~RUBY~
It had been days since I received the written letters and endured bullying. Everyone continued to ignore me, almost as if I were invisible to them, and even the crown prince was nowhere to be seen. I searched for any sign of him or the envoys, but they seemed to have disappeared.
Though I tried to push thoughts of him away, my days were oddly peaceful without glimpsing his face. Still, curiosity lingered about his sudden absence.
I finally discovered my roommate's name—Ella. The irony struck me that someone as self-centered as her would carry such a seemingly gentle name. She had never bothered to tell me, and it took another student to reveal it. Her avoidance of me was clear, and I ceased trying to engage; it wasn't worth the effort.
With the bullies gone and feeling invisible
