After midterm break, the Academy filled back up with students returning from their various homes and vacations. The halls that had been peacefully empty became loud and crowded again.
I spent the first day back trying to find alchemy students.
Surely one of them would be interested in helping with candy development. It was a legitimate application of their skills, working with chemical reactions, flavor compounds, temperature control. Educational, even.
The first three I approached made immediate excuses.
"Sorry, I'm really busy with my thesis project."
"I don't have time for extracurricular work."
"Maybe ask someone else."
The fourth one was more honest.
"Look, no offense, but you're kind of infamous. The guy who attacked Theodore Valemont, forfeited the assessment, got ranked dead last. I don't want to be associated with that. Its for my own safety and sanity"
"I understand," I said, and left before he could see my face.
"They're avoiding you," Asura said unnecessarily.
I know.
"We can still figure out the candy. We don't need them."
It would be faster with help.
"Faster isn't always better. We'll manage."
I gave up looking after the seventh rejection. Went to combat class late, slipping in after Master Torvald had already started the lesson.
"....fundamental technique that every soldier in the imperial army must master," he was saying. "And starting today, so will you."
I found a seat in the back row. The only available spot was next to a larger student I vaguely recognized. I could tell he was a noble, based on his uniform trim. Pearl Dorm. He looked distinctly uncomfortable when I sat beside him.
"The Cavalry Dance," Master Torvald continued. " Is a synchronized combat technique where two warriors move as one. When executed properly, you can predict your partner's movements, complement their attacks, cover their weaknesses. It's the foundation of all military formation fighting."
He demonstrated with a some random volunteer from the second year class their movements flowing together, one striking high while the other swept low, creating openings and covering vulnerabilities in perfect synchronization.
"This will be your end-of-term grade," Torvald announced. "You'll be paired up. You'll train together. And you'll be evaluated on how well you can execute the Cavalry Dance. Pair rankings will determine your individual grades. Questions?"
Nobody dared ask any.
"Good. Pairs have been pre-assigned based on skill assessments." He started reading names.
Most students got paired with others of similar rank. The top two students were paired together in what was clearly the "gifted" group.
"Aldric Ashford and Magnus Crowley."
I looked at the large student next to me. He looked back, expression somewhere between resignation and despair.
Magnus Crowley. That was his name.
"Great," he muttered under his breath. "Just great."
After class, I tried to approach him.
"Magnus, we should probably talk about the..."
He walked faster.
"....about training schedules and..."
He walked even faster.
"Magnus, wait!"
He practically ran.
I followed him across campus, back to Pearl Dorm. He disappeared inside before I could catch up. The desk attendant gave me a look that said "you're not welcome here."
"He really doesn't want to talk to you," Asura observed.
Our grade depends on this. He has to talk to me eventually.
"Or he'll just fail. Some people prefer failing to being associated with you."
Thanks for the confidence boost.
I waited outside Pearl Dorm for three hours. Students came and went, giving me strange looks. Magnus never emerged.
Finally, as the sun was setting, I gave up.
Walked around to the back of the building instead.
Pearl Dorm was three stories. Magnus's room was... third floor, probably. I'd seen which direction he'd gone.
"You're not seriously going to....."
I started climbing.
"You're seriously climbing." Why not yell Rapunzel let down your hair or something, isn't that how it works in fairytales on earth"
"That's so out of context" I said looking confused
The stone walls had enough handholds, I mean decorative architecture, window ledges, drainage pipes.
Third floor. Windows. Most were dark or curtained. But one—there. Light inside. And through the gap in the curtains, I could see Magnus.
He was standing at a desk covered in equipment. Beakers, vials, burners, ingredients. Doing something with careful, practiced movements.
Alchemy.
He was practicing alchemy.
I climbed to his window, peered through more carefully.
He was good. Really good. His movements were confident, efficient. Mixing compounds, controlling heat, measuring precise amounts. This wasn't a beginner fumbling through a textbook. This was someone with genuine skill.
But he was in the swordsmanship department. Not alchemy.
Interesting.
