The Academy of Medical Arts

Morgan exited the carriage directly into the middle of the battle camp that had been set up in less than a day. The Vallsia troops had moved faster than anyone had anticipated and this camp had barely been set up in time to meet them.

The troops here were a rushed mix of people from Focaveh and Perwasia. They had been training the other troops in Focaveh but Vallsia's sudden forward press had forced the hands of Queen Astraea and King Donovan. They had mobilized all available troops so the only people left were trainee newbies and older veterans trainers who could no longer serve on the front lines.

Morgan hoped they would be able to bring back most of the troops they were with today but she didn't know how Astraea's plan would play out.

Elliot walked up behind her and said, "I hope this works out."

Morgan turned her head to look at him, "It will."

Elliot handed her her sword and then helped her mount her horse before mounting his own. They rode up the hill that overlooked the enemy with the rest of the troops at their backs. With a battle cry, Morgan raised her sword and charged into the enemy camp that was on the other side of the hill. The rest of the army flowed down the hill behind her and met the soldiers with loud clashes of steel.

Morgan cut down many soldiers before a javelin hit her shield and knocked her off her horse. She picked up her sword and rushed the man who had knocked her off her horse. She slashed her sword and he fell out of her path.

Morgan continued on foot, fighting her way to Elliot's side. She found him fighting against a mountain of a man.

The man found an opening and was about to swing downward when Morgan lept in and parried the blow. Elliot's blade sliced upwards underneath hers and finished the man off.

"This is so not how the plan was supposed to go." Morgan panted as she continued slashing.

Elliot chuckled, "The plan went to crap as soon as we received word that the enemy was on the move."

Morgan choked on a laugh as she kept moving through enemies with only two goals in mind: stay alive and keep Elliot alive.

*****

Teresa sat in the Headmaster's office at the Academy for Medical Arts with her small book bag in her lap. The large office was quiet with the large mahoney doors blocking any noise from the hallway. The meeting with the headmaster had gone well and Teresa was officially enrolled. The headmaster had popped out to give her a quick minute since everything was happening so fast.

There was a clock ticking on the wall that made her feel like time was going faster. Teresa stood apurtly just before the smallest hand reached the minute mark. She had made up her mind. She would be the best student this academy had ever seen. She would not let her sisters or anyone else who would be relying on her down.

Teresa' belonging were waiting for her outside the office. Someone had unloaded the carriage and because she didn't have a room assignment yet, the bags had been left in the hallway. She sighed because now she was faced with two options: haul everything to her room herself or ask for help. She checked the assignment on her folder and decided that she could move her three bags.

Three flights of stairs later, Teresa dropped her bags next to the next. She used her key and then peeked into the room, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

There was no response so Teresa moved her bags in before carefully shutting the door behind her. She set the bags on her empty bed because taking a second to breath. She had one more bag to go grab and she needed to get a drink of water before that. Remembering a fountain at the end of the hall, Teresa stood to walk to the door to go get a drink. She walked over to the door and had her hand on the handle when it swung open. Teresa jumped back quickly as a girl with mousy brown hair walked in.

"Oh my gosh, I should've opened the door more carefully. Are you ok? I am so sorry," the girl hastily apologized. "I thought you were coming tomorrow or I would've cleaned our room."

Teresa gave the room another look, but it was practically spotless so she wasn't sure what the girl was talking about. "It looks great! I'm Teresa, and you are?"

"I am Lady Violet van Venderstan. Please call me Violet, your highness. It's an honor to be your roommate."

"Oh please, no titles. Call me Teresa. I would like to be as low key as possible while here."

Violet blushed a little, "They definitely gave you the right roommate then. I practically blend into the walls."

Teresa chuckled awkwardly before saying, "I need to go get my last bag but after that can you give me a tour of the grounds before dinner?"

"Of course! We can go see all the good spots to study and I can help you find your classes for tomorrow. You are going to have a lot of catch up on coming in the middle of the term…." Violer trailed off as she looked around. "I will pull some notes form the classes we share while you are gone. You got your schedule right?"

Teresa pulled out the piece of paper and handed it over.

"Oh good. We share almost all of them so you don't have to worry." Violet clapped her hands in delight.

Teresa smiled as she left Violet to fret over the schedule. Teresa wasn't too worried about catching up. She had been reading the textbooks for some of the classwa before this because she had been curious and trying to go through the correspondence classes to get a license to be a nurse and help in hospitals.