The Queen Wicked Deeds

The night at the Academy became cold and the wind from the north was covering the castle with a gelid layer of ice, though, the summer had just gone away.

Anne was looking from the window at the mountains in the north, the ones that were blocking her way to her dear Henry.​​

"Tia…" Anne turned around to the little girl preparing the tea and the dinner. She had always been engrossed in the perfect way of arranging every single detail of the dishes.

Even the decorations and the tableware were in perfect harmony every time.

"What is it, Princess Anne?"

Tia had always been very proper in her manners from a young age, and she had never asked and done anything out of the line.

"Had you wondered… where are your parents?"

"Oh…" Tia furrowed a brow, then she looked at the Princess with a nod, "yes, many times… but…"

"Don't you want to know who are they or where they are?"

Tia looked a bit confused and then her eyes dimmed with a strange expression.

"I am happy to know that they care for me, My Princess," she said with a sigh. "Her Majesty, Queen Elisa, told me that I was left in Lith under her protection… and that my parents loved me too much."

"Are you not curious about why?"

"Yes, I… many times I had wanted to ask about them, but…"

"But?"

"I don't want to part from here, from my family."

Tia looked at Anne and smiled, Anne blushed a little and turned around to look again at the north, this time with a little smile on her face.

"I… I am glad…" she whispered but then she cleared her throat. "Let's eat dinner, then."

However, when the time of the dessert appeared on the clock as a timely happy moment. Anne decided to share a big piece with Tia.

Then, of course, she asked for one more fruit tart.

"…" Tia will never forget the first time they shared a meal together.

The princess had been a storm of mischievousness at first. A bit spoiled and some other times were a bit shy. When she first met the Princess, the Queen had made her the playing partner. Though, the little Princess was younger than her for two years.

Tia knew that the Princess, the same as her, didn't have parents, and she was left in the care of her uncles, the King, and the Queen. However, as bright as the Princess was, Tia knew that she remembered her parents very well but never dared to ask where they were.

She didn't want to listen to the people who said that they were in a better place, somewhere they were watching over the Princess and her older brother, but she couldn't go with them.

So, Tia never pressured her about the issue but played with her as her dear Princess. She was also happy to know that the Princess didn't want to ask her about her own parents. Tia would never know what to answer. And so, they became the right one for another.

However, one time, when they were outside playing in the garden, the princess, and she fell down from the stone stairs. She wanted to catch the princess and cushion the fall for her, but it was too late.

They both fell… and woke up.

"By the way, where is Gandalf?"

Tia asked as he hadn't seen the white fluffy companion of the room for a while and Princess Anne hadn't asked about him.

"Oh, he went crazy a few minutes ago," Anne answered nonchalantly, she even sipped a bit more of her tea with extreme care, but inside her eyes was a joyful glint. "He scratched the door and went away running."

Tia wondered about the many possibilities:

1. A new cake from Chef Hugo out of the oven.

2. A new cake from Vincent out of the oven.

3. James freshly prepared pancakes to surprise Moira, and, of course, he had done the share of Gandalf too.

4. Shadow is back from playing with Blackie.

5. Cookies. Those that appeared from nowhere.

The first two were almost impossible as the kitchen was too far away even for the nose of the mighty Gandalf. The third was also impossible as it wasn't morning and James had not prepared pancakes in a while because pippin and merry, the wolves in Moira possession. They were crazy about pancakes. Mostly addicted, so James topped preparing them.

The fourth one could be a real possibility, but Shadow had been staying with Moira to look over her as a request of James. She had to watch if Moira escaped the tower to play in the forest with merry and pippin.

The fifth… the fifth… was the only possibility.

"Is Mellie returning to the school?" Tia had heard that Mellie had to go back to his nation for family issues, or so that is what Anne told the school management.

"Maybe," Anne smiled and looked at the red card on the table.

[Mission number 1]

Those were the only words in the card, nothing else, but those words.

Anne was hoping to know more about the details of the mission from Mellie himself, and so Gandalf went to retrieve him.

***

[Billie Ashton,

The words written in the report of Moira alarmed greatly Anne. This was the first time Moira had written those words and to be that warned against someone.

'That person must be formidable.' Anne thought, but a wave of strange enthusiasm appeared in her eyes. To make Moira take precautions, that only meant one thing.

This Billie boy was uncommon, not just formidable, but uncommon. Anne made a mental note to go look for him later and watch him directly. To ȧssess him.

[The Ashton family are nobles from the north, they went away the same time as Duke Eylos decided to leave the throne and exile himself. 

The Count of Asthon was not an ordinary loyal subject of the Duke but an amazing bodyguard. He had gained the noble title because of his extraordinary fighting skills and his prepared mind to affront different situations.

Dangerous and formidable. Those words were embedded in the minds of the citizen of Lith when talking about the Ashton family. They seemed to idolize him but at the same time, fear him and his family.]

Now, Anne was starting to understand what was making Moira so wary of this guy. She must have challenged him once and the fight must have been extraordinary.

She took the piece of tart from her table in the cafeteria. The classes were already over and she was taking a bit of time to freshen out at a secluded table in the VIP part of the cafeteria.

The Academy was asked to do that for the famous faces around the school, mostly because the King of Lith donated a great number of golds to help his dear daughter manage her fans and have a little peace.

"Excuse me," a boy with a shiny smile and long blonde hair looked at the Princess with a helpless smile, "can I sit next to you? The other seats are…"

The other tables were occupied and Anne's table was mostly empty except for her and Gandalf.

It was bold of the young man to ask her but noticing his feminine manners and his overly trimmed eyebrows, she felt compelled on helping a fragile lady.

"Go on," Anne nodded and continued reading the report.

[…

Billie Ashton was not an ordinary son of a noble. His father was, after all, a great fighter, a knight, a bodyguard, and later the Commandant of the Northern Army. They had trained the soldiers with extreme care and with the sturdy techniques of the North.

Billie grew up in that ambiance and with the most difficult experiences from a young age. However, there was no doubt that he was truly a genius.

Before he was invited to join the Academy, and many other schools around the world, he had already gotten the rank of a Northern Knight from the Duke du Eylos.

Many Kingdoms and clans were trying hard to poach him to join them, even the King of Lith's personal guards. However, he declined all and went against his father in his wishes to enter the Academy.

The fight between son and father was so extreme that they ended up on the fighting platform. Billie won by a slight move.

"Billie, baby, you are here," a young boy with black hair and glasses jumped to the seat next to the boy with long blonde hair. "Oh, I am sorry, my name is John."

The feminine guy saluted the Princess with a slight bow.

"I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Billie Ashton, and he is my darling."

Anne nodded and continued reading.