The Dragon Queen [COMPLETE]

A COWARD'S HELP

On the boy's cue, Yuvien's friends picked him up and the crowd dispersed almost instantly.

I gulped and continued to stare at the boy. He looked like an angel. How could he be so cruel?

"You would make a girl go through something so horrifying?" I asked. My hand was itching to whack some sense into him.

"If you don't want to be the rosa, just collect all the marks by then. I have provided an alternative, you know," He gave me a teasing smile as if he had just won a round against me, which I must admit he had.

"And what gives you the right to punish me? Who are you?" I questioned.

He chuckled, "I want to ask you the same thing, human. How are you so daring when others can't even look me in the eyes?"

I immediately broke eye contact. Dad must have dropped me when I was a child and I must have lost some screws. What else could be the reason for my immense stupidity? I seemed to be doing everything in my power to be noticed.

"As to who I am, you'll know soon enough," he said. Then, he sauntered towards the stage and took a seat next to the other dignitaries. I swallowed my pride and sat down in the nearest chair. I was aware of the eyes that bore into me from all directions but chose to ignore them, focusing on the annoying but attractive boy instead.

In fact, I focused on him so much, that I completely zoned out of the speech that madame principal gave. She was one of the faculty who turned a blind eye to the bullying. I didn't care to listen to her anyway.

The boy kept smiling which he probably thought was charming. I found it irksome. Who the hell was he to give me a punishment? I began listening again when he walked up to the centre of the stage.

"Welcome to Adelmiro Circle, freshmen! I am Ryne Novak, a final year student from the magic echelon as well as the ti-eglor."

My eyes widened, my throat dried up and I clenched my jaw. This was just great! The one person I was told to stay away from and I had to pick a fight with him.

Years ago, when the dragons lost their power, the magic-kind, with the help of their patron goddess, Hecate, rose up to take their place. The Dragon Empire was broken down and a new political system called the Circle was established. The Circle had various levels or echelons based on species with the magic-kind being the highest. The emperor of the Circle was given the title, "eglor," which meant "champion of magic-kind, conqueror and protector". (I know. I wonder how that much was compressed into one word too.)

Since then, the warlocks of the same lineage had been ruling the Circle with the eglor as the head. This person, Ryne claimed to be the ti-eglor or the heir to the current eglor, which meant that he was probably the most powerful guy in the room.

"...like the newbie we just met, Meredith," Ryne called out and I shot out of my seat, having woken up from my reverie. I looked around confused.

"I like the respect you show me, but you don't need to stand up, Meredith. I was just telling everyone to read the guidelines like you."

Snickers followed. My face grew hot and I nodded before sitting back down. I grabbed my plaid skirt in both my fists not caring if it became wrinkled. He didn't have to mention my name. He was singling me out, that bastard!

"If you have any problems adjusting, you can contact your echelon head or any of the upperclassmen actually. We're all quite friendly and don't bite. Oh, except the sirens, vampires and werewolves."

That was such a lame joke but everyone actually laughed. I was bewildered, what was with this blind admiration?

"The seniors are all in here if you want to get to know us. The head of your echelons will call for a separate orientation later this week so that would be another opportunity," he said as he casually ran his fingers through his black hair. I swear I heard someone swoon.