Chapter 4: Celestial Scholars

I was trembling, hands shaking while I do my task and clean the training room that was now back to its normal state. But every move was clumsy with uneven steps on the stone floor while the earlier incident remained to haunt my head.

I knew I shouldn't be messing up right now, especially in the training room of celestial scholars, especially with all the weapons and the dangerous things surrounding me.

I kept wiping my tears off my cheeks while cleaning the entire place. It was indeed a normal room when there was no magic involved, with stone walls and high dome ceiling, and a smooth sturdy floor. Every room in the underground was like a hollowed cave.

Carefully dusting off the weapons hanging on the walls and place carefully on long tables on display, the blades and sharp tips of daggers shone under the dim light of the place.

After hours of cleaning, I eventually calmed down and headed back to the outbuilding. Did the celestial scholar inform someone about the incident? Would I be kicked out of the academy? Several questions nagged like stones being thrown at my head, making me clasp the puffy skirt of my uniform with my cold sweaty hands while walking through the dim pathway.

What would Martha think of me? I didn't want to disappoint Martha.

I arrived quietly at the outbuilding. It was late in the evening and the entire place had settled down and everyone in the building had ended their day. The golden lights had dimmed in the drawing room, the hallways whispered in the silence, and only the dining hall and kitchen illuminated lights and deciphered movements for people like me who had just arrived in the outbuilding.

Instead of going to the dining hall to eat a late dinner, I went straight upstairs. Martha was already in the room dressed in floral sleeping clothes with her long hair tucked inside a satin cap. Martha didn't look like someone who had a penchant for floral designs but most of her clothes and her stuff had traces of them.

"Did you have dinner?"

I tried not to stare in her direction while removing the apron from my uniform.

"Did you the things I reminded you of?"

I paused from placing the apron in the laundry basket. It was clear that Martha still had no idea. The incident had not reached her yet. But how long?

"Yes, I cleaned the entire place and was careful not to excessively clean the weapons and equipment inside," I mumbled, avoiding her gaze entirely.

"Good. You can rest now."

That night, after taking a shower and settling on my bed, even though I knew Martha no longer entertains questions about work once she's on her bed, I asked her about them. The celestial scholars.

"You said they're the top students of the academy..."

"Yes," she answered from her bed while reading a small old book.

"Are they that important?" I was careful with my choice of words while testing the waters on how serious my offense would be once it was known.

"I knew little about them," she muttered with her eyes still on her book. "There are five members as of this moment and the academy put special effort to train them."

"Why?"

This time, Martha placed the open book on her lap to face me. "Why do you want to know?"

I shake my head against the soft pillow while staring straight at the ceiling. "Nothing," I lied. "I'm just curious."

"Don't be," was her reply. "You don't need that kind of distraction in your work."

Martha told me to sleep my curiosity out. After all, it would be Monday tomorrow. If it would be this easy to mess up with students around, I would surely have a hard time doing my task while catering to students flocking the campus and main castle tomorrow. I wasn't even sure how long I could keep this up.

I had breakfast with Martha the next day. I was more anxious today than on my first day as a maidservant because now I was aware of how things work as a maidservant and how the presence of students could be detrimental to my job.

Martha and I were early to arrive at the castle to do our task before the classes starts. I followed her around, taking notes while she checked things that needed her expertise once again until she designated a task for me.

By eight in the morning, students started flocking around the campus. From the dormitory buildings on the other side of the campus, students walked through the web of pathways among courtyards and gardens leading to the west wing of the castle where most classrooms were located.

From the glass window of the office I was cleaning, I could see them. They hang around in the courtyard in their sleek black uniform with traces of gold in the ribbons and tie around their collars and the golden logo of the academy on their long coats.

I watched them sit around the fountain or walked through the garden, with books in their hands, chattering with each other and simply living their lives in the most glorious school. They looked regal. A state I would never reach my entire life.

I had to step away from the window to go back to my task. Martha was right. Seeing them, people of the same age as me but living a different kind of life, was distracting.

