The World Of Sally

Chapter Twelve (Continuation): Result

Mr. Bolton and Dr. Ashton were together to see the result. As they arrived at the information board, they saw Helios staring at it with a small smile.

“Your highness. You’re here.” The doctor mentioned smiling at him. “I can feel that it’s good news.” His eyes went to the list and saw Sally’s name written on it.

“It’s a high score.” Mr. Bolton said feeling proud of her too.

“Yes, but the exam is not finished yet. There’s still one tomorrow.” Helios stated. Mr. Bolton nodded at his words.

“If it’s alright, would you like to join us? We’re going to meet Ms. Esther today and thank her for her hard work.” Dr. Ashton invited the crown prince.

“Yes.” The prince answered and the three of them went to meet her. 

He heard that Athena and Sally are taking the exam in the same room. They arrived at their classroom and saw Sally. She’s sitting in the furthest corner of the room and dazing at the window. Her face is pale and her lips were tightly pressed.

“She’s in a daze again, just like the first time I saw her.” Dr. Ashton chuckled. “But she’s still adorable. Don’t you think so, your highness?” He asked. He didn’t answer, however, his eyes were glued at her.

“Your highness.” His attention shifted to the blonde girl who called him. She bowed down and smiled brightly at him. “You’re here.”

“Yes.” He answered. He walks past her and went to Sally. He pats her shoulder. She snapped and looked at him in surprise.

“Your highness.” She called still in shock.

“Ms. Esther.” Dr. Ashton called her. Her silver eyes shifted to them.

“Doctor, Mr. Bolton and Ms. Robia, is there anything you want from me?” She questioned them. The doctor laughed.

“What’s with the question? We’re here because we want to congratulate you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“He’s saying that you made it to the list. Congratulations.” Helios said. She covered her gaping mouth and gasp in shock.

“Really?”

“Really?” Athena asked in skepticism.

“Yes. She’s rank fifth.” Mr. Bolton answered her. Athena’s face distorted for a second and forced herself to smile.

“I see. Congratulations, Sally.” She muttered. Sally beamed a smile at her and replied;

“Thank you.”

“Let’s eat outside together. It’s our treat.” Dr. Ashton offered. “Are you coming too, your highness? Ms. Robia?” He asked them.

“Yes, there’s nothing to learn anymore.” He shrugged his shoulder.

“How about you, Ms. Robia? You should call Mr. Robia and Mr. Lionel too.” He added.

“Ah, yes.” She answered. Mr. Bolton who was beside Sally noticed her unwell expression. So he asked her,

“Ms. Esther, are you alright?” Sally raised her head and smiled at him.

“Yes, sir. I am fine. That would be nice but, I still have things to do. I’m sorry.” She apologized.

“Huh? There’s nothing much to do tomorrow, and it's only mana leveling exam.” The doctor said to her. She forced a smile and explained to them,

“Yes, that’s true, but I’m not like his highness nor Ms. Robia who had strong mana to be included in the honor’s list. I still have to practice.”

“I see. Well, you need to close the deal between you and the headmaster, however, you don’t have to push yourself too hard.” Mr. Bolton muttered, worried about her.

“Yes, Sir, I’ll remember that. Thank you for your concern. Excuse me, I’ll be leaving now.” She took her things, bowed to them before going out of the room. Helios watched her back walking away from them. Now he felt bored. He sighed and excused himself but Athena went beside him.

“Your highness, would you like to eat dinner with us? I’ll ask Mr. Bolton and Dr. Ashton too.” She offered.

“No. I’m sleeping early, excuse me.” Helios coldly declines her offer. Athena frowned and let him leave. In the end, the dinner didn’t happen.

 ---

Helios returned to his room and grabbed a book after changing his clothes. He’s not tired but he declined Athena’s offer. Even he is curious why he said that earlier. When he heard that Sally wasn’t able to participate in the supper, he immediately declines Athena’s offer. He sighed and focused himself on reading the book he’s holding yet no matter how much he read the book, he can’t concentrate. ‘It’s useless. I’ll just take a short walk outside.’ He thought. He took his coat and went outside in the garden near the dormitory. It has the infamous labyrinth of rose bushes which was rumored to give misfortune to anyone who dared to go there. ‘I heard every ladies are afraid of being here.’

