The cadets seated at the tables stared at me like I was some sort of exotic animal as I scanned the cafeteria for a suitable seat. It was an unpleasant feeling. Luckily, I was granted a way out of the awkward situation due to an empty table which was in the upper right corner of the room. It was a fairly isolated place, which was probably why no one had occupied it yet. Eager to escape the gazes of my fellow cadets, I made a beeline to the table and sat down.

As I sat down, I seemed to blend into the crowd, the gazes of the cadets fading away like snow in the sunshine when they went back to their meals and conversations. Now that much of the unwanted attention had left me, I looked around, trying to see if there were any cadets I could talk to and hopefully befriend.

However, I was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a tray being placed in front of me. Turning around, I found myself looking up at a young girl who seemed to be around my age like the rest of the cadets. Her long hair was the color of night which complemented her light violet eyes quite nicely. Although I was forced to look up at her, she was actually rather short. If I were standing, she would only reach my shoulder at best.

“You’re in my seat.” She said flatly. It didn’t sound like there was anything up for discussion.

I shrugged. “The table can seat four people. You can just sit across from me.”

She just stared at me for a long while, making it increasingly awkward for me with every passing second before I finally gave up and stood from the seat. “Alright, fine! I’ll sit across, then.”

As I left the seat, she sat and began to eat. “There. Was that so hard?” She asked as I took the seat across from her.

I let out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever.” I looked around, trying to spot Sabriel somewhere in the line at the self-serve area and failing.

I rested my head on my forearms. It had been a long trip and I hadn’t slept in quite a while. In fact, the night before today, I had been awake due to the nervousness of merely thinking about leaving my planet behind perhaps forever. However, it didn’t seem like I was going to be able to get any rest as the girl across from me spoke.

“Are you seriously going to sleep in front of me while I’m eating? Why don’t you go and get yourself some food instead.” She said.

I looked up at her, placing my chin on my forearms. “I’m waiting for someone.”

“I see. Made a friend already, huh?” She sneered. I don’t see why she had to act like this. She was rather beautiful and I’m sure she would be popular around both girls and guys; however, her attitude was completely the opposite of how she looked.

“Look, I don’t know how I managed to screw this up so quickly already. Maybe it was because I sat in your seat, but I had no idea it was yours. Can we please just start over?” I pleaded. Perhaps it was because I was tired and hungry, but I really did not want to antagonize the first person I met other than Sabriel.

She looked at me for a second before shrugging. “Whatever.” Although she possessed a dismissive tone, I could see her blush slightly before she turned back to her food and hid her face.

So far, it seemed to me that all Soleans were introverts. It was quite amusing as they were supposedly the largest empire in the galaxy. I had barely begun attempting to rest once more before I heard a loud clang echoing from the self-serve area. In normal circumstances, I would have just assumed that it was a food tray falling, but the clamor of people and voices around the area suggested otherwise.

“I’ll go check that out.” I said to the girl across from me who merely shrugged in response. She seemed to really like doing that.

I approached the crowd of cadets which had formed a circular area around three people, one of which I promptly identified as Sabriel who emanated her usual aura of graceful authority. Standing across from her was a white-haired boy with ocean blue eyes who stood level with my height, perhaps a bit taller. He carried himself with an arrogant attitude, but the air of dignity he exuded could not be denied. It was clear that he was a noble. Between them was a thinly built cadet lying sprawled on the floor, a flipped food tray resting next to him with a pool of what appeared to be soup seeping from underneath it, staining the cadet’s otherwise white uniform. Judging from his appearance, he didn’t seem to be a Solean, but a feudal subject who volunteered to enlist.

“Sabriel!” I called out from the back of the crowd. I tried pushing myself through the throng of people despite the annoyed glares that they were giving me. Sabriel turned her head to look at me as I struggled through the sea of Soleans.

“Did I not tell you to find us a seat? What are you doing here, Auryn?” She asked. She seemed slightly annoyed, but I wasn’t sure if her annoyance was directed towards me or the situation. It was probably both.

I gestured at our surroundings. “Well, I heard something loud and I just wanted to come see if you were okay…” I said. Sabriel blushed for a reason that will probably remain unknown for the rest of my life.

“I can take care of myself!” She put her hands on her hips. There was a laugh coming from my right. It seemed that the white-haired boy was enjoying our exchange.

“Simply wonderful!” He exclaimed. “Oh, how far you have fallen, Princess Deusicar! I could somewhat understand your motivation to protect this useless commoner,” he gestured to the boy laying on the ground as he said this. “But I could never imagine you allowing one to call you by your name without so much as a title!”

