Leaving Sparrow behind was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. 

The hollow echo of her pained cries still lingered in my ear as I walked down the spacious corridor toward my new room. 

"Don't go, Swan!" my cousin had shrieked as two hall monitors struggled to hold her back. She had pushed against their interlocked arms with remarkable ferocity, struggling as if her life depended on it. "They'll kill me, Swan! She'll kill me!" 

Only the two of us knew who she was. 

Though her young mind had obviously magnified them, Sparrow's fears had not been entirely unfounded. Lillae's death threats had been more severe than usual that morning, probably as a result of the fact that the IAYN now had a human student. 

Apparently, in the unwritten code of Lessaenite racism, this was even more unholy than a half-Rhenan student. That fact had caused some of the discriminatory pressure to lift off of me and shift to my younger cousin, but I was feeling the opposite of relieved. Sparrow was only six years old. Who knew what could happen to her when I became too busy with my schoolwork to provide her with the comfort and protection of my constant supervision? She would have nothing to shield her from the cruel words and actions of her fellow students, especially the crown princess...

Sighing with worry, I looked down at the information on the ID card in my hand and the room number embossed in the brass plate above my head, double checking to make sure that I was in the right place. 

B-187

I guess this is it. 

As I reached forward to turn the doorknob, balancing my luggage precariously on the backs of my knees, I couldn't help but feel that I had seen or heard that number before. 

Suddenly, it struck me. 

That room number was in mentioned in almost every Lessaenite history textbook, and in most royal biographies. 

It was the room that once belonged to my grandmother, the infamous Queen Saralee of Lessaenes. 

My stomach turned as I entered the room, imagining the once immortal murderess stepping where I stepped, touching what I touched...

If that wasn't ominous, I didn't know what was. 

It might've been my overactive imagination coupled with my very natural fear of my grandmother, but the moment I closed the door, I felt certain that a brooding evil had descended upon the dormitory- an indescribable but decidedly malevolent presence that had come to perpetrate my doom. 

The room was unbearably silent- so eerily quiet that a faint, staticky noise began to buzz deep within my ears. I gulped, shoving my two simple, black suitcases into a corner as I walked through the space. Since I was the first one to arrive, I selected the bed by the window. It was a logical choice, both for light and ventilation. Trying to ignore the qualms in my stomach, I sat down in the middle of the bed. 

I instantly sunk down into the soft mattress, but I did not feel the warmth that I should've felt. Despite the fact that I was surrounded by pillows and sitting on top of a thick comforter, I was as cold as ever. It was as if the Ice Queen had cast a permanent spell of frigidity on this room when she had occupied it so many years ago. 

A woman who had killed Rhenans for entertainment, a woman who had destroyed Sparrow's planet, a woman who had nearly killed my parents, my aunt, and my uncle had sat here, perhaps in this very spot on this very bed. 

I pulled my knees up to my chest, feeling awfully insignificant in the presence of the morbid history that now surrounded me. 

There was something about this room... 

Before I could get lost in dark theories, I heard the sound of the door swinging open. Realizing how ridiculous I probably looked, I let go of my knees and allowed my arms to fall to my sides, assuming a position that I hoped appeared more natural. 

I watched a long, elegant arm slid through the doorway, setting a large tote on the ground. 

Please don't be a racist Scientist, please don't be a racist Scientist...

An almost unnaturally tall girl stepped into the room with a kind of dainty grace that one would not expect from someone of her size. She carried a purse, but that was about the only attribute she shared with the average Glaissean high schooler. Her appearance was tidy but plain, a style that was not very popular in the Empire's wealthiest city. She wore a crimson turtleneck and black slacks, despite the fact that it was rather warm outside. Her face, too, was undecorated, lacking the excessive amount of makeup that most young noblewomen enjoyed smearing across their faces. 

She didn't look like she was from Glaisse or Pylea. Or any other major Lessaenite city, for that matter. 

"Princess Swan-Rose!" she smiled warmly. "What an honor it is to be able to spend a year with a member of the royal family." 

That sealed the deal. She definitely wasn't from around here. 

"It's nice to meet you, too," I rose from the bed, returning her smile. "Pardon my memory, but I don't remember seeing you here before." 

"Oh, it is not your memory," she laughed. "This is my first year at the IAYN. As you can most clearly tell, I am neither noble nor wealthy. I am here on a scholarship, from Kilaenas." 

"Congratulations on that. Winning a scholarship to the IAYN is no small feat." 

"Thank you," the girl beamed, bending over to adjust the sheets on her bed. 

I paused awkwardly, debating whether or not it would be wise to continue the conversation. For the first time in my school career, I had been paired with a roommate who did not loathe me from first sight, and I wasn't about to let a stupid social mistake ruin that. 

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught your name," I said timidly in as polite a manner as I could manage, hoping that I had not offended her in some way. As a 'filthy half-breed,' that was very easy to do. 

"Don't apologize so much," the girl said flatly. "You're a princess, and I'm a nobody. It's rather unbecoming." 

"Oh...I'm sorry," I stammered, realizing my blunder just seconds after the words were out of my mouth. 

"See what I mean?" my roommate smirked playfully. "Don't worry, it's nothing big at all." Having adjusted them to her heart's content, she ran her hands over the layers of sheets, smoothing them out. 

"By the way, my name's Nemesis," she winked, flashing a rather uncanny grin.