It’s supposed to be numbers, monotone lectures that make you want to fall asleep, the quiet hum of fluorescent lights, and the collective suffering of students who thought “How hard can probability be?” and were promptly humbled.
You sit three rows from the front, as always. Same seat, same notebook, same mechanical pencil you like because it doesn’t smudge your notes, and it writes dark without putting too much pressure. Your laptop is open, but you’re handwriting formulas anyway. Something about writing helps you remember better. You’ve been told this makes you look intimidating. You’ve also been told it makes you look cute. You don’t know how both can be true at the same time, but you’ve learned to live with the contradiction.
You’re halfway through annotating Bayes’ theorem when voices drift down from the front of the lecture hall.
Low, and serious.
You glance up without really meaning to.
Professor Adler is standing near the podium, arms crossed, speaking quietly to a student who clearly stayed behind after class on purpose.
Rin Itoshi.
You recognize him immediately, because everyone does.
Tall, sharp-eyed, perpetually scowling, everyone says it’s an Itoshi thing. Dark green, with bangs that he always drags a hand through in frustration. He sits near the back during lectures with his teammates, usually with earbuds in until the last possible second, and leaves the second class ends.
A student athlete.
One of the university’s star football players.
You don’t know much about football, but you know his name. You know the whispers. You know the way people glance at him when he walks past.
You go back to your notes. ‘It’s not my business.’
You think that but your ears betray you, you really didn’t mean to listen in.
Professor Adler says, very clearly, “Rin, you have to pass this midterm.”
Your pencil pauses.
“If you don’t,” the professor continues, voice firm but not unkind, “I’ll have no choice but to report it. And you know what that means.”
There’s a beat of silence.
“…The coach will pull my student-athlete status,” Rin says flatly.
“Yes,” Professor Adler replies. “And you won’t be eligible to play for the rest of the season. This is a prestigious university. Being a student comes first before sports.”
You feel something twist in your chest, sympathy? Maybe. Or secondhand stress. You’ve seen athletes burn out under academic pressure before.
Rin doesn’t say anything for a moment.
Then, “I’ll pass.”
It’s not defiant. It’s not confident.
It’s just…determined. Like he’s stating a fact he’s decided to make real through sheer willpower.
Professor Adler sighs. “I hope so. Because right now, your grades suggest otherwise. I want you to pass I really do.”
You look back down at your notes.
This really is none of your business.
When you pack up your things and leave the lecture hall, Rin is already gone.
And you think that’s the end of it.
—
It’s later that afternoon when your phone rings.
Unknown number.
You almost don’t answer. Almost let it go to voicemail.
But something tells you to pick up. Call it fate.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this—ah—(your name)?” Professor Adler’s voice comes through the line, a little tinny.
You straighten immediately. “Yes, sir.”
“Sorry to call you out of the blue,” he says. “I wanted to ask you about something.”
Your stomach tightens.
“I was reviewing my top-performing students,” he continues, “and you’re currently ranked first in the class.”
You blink. “…Oh.” ‘I know that’
“You have consistently high marks, strong conceptual understanding, and you participate just enough to show engagement,” he adds. “Which I appreciate.”
You smile faintly. Praise from Professor Adler is rare. “Thank you sir.”
“Anyways, I was wondering,” he says, “if you’d be willing to do some peer tutoring.”
Your brain immediately jumps to first-years, confused stats students, maybe someone panicking about standard deviation.
“Who…?” you ask carefully.
There’s a pause.
“Rin Itoshi.”
You almost drop your phone.
“I-” You stop yourself. “Me?”
“Yes,” Professor Adler says. “It would be paid. The same rate as any official student tutor. And it would only be until the midterm.”
You stare at your wall.
Images flash through your mind: Rin’s permanent scowl. His obvious disinterest in class. The fact that he barely looks at anyone when he walks by.
“I’m not sure,” you say honestly. “I don’t know if I’d be…a good fit.”
“I understand,” the professor replies. “Take some time to think about it. But I do believe you could help him.”
You thank him and hang up.
You sit there for a long moment, phone resting in your lap.
Tutoring Rin Itoshi.
You shake your head.
Nope.
You have enough on your plate. Classes. Your part-time job. Your carefully constructed routine that doesn’t include emotionally constipated football stars.
You decide to forget about it.
Then your phone rings again.
This time, you don’t even have to check the name.
