"Lucky Bastard…" The stern Professor exclaims those words out loud, drawing the attention of everyone around to Theo, who is once again irritated by that. He does not feel offended but instead sees that as an offense to his parents who sacrificed themselves for him.
"There is nothing lucky about what happened to my family and me," Theo speaks in a firm tone as he takes a step toward the Professor with his fists clenched. Only Sarah and the Professor notice his aggressive posture, and while she prepares to move closer to Theo, the Professor begins to stand up as well, with a malicious stance.
"What is going on?" A firm female voice rises behind the Professor, and when he quickly looks in that direction, everyone else also turns, seeing a tall woman with blonde hair, light brown eyes, and wearing a luxurious dark brown robe. The woman glances at Theo and Sarah before focusing on the stern Professor. "Harold, could you explain to me the reason for this commotion?"
"Isolde? What are you doing here?" Harold is clearly worried about the arrival of that Professor, who glances at Theo again. "Oh, you are the handsome young man who knocked down that half-giant with your fists? I watched the entire fight, and I have to congratulate you for such a display of strength and resilience."
"Thank you," Theo nods slightly to Professor Isolde, who smiles at him kindly before glancing at the gray feather over the piece of parchment on the table. "Do not tell me you are using that disgusting feather on the students again?" She stares at Harold with a stern expression, making him look as if he is about to pout.
"He was hiding his own name!" Harold points at Theo with a suspicious look. "And he is still hiding dangerous secrets, I feel it in my bones!" Harold loses all composure in front of the students, and Isolde laughs mockingly. "Damn your old bones, Harold! I already told you not to use that feather on the students, damn it!"
"But, but…" Harold tries to speak, but Isolde raises a finger with a stern look, making him fall silent. "I did not want to bother the Duke with such small things, but you leave me no choice, Harold." As soon as she mentions the Duke's name, Harold's eyes tremble, and he quickly stands up with a begging expression. "Please, Isolde, you do not really want to do that."
"Maybe I want more than you imagine…" Isolde smiles provocatively, making Harold's worried grimace even more deplorable, but then she laughs. "You have already done enough for today, Harold, just go back to the castle, alright? I will handle the registrations in your place."
"Alright, Isolde…" Harold lets out a frustrated sigh while glancing back at Theo and Sarah. "I am tired of having to deal with this kind of people anyway, I will leave things with you." The stern Professor simply gathers some personal belongings from the table and begins to leave the place, but Isolde makes the gray feather float into the old box with a wave of her hand, and the box into Harold's hands. "Take this with you as well."
Harold takes the old box and disappears into the crowd of nobles, leaving everyone looking at Isolde, who sits in Harold's chair and smiles at Theo. "I will finish your registration now, Mr…" She looks at the name on the parchment on the table, and a glow flashes in her eyes for a second. "Vaelmont?"
"Just Theo," He smiles kindly at her, and she nods. "Theo…" She says and then glances to the side at Sarah. "And you, Lady Malveryn, could you go back to focusing on your own registration? Our good boy here no longer needs your pleasant protection at this moment."
"Professor Isolde, long time." Sarah nods respectfully to Isolde, who nods back at her. "It is good to see you here at last, Lady Malveryn. I am eager to see your progress up close. Now, please, let Professor Sandro finish your registration, and I will finish it for our good boy Theo here."
Sarah smiles at Theo before returning to focus on her registration; meanwhile, he turns his gaze back to Professor Isolde, who begins to analyze the results of his tests on the table. "Very good, Theo, I see that my colleagues share my high expectations of you. So, shall we enroll you in the Dragon Riders class?"
"Sure." Theo nods, and Isolde happily begins to fill out some papers on the table, which she hands to him. "Here are the documents for your registration, and now the most important thing…" Isolde opens another box on the table and takes out a golden ring with engraved runes and the design of a dragon around it.
"This is your student ring," Isolde explains as she hands the beautiful jewel to Theo. "It is a very valuable item, and it will allow those responsible for your safety in the Academy to track you and ensure your security. Do not lose it and do not remove it under any circumstances, do you understand?"
"Got it," Theo prepares to put the ring on his finger, but then glances at Isolde. "Do I just put it on?" He asks, and she laughs. "Yeah, but we also have bracelets if you prefer, although they are more the girls' style…"
Theo does not think twice before putting the golden ring on his index finger, and the item seems to magically adjust to the size of his finger, fitting perfectly and then glowing slightly for a second. He can also feel a mysterious energy emanating from the object, but nothing that seems bad or pleasant, just something.
"Excellent," Isolde smiles and claps her hands once. "Now you are officially a student of the Academy. Of course, there will be a grand opening ceremony for all the newcomers, but only tomorrow. For today, I suggest you remain in the Village and enjoy your time before classes begin, especially the night festival."
