Chapter 28

Prices of food items sky-rockted as more and more farmers died.

A dozen chicken eggs that once cost only 3 gold now cost 10 gold.

A pound of fresh beef costs nearly triple now.

Apples and grapes were almost too expensive to buy now.

People fought and scrambled to buy the goods before they were all sold out.

People offered to pay twice or nearly triple the price.

The royal guards had to be called in to stop riots and fights from breaking out over food prices.

Even nobles felt the strain of a dramatically decreased food supply and cut back on their spending of luxury goods.

Scenes like this were taking place all over the kingdom.

….

Arya felt refreshed and alert after a good night's sleep.

A quick breakfast of fruit and eggs with bacon and Arya was off to the Royal Academy.

It was actually pretty close to the royal palace as the Academy was located on royal grounds.

Servants bowed as Arya walked by them. She gave them a quick nod to return their bows.

The air was getting chilly now as winter approached. Arya saw the trees lining the walkway start to turn red, orange and golden.

The sounds of people talking and laughing and swords clashing combined with the sounds of fighting threw her to the training court like a moth to a flame.

Arya saw that the world that the royal and rich lived in was completely different from the life of an average servant or farmer or commoner. It seemed like everything had to be a competition for the nobles whenever it be sparring or hosting parties or sucking up the royal family. Everything was all about reputation and power to these noble households who prided themselves on their strength and power. They competed among themselves to see who was the strongest and the most dominant. They judged each other and it seems like each of them wanted to be the strongest household out there. Generations of powerful nobles who wield abilities or weapons were produced by these noble households who sought more power and more strength.

Territory disputes and wars were commonplace as Arya would learn later on. Nobles eyed each other with wary and hungry eyes as they sought to take over another's territory and resources such as land, forests or mines. Arya doubted that the nobles cared that the poor people who lived under them as their commoners and property had a say in these territory wars/disputes.

 The strong rules over the weak. That was the unspoken and unwritten law that governed the social customs and society of the nobles, Arya thought.

When she stepped foot onto the training court of the Royal Academy, everyone paid respect to her by bowing or curtseying to her when her presence was announced by a servant who opened up the doors for her.

Arya had already made quite the impression on the nobles by appearing at the king's birthday party-that was her official debut-in a provocative dress(Many young masters had nosebleeds and some were captivated her Arya's beauty and grace; The girls were awe-strucj and a little jealous of Arya's beauty) and by her previous spars with Kanan and Jarek where she demonstrated her strength.

They respected her and treated her with the respect she deserved as a princess and as a strong fighter but no one bothered to approach her or befriend her. They knew she was only the king's niece-a distant relative-and not a direct relative. If she had been a daughter and not a niece, Arya would have lots of potential to be a candidate for the throne. But rarely did distant relatives of royalty sit on the throne-it only happened once in the kingdom's 250 year history when King Terrance was succeeded by his female maternal cousin. 

Besides, as powerful as Arya was, she had no interest in the throne. 

Arya stopped to examine the training court. It was awesome and amazing in her eyes. She was curious as to what the court had to offer.

A large courtyard with multiple sparring grounds. It was outside but an invisible protective barrier protected the kids from the heat of the morning sun. Countless numbers of figures dressed in simple and practical training clothes could be seen.

A lot was going on right now. Some people were learning how to throw a spear, some were sparring with each other using weapons and/or abilities, others were running laps around the court. All kinds of strong and powerful ability users dressed in white shirts,black pants and brown boots-the training uniform of the Royal Academy, Arya thought-were training hard to hone their strength and abilities.

Instructors-both male and female-were watching the kids training or were bust giving lessons.

Looks like a princess's presence did little to dispute the daily flow and workings of the training.

Arya eyed a knife fighting station that was going on where two girls and a boy were practicing knife throwing under the eyes of a female instructor. It wasn't Catalina but some other blonde haired woman teaching the class much to Arya's disappointment.

