The white knight and his black roses

Chapter 9

The school day ends, and I practically leave sprinting toward the Mavis Hall. Students now have three hours before dinner, and I plan on using that time wisely. I turn the corner to see some students walking down the hall towards me, so I slow down. As they pass me, I recognize them as nobles from Selester and upon seeing me they start to whisper to each other. "I wonder how her family will cope knowing that their youngest has the blight?" One of them says with a chuckle. A pit of anxiety fills my stomach as I hear them as they walk past me as I think of my family. Those who look down on people for their simple appearance are truly ignorant. My brother comes to mind as I catch myself turning towards them. "I thought the people of Selester had more class than that." I look forward to seeing that it is the second Prince of Arc's stand-in, Adam Montford. He calmly looks at the two nobles with a look I had never seen him make, "She is one of the Crosshelms and if I remember correctly, blight or not, she does outrank you in your country. Do you think you suddenly have the right to belittle her just because you are here?"

I get a bitter taste in my mouth knowing that the people back at home may already know that I have the blight. I look at my feet before turning away from Montford and the other nobles. I can't even take a step when I see Todd standing there with an angry look, but it softens upon seeing me. I catch myself looking at his green blotched skin as he puts his hand on my shoulder and starts leading me away from the scene. "I'm sorry." He mutters as he walks me around the corner. He stops guiding me when we get to the corridor that connects the Mavis Hall to the main one. I leaned against the wall as other students passed us by. "I am sorry." He says again with a pathetic look on his face. "Don't be, people can be ignorant no matter where they are in life," I say with a sigh. Despite the truth of what was said I can't help but still be hurt by it, but I don't want Todd to feel guilty on my behalf. "Trust me, I can handle them on my own." I have to if I can't what Crosshelm would I be?

I watch as Todd hesitantly walks away, still keeping that same look. Before I could properly address it, the hairs on my neck stood on end. I stand still, knowing that I'm being watched from somewhere. I look to my left to see someone's shadow briefly before it disappears down the hall. I am torn knowing that the letter I still haven't opened is in my pocket, but I end up following the shadow. I follow the shadow before it vanishes into the Monster catalog. The catalog is just a small on-campus museum for monsters and what students are allowed to know about them. I walk in and scan my surroundings until I spot a small statue replica of a basilisk. I walk closer to look at it when I hear a chuckle behind me that makes me feel ill. "I am happy that you made it, Miss Crosshelm." I turn to see that same sickening voice came from the figure who summoned the basilisk. The figure smiled at me in a way that made my skin crawl as he took a step towards me. "I am very pleased that you found me." He says taking some of my hair in his fingers before his expression sours, "I did notice at notice that people are so belittling towards you, especially for your lovely skin." I swat his hand away and glared at him causing me to step back. "I'm sorry for upsetting you darling, shall I get rid of them?" Before I can answer him, I hear someone coming our way fast. When I look back at the basilisk summoner, he's gone leaving face to face with an angry-looking teacher.

As it turns out, the Catalog was not open due to renovations, and I was trespassing. Due to it being my first offense, I have to serve detention and if I was compliant, it would not be placed on my record. I begrudgingly walk into the classroom being used for detention and am stunned to see that it was just me and a teacher. This teacher looked very annoyed to be handling detention in the first month of the school year. I take my seat quietly, feeling his angry eyes on me before I hear the door open again. "Adam Montford, you should know better than to pick a fight in the third week into the year." Gripped as a shorter lady dragging in Ryven Arc's Veil reminded me that the teacher also was unaware of the switch. He is forced to take the seat next to me, he has a few bruises on his face and a bloody lip not to mention his usual annoyed look that only worsened on seeing me. The teacher at the front of the room then pulls out a pocket watch and with a flash of light the watch springs to life. Its little legs are very cute, but I can't look for long before the teacher speaks, "The both of you will be in here until ten minutes 'til dinner, if you try to leave before then it will not be good for you." He says fixing his glasses before heading to the door, "and Young Adam, don't break the window again." As the door slams, my eyes widen. What kind of a guy and I stuck with?