"That is all?" Theo asks. "The gates open for the new students tomorrow, and I just have to wait?" As soon as he speaks, Isolde nods. "Exactly. Your ring will also change color when you choose one of the four internal Houses of the Academy tomorrow during the opening ceremony, but for now, that is all."
She glances at Sarah before focusing back on Theo. "I am sure you are already in the best possible company here, but if you still have any questions, you may ask me." She seems friendly, and Theo nods in a friendly way as well. "Got it." Before turning to leave, he smiles at Isolde. "And thanks for the help."
"Welcome to the Academy, Theo," Isolde says in a warm tone, and Theo nods before leaving the line with his papers and the golden ring on his fingers. He joins Lorien, and both wait for Sarah to finish her registration.
"It seems we are officially in." Lorien comments in an excited tone while showing a beautiful golden bracelet on his delicate arm, making Theo laugh. "Somehow I knew you would choose the bracelet…"
"It is much prettier than a ring, haha!" Lorien laughs before his expression turns sad, and he steps closer to Theo to whisper. "I heard what that idiot Professor said… I should have done something to help you. I was not a good friend there."
"Do not worry," Theo gives Lorien's shoulder a friendly tap. "I would hate to cause trouble for my friends. That was just… Well, let us forget it, alright?" Lorien smiles at Theo with bright eyes. "Alright… My friend."
The duo watches the nobles registering until Sarah arrives, swinging her arm with the golden bracelet and a proud smile on her face. "We did it, now we are officially students of the Academy!"
"Congratulations to both of you," Theo says in an affectionate tone, making Sarah and Lorien smile with shining eyes. Then he focuses his attention on Sarah. "Where to now, our wise Guide?"
Sarah strokes her chin while thinking, then an excited smile appears on her face. "We have to buy some good clothes for the ceremony tomorrow, but we can leave it for tomorrow as well. How about we share a bottle of that blackberry wine now? It would be a good way to celebrate our success."
"That sounds great to me," Theo responds enthusiastically, but then looks at Lorien. "And you? Do you want to come with us?" As soon as he asks, the boy opens an excited smile, unlike Sarah, who clearly becomes frustrated. But as soon as Lorien nods and Theo turns his gaze back to Sarah, she puts a smile on her face again. "Alright, he can come."
Sarah leads the trio through the crowd of nobles in the square until they return near that alley where they met Lorien. She shows them a big tavern with a wooden sign depicting a bee and a pot of honey pouring into a mug of beer. "Welcome to Honeycomb, the best place to drink mead and wine in Dragons' Gate!"
Theo smells a very pleasant sweet scent coming from inside the building and becomes excited, but Lorien casts a curious look at Sarah. "How do you know this place so well?" He asks and she quickly responds. "My older brother recommended it to me." She does not give many details, but both Lorien and Theo grow even more curious.
"Let's go in, my mouth is dry." Sarah gestures to Theo and enters the tavern. The place is full of people, most of them nobles who came for the Academy registration and their families while commoners serve the tables with various foods and drinks.
Seeing all that food and smelling its delicious scent, Theo feels his stomach growl like an earthquake. He was already used to going without food for long periods of time, but after the fight against the half-giant, he begun starving.
"Let's find an empty table, I really need to eat something." He comments as the trio crosses the first area of the tavern, but Lorien makes a sad expression. "It looks like all the tables are occupied…"
When the trio approaches the main counter, they notice dozens of people in line waiting to be served, making Lorien sigh. "Of course, there is a line for this too." He seems hopeless, but Theo gives a confident smile to Sarah. "Nothing our famous Lady Malveryn cannot solve."
Sarah smiles back at Theo. "I doubt they know my name here, but I have something that can really solve the problem." She approaches the counter, ignoring the line of nobles who cast annoyed looks at her, as well as an old lady serving at the counter. "To the end of the line, My Lad-"
"Here," Sarah does not let the woman finish speaking, placing a black coin with the symbol of a dragon on the counter. Upon seeing the coin, the woman gives Sarah a polite look. "Sorry, My Lady, I thought you were one of the new students, so we are full today, as you can see."
"Of course," Sarah keeps a friendly expression while pushing the coin with the tip of her finger toward the woman. "That is just the first one, keep it as a tip." As soon as she speaks, the woman quickly grabs the coin and smiles even more at Sarah. "Thank you, My Lady, I will get a table right away."
The woman ignores the nobles in line and leaves the counter, going straight to the hall and kicking out a group of drunkards to free that table for Sarah, who gives Theo a proud smile. "Another problem solved."