Chapter 229 Introductions
“Okay, you three! Come over here!” the Redhead said self importantly, arms crossed and looking around at the other girls that came in after her.
“Alright. It’s time we decided on who is the group leader here! And I think it’s obvious that it should be me.” Sounding like it was only a matter of course. “We should also decide on how to split the male amongst us fairly. We can’t be fighting over him, we have to establish a proper order if we want to do this right. As well as rules on how to treat him.”
She moved a piece of stray hair from her head. “And in case anyone disagrees… My mother graduated from here with top marks! And I did my homework about this place thoroughly before arriving. I’ve studied everything there is to know about this school! If any one of you wants to graduate from this school, you should listen to me. I’m Kira from House Bloodmoon. And my family has had a long history of graduating amongst the top scorers of this academy!”
“Now that that’s over with. I’m going to lay down some ground rules-”
“Hold on!” Arkina said. Interrupting the girl. Making Kira frown and give a glare towards their group.
“You can’t just pass Van off like that! Van’s Luna’s Husband!” Arkina explained angrily. With Luna giving her own glare in turn.
Kira looked taken aback and genuinely surprised. “What kind of idiot brings their own husband to school?” she exclaimed in disbelief. Some of the other girls behind her muttered in agreement. Already looking disappointed that the only male in the group was taken and wondering if they should have joined another group while they had the chance. Sadly for them, the other groups were completely full…
Kira, still a little surprised, tried to reassert herself. “Well… Even if he’s her husband. She should have known better than to bring him here! What was she thinking of bringing a male in a female-dominated school!? If I were you, I'd share him around in exchange for protection from the rest of the school trying to jump down his pants! Or you know… NOT BRING HIM AT ALL!” looking strangely mad for some reason.
Arkina returned the anger. “What gives you the right to decide how a couple wants to do things! Van and Luna are inseparable!”
Van appreciated Arkina’s standing up for them, but I was a little worried that she also might be making it worse…
“I know that our chance to use our only male to bargain with is off the table!” Kira shot back. “I know that now we have to protect a liability now! If there was one thing I’ve learned from my sister, it is that the weakest group usually gets bullied around! And in case you haven’t noticed, we are only nine when we should be twelve! Maybe when the rest of the students that the guide said were coming later will fix that when they join the only dorm with any room left. But that’s no guarantee!”
After this, Arkina and Kira began to argue hard back and forth. To the point, Van couldn’t really keep track anymore. He decided to use this time to check Kira out and the other girls real quick.
Kira, now that he was taking a closer look. Was a bit smaller than he realized. He would even say she was about an inch or two shorter than even Luna! Who was very small for a vampire. She had bright red hair in small ringlets that passed over her shoulders. She had sharp features and fiery yellowish-red eyes. She had an impressive bust for her size, but nothing on Luna, though her thighs were a bit thicker.
“Alright you two, cut it out~” The student next to Kira spoke out to stop Arkina and Kira from their slowly growing shouting match.
She introduced herself as Merody. She is was a tall well filled out woman with slight ara ara vibes. Big butt, big boobs, with very elegant features, and blue hair and eyes. “I think we all just got off the wrong foot here~ maybe we should introduce each other? I’ll go first.”
“Hello~ I'm Merody, from house Bluemoon! As you can probably guess… I'm Kira’s cousin!” Stating it like it was a fact. Though it only served for the other students to compare and contrast the two side by side…
“I know my cousin can come off as a bit overbearing and arrogant… but she really just means the best! She’s just worried for your male is all and has a hard time expressing it~ Can you please forgive her~ just look at how cute she is~ how can you not forgive a cutie like her~?” lifting Kira up into a big hug and holding her like a teddy bear, snuggling her without restraint.
“P-put me down! Let go!” Kira struggled and complained. “Don’t put words in my mouth!”
Honestly though… Van could somewhat see it… now that he thought about it, Kira did seem very nervous about taking charge, though she hid it well. On the train platform, she was mad about the careless disregard for the student’s lives. Then she got mad about Van being brought into a den of horny women, saying his wife should have known better… Perhaps even that the whole spiel about dividing him was another way of her trying to take control of the situation before the other girls abused him? That way she could regulate what the girls would do to him… maybe… But he couldn’t be sure just because someone that looked kindly said so…
“Indeed.” A third voice spoke up.
