School of the Crown Assassins

08

Being an Alpha sucked.

I knew because I was currently hanging onto a convulsing net for dear life.

The net shook fervently, ropes digging into my palms and making my fingers burn as I forced myself to continue climbing. I was only halfway through. I looked up to find the Xavier lounging at the top, cold green eyes scanning the rest of the training room. Arielle sat beside him, engaged in an arm-wrestling match with Damien. When Damien lost, he pouted and demanded they go again. Arielle only rolled her eyes and obliged, but she didn't seem quite so annoyed with her interaction with Damien. It was one of the many reasons the school secretly shipped the two. They were always interacting with each other.

Nydia was just a few feet away from the top and was taking her time, singing to herself with a half-smile as she climbed. Knox was behind her and trying his best to beat her but failing. Not that I was doing much better.

I cursed myself for getting so far behind, though I wasn't surprised. This was the story for the past month. I would try my best in the daily morning marathon but fall so far behind, I couldn't even see their dust clouds. I did some of my best moves during sparring, but Nydia could outmaneuver me without even trying, forget the Crowns.

It was the same for regular school work and classes too. Arielle and Knox could finish a test or assignment in half my time and get a better score than me, and I was supposed to be one of the smartest Unassailables. Or so I thought.

And don't even get me started on the Intellects. Despite her aloof and crazy personality, Nydia seemed to have five years worth of medical courses memorized. Damien, who was ever the care-free one, could take a machine apart before I even understood what it was supposed to do. As for Xavier, I wasn't sure what he could do. He was always too quiet for me to understand. All I've been able to notice was that he never gets surprised. Ever. It was like he already knew it would happen, which did little to comfort me.

"Get a move on, Fluor," the teacher called. I looked back up to find Nydia and Knox sitting by the other three. None of them paid me any attention besides Nydia who waved, her signature smile plastered on her face.

I bit my lip and pushed myself to keep going. The net was shaking even more violently without anyone else to weigh it down. Huffing and straining, I finally made it to the top where I resisted the urge to collapse on the metal pathway.

The teacher patted my back in encouragement as he passed. Nydia kept smiling in my direction, though I knew that didn't mean anything. Nydia would keep smiling if a person was stabbing her to death.

I rested for a moment, looking around the training room. In the distance, I could see a few of the Beta team members sparring on mats or attempting one of the ever-changing obstacle courses, Axe amongst them. They weren't there for a class, but rather practicing on their own accord.

Only the Alphas had classes scheduled at nine-thirty in the night and another the next morning at four.

I sighed and got to my feet, following the rest of the Alphas as we descended down the stairs to get back to the bottom. Alpha classes were over for now, but the Royal Trio were planning to stay and practice, Knox in tow. Nydia said she was going to visit a friend. That left me all alone. One side of me wanted to practice more and train harder until I reached the Crowns, but the other wanted to go back to my room and take some much-needed rest before the ten o'clock class began. The lazier side won.

I dropped off a few of the practice weapons we used earlier at the cleaning station. A non-assassin woman snatched it up and whisked it away.

Non-assassins, often called Streeters, normally lived on the streets, brewing up trouble. The assassins didn't care what they did and let them run rampant as long as they didn't mess with one of us. However, the assassins did hold yearly competitions to hire Streeters for menial jobs like being a servant or working on their farm or in other institutions. Many people applied for the competitions and tried their best for a job. I never quite understood it. Most assassins didn't treat them kindly and quite a few Streeters were able to live a glamorous life if they earned and stole enough money and power amongst those of the lower class. So why throw that all away to bow down at some idiotic Court member's feet?