“Ahh you must be the young Batvi’s that will be joining the academy this year,” the boy said as we entered the room. He was lounging on a pure white recliner while dressed in a purple and gold toga. Scrolls and books were strewn around him. The room, like much of the palace was accented built with white marble, accented with light blues and gold. He rose to his feet to greet us when we entered. “My brother has told me all about your family, though shouldn’t you two be accompanied by a boy around my age, a Gettorix?” He asked.

“That would be me, your highness,” I replied with my hand instinctively rubbing my temples. I knew I looked like a girl, at least to the central nobles. The imperial court and the center of the empire usually followed Arretian customs, meaning men kept their faces cleanly shaven while their hair was cut short. In imperial fashion, the prince before us only sported a few inches of blonde hair. With my unisex religious robes, the long-braided hair, the flowers, and the face paint; obviously, anyone not familiar with the tiny sect of Lysians would think that.

“M-my apologies, it seems I’ve not said three whole sentences before insulting you,” he said. It seemed sincere as the kid’s face turned a little red with embarrassment.

“Understand we take no offense, your Highness, but we just left our Dryad’s Grove and will be dressed like this for the rest of the day,” I explained. That didn’t seem to assuage his fears.

“And now I’ve insulted your cult with my lack of knowledge,” He bemoaned. Then he straightened himself out before saying, “Ok, ok, how about we start over. It is great to meet our benefactor’s family. My brother Caldus is busy at the moment. I am Julian, and I will be your host for the time being.” On the way in the servants had explained as much. Caldus was part of the reason Father became a knight of the purple, as he had saved the kids life. Caldus had also spent a few months with our family while visiting the warfront afterwards.

“We greet the ninth star of the empire,” Larissa and I said in unison. I had only learned the basics of imperial etiquette in the last month, though with the way this is going no one would have noticed any mistakes I made.

“I am Larissa, and this is my younger brother Gettorix,” she said, introducing us. At that, he motioned for us to join him on the recliners.

“Have you eaten yet? I was just thinking of a snack,” he asked as we got settled. I hadn’t really thought much about food all day. Yet just now I was struck at how we hadn’t eaten all day and it was getting closer to dinner than lunch.

“We might need more than a snack,” replied Larissa, echoing my thoughts. Julian nodded and called one of the attendants in the area to bring something substantial.

“You may not wish to eat too much at the moment,” he cautioned. “There is a late dinner party Caldus is preparing in the garden tonight and it would be great if you joined.”

“We are quite tired from our journey,” I replied. It wasn’t exactly a lie. The trip was tough though with our superhuman recovery speed, it hadn’t been that taxing.

“What type of party?” Larissa asked.

“It’s a simple dinner with music and dancing in the garden. Many of the students staying in the capital over the break were invited,” he replied. “It would be a great opportunity to ease into the Academy’s social life.”

“That is a good opportunity for the both of us,” replied Larissa.

“I’m not sure we are dressed for the occasion, sister,” I stated through gritted teeth.

“What are you talking about, we’re wearing fine robes,” she replied. She looked genuinely confused. I suppose our chat in the carriage about femininity hadn’t gotten through to her. “Prince Julian, have you thought about your classes for the year?” She said, turning her attention back to the prince.

“Yes, as you can see I was just doing some preliminary studying,” He replied. As he said that though, the servants had arrived with the food. The capital being a port town, had fish as regular dishes. The meal was no exception as it was some type of cooked fish served over hardened bread with tomatoes.

“What electives are you taking?” I asked, after finishing my first taste of the dish. First-year students were expected to take mathematics, oration, morals, and practical magic. The curriculum was catered to, hopefully, making good leaders. There were two slots set aside for electives.

“I’ve decided on History, but I haven’t chosen a second yet.”

“I was also thinking of taking History,” I declared. I was interested to see what studying history was like in this world. Most of the books on the topic back in the Roose had been terribly elemental, mostly casting history as a narrative of events and relying on great man theory. I doubted the academy would be different, though there was still a chance. “My second choice is the combat course, maybe you would be interested in that as well?” I offered.