A young student with light brown hair and even lighter yet brighter brown eyes stepped forward. She had a heart-shaped face and a kind and wise expression, with soft baby-like features. She held her hand clasped in front of her, holding a beautifully designed fan, and walked with measured steps and carried herself with relaxed and confident grace. She was about the same height as Luna, though maybe an inch or two taller.
“We aren't barbarians, nor are we so low born as to jump every male our sights lay on.” Her voice was like sweet honey, and she proudly stepped forward to take center stage. “I am Cerina Taldor. And I welcome you all to my father’s and mother’s academy.” She stood straight, a smile barely constrained as if just mentioning the fact made her proud of her bloodline.
Suffice to say… Everyone was taken aback by that.
And having achieved the center of attention she began to introduce each and everyone else. As if she was some sort of important host or announcer, and seemed to take great joy in it too…
“Now that we have introduced ourselves, I'll explain why your worries about bullying Van here are unfounded…” she began.
She then began to point around at the remaining students that went unannounced. “That over there is Serena Shadefall.” Using her fan to gesture at the tall sporty looking girl with short black hair that had a blue stripe going down one side, with blue eyes and looking adorably tomboyish. She was surprised by being called out.
“And those two over there are the twins Astre and Astra Starwoven.” Now pointing at the two remaining students. Who were the youngest looking amongst their group. One had white hair and red eyes, while the other had black hair and silver eyes.
They gave each other a quick glance as they held hands, not enjoying being put in the center of attention.
Cerina twirled around, now pointing at Luna. “That there is Luna Moonshadow, Van’s wife.”
Then pointed to Arkina. “And that…” She paused for a fraction of a second so quickly no one else noticed but for one certain person… hiding a smile she continued on. “That is Arkina Volturi.”
She turned to try and keep the entire group now in her vision as she addressed all of them. “Each one of you are from an important and distinguished backgrounds. The Blood and Blue Moon households are important backers of house Taldor, and have for the longest time out of other houses, defended Alcray from the wastes. To the point they could be considered the generals of the East!”
“House Shadefall produces some of the most important warriors, scouts and rangers for the army, who also hunt down stray monsters that cross the wall and go on year long expeditions into the waste and beyond. With a long and reputable history that can’t be denied.”
“House Starwoven are the largest suppliers of military weapons to the east, and most importantly, are the greatest researchers probably in the world. Providing and innovating new techniques, spells, potions, scrolls and more that make our lives easier and managing and leading an army more efficiently.”
“House Volturi came from a long line of Vampire Knights. One of the top ten and known for their martial and intellectual prowess. They have defended the wall since it was first built…”
Her eyes finally settled on Van.
“Vanris Vransolis… started from humble beginnings as the son and heir of a small barony. Slowly wed himself up to the husband and heir of a decent-sized county… And is now the husband of Duchess Rosalyn herself. Or should I say… Archduchess Rosalyn…”
Gasps were heard from the other girls, eyes going wide as they stared at Van.
He knew they would find out eventually… but not like this… he was on the fence on whether it was better to pull the bandage all at once or not… though now that option was taken out of his hands.
Cerina smiled. “That’s not all… Van’s friend. Who he was with before we parted ways was Seral Umbra. And yes… that Umbra…”
Even more shocked surprises were had. And it seemed Cerina was eating it all up. Giving everyone a beaming smile. “Not just him, but everyone here in this dorm and the others right next to it are from very important houses from all over Alcray. Can you guess what that means?” she asked playfully.
Van was confused. When it came to him like a lightning bolt. “The exchange students…” he whispered to himself, though he was surprised to find he was overheard by Cerina.
“Exactly!” Snapping her fan towards him, looking like he just won the prize. She then turned to Kira. “The exchange students” she repeated so as to make sure everyone heard. “So as you can see, there is no need to worry about Van’s wellbeing. Everyone here, and who will be here, are from some very important backgrounds…”
“And… to make things a little interesting… why don’t we hold off on choosing a group leader… just until the other students come… it’s only fair that everyone gets a vote… right? Any questions?” She looked around at the stunned expressions of everyone around her.