The entire morning, I avoided being outside the main castle at all costs. When noon arrived, I was more than willing to go back to the outbuilding so I could breathe. Even the light tasks felt heavy when there were people I needed to avoid.

On my way out of the main castle, I run into Martha on the pathway leading to the outbuilding. I asked her if she was also on her way to have lunch. While walking, I heard a voice calling Martha's name from a distance. I turned my heels around to see a student from the courtyard approaching us.

"Martha! Martha!" Her cheery, feminine voice rang in the garden. The moment she reached us, she stopped for a moment before placing her palms against her knees to catch her breath. "Why is it so hard to see you these days?"

The student turned to me, smiling brightly with her pearly white teeth behind pink lips and cheeks flushed from running. She had a fair complexion that shone in daylight like snow with hair the color of gold silk, tucked with pink crystal hairpins on her head.

I was astounded for a second, never expecting to see a student up close once again. The difference in status was more apparent up close. Their clothes looked sleeker, the details more delicate in the eyes. The girl wore a black knee-length dress with a thin satin gold ribbon tied to her collar, long black socks, and black shoes, all underneath a long coat meticulously designed with golden wreath leaves from the lapel to the hem. But the most breathtaking detail was the golden logo of the academy stamped proudly in the fabric.

"Ms. Lucy," greeted Martha with a tip of her head. But instead of her usual monotone voice, in her voice was familiarity, like this kind of encounter was no longer new to her.

The girl grinned before turning to me. "Oh right, I haven't seen you around before?"

I didn't know what I should say to her. Am I required to introduce myself? Is there an exemption to the absolute rule of no interaction between maidservants and students? Or this exemption only extends to Martha for being the head staff? There must be some kind of special circumstances I wasn't aware of.

"Ms. Lucy, this is Anna. Anna, this is Ms. Lucy, one of the celestial scholars."

I almost choke on the air. A celestial scholar again? I encountered one of them and it was a horrible experience. Would she be like that too? I watched her with intended wariness. She didn't appear as scary as the guy from the training room. To be honest, she reminded me of a puppy. Not in a bad way. She was just... too jiggly. She couldn't stay still. She kept leaning back and forth on the balls of her feet with her soft blond hair bouncing with every move of her head.

"It's great to meet you, Anna!" she clasped both of my hands, shaking them up and down. "So are you on your way to have lunch? Can I join you?"

Martha had no qualms calmly answering her question. "You can't, Ms. Lucy."

Lucy's pink lips turned up in a tiny pout. She looked like a puppy with white fur, the one that only stays inside the house and doesn't bark.  "Why not?"

"It's not appropriate for you to keep spending time in the outbuilding with us."

Pink tinted her white face as her pout slowly turned into a sad smile. Even I had to turn to Martha for being too straightforward with her replies. But knowing Martha, she would take the straight honest route every time.

Lucy bit her lower lip. "But..."

Martha sighed and finally gave in. "I will allow you today. But this will be the last time, Ms. Lucy."

Lucy hesitated before she managed to smile. "I understand."

The three of us, a strange combination of people, approached the outbuilding to have lunch. Lucy had no problem lining up for the food and taking a seat with us around the wooden dining tables. The maidservants also didn't mind her presence as if she's been in the outbuilding a dozen times before.

And then the unfortunate thing happened. In the middle of our meal, a maidservant approached our table, asking for Martha's help and both headed back to the main castle, leaving me with the celestial scholar named Lucy.

There I was, awkwardly sitting with a student of the academy after all the warnings I instilled in my head. This might be an exemption for Martha but not for me. So I remained eating silently, avoiding my mess to pile up.

"You look young. How old are you?"

Lucy's attention was now drawn to me. I focused my gaze on the food on my plate, seasoned vegetables, slices of meat in a savory sauce, and a bowl of potato soup.

"I'm nineteen..."

"We're the same age!"

Her cheerful voice sounded so much like flowers and sugar mixed, clear and cheerful. Even though I was aware there might be a reason why she was spending time in the outbuilding instead with the other students.

