Monica walked over to stand next to Eric. Her movements were stiff. Each step seemed to be a battle against her own immense pride. The other students in the training hall watched her.
Their eyes were wide with a mixture of awe and curiosity. The princess of the Empire the most popular girl in the first year had been forced into a partnership with the most infamous boy. It was a development no one could have predicted.
She stopped a careful foot of space away from him. She did not look at him. She stared straight ahead at the instructor Leon her expression a mask of cold indifference. But inside she was a storm of conflicting emotions. Her cheeks still felt warm from her earlier embarrassment in the classroom.
The humiliation of being called weak by him of being distracted by his mere presence still stung her pride like a fresh wound. And yet here she was standing beside him.