“I’ve never been much of a fighter,” he replied. It’s true, he didn’t look like much. He was shorter than me, with the type of skinny-soft body you often see in academia. “I’ve got eight brothers who can lead the armies in the field, so it’s never been a priority for me,” he explained. And I thought the Batvis’ had a large family. It was one thing to call him the ninth prince, it was another to be reminded that there were eight older brothers.

“Maybe an administrative or engineering class would interest you; back at the field academy they were always begging for trainee officers to pay more attention to those fields of studies,” said Larissa.

“That is a good idea, what classes have appealed to you?” He asked.

“I am still planning on entering the military despite the transfer, so I chose mostly martial classes,” she replied. “There is one issue though, I never took a magics course in the field, so I was placed in practical magics,” she explained.

“I see how it may be awkward to take a magics course with first years,” Julian offered.

“That isn’t the issue. Neither Getti nor I will be able to fulfill the requirements of the class, as we can’t actively use the magic required by the final examination,” She explained. The final had a theoretical portion and a portion on casting spells. The practical side was, for most people, incredibly easy. One simply needed to conjure certain specified effects, a small flame, some electricity, etc, etc.

“My apologies, once again, I’ve forgotten such an important thing about your people, hopefully, you will be able to come up with a solution,” he said.

“Yes, I am hoping to get this squared away before the year starts. Now, is Caldus still preparing for the party?” She asked.

Julian nodded and said, “he will most likely be in the rear garden.”

“Do you think it would be too much trouble if I met him out there?” she asked, a glint in her eyes.

Julian thought for a moment, then said “I do not believe so, he only asked me to entertain so as not to be rude to you.”

“Good, then I shall excuse myself,” she replied. In response, Julian asked for an attendant to lead the way. Larissa practically raced away. It was odd to see my usually stoic sister so excited.

“Would you care for a tour of the place?” Julian asked after she left the room. We had finished eating by then and the servants were clearing the plates. I readily accepted. The architecture of the palace was beautiful and I saw more than a few priceless art pieces on the walk-in.

The tour wasn’t disappointing in that sense. There were panel paintings, mosaics, frescos, busts, and many water pieces. Julian was a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge when it came to all of them. He knew the artists, described the subjects, and even had good anecdotes on many of them. While I often didn’t recognize the scenes or busts on sight. Once he told me about them, I was able to include my earthly knowledge of Aurelia in our discussions. In fact, we got along great. Julian reminded me of, well a younger me.

“And finally, this is a bust of Azzibaal, the great general from Kyrene and Aurelian’s greatest rival,” explained. We had just stopped at the white bodyless statue of a young elvish man with curly hair. “After he was captured and defeated, the Arretians gave him the choice of his own death or the razing of Kyrene.”

I smiled. This was an important plot point from one of Jaimie’s first books, so I knew a lot about the topic. “Would you like to know a fun theory?” I offered.

“Like? I would love to hear it.”

“Azzibaal didn’t commit suicide, but instead became Pilles after offering his support to Aurelian,” I said. Technically, this wasn’t a theory. In the older novels, Aurelian had become the de facto ruler of Arretia during the war effort with Azzibaal, as the latter had more or less wiped out most of the Arretia’s high command in a series of stunning victories. Thus, Aurelian had the authority to stop the sack of Kyrene and instead force it to submit, but only if Azzibaal became his strategist.

“That’s preposterous! Pilles was the adopted son…” Exclaimed Julian before trailing off. “That is very interesting, I will have to do some research on his biological family,” he continued.

“Its just an amusing theory, but haven't you ever questioned why Pilles only became a prominent member of Aurelian's party after the war?,” I replied. "I would love to talk with you more on the subject when you're ready."

“Yes, that does sound great, this tour was one of the most enjoyable I've ever given.”

“I have enjoyed myself as well, it would be great to do this again,” I replied. Discussing fiction or well history in this case, was a favorite pastime in my old life. Talking about these various subjects with Julian reminded me of those great times when you happened to find someone just as passionate about a book or topic as yourself.

“I’d invite you to my study right now, but if we went, we may never get to the party.” The sun was already beginning to set by that point

“I’m not against that,” I said, half-jokingly, but Julian refused. And instead, lead me out to the rear of the villa. I had read of enough fantasy parties to know that this would probably be some stuffy high society dance. It didn’t sound too appealing, especially since my etiquette was barely there and my only party experience was the Roose’s welcoming banquet.