“HEY,” Shidou Ryusei’s voice explodes through the speaker, loud and unfiltered even thought the volume of your phone is a quarter from full. “DO YOU KNOW RIN’S GONNA GET BENCHED IF HE FAILS STATS??”
You wince and pull the phone away from your ear. “Hi to you too, Shidou.”
“This is BULLSHIT,” he continues. “Stats is fake anyway. Who the hell uses this stuff in real life?”
“You should tutor Rin, duh.” he says, blunt as always.
You blink. “…Excuse me?”
“You’re a good student. Like, superr good. And if Rin can’t play, practice is gonna be boring.”
“That’s your reasoning?” you ask incredulously.
“And,” he adds, “you’re his best shot.”
You pinch the bridge of your nose. “Professor Adler already asked me.”
“SEE?” Shidou crowed. “FATE.”
“I haven’t agreed,” you say.
There’s a pause.
Then Shidou’s voice drops, just a little. “Look. Rin’s a pain in the ass, yeah. But football so much more interesting when he’s around. If he loses this season over stats…that’d suck hella for me to, and I know you love me to much to make me sad. So cmonnn.”
You close your eyes.
“…I’ll think about it,” you repeat.
“That’s all I ask,” Shidou says, satisfied. “You’re such a babe!”
You hang up and stare at the ceiling.
Deep down you know you’re going to say yes.
—
You catch Rin after class two days later.
Your heart is pounding harder than it should be. You tell yourself it’s nothing, just nerves.
He’s packing up his bag quickly, as usual, when you step into his path.
“Itoshi,” you say.
He looks up, startled. Those sharp green eyes flick to your face.
“…Yeah?” he says cautiously.
“I-Professor Adler asked me for help, to tutor you,” you say, words tumbling out faster than you’d like. “For stats. Until the midterm.”
He stares at you for a long second.
“You’re the top student,” he says finally.
It’s not a question.
“…Yes.”
Another pause.
“…Fine,” he says.
Just like that.
You blink. “Fine?”
“If it’s temporary,” he clarifies. “And you actually know what you’re doing.”
You bristle a little. “I wouldn’t have been asked if I didn’t.”
“…Okay,” he says. He bows slightly, taking the earbuds out of his ears, “…Thanks.”
The word sounds awkward in his mouth, like he doesn’t use it often. It’s kinda cute.
You agree to meet at a café near campus the next afternoon.
As he walks away, you realize your hands are shaking.
—
The café smells like dark roast, and powdered sugar.
You arrive early, claim a small table by the window, and set up your notes neatly. Highlighters arranged. Practice problems printed out. You aren’t foreign to tutoring.
Rin shows up exactly on time.
He looks…uncomfortable. Like he doesn’t know what to do with his hands.
You get straight to it.
“So,” you say, flipping open your notebook. “How comfortable are you with probability distributions?”
“…Not at all,” he says.
You stare at him.
“…Okay,” you say slowly. “How about mean, median, and mode?”
“…Mean is average.”
“Good,” you say. “Median?”
“…Middle.”
“Mode?”
He hesitates.
“…Most common?”
You exhale quietly.
This is worse than you thought.
For the first half hour, you realize something important.
Rin Itoshi is completely useless at statistics, and probably anything else with numbers.
But. He learns fast.
Once you explain something clearly, it sticks. He asks questions, albeit short, blunt ones, but genuine. He doesn’t pretend to know what he doesn’t.
You also learn something else.
The only thing he cares about is football.
Every example he asks for somehow loops back to it.
“So if a striker has a 97% chance of scoring per shot—”
“Yes, like me,” he interrupts.
You bite back a smile.
By the time you pack up, your coffee is cold and your brain is buzzing.
“…Same time tomorrow?” you ask.
“…Yeah,” he says.
And somehow, this arrangement between Rin and you become routine.
—
You meet almost every day.
Cafés. Libraries. Study rooms.
You explain, and he usually listens.
He starts remembering formulas without your prompting. Starts correcting himself before you can.
Sometimes he brings you a drink without asking what you want, always the same thing you ordered last time.
“…Thanks,” you say.
“…Mmh,” he replies.
It’s comfortable.
One day, he mentions his brother.
“Sae says I should invite you to a game,” he mutters, staring at his notes.
You look up. “Oh?”
“He said since you’re helping me so much,” Rin continues, ears pink. “I told him, if I pass the midterm, I will.”
You smile softly. “I’ll take you up on that offer then.”
He ducks his head between the books more.
—
On the day of the test, you wish him luck outside the lecture hall.
