The piggy emperor and a man, a few years older than Desmond, swaggered in before standing over the table Avery and Desmond sat at. Being only two chairs in the whole room, Desmond's father looked at him as if waiting for him to give up his seat. Desmond knew Avery's position towards him already, that much was apparent. So he pretended not to noticed and focused on the beef stew on the table.

He waited for a few more moments before his impatience got the better of him. "Are you not going to give your seat to Us?" Eyes of daggers and a tone laced with menace. Avery let out a sigh before pushing her head from the comforts of the blanket. Her bees nest-like hair was combed back with delicate fingers, revealing a tired - pissed off face.

"What do you want?" Her tone resembled the man in feeling. The Emperor jumped slightly, feeling actual bloodlust coming from her. He only smiled weakly at Avery. That's when she noticed the man behind him.

He resembled Desmond but had a haughty air about him. He stood with confidence and wore thick red clothing, yet she noticed bulging muscles around his arms and chest. Slicked back hair and finely trimmed beard. He also had an ornate sword, encrusted with a large ruby on the bottom of its hilt.

The man was the First Prince, Peter. The royal family's very own womanizer!

The man caught a look of Avery the moment she combed her hair back, and he felt it was love at first sight! Such an exotic flower would look good, naked in his bed, or so his delusions thought. He was known for his womanizing and skirt chasing. Having father a few illegitimate children himself, he was known for only thinking with his genitals.

Avery noticed that sleazy look and cringed at it. She was glad the blanket covered her like a cocoon with only her head exposed. Even then, she felt she was being stripped by his eyes. She glared at him as well, but he never noticed.

The Emperor cleared his throat before composing himself. "We came to apologize for the actions of our steward." He glanced at Desmond, still waiting for the chair to be given to him, but it still never came. He felt indignant towards him. "Look over here, don't worry about him." Avery was annoyed by the two interrupting the morning, not even giving them the first few hours after waking up some peace.

The Emperor looked like a dog that had just been kicked, his face reddening with anger. "We came to apologize, and this is how you are going to treat Us?" He huffed before he felt a chill on his back. Avery's eyes locked on his. He never really looked at those eyes, but the glowed fiercely. They reminded him of a Dragon he once encountered in his youth. Those feline-slit eyes narrowed, even more, when he spoke back.

She took a breath before she reprimanded him, "Let's get things straight. I kicked your damned dog out the window for being a little cunt. I've committed regicide before, against stronger rulers. Desmond may have asked me not to do it, but don't think I won't kick you either." Sure enough, the Emperor became ashen and fumbled with a few words before he completely shut up with another aimed glare from her.

After a few moments, Avery felt satisfied. "Good, now that you understand, what did you want so early?" She turned to look out the window with disinterest, wanting to escape that lecher's eyes. "We came to personally invite Lady Bailey for breakfast. We certainly can provide any meal you want. Simply say it and we'll try and accommodate." Managing to smile amicably towards the two, the emperor felt proud over his diplomatic skills

Avery turned to Desmond after hearing his father's proposal. Desmond seemed like a timid bunny, sipping away at his sip little by little, as he tried not to attract any of their attention. A gentle and warm smile grew on her face. She thought he was quite adorable right now. "You want to go?" She asked him, bemused. Not wanting to start an argument so early in the morning, he felt it was better to indulge them for now. He nodded before Avery said they had to change first.

Both left their seats and headed towards the bedroom when Desmond's brother cut him off with a raised arm. "What are you doing? The woman is going to get changed!" Desmond sighed. His brother definitely did such things, but he didn't know why he was grouping him into such things.

After that night he walked in on Avery bathing, she stopped caring. Her reason? He already baked her nude image into his mind. Well... he did. It was the first nude woman he'd ever seen and she was too beautiful. Too perfect in that moonlight not to forget. But... he was pretty sure she was too lazy to get her own space. She was laid back when people weren't annoying her, which she seemed to be irritated a lot.

Contrary to the old books, she was said to be helpful and sweet. Not that she didn't have those traits, but she seemed quick-tempered. What Desmond didn't know, most players were often quick-tempered excluding a few saintly players or uncaring ones. It was a given. Whichever the case, it was the sudden norm for the two, which neither of them mind. Though Desmond was embarrassed the first few times, being baptized in fire tempered one's mind.