The trio were standing a few good feet away from the dummy. They held a single knife in their hands. The instructor gave them the signal to start.

The boy threw his knife first but his throw was too weak to penetrate the wooden dummy's chest.

It bounced off and fell on to the ground instead. Arya thought he should have used a spinning throw technique to add more force and power behind the throw if he didn't have enough arm strength in the first place in a straight and direct throw.

One of the girls-the one with carrot colored hair-threw her knife. She missed the dummy's head and the knife flew past the dummy and towards a small group of people doing swordsmanship training. A shout and a curse from a boy told Arya that the knife nearly hit the boy who was lucky enough to have deflected the knife with his sword in time before it took out his right eye.

The other girl, the one with light green hair, threw her knife. The knife fell short of its target and iit hit the ground with a metallic clang.

Arya thought that she might as well start with knife throwing as a warm up.

She had no idea what kind of drama she was going to create.

…

Ezekiel arrived fashionably late to find a huge crowd of people gawking and clapping for someone.

People moved out of the way when he saw him.

Ezekiel saw that it was his little sister(well, technically, his little cousin) who was throwing knives at moving dummies. Arya held at least a dozen knives in one hand while she fired off knives with her right hand. And she was a knife throwing champion right now.

Arya launched a knife at a dummy charging at her with a wooden ax. She threw it so fast that Ezekiel's eyes couldn't catch the knives until they were firmly planted deep inside the dummies' chest, face(where the eyes would have been in a human being) or arms or legs. Arya seemed to be able to predict where the dummies' next moves and her knives always found their mark. 

A dummy charged at her from the left. Arya spun around and chucked a knife at it that zipped through the air and planted itself into the dummy's chest. It fell down and Aarya ducked a swig of a sword by a dummy that creeped up behind her. Her leg shot out and caught the dummy in a powerful back kick that sent the dummy flying backwards a few feet and pushed it away from her. Arya threw a knife at it and the knife sank into its chest.

Three more dummies charged at Arya.

Arya had three knives left.

She dropped the knives. Expect the knives never hit the ground. Instead, they floated it mid-air.

Arya saw the crowd gathered around her. She was a clever girl and she knew that she needed to make a strong impression on these nobles who respected and admired power and strength.

The knives floated in the air and positioned themselves so that their blades pointed at the dummies.

Arya jabbed a finger in the direction of the dummies and the knives went flying towards the dummies. 

The dummies split off and moved to avoid the knives but Arya was ready for that.

She controlled and directed the knives to chase after the dummies who raced around the courtyard.

The dummies tried to attack Arya but Arya was ready for it. She dodged and leaped out of the way of the dummies and their weapons.

A dummy deflected a knife but a second knife stabbed it in the leg.

Arya's knives obeyed her command like well trained pets and she was able to take out all of the dummies.

Silence. Then applause broke out for her.

…

Arya knew she made a good impression on the nobles and now they looked at her with awe and wonder. Displaying her strength and power was a good idea after all.

Knife throwing station was done so Arya decided to try out knife fighting since she was rather handy with a knife.

Catalina was the one who used daggers and knives. Arya was more comfortable with swords since it was her main weapon but wasn't a dagger like a tiny sword?

It was actually quite nice and challenging to learn some close quarters combat where a sword would be at a disadvantage and too unwieldy to use effectively. A smaller weapon like a knife or dagger would be better in such a small space.

Rumors that the king was still recovering from the assassination attempt were widespread and everyone was whispering around it.

She learned that instruction and training at the Academy was loose and flexible with different trainers that specialized in different things-swordsmanship, archery, hand to hand combat ability usage, etc-were spread out all around the training court and each had their own station.

Students were free to move about to whatever station perked their interest and learn that kind of skill the instructor was certified in.

There were even stations where you could learn survival skills or rope tying or life skills like budgeting.

Or if you wanted to train by yourself, there was an "individual training" station on the opposite side of the training court where you could train individually. It was outfitted with training dummies, training weights, etc.

