Cecilia sat at the table next to her staring at Rupert and his two companions in the same sort of way a baby rabbit would look at a viper. Luckily for the girl, the boys were more interested in Anna, with the prince gawking at the generous amount of food on her tray and his companions gawking at her generous proportions.

"Are you really going to eat all that?" Rupert asked.

"Yep," Anna replied.

"How?" he asked.

She held up her eating utensil.

"With this fork," she replied.

He shot her a look and then rolled his eyes before picking up his own fork.

"We need to hurry up and eat. Our class is in the west wing," he said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she replied.

She started to shovel her food in even faster causing Rupert to shake his head before beginning his own meal. After ogling her for a moment longer, his companions started to eat with Cecilia joining in once she shook off her shock. After eating in silence for a few moments, Rupert looked up from his plate.

"So, how did you two meet?" he asked.

"Some girls were picking on her, and I chased them off," Anna replied.

He looked over at Cecilia, who clearly wanted to be anywhere but there right now.

"What were they picking on you about?" he asked.

"My weight," she replied.

"What's wrong with your weight?" one of the boys asked.

"They told me I'm too heavy," she replied.

Rupert frowned.

"You look fine to me," he said.

"You think so?" she asked.

"I do," he replied.

He smiled at her, and she got a bashful look on her face and glanced away.

Ha! I knew he'd be able to make her feel better.

She continued to eat while the two teens made eyes at one and other.

The five of them made small talk while they finished their breakfast before heading to class. Rupert and Cecilia were chatting with each other leaving her and the two boys to walk along next to them in an awkward silence.

She looked over at the two young men. One was tall and lean with bright red hair, an uncommon trait amongst the darlings, while the other was short with an average build and had the typical straight black hair that his kind usually possessed.

Okay, so red is Eric, and he's a duke's son, and black is Nickoli, and he's a margrave's son. I still don't get why it matters who their dads are, but they seemed to want to tell me that.

Both boys kept looking at her chest as she walked and then would look away when she noticed. She smirked at them which caused them to blush.

I wonder what they'd do if they saw me in the baths? Not that darklings have baths. Well, they do have baths, just not public ones, and only one person's supposed to get washed at a time.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She sighed. This was the first kingdom that she'd been to that didn't have public baths, unless you count the trade city which she didn't, and she missed them already.

Maybe I could talk Cecilia into taking a bath with me and Rose?

She pondered the idea and then shook it off.

No, if she's worried about her weight, she doesn't need to see me naked. That wouldn't help at all.

They arrived at the classroom and walked inside. It was a large room filled with desks on various levels in a half-circle around a podium where a stern-looking woman stood. The woman looked over at them as they entered. Her eyes lingered on Anna for a moment.

"You can sit anywhere you like, but that will be your seat for the duration of the semester. Also, the book is yours for the class, but you will have to return it, so don't mark it up or lose it," she said.

"Yes, Ma'am," the teens chimed in unison.

Anna on the other the hand just winked at the woman who looked a bit taken aback before shaking her head.

The group walked over to the front row of seats and sat next to each other. She opened the textbook in front of her and flipped through the pages.

This is the same as the one Gunther let me read at the library.

She closed the book and waited for class to start. Other students began to trickle in filling up the empty desks. The bully and her cronies walked into the room. She looked around and made a face when she spotted Anna. Anna grinned at her in response which made the girl scowl. She and her friends marched to the back of the classroom where they sat down in one large group

"What was that about?" Rupert asked.

"Those were the girls who were messing with Cecilia," she replied.

He nodded and then glanced back at the bullies before returning his attention to the front of the class. A bell rung three times a few minutes later, and the woman behind the podium rapt her knuckles on its surface getting the children's attention.

"Welcome to basic shadow crafting. I am Professor Vivian Black, and I will be your instructor this semester. Please open your textbooks to chapter one, and we will begin," she said.

Black? Her last name is Black?! What the fuck is wrong with these people?

She shook her head and opened the textbook as instructed. While she could recite the contents of the tome from memory, she had decided to play along while attending the academy. She followed along as the professor taught the lesson.

Not that I didn't already know it, but shadow crafting is a lot like magic. I guess it makes sense. These people did use magic as a basis for it when their mana cores started to produce shadow stuff instead of mana.

"Alright then class, can one of you come up to the board and draw me a basic power circle?" the professor asked.

She raised her hand.

"I can," she replied.

She stood up and walked out from behind the desk, heading to the front of the room where she picked up a piece of chalk and began to draw a perfect replica of the basic power circle in the textbook.

"Excellent, now would you describe the major components to the class?" the professor asked.

"Sure," Anna replied.

She proceeded to point out and describe each part and how it worked with the others as well as a few tricks that could improve its performance depending on circumstances.

"Very good, Miss?" the professor asked.

"Boulderfist, Anna Boulderfist," Anna replied.

"Well, Miss Boulderfist, you may return to your seat. Thank you for your time," the professor said.

She smiled at the professor before walking back over to her desk and sitting down. The lesson continued for several hours before drawing to a close.

"Now then, class your homework assignment is to draw me a basic power circle of your own design, no copying the textbook!" she said.

A few of the students grumbled about having homework the first day, but none of them said it loud enough for the professor to hear. They all got up and walked away from their desks heading for the door.

"Miss Boulderfist, a moment?" Professor Vivian asked.

She walked over to the podium.

"What is it?" she asked.

"How old are you?" Professor Vivian asked.

"Eighteen," Anna replied.

"Perfect! Some of my colleagues have been looking for a young person for an off-campus job if you're interested," Professor Vivian said.

It would be nice to have some more coin.

"I'm interested," Anna replied.

"Wonderful! I'll let them know that I may have found a candidate," Professor Vivian said.

"Okay," Anna replied.

"Oh, and good work today. I expect great things from you this semester," Professor Vivian added.

"I won't let you down," Anna replied.

With that, she walked out of the classroom to find her new friends gathered there waiting for her. Rupert walked over and put his arm around her shoulder.

"So, uh, you're going to help me with this homework, right?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," she replied.

"Me too!" Cecilia said.

"Of course," Anna replied.

Eric and Nickoli were giving her puppy dog eyes, and she laughed.

"You guys can come too. We'll head to the library after classes are over today," she added.

The teens smiled at her, clearly happy that she agreed. They walked off, heading towards their next class, everyone in a good mood.

I hope it stays like this, at least for a little while.

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