The Shadow Knight

Chapter 4

What Westen had said has really peaked my interest. A girl at Aphellium? Now that was unexpected. Aphellium is a school solely devoted to princes and Guardians. Now when I say prince, I mean future kings. Strong, independent men like myself, and when I consider a Guardian, I always think of a strong man there to protect the prince who will soon be in charge of a kingdom.

I've seen weak and flimsy Guardians, who have more skills in technology and the intelligent side of things. These Guardians are normally situated towards princes of smaller kingdoms, which have less impact on the great good of the world.

I not once have seen a woman here as a Guardian. It's not that I don't respect women being here, it's just I find that they would rather marry the princes and become Queens, rather than living to solely protect them.

I sat on the carriage and pondered what having a woman there would ensue. If she's pretty, she's going to be bombarded by all of the guys at the school, Guardian and Prince. We don't get much exposure to the female race, since we already have arranged marriages and being in a school like this leaves us in a lonely situation. The other possibility is if the girl is unappealing, she'll get teased and mocked for being here in the first place. I felt for her, but I knew there was more important things to worry about.

My mind drifted back to wondering who my Guardian will be. I imagined a strong, smart, and wise person. I was hoping for it to be someone I could bond with, almost like a brother. Life as an only child can be testing, since you have nobody to hang with aside from the servants.

I sat like this, lost in my own world of thought for a long time. It wasn't until Westen poked me right on my left cheek to get me out of my trance. "Hurry up! I want to see the new girl before all the other guys make their move on her!" Westen said, clearly excited to see a girl aside from his mother. I moaned and made my way out of the carriage. I murmured my thank you to the driver, and turned to the school.

The entry was beautiful as always. The school was a beautiful crème colour, with huge white pillars and massive gothic windows. The grounds were just as beautiful, with lime green grass and flowers of every colour imaginable, lining the stone pathway to the doors. The doors hung in a beautiful dark stain, and curved to a point way up high above our heads. In classic cursive stood the title "Aphellium Academy, Facta Non Verba". I looked at the statement, remembering from history that it was Latin for "actions, not words" . I always admired that statement, though I'd never tell anyone that. Most people believe me to be an airhead who's only good for my looks. I'm sure they're not wrong, but I like to think I have a moderate amount of intelligence.

I walked down the hall, nodding to many of the other guys. Some were from neighbouring kingdoms, or others just buddies I met while fencing. I left Westen at the doors, since I didn't really have much interest as to what that girl was all about.

I went to my locker, with it's beautiful royal blue colour, and gold trim wrapped around it. I loved this locker, since it made me truly feel like a prince. The halls were bright this morning as the sun shone through the windows and onto the marble floors. Everyone was obviously gossiping about the new girl, and I just decided to tune them out and read.

I was reading about the bonding task that occurs with a Guardian. It truly fascinated me, though I wasn't in the mood to think of my future at that moment, so I got up and made my way to the first class.

The walk was long and dry since I had nobody to talk to, since everyone was at morning sports or was too busy fawning over the new girl. I rolled my eyes at them, so silly for guys to get all excited over a simple dame, when they all are already going to be married off before they're 19.

I entered my first period class, ready to sit for history. I loved history, and learning all about the famous royalty before me. The teacher mentioned my lineage often, since my kingdom was one of the largest and most well known.

As soon as I sat in my chair, I pulled out my pencil and books. Humming a tune as I went, I began to doodle some of the symbols that could appear after I created The Oath with my Guardian. That is, until I heard the buzzer go off, and the nasally voice of our secretary say "Colin  Arcvale, to the office immediately. There has been an emergency in immediate need to be addressed"  This statement caught me by surprise, and I anxiously ran down the halls to see what was the matter.