James frowned as he sat and thought to himself.
'Haaa… I guess there's no time like the present..'
Turning to his overworked sister he asked what he had to do to register.
She stretched like a cat and sunk even deeper into his bed while responding.
"That's pretty simple brother.. just take the teleportation crystal to the academy and give your name. I'm sure mother-"
She cut herself off as she realized what she was saying.
She looked a little embarrassed as she continued.
*Ahem* "We can go whenever you want, I'll have to fill in as the role of your parent to talk with the staff. It should only take an hour or two."
"Great. We can go now if they're open."
Madeline let out a deep moan of suffering.
"Brother.. can we do it tomorrow please… I'm a little tired-"
James got and walked over to stare at Madeline, he gave her the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.
"Does sister not want to go with me.."
Madeline instantly shot out of bed. She put a hand to her chest and proclaimed loudly.
"I will take you right now! Come on brother and rely on your dependable elder sister!"
James gave a side eye look at Justine when she snickered a little. His servants had gotten bolder and more relaxed around him recently, which was nice.
The only problem was that they tended to find his manipulation tactic quite humorous, when it wasn't directed at one of them.
Madeline proudly displayed her teleportation crystal expertise and soon, they were traveling through space and time.
James was only a little nauseous as he snapped into reality next to Madeline.
"Follow me, the academy staff should let us skip the line and start registering you immediately."
James just shrugged and replied that it sounded good to him.
The crystal had teleported them outside the academy grounds in a city square.
James felt his skin crawl as various women eyed him up and down.
'All these toads can't help but lust after my swan meat… this jade beauty is off limits!'
He chuckled, then died a little inside at his stupid joke.
As they walked, he noticed the huge walls around them.
'I didn't know that the academy was in Skythorn.. I guess that makes sense because it's supposedly the greatest city in our Duchy.'
James wanted to get to the academy faster, so he had Emily carry him. She happily did so as his other two servants muttered under their breath.
Finally after turning down countless streets and passing a dizzying number of women, the academy came into view.
It looked like a small city of its own as it sat grandly on a huge piece of land.
There was a giant spiked metal fence separating the academy from the rest of the city. It had green and lush grass contrasting starkly against the paved road he was standing upon.
The main building itself looked like an ancient university from earth and had several smaller buildings surrounding it. There was an entire forest at the back of the academy and he was unable to tell how far it went.
An enormous que of girls his age stood with their mothers in a line that went from the main buildings doors, to outside the fence.
Madeline guided James along until a guard stopped them at the fence's entrance.
"Name?"
Madeline responded for him.
"Prince James Cromwell."
"Ah I see, you must be Lady Mallory then. You look quite young and you're hair is a little different from what I've heard."
Madeline just smiled politely and didn't bother correcting the guard.
As his sister had predicted, the guard ushered them to front of the line and escorted them inside.
As James walked along, he saw mothers swatting at their daughters. He held back a laugh as the girls went from angry to shy as they tried to present themselves favorably to him.
'Sorry girls, I'm more of a mature woman kinda guy..'
They walked past the entire line and were led down a empty hallway.
The guard stopped infront of a very grand door and cleared her throat.
"Headmistress Dorthy, Prince James is here to register."
There was a brief pause until a decidedly older voice responded.
"Very well, please let him in."
The guard opened the door and James's eyes went wide.
He had expected a grand room of finery and professionalism. Instead, he got to see mountains of books piled high on the floor and random trinkets strewn about. Loose paper littered every inch of the room.
James couldn't see the person inside until he rounded one of the piles of crap.
He saw an older woman with black hair streaked with gray. Despite the room, her appearance was put together and neat.
She had on a giant floppy witch hat and a deep purple robe with red sashes. She had on delicate wire framed glasses and fiddled with some sort of wooden square puzzle.
James cleared his throat to get her attention and her head finally snapped up. She smiled warmly at him.
"Ah hello, Prince James. We've been expecting you. I'm happy you decided to register with our academy."
James face twitched when he heard her softly say, ".. another male looks good on my resume.. they'll probably give me even more research funds.."
The woman's eyes lit up when she saw his sister.
"Oh my! Is that you, Madeline? It's been years since I've seen you. Are you filling in today as the role of his parent?"
Madeline smiled back at the quirky old woman.
"Yes to both questions. It's been awhile, Headmistress Dorthy."
"I see, I see. Well, come on. Don't be scared and have a seat."
James and Madeline looked around the room. There was no seat in sight.
*Ahem*
The old woman looked a little embarrassed as Madeline made a comment.
"Still as cluttered as ever I see, I thought that you might've learned to be a little more responsible when the other teachers voted you into office."
Dorthy hurriedly moved the conversation along.
"Well let's not dig around in the past and get Prince James squared away."
She then magically produced a huge stack of paper from thin air.
James read the fine print at first for the academy rules and regulations. He soon gave up on this endeavor as the third, five page document appeared in front of him.
He just started flipping through and scribbling his name. It reminded him of the day he signed his contract to the army.
There wasn't anything that looked especially suspicious in the first few forms, so James thought it was a safe bet to agree to everything.
Madeline had her own forms to fill out and an hour later they were done.
The old woman clapped her hands merrily as they finished.
"I hope your studies proceed smoothly, Prince James. Don't hesitate to reach out to the staff if you require any assistance or further information."
"I look forward to learning here, Headmistress, thank you for taking the time to register me personally today."
Madeline and the old woman chatted for a few minutes before they turned to leave.
The woman called out one last time as they reached the door.
"Don't forget! The opening ceremony starts at seven in the morning on the third day of the eighth month. If you participate, you'll get a head start on your yearly credit requirement."
James thanked her for the advice as he left.
'What the hell are yearly credits? And what did I just sign up for..'