The Imperial City's magical academy's opening ceremonies were not the fanciest or the most attended events the academy hosted. It was primarily just to welcome the new students and there were no special performances. The welcoming event definitely was nothing in comparison to the magic competitions that filled the same arena with thousands of eager spectators.
On the large field of the underground arena only stood one faculty member and two hundred or so newly selected students who were all over twenty years of age as that was the minimum age of attendance to the academy. It was a mixed crowd of all kinds of humanoid creatures and one of the few things that united them all was they had potential to magic or at least they thought so due to lineage.
"I'm Instructor Alfonso and I will be acting as the assistant for the class of the year 2238. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have and I will help you find the answers you seek," an old grey breaded man in black robes who was standing next to a floating white orb voiced. He was enhancing his voice so that even the few who sat on the far reaches of the arena's seating were able to hear his voice in the same calm and factual tone the ones next to him were able to.
After a pause of looking tired Alfonso continued, "We will now begin the magical affinity tests using the dragon stone that was gifted to our academy by the Imperial Dragon Council. As you should know thanks to this stone we can find your magical affinity in seconds and not by studying each and wasting time some of you have less than some others."
At the back of the crowd was a couple of two silver-haired pure elves. One of them wore a white mage robe and a silver swan tiara. The other had black robes and a single silver swan decorative pin on her chest. They were Princess Celeste from a distant elven kingdom and her combat maid Jade who was the one servant the academy rules let the Princess take with her.
Celeste looked tired from her long journey as she had barely arrived in time to the ceremony. She was sitting on her travel trunk that Jade had carried with them. They had not even had the time to arrange rooms.
"Why didn't they summon me to go first," Celeste muttered as she heard the first student to be summoned to the dragon stone. Her purple eyes were slowly moving along the crowd with tired curiosity.
"Your highness chose to set up camp at the back. It would have been inconvenient for them to start from here," Jade replied in an overly proper voice and even gave a bow with her response.
"Right.. and who is that masked guy?" Celeste asked. She was referring to one of the few people who was sitting at the elevated audience seating around the runic stone covered arena.
"That would be the headmaster who was appointed by the Dragon Council to eat all ill-behaving princesses who do not even try to maintain their image," Jade replied with the same proper tone but her lips were trying to hide a smile as the Princess fell to lay on the large travel trunk. She stretched her long and nimble elven limbs with a silent yawn.
"Who is going to care. My father is seas away and there is no way the dragons let his agents linger here," Celeste voiced with a grin she uncaringly gave to one of the human males who was looking at her. The way she was on her back made her robes empathize her large perky chest area and the tightened white fabric was almost letting a hint of her nipples through. This act made a few males around her more than care about how she acted. Though Jade's venomous looks kept them away even before they took steps to greet the Princess.
Jade realized that Celeste had fallen asleep from how her breathing showed by her breasts steadied. The maid took a silken travel cloak from her bag and threw it on top of the Princess.
"Sleep well. May your back remind you later of your deed," Jade irked but Celeste's slightly gaping lips showed she was in no position to hear her. Jade rolled the Princess to her side and made sure the shape of her breasts were hidden by the cloak. After that Jade sat on a free spot of the large trunk and stared at the green magic runes that were engraved into her wrists.
** * **
"Princess Celeste, you may touch the stone at your leisure," were the words that woke up the mentioned princess. She jolted upright with an unnaturally well kept silver hair that had not even gotten wrinkled while she slept. Though her purple eyes were glazed from poor sleep and she lacked focus.
Instructor Alfonso was staring at Celeste and the white dragon stone was floating next to her. Celeste rubbed her perfectly smooth elven cheeks for a moment but then she remembered where she was.
"Right, I understand," Celeste stuttered. The stone was close enough for her to touch it from where she had laid but she stood up and gave it a quick bow like in panic.
"Rough sleep?" came a female's voice behind Celeste. Jade sounded so annoyed Celeste did not recognize it so she ignored it.
Celeste reached her hands to the white smooth floating stone and a jolt went through her body. Her world began to spin and a pink light filled her vision. Odd heat was spreading in Celeste's body and even stranger tingles she had never felt in her twenty years of life were moving up her spine. It was like something in her core had awakened to some new level of existence.
"Princess Celeste has the affinity for lust magic," came Alfonso's calm voice. Celeste heard it even through the odd pulses in her head. It had cut through them like rune forged steel.
There was a moment of silence but then it was broken by loud laughter from a single female behind Celeste. A few others joined it and a low talking echoed it as people started to ask each other what it meant.
"What?" Celeste uttered. Her purple eyes were twitching and her lips trembled open. Sweat and wrinkles were forming to her usually smooth and borderline pale forehead.
"Princess Celeste has the affinity for lust magic," Alfonso's calm voice repeated. Every syllable rang repeatedly in Celeste's mind and her head tilted.
"That is not possible. Don't insult me," Celeste flared. Her breathing was heavy and the heat in her body was focusing on a single target. It was the man right next to her. Celeste had never experienced a feeling this strong towards anybody so in her confused mind, she decided it was burning anger.
"With your fine education, you should know what that means," Alfonso replied. Celeste heard irk in his calm voice as her body began to tremble even stronger. The laughing behind her was also still going on, it echoed in her mind and poured on the flame that was heating her core.
Celeste was still touching the stone and it still shined pink. In the middle of it was a red layered heart symbol with a small purple centre.
"That is not possible, you tampered with it... you damn human," Celeste shouted. She turned towards the instructor and took steps towards him. AS her hand let go of the dragon stone the pink light faded but some of it still lingered in Celeste's vision. Every muscle in her agile elven body was tensing up and ready to fight in a not so elegant fashion as the laughter echoed in her mind that mixed with a fear that was rising from deep within the Princess.
"Do not accuse of me such things. It is a rare art and..." Alfonso's words were interrupted as screaming Celeste lunged at him, "My father will kill me."
Surprisingly quick Celeste managed to get as far as getting a stranglehold on Alfonso before her world went blank.
** * **
Celeste jerked up from a creaky wooden bed in a small utility-focused bedroom without windows. The only light came from magic stones in the roof that simulated dimmed daylight. The Princess was still wearing her white travelling elven light mage robes. Jade was standing next to her.
"Thirty minutes. The instructor sure knows the timing of his spells." Jade stated with a wide smile. It looked like all worries on her eternally young elven face had been washed away and her green eyes sparkled like gemstones.
"I'm killed and expelled?" Celeste stuttered her question. Her hands were shaking and there was cold sweat on her forehead. Her beautifully sculpted royal face looked heavily shaken with a lingering blush.
"Neither but there is a message from your father," Jade replied. She stepped to a side to point at a white orb on a small side table, it had silver text written on it.
It read, "The only thing more disgraceful than a lust magic-user is a person without magic."
