The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

Of the Token

Deep into the wee hours of the morning, I found myself in a slight predicament.

"So, who are you, dear boy?" the man asked, tilting an elegantly shaped glass jug, pouring two cups with juice, or wine, or some sort of dark colored beverage. He placed a glass right in front of me, where I sat stiffly. He gazed at me with inquisitive eyes.

Sighing inwardly, I asked back, "I apologize, sir, but should I not be the one to ask that? And why have you come to have a great interest in my token?"

The examiner looked up at me from the tops of his reading glasses. His light gray eyes peered straight to my soul. "I believe you yourself have already realized its... peculiarity. Why else have you tried to keep it hidden from my sights, the very moment you had received it upon that examination stage?"

I took a deep breath. It seems like the examiner had already seen right through me. My token was still concealed deep inside my inner shirt pockets, where I knew it would not be easily stolen. I mean, I doubt anyone could come upon me and catch me unawares. Well, unless they were assassins, of course.

"Let's start from the beginning, then," the man relented, leaning back against his tallish lounge chair. "I am Professor Whitaker, second to the Head Professor Raghnall. Although I may not seem much, I assure you that I can be trusted with your token's secrets. I answer only to the high mage, and details about your examination result shan't be shared to anyone else."

I sighed. "Can't I speak with the head professor, instead?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "As much as I would want to appease your wishes, dear boy, the head professor is incredibly busy. So busy, in fact, that he is already out of school grounds as of now."

That surprised me. "At three in the morning?"

The man chuckled silently. "I believe he left moments after he had finished his speech, in fact."

"Oh," I muttered at his correction. "But this does remind me of my rude intruding at such an unholy hour. It was a challenge for me to sneak out of my rooms while unseen by my colleagues."

He looked at me with appraising eyes. "I would imagine so. I appreciate your show of concern for me, though. But I must say I am quite the... night owl, as you youngsters might say. I was well awake when you had decided to come knocking on my door."

"Even so," I muttered. "I apologize. I only deemed it appropriate to come as quickly as I was able."

"Which was the right decision," he said, and then leaned forward across his table. "But you are making a wrong one right now, in your hesitation to show your token to me."

A smile formed on my face. It seems like this man could be a formidable ally, or a terrifying foe. "As you've already seen it before, I don't see the need for me to show it to you again."

He huffed in annoyance. "You are a difficult one, aren't you, boy?"

I laughed at that mirthlessly. "Only cautious, Sir Whitaker. You see, I am currently inside the room of a far more powerful mage, alone and otherwise weaponless aside from my wits. Not to mention, most people with the least bit of normalcy in their bones would be asleep by now, and so I am alone. I dare say you could hardly blame me for my caution, dear sir, second in line to the head professor."

I was only too used to the power plays that go on inside any institution or court. I could arrive at a few guesses as to why this high ranked man would be particularly interested in me:

First, he might simply just be curious, and he might just be doing this to change the database the Academy had about my results.

Second, he was planning to use my particularity to his advantage. Now, this was a more likely option.