The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

The Examiner's Save

"We... We should probably go," Albert told me while he poked at my arm.

I had been so preoccupied by the sorceress' sudden exit that I had forgotten where we were. I looked around to see that a few magic lines skirted around us. I only had to blink a few times to focus on the green one.

"Come on," I said. "Follow me."

After a few minutes, we had already made it out the forest. Finally out of the trees, I could see that the sun had completely set and night was already enveloping us in darkness. Fortunately, though, the castle was only a few yards away across a stone bridge. It towered over us even from where we stood.

"I can't believe it," Albert muttered. "We actually made it out. Do you... Do you think the others will be alright?"

"I suppose so," I replied. "This is probably some kind of sick game the Academy has put up for us. I won't be surprised if we are the last ones to arrive."

Unfortunately, though, I was wrong.

When we had arrived at the other side of the bridge, we were stopped by cloaked men. "Who comes there?" one of the pair asked.

Albert and I looked at each other in the darkness. I stepped forward and introduced ourselves. "My name is Eleftherion, a commoner, and my companion is Prince Albert of the Kingdom Montauk. We ask for passage to the Lunar Academy for Special Mages."

"That's good and all, but for what purpose have you come?" he continued to ask, his spear still raised in front of us.

I started to frown. 'What other reason could there be for children to go to school?'

"As my friend here has told you," Albert interrupted as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "We are students of the Lunar Academy. Ah... New ones, that is to say. We have just passed the most recent entrance exams."

The guards were silent at first, and then they whispered between themselves. It took a long time, and I grew impatient. Not to mention their confused gazes were grating on my nerves.

"What seems to be the problem, dear sirs?" I asked. "Cannot we go into the school grounds?"

"Well, technically, we already are on school grounds, Eleftherion," Albert whispered at me. "The Lunar Academy encompasses a third of the Forest."

I glared at him. "Not important."

He coughed a little, and then faced the guards. "What my friend means is that... Is it possible for us to pass? We have our tokens here to prove our identities."

When the guards agreed to see the tokens, I knew I was in a pinch. They were already fingering and inspecting Albert's token, and I knew I had to give mine next. Except...

'Keep that from others' eyes, boy. When you arrive at the Academy, head first towards my office, and nowhere else. Tell no one, are we clear?'

The examiner's words still kept ringing at my ears. But, then, it was my turn. The guard had already returned Albert's token and was reaching out a hand to me. My hands gripped at the token I had hidden in my shirt pockets. I was about to cough out some sort of excuse when I heard steps coming towards us. I glanced at the direction of the sound, and soon enough, the guards had heard it too.

A man in a professor's robes made his way towards us. I was about to shout out when I recognized his face. The examiner looked at us first before dragging the guards away with harried whispers.

Before long, the guards were standing on guard. "We're sorry for interrupting the test, Professor Whitaker. We'll have them pass at once."

"Good," the examiner said, and then turned towards us. "Come now, boys. I'll give you a brief tour around the castle."