"But they need a safe and secure environment!"
"And that, Crowley, is precisely why they should attend Royal Sword Academy instead of Night Raven College," Ambrose the 63rd replied. "Since when have they ever been safe and secure in your school?"
"Granted, there have been a few isolated incidents here and there, but we have been enforcing measures to make sure they do not happen again." Crowley grit his teeth, knowing Ambrose was going to back him into a corner.
Inside the large courtroom, to one side on the large wooden gallery sat fifty representatives of Night Raven College under Headmage Crowley, and on the other side, fifty representatives of Royal Sword Academy under Ambrose the 63rd. The chair in the middle of the courtroom remained empty...that was, until now.
You pushed through the heavy wooden double doors, almost noiselessly entering the court. Everyone's eyes snapped to your figure striding down the aisle to sit down in the chair. You scanned the hall, seeing many familiar faces.
If you had been unacquainted with these particular faces, you'd have thought they'd be thrilled at the prospect of you leaving NRC. However, you knew better.
Riddle sat still, his right heel impatiently tapping the polished wooden floor. He tried his best to look composed, but you could see the worry bleeding through his features.
Leona wore a faux-disinterested expression, and on closer inspection, you could see his jaw clenched, tail twitching in agitation. He crossed his arms while glaring daggers into the RSA boys that sat across the room.
Azul had his usual businessman smile, and if you blinked, you would miss the split-seconds when it quivered, threatening to give away his distress. His gloved hands gripped his knees, and he continued to make eye contact with you, as if he would be able to influence your decision.
Kalim was more open about his concerns. He had an uncharacteristically serious face, and would not look at you. He remained staring at the headmage, willing a solution into existence. Every once in a while or so, he would glance at Ambrose the 63rd, before the frown on his face deepened.
Vil was…biting his nails. You blinked. If one of the most composed housewardens had unraveled like this, you could not being to fathom how the others were truly feeling. He turned to Rook every few seconds, unable to calm himself down. Rook tried to reassure Vil that you would make the right choice, although he did not look like he believed it himself.
Next to Vil was Idia, who surprisingly came to the court in person. His omnipresent sneer had turned into a heated glower. Neige, who had tried to give Vil an apologetic smile, shrunk back in his seat from the sheer aura Idia gave off. His golden eyes almost burned into yours, unreadable.
If the other dorm leaders were stressed, Malleus was absolutely distraught. You could hear thunder rumbling outside the building, Lilia frantically trying to appease the prince with promises that his dear friend from Ramshackle would not be going anywhere.
You recalled how Grim had to be restrained prior to the hearing.
"Well, MC," Ambrose the 63rd started. "The choice is ultimately up to you."
You shifted in your seat to sit more comfortably. You looked up to the podium where the RSA headmage stood. "From what I've heard, Royal Sword Academy is just as prestigious as Night Raven College. Before I consider anything at all, I would like you to tell me what RSA can offer that NRC cannot."
Ambrose beamed. "I'm glad you asked! Royal Sword Academy believes in the comfort and convenience of its students, and you will find that your accomodations are grand and proper, and not some rickety old mansion," He stared pointedly at Crowley, who coughed into a curled fist and looked away. "In other words, we can assure your safety."
Neige and Chenya nodded encouragingly from their seats in the gallery. You gave them a small smile. "My safety…" You trailed off, looking at the housewardens, who seemed to squirm uncomfortably under your gaze. "What about your academics?"
"We follow the standard Board of Magical Education, just like Night Raven College. If you join Royal Sword Academy, you would be enrolled for free, as a gift." Ambrose continued, gesturing to the panel of RSA students sitting behind him. Most of them had heard about you from Neige and Chenya, and you were someone they had grown to admire; heroic, brave, respectable, and wouldn't they be just the luckiest if Royal Sword Academy had a student like you?
You couldn't decide which side was worse to glance at; the hopeful, glowing faces of the RSA students, or the despairing, pleading faces of the NRC students.
You chose to look at your steepled fingers resting on the cold wooden surface of the table, before clearing your throat. "I need to think about the implications of switching schools, especially with an unusual admission case as a half-student like mine. I also have to consider Grim, because he is my responsibility, and we were enrolled together as one student. If I leave NRC, how will he continue his education?"
"Oh, well he could always enroll at RSA with you too!" Ambrose smiled, as if everything had already been decided.
"I'm afraid that's not possible sir. Grim will not only have trouble adjusting to an entirely new environment, but since the teachers at NRC are familiar with his study patterns, they will be able to give him better guidance. I wouldn't want this to affect him adversely, you see."
"You would rather your familiar learn under the guidance of a villain than a noble samaritan?" Ambrose retorted, looking genuinely alarmed.
"I beg your pardon? That's not a very nice thing to say about impressionable young students, sir." You said, trying to sound as offended as possible. "They are all individuals, dealing with their own personal struggles and trauma. Why on earth would you call them villains?"
Ambrose's smile dropped, realizing he may have screwed up. Crowley perked up at your words, and a glimmer of hope flickered across the gloomy mass of NRC students.
"I apologize. It was…a slip of the tongue. However, I do have one thing that may interest you. It is something you've been looking for, for quite a long time now. Something neither Crowley, nor NRC will ever be able to provide you." Ambrose clasped his hands together in excitement, which sent unease coursing through the NRC representatives.
"Oh?" You raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What is the something that neither Crowley nor NRC will be able to provide me?" A half-agitated, half-excited chorus of whispers filled the courtroom.
