The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

The Second Test

"Are you asleep?" Joren asked. "I don't think you should be closing your eyes to this sight."

I groaned. I had been in the middle state of sleep and wakefulness. But, hearing the murmurs and gasps of the other students behind us, I decided to wake myself up entirely.

Joren was standing on the very top of the first hump of the Cameliphantus, and I could almost imagine him as a sea voyager up on the ship's monkey island, squinting his eyes at the newly discovered terrain.

"Are we near?" I mumbled as I rubbed at my eyes and started to stand. But then, in the middle of a crouch, I finally started to notice my surroundings. "What the-?"

In the while I had been closing my eyes, the forest had changed entirely. The forest seemed shorter and up above the Cameliphanti, we could stare down at the tops of the pink-leaved trees. Though I wasn't a great fan for the species of flora like most girls, I still had an inkling about different types of plants, and I... have never seen nor heard of such trees like this. The leaves themselves looked much like flowers, curling up together like delicate petals. What I did think was their flower was shaped like a star, and had a white, almost transparent color.

Climbing myself up next to Joren, I asked, "Don't tell me I really did sleep a whole night."

I could feel his gaze on me although I still kept staring around the light-colored world. The pinkish forest seemed to be stretching out to the far horizon. And the sun... was high up on the azure sky.

"Nah," he told me. "You weren't awake to see it, but we seemed to have passed through some sort of barrier, and before I knew it, the world changed."

"How long did we arrive here?" I asked. "I mean, through the barrier?"

"Hmmm... Not that long. Prob'ly a few minutes at most," he muttered. "I just woke ya up because I figured you'd want to see-"

"That." I pointed my hand towards it. In front of our procession, still far away into the distance, but quite visible from our point of view, was a complex building with countless spires and towers. It towered over the world that I wondered why it wasn't the first thing I saw the moment I opened my eyes. "... Is that the Academy?"

I looked towards my red-haired companion. He made quite the sight amidst the pink-hued forest. Shrugging, he said, "I reckon so... Wouldn't imagine it any less."

"It's definitely as grand as its name," I agreed, but its sight seemed to be tugging at my memories. 'Have I seen this place before?'

But I knew that couldn't be the case. I rarely left the palace in my past life, and I would think something as grand as this, even grander than all the royal palaces I have seen, would ever be forgotten by my mind.

A voice called out from the line behind us, her voice familiar now to my ears. The tattooed woman shouted out, "We're nearing our destination now! Get yourselves ready to walk!"

~~

"This is crazy... Why do we have to walk our way to the Academy?"

"If they lack the resources, I could have asked my Duke father to supply us some ample carriages. This is a disgrace to my name..."

"Well, I don't know... It's not too far out, now isn't it? I believe it will be a pleasant journey."

The voices of aggrieved children filled the forest clearing where we were gathered at. After we had disembarked from the Cameliphanti, we were herded towards this clearing together with our bags. I was grateful that Joren and I had decided to pack lightly, not that I could have brought anything other than the essentials, anyway. I barely have anything left to call my own. Well, that, and the dozen pouches of gold I had left to Farseer's care.