“Just remember what we worked on,” you say gently.
He nods. “…I will.”
When grades are released, your heart pounds as you scroll.
Your name is first.
Rin’s is second.
89%.
You grin.
Later, Professor Adler congratulates him after following the lecture, clearly satisfied with his performance.
When Rin finds you after, “…I passed,” he says.
“You did more than pass, you even got the second highest grade in the class” you say, smiling. “I’m very proud of you.”
He looks away, flustered.
“…So,” he says quietly. “You’ll come to the game?”
“Definitely.”
—
At practice, Rin tells his teammates.
They laugh, and obviously don’t believe him.
“Rin it’s not very glam to lie.”
“You got 89% on a stats midterm? Right and Nagi’s straight.”
“I’m right here y’know. (･ ༝ ･)”
“Oi Isagi stop him!”
The chatter goes on and on. Until Shidou throws an arm around his shoulders.
“You guys can all bow down and thank me I’m the one who convinced my good friend (your name),” Shidou says loudly. “She’s like a genius or something.”
Rin gets redder by the second and aggressively shrugs Shidou’s arm off.
“She’ll be at the first game,” Rin snaps. “Don’t be dumb.”
They tease him more.
He finds that he doesn’t mind as much as he should.
Plot: Star student of the Royal Academy has been sent to tutor the only Prince of the Imperial Royal family of Lilabett Corona. They then somehow enrapture the interest of the prince and his elder sister, the Crown Princess.
Cw: Crown princess! Female! Yandere x Tutor! Gn! Reader x prince! Yandere, mentions of torture, mentions of cult(briefly), blood, yandere tendencies.
The student stood outside the gate of the Imperial palace with sweat streaking down the side of their face from the harsh blaze of the sun. They had textbooks held under their armpit, tightly to their right side as their left had awkwardly tried to fix the hair that had begun to fall into their sightline.
[Name][Lastname] was an extraordinary person when it came to academics. They excelled in any subject they were put in and always came out on the very top of the board when the exam results had been revealed.
But they were born with common blood flowing through their veins. Their father was a poor baker and their mother was a school teacher for the orphans by the local children's home. Because their mother had always prided herself with the fact that she believed that knowledge was a better virtue than beauty, their mother would make [Name] read and memorise any textbooks she could get her hands on.
While [Name] considered it good luck that they were able to enrol in the royal academy and had gotten a full scholarship, they were petrified when they found a neatly folded envelope on their dorm bed with a wax seal baring the Imperial family's coat of arms.
The summarised version of the letter read that the imperial advisor acknowledged their extreme academic prowess and wanted them to visit the imperial palace to tutor the empire's only prince in the few subjects he had been recently struggling with in his own classes.
Terrified out if their mind, [Name] agreed in the most cursive calligraphy they could muster with their violently shaking hand.
And now, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the young student will have to spend their afternoon tutoring a bratty prince. Honestly, they were shaking in their boots from the mere thought of having to interact with royalty.
A cough abruptly interrupted the student's thoughts and made them shoot their head up in surprise. A tall man with long midnight black hair stood on the other side of the twisting gate. He looked to be in his late 30s, with a face and aura that screamed 'strict' and 'do not get me mad'. His dark hair was swept up to a waterfall like pony tail at the back of his head. He wore thin lensed glasses that seemed to be nearly falling off the tip of his nose. Hie eyes however were a lovely soft sage colour.
The man placed his right hand above his heart and bowed only his head at the young student. "Good evening mx.[Lastname]. My name is Von Alaric-Holloway. It is the Koinig family's honor to have you tutor your young master." he greeted. His voice was as smooth as his hair. The student nodded at his words. "The honour is all mine Mr.Alaric-Holloway." they said back, not trusting their voice to say anything else without stuttering, or falling over their own words.
Von nodded his head at the guards, giving them the silent order to open the sill closed gates.
The gates swept open as swift as the wind, letting the advisor and the student stand in front of each other face-to-face. Von nodded his head again at the student, signaling them to follow him as he pushed his falling glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He walked gracefully, with both of his hands held tightly behind his back and his head raised high in pride. The student trailed after him, struggling to keep up with his pace.
"The young master is about two years younger than you are, so he is around your age. The empress hopes that you and her grandson will become good friends with each other." Von said in quick voice, not giving [Name] the chance to actually process the words he was saying.