"A way back home."
The final nail in the coffin.
You were stunned into silence, and so was the rest of the courtroom. Ambrose stood in triumph, sure that he had the cat in the bag.
"A way back…home?" You repeated, looking at Ambrose to make sure you hadn't heard him wrong. He nodded, his eyes twinkling. A million thoughts ran through your head as you sat in your seat. All this time, the headmage of Royal Sword Academy knew how to get you back to your world? You didn't know whether to cry or rejoice; however, you did neither, instead opting to look at the NRC representatives gallery.
Crowley's face had paled, and he buried his head in his hands in resignation. He seemed to be muttering to himself about how he "was not kind and generous enough" and that you deserved so much more than a lousy headmage like him. Your heart wobbled, and you had to look away.
Unfortunately, looking away meant your gaze landed on the students, who were naturally, staring right at you.
Ace and Deuce were gripping each other's sleeves, with almost comically distraught matching expressions. Deuce was tearing up and Ace didn't seem to be too far behind. Trey's face had darkened, and he was peering over his glasses to look at Chenya, mouthing words you weren't sure you wanted to decipher. Cater's fake, bright and cheery persona had slipped away completely, and he looked at you almost pleadingly; there was no way you would leave him like everyone else, would you? Riddle stared at you blankly, and for a moment, you could almost see the frightened little boy in him again. You had saved his life, helped him get over his trauma, and had been so kind to him inumerous times afterwards. And you would leave?
Ruggie gulped, and he searched your face for something, anything that said you would refuse Ambrose's offer and come back with them. Jack had a vice-like grip on the edge of the table, and cracks had started to form in the wood. His expression was unreadable, and his tail stood up in the air, barely moving. Leona slammed a fist into the table, yelling angrily in protest. The nerve of this old geezer to target their one weakness.
Jade frowned. Well that wasn't a very fair deal now, was it? As ambiguous as he was with others, he looked genuinely upset at this new development. He knew how much you missed your home, him missing his own quite often. Floyd's eyes were wide with murderous intent, and he would've stood up to strangle Ambrose if it weren't for Jade's pulling him back down. Azul knew this was the one thing they couldn't persuade you out of. You had a whole family, friends and places you missed, and to be entirely truthful, they hadn't been very nice to you; why would you want to stay?
Kalim started freaking out right then and there. He blubbered to Jamil, asking him to do something about it, anything that would make Ambrose take his words back. Jamil gritted his teeth, and tried to steady Kalim before he hit something and hurt himself or someone else. He knew how much this offer meant to you, and if he was you, he would've taken it in an instant. He was happy that you would finally get what you had been looking for all this time; so why does he feel his heart lift when he sees the hesitation in your eyes?
Vil stopped biting his nails, and you couldn't help but feel a little frightened when you saw the look in his eyes. It was all too familiar; you had seen it before, at the SDC after Neige's practice performance. Rook had fear etched into his knitted brows. Was this truly the outcome? He prided himself on being able to read his fellows like a scandalous magazine, and yet, he could not tell what it was that made him doubt you. He was unable to see what you were thinking, what you were feeling. Epel had started screaming profanities at the RSA students, letting his accent slip. How could those bratty, pampered boys smile in the face of their suffering like that? He thinks they were even crueler than the "villains" people thought the NRC students were.
Idia's fingers moved quickly over the touchpad, franctically researching RSA's past. He knew if there were any underlying scandals that RSA had tried to cover up, it would be sure to deter you from going. After all, what school didn't have any scandals? This would be a piece of cake, or so he tried to convince himself. Ortho did not understand what was happening. Was there a glitch in his programming? What was he feeling, and why did he dislike it? You were leaving, and that would be a bad thing. But why? Is it because you would no longer be around to hang out with him?
Malleus. He stared at you, and only you, as if there were nobody else in the room. Not Silver, who was shaking him by the shoulder, not Sebek, who was loudly expressing his worries, not even Lilia, who crouched down in front of Malleus, trying to get his attention. His eyes were blank, as if someone had blown out the light in them. You feared he would do something quite drastic if you so much as looked at the RSA students. Sebek glanced back at you, panic written all over his face. He was uncharacteristically silent, eyes pleading. Lilia frowned at nothing in general, trying to figure out why he wanted you to stay so badly when he was used to this scenario. Silver blinked multiple times, trying to convince himself that this was all just a bad dream, and that you weren't really leaving them.
You took a deep breath; you had made your decision. You dipped the pen in the ink well. The room became dead silent, only filled with the light scratching of the quill against paper. Crowley looked up, peeking through his fingers, afraid to find out what you had chosen. You stood up, and suddenly the courtroom was the most suffocating place you had ever been in.
It was almost as if everyone was holding their breath at the same time.
"Thank you, Headmage Ambrose," You started, walking up to him. The horror seemed to plaster itself onto the NRC representatives' faces one by one in slow motion, as you handed Ambrose the 63rd the paper, until... "I appreciate your offer, really. And I know you're a noble samaritan, as you say, so you'd oblige and let me take you up on that any time I wanted, right?"
"Of course!" Ambrose smiled gently.
"Then I hope you don't mind, but I'll stick with NRC. I'm rather attached, you know?"
The first thing you heard was Crowley crying out in triumph, followed the deafening cheer from the NRC students.
The second thing you heard, was a very loud chorus of "CHILD OF MAN", "HERBIVORE", "HUMAN" and "POTATO" before getting mauled by NRC in what was possibly the biggest group hug you'd ever gotten.