The wind was blowing outside the window and it caused the flowers to fall from the tree outside. The pinkish-purple flowers fell down into the purplish-orange water. Since the sun was about to set, the water had taken a darker colour which reminded Xiao Lan of the one who occupies his bed right now.

His mind refused to remain quiet, flashing back to the time he had first seen such a unique person. Now they had almost come back a full circle but the reality was as painful as ever.

"I have treated his wounds for the time being so he is not likely to die. I'll take my leave then" the doctor Xiao Lan had called in was a cautious one. He had been in the royal family's service for a long time now and he knew not to open his mouth and question if he wanted to live.

"Thank you for your service. I'll call you again if I need you" the doctor did not linger any longer. With a bow to Xiao Lan and then to the captain commander who stood guard outside, he finally left.

The number one rule of anyone in his position was not to question when he was called in for any kind of service. A lot of foolish doctors before him had lost their lives for this very reason and he would not be one of them.

Xiao Lan did not pay any attention to the doctor but his gaze did move to the slave in his bed. Fu Hua brought out the emotions he had wanted to bury down. The anger, disappointment, guilt and even concern bleed inside his mind.

Xiao Lan wanted to feel hatred, the urge to hurt but his heart refused to allow him this luxury. He knew not to look at the other when he made a decision but he could not help it.

Memories and past, both were strong chains that had always held Xiao Lan their prisoner. Even when he wanted to see Fu Hua as more than a prisoner, they would not allow him to linger there.

After all, the memory of meeting Fu Hua had been one he had held dear for so many different reasons.

___________

The kingdom of Hua had an academy for the promising youth where one could progress their studies. However, everyone knew that it was the academy of the privileged.

Despite what the actual explanation said, the rumours about the real doings of the academy had been known to the common public before they had even heard of the academy.

The academy took every promising student, but that was only limited to nobility and such. If an ordinary person with an extraordinary talent wanted to get in then they needed a noble sponsor who could pay their dues.

This allowed the noble to claim that common person as a part of their household and create a debt the other would have to work hard to pay off. In this way, the power would always remain with the nobility in any situation.

This year, however, boosted a special occasion. From students to teachers to the servants, everyone knew that the special occasion was about to arrive.

The younger prince was finally of age to attend the academy. The older prince had been somewhat of a disappointment, his nature lazy and no natural talent to speak of. How he had passed could only be attributed to heaven taking pity on him during the final procedure.

But the younger one was a well-known genius of the arts, the true successor of the royal power and one who hosted the power of two ancient bloodlines. As such, the fanfare was real and many nobles had even delayed their own children's entry into the school for this very occasion.

Xiao Lan had stuck out from his retainers as soon as he had arrived in the academy. He had wanted to explore the grounds on his own before he had to make himself known.

Even at the age of 11, he could tell that people were not interested in him but rather the 'concept' of him. What they wanted was the 'younger genius prince Xiao Lan' but not him as a person.

Most of these people would not even recognise him if they saw him in common clothes right now and it was proven to be true as soon as he had made his way inside the upper-division.

"Hey you, you commoner kid. Who is your retainer?" no one had talked like this to Xiao Lan yet but he had heard such harsh words being used against the common people. Xiao Lan should have revealed his identity right then but he had not done that for some reason.

He had wanted to know more about how things were run here.

"I don't have any retainer" the teen in front of Xiao Lan had frowned, his eyes narrowing at the weird commoner kid who had somehow made it this far without being stopped.

"Are you some kind of minor noble I did not know about? Anyway, it doesn't matter. Since you are here then I will take you under my wing. Do you want to stick with me kid?" The noble was arrogant and his tone sounded superior.

Xiao Lan thought before giving a small head shake. The other did not notice or did not care for the refusal at all, he just dragged Xiao Lan along with him.

"Great. Now that you are under my guidance, it's time I teach you the ropes on how this academy is run. We nobles are at the top, then you are common people so what we say goes. Also, I'm aware that the academy can get too much sometimes so we will teach you how to cope with this stress" Xiao Lan did not want to go anywhere with this group but he was not being given a choice there.

On the way, their group was joined by a few more people of various ages. They had other children following them who looked to be around Xiao Lan's age.

"We got a lot this year boss. I'm afraid it might be too much for the dog to handle" that was supposed to be a soft whisper, the whispers passing along a secret but it made it in Xiao Lan's ears.

Weren't pets banned in the academy? Had these people broken a rule and now we're about to make Xiao Lan an accomplice? He wanted to send a message to his retainers but he had no way to achieve that.

"You, get up and greet your superiors properly" they had arrived in a room and the group leader barked those words to a poor child.

Xiao Lan could not help the gasp that escaped his lips because the kid was exotic in every way.

The blue hair with violet highlights and silver eyes boosted a bloodline that was not from their empire, nor from any place Xiao Lan had ever known of. Then there was the fair skin and thin physique that might be the result of malnutrition or be a genetic expression in the other.

However, what Xiao Lan saw was a beautiful child who was shaking softly. One of his eyes was covered by bandages along with the arms and other parts. It was clear to see that the child was hurt badly at that.

But the most glaring feature about the child was the collar that rested on his neck, the tightness of its bind inevitable.

The child who was likely younger than Xiao Lan seemed to collapse as soon as he had been pushed by the largest bully who seemed to be taking pleasure in his current position.

"What is a slave doing at the academy? I thought this place banned owning and keeping slaves, even for nobility" Xiao Lan could not help but question this. It was common knowledge among the nobility that the academy was the only place where slaves could not enter.

To have a slave enter here, they would have to be first freed and then held in the contract. But this child was not free or in a contract, he was still a slave as evident from the collar at his neck.

"The academy bans the nobility from keeping slaves, yes but there is no rule that prohibits them from owning a slave. Besides, this here is no slave but a being worse than dogs. After all, he is someone born from that woman" there seemed to be judged in the teen's voice.

As for Xiao Lan, he had no idea who that 'woman' this teen spoke of was. He had said it in such a matter of fact voice that Xiao Lan felt ashamed not to know.

The other kids seemed just as confused as him but they did not question it too. The cruel look in the other's eyes spoke of pain and no one wanted to test their luck. The only reason Xiao Lan had not been punished was that they had recognised him as a noble child.

"Children, it's time you learn how to make a dog behave again" Xiao Lan felt his breath caught up in his throat as empty silver eyes met his own and Xiao Lan felt something shift inside him.