The student nearly nodded their head at his words and kept their head down. Every guard or maid that the pair walked past, bowed their head down, and gave sympathetic looks towards the two. Obviously, [Name] was going to notice by the third or fourth time that they had done this.
"Mr.Alaric-Holloway, why is everyone giving us such pitiful looks?" they asked the him.
Von cocked his eyes towards the sound of [Name]'s question. "I suppose it is because of the rumour that the young master is a troubled child." Von pushed his falling glasses back up the bridge of his nose. [Name] nodded at his words and continued to follow his pace down marble walkway.
Finally the two came to a grandiose staircase with gold linings that supposedly lead to the prince's study.
A young girl stood at the very top of the stairwell.
She looked around a year younger than [Name], so possibly 17 years old. She was short but not too short. She had long golden, nearly glowing blonde hair that was tied into a flattering bun to the back of her head. She wasn't wearing any makeup, which was odd for a noble to do. Her eyelashes were blonde as well. She was also wearing what seemed to be a military training uniform. [Name] noted to themself that this woman looked like a sinister fairy. The only reason she seemed sinister was from the deep red eyes that was embedded into her sockets and the very real and very sharp sword being held in a leather scabbard attached to her left hip.
"Von, may I ask who this commoner is, who is trespassing into my home?" she quipped at the advisor.
Von kneeled on his right knee with his right hand covering his heart again. His face had a thin layer of sweat covering it as he stared intensely at the ground.
"Crown princess, Frieda. The commoner behind me is prince Beta's new tutor. They are here to assist the prince in a few academy subjects that he is having trouble grasping." Von answered in a wavering version of usual tone of voice.
'Wait... what did he say? Crown princess...?' thought [Name] as they stared blankly at the blonde woman.
'SHIT!'
Once they're sense of self preservation finally returned to them, [Name] fell to their knees and buried their head into the cold flooring.
The Crown princess stayed silent at the student's sudden movements. She gracefully walked down the flight of stairs, and stood infornt of [Name]'s bowing head.
"Please raise your heads you two." she commanded in a gentle but firm voice.
[Name] raised their head, only to see that the princess was kneeling infront of them. She held the student's jaw in her right hand and lifted it higher. She turned their head left and right, checking both sides of their face.
She then got back on both of her feet and looked down to the student with a grin. "Take good care of my little brother, alright?"
The student was stunned into silence, but quickly shook their head in agreement. Satisfied with their answer, the princess strieded away, down a seperate hallway from the pair and disappeared from their line of sight.
Von let out a what sounded to be a strangled out sigh of relief. He then whipped his head to look at [Name] with an odd look to his face. He then got up and helped the student back to their own feet, while their feet wobbled from how scared they were from the encounter.
Surely the prince couldn't be that bad if that was the CROWN princess?
He wasn't as bad as they had originally thought.
[Name] had introduced themself to the Sixteen year old prince of the empire, with no response.
He looked nearly identical to the Crown princess. Same glowing gold hair, same deep red hair. His skin wasn't tanned, rather it was a pale white colour, showing how little time he spent outside, the complete opposite of his sister.
The prince was quiet, scarily so. Whenever he was finished answering an exercise, he would look ominously at the young student until they noticed and would mark it for him and then explain how he got whichever answers wrong.
"Do you understand Prince Beta?" [Name] would ask.
The prince would then just nod at their words and write down his corrections next to his wrong answers.
The main sound that echoed throughout the study was the grandfather clock that stood in the corner, signaling the end and beginning of every second. [Name] almost every ten minutes would quickly whip their eyes towards the clock, checking to see when they could leave and run back to their dormitory back on school campus.
Once the Prince was finished with his exercises, he pulled out a thick, leatherback book from a drawer in his office desk. The lettering on the front read in gold cursive 'The rise and fall of cults.'
'Holy fucking shit. This brats' into cults' thought the student.
Instead of feeling an impending sense of neverending doom, they almost squeeled in absolute delight.
[Name][Lastname] was a true crime junkie.
Every murder mystery case, every cult, they knew all about it. The reasons as for the murders, the childhoods of the cult leaders. They. Knew. Everything.
The student cautiously stalked closer to the Prince, like how naive prey checks to see if it's predator is asleep. The Prince lifted his head from the inside of his book to look at the person coming closer and closer to him.
The student asked prudently, "Prince Beta, are you a fan of true crime?"
His eyes almost immediately grew a light in them that was not there before. His cheeks tinged a bit with pink as he looked curiously at the young student. "Are you?" he asked back.
