- Ten hours earlier -
In the centre of Eldoria stood the famous "Future Academy".
Founded during the invasion war by the king of heroes, Lucas M. Dorothy. Its purpose, like the name suggests, is to nurture and train the future warriors, mages and possibly heroes.
Of course, not just anyone is able to enter this prestigious place. Due to the sheer number of applicants it received in past times, a strict entrance test was established in order to flush out the lazy from the hardworking and talented.
Every year a tournament is held that pits all five continents, and their own academies, against each other. Ten representative students from each continent would be chosen in order to compete and showcase their prowess.
This year Eldoria has been elected to host the tournament and with only one week left until it begins, the students but mainly the principal could not be any more packed and drowning in work.
Knock knock
"..."
Knock knock
"Principal, this is your secretary, Mia."
After waiting a couple seconds she heard a faint call, "Come in."
Opening the door, the first thing that greeted Mia was the stacks and stacks of papers that cluttered the main desk.
"Is there something you need?" A voice startled Mia.
"Did the mountain of papers just speak to me?" She asked innocently.
"Stop being silly and tell me what you want. I'm extremely busy."
Walking around the desk she saw Diana flipping and signing through paper after paper. When looking closer she also saw a faint sign of dark circles around her eyes.
"Perhaps you should take a break, Diana."
"I told you to call me Principal Valentine. And no, it's only 10pm. It's too early to take a break." She said while reading another page of documents.
"10pm? Principal, it's 6am. You've been here all night."
"What?"
Mia walked towards the curtains behind her chair and shunned it open. To Diana's surprise the morning light glared through the window.
"Haaaaa…" She sighed, slumping in her chair. "Why did Future Academy have to be chosen to host the tournament this year?"
"That's just how the wind blows, Principal Valentine." She giggled.
Diana slowly turned her head to Mia and asked, "What's today's schedule looking like? How swapped am I?"
"Your schedule starts with you taking a short rest. Being up all night is not good for your skin, you know?"
"I have an academy to run that's in the middle of organising the biggest tournament in the world right now."
"A tournament that is still one week away. Listen, as your personal and oh so helpful secretary, I will handle all the menial papers and tasks while you freshen up. I mean, what would your future prospective husband think when he sees you looking like an old witch hmm?"
"Haah?" Diana shot Mia a sharp glare, "Firstly, twenty-seven is not that old. I'm at the peak of my womanly charms." She scolded while puffing out her chest. "And secondly, any man would be lucky to be with me. Old witch or not."
"I'm sure they would…" Mia rolled her eyes.
"What was that?"
"I said of course you're right Principal Valentine. Everyone knows that you're the most beautiful woman in all of Eldoria!" She clapped her hands together and smiled apologetically.
A satisfied smirk slowly crept onto Diana's face as Mia kept up the praise.
If there was one thing that Diana Valentine loved more than anything it was people complimenting and praising her looks.
'I can practically see her nose growing longer.' Mia thought.
"That's enough Mia." Diana caught her composure. "I understand that you're concerned about my well-being so yes, I'll be taking a break."
"Yes Principal."
"But only for two hours. After that it's right back on the horse. There's still much work to be done."
"Of course. That's only fair."
"Good." Diana grabbed her purse from her drawer and coat from behind her chair.
She then stood up and walked towards the centre of the room, "I'll be back at around eight. Good luck with those 'menial papers'". As she waved, faint particles of magic enveloped her when suddenly-
SHWOOSH
She teleported away.
Mia walked over to the desk and looked at the pile of papers just waiting to topple over.
"Haaa I need a coffee first." She sighed.
.
..
…
Diana appeared outside of her mansion, up in the hills, where maids and servants could be seen working and tending the garden.
As she walked to the front door the people around noticed her presence and gave a respectful bow, "Good morning, Ms. Valentine." they each greeted her.
"Yes, good morning to you all." She greeted back. "Has anyone seen the head maid, Wendy?"
"I'm right here Ms. Valentine."
Standing by the now opened door was a middle-aged woman with brown hair that was tied in a bun and green soft eyes that had a look of maturity only those with much life experience would have. She wore a different, more dignified, maid uniform from the rest that signals to her position as the head maid.
