5:24 PM, 26th of December, 1728

  Before Alexander sat a list of different classes he had met the prerequisite knowledge for. Althea stood beside him, tapping her foot on the ground in wait of his choices.

  Not wanting to be a bother and hoping to sharpen his skills, he only selected a single class on swordplay, titled, quite fittingly, ‘Introduction to Swordplay’. It took place almost immediately after his first class, ‘Basics of Authority’.

  “Just this one.” He said, pointing to the aforementioned class.

  She looked down at the class he had chosen, before walking over to the other side of the desk and writing down on a paper as she spoke, “Rather practical, I see. I guess that’s of no surprise.”

  “I’m not trying to waste my time.”

  “No, I’m not judging. How do you think I got into this position at such a young age? It’s good to have your priorities straight.”

  Handing him a piece of paper and leading him to the door, she continued. “We both have things we need to get to doing, so let’s get to doing them now, why don’t we? I’ll call on you when I have some spare time so we can continue our exchange.”

  His first class was held in the same building, positioned on the first floor. Alexander peeked his head into the class, surprised to find who he could only presume to be the professor already in the class.

  The man looked up and, to Alexander's surprise, was someone he already knew.

  Charles, the man who had previously held him captive under suspicion of being a thrall of the Holder of Order, looked up, catching sight of Alexander's face.

  “Oh? You’re here early, aren’t you, kid?”

  Inviting himself in, Alexander continued into the classroom.

  “Do I have the right class? Are you really a professor?”

  He let out a small laugh, “Why is that so surprising? Haven’t you realized by now that we scholars tend to do a lot of different work?”

  He paused, setting the stack of papers in his hand down on his desk, before continuing.

  “And yes, you have the right class. Althea let me know that you’d be joining us earlier today. In a few minutes, I should have some quick recap paperwork ready for you. Just take any seat, and I’ll get it to you.”

  Feeling that he would need to pay extra attention to catch up in a class that he had no fundamental understanding of, Alexander opted for a seat in the front row, dead center.

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  A few students trickled into the class early as Alexander waited, slowly filling up the seats as he did. Only fifteen minutes before the class would begin, Charles brought over the stack of papers, setting them down before Alexander.

  “Look over these. If you have any questions, you can ask me after class, or if you want, ask Mari.”

  “Mari? Who is that?”

  Charles pointed to the seat beside Alexander. “This is Mari.”

  Turning his head to the right, Alexander felt dumbfounded.

  No one was sitting next to him.

  Before he could even question Charles, an oddly familiar, melodious voice sounded out from just beside him.

  “Nice to meet you! I hope I can be of some help. You’re new here, right? I haven’t seen you before.”

  Having realized the situation he was in, Alexander brought his hand up to the underside of the blindfold, peeking out at the girl sitting next to him.

  A pair of unbelievably bright amber eyes looked back at him, her blonde hair framing them.

  After only a moment of confusion, Alexander responded. “Actually, I think we’ve met before. It was two days ago outside a clothing store, we bumped into eachother.”

  Her eyes widened, “Oh! That was you?” She clasped her hands in front of her face, “I’m so sorry about that!”

  “Don’t worry about it, I should’ve been moving slower.”

  “No, it’s totally my fault! What has you joining this class so late in the term, anyway? Are you new here? Or maybe you’ve just now decided you want to be a scholar? Or is it something else?”

  Feeling bombarded by questions, Alexander responded curtly. “I’m new here, and I’ve just decided.”

  He let down his blindfold, the girl now fully invisible to him once again.

  “Well, again, if you have any questions whatsoever, let me know! I’d love to help.”

  Alexander felt odd knowing someone he couldn’t easily see sat next to him, and throughout the entire class, he felt like he couldn’t focus entirely. The probing of questions at every possibility from the same girl didn’t help, though he did appreciate her generosity.

  The class ended as quickly as it began, and though he felt lost throughout, he believed that after a simple night or two of studying the content he had missed, he would soon be able to fit in.

  His next class was just as exciting as the first, if not more. Ever since the moment Raymond had attempted to draw his sword in retaliation for Alexander’s interference, Alexander had been hoping to get his hands on a sword of his own.

  Of course, simply owning a sword was of no use if one did not know how to wield it, and so the class would be a great help in that regard.

  The class took place at the edge of the campus, and much to Alexander's surprise, in a courtyard.

  It would be much more practical than he had previously thought.

  The class quickly commenced.

  “Alright, everyone, come around and grab your blades. We have a new student joining us today, and so we will begin with some simple one-on-one duels.”

  The man speaking was, of course, the professor of the class. A man both tall and stout, the muscles under his clothing obvious at a glance, with both brown eyes and hair.

  Alexander's opponent was someone of a similar age to himself, who also had a similar stature, tall and skinny.

  “I know it’s your first day, and I don't know how fair it is to attack a blind man, so I’ll try to go easy on you.”

  With that, the bout began, his opponent charging forward and thrusting the thin blade at the same time.

  Having seen the move beforehand, Alexander was easily able to meet the blade with his own, leaving them to clash in the center, pushing each other's blades back.

  A look of obvious surprise covered his opponent's face, "Are you really blind?"

  Suddenly, Alexander's Authority flared, a deep pain rising within his heart.

  He felt, though, that the feeling had nothing to do with his duel, and his suspicions were confirmed only a moment later.

  A guttural roar, almost familiar, rang out through the air, causing nearly everyone in the courtyard to freeze.