The Effect of a Name

Gossip about the unusual scene that took place in front of the main building began spreading like wildfire. It was all anyone was talking about. Students and even staff were wondering about the relationship between the princess and the unknown group.

Slowly, more information started to be gathered. Within a few hours, it was discovered who most of the group were. Most of the students came to learn of the fact Ian, Ellie, and Emmett were siblings. More specifically, the fact that they were the kids of Erik Crest.

Once people heard the name, Erik Crest, many students and faculty members' eyes widened. That name was well-known throughout the kingdom.

Erik was a rising star when he attended Zen Academy. He was well known for his combat skills. This was especially true since he was next in line to earn the title "Master of the Crest Techniques and Skill". 

This was a very powerful set of skills that had been passed down from generation to generation in the Crest family. Only those in the Crest family could learn the skill. However, only one person could be taught the skills. This way it could stay only in the family.

When Erik was attending Zen Academy, he was a force to be reckoned with. Very few people stood a chance against him. But what made him stand out even more was his relationship with, at the time prince, Prince Xander.

Erik, King Xander, and Liam all attended Zen Academy at the same time. They had an unusual brotherly relationship with each other, even though none of them were related.

Regardless, they were the best of friends during their time at Zen Academy. That friendship lasted even beyond graduation.

Once Xander ascended the throne, Erik and Liam were there standing next to him. Erik joined the royal guard while Liam became a major researcher for the kingdom.

During his time as a royal guard, Erik climbed the ranks quickly and was said to become a candidate for one of the most important positions in the royal guards. A member of the Royal Guardians.

Everyone in the kingdom knew Erik's name and his quick rise through the ranks. However, in the end, he never managed to become a member of the Royal Guardians. This was not because he was unable to, but because he chose not to become one.

He was only a few steps away from becoming a Royal Guardian when he suddenly chose to retire from the royal guards at a young age, and instead, take on a different task. No one knew why he chose to do this except for a few people.

The main people who knew about Erik's decision were King Xander, Liam, and a few other important people. The reason for Erik's sudden retirement was, mainly that he wanted to settle down with his wife, Crystal, who was pregnant at the time. However, he didn't want to settle down in the royal capital and risk being bombarded by people.

Thankfully, King Xander and Liam were thinking of starting a new project together that could benefit the kingdom in the future. They wanted to explore and study the Mystical Forest of Lost Souls. However, they need to set up a base of operations for this project. Not only that, they also needed to set up a team that would go with Liam.

This is where Erik came in. Since Erik wanted to get away from the kingdom to settle down, and Liam needed someone strong and reliable to go along with him, this was perfect. They would all get what they wanted.

King Xander would be able to initiate this project, Liam would be able to take on a task he always wanted to with someone strong and reliable, and Erik would be able to retire under the guidance of assisting Liam in a long-term project.

With this, Erik and Liam's names became more well-known since news of the project became public. Because of this, many of the students and faculty members knew about Erik's name and how prestigious he was.

Ian and the others knew their dad was fairly well known since he told them he was fairly high-ranked in the royal guards. However, he never told them about his connections in the kingdom, how far up in the ranks he was, or how extremely well-known his name was.

They thought he was an above-average commander in the royal guards who had to work extremely hard just to reach that point. They had no idea what their father's name would bring for them.

Ian was relaxing in his room, lying on his bed while he waited for Kevin to finish unpacking and for Emmett to return from helping Zoey. 

The rooms they were given were small but had everything they needed. Each room was slightly bigger than an average bedroom. It contained a twin-sized bed, a desk, a small compacted kitchenette, and a closet. Connected to each room was a small bathroom with a shower. 

There was still plenty of room for students to add their own little twist and make it their own, but there wasn't too much extra space. When the school was being remodeled, the rooms had to become more compacted to accommodate more students.

Even with the limited space, Ian was able to fit all of his belongings and still had more than enough room to add more. He mainly brought clothes with a few trinkets here and there.

However, everyone else, except for Emmett, brought a bunch of stuff with them. They were all still unpacking so Ian had nothing better to do than lay in his new bed and wait.

As he lay in his bed, Ian thought about the event that happened earlier in the day. He thought about how Amanda was the princess and how everyone looked at him and the others. 

To him and the others, Amanda was a close family friend. They knew Amanda and her father, Xander, lived far away and that's why they only visited once every few months. But now knowing they're royalty changed everything.

Ian kept trying to wrap his mind around the whole situation but eventually gave up as it was too much of a headache to think about.

Soon though, he heard someone knocking at his door so he got up to see who it was. Standing before him when he opened the door was Kevin.

Kevin looked at Ian and said, "Sup, loser. I finished unpacking. Do you want to head out and take a look around? We shouldn't wait for Emmett since… you know."

Ian thought about it for a second before saying, "Eh, sure, why not?"

The two of them left the male dorms and decided to walk around. It was already late in the afternoon. Most students were in their rooms so the pair wouldn't encounter many people.