I tapped on the window.
Magnus jumped, nearly knocked over a beaker. Turned to see me hanging outside his third-floor window.
His face went through several emotions very quickly. Shock. Fear. Panic. More fear.
He rushed to the window, opened it. "What the fuck! How did you... no WHY did you..."
"We need to talk," I said.
"Go away!"
"Let me in or I'll hang here until someone notices and asks why I'm climbing Pearl Dorm."
He looked around frantically, then grabbed my arm and hauled me inside. For a large guy, he was surprisingly strong.
I landed on his floor, took in the room properly. The alchemy setup was extensive. Professional-grade equipment. Expensive ingredients. This wasn't a casual hobby.
"You're an alchemist," I said.
"No! I'm not! I ummm.... I was ummm, helping my ummmm friend in the Alchemy department with his homework"
"Dosen't that mean that you know alchemy well enough to....."
He stopped, looked at me with genuine desperation. "Please. Please don't tell anyone. If my father finds out..."
"Finds out what?"
"That I'm doing alchemy instead of training!" He slumped into his chair, defeated. "My father has reached the Grand Master swordsman level. My mother is a Sword Master. Both my older siblings are Sword Masters. I'm supposed to follow the family tradition. Honor. Legacy. All that."
*For context there are (5) levels of swordsmanship
-Apprentice
-Knight
-Sword Master
-Grandmaster
-Sword God *
"But you don't want to."
"I hate swords! They hate me too. I hate fighting! I'm terrible at it, and I don't care about getting better!" He gestured at his alchemy setup. "This is what I like doing. Creating things. Experimenting. Understanding how compounds interact. But my father would disown me if he knew. As a matter of fact, as a kid, I told him I didn't like fighting he almost disowned me on the spot. He already thinks I'm a disappointment because I'm..." He gestured at himself. "Not the warrior type."
I understood more than he knew. Living up to expectations that didn't match who you were.
"I won't tell anyone," I said.
His eyes widened. "Really?"
"Really. But I have two conditions."
His expression shifted to a more guarded one. "What conditions?"
"First. You actually try with the Cavalry Dance. I'm on the verge of failing out. If we don't pass this evaluation, I'm done at the Academy. So you need to at least make an effort."
He looked miserable but nodded. "Fine. I can do that. What's the second condition?"
I pulled out one of the experimental lollipops from my pocket. "I'm trying to make something. A new kind of sweet. It's made from sugar and fruit flavoring, but I'm struggling with the chemistry. Getting the texture right, the stability, the cooling process. I need help from someone who understands compounds and reactions."
Magnus took the lollipop, examined it. He was about to lick it and give it a taste, but his inner scientist realized that the lollipop just came out of a dude's pocket, there is no way it is clean. So he thought better of it and simply examined its properties visually and texture wise.
"This is... actually interesting. The sugar crystallization is wrong! You're cooling it too fast. And the flavor distribution seems uneven. But the concept..." He looked at me. "What is this? I've never seen candy like this before."
"It's a special type of candy, I'm trying to create"
"Create..." He turned the lollipop over in his hands, professional interest overtaking his fear. "The applications could be significant. Cheap to produce compared to pastries. Long shelf life. Portable. Easy to eat. If you could standardize the process..."
"That's where you come in. I have the idea. You have the alchemy knowledge. We work together."
Magnus was quiet for a long moment, studying the lollipop. Then he looked at me.
"You're serious? You'll keep my secret, and in exchange, I help with your... candy project and try with the Cavalry Dance?"
"That's the deal."
"And you won't tell anyone about this?" He gestured at his alchemy setup.
"Not a word. Your secret is safe."
He considered. Then, slowly, nodded. "Okay. Deal. But we do the alchemy work here. In my room. I don't want anyone seeing what we're working on."
"Agreed."
"And you can't judge my sword work. I know I'm ass. I don't need commentary."
"I won't judge."
"And..." He paused. "And you have to tell me more about this 'special candy' thing. What flavors are you thinking? What's the target market? How do you envision mass production?"
