Nadine walked into her usual History classroom. Same as always, it was made of white walls, dozens of desks in soul-crushingly uniform rows, and lifeless air.
Not to mention the teacher's desk up front with a spotless whiteboard blending into the wall behind it.
This room is a place where happiness and expression come to die, Nadine thought.
From time to time, she'd imagine herself stepping in one day to find the room warm and inviting.
As though people actually visited, and this place wasn't just an abandoned mausoleum. But today was evidently not that day, so she dropped into her usual seat in the back.
As she tried to ignore the vaguely depressing atmosphere of the classroom, she took out her pencil case and workbook.
For the last few weeks, they'd been learning about the most infamous Guardians, and what made each of them 'evil.'
Nadine often got the feeling that some parts of their history were left out intentionally.
For one, if the Guardians were as obviously bad as the stories said, why did the monarchs of those times allow them such great influence? Why did they only terrorise Laurelian? Why not go global? It just didn't add up.
And Orin Veldun, the supposed mastermind, the leader of the Guardians, was a healer. Why would he go trying to assassinate royals himself when he could've sent a Guardian with offensive magic after them instead?
Why wait so long to stage a coup? He was nearly 400 by the time he did it. If he was going to leave it so long, why do it at all?
She had too many questions bubbling in her mind to easily keep silent, but she had no choice. In a place like school, you really had to watch what you said.
I wonder how much of this is actually true. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if it was all completely fabricated. Hell, I wouldn't even bat an eye if I met a Guardian and they told me it was all lies.
Mr Sojel burst into the room, dropping his books on the desk. He didn't have to wait long for quiet.
'Alright, class. Get out your equipment. Today we're covering Raith, a Guardian who appeared to take a back seat in the Great War, but was, in fact, actually a major player.
His power was Darkness. Raith could move through shadows undetected and block surrounding light. He also became physically stronger at night. At the start of the war he vanished– and around the same time, soldiers and important leaders were being killed left and right by an unknown figure.
They called him the Ghost Killer. Bit of an awkward name now, but at the time they believed it was fitting.'
He began writing on the board. 'Of course, after his death, we discovered it was Raith all along. Acting on the orders of Orin Veldun. Open up your textbooks, pages 111 to 114. Read everything, then copy the questions and answer them in full paragraphs. Make sure you actually understand the content. We will be having a graded quiz about it on Wednesday.'
Nadine heard the classroom's collective groan echo inside her own head. Graded quizzes were the worst. Hear a mention of one, and your plans for the week were already well in their graves.
She'd wanted to go hang out at a park with her friends on the weekend, but now there was no chance. So much for that.
History of Laurelian was interesting, sure. But the struggle of trying to remember scattered facts and 'important' dates was awful.
World History, though? It was one of her favourite subjects, even if it was rather pointless. It was broad overviews of modern history; world wars, inventions, revolutions and the like. Would it ever be useful? No. Was it cool? Yes.
Her teacher all the way back in first year had said 'even though we can't go there, our King doesn't want us to be ignorant,' when Nadine asked him why they were learning it.
Compared to World History, History of Laurelian almost seemed like propaganda. Though she never said that to anyone but her closest friends, since it would be guaranteed to get her charged with treason.
Speaking of treason, the guy I'm meant to be studying committed that, didn't he…?
Oh, shit. I zoned out again. Realising what she did, Nadine glanced at the clock. 3:20. Thank god, didn't waste too much time. Only ten minutes.
Alright, let's see how villainous this Raith guy was.
She flipped through the pages of the book until she found page 111.
Raith was born in 1308, died 1549. Real name unknown. Middle generation Guardian, though regarded as one of the strongest. Powers identified at age four, trained by Iselda Revin.
He was officially appointed a Guardian in 1322. Exceptional in covert operations, was eventually used by the corrupt Guardians for assassinations.
Pretty common story among the Guardians. I wonder how it would feel to be just an ordinary kid, then suddenly you start controlling the air or something. To go from teasing your siblings to training with gods.
She shook off the thought, moving to the next passage.
Raith's fall began when he was 20. Initially commanded to kill a young prince to 'send a message.' Then the orders escalated. He obeyed, until he didn't need instructions anymore. Began to murder freely. His ability to vanish made him unstoppable.
Over the next two centuries, various members of the royalty and military would die by his hand. When a fellow Guardian, Solan, caused the Burning of Osreth in 1548, it became the turning point for all-out war.
Military strategists quickly realised Raith had to be dealt with. But due to his 'disappearance,' they were unable to catch him.