Good thing they did not know the king was actually dead or else shit was really going to hit the roof.

A male instructor was giving lessons on how to use a knife and dagger in close quarters combat.

After giving a basic rundown on how to handle a knife, how to fight with it, techniques, each student was separated and given a training dummy to practice with.

She wanted to use her own knife for practice and the instructor allowed it.

The pretty dagger of hers was in her hands as she stabbed and slashed away at a training dummy who moved to dodge the dagger.

Arya moved in close to her own dummy, grabbing it by the nape of its neck to stop it from being able to move away before stabbing it quickly in the belly just like how the instructor demonstrated. She did all of that in a matter of seconds.

The instructor, who had been walking among the kids, watching them and correcting their posture and positions, nodded in approval.

"Great job, your highness."

"Thank you, sir."

Arya got a little distracted when she spotted Ezekiel having an all out fight with 10 different people on the opposite side of the training court. 10 vs one.

All ten of them charged at Ezekiel.

Ezekiel summoned bolts of lightning that came falling down from the ceiling on his opponents. The bolts of bluish-white lightning flickered and crackled as they fell down from above. A flash of light and three people were roasted badly by being caught directly in the bolt. The other six people were quick enough to avoid the powerful bolts of lightning. 

Ezekiel launched into action, his fists blazing with electrical power. Shards of stone, balls of fire, jets of water and beams of light were launched at him but Ezekiel dodged everything. Arrows and spears were thrown at him but the Crown Prince merely side-stepped and nimbly dodged them all.

The Crown Prince was a blur as he zipped around court as he took out his opponents.

A single punch in the face took out one opponent. He went flying through the air in a tall arc before crashing down onto the ground again a few meters away. A back kick took out a girl in one go as she was sent flying backwards until she crashed into a wall and slumped down limply. A muscular boy launched a straight punch at Ezekiel but Ezekiel ducked and counterattacked with an uppercut to the boy's chin. He was sent reeling backwards and the Crown Prince finished him off with a punch in the guts that knocked the wind out of him and he fell down, defeated and unable to fight anymore. 

Ezekiel saw two people trying to gang up on him. He summoned all his lightning and condensed it into a small ball in his hands. He then unleashed all the power he condensed. A small explosion of lightning took place, waves of that bluish-white lightning exploded and went flying in every direction in a 20 feet radius around the Crown Prince. The whole ordeal only took a matter of seconds. The two people were screaming out in terror and the boy quickly put up some sort of protective barrier between the two of them to shield them from the extreme blast of lightning coming their way. But it wasn't enough because they were both taken out by the extreme blast. Arya could feel the power all the way over on the other side of the training court. The powerful wave of lightning burned the ground and reduced the nearby trees to splinters of wood and ashes. The burning smell assaulted Arya's nose and almost everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the fight. Even the station instructors were watching now.

 Only two people left now. A boy with a stone-related ability and a girl who appeared to have some sort of strength enchanting ability as far as Arya could tell.

The boy turned his skin to stone, the tanned skin turning gray and hard. He balled up his fists and charged at the Crown Prince, whose own fists were glowing and sparkling with electrical sparks.

They clashed. Fist against fist. The shockwave of their impact caused a powerful gust of wind to result. 

Ezekiel launched a powerful wave of punches at the boy whose stone-enforced skin allowed him to take the blows. Ezekiel didn't look discouraged or fustrated. He instead looked energized and alive as he rained down blows on the boy, pushing him back inch by inch. He was taking the blows well but he couldn't fight back at all, Arya realized.

Arya's sharp eyes noticed that the girl was approaching from behind Ezzy.

She was able to warn her cousin about the sneak attack when Ezekiel's right leg kicked out and the girl caught the kick in her guts. That took care of the girl who was knocked out in one blow as she clutched her stomach and fell down to the ground in a ball.