Ten minutes pass in silence before the prince breaks the silence, "What are you hear for?" I turned my head to see that he was looking at me, now I could see how battered his face was. "Well, it wasn't a fight, that's for sure," I say noticing his chin had a scrap on it that was bleeding a bit. At my comment, his eyebrows raise slightly, "Let me guess, you got lost and ended up somewhere that you shouldn't have been?" Even though I wasn't lost at the time, the fact that his guess was that close I could only cross my arms as I slouched in my seat. This got a chuckle out of him; I looked over to what was so amusing when I saw that he had a seemingly genuine smile. I would be lying if I said he wasn't devilishly handsome in this light, but I am distracted by the cut on his chin again. I sigh before reaching into my pocket to take out a small container. "If you let that cut sit like that it could get infected," I say as I get up and walk towards him. His sharp eyes look at the container in my hand and then back at me with a puzzled look. "Don't tell me that you have fallen for my charms?" he says with a cocky tone at makes me clenched my fist. I used my right thumb and forefinger to pinch at the bridge of his nose, "No, I am just repaying Montford's kindness from earlier." He winces in pain as I use my dominant hand to place the plaster over his cut chin. "Thanks, Mom," he says running his nose after I let him go. I go to sit back down before he grabs my wrist and pulls my unopened letter from my pocket. My heart drops as I see him turn it in his fingers, "Hey give that back!" I start to reach for the letter, but Ryven stands up holding it over my head before pulling out a knife from his jacket pocket. "Stop, that's mine," I say still trying to stop him from reading before I even have the chance to. With a swift motion, he cuts open the letter and pulls the paper out of it. Ryven's eyes scan the paper, and his face contorts while reading it. "You have a boyfriend Crosshelm?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at me with raised eyebrows. "No, I don't," I say snatching the paper out of his hands before looking at it myself.

My dearest Marrow, you looked radiant during dinner on the first night of the year. I can't wait to see more of you and those beautiful eyes of yours. Hopefully, we can play another fun game soon before I get too bored.

-C.R.

Upon reading this, my blood ran cold knowing who wrote this. I can't help but feel sick to my stomach as I slowly fold the paper in my hands. Ryven leans over my shoulder seeming to notice my distress, "Stalker?" He asks, causing me to only look at him. I get an idea that I don't quite like but if I tell him about the situation that I'm in he might be able to help. I look into his silver eyes and feel compelled to tell him. "I think someone wants something from me or my family. They sent a Cockatrice to a party I attended earlier this year and then caused a Blackstone basilisk sighting near the same place." I say honestly not looking him in the eye as I continue my speculations. "When I saw him the first time he gave me this note," I say handing the prince the card that the assailant dropped at my feet that night, "So I was following the trail when you found me in the library, and I saw him again in the catalog before I got detention," I say looking up at the red-headed man who had a shocked look on his face. He chuffs as he looks at the card and then at me, "You're telling me that a little doll like you is the mythical white knight of Selester?" Hearing the title, I give him a puzzled look, "White knight" I say keeping eye contact with him. "The one who killed a Giant Cockatrice at a noble house party with just a plate?" He says clarifying what he said, in doing so, also letting me know that I have a reputation now. "It wasn't a giant cockatrice; it was normal-sized." I say trying to make the account accurate, "and I'm not a doll." My confirmation makes him chuckle before running his fingers through his soft-looking red locks. "You're in quite the pickle doll, I'm sure you could use some help. Consider this a favor in exchange for you keeping my secret." He says taking the note from my hands and tossing it onto the floor, crushing it under his boot. "I'll help you catch your guy, and you say nothing about who I am." He says holding out his hand for me to shake. I take a breath before taking his right hand with my left and a magic circle appears. "Just a little magic to seal the deal." He says with a charming smile. I feel like I just made a deal with the devil.