By the war's final six months, his methods became more violent and brutal than they used to be. They were no longer silent assassinations, but grotesque deaths caused by all kinds of weapons, leaving behind scenes too horrific to describe.
This was the primary reason why it was believed that he and the Ghost Killer were two separate people. Their styles didn't match at all. However, when the murders ceased immediately after Raith's death, the truth was revealed.
Well, that's one page done. Not a very happy tale, is it? The rest is probably all the same. Literally every textbook portrays them as people who were secretly evil bastards all along.
Like those characters in novels who seem loyal at first– obedient, quiet. They were always meant to turn on you, but you just never knew it. Until the moment they brandished their blade at you, of course.
Once again, a river of questions flooded her head. How could he go around killing like that for so long? People he'd once protected, no less. What was there to be gained from spreading fear and terror amongst the ordinary citizens?
Maybe it was to lower morale. Keep people too scared to rebel? That would make a lot of sense.
Never mind, I gotta get a move on. Nadine started copying the questions down from the whiteboard.
Describe Raith's crimes in detail. Write a short essay on how he died. Create a timeline of his life.
Only three questions for now, but more would probably appear later. She already knew what to write for the first one, but she'd need to keep reading for the others. She turned the page carefully, trying not to tear it.
At the end of the Great War, when the Guardians were on the verge of losing, Raith made the reckless decision to challenge the Laurelian Army's general alone, believing his powers would give him the upper hand.
However, the general was prepared.
When she heard he would target her, she lured him to a secluded cave where two hundred elite soldiers were concealed all around. When Raith arrived, they struck from all sides. With no room to escape, he was swiftly defeated.
And then Orin assassinated the queen, finally succeeding after three attempts. Sora got him a little while after, then he killed the rest of the Guardians too. And just like that, the kingdom was freed from the grip of those villains.
Nadine finished the rest of the story automatically in her head. She didn't need a book to know it; she'd heard it too many times to count, for longer than she could remember.
Honestly, that particular year was pretty gruesome all around. I probably didn't need to be told about it so young. When I have a kid, I'm not gonna tell them. There's probably not a law saying you have to teach your kids about it. Even though my parents did.
You know, something we were never told about was how Sora even rose to power– or how he had magic at all, despite not being a Guardian, she thought as she began answering the first question.
No one knows if he was related to the late queen, or if he was chosen to replace her– or if he simply took the throne by force.
The last one seemed most likely, considering how his magic power surpassed even the Guardians'. And no one has challenged him since.
The way that information was purposefully kept secret was pretty suspicious to Nadine. Leaders in other countries liked to brag about how they got to their position, but King Sora? Nothing. Not a single obscure theory in a newspaper. Not even a rumour.
Nadine checked the clock again. 3:40. Just twenty more minutes until she could go home. Not that she wouldn't have schoolwork to do there. But at least at home, she'd be doing it in a much more comfortable place.
I swear, sometimes the only thing you need to work properly is a fluffy pillow against the wall and snacks on a low table in your cosy room.
She finished the sentence she was writing and set her pen down for a moment, letting her hand recover from the speed writing. Her work was as neat and perfect as possible. There was not a single spelling or grammar mistake to be seen.
I wonder if kids in free countries have to do this much work, to this level of perfection. Probably not. I bet they still have lots of free time for all the fun things I wish I could do, too.
Grabbing her pen off the desk, she started on the second question.
The guy was a total dumbass. Sneaky for ages, sure. But the second things started going south for him, he decided to try his luck with the general. Who was a general for a reason! And of course it got him killed. Real genius move there.
She looked at what she'd written and sighed. I already know what the teachers would say. 'That's not appropriate enough for someone in the twelfth year, Nadine.' Looks like it's back to square one for me.
It took her the rest of the lesson to come up with a polite answer of reasonable length, enough to not get called out on. Judging by the pained looks on everyone else's faces, she could tell they hadn't gotten much done either. They all knew what came next.
Well, it's goodbye weekend, and hello more homework for them.
She scanned the classroom. Me too… me too, friends. Timeline and thousand word essay here. Truly the Laurelian dream.
'Everyone, pack up your things and stand behind your chairs. You must have any unfinished work completed by our next class. When is it…? Oh. Right. Tuesday. I want all of you to have satisfactory answers to the questions by then,' Mr Sojel says.
This guy is a huge upgrade from Jain. How many words has he even said today? I'm gonna go with two hundred, max. Jain says that much in a minute. Plus, he just sits at his desk the entire time. You won't ever see him patrolling like she does, that's for sure. Thank god.