With a sigh, she motioned uselessly, “They’re just...boxes.”
Camille looked puzzled. “Of course. What were you expecting?”
“Just...more. These are very similar to something we have in our world, except ours are a bit more...complicated. I think I’ll just have Eric help me make what I want. I guess just take a cheap one for now until I can get him to make what I want or make it myself.” Camille looked a little upset that she wasn’t getting what she wanted, but nodded, then walked over to David.
She pointed to two medium sized boxes that she could fit in her bag and informed him, “We’ll take those two.” Jade spaced out, studying the boxes. They were all like chests, not even standing upright, and from what she could tell, they were just keeping things cool, not freezing anything. Oh well, one more thing to make.
She watched Camille pay for and then have David deposit the two boxes into her bag. They left the store, Tisha humming happily while Camille directed them towards a store that Jade belatedly realized was something akin to a candy store. Camille seemed satisfied when she saw Jade’s face light up as they went inside. There were several people ordering at the counter and various people helping them out, but one of them made sure to specifically attend Camille and Tisha immediately.
Tisha started pointing out her favorites immediately, and Camille ordered, “Get triple of anything either of these two points to.” She then smiled at Jade. “Go crazy. This is one of my favorite stores, so you can’t go wrong.”
Jade put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a happy smile because she knew she was trying to cheer her up; it was working. She started to point at the things that appeared the tastiest to her, and Tisha was doing the same. They soon had a sizable amount, which Camille did the now familiar purchase and stashing of. The same thing happened in the bakery they stopped at, the fresh fruits and vegetable stand, and pretty much any store that had ready-made food on their way towards Dracona.
Jade and Tisha were nibbling on kabobs as they approached the hill leading to Dracona. The walls were similarly impressive, being one giant stone block like the castle. With a thought, Jade glanced down. It had never given her an issue, so she hadn’t given it much attention. It appeared the streets had been worked on by earth mages as well, because unlike cobblestone most medieval era places had, the street was smooth stone. Apparently, they’d made the streets uniform in the hundreds of years since the city was built. It was impressive, given that it would have to be done over time, since the shops and houses hadn’t been built, so it obviously came after.
Noticing her gaze, Tisha happily and helpfully interjected, “Impressive, right? The Earth Guard maintains all the walls and streets of the Capitol, and they also frequently travel to the villages of the country to maintain those as well. Papa says it’s one of the most important jobs of the kingdom because without them, we’d be overrun by monsters. He says that’s why the king has always been an earth mage too, because it’s the symbol that the king is the rock upon which the kingdom is built! All of our kings have served in the Earth Guard for at least two years when they graduated from Dracona.” Smiling dreamily, she added, “One day I’ll be in the Earth Guard too!”
Jade nodded happily, glad to have this little bit of background info. They approached the gates, where the guards stopped them. Well, they mostly stopped Jade. “Do you have your pass, miss?” They appeared to know the princesses on sight, which granted, wasn’t hard to do and most of the city had down pat. They would be let through without a problem, but otherwise, entrance to the academy was strictly guarded.
Jade glanced at Camille. “Uhm…was Eric supposed to give me a pass or something?”
Camille frowned. “Yes, he normally gives them to students at either the acceptance interview or when setting their schedules…” She sighed as she thought about it. “Which with Tisha and me showing up and cutting your meeting short, we probably made him forget.”
Jade smiled ruefully. “And he probably forgot about it at the entrance exam because I distracted them by asking about the library pass.”
Tisha impatiently asked, “She’s with us. Why can’t you just let her in? She’s a student of Dracona!”
Jade realized something, then pulled out her schedule and her library pass. She brushed their fingers slightly as she handed one to each guard. “Is this enough to prove that I’m a student here until I can get a pass? I mean, I’m sure we could go get the pass from Eric, but we just walked up the hill and we’ve got a lot to do to get me settled into my workshop…”
The guards carefully inspected her library pass, her schedule, and the princesses. With a sigh, one of them caved, “Fine. Go on in, but make sure you get your school pass before you come back!” She happily retrieved her schedule and card, then was about to follow the princesses in when she thought of something.
“Actually, uhm…did Eric leave any directions for me as to which room I would be getting?” The guards were bewildered by her question and the princesses had stopped as well, realizing they had no clue where to go.
It seemed like a lost cause until another guard came walking in, rubbing his back. He didn’t notice the girls behind his comrades as he moaned, “Ugh, why we had to move the furniture out so a student could use the room… I don’t get it. Oh right, we’ve got orders that when a student named Jade Winward comes in later, probably tomorrow, that we’re to give her this key. I’ll just put it in the corner here so we don’t lose it. The room is in the…” He trailed off, realizing his comrades were giving him strange looks.
Jade grinned, stepping around the guards to inspect the new arrival. She felt like her luck was super good to have him arrive right when she needed it. She walked forward, holding her hand out. “I’ll take that now. Which room did you say it was?”
Looking extremely consternated, he surveyed his companions, asking quietly, “This is her?” At their mute nods, because of course, they’d inspected the name on the card and schedule, he sighed and placed the key in her hand, where she made sure to brush his skin during the transfer unobtrusively. “Erm…it’s in the Magnus Crafting Center, room 2A.”
She smiled beautifully at him, and he coughed in embarrassment when he recalled he’d just been complaining about her. He went white with shock when Princesses Tisha and Camille walked out from behind the other guards, and Tisha looped her arm through Jade’s. “Well, that’s all settled then. Let’s go!”
Camille merely gave the guard a very, very cold smile as she spoke frostily, “Thank you for the information. I’m sure both Father and Eric will be happy to know that their orders are being followed so...willingly.”
The guard bowed low, his face now a military mask of detached calm, though his eyes betrayed his panic. “I apologize if I have caused any offense to Lady Jade or the princesses.”
Jade put a hand on Camille’s arm, then turned to the soldier. “It’s fine, no harm done. Thank you for moving the unnecessary things out for me.” With that she gently pulled on Camille, saying simply, “Time to go.” Camille looked a little reluctant to leave without enacting some more mental punishment on the soldier, but seemed mollified that Jade wasn’t upset. She led them towards the building mentioned, and Jade stared in awe at the massive structures on the way. Every building was huge, at least four or five stories each, and she counted at least four different training fields.
Welcome to Dracona, where apparently everything was at least three times bigger. This was no school for ants.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Workshop
Camille led them to one of the largest buildings with a grin. “So, this is the Magnus Crafting Center, named after the third king, King Magnus. He’s the one who founded the academy. I’m a little surprised they got you a room here because this is where most of the afternoon classes are held.”