Despite everything, I smiled. "I can do that."
He stood, walked to his alchemy desk, started clearing space. "Right. First things first. Let me see all your recipes. Everything you've tried so far. And I'll need to know your process temperature, cooling rate, ingredient ratios."
"I... don't have exact measurements. We've been eyeballing it."
Magnus looked at me with horror. "You've been EYEBALLING alchemy? Are you insane? That's how you blow things up!"
"I will never understand alchemists" Asura said. "He has the right level of concern for your terrible scientific process."
"I'm not an alchemist," I said defensively. "I'm just trying to make candy."
"Candy IS alchemy! It's controlled chemical reactions! Temperature-dependent crystallization! Precise ratios! Manipulating basic units of matter to fit our despicable agendas that is alchemy!" Magnus was getting animated, his nervousness replaced by professional outrage. "You can't just throw sugar and lemon juice together and hope for the best!"
"That's... kind of what we've been doing."
"Oh god." He sat down, rubbed his face. "Okay. We're starting over. Properly. With measurements and documented procedures and controlled variables. Do you have the sugar?"
"About Twenty kilos of it. In my dorm room."
"Twenty....that's a lot of sugar."
"It was cheaper in bulk."
"Fair point." He pulled out a notebook, started writing. "Alright. Bring me the sugar tomorrow. I want to approach this scientifically first. We'll establish baseline procedures, then experiment with variations. Understood?"
"Understood."
"And you're sure you won't tell anyone about this?"
"I'm sure. Your secret is safe."
He looked at me, still uncertain, but with something like hope in his eyes. "Why? Why help me? Everyone else just... avoids you. Thinks you're dangerous or crazy or both. Why would you keep my secret?"
"Because everyone deserves to pursue what they actually care about. Not what their family agendas."
Magnus was quiet for a moment. Then he extended his hand. "Deal. Partners?"
I shook it. "Partners."
His grip was firm, confident. He's not weak. Just someone who'd been forced to be something he wasn't.
"Now get out of my room before someone sees you," he said, but he was smiling slightly. "And use the door this time. The climbing thing is impressive but concerning."
"Nah, It'll be weird leaving through the door this far in. I might as well use the window."
I jumped out the window and grapled on individual window ledges on my way down to land safely and quietly. I made my way back to Stone Dorm as the evening settled into night.
"That went better than expected," Asura said.
Much better.
"So now you have an alchemy partner and a Cavalry Dance partner. Progress."
And someone else who needs to hide what they're doing. We have that in common.
"Found family of misfits keeps growing. First a cute demon, then a ghost, now a sword hating Alchemist. You're collecting us."
Apparently.
"Could be worse. At least Magnus seems competent. And he understood the chemistry problems immediately. We might actually make decent candy now."
That's the hope.
Back in my room, Maya was there, practicing her telekinesis with increasingly complex patterns of floating objects.
"How'd it go?" she asked.
"Got a partner for the Cavalry Dance. And an alchemist for the candy project."
"Same person?"
"Same person. Magnus Crowley. Noble kid forced into swordsmanship when he loves alchemy."
Asura was actively checking my drawer for more failed lollipops, already eyeing the remaining lollipops. "So tomorrow we start proper candy development? With actual scientific methods?"
"Tomorrow we start proper candy development."
"Excellent." She grabbed a lollipop. "I'm very excited to eat scientifically perfected candy."
"That's your contribution to this project? Eating the results?"
"Quality control is crucial. You're welcome."
I collapsed onto the bed. Tomorrow would bring more training, more struggling with the Cavalry Dance, more attempting to avoid Theodore's revenge.
But I had Magnus now. A partner who needed me as much as I needed him. Who had secrets worth keeping. Who might actually help me succeed instead of just avoiding me.
It was progress.
Small, strange progress with a closeted alchemist who hated his family's expectations.
But progress nonetheless.
I closed my eyes, already thinking about candy chemistry and synchronized combat moves and how to balance everything without failing out.
Just another day at the Royal Academy.
Somehow, I was starting to get used to the chaos