The Competition

The maid selection began the next morning. It comprised of a written test, a test of balance, a test of memory, and a test of talent. The first round would eliminate anyone who scored below fifty percent, the second and third rounds would remove all who failed to complete the given tasks, and the fourth round would simply be a time for the contestants to show of their unique skills.

The ten remaining students gathered in the grand hall to watch over the candidates and make their first choices. They watched as each of the contestants were seated and handed their test papers.

"I'm sure you've already got your eyes set on someone. Right, Theo?" Cleo teased, elbowing her friend. He promptly blushed.

Cecil watched the friendly exchange happen next to him. He looked over at the candidates again. As his eyes scanned over the twenty girls trying out to become servants of the illustrious people that the graduates of Eldritch Academy would become, his eyes stopped on one of them.

Cleo caught him staring. "She does look like you, doesn't she?"

The girl in question was the one who had bumped into Cleo the day before. Cecil shrugged. She felt oddly familiar to him, but other than that, he did not find her special.

"That's new, isn't it?" she asked, leaning in to get a closer look. It was hauntingly similar to the necklace that girl, Anastasia, wore.

"Oh, this?" Cecil flipped the golden locket over a few times. "My brother gave me this. He said that it's meant for me to carve something into it. Something special."

Something special indeed.

***

When the written test was over, the students gathered around to watch their etiquette teacher grade each paper. Cleo watched Fiona receive a near perfect score, only a point off from first place. Anastasia, unexpectedly, got a perfect score, easily landing her spot in first. Even Miss Lian, the etiquette professor, was surprised.

Seven girls were sent home after the written exam for failing to score high enough. The remaining thirteen were brought to the academy gardens. The students followed along to watch.

The contestants' task was to make it from one end of the terrace to the other without spilling too much water from the cups that would be placed on their heads. A line was marked on the inside, and if the water level dropped below it, then it would be considered a fail. If someone were to not complete the course within the time limit, then they too would be eliminated.

Miss Lian clapped her hands and the competition began. Cleo watched a poor girl, shaking from the stress, drop her cup. It shattered on the ground. Icarus snickered mockingly. That only made the girl feel worse. She burst into tears and had to be hauled out of the academy screaming and wailing. Cleo shot a glare at Icarus, but he rolled his eyes. He clearly did not care.

By the time the cries of the evicted girl died out, the competition was almost over. Nervousness only hurt the last few struggling candidates. Anastasia had reached the finish line early on, sliding across the terrace with ease. Miss Lian complimented her for not spilling a drop. A few others, though very few, had made it to the end, including Fiona, who had been working her way down the terrace very slowly but confidently, one step at a time.

A timer beeped. Time was up, and only three contestants were unfinished. Excluding the one who was dragged off. Now only nine candidates were left. Already less than the number of students.

Instead of comforting the eliminated girls, Miss Lian decided to move on. She wanted to get the whole thing over with before the end of the day. When asked why, "beauty sleep" was her sole answer.

***

The memory test was uneventful. The nine girls were each given a different list of items to find, verbally spoken, of course. They were tested to see if they could memorize their masters' requests accurately, as well as how resourceful they could be. Miss Lian claimed that she was treating each girl equally, but she clearly favored the higher scoring contestants over those who had barely made it.

The ten students waited for the candidates to finish their work. Icarus yawned. Theo did too, but caught himself and tried to cover it with a cough. Nathan stretched, and Madeleine checked her nails.

"Oh, kill me now," Constantine complained, tapping his foot. "We've been here for, what? Half an hour? When is this over?"

Just as those words left his mouth. The nine girls walked back in, each of them held a selection of objects, some with more unwieldy ones than others. Miss Lian inspected each pile, and eliminated whoever she saw fit. Sometimes because someone was missing an object, or because she just did not like the quality of something.

Four girls ended up walking away, disappointed and defeated.

Miss Lian turned towards the remaining five. "As of now, you are now officially members of Eldritch Academy. Remember to carry yourself with elegance, and never forget that you are a part of this school. Do not dirty the academy's honor. Understood?"

"Understood," the girls replied in unison.

"Now you will take turns showcasing your chosen talent to the students, starting from Lola, who scored the lowest, going in order until Anastasia, who scored the highest. If you are chosen, then you will serve that student, and nobody else. You will answer only to that person. Otherwise, you will end up as kitchen staff." Miss Lian shuddered. "I can assure you that you do not want that."

One of the girls, Lola, Cleo guessed, whimpered.

Miss Lian gestured for the other four girls to go sit on the side. "Lola Ashel, you may begin."

"I-i don't g-get to think f-for a b-bit?" she stammered.

Miss Lian gave her a look that conveyed the answer to her question, in a way that made Lola whimper a bit more.

"You may also withdraw from this round if you would rather run the risk of not getting chosen, of course." It seemed that Miss Lian did not have any high hopes for Lola.

The poor girl nodded and scurried off the stage.

Madeleine rolled her eyes.

"Such a big deal over nothing," she said, checking her nails.

"Fiona de la Rousse!" Miss Lian announced, looking up from her notepad.

Cleo watched as her friend walked up and curtsied to the audience. It was then that she realized that she knew hardly anything about Fiona, who had been with her ever since she transmigrated.

Delicately and carefully, Fiona drew a detailed, but simple magic circle in the air in front of her. The students watched, in awe, as they felt the air vibrate with incredibly strong power, and then the spell was complete. A shield formed around Fiona, very small and insignificant, compared to what any of the students at the academy could do. Icarus cackled mockingly.

"That's it? I could've done that when I was two!" he shrieked, laughter blending his words together.

But Fiona was not finished. She mumbled something, a single word, and the magic shield expanded. It kept growing and growing until the entirely of the academy grounds had been enveloped in the protection spell.

"Hey," Cecil whispered, nudging Cleo. "Do you see that emblem on her hand?"

She looked at Fiona. He was right. A faint glow was being emitted from the girl's left hand. Cleo tried to get a better look. It was the same exact spell as the one Fiona had cast, but there was a another layer to it. But Cleo could not understand the strange markings of the second spell.

"That magic circle allows the user to cast this exact protection spell quickly and effectively," Cecil said. "But I think it also allows for the spell to be maintained, meaning its purpose is either preservation or conservation. The two are very similar, and I can't tell the difference between their runes."

"What's the difference between the spells themselves?" Cleo asked.

"Preservation spells aim to maintain the state of the thing its casted on, while conservation spells help the caster conserve magic, making the spell sustain for longer lengths of time, because the caster isn't using up too much power."

Cleo nodded along, surveying the other contestants. The two girls in second and third were a bit worried, clearly in awe of Fiona's talent, but Anastasia was perfectly fine. Suddenly, she turned and locked eyes with Cleo. She smiled and went back to observing Fiona.

The other two candidates were both equally skilled, but their shows were quite average. Azriel and Lilith Cressen, who were sisters, each chose to show off their musical abilities. Azriel sang a nice song. It was good, but not too memorable. Lilith chose to play an elegant little folk song on the violin.

Then it was Anastasia's turn.

She walked up to the stage, clearly confident in what she was about to do. After a quick and clumsy curtsy, she announced to the audience that she would be showing off her swordsmanship.

Then, in one swift motion, the fabric of reality was ripped open, revealing a storage space, endless like a void. Anastasia reached inside and pulled out her sword.

But when she unsheathed it, everything Cleo thought she knew, crumbled.