“You will not address them so rudely, Cadet Glaumr.” Sabriel stated coolly. Although she seemed unperturbed, no one could deny the cold fury that seeped from her.

As the cadet called Glaumr was about to respond, the boy on the ground suddenly began coughing as he came to his senses. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position as he cradled his head. It seems like he was knocked out due to hitting the back of his head on the ground. His frail constitution would not have helped in this matter.

Sabriel extended a hand towards him in order to help him up. “Stand, cadet. He must apologize to you.” She pointed towards Cadet Glaumr.

“Me? Apologize to a commoner? Princess, there are limits to how outlandish your requests become.” Cadet Glaumr smirked.

Sabriel’s eyes narrowed. “You will not address me as ‘princess’ once more. I am Cadet Deusicar so long as I wear this uniform, and you will apologize to this cadet whether you wish to or not.”

Cadet Glaumr shrugged, a cocky smile still on his face. “You cannot make me do anything I do not wish to. You said it yourself: you are Cadet Deusicar while you wear that uniform. You have no hold over me, Cadet.” He stressed the last word, striding right up to Sabriel and standing mere inches away from her. “If you want me to apologize, you’re going to have to make me.”

The glare in Sabriel’s eyes sharpened as he provoked her. She clenched her hand into a fist and raised it as if to strike the cadet standing before her. “Do not take me lightly.” She said as she prepared to ram her fist into his face.

I quickly stepped forwards to Sabriel’s side and grabbed her by the shoulder. “Stop, Sabriel!” I told her. I didn’t like it, but it certainly wouldn’t do for me to just allow her to get a reprimand as soon as we had boarded the transport ship. In any case, I had been idle for far too long.

“Unhand me!” Sabriel said as she stepped back, turning her face away from me in anger. I quickly complied. “Who are you to stop me!?” She questioned me angrily. Caught off guard, I had absolutely no response to her outburst. She stared at me for a few more seconds before she stepped away from me with a loud ‘humph.’

I would have liked to avoid angering her, but it didn’t seem like she was going to listen to me if I had only told her to stop. Although she was visibly upset, I’d much rather her be angry than have to suffer a reprimand from the Captain. I had heard that punishments were quite harsh and could last months.

Across from us, Cadet Glaumr laughed. “What a sight! The proud Princess being stopped by a mere peasant!” He snickered. “But you know, I doubt you would have hit me even if he hadn’t stopped you! It’s clear that you don’t have it in you, just like your father!”

Sabriel whirled around, pure fury seething from her entire body. “You will not insult my father!” She roared. Her crimson eyes seemed as if they were burning flames as she stepped towards Cadet Glaumr with her fist raised. I don’t think it would be wise of me to stop her this time.

A fist slammed into the side of the cadet’s face, sending him sprawling onto the ground. As he attempted to push himself up, a boot stamped down hard onto the centre of his back, sending him crashing right back into the ground. A small pool of blood was growing from where his head lay. He had probably broken his nose. Sabriel stared at the scene before her in surprise. A short girl with long black hair stood with one foot atop of the unconscious cadet, grinding the heel of her boot into his back as her amethyst eyes stared at him with pure disgust. It was the girl who I was sitting across from earlier. I’m glad I gave her the seat.

She shoved the unconscious cadet away from her as she walked towards Sabriel. “Thanks for standing up for my brother. He’s always been weak and it attracts nasty people like him.” She pointed to the still unconscious Cadet Glaumr.

Sabriel nodded slowly. “I merely wanted to see him apologize for his actions, but this is fine too…”

The girl walked towards her brother who was still somewhat disoriented and leaning on the self-serve counter to recover. “Kalen, are you alright?” She asked, concerned.

The boy named Kalen nodded weakly. “It’s just a slight concussion. I’ll be alright if I get a little rest.”

I looked to Sabriel who turned away from me with another loud ‘humph.’ It seemed like she was going to give me the cold shoulder for the time being. Since that couldn’t be helped, I approached the girl and her brother.

She looked at me as I drew near. “Thanks.” She uttered.

I tilted my head in question. “I didn’t do anything. Sabriel was the one who tried to get him to apologize and well… You were the one who did all the work.” I said with an awkward smile.

She shook her head. “That’s where you’re wrong, boy. If you didn’t stop her, I wouldn’t have been able to beat the shit out of that smartass there.” She gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder. It still hurt. “I’d rather punch him myself than have someone else do it for me.”

I nodded. I somewhat understood her, but something tells me she enjoyed hitting that cadet. “Is your brother okay?” I ask.

Her brother looked at me and smiled. “I’m fine. Thanks for your concern. Feudal subjects like me aren’t cared about much out here.”

