Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 15

Astoria woke up to the sound of an alarm ringing loudly as if it was ringing in her head. She groaned, not wanting to get up. Yesterday’s reveal from Keya had worn her out, and she barely slept a wink, wondering if she would end up dying in this world. Wondering if that Smoke Monster would show up at any moment and kill her.

‘Damn, that means I would die twice.’

She got up from her bed and did some stretches. Sighing, she saw that the elf had already left and that a school uniform was hung neatly next to her dresser. She hummed the song ‘Sign of the Times’ as she walked to it. The uniform was not too bad. She actually loved it.

“I can’t believe I have to go to school again.”

She ran her fingers along the blazer pockets. She was always an intelligent student, but her situation was not the same now. This time, she had to study subjects she had never heard of before or even imagined she would learn. Would she be able to do it? Would she succeed? Well, she was determined to do so.

“I hope I make it today.”

She stared at the uniform with a nervous expression. The uniform for students at Leararts Academy was elegant. Male students wore narrow-fitting, black nylon pants which reached down to their feet. They wore lace-up shoes, which were coloured black and paired with short socks coloured white with one stripe horizontally placed on the top.

They wore white short-sleeved shirts which loosely hung over their pants under a black blazer that had a thick maroon thread outlining it. A thin maroon tie with black diagonal lines hung neatly in the middle of their blazers.

As for the female students, they wore black pleated skirts which reached just above their knees. They were paired with long socks and Mary Jane shoes coloured in white and black, respectively. Like the males, the females wore short-sleeved white shirts. However, theirs were neatly tucked under their skirts.

All the blazers were emblazoned with the school logo, which was a blue flame. Although it was not compulsory, many students wore uniform matching accessories which was often done through forms of group association.

“Wait a minute.”

She suddenly realised something as she was making her bed.

‘The alarm stopped, but I didn’t stop it. I don’t even see any alarm clock anywhere? Is it a magic alarm?’

As she was wondering how that was possible, she heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Keya walked in and hurriedly rushed to her side.

“No, my prince- I mean Nexi,” she said, moving her aside.

“I always make your bed. You hurry and get yourself ready. Breakfast will be ready in 30 minutes.”

She gently ushered her away from her bed. Astoria smiled and walked into the bathroom. She came out minutes later, covered in a towel, and found that the elf had neatly placed her uniform on her bed. Smiling, she got dressed and walked back into the bathroom.

“What do I do about this hair?”

She blankly stared at her hair and decided to tie it into a high ponytail. Walking out of the bathroom, she stood by the full-length mirror and saw her reflection. She really loved the uniform and smiled. Walking out of her room, feeling like a student again, she found the elf waiting for her patiently.

“Let’s get you to breakfast,” Keya said, then looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Where is your bag?” she asked Astoria.

“Oh, right! Wait a minute,” Astoria said, rushing back to her room.

She found the bag on top of the wardrobe.

‘Do I have everything I need? What do I actually need anyway?’

She unzipped her bag and took a look inside. To her relief, she found that the elf had already packed everything she needed for today. With a sigh of happiness, she walked out of her bedroom and hugged the elf. Keya’s eyes widened like saucers, shocked by the gesture. She let go of the elf and smiled.

“Let’s go and have breakfast,” she said, walking away from the elf, humming a happy tune.

The elf looked confused but shrugged, walking by her side. When they got to breakfast, they found that everyone was already seated. Keya bowed to everyone and walked away, closing the door behind her.

“What the?” Astoria heard Morvin say.

The silver-haired boy looked at her puzzled. Naida glanced at her and then her father.

“Why are you in your school uniform?” her father asked.

“Ah, about that,” she stammered.

She remembered that she had to convince the king to let her go to the Academy. It was a must, and she had to get his approval no matter what.

‘Persuasion skills activated.’

Taking a deep breath and releasing it, she rushed to the king’s side, placed her hands on his arm, and tried to look as innocent and cute as possible.

“Father,” she began.

Naida and Morvin stared at her in shock.

“Please let me go to the Academy as of today. I promise I will be careful. I won’t strain myself,” she said, a hopeful look on her face.

“But you are not well,” the king countered.

“Father, please. I believe that if I go, I might remember something. I’m tired of not being able to remember,” she turned her face to the side.

“Besides,” she continued, trying to sound as sad and downcast as possible, “I feel so miserable and like a burden to you all. You don’t want me to feel this way forever, right?”

She studied the king, a pout evident on her face. The king sighed and stroked her hair, a fatherly smile on his face.

“Fine,” he said, causing her to smile triumphantly, “but do not strain yourself. As soon as you start feeling unwell, phone Keya right away. She will tell the chauffeur to fetch you.”

She nodded and went to sit down, smiling at her accomplishment and feeling proud of herself. Naida softly scoffed at her and began eating. When they were done eating, the older siblings went to pack their bags. They met Astoria outside the palace gates.

“This world has cars?” Astoria softly questioned, mystified.

“What? Haven’t you seen a car before?” Naida scoffed again as she sat at the front seat.

“Did amnesia make you stupid as well?” Morvin added, following behind his sister, sitting at the back.

Astoria ignored them. She had no idea cars were used in this world. The last time she saw that this royal family used a carriage to go to town, she was pretty surprised that there were cars in this world now. She thought that they would use magic to teleport or fly to the Academy.

‘But then again, that was a long time ago, and times have changed.’

She sat at the back with the prince. The chauffeur closed the door and got inside. The drive to the Academy was a 10-minute drive. Along the way, she stared out the window to view the outside and got to see a lot of creatures.

It was really fascinating that so many different creatures co-existed in this world. The car drove past a vast, black iron gate hinged to a large, apricot coloured wall. The gate worked conventionally, moving inwards. Since it opened wide, it could accommodate large vehicles.

‘Wow.’

She saw the view of the Academy from the back seat of their car.. It was truly magnificent and breathtaking.