The Kaminos Talos Academy stands as the bastion of prestige and nobility, shaping the lives of future kings, dukes, duchesses, military generals and knights. It is one of the oldest surviving structures in the Olaspin Kingdom, its ancient structure dates back to its founding in 1340. Though it was born as a military fortress to train soldiers, the academy has been transformed into a sanctuary for the nobility. And today, it hosts not only the realm's elite but also the lower class who support them, such as loyal retainers and maids.

  Today, I will not only attend this prestigious academy, but I will also take my place within the nobility class as a commoner.

  My name is Elara, and I am 13 years old. I was raised in the slums within the lower district of the Caspia Province. I have set out to find education so that I can provide for my sickly mom.

  My dream of attending this academy began when I was six, the first time my mom opened a book for me. Her bedtime stories filled my head with fairies, noble kings, and heroes from distant lands. I became obsessed with the written word, devouring every scrap of knowledge I could find.

  However, everything changed when my dad was conscripted to fight in the war. He returned gravely wounded, having lost a limb in the conflict. Since that day, he has never been the same.

  We managed to survive for a time on the pity of others. Local residents, seeing my dad’s missing limb, shared what they could. But as the years dragged on, their generosity was outweighed by their own poverty, and the handouts stopped. Then my mom fell ill, so the burden fell entirely on my broken dad.

  He was forced to work a laborer's job despite his condition, and the pain both physical and mental broke him. He began returning home late, drowning his shame in cheap liquor.

  At first, it was just silence and stumbling, but soon he began to raise his hand against us, striking me and my sickly mother. The loving man who raised me was gone, replaced by a bitter and jaded man.

  He despised seeing me with a book. If he caught me reading, he would strike me. “Why couldn't you just have been born male?” he would shout. “Then you would have been more useful.”

  My mom always tried to protect me, despite her frail condition. However, things worsened when my cousin Elodie was fired from her position as a maid for the D'arden family. This failure only fueled my dad's sexism. He began using vile words to demean us, claiming women were useless.

  I watched in silence as his soul rotted away. He became a man consumed by spite, cursing the names of friends who offered charity and those offered nothing.

  One night, my dad spotted flames rising from my uncle's house. Intent on seeing what had happened, he ventured out into the dark. My mom and I waited anxiously, but he never returned, and the fire on the hill only grew fiercer.

  Despite the cruelty my dad had shown us, I was still his daughter. My mom tried to stop me, grabbing at my arm with her weak hands, but I pulled away. I sprinted out of our home, racing toward the hilltop to see if he, or anyone else, was safe.

  The path was pitch black. Even though the blaze was clearly visible from the slums below, the streets were eerily empty. I reached the peak of the hill just in time to watch the flames completely consume the house.

  I watched the flames tear through the house, wondering what could have caused this inferno and where my dad had gone. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows.

  It was my older cousin, Elodie, yet she felt different…

  Every hair on my body stood up. I didn't know why, but I found myself paralyzed, unable to move as if I were staring into the eyes of an incomprehensible monster.

  Before I could say or do anything, she tossed a bag towards me.

  “Look inside,” she said in a soft but demanding voice

  Trembling, I dropped to my knees. I was terrified of what might be hidden within the bag, but when I undid the button, I found... books. I rummaged through the collection, pulling out volumes on etiquette, history, languages, and other subjects.

  Confused, I looked at her.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She simply signaled for me to look more in the bag.

  I rummaged some more and found an old paper scroll. It read:

  “Let it be known by the Crown: Any scholar demonstrating exceptional intellect by conquering the Grand Examination, be they of noble blood or common birth, shall be granted a seat within the High Nobility Course.”

  A Royal Decree? I had no idea the academy permitted peasants to sit for the entrance exams. I raised my head, intending to ask for an explanation, but older cousin Elodie had already vanished.

  I found neither my dad nor the cause of the blaze that night.

  The following morning, guardsmen and curious townsfolk swarmed our home, interrogating my mom and me about the incident.We had no answers to give since we were as clueless as they were.

  Upon searching the ruins, they recovered five charred corpses. It was my aunt, my uncle, and their two sons. The fifth body with a missing limb was presumed to be my dad.

  However, the investigators noted that there were no remains matching the young woman who lived there. With no trace of her in the ashes my cousin Elodie was officially reported as missing.