I shrugged. “I’m one too. A feudal subject, that is. I actually though that your sister was a Solean, you know.”

She looked at me with surprise. “Really? Why is that?”

I shrugged. “Well, uh… I guess it was the way you carried yourself?” I couldn’t possibly tell her the truth that it was because I thought she was exceptionally beautiful. At least not with an angry Sabriel in earshot.

The crowd had slowly dispersed as we spoke, the people close to Cadet Glaumr’s body giving it a wide berth as they walked back to their tables. It seemed like everyone wanted to pretend that they had seen nothing.

“Shall we get some food for your brother?” I ask. “We still haven’t eaten.” I gestured to Sabriel who turned around so that her back faced me. Once again, her now signature ‘humph’ was heard.

Sabriel ended up making me purchase the most expensive meal set for her which left me with only soup and bread for this meal. I carried the food trays to the table, setting them down as we sat across from one another. After the black-haired girl helped her brother get seated, she placed his food tray in front of him and sat down as well. It seems like she didn’t finish her meal.

“So uh… It’s not too late for introductions, right? I still haven’t caught your names.” I say.

The girl gave me a puzzled look. “Why would it be too late when we’ve barely met?” I kicked myself mentally for my ineptitude in starting conversations. “I’m Lafaea Ssiurec. Boarding school cadet.” She said as she tapped her dark red raudrec.

Boarding school fit her. It was the only section of the navy which engaged in face-to-face combat with the enemy after boarding their ships; however, the nature of their assignments was quite dangerous and not many cadets register for the division.

Her brother finished the piece of bread in his mouth. “I guess I’ll go next then.... Uhm, my name is Kalen Ssiurec…” He paused. “I’m in engineering.”

I had only just noticed his green raudrec, which was a rather strange color for the engineering school in my opinion. I would have assumed that green would be the color of the biology division.

After I had introduced myself to them, it was time for Sabriel to do so as well. She seemed to be thinking about something before she realized that all our eyes were on her. Still, she paused once more before speaking.

“I am Deusicar Caea Sabriel Saryun Darbhea Ceti. You will call me Cadet Deusicar.” She ended her introduction abruptly. Lafaea and Kalen looked at her strangely. She had come off rather aloof and her name was quite long. For some reason, it sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I shook off the feeling.

“She’s quite nice if you get to know her.” I say to Lafaea and Kalen, trying to dissuade them from any strange thoughts they may have about Sabriel.

They simply nodded with disbelieving stares. Now that the introductions were done, we had lapsed into a silence due to the lack of a topic to discuss. Silently, we finished our meals. Once we had disposed of our food trays, we returned to the table and sat in silence once more. Strangely enough, it wasn’t awkward to me, but rather relaxing. Perhaps it was because the silence was a comforting break from the events today.

Eventually, there was an announcement informing us that it was time to return to our quarters to rest. We made our way out of the cafeteria and towards the teleportation pad which led us back to our cabins. On the way, Cadet Glaumr, who had regained consciousness, gave Lafaea and her brother a wide berth.

Walking towards my room, I could see that Sabriel was following behind me. Perhaps her room was somewhere close as she had arrived at the same time I did. I reached the door, holding up my fragarec to the holoreader panel on the side of the door which caused it to open. It was only then that I noticed Sabriel still standing behind me.

“Uh… Why are you behind me, Sabriel?” I ask her tentatively.

She just kicked me into the room without warning before stepping in herself, the door closing and locking behind her. I picked myself up from the ground quickly as I scrambled to get away from her while she advanced towards me, her arms crossed.

“H-hold on, Sabriel! We can talk this out!” I stammered, trying to stall for time. I was a dead man.

Sabriel stopped. “Those who arrive in the same shuttle are roommates.” She stated matter-of-factly. She was looking down, preventing me from seeing her facial expression.

That wasn’t good. “O-okay… Please l-let’s talk about this…” I said in a small voice. She was probably so mad that she didn’t want to look at me.

She didn’t respond, so we fell into a long and tense silence. It was as if the air between us was as taut as a bowstring in this small room which only had a single bed, a couch, and a table. If I were to survive, I would have to make the first move. I readied myself, every fiber of muscle in my being preparing for the worst.

“I’m sorry!” I blurted out loudly just as Sabriel had apologized as well.

“I must apologize!” Sabriel had simultaneously said in a loud voice.

We looked at each other with blank stares, blinking a couple times before bursting out into laughter. Sabriel looked at me with a wide grin that I returned. She really was quite cute at the most inopportune times. At least she isn’t giving me the cold shoulder anymore.