Result Day ( Serene’s POV)

I hardly slept the whole night. Fear, panic, and anxiety gripped my conscious and subconscious driving me crazy. I tossed on the bed all night long, changing sides trying to get comfortable. I did doze off for a few minutes but woke up screaming. When the first light hit our window I got up from the bed.

As I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, I looked like a zombie. My eyes were puffy and red from the lack of sleep and my hair was all dishevelled. I tried to comb them and straighten them as much as I could. Then I washed my face with cold water hoping it will lessen the redness and puffiness of my eyes. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

I choose a stripped black and white jumpsuit to adorn for the day and grabbed Zeph’s jacket. Once I was ready I waited for Ayrden to prepare herself for the day. She offered me to put some make-up on but I refused.

After getting ready we headed down and were asked to wait in the Training Hall. Ralph saw us and waved and we went to meet up with him. "You alright?" He asked me with concern evident in his voice. "I think I am becoming an insomniac. I am unable to sleep."

Meanwhile, Zeph sauntered over and came to a halt in front of me. I tried to hand him his jacket as he looked in disbelief at me. His eyes were red like mine indicating he hadn’t slept the night as well. "Why are you returning it?" He asked monotonously. "I don’t need it anymore." I knew I was being petty right now but my mind was on the brim of exploding and my life was hanging in balance, I couldn’t drag him down with me. I had no clue what was going to happen to me so the least I could do was keep him safe.

When he made no effort to take it back, I placed it on his shoulder and walked away from him towards the wooden bleachers. Once I sat down I glanced in his direction. He was still looking at me with those dreamy eyes of his which only reflected sadness and pain. I averted my gaze and focused on others gathering around, excited to learn about the results.

"Settle down everyone." Shumal Sensei had entered the hall with a stack of papers in her hand followed by Lavaria, Artins, Mariela, and Sarim Sensei. All novices sat down on the bleachers. Ayrden came and perched beside me patting my back. Zeph and Ralph sat down in front of us.

Once everyone was settled and Senseis had taken their positions in front of us. Shumal Sensei began: "Good morning my little pests. Today you guys will reap the results of the last 6 months. To my surprise, all of you did pretty well. Everyone who has passed can go home today. Those of you who have failed will have to stay back for two more weeks but will get one week off. I have attached another sheet with your result which contains some extra work you people will do during your holidays. Step forward when your name is called and collect your result." She then began to call us one by one. Almost everyone received their result except Zeph, Arlo and me.

"Now, I will announce the top three novices. Come forward to receive your result and award. That was a top-notch result. Firstly, Zeph Zohajr has secured the third position with an accumulative score of 46.5 out of 50." Zeph went up to collect his result as everyone clapped thunderously for him. Artins Sensei handed him his result with a small black sword as a souvenir. My heart was happy for him as I smiled at his success, on the other hand, his expressions were completely blank.

"Second position goes to Serene Zohan with an accumulative score of 47.1 out of 50. Well done Serene you tremendously shone through." Wait, what? How did I secure the second position? I wasn’t even going to pass. I was rooted to my seat in disbelief. Ayrden shook me lightly with a smile and asked me to go ahead as she began to clap with everyone else. "Go, Serene!" Ralph shouted in excitement.

I made my way to Artins Sensei who was beaming with pride as he handed me my result and a small silver bow. "You have made me proud Serene as you promised the very first day you arrived here. You held up your promise and have come so far. Congratulations." He smiled at me wholeheartedly, his golden eyes shining with pride he felt. "Thank you, Sensei," I replied with a smile as I took my result and bow and made my way back to my seat. Where Ralph quickly took my result even before I could see it.

"And, finally our top scorer for the first term is Arlo Armandine with a cumulative score of 48 out 50. A great achievement and feat Arlo, you have made your Realm and kind proud." I knew Arlo was exceptional and he had shown it with his result. He gracefully moved forward to receive a custom-made black jacket made up of ’Raidia’ (a special fabric which is fire resistant and is almost impossible to breach even with swords). He slightly bowed his head to all the Senseis before heading back and taking his seat. Others were still clapping for him.

"Alright everyone, this concludes our Result ceremony. There are refreshments available so eat before you leave. Get your Teleportation passes from Mr Ameer. And, be good and decent to each other and don’t be a jerk." Shumal Sensei completed her announcement.

Ralph was comparing everyone’s results. His result stood as:

~SUBJECTS~

Combat (Folkels and Werewolves were awarded marks out of 20 as they didn’t have EWE.)

Combat= 15/20

Distinctive Historical Eras= 9.6/10

Concoctions & Elixirs=10/10

Mythology & Beasts= 9/10

Zeph’s result was as follows:

Combat= 18/20

Distinctive Historical Eras= 9.7/10

Concoctions & Elixirs=9.8/10

Mythology & Beasts= 9/10

Ayrden’s result:

Combat= 8/10

Distinctive Historical Eras= 9.5/10

Concoctions & Elixirs=9.7/10

Mythology & Beasts= 8.6/10

Enlightening the ways of Enchantment= 8.7/10

My result stood as:

Combat= 9.5/10 (The sheer willpower to never give up takes you a long way.)

Distinctive Historical Eras= 9.8/10

Concoctions & Elixirs=9.8/10

Mythology & Beasts= 9/10

Enlightening the ways of Enchantment= 9/10 ( The main test was to see the teamwork and if one acts selfish or not in a tricky situation.)

It was beyond me to understand how I secured more marks than Zeph in the Combat exam. We enthusiastically discussed our results for a while. Our coursemates came one by one to congratulate Zeph and me on our achievements.

Ralph and Ayrden decided to fetch something to eat leaving Zeph and me behind as we stood there awkwardly trying to avoid each other’s gaze.

"So, this is it I guess. Congratulations on your result. I wanted to invite you to our Realm during the holidays but I am not sure if you would like to come considering how things are." He finally broke the deafening silence around us. Did he honestly want me to visit him and his family? I couldn’t believe it, although my heart longed for him it was not the right time to let my emotions go overboard.

"I don’t think it would be possible for me to visit you." I wished that those words had never left my lips as his face fell into utter despair at hearing them. "I understand, no way my home could be pleasant enough for a Princess." His words stung me like a bee. "You have taken my words in the wrong context." I tried to clarify but just at that moment, I was interrupted by someone from behind...