Actually, it was quite good. Seeing someone of Avery's caliber, all the girls he thought were beautiful, seemed to be average to him now. Like grains of sand on a beach, Avery being the tsunami hitting it.

"Leave me be." Desmond chirped with forced voice. "I won't let your eyes defile such a goddess with your dir-"

Avery turned around hearing Peter's question. "Leave him alone. Both of you out." Desmond was about to tell his brother to leave him alone, but Avery stepped in, pushing Peter away with a single hand before pointing to the door with an open palm. The maids were quick in escorting them to the door. His father wanted to speak up, but he also didn't want to get kicked out the window.

His steward was a low-level and old, thus he didn't survive the long drop. He, however, was a fairly high level, nearing the thirties. If he fell, he'd survive. Maybe. He wasn't about to test it though. Though, Peter seemed kin on learning to fly that morning. "My lady Bailey, I think I'd better su-".

"Out!" Avery roared. Her eyebrows furrowed and her nose scrunching with fleeting patience for the two men. The Emperor wasn't so dense as not to sense the pending storm, as he already fled the room 'gracefully.' Unlike his father, Peter was forcibly pushed out by the two maids who were under orders not to anger Avery. At this moment, Avery wished she hadn't promised Desmond to not be rash.

. . .

Inside a large hall, eight thick brown wooden beams reinforced with steel rings held up the roof. Shields with coats of arms decorated the wall along with banners with the country's emblem. Braziers crackled across the room along with the hushed talk from silver knights and golden knights eating their meals. three large windows reached from the floor to the roof to the right of the room, overlooking the castle's training yard.

Everything outside was coated in a blanket of glistening snow and a crystal blue sky.

The Emperor sat uncomfortably on a long wooden bench, his robes cumbersome. Avery sat across from him. She wore a thick grey long sleeve shirt that hugged her body and black cargo pants with boots. She sipped at some fish soup the mess hall chefs cooked up at her request. Desmond sat to her left, dressed in his academy mage robes. Both sat shoulder to shoulder, but it seemed that Avery was trying to sit far from his brother who sat to her right.

He had finally remembered to introduce himself to her, though it didn't matter much. More interested in the soup brought to her, his small talk fell on deaf ears.

The man was quite the looker, having quite the air of confidence about him that Desmond didn't have. Something Desmond felt insecure about, he kept his head down as he nibbled on some cut beef bathed in gravy. He said he wasn't hungry, but Avery said he needed to eat more.

Peter, against the atmosphere, tried every trick in the book he could in wooing her, but she gave him the cold shoulder. Oddly enough, he seemed to make his fire burn hotter for her. To the point, the air around him began to smell like lust, or maybe it was bad body odour? Either way, it was ruining her appetite. She liked the smell around Desmond though. Unsure if it was his clothes or just him, but he always smelled of herbs.

Fenrir was made to stay back in Desmond's room so no one would snoop through it. Even he smelled far better than Peter. Even the Emperor, who wanted Avery to be wooed by Peter was at a loss. He'd never seen him be so shameless that even the surrounding knights and servants cringed at his demeanor. "Was this my child?" he thought. Certainly justified though. If Peter and a bandit were put side by side, they'd look like brothers in arms at a brothel.

"My son, let us go for a walk and let them eat. We have much to discuss." He gave Peter a warning glance before he clumsily slid his feet out from under the table and go up. Peter was reluctant to part with Avery, but seeing his father's look, he could only give up for now. "Yes, Father." He too got from the bench, but more natural. "And I bid you good day dear Lady." With a sweet smile that disgusted Avery, he tried to brush the hair that cascaded down her back, but she only swatted his hand away.

Peter felt embarrassed, not because she swatted his hand away, but because he failed to woo a woman in front of so many people. His father was already walking out the hall's entrance when he rushed to catch up like a dog with his tail between his legs, finally leaving Desmond and Avery to eat in peace.

. . .

Desmond and Avery trudged through foot high snow as more floated down from the bright yet foggy sky. Desmond was wearing his school robes while Avery was dressed in her black shirt, black pants, and black boots, along with cloak so white, it almost disappeared in the snow. The cloak reached down to her mid-calves. The hood draped off her head and flared out downward, vaguely resembling an upside down heart. With every step, the hem of the cloak trailed after her - like a beautiful wraith.