  I didn't have the heart to tell them what I had witnessed.

  With my dad gone, survival became a struggle for my mom and me, especially with winter approaching. We had neither food nor money, barely surviving on scraps and the occasional charity of neighbors. In my free moments, I even taught myself to fish just to put a meal on the table.

  One day, while carving a wooden toy I'd learned to make from one of the books Elodie had given me, a commotion started outside. Curious, I peeked out to see a carriage and a bunch of people surrounding it.

  I stood up and went to investigate the commotion. Two women wearing simple commoner clothes stepped out of the vehicle. I was confused.

  A maid was driving the carriage yet the passengers looked poor.

  I wondered if they were thieves who had stolen the coach or maybe even refugees.

  “It is the Lady,” a voice said from behind me. I turned to see Uncle Bernard. He was my father's close friend.

  The atmosphere suddenly shifted. The crowd seemed to realize who these visitors actually were. It was Duchess Isolde and her daughter Seraphina.

  "Please," the Duchess said. She raised her hands to stop the crowd from bowing. "There is no need for that. We are just neighbors today." She smiled and began to unload more supplies.

  Then the Duchess handed a large loaf of bread to her daughter. She muttered something to the girl and pointed in my direction. The young noble began to walk toward us. She stopped in front of Uncle Bernard and handed him the bread.

  Throughout my life in the slums, I had only ever heard that the D'arden family were cruel warlords. Yet here I was witnessing their kindness firsthand.

  Uncle Bernard handed the loaf to me. He insisted that my mother and I needed it more than he did.

  “Thank Seraphina,” the Duchess announced gently. “It was her idea to bring extra today. She insisted we could spare more.”

  My eyes beamed with gratitude. I looked at Seraphina and wished I could tell her how thankful I was. Tears began to well up in my eyes. I had been so alone in taking care of my mother. This small act of kindness lit a new fire inside me.

  The Duchess and Seraphina moved on to distribute charity to the others. Then the old maid walked up to me carrying a heavy basket of food.

  “Is this the one?” she asked Uncle Bernard.

  “Yes, Mistress,” Uncle Bernard replied.

  She introduced herself as Helga, the Head Maid of House D'arden. She went to my house and once inside, she apologized for not visiting sooner and presented the heavy basket to us.

  My mother accepted the gift reluctantly. A strange tension filled the room. I suspected this woman was the one who fired Cousin Elodie based on my father's angry rants.

  Helga stood up to leave just as the silence became unbearable. I grabbed the hem of her long skirt before she could exit. I asked her about the scroll I possessed. I was careful to lie about its origin. I told her I found it in the trash rather than revealing Elodie gave it to me.

  She paused for a moment. She closed her eyes in deep thought. When she looked back at me her expression was filled with pity. She explained that the exam was real but only the most brilliant minds could pass. She added that no peasant had ever succeeded in the century since the school was built.

  She tried to pull away to leave. I insisted that I was smart enough but she refused to listen. She was about to pry my fingers off the hem of her dress. I knew I had to prove myself. I blurted out a phrase from the books.

  “Gloria iīs quī volunt voluntātem Deī.”

  The words froze her in place. She dropped to her knees and gripped my shoulders tightly.

  “Where did you learn that language?” she demanded.

  I looked her in the eye. “I learned it on my own. I told you I was smart.”

  Her face went pale with shock. She pressed two gold coins into my hand without another word and hurried out.

  I stood there bewildered by Mistress Helga's sudden departure. She hurried back to the carriage just as the Duchess and Seraphina finished their charity work. I knew I had to thank them. I bolted back inside and grabbed the wooden toy I had carved earlier. I ran toward Seraphina to offer it as a gift.

  I held the carving out to her. “This is for you,” I said.

  Seraphina took the toy. She examined the craftsmanship carefully before whispering a thank you.

  I wanted to express how relieved I was to meet her. I smiled and said, "You are kind and not scary at all!”

  Seraphina examined the toy one last time. She smiled and nodded at me before turning to board the carriage.

  I stood there and watched the vehicle disappear into the distance.

  A wave of gratitude washed over me. I still had questions though. I was not sure what history Mistress Helga shared with my mother. I also do not know why she gave me these two gold coins when I said a phrase I learned from the book Elodie gave me. But I felt like everything would be fine.