Ezekiel was distracted for one moment and the stone-skinned boy took advantage of it. He finally managed to land a punch on Ezekiel in his face.

Everyone gasped. Arya cringed. 

Ezekiel just smirked. His eyes were gleaming and his fist was raised.

The only Arya was able to see was that stone-skinned boy flying through the air as if he suddenly gained the ability to fly. Unfortunately, Ezekiel put a little too much force into that final punch and the stone-skinned boy went crashing into the wall of the Royal Academy and a massive hole that was big enough to drive a carriage through resulted. A startled class in the middle of a lecture gawked and stared at the massive hole that suddenly appeared in the wall of the classroom.

The teacher in the classroom, a weedy looking man with slick white-and-black hair in red robes, looked as if he didn't know he should be laughing or crying or doing both. The stone-skin boy laid slumped against the classroom wall.

Ezekiel looked like he wanted to curl up and die right now.

….

Arya went off to do individual training after she finished up on knife training/fighting.

The instructor of the knife fighting station was impressed with Arya's fast progress and ability to learn quickly. He was a man who didn't hand out praise or compliments easily or freely so it really said a lot about Arya's ability to learn quickly.

Arya actually wanted to go off to the survival skills station but the instructor of that station left suddenly, citing a family emergency she had to attend to.

Ezekiel was there, lifting weights. Sweat poured down his face and he was breathing heavily.

Serval girls and a couple of guys were sneaking glances at the Crown Prince. Many of the people in individual training were lifting weights, doing stretches and various exercises, or honing their abilities on their own with the help of training dummies. Arya spotted two boys sparring with each with their bare fists in some sort of sparring ring located in a corner.

Arya rolled her eyes. Ezzy had that royal rizz, alright.

She walked over to a small array of training weights-the kind you could hold in your hands-and picked up the twenty pound ones.

Not with her hands. But with her telekinesis. 

The dumbbells shook and trembled as they lifted themselves up into the air.

Arya bit her lips. Maybe twenty pounds was really pushing it. But she wanted to push herself so she persisted.

She managed to keep them suspended in the air as she made her way back slowly to where Ezekiel was.

The two weights added up to forty pounds and Arya was starting to sweat and shake by the time she finally made it to where Ezekiel was.

Rather than just suddenly letting go and letting the dumbbells hit the ground, Arya slowly focused her power to slowly lower the weights inch by inch to the ground.

Ezekiel watched and nodded in approval.

"Slower means you have to work harder. Good girl."

Arya just nodded in thanks and she was starting to feel a little bit thirsty.

She wondered where the water station was. She forgot to bring her own water since she was in a hurry to get down here before class started.

Ezekiel shook his head. He huffed and puffed as he lifted 250 pounds.

"You'll need to head down to the cafeteria and ask them for water, Ar-Ar.".

…

Arya found the cafeteria easily as it happened to be located in a very convenient place inside the Royal Academy.

It was the first door on the left when you first stepped foot into the Royal Academy.

Arya heard classes going on in the background.

The cafeteria was big and spacious with rows and rows of wooden tables with benches spaced evenly.

Arya knew there had to be workers busy preparing the food that she could ask to bring her some water.

Surprisingly, it was empty and quiet. Nobody was working. No one was preparing food, cooking or washing. It was dead quiet in here compared to the liveliness and loudness of the training court and the classrooms.

This can't be good, Arya thought.

She heard a loud commotion coming from nearby.

It was coming from behind a door.

"Please…HELP!!!"

A woman was begging and crying for help.

"Shut it, you whore!!"

Sounds of flesh being hit could be heard and the woman was crying even louder now as the man continued to beat her.

What the fuck? Arya thought. Someone is hurting her.

Arya rushed over to the door and tried to open it. It opened up a little bit but just a small crack. Something was blocking the door from the inside.

With no time to waste, Arya kicked down the door with a well-executed side kick that caused the door to rip right off its hinges and crash down onto the floor. The remains of several boxes of apples and potatoes along with bags of flour were scattered all over the floor. It appeared that the door had been blocked off from the outside with those boxes and bags.

