Villainess From the Stars

40. Roommates

The Academy was a fairly new establishment having only been created after the war ended.

Housed in the palace that once housed the royals during the Dark Age, it had been made new. Excessive guest rooms turned into dorms. The larger bedrooms for the royals were made into classrooms for a variety of secular lessons, like Policies and History. The armory was made into the knight training area. Other secular buildings were turned into the Metal Okren study classrooms and the Elem artificer classrooms. The greenhouse once an over-excessive garden for tea parties and the like was turned into the year-round classrooms of the Land Okren studies.

Vienna would stay in the dorms during the week and then head home on the weekends. Her father preferred her not to travel in the dark on the way home.

Her dorm was shared with three other girls, one of them was a familiar face.

"Zia?"

A beautiful curly head of burgundy curls turned and bright pastel pink eyes shined bright, "Bhelfl'ōr!"

The other girls looked at each other in question, "Bhelfl'ōr?"

Vienna smiled at the girls, "Zia and I met while I was traveling. I'm Vienna Thorne, may I know your names?"

Their eyes widened and they curtseyed, "Lady Thorne."

"Oh please none of that, here at the Academy we are all equals and I believe we are equals regardless of title anyway."

The taller of the two stepped forward, "Rhosyn Rhidian." Her lovely bright red curls matched her name quite well. "I'm taking the merchant route for my specialty."

The shorter grinner wide, "Leora Rylis. Knight in soon to be training."

Leora stood proud, "Don't let my height fool you, I'm extraordinarily nimble with a blade."

Vienna smiled, she already could see her new roommates were going to be fun characters.

Zia stepped forward, "Zia Laelynn. Seamstress specialty, Elem sub-specialty."

"The wings gave it away, I'm afraid," Rhosyn said with a straight face, while Leora giggled before stepping forward.

"I have not met many Elem with wings, it's nice to meet you, Zia."

It struck Vienna then how unique it must be in the Continent where almost everyone was a mix of different races for there to be someone who looked straight from the tales of the different lands. Those on the Continent were like a melting pot of different races, the genes they took after stronger were often dependent on their environment.

Like Frey with his Okren and Elem descent, he took after his Okren side being more surrounded by those working with the terra growing up. Still, his Elem showed through with how his hair and eyes would shift to match his surroundings as if trying to blend in. A talent only a few Elem with an affinity to light could do.

"And Lady Thorne what is your specialty?"

"Vienna please." Vienna smiled in what she hoped to be an encouraging way, "Okren Land specialty, sub-specialty merchant studies."

Vienna had decided to do merchant studies when discussing with her Pop. She had spoken about how she had found the seeds on the illegal trading ship. She didn't have much knowledge about the trade between the Continent's different regions. She also thought about what she learned about the Elem in the Secret Garden and thought about how she could find out more about the widespread land beyond the portal.