The cloak's name was Cloud Dancer. The item came from a raid that commenced in the sky, the Cloud Weaver Palace. It was the home of a Sky Colassal, a fierce dragon covered in fur that was considered the ruler of the Sky. Avery didn't get the drop when they defeated the boss. luckily though, she got an item that one of the re-runners - a player who already beat the raid- didn't have. He already had two so he traded this beautiful cloak for that item.

Even though it was snowing and the air pricked at her cheeks; the town was alive with people, with the exception of stalls. Butchers, smiths, general stores, and other various shops that lined the main road howled their wares. People coming and going from the stores and restaurants like it was a regular day, only they were coated in warm clothes.

It wasn't long before the road turned from shops and restaurants to homes of various sizes. Desmond was taking her to the Academy to enroll her, even though it was the ending of the school year with a week left till they adjourn till after the new year. Sooner the better in his mind.

The Academy laid on the cusp of the Noble District and the Commoner district. This allowed both walks of life to reach it without 'offending' each other. The two approached through the Noble district as it bordered the castle. The once crowded main road turned into a quiet path, big enough for two carriages with foot traffic. Very few carriages past by though. They also seldom crossed any other pedestrian. The few they did were just maids or butlers heading towards the shops a little ways behind.

Desmond explained it was because the school had dorms that people could stay in. For people who didn't live within a ten-minute walk often just stayed in the dorms since school started early. Desmond, being one of them, stayed at the castle the other night because he couldn't bring her onto school grounds without permission and the administration was closed for the night.

Soon they reached the school grounds. Elegantly wrought iron fence decorated the top of short grey stonewalls. They walked up to a large stone archway that stood to break a gap in the fence. A double iron gate occupied the space in the arch with one gate left ajar, enough for a single person to walk through. Two men stood guard on the inside by the gate chattering away.

Both of them was dressed in deep blue pants and long jackets under polished chest plates and arm protectors. At their sides were short swords, sheathed in dark leather adorned in symbols. "Those are what we call Mage-Warriors. They're the same as the knights in the orders, heavily oriented towards magic. In other countries, they're called Magic knights, but here they can't be called a knight if they're not officially knighted so they're called that."

As they approached the guards, one noticed them and knocked the back of his hand against the chest of his fellow guard. "Look alive." They straightened themselves out with a laugh until they were at the gate opening. "Ah, if it isn't the prince boy. Welcome back." One of the guards chuckled with a huge grin. "We definitely weren't slacking on the job."

Desmond laughed when he saw them "Sure, whatever you say Adin. We all know you rather guard the gate than the food hall." Desmond teased him with a genuine smile. "Psh! Damn Vice-Master! She said I was gaining weight so she manned me here yesterday! Now I can't snag slices of pie now!" The man-made exaggerated gestures like it were the worst thing in the world.  The man was youthful, but showed signs of aging, possibly in his early thirties. His face was tanned with a neat short stubble beard. He had short-curly ginger hair that gave him a troublemaker look,

The other guard slapped his knee with a hearty laugh as he bent forward. "Don't lie! We know you been putting the moves on that woman! She sent you out here because she saw you flirting with that new female chef! haha! She was two seconds away from hurling a fireball at your crotch!" He had long black hair, tied back into a slick high ponytail that reached to his mid-neck. The man appeared younger than his fellow guard, maybe mid-twenties.

They laughed for a moment longer until Avery's sweet giggles caught their attention. "Oi, Desmond... Your companion wouldn't happen to be a... girl?" Adin asked, leaving both of the guards surprised. They hadn't noticed Avery because they were messing around. "Ah, yes. This is my good friend Lady Bailey. I brought her to enroll in the academy." Avery took off her head and revealed her face. "Little Desmond finally has a girlfriend! Haha!"  Both of the warriors rejoiced loudly.

"Alright guys, calm down. I want to get inside where its warm, so can one of you guys escort us to the headmaster?" Desmond sighed, trying to sidestep what he knew was coming next. "Yeah, Walden here can take you. Vice-master is still pissed off." Adin coughed and looked away with a shiver. "Sure. I rather not have this man lose his manhood. I'd hate to explain it to all his girlfriends." Adin clicked his tongue to Walden's comment, but then they both chuckled at each other.

"Alright, let's go in then, kids." Adin pushed the gate open more to let them walk in without having to scrunch up before returning back when they walked through. Waldon gesturing them to follow.