“I wish I had a placemlike yours… and in there, I’ll hide thoroughly so that no one can see me.” The prince halted as he heard a familiar voice behind the bushes. The familiar delicate and warm voice was refreshing to his ears. An exception of all the voices he always hears around him. Without thinking, he opens his mouth to speak.

“Why would you hide?” 

Sally was startled and looked at the crown prince with her eyes wide open.

“Y-Your highness! Why are you here?”

“Do I need a reason to be here?”

“Oh, sorry for my question. I wasn’t thinking, your highness.”

He leaped from the bushes and landed smoothly to the other side. Without asking, he sat next to her and that made her uncomfortable.

“You’re a peculiar one.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Students don’t come near this labyrinth fearing they might encounter misfortune. Come to think of it, I also saw you here sitting leisurely.” He muttered.

“Yes. I was shocked back then seeing your highness in this place. I even asked you if your highness isn’t afraid of misfortunes.” She chuckled. “Your highness is brave.” She complimented.

“Who’re you talking with?” The prince asked.

“A bunny.”

“A bunny?”

“Yes. It ran away when your highness suddenly spoke behind the bushes.” She said. Silence took over them and Sally felt even more uncomfortable, however, she can’t just leave as she pleases.

“Congratulations on placing fifth on the honors list.” The prince said with a small smile. Sally stared at his face for a while and thought;

‘Is he the hot-tempered prince in the rumors? Still, I can’t let my guard down.’ She smiled at him.

“Thank you, your highness. I never expected to be one of the tops. I thought I’ll be at the bottom.”

“I was quite surprised. You even beat Ms. Robia. She’s now in the sixth place.”

“What?” She asked in surprise.

“You didn’t look at the list, did you?” Sally didn’t answer and rubbed her nape in embarrassment. She heard him sigh. “You should have. Aren’t you proud of yourself?”

“It’s not like that, rather, I don’t want to get disappointed seeing my score.”

“Why would you worry about numbers? Numbers are just numbers. What’s important is the effort you put in your work.” He justified.

“Of course. My apologies, your highness.” She stated and slightly bowed down.

‘He’s far from the rumors.’ She pondered with a smile.

“Ms. Esther, your highness, what a coincidence.” Both of them raised their heads and saw Athena smiling at them. She bowed down as curtsy to the prince. Sally smiled and greeted her.

“Good evening, Ms. Robia.” 

Athena forced a smile. She’s not happy to see her after seeing the result of the first exam. She didn’t think that she can be that smart to beat her in academics.

“I’m glad that both of you are close now. Sally, you should drop formalities. We’re friends, you know?” She giggled and cling to her arm.

“Oh, how dare I do that? I should take my leave now. Excuse me, your highness, Ms. Robia.” She stood up and remove the dirt on her white dress. She bowed down to them. “Good night to the both of you.” She smiled and started to walk away from them. She’s glad that Athena arrived just in time. She can’t handle the prince alone and she’s not used to accompanying people. As she went out of the maze, she met Felix.

“Ms. Esther.” He called.

‘Just how unlucky I am?’ She thought in dismay and sighed.

“Is there a problem? You looked troubled.” Felix asked her.

“Oh, no, Mr. Robia. Good evening. I apologize for greeting you late.”

“It’s alright. You’re not calling me by my first name again, did I do something wrong?” He asked.

“Oh, no, Sir. You’ve done nothing wrong.” She muttered nervously.

“I see, you should call me by my name. We’re friends.” Sally felt stupefied at his response.

‘They’re really siblings.’ She concluded with a nod.

“Why are you nodding your head?” He questioned with a confused look.

“No particular reason, Sir. I feel bad leaving you here but I have some things to do. Goodbye, sir.” She bid goodbye and turn her back. She really can’t say his name again even though she called him by his name before. Before she can take a step away from him, he urgently opens his mouth to say,

“When the exam is over, can we have dinner together?” She halted from walking and looked at him with wide eyes. Did she hear him right? Does he want to have dinner with her? For what reason? She had a lot of questions in mind but she can’t voice them out.

“I’ll think about that, sir.” She replied.

“Alright. I’ll wait.” He smiled at her but there’s something in his expression that Sally can’t ignore.

‘Why did he look like he’s hoping for that dinner? Am I someone to be hoped for?’ She wonders and felt anxious all of a sudden. ‘No. I need to focus on tomorrow’s exam. Right, I need to meditate when I arrive at my room.’ She thought, pushing away the anxiety playing in her head.