Quickly, the student nodded their head aggressively, agreeing with the prince's question.
A smile stretched onto the boy's face almost immediately. "You are?! You don't think it's an odd interest?!" he screamed out.
[Name] nodded again with an even larger smile on their face. "Yes of course! I find true crime ever so fascinating! I'm even studying to go into criminology when I graduate!"
The Prince's eyes nearly sparkled like a small child's. He immediately got up from his chair and ran up to the young student. He wrapped his fingers around [Name]'s hands and brought them up in a clasp.
He then burst out in exclamation, "You, as of now, are my best friend!"
Being the new best friend of the only Prince of the Empire came with a lot of responsibilities. He now follows the commoner student around the academy grounds like a lost puppy. People had begun to whisper about how [Name] had cast some sort of spell on the prince to make him lighten up so much.
Because of his much more friendly nature, a lot of people had begun to approach him, hoping to become as close to the prince as [Name] did, but all he would do is wrap his arms around [Name]'s left arm and drag them away as he ranted away about a new cultist book he got his hands on a couple days ago.
At the end of the school day, [Name] went back to their dorm room to rest until dinnertime. They did not have to tutor Prince Beta that day since it was a Thursday, so [Name] was able to catch up on their loss of sleep.
They fell onto their creaky bed and groaned from the ache they felt in their bones. The young student shoved their head into the sunken-in pillow and nearly fell asleep.
Suddenly, a loud knock echoed throughout the small bedroom. [Name] groaned loudly again and got up to answer the person outside the door. The student opened their dorm door to be met with a maid in her early thirties. "Mail." she stated and then gently handed the student a neat envelope. That was unusual. Usually, the maids would shove their mail, tear it up, they would even spit on their mail. They did all of this just because the student was a commoner.
The maid walks away from the open doorway, leaving [Name] alone with their thoughts. They closed the door and stalked back to their small, wobbly desk.
The envelope was sealed with a ruby red seal, bearing the seal of the Imperial family. [Name] fingered the envelope open and took the letter out with soft fingers. The letter was written by the Crown princess, written in curly and swirly handwriting. It was an invitation to a small tea party with a couple of other noble ladies who were friends with the Crown princess.
[Name] wrote in simple print lettering a thanks and acceptance to the invitation. They licked and sealed it closed. The student then left to go to the on campus post office to send it to the Crown princess.
The student then went back to their dorm to go and try to fall asleep again.
[Name] stood outside the large glass greenhouse in the back garden of the Imperial palace. Abruptly, a young maid opened the door of the greenhouse to let the student enter.
"Welcome Mx.[Lastname]. The Crown princess has been waiting eagerly for you. Please follow me." greeted the maid as she bowed shallowly. [Name] nodded as well in greeting and followed behind the maid as quickly as they could.
The maid lead the young student through different sections of flowers ranging in shapes, sizes, and colour. What specifically caught [Name]'s attention was a small patch of pink Azaleas. 'How lovely.' thought [Name]
After a little bit more walking, the maid had lead the young student to an elevated seating area, where several tables and chairs were sprawled about.
The Crown princess sat at a table right in the middle. She was wearing a lovely red dress, with a cascading skirt that swept below her ankles. It had puffed out, see through red sleeves thst reached up too her knuckles. Her hair was tied up in a pretty up-do hairstyle, leaving little bit of hair hanging on her shoulders. Overall, she exuded an air of elegance and superiority.
Crown princess Frieda noticed that [Name] was standing on her left side, making her sweep her head in her direction. A small smile graced her face as she welcomed the student, "Good morning Mx.[Lastname], a pleasure to see you once again."
Frieda then stood up, showing her velvet red heels with a large diamond studded into the front of it. The princess pulled out the empty chair that was next to her, and gestured for them to sit down next to her. Understanding her intention, [Name] sluggishly walked up to the princess and sat down in the seat she wanted them to sit in.
The Crown princess sat back down in her original chair and sipped on her tea. Slowly, [Name] reached out and took a cookie from the large platter of baked goods. A maid came to the student's side and poured some tea into their cup as they nibbled on the sweet treat.
"So Mx.[Lastname], you are the commoner who attends the royal academy, correct?" quipped a young daughter of unnamed Baron. She placed her teacup back down in the saucer and with a smile, rested her smiling face on her intertwined fingers.
The student looked up from their cookie with a confused expression painted on their face. Recovering quickly from their confusion, they answered in shaky voice, "Indeed. I am able to attended the Royal Academy due to a scholarship I was gifted on my 16th birthday."
