Grieves nudged the man who had forced the door open to the side and looked at Zack. “Do you want to talk about whatever happened here now or on the way to the school?”

“Let’s do it on the way, but you know we haven’t packed anything yet. We were going to do that later today,” Zack informed them, awkwardly running a hand through his hair.

“That’s fine, I brought some of my unit along just in case.” He stepped inside first, followed closely by three fit men and a lean, wiry woman who looked like she could take them all on at the same time and win. “Pack up everything, but the furniture! The commander expects us at the academy this evening. I want to be headed back there within two hours.”

Zack blinked, processing what the man had just said. “The school is fine with Zara coming with me?”

Grieves nodded and pushed him to the side as one of his men ran back out the door to fetch some boxes.

Zara poked a sleepy head around the door to his room and looked out at them. “What’s going on, did they get in?”

“No, it’s just the man from the military that we met yesterday. They are here to pack up the apartment and take us to the school, so go get dressed.” Zack reassured her while looking sideways at the sergeant to make sure what he was saying was correct.

There was a returning nod. “We’ll be traveling for several hours; I would suggest that you both get changed into something comfortable. Also, you may wish to pack a bag with anything that you will need in case you are unable to unpack in time tonight.” He looked Zack in the eye and spoke in a firm voice. “We will discuss what happened here last night once we are underway.”

***

Zara had changed out of her security pajamas for the trip; predictably, however, Zelda and George had come with them and were sitting on either side of her inside the large mana-driven carriage. It was different from the shiny Vortex carriage that Zack had spotted outside the construction office before. This one was made to carry more than the four or five people that could fit in those machines.

It was smaller than the one they had ridden in when they were first rescued years before. That one had been referred to as a troop transport carriage. The soldier sitting up front beside the woman who was driving it had referred to it as a caravan carriage. In the back were the few boxes of clothes and other items that the brother and sister duo wanted to bring with them to the school.

Grieves waited until they were underway before bringing the matter from earlier up again. “Now, explain to me what happened last night that had you blocking the door in case whatever happened, happened.”

Zack was unsure of the best way to answer that question. Did he tell the man everything about how he used to work for the local gang? Or was it better to just mention them meeting the messenger in the marketplace? If he did that, though, it might make them wonder why the gang knew of him in the first place.

He took a breath, and after turning away from the window, decided to go with a modified version of the truth. “It was one of the local gangs that did it. Yesterday, Zara and I were approached by a messenger while we were out shopping. From what he was saying, there had been a recent change in their leadership, and the new leader had heard about my test results. He didn’t say how, but I gathered it was the recruiter from Albion Traveler’s Academy doing. As I’m sure you gather from what he was saying yesterday, he went around, letting everyone know I had been blacklisted. It wouldn’t be hard to put the two together.”

The sergeant’s gaze sharpened, as though he didn’t quite believe the young man. He nodded after a few seconds, “And they what, came to forcefully take you away after I’m assuming you refused?”

“We saw them tailing us after we left the market with our groceries. When I saw them hanging around the apartment building last night, I figured the odds were good that they would try something.” Zack looked back to where Zara was sleeping, pressed against George. “You’re sure that whichever school you are taking us to is fine with her being there as well?”

“The Major personally took care of it. I wasn’t told if she will be allowed to attend classes, but her living there with you is not a problem. Her food has been taken care of as well, though from what I understand the two of you will be working part time each night for extra money.”

The teen let out a relieved breath and smiled. “I’m fine with working. As long as they don’t try to separate us, I’m fine with anything.”

The look in the man’s eye softened as he continued. “On a different note, you are aware that this is not going to be easy for you, right? The faculty has been mostly taken care of, but the other students will look down on you and your sister for whatever menial reason they can conjure up. The children of nobles will be the worst I imagine, while the normal ones will be content to avoid you and any trouble that would have come from the association.”

“I am,” Zack answered softly, glancing back at Zara, who was talking with Zelda and George. “They’ll learn soon enough not to mess with us. Words are fine. I won’t retaliate for those. Actions are a different story; I won’t risk us being taken advantage of by refusing to react to their provocations.”

The sergeant frowned and then nodded. “If that is what you are determined to do, then make sure that any actions you do take close the issue for good. Just don’t go too far overboard.”

“I know, I won’t do anything that will risk us being separated.”

***

The sun was high overhead and beginning to dip towards the horizon when the gates and fence that surrounded the academy came into view. It was only then that the siblings learned which school they would be attending. The group of military personnel seemed to have gotten a kick out of refusing to tell them.

Albion Traveler’s Academy, the same one the recruiter that had caused so many problems, worked for.

“What about the man from yesterday?” Zara asked from behind them, looking concerned.

“He was already let go,” The woman driving them spoke up for the first time the entire trip. “Apparently, you were not the first prospective student he had caused troubles for, though you may be the most serious. None of the others had a local gang trying to come after them.”

The gates were pulled open by a guard stationed in a small building to the side, who waved them through without delay.

Zack was growing increasingly confused by everything, and them being waved through was just the icing on the proverbial cake. Albion Traveler’s Academy was a well-known school. It was one of the top ones in the country, if not the top one. Yet their carriage and all its occupants had just been waved through without even a check of identification. It didn’t make sense to him.

There was something more going on than they had been told.

He thought about it for a moment and then mentally shrugged. It wasn’t a bad thing for them if the military or this mysterious Major and his squad were associated with the school. It might even be useful for when he inevitably got in trouble.

The sergeant had been right in that regard. They were going to be teased and bullied by those who incorrectly thought they were better than Zara and him. It would be a rough beginning for them, without a doubt. His schooling likely lagged behind what the people here had been taught, so his grades would be abysmal. To those teasing them, it would be further proof that they were better.

It wouldn’t be until they were allowed to go through the portals again that he would be able to truly prove them wrong. Until then, they would have to endure and push back as much as they could.

“How closely related to the academy is the military?” Zack asked them as the carriage came to a stop in front of a large dormitory building. The stone exterior gleamed white in the areas not covered by the green and red creeping vines that were prevalent on all the older school buildings.

Grieves snapped his head around to look at him before slowly smiling. “If you had asked me that question yesterday, I would have said not at all. Now, I don’t know.” He winked and threw open his door. “Welcome to the Albion Traveler’s Academy, our country’s premier training ground for future travelers.”

The doors to the dorm building opened and a matronly woman with a severe scowl pasted across her face appeared.