---

Helios is not fond of Athena’s presence. It’s because Athena keeps on acting like they had an intimate relationship between them. The only reason that Helios talked to Athena was because she’s Felix’s sister. What he showed in front of her, so far, is respect and courtesy.

“I’ll be leaving now, Ms. Robia. Have a nice evening.” He turned his back and started walking away however she started speaking.

“You’re leaving now, your highness? Why?” Helios halted and glanced at her. He sighed and answered her with a cold tone.

“It has nothing to do with you, Ms. Robia.” He replied.

“Is it because you don’t like me being here? Do you fancy Sally Esther?” He was astonished by her

silly questions. A maddening laughed leaked out from the prince’s mouth as he turns around and faces Athena.

“What kind of garbage are you talking about?” Right now, Athena just smashed the wrong button and triggered his patience. He glared at her as if she’s a pest he needs to get rid of. “Don’t test my patience, Ms. Robia. The next time you mess with me, I won’t hold back even if you’re Felix’s sister.” He turned around and started to walk but stopped midway. “Oh, and whatever I feel towards Ms. Esther is none of your business.” He added. Athena watched Helios back as it drifts away. She felt ashamed, threatened, and scared that her legs failed to support her. She can’t forget those sharp golden eyes that held hers for minutes. She messed up their relationship.

‘No. I should talk to Sally tomorrow.’ She thought and calmed herself.

---

Helios returned to his room feeling exhausted. He felt a slight headache but he’s not yet sleepy. All of a sudden, a man with a cloak appeared behind and kneeled on the wooden floor.

“How’s the investigation?” He asked sensing the presence of his knight.

“We have confirmed that the poet named arcane is here, your highness.” He reported.

“How about her appearance?”

“None, your highness. That person was never seen in public, he never had relatives. Oddly, it’s like didn’t exist in the first place. One thing that we learned is that the poet is a male, your highness.”

“A male?” He turned to face the mysterious knight with a dumbfounded look.

“The name arcane was originated in the eastern part of the kingdom and a few said that a man owned it.” He explained.

“A man and he’s in here as well. Find out more about him.”

“Yes, your highness.” Then the knight disappeared. He lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He can’t believe that the mysterious poet is a male.

‘Weird. I can still remember the woman’s voice in my head as she said a few lines from the poem.’ He then fell asleep while thinking about the report he received.

 The day of the final exam arrived. All students are in the assembly hall. Depending on the result, if the student possesses such great mana in his body he will be included in the advanced classes of both defense and offense magic. However, this exam is only applicable for sophomores to seniors since freshmen will be learning meditation first, a method to collect mana from nature and stabilize magic in their bodies.

Helios woke up and surprisingly, his feet drag him to the forest behind the school’s walls. In his hand is a basket of sandwiches and tea. He was staring at the trees silently with disappointment. There’s no one in there but him, however, he did not bother to look for her any longer and just sat on a huge root of the tulip tree and started eating silently. The bell started ringing and he stood up and went back inside the campus. Students gathered in the assembly hall. There are two magicians and in between them is a crystal ball that measures mana in their body. Helios wasn’t fond of the crowd. He wants to get out of the hall immediately so he stepped forward.

“Please put your hand on the crystal, your highness.” The magician said. Helios did what was told. He can feel his mana flowing in his body towards the crystal ball and then surprisingly, or not, the crystal cracked and exploded. Students and the magicians who witnessed it were astonished. As expected from the crown prince!

‘I forgot to put it in moderation. It’s futile to cover it now.’ He thought. For the past years, he’s trying his best not to crack the crystal ball. ‘Perhaps the disappointment I felt is the reason that I didn’t control myself.’ He thought again and exited himself from the hall. Helios’ name was placed number one on the list. The other students started to whisper as he passes by. He stopped when he saw someone in front of him. Her uniform is dripping wet and her hair is a mess. She had wounds on both knees and her right forearm. Everyone is insulting her but she’s ignored it.

“Good morning, your highness.” She greeted.

“What happened to you?” Helios asked eyeing her from head to toe.

“Oh, I fell to the fountain near the dorm. It’s not serious, your highness. Please excuse me. I have to take the exam.” She hurriedly went in front and placed her hand on the crystal. After that, her name is automatically listed at the eighth spot. A smile formed her lips as she saw her name. Finally! The deal is off. She won!

***