"You have been out all-night Ms. Valentine. I take it you have come to rest?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Surely you must have noticed." Wendy pointed a finger under her eye.
"Is it really that bad?"
"My my, you don't want to chase away the men now do you heheh."
"Not you too. I already had Mia on my case just now." she complained while rolling her eyes.
"Well, I'm glad that she's looking out for you at work."
Diana walked past Wendy, handing over her coat and purse, "I'm going to rest for about two hours. If I'm not up then wake me, please. Also prepare a light meal and warm bath before I leave."
Wendy gave a short respectful bow, "Of course ma'am."
The mansion had two floors and located on the second was Diana's room. The walls were painted in red and white, with perfectly placed window panels that had a beautiful view of the city of Eldoria below.
Diana entered her room, closed the doors and stood in front of her full body mirror. She then leaned in to get a good look at her face to see how bad Mia and Wendy made it out to be.
'It's really not that bad.' She thought while touching her face. 'Only if you really squinted would you be able to notice, which everyone does for obvious reasons hehe.'
She started taking off her clothes until she was completely naked and then slid into her queen-sized bed where she fell asleep.
.
..
…
"It's time to wake Ms. Valentine."
"Hmmm…."
Wendy lightly shook Diana's shoulder. "Come now Ms. Valentine, I know you want to sleep in but it's been two hours now."
"Zzzzz…."
"If you don't wake up your favourite cappuccino muffin might just…. disappear." She whispered.
Diana slowly opened her eyes and groaned in a lazy voice, "noo…"
"So silly hehe." Wendy helped her sit up when she realised, "Ms. Valentine, why do you insist on sleeping naked? You could catch a cold."
"Because I like it. It's more comfortable that way." She answered as she stood up.
Putting on a red silk gown she asked, "Is my bath ready?"
"Yes ma'am. It's warm and waiting for you. I'll make up your bed and prepare your clothes while you freshen up.
"Thank you, Wendy."
Diana went into the bathroom that was behind another door inside of her room and first cleaned herself at the showerhead before sitting in the warm tub to rejuvenate.
Twenty minutes passed when she stepped out of the bathroom where Wendy plus two other maids were waiting for her. She sat at her dressing table where the maids dried her hair using magic and put on her makeup.
"How would you like to wear this suit for today Ms. Valentine?" Wendy suggested, showing Diana a red suit.
"It's perfect." She smiled.
After getting dressed she walked down the stairs, with Wendy following close behind, and stopped in front of a servant holding a tray of her favourite muffin and a cup of coffee. She took her breakfast and the servant bowed to leave.
"Here's your purse ma'am." Wendy put it over her shoulder. "Will you be out overnight again?"
"Thank you and yes, most probably I will."
"Understood."
Diana walked out the entrance to teleport away, "I'll be off now. As usual, look after the place and if there's any problems-"
"Use the magic strip that tells you I need your assistance, I know. Have a great day Ms. Valentine."
"Hm." She nodded and teleported away.
Inside of the principal's office Mia has taken off a good chunk of the paperwork and was deep in concentration when suddenly-
SHWOOSH
"Waah!" She nearly fell off the chair.
"What are you getting startled for? I said I would be back in two hours."
"It's nearly nine o'clock! That's almost three hours, principal!"
Diana looked at the clock on the wall as it showed its 8:50am. "I'm technically still in the two-hour range."
"Enough with the technicalities! You are needed at the docks in about ten minutes. A shipment of imported material is arriving for the upcoming tournament and requires your signature." Mia stood and composed herself.
"Is that so? I'll go once I've eaten my muffin."
While Diana was eating, Mia explained what the rest of her day was going to be like and when she was finished, she prepared to teleport to the docks.
"I'll be back shortly. Hopefully it won't take long."
SHWOOSH
She arrived at a relatively quiet place where her teleporting wouldn't disrupt any business. She then walked towards the place she needed to go and sign, all the while catching a few yearning eyes of men she walked past.
As she got closer to the busiest of the market square, at the docks, she noticed a crowd forming and looking all in a single direction.
'What's going on?'
When she got closer, she saw that the source of the commotion was a young man with an eyepatch writhing and panting on the ground.