"Wake up, wake up! Freia, carry this!" Rola ordered and she threw her bag to Freia who was tired from the night duties she had with Jin.
"Take this too! And this!" Rola threw her bags at Freia who caught them with ease (back hand knowledge despite her fatigue). Rola raised her brow and was about to say something when Jin took the bags and dumped it on Rola, "Cut her some slack," a familiar voice uttered. Freia and Rola looked up.
Rola narrowed her eyes at Jun and Jun waved her off before he stomped away and they all appeared in class.
The entire class stared at Freia and Rola when they got in. Mostly, they eyeballed Rola and sniggered at Freia's weight.
Rola aced the orientation and was placed in the elite and pretty group while Freia was left to sit beside a boy who looked sick and hid behind a veil that covered his entire face. They were the misfits and the outcasts. Freia heard him coughing as she took the seat beside him. Her eyes lingered on his pale hands, he had very pretty hands but she glanced away and settled herself.
Class was surprisingly a breeze as most of the topics were relatable. They had alchemy, mastery of the fighting arts and potions (Freia saw it as modern day chemistry) and mystical beasts trainings for different tiers.
Most of the time, she was partnered with 'sick boy' who barely seemed to have the strength or stamina for anything. Freia didn't mind that, she would rather deal with sick and the dying than to deal with annoying pricks like Jun or the others who were waiting to make her a laughingstock. She had plenty on her plate and agenda so she figured it would do her mental health wonders if they left her to herself for the time being.
She was bad at alchemy, pretty intrigued with potions and very intrigued with the fighting arts, except her frame did not allow her to perfect the moves inasmuch as she wanted. She probably looked like a whale moving about. She really needs to do something about her weight, Freia thought as she bit her lower lip as she positioned herself into the beginner stance for swordplay.
Sick Boy and her were practising with wooden swords and she held hers in the correct position while Sick Boy looked like he was struggling to get into position or hold the sword as he was coughing furiously. At the rate he was going, she wasn't sure if he would be able to perform any of the stance.
"Why don't you take a break?" Freia uttered without malice.
Sick boy shot her a glance and Freia shrugged, "I'm not saying it with malice. It's just a remark," Freia clarified, "You've been coughing since morning. Either you're fatally ill and you've a foot into the coffin or it's a fuse to get out of something you desperately hate," Freia said without much thought. She was thinking about the beast that was sleeping soundly on her bed - fur ball and she wondered how he would fare in the mystical beast training. She figured it was best to keep it a secret first or she would easily be target Number One. Best to lie low and observe first. Freia concluded.
She had forgotten about Sick Boy until he turned around to ask her severely, "Well, what do you think?"
Freia frowned at his severe tone. She didn't strike a nerve, did she? "I have absolutely no clue, and to be honest, I don't really care."
"It's because I'm me?" Sick Boy uttered without much emotions.
Freia shook her head slowly and answered, "No, to be honest, even if you're the Crown Prince of this nation, I honestly can't be damned to think too much about anything else other than my survival." Freia smiled mirthlessly showing her teeth, "For now, at least."
Freia said and dusted leaves away from her pants.
"So, if you could get over yourself and your low self-esteem, I'll be happy to be your partner. And I promise you, I'll be a pretty good partner. No skiving, not gonna rat on you and I'll have your back, always."
Sick Boy stared at her for abit and Freia's hand was stuck midair. Could he not make everything so awkward? She was about to rescind her buddyship and utter a 'forget it' when Sick Boy's pretty hands grabbed hers and he shook it.
"It's not like I have much of a choice anyway, so you'll do," Sick Boy uttered and Freia was about to mention how very rude and insulting he was when he turned around and walked briskly away.
Freia stared at his back and she thought about handshakes. They did a study on this before during her modern day assassin training ground. His grip was gentle but firm which spoke of quiet confidence and his gait, the way he walked - it was the mark of the nobles and dominance. It really didn't seem like Sick Boy was a sick, feeble low self-esteem boy that she had painted him to be.
She held that thought for awhile and.... shoved it aside. Honestly, she didn't have much time for this. Sick Boy probably has his own plans and she has hers too.
And her biggest plan thus far is... to lose weight!