Arya had no weapon on her right now but she had her telekinesis and her fists. That would be good enough. Arya was confident she could beat the living shit out of whoever was hurting that poor lady with just her bare fists.

It was a kitchen pantry where food items and ingredients such as flour, apples, potatoes, bags of wheat and flour, slabs of meat, etc. Boxes and bags piled everywhere and the air was magically enchanted to be chilly and cool in order to keep the food from spoiling. 

Laying on the ground on the cold stone floor, half-naked and badly beaten up was a red-haired woman. The top of her dress was almost ripped off of her and purplish-red bruises covered her arms, legs and where skin could be seen. She was badly hurt and in pain.

Standing in front of her, hands balled up was a fat, piggy man with greasy-looking dark blue hair and beady dark blue eyes. He wore bright red robes over a white collared shirt and brown dress pants that were stretched to the limit over a fat, plump belly and waistline. 

"Who?-"

He never finished saying his question when Arya punched him in the face, right on his nose.

Arya made sure she used 100% of the strength and she relished the way the wall cracked when her punch sent the piggy bastard crashing into it. 

He slumped down, completely knocked out and unconscious.

Arya made sure he was fully knocked out by grabbing his head and slamming it with all her strength against the wall for good measures. The wall cracked and broke from the force behind the slamming.

She never knew that violence was so satisfying.

She was snapped out of the thoughts by the girl's groaning and cries of pain.

…..

A crowd of students gathered and crowded around and tried to get a piece of the action as instructors and trainers of the Royal Academy tried to figure out what happened.

Everyone heard the commotion and now this was the result.

The piggy bastard, whose name was Mr.Delton, sat down on a seat in the cafeteria as a white-robed medical attendant worked on his badly broken nose and his concussion.

Two female medical attendants worked on the badly beaten up red-haired girl as she was laid out on a stretcher.

Arya really wished she could beat the living crap out of these old geezers as they were so fucking annoying and refused to listen to her side of the story.

 Ezekiel took Arya's side as she stood her ground and defended her actions against the headmaster of the Royal Academy.

"He was beating her up!! You see those bruises on her?!! I bet if I didn't beat the crap out of that fucker, he might have beaten her to death!!"

The headmaster, a tall and thin man with beady maroon colored eyes and olive green hair dressed in ugly brown robes that color of poop, was looking like Arya as if she was the attacker and the piggy bastard was the victim.

"Violence is not tolerated in this academy, your highness!! Royalty or not, there will be serious consequences for attacking a staff member of this academy without cause!! Truly bariatric and horrible what you did to our poor manager. You should apologize to him-"

Arya fired back.

"So was this fucker attacking that poor woman not a good enough cause for you?! I'm the one who needs to say sorry? Well, I have only one thing to say to you: FUCK YOU!!!"

The curse echoed off the walls and everyone heard it loud and clear.

The headmaster turned bright red and if looks could kill, Arya would already be dead and buried in her grave.

Ezekiel placed a hand on Arya's shoulder.

"I got this, Ar-Ar."

His voice turned cold and serious as he gave the headmaster a death stare.

"Headmaster."

Ezekeil's voice caused everyone to shut up and listen to what he had to say. As fitting of a future king and heir to the throne.

"My little sister is fully justified in beating up that motherfucker. End of Story here. I'll be interviewing that woman later on and that piggy bastard"-Ezekeil jabbed a finger at the manager who was having his nose patched up and reset by the medics- "will be held fully accountable for his crimes. I won't tolerate such filthy and trashy bastards roaming freely around on royal grounds like this. Who knows? What if that poor woman who Arya saved isn't the only victim? I'll be ordering a full scale investigation into this incident, headmaster."

Ezekiel turned his back on the headmaster and walked out of the room with Arya following behind him.

Everyone parted to make way for the two royals.