this kind of behavior, and figured my time would be best spent away from him and the rest of my family. So he shipped me off to the Academy without so much as a backward glance.

The Royal Academy of England was an overwhelmingly intimidating institution, especially in the eyes of an introverted young boy like me. Being truthful, I was afraid. I was really and truly alone for the first time in my life, and it scared me to death. There were other children from every country of the world bustling around, and they all seemed to have someone. A friend, a sibling, on occasion, a bodyguard or Nanny. I had nobody, and I felt sure I was the only one wandering around day after day, like a lost puppy. Until she came.

The Irish Princess arrived one year, to the day, later. She stood at the entrance with a faraway look in her eyes, which I knew was to mask the fear. I felt something inside me, urging me to approach her and offer to help her in some way. She started walking slowly through the lobby, turning her head from left to right, taking in the enormity of the campus, the same way I had. I thought to myself, 'Why not?', and walked over to speak to her.

"Hi! I'm Nicholas Kensington. You can call me Nick. What's your name? Where are you from?" I blurted all at once. Great. Real smooth.

She jerked her head up and stared, doe-eyed, for a few moments at me before quietly replying, "I'm Mayra. Um, Mayra O'Donovan. I'm from Ireland."

"That's a nice name. Mayra. Well, Mayra, I noticed that you're new here so I wanted to introduce myself, and uh...so... Would you like to go to the Mess Hall and get a snack? You must be hungry from the flight."

She stared down at her feet for a moment before nodding her head and starting down the hall. We had almost reached the entrance before I turned and realized that she had slowed her pace so that she was walking several steps behind me the whole way.

"You don't have to do that you know. Walk behind me. Unless it's a part of your culture, of course. I hear that in some places, the women are required to walk behind the men..." I trailed off.

"No. It's just, um, I figured that if I walk behind you people might notice you first and maybe not try to... talk to me? That seems weird doesn't it?"

"Not at all. I don't really know that many people here anyway. Besides joint projects and the like, you're kinda the first person I've really had an actual conversation with since I got here, so..."

I could feel my face heating up and decided that it might be a good time to actually enter the Mess Hall and find something to eat.

"What should I get for you?" I asked, not looking her directly in the eyes.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I can just-"

"Please, allow me. What would you like?" Now where did that smooth guy come from?

She turned her attention to the counter, quickly scanning the menu, and settled on a ham & cheese sandwich. Despite still feeling jittery around her, I found myself staring intently as she bit daintily into her sandwich and chewed. She had the faintest sprinkle of freckles over her nose and cheeks, and her eyes were the brightest green I had ever seen. Her hair was red, but so pale, it was almost pink. I found myself completely lost in her features and was startled when she finally spoke.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked with a slightly horrified expression as she swiped at her mouth and cheeks.

"No, you're fine. I was just... trying to determine who you look most like." I deflected.

"Definitely my mother. She has the same big round eyes and pale, freckled complexion. I'm tall and lanky like my father, though. Everyone says I got my height from him. Well, not so much anymore."

Her expression instantly turned from what I guessed had been happily reliving a memory of her father to a sad, lonely one, full of leftover hurt.

"I heard about it when he...passed. I'm so sorry."

I didn't know what I should say to make her feel better, and she didn't seem ready to talk any more about it, so we finished our food in silence.

As we exited the Mess Hall, she asked if I would mind helping her find her dorm, so I looked at her welcome packet and found the room number.

"It's in the next building." I told her and headed toward the doors leading outside. As we walked I turned my head to ask her a question about her homeland, but found that again, she had drifted back and was walking a few steps behind me. I slowed my pace to match hers, and just as she looked up, she stumbled over a rock, instinctively reaching her hands out to catch herself. I swerved in front of her and caught her just before fell face first onto the sidewalk.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried as she shoved away from me, smoothing her down her dress and hair incessantly. I grabbed her hands to stop the motion, but immediately removed them, as if I had just touched the handle of a burning hot pan.

She paused for a second before stomping her foot and blowing out a sigh, moving to sit down on a nearby bench. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. I came here expecting everything to just make sense once I stepped over the threshold. To fall into place. I just feel so clumsy and stupid."

I sat down next to her and reached out my hand, softly touching her shoulder. "It's okay. I understand. I felt the same way when I first got here. I didn't know where to go and there was no one there to help me, but after a while I just got used to it and everything was fine. But you're fortunate that there was a nice guy like me around to offer assistance."

I puffed out my chest and put my fist on my hips, causing her to giggle slightly. "See there? You can relax around me, and just be yourself. Could we...be friends?" I asked, holding one hand out for her to shake.

She lifted her hand slowly and gently grasped mine. We shook on it, and got up to continue walking toward her dorm. My hand tingled for the rest of the day where her fingers had touched it. I'm not exactly sure what moved me to reach out to her that day. I'm not even sure why I felt more comfortable talking with her than anyone else, but I never regretted it. Not even once.