The baron's daughter giggled and whispered something into the woman's ear right next to her. The commoner looked down embarrassingly into their lap, wondering what they had said to warrant such a reaction from the other woman.
The Crown princess was sitting at the head of the table, her head held high, making everyone aware of her presence. The tutor sat on the seat on Frieda's left side, which definitely caused some stares from the other attendees. Definitely wasn't a good look for the poor tutor.
Frieda coughed into her clenched fist and looked at Alicia with a blank look on her face. "The honourable Alicia Crusainia. Please mind your manners towards my guest. Don't forget your place here."
Alicia's face became a bright, hot tomato red and looked down at her lap, similarly to the young student. "Mx. [Lastname]. Lift your head."
Almost under a spell, [Name] lifted their head from their lap and looked at the Crown princess in awe. Frieda was looking at [Name] with an odd looking face with her eyebrow raised. It was a mix of boredom and curiosity.
"You are my honored guest. My little brother treasures you quite a lot, therefore, so must I." She stated as if it was a well known fact.
"Yes, your royal highness." They said in a calm and deft tone.
Freida nodded her head, making her golden curls bounce. She then turned and took another sip of her tea.
"So, [Name]! How was the tea party with my sister?" questioned Beta during one of his and the student's tutoring sessions.
The student looked at Beta with a confused look on their face. "It was alright, nothing special happened." They answer the prince.
Looking confused, Beta's head knocked to the side. "Really? Because from what I heard, my sister ripped some Baron's daughter a new one for making fun of you!"
'Making fun of me? Was that what she was doing?' [Name] thought to themselves.
"It seems that you were unaware. Maybe I could ask my sister to invite you to balls more often so that you can get better at catching on to these things!" Beta suggests with a large smile on his face, proud of his brilliant idea.
"No no no no no! I could barely handle a simple tea party! No way I'll be able to survive a ball where I have to dance!" [Name] panicked.
The prince pouted at their words, disappointed in their answer. He slumps over his desk and makes his head fall into the crook of his arms. His blonde hair fell over his arms, looking like a veil over his arms.
"Mhm.... I mean.... if you can convince your sister, and I don't have to dance... then I'll agree." [Name] softly said, scratching the back of their neck in nervousness.
Beta's head immediately shot up and with an absolutely large smile, he nodded aggressively convincing the student that he may be half bobble head.
"Then you will come to my birthday ball, right?"
[Name] answered, "Of course your majesty."
The student then sat down across from the young prince with their textbook and continued on with their lesson.
After the lesson was completed, [Name] was walking steadily through the velvet covered floors of the castle's hallways. The student placed their hands on the back of their neck and rubbed tough circles into the nape of their neck, relaxing their muscles after two and a half hours of being on the tip of their toes. Even though Prince Beta had claimed them as their best friend, [Name] still stayed on guard around him, just incase he was the type to have extreme mood swings.
[Name] groaned in pleasure as they passed through another hallway of the residential wing of the Imperial castle.
"Mx.[Lastname], have you finally finished your lesson with my brother?" a voice asked behind the student.
The student whipped their head around and caught the eyes of the young Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess was wearing a light cream colored dress with many flowy layers that what [Name] assumed was to let wind in more easily to cool the princess down.
"Your Royal Highness, you are correct. I have just finished mine and the prince's tutoring session." answered the student with a cautious look on their face.
Frieda giggled maturely at the look of [Name]'s wary expression. "Have no worry Mx.[Lastname], I don't bite." she joked.
They nodded at the Princess's words.
"Then why don't you join me in my office for some tea? I'd like to discuss something of importance with you." she proposed.
The student nodded, making the princess walk past their side and leading them towards the direction of her office. The pair walked past several paintings of similar blonde haired individuals, who the student assumed was members of the Imperial family who had unfortunately passed.
The two came to two large wood doors that lead to Frieda's office. One of the guards who were standing on duty, opened the doors for the pair to let them in.
[Name] realised that the Crown princess' favourite colour was a red and gold. Many of the furniture was lined with a deep velvet including the long curtains with gold linings and stitches. The only things that were not those two colours were the floor, her desk and her book shelves that lined every wall of the office.
In the middle of the room were two overstuffed couches with a coffee table in the middle, most likely to hold meetings such as the one the student and princess were about to have.