She took a few well-deserved seconds to enjoy her work, taking their silence that there was nothing they wanted to ask. “Good! Now. It's getting late. I’ve booked myself a very nice restaurant… Does anyone want to come and join me? I would be awfully lonely there all by myself…” Fluttering her eyes wide as if she was a puppy asking for pets. “No? Just me? Come on… there has to be at least one of you interested…”
Van and the others looked at each other, as the other girls did the same awkwardly. Not fully knowing what to say or do in this situation
“Hey Kira…” Merody said softly. “Did you ever expect something like this when you first stepped off the train?”
“Merody… I wasn’t expecting to be slapped when I first came here. How in the world would I expect something like this!?” Kira shot back.
In the end… there was not much choice… in order to get their answers…
---
It turned out. Van and those in his room weren’t the only ones invited… Him and Seral were able to meet far sooner than expected. They were sitting next to each other, eating a very well-made meal on the twentieth floor of a nearby megadome.
Cerina was talking to some pompous-looking girl who obviously thought herself too big for the seat she was sitting in. “I should have known it was you. I almost didn’t notice you outside of that dress you always wear.” Talking to Cerina as if she knew her for a long time.
Cerina rolled her eyes. “Oh please, Tabitha. I was right with you the entire time and you didn’t notice. Too busy trying to pimp out your butler no doubt. I mean seriously? How low can you go… bringing in a male because you're afraid you can’t get some, then using him to try and cheat your way into others' good graces or to tie others down to you. You do know after school ends… friendships and allies under false pretenses tend to not hold up after everyone leaves for home… right?” taking a sip of her wine glass, looking bored and deflated, a stark contrast from her previous demeanor. As if this Tabitha sucked all the fun out of her life.
Tabitha sniffed disdainfully. “As if you would understand. I haven’t seen you with a male in… well forever!” She brought out a fan and hid her lower face. “Are you finally going to admit you're just a scared little virgin?”
“Better than being some slut…” Cerina muttered, she then gave her own disdainful sniff, rolling her eyes away. “And as if you have the right to talk, being a non virgin is the only thing you have over me. Let’s face it. You and your family have always tried to catch up to house Taldor. You're only a little older than me, and yet you waited how long before you finally went to school? It wasn’t until I was going that you decided it was time to… face it, you're always going to play catch up.”
“If we're talking about catching up. Then what about you and house Umbra? You weren’t even born until it was found out Seral was. You also were held back by your parents, just for this day… face it… your house is also trying to catch up… just like you are…” Tabitha needled.
The two girls then gave each other a glare. It was like two sparks of cold lightning shot between their eyes as they began to give a chilling effect upon the rest of the restaurant.
Van, Seral, and everyone else continued to eat in silence, pretending nothing was happening and regretting ever accepting the invitation.
“You know… I don’t recall inviting you… Tabitha…” Cerina’s voice dripped with spite.
“You're not the only one that can buy out a restaurant. Cerina… and I just so happened to have bought out this entire floor. I was just being kind to a friend and allowed her little pity party to continue. Is it so wrong to then want to join in? For old time's sake?” Tabitha replied, a fake smile plastered on her face.
“You really are too much Tabitha… did you seriously buy out the entire floor for the day. Just so you could do this?” Cerina glared.
“Of course!” Tabitha responded with a bit of smugness. Not at all above doing something so petty, and in fact, sounding proud of it.
Cerina sighed whole bodily. “Fine… have it your way.” She lifted her wine glass and cleared her throat, standing up so as to get everyone's attention.
“I just wanted to thank everyone for coming today.” She said from the head of the table, looking down the long line of students. “I know some of you have traveled far, to which I thank you for making the time and commitment to partake in our academy. I promise you, you will have stories to say after your time here. I wish to start off this school year right, and hope that we can all work together to make worthwhile memories that will last a lifetime.”
She then continued on with her speech for a while. Mostly talking about how she hoped to bring all the houses here together in sisterhood and a bunch of other stuff.
If Van had to be honest. She was an amazing orator, and her speech was very inspiring.
“-and with that, a toast! To old friends and new!” She gave a well-practiced smile and downed her drink. The other students clapped, also pretending what just transpired between her and Tabitha hadn’t happened, and took a few gulps of their own wine glasses. Some of the frosty aura from before, seemingly disappeared.
Van and Seral were also looking a little more hopeful. Perhaps things can work out, even if the beginning was a little rocky…
One could only hope…
