Unthinkable - a The Selection fanfiction

History Lessons and Shooting Ranges

I was amused by the history lessons Silvia was holding. They gave basic informations, sure, the minimum required, very little dates, the most important events.
When she asked questions a tad more difficult I'd shoot my hand up, waiting for her to allow me to talk, and she'd say "this thing is not important to know, the war details, the body count, the weapons employed aren't details a lady should know: it's most inconvenient for a princess to know bloody details such as these." All the girls would shoot me glares as to say 'you're going to be out of here in no time'. Except Catherine, she had an apologetic look on her face, she knew how much this was important to me. It wasn't her fault Silvia was such a stuck up, pretentious woman who didn't have a care in the world for the men who died for her to be here in the first place.
To what Silvia said, I once replied, sick and tired of her approach "without these 'bloody details' wars wouldn't be won, ma'am, nor would this country exist, to say the very least. These 'bloody details' are the men who served this country and the ideals it stands for. These 'bloody details' could be my dad, or my brothers, it might even be any of your grandparents. Without them, no one of us would be here, not even you, ma'am. You should treat these 'bloody details' as the people they were and respect them. Because they are worth five of me and deserve respect. If you keep this whole 'ladies shouldn't care about the people who died for them' thing up, what are we going to learn? That wars are won thanks to the gods who decent from Olympus with their golden chariot moved by unicorns? Or that diplomacy always wins? Or that no one dies ever in a war, because itMs just an act? You wouldn't be here yourself, in the first place, without these men, you better start recognising it." I stood up and left the room, without even excusing myself. On my way out, I'm sure I corrected a couple dates and facts she had wrong. She would've screamed at me, but she was ladylike and ladies don't talk in a louder tone than a whisper.

***

I went to the gym. Luckily we could go there. I started taking all my anger and frustration out on the poor punching bag. How were we expected to be good at being a princess, whoever the lucky girl would be, if they only thought us the minimum. History defined us. We should know it. As bad as I was at that subject, I was upset by the lack of informations they gave us. That Silvia gave us. The 'bloody details'! The fudging bloody details! How dared someone like this, she who defined the thousand of men who'd died to make Illéa what it was, call herself our teacher! It was for people like her that I'd be kicked out of college and never allowed to set foot in there ever again in a matter of days. I swore to myself right then and there that I would try and make William think about this issue.

"Hey, whatever did that punching bag do to you?" Said a voice behind me.
I turned around. There stood a man who I was sure I'd seen when I kicked Will's ass.
"It was the first thing I could punch" I answered honestly.
"You should give it a rest. You've been here 3 hours, Cassandra, you skipped lunch" now that was why my arms hurt so much.
"I didn't realise. Thank you..." I waited for him to complete with his name
"Mark"
"Thank you Mark. I'd better go to lesson now. If Silvia doesn't kick me out"
"You did a great thing. Standing up for us"
"How'd you know?" I asked, most startled, while taking my gloves off.
"I was in the control room. I heard every bit of it. Thank you"
"Don't thank me. She needed to have someone tell her this. Thank you Mark, for telling me the time. I'm leaving now. Have a good a day" I greeted, smiling and waving.
"You too, Cassandra"
I was amazed at how the guards were treating me. Mark and Jonathan treated me like family. It was comfortable. The problem was William did, as well. This made me a little afraid that he would not see me as a potential lover, as he clearly did with Clara.

***

"How kind of you to grace us with your presence, lady Cassandra, for the history lesson" said Silvia sarcastically. The other girls were surprised, as if they thought I'd been kicked out for my outburst.
"Please. If this was history, I wouldn't study my eyes out at night on these books" I retorted, slamming my books, of 400 pages each, on her desk. "Maybe you should study on these, before telling us what to do." I didn't mean to say this. I actually wanted to try and follow a lesson. Even though it was history. But seeing Silvia's face just made everything she said in the morning flood back in my mind.
"That's enough" Silvia said standing up. She walked to the door and told a guard, whom I recognised being Jonathan, to go and make the prince come here right away. I saw Jonathan winking at me, I grinned back. Even though Silvia scolding me was quite embarrassing, since I was used to be the perfect student, never once raising her voice and always getting straight A's, I didn't regret one word I'd said.
I stood there in front of Silvia. I could tell she would snap my neck, if she knew how to... and if was ladylike, which wasn't.
"Listen, ma'am, you can glare at me all you want, but I've had worse in college, it takes a whole lot more than that to scare me" Oh. The look on her face after I said that. If Jax and Chris were here, they'd probably shout 'oh buuuuuuurn' at the top of their lungs. The thought made me smile.
"Silvia, what's so urgent? Is one of the ladies unwell?" Asked William rushing through the door, with Jonathan hot on his tail.
"Your highness" Silvia said, curtsying, and every one of us imitated her. "Lady Cassandra doesn't allow me to hold my lesson. I require immediate consequences for these"
This was ridiculous, really.
"Is that so? And how did Cassie manage to do such thing?" I heard the girls gasp collectively. I could feel their eyes burning my back. I knew their thoughts. He was referring to me informally, using my nickname even.
"She pretends to know more history than I do, she claims I'm not teaching history and suggests I revise" I correct, this was way past ridiculous. It was a farce.
William laughed wholeheartedly. I saw Silvia look at him in shock.
"Alright alright. Now tell me, Cassie what made you say that?"
"First Of all, she got a couple facts and dates wrong, but that can happen to any commoner, cant't it?" I commented, knowing full well that being called a commoner would make her lose it. "Second, Silvia only teaches us basic things, leaving out the wars, weapons and fallen, for they are 'bloody details' not fit for a woman's mind. Third, this cannot be called history, just as I cannot be called uneducated. Your highness this... This is ridiculous and outrageous. People died for this nation. They deserve to be remembered and studied, not to be classified as 'improper for ladies' ears'." I called Will by his title, just to show Silvia I wasn't totally reckless.
"Your highness, everyone can forget a date" now Silvia was defending herself using something I said.
"Not when it's the day when Illéa became what it is now! Not the foundation day!" I was almost screaming in frustration, because that was the date she'd forgotten, not the day of the battle of who-knows-where. I hadn't intended to hold this against her, but I couldn't hold back.
"Lady Cassandra, I require you to leave my classroom now, if you cannot behave yourself!"
"You still have to teach us etiquette, ma'am, of course I don't know how to behave" I scoffed, leaving the room.
"Go in the library Cassie, I'll come right away" ordered William. I nodded and left.
I was scared now. I knew I didn't feel anything yet for William, not that I had had the chance. I'd been here 3 days more or less. I liked him, he was nice and kind. That, though, was everything I knew till that moment. I regretted not having a shot at falling in love. Since the only dates he had were with Clara and Annaline. Yes, I talked to him, but it wasn't officially a date.