"Tell Isabella to prepare some tea for my guest and I. Also tell her to bring some of the new pastries we received from the Levan kingdom." The princess ordered one of the knight, making him turn is tail and gallop to where [Name] guessed was where the maid was.
"Please Mx.[Lastname], take a seat." Frieda says while gesturing to the couch.
With unprecedented caution, they shift over to the sofa and sit down and nearly sink in due to cushiness. The princess giggle from their distress as they tried to sit up in the embracing seat.
A maid enters the office with a cart being pushed by her. Ontop was a large teapot and two teacups with saucers. On the level below it was a tower of pastries which [Name] recognised from it's appearance at the tea party from the day before.
The maid sets the teacups and saucers down in front of the pair and quickly prepares the tea and pastries. She then curtsys to the Crown princess, bows her head at the young student, turns on her heel and leaves.
Frieda languidly picks the teacup up and takes a long sip of the steaming hot tea. While [Name] is wandering how the princess is not reacting to the pain of the most definitely hot beverage, Frieda speaks up, "I have asked you to come here with me today because I would like to apologise to you."
She places the teacup down in it's saucer and looks and [Name] with a sympathetic look on her face. "What the honorable Alicia Crusainia did at my tea party was extremely rude and uncaring. She simply has no idea how tough one's life can be."
[Name] stunded in silence. Why was the Crown princess apologising to a commoner like them? Not wanting to deny the princess' words, the student looked down into the light brown of their tea and said, "It's alright. Honestly speaking, I didn't even understand what she had said, so I didn't feel anything."
Frieda looks surprised at their words. "But aren't you the top student at the Royal Academy? How could you not know?" She questioned.
They look embarrassed as they quickly answer, "I am just book smart! And I honestly have a lot of trouble applying my knowledge in real-life situations. I read a royal etiquette book before I left for the palace, but it honestly didn't come in very handy..." they muttered off.
The Crown princess' face morphed into a look of conviction. "Then, after school every day when you don't have to tutor Beta, you will spend it with me, and I will teach you everything you need to know about social cues, etiquette, conversations, everything!" the princess says in a voice that screamed determined.
Nearly jumping out of their chair, [Name] tries to plead that the princess did not need to go out of her way to teach a commoner. The princess merely ignored them and gently ordered them to eat the prepared pastries.
Now the young student's weekly schedule would consist of every Monday, Wednesday and Friday being spent tutoring Beta, and every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday being tutored by the Crown princess. They would almost always leave the palace absolutely drained of their energy, a mere husk of their former self as they rode the carriage baring the Imperial coat of arms back to the dorm houses on the school campus.
The days were feeling longer and longer as Beta's birthday ball's date came closer and closer. The blonde prince would chat with the young student about anything and everything that came to his mind. The friendship between the two of them had become even stronger than before for no particular rhyme or reason. Beta would lug behind them during school hours, despite not being in the same year, and would frighten off the little amount of friends that the student would have had before the prince.
Soon enough, Beta's birthday ball came up.
A formal invitation had already been sent to them, written personally by the spry prince himself in loopy lettering.
The student got dressed in the most formal clothes they had on hand. Sure it was a bit tattered and a few small holes were sprinkled on the ends, but it would be fine as long as no one looked at them! And besides, they're a commoner! They are probably just going to sit in the corner of the hall and only get up to get more food and drinks.
With that plan in mind, the student climbed carefully into the imperial branded carriage once again and rode off to the party.
Soon enough, the young student arrived at the Imperial palace. They stumbled out of the carriage and brisket walked into the large building, not wanting to be noticed by the announcer so that they could hide away as best as can from the nobles attending the ball that night.
They had finally reached the banquet hall, entering and hiding away from plain sight from the noblesmen and women.
"Now then! Announcing the entrance of Crown Princess Frieda Köinig and Prince Beta Köinig!" announced a high ranking servant from the top of the large staircase in the middle of the banquet hall.
The entire hall was decked to the nines with red, gold and white. The diamonds hanging from the chandelier were burning even more brighter than what the young student assumed was usual. Long banquet tables were lined with finger foods of all varieties.
A servant walked up to the scholar and offered them a tall flute of champagne. Gingerly, they took the glass off the tray, making the servant walk away, and taking a few sips and proceeding to nearly lurch it out from the taste. Okay, they are definitely not a fan of champagne, duley noted.
In that moment, the Crown Princess and the prince entered through the doors at the top of the stairs. Beta held his elder sister's hand in his as he lead her down the stairs. All of the noblemen and women stared in awe of the siblings.