Ian and Kevin walked around the campus looking at all the different buildings and sections of the academy.

It doesn't take long for them to walk from the dorms to one of the common areas on campus. It was a beautiful garden section filled with an array of different flora. Scattered across the garden were many benches and picnic tables. 

There were some students in this area hanging with each other, reading peacefully, or doing their own personal research on things.

Ian and Kevin casually walked through the garden, taking in the view. The garden was well-kept. Not a single thing was out of place.

Ian and Kevin didn't stay long in the garden. They continued walking past it towards other buildings. After a bit, they reached the main builds. This is where most of the classes took place. They enter the building, walking through the halls aimlessly. They just wanted to learn the layout of the campus.

This was especially true for Ian, he wanted to learn where everything was so he could start making plans to escape unusual situations. If he ever needed to avoid someone, learning the layout of the whole campus would help him.

As Ian and Kevin walked through the building though, they realized many of the students were avoiding them. Kevin found this weird but Ian let out a sigh of relief.

Though information about Ian, Ellie, and Emmett had spread, not much information about Kevin and Zoey had been discovered. Since not much was known about them, students wanted to avoid them, not wanting to risk insulting two possibly important people. Until more was known about them, most students would avoid them.

However, even though Kevin was with Ian, some students still wanted to come up to them. A good amount of students wanted to talk to Ian, Ellie, and Emmett to get to know them better since they were the children of Erik.

At the same time, these students knew how prestigious Erik was and they didn't want to be a bother to his kids. It was still the Crest siblings' first day at the academy so for now, students would leave them alone. But they would still look at them from a distance.

Ian could feel the eyes of many students looking at him. He hated the feeling. He just wanted to go back to his room and hide.

Kevin, however, looked perfectly fine. He didn't seem bothered by the multiple eyes on him. In fact, he seemed to be basking in it. He had a very cocky smile on his face and he walked with more confidence.

Ian saw this and asked, "How can you walk so happily?"

"It's simple. I just think about all the girls that are looking at me. Knowing they are looking at me gives me more confidence. If I'm lucky, I might be able to shoot my shot with some of them." Kevin turns to Ina and continues, "Since I'm seen as a mysterious man who has connections to royalty, I might be able to use that to my advantage."

Ian gave Kevin a disgusted look. He knew Kevin liked to flirt with girls but this was taking it to a new level. In the village, there were only a few girls around their age. Kevin would flirt with them a lot, even though he never had a chance.

Now, he was in Zen academy, filled with a wider variety of girls. He was going to become a bigger headache for Ian and the others. At least they thought he was.

Ian thought about what Kevin said and was suddenly given a chill. He didn't like the idea of people staring at him in general but now thinking about what Kevin said made him feel worse. He wanted to keep to himself and maybe make a few friends along the way. But that didn't seem possible now.

Once classes started, he was probably going to get bombarded by many students wanting to be his friend or more. Ian's face scrunched at the thought.

After walking around the main buildings for a while, Ian and Kevin decide to head back to their dorm rooms. The pair talked as they walked together.

Along the way, the two bumped into Emmett and Zoey. They were sitting in the common garden area talking to each other. When they saw Ian and Kevin approach, they stopped talking and turned to them.

Emmett smiled at them and said, "Sup, fellas. Where have you two been? I went looking for you two after I finished helping Zoey unpack."

"Sorry, Emmett, but Ian and I knew you were going to take your time helping Zoey, no offense, and we didn't want to bother you two. So we decided to have a look around," Kevin said.

"I'm sorry if I'm being a bother. I didn't mean to keep Emmett for so long helping me. It was selfish of me," Zoey said in an apologetic tone.

Both Ian and Kevin immediately stepped in and said, "You don't have to apologize."

Ian then continued, "We don't care if you hog Emmett to yourself. We understand your situation. So long as you make my brother happy, we don't care about anything else."

Kevin then stepped in, "However, once you get more comfortable being here, then we'll start stealing Emmett from you. Until then, keep doing what you're doing. We fully support you two."

"Thanks, guys. A guy couldn't ask for a better brother and friend," Emmett said happily. He looked genuine as he said that.

"No worries, we got your back. Just focus on keeping Zoey safe and feeling comfortable. We'll be waiting patiently for you," Kevin said without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

After a short pause, Kevin then asked, "By the way, have either of you seen Ellie? We haven't seen her since she left with Amanda, I mean the princess."

"Nope, haven't seen her. If I have to guess, she's probably still with Amanda," Emmett said.

"I guess so. Eh, we'll probably see her tomorrow when we all get tested. I hear that to get our class schedules, we have to get our powers tested first. That way they can build our schedules around our strengths and what we want to learn." Kevin happily explained.

"I heard about that too. I'm excited to see how that would work." Emmett exclaimed.

Ian stepped in and said, "I guess we'll just have to see tomorrow."