***

I was pacing the library. I couldn't help myself. The heels I wore clicked on the marble floors. Now that I looked at it, the marble was Carrara white marble, pretty expensive, considering the dimensions of the room. The shelves were full of first editions, there even were Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid. It was full of Greek and Roman material. It had Italian Renaissance works, like Machiavelli, Tasso, Ariosto. As well as Shakespeare, Wilde, Fitzgerald and Austen. If I didn't have to study, I'd spend my whole time here.
The door opened and William walked in. I looked down at my feet, waiting for him to tell me I was out. I understood, I couldn't behave as Silvia wanted me to. I spent more time with the guards or on my own than with the girls. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
"You sure could've found a nicer way to tell Silvia you think she's incompetent" I heard his husky voice say. "Cassie. Look. I talked to Silvia. You don't have to attend history classes any longer. I didn't have a say in the etiquette ones, though"
"I'm still in?"
"Unless you don't want to. Oh and, tomorrow you're going home, so you can revise and take your exam the day after. I requested Silvia that she suspended the lessons for those days. Jax and Chris will accompany you"
I didn't know what to say.
"Thank you Will. So much." I could take the exam. I wasn't out.
"My pleasure. Now. What about the shooting range?"
"Can I go there?"
"If I'm with you, yes" Said William, shrugging.
"Is this you asking me out, William?" I said smiling wide.
"No, I'm asking you to go on the moon. Of course I am!" Replied William, faking impatience.
I smiled even more wide. "Alright then, lead the way"
"Don't you want to get changed?"
"You think I can't shoot dressed like this?"
"Actually, I wonder how you could"
I laughed out loud. Oh this was going to be so good.

***

When we entered the shooting range I saw Jonathan and the whole platoon. I greeted them, William introduced me to the other two men, Jack and Daniel.
They handed me a little gun.
"Really?" I took it and emptied the magazine. Bullseye. Each bullet.
"How can you stay on your feet with those heels?" William asked, most startled.
"Oh sweetheart, this is nothing" I laughed, then realised what I said. William just laughed it off. He then took the gun, reloaded it and fired. Unfortunately not one bullet hit the centre.
"Well, guns are not my thing. Mind teaching me?" William asked. I heard my brothers hoot and Jonathan winked at me. And of course, blood rushed to my cheeks.
"Flex you knees a little, lift your shoulders, so the barrel and your eyes are almost on the same level" I explained, standing behind him and helping him adjusting. I was basically hugging him. "Good. Now, put your right shoulder back" I said actually doing it for him "flex you left arm outwards and the right one downwards" He did as I said. "Relax." I felt he was tense "And now shoot" he executed. Bullseye.
He turned around, almost elbowing me in the process. "That's how you explain someone how to shoot, Jackson, not that crappy thing you did"
"Hey! I'm an awesome teacher! And I taught you well. You missed on purpose"
"You lied!" I said hitting William playfully.
"You got me." He answered, winking.
"Whatever. Chris. Is there an express here?" I asked, turning around. I didn't want to make Will see I was blushing.
Jonathan handed me his. I thanked him.
"Now we're talking." I aimed and shoot. Bullseye. Again.
"Seriously Cassie, I never want to get on your bad side." Commented William.
"Oh William, you don't know the things she does with knives and daggers" replied Jackson back.
"I'm afraid of finding out, actually"
"Don't be." I put down the rifle and grabbed the knife Chris was offering me. After years of living together, they knew what I needed before I did. Telepathy was my guess.
I was 10 more meters away from the mark, since I moved to put the shotgun down. I threw the knife and again, it hit the centre. The guards all applauded. I smiled down at the ground.
"You should be a guard you know?"  Commented Mark. I smiled at him, nodding in thanks.
"oh, Mark, she knows. Believe us" commented Chris. Of course I knew.