Beta was wearing a lovely white suit with light red and blue jewels sprinkled all of the jacket. He wore blue cufflinks and large rubies were studded into the edges of his collar. This was a big upgrade from the white tunic and black pants he wore during their tutoring sessions, or the navy blue military styled uniform they wear at the academy.
Frieda looked stunning as usual. She was wearing a new cream coloured ball gown, embedded with small diamonds across the fabric. Elbow length gloves covered her arms and gold sleeper rings were slid up her fingers, making them glimmer in the chandelier light. A floral styled tiara sat on top of her head, the same coloured diamonds were set in it as well.
The siblings came to the end of the staircase and gracefully smiled at the crowd. Frieda and Beta were quickly surrounded by the stuffy noblemen and women. [Name] stood aside and stayed out of sight of the siblings.
Beta leaned into Frieda's ear and whispered something to her. His words made the princess look around, almost frantically. The curls in her hair bounce from the movement of her head. Frieda quickly caught the eyes of the commoner, making a graceful smile spread onto her face. She tapped Beta's upper arm and pointed into [Name]'s direction, whispering something into his ear. All of this happened while the said student was slowly sipping on their champagne and gazing outside the stained coloured window.
Frieda and Beta walked past all the noble people, making them gasp and quiet down immediately. "[Name]! You're really here!" announced Beta as he unhooked his sister's hand from his arm.
Frieda smiled in happiness from the sight of Beta speaking animatingly with his tutor. "I am quite glad to see you here Mx.[Lastname]. I hope that you have so far been having a good time."
[Name] nodded at the Princess's words with a chuckle. "I have. No need to worry your royal majesty." Frieda nodded at their words and let her younger brother control the way the current conversation is going.
The cusp of the birthday ball was on it's way. Everyone was jovial and talkative. Frieda had left [Name] and Beta to themselves to that she could converse with the other invitees. Beta stuck to [Name]'s side like usual.
The duo had moved closer to the end of the hall, nearer to the food lined banquet table.
Suddenly, a loud trumpet sounded through the hall, bringing attention to a well dressed servant standing at the end of the staircase. Frieda stood in the middle of the staircase, her dress flowed down the stairs like a flowing river.
Frieda with a calming smile, announced, "I would like to present my gift to my little brother. He and I had a long discussion together about what would be the best present for his birthday. And I would like to present to you all what I had come up with. But first, I would like [Name] [Lastname] to come near the front."
[Name] stood in fear from the sound of their name leaving the princess' lips.
'Shitshitshitshitshitshit.' thought [Name] while they cautiously approached the front of the thick crowd of loudly dressed nobles. When the commoner finally reached the front of the crowd, they stood there, shifting there weight from foot to foot, shivering under the eyes of the Crown princess.
Soon enough, the princess signals at someone from behind her to do something. The large doors open up and a young woman comes tumbling out. An imperial guard grabs what little left of her brown, wet hair and roughly shoves her down the stairs. She stops rolling conveniently infront of [Name]'s feet, dirtying it with blood from a large gash on her right cheek.
Frieda climbs down the stairs and grabs the girl's hair and forces her head up to look into [Name]'s terrified eyes.
"Do you remember this girl Beta?" questioned the Crown princess, looking at her younger brother who was standing right next to his tutor. Beta looked down in awe at the beaten and bruised girl kneeling infront of him and [Name]. He then leaps from his tutor's side and falls into his sister's embrace. "Thank you thank you thank you! Oh, I love this present so so much!"
The young student stared at the bloodied girl with a look of terror in their eyes. This girl looked so oddly familiar. As if they had seen her before.
"Who is this girl, may I ask your royal majesty?" asked the tutor, not looking away from the nearly catatonic girl.
"This, my dear, is the honorable Alicia Crusainia, the one who had made fun of you at my tea party two months ago." answered the princess in a matter of factly tone of voice.
'Holy fucking shit she's fucking crazy!'
Beta made a nearly inaudible squeeling noise of happiness and quickly when back to [Name]'s side. "Now I get to take care of her properly for making fun of you! Aren't you so excited!?"
A thick sheet of sweat covered [Name]'s face as they stared down at their bloodied shoes. Frieda took notice of this action and nearly flung herself to [Name]'s side when she saw the blood on their shoes.
Frieda stomped on Alicia's head making her lower her head for the commoner.
"Now then, let's discuss our future from this time onward. How about we begin with giving you a proper title and moving you into the palace with my little brother and I"