"You must be wondering what situation led me to spend lunch in the outbuilding," she smiled, watching my facial expression with interest. She slowly scooped a spoonful of soup with no intention of eating it.  "This is the only place on the campus where I can eat lunch without people judging me."

The word slipped from my lips before I could prevent it. "Why?"

Her face lit up for a moment, glad that I showed interest. But then, her smile faded, like the flame of a flickering candle. "Well, I... I'm the recent addition to the celestial scholars and... the least deserving among them."

She kept scooping and un-scooping the soup with her spoon. "I understand their opinions. My skill is okay at best. But the members of the celestial scholars, they're fascinating. They're on a completely different level than the rest of us. They're the students with the most mastery of their skills, either really smart or dangerous. It's like they're destined to be celestial scholars the moment they were born and they constantly prove it."

The bright gleam on her eyes faded as if a cloud descended upon them. "I've been part of the group for two months now but I couldn't grasp their skills; their competence when it comes to training, their standard. I don't belong at all."

"Is that... why you spend time here?"

Lucy nodded with a half-smile on her now pale lips. "I've known Martha since freshmen year when she was still the head staff of the dormitory. She took care of me a lot since I was one of the few students who can't regularly go home. Since I became a celestial scholar, I've been spending my free time here. I'm not comfortable being around them."

I watched Lucy go back to eating the cold food on her plate. Now I understand. On such a big campus, there were still students like Lucy seeking a place to belong.

"I'm not being considerate, am I?" Lucy asked after a while. "I'm putting you and Martha in trouble because I can't deal with my problems. I'm quite glad I was able to promise Martha today would be the last."

She tried to eat, but her hands holding the utensils were shaky which made me remember my trembling hands whenever I was trying not to cry. But I was in no place to offer her reassuring words because my situation was no better.

"Anna, do you wanna spend lunch with me?"

From the barely touched plate in front of me, I raised my head to match her gaze.

"I'm planning to keep my promise to Martha but if you can--"

"I'm sorry but it's not possible."

She managed to give me a smile despite my answer before nodding. "I knew you would say that."

After lunch, Lucy and I both walked back to the main castle. She,  heading to the head teacher's office for a meeting, and I, to resume cleaning the offices.

I kept my distance of five steps away while walking in case we came across other maidservants or students. I've encountered two celestial scholars in the most unprecedented circumstances and it only meant greater risk if I get tangled with them.

We arrived at the floor where the teachers' offices were located. The place was usually empty after lunch when teachers go back to their classes in the castle's west wing. But when Lucy halted in the middle of the corridor, I knew we were not the only people in the place.

"They're already here."

Her voice came out weaker before lowering her gaze to the floor in discomfort. I followed her gaze to see the people who gave her such reaction. At the end of the hallway, a group of three students was heading in Lucy's direction.

The celestial scholars.

They walked with stable strands, straight shoulders, and unwavering gazes as if they never cowered in fear or lower their heads in their entire lives. The hem of their long coats swept the air as they walked, golden details of their uniform glimmering from the afternoon sun casting its rays from the window.

"I-I had to go, Anna," Lucy stuttered before rushing to the group.

The only girl in the group sighed, flipping her long black hair off her shoulders before muttering to Lucy. "Do we have to wait for you every time?"

"Sorry," Lucy mumbled.

At least one of them smiled at Lucy. "Thought you're gonna miss the meeting again," chuckled the guy with the wispy sandy hair sticking out like fur all over his head.

Before I turned my gaze away to let them pass by, a familiar cold gaze stared back at me. He indeed looked more intimidating up close, in daylight. Lights shone over his gray eyes reflecting the colors of frosty lake water. Taller than the rest of the members, with a physique of someone who had undergone rigorous training; a tightened jaw, an angular face.

"Lucy," I heard his deep velvety voice refer to Lucy. "Be with the group next time."

For a reason, his gaze remained on me, as if I was one of the reasons  Lucy chose not to be with them as if he recognized the trouble I had caused in the training room.

I pulled my gaze away from the group, my head in turmoil. What does he think me for? A nuisance? Before leaving the corridor, I heard his name from Lucy.

"Yes, Atlas."

***