TASK SUBJECT

I handed Levi his food, which he promptly took. I was sitting at the back of the classroom. The teacher hadn't arrived yet.

Levi was sitting on my left, while Kaleb was on my right. In front of me was Avery, with Callie on her left and Niko on her right.

"Thanks for the food," Niko expressed his gratitude.

"What thanks? Next time, you guys should take turns getting food for us to be fair, right?" Kaleb said.

"Sure, whatever! It's your turn, big brother! I was supposed to accompany Siarah!" Avery grumbled. She seemed to be the youngest among us.

"There will be a next time," I said and smiled at her.

"You said that!" Avery happily replied again. She really reminded me of Angel.

Angel and I didn't spend much time together before because our meeting was unexpected, but sometimes she would call me, and I would accompany her on outings since I didn't have a busy schedule back then.

After we finished eating, the professor arrived.

"Good morning, everyone—" The professor's greeting was interrupted when someone suddenly entered—the black-haired girl with two other guys dressed in black as well.

"Miss Chloe, you're late again. Even though you were in our highest rank, you should know our rules and follow them properly," the professor sternly said.

"The Dean called me for some reason. Should I explain everything from the beginning to you the reason?" she replied arrogantly. She had no respect for anyone.

What was she so proud of? Did she think she belonged to the highest rank? And if I wasn't mistaken, based on her voice, she was the one who said she could defeat me with just one punch. She was so arrogant, wasn't she?

"Okay, sit down. We would be having our activity now. For the Royalties, let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Redier, I will be your professor for the Task Subject. I assume you are all aware of the five subjects, right? We have Task, Battle, Academic, Enhance, and Performance subjects."

"Yes, we are all aware of that since we read it in the book," Niko said.

Task Subject—it was where we do multiple tasks, but the book didn't specify what kind of tasks they were, and I think they were random. Battle Subject—based on the name, it was obviously related to fighting. Academic Subject—more focused on discussing history, magic, or other information. Enhance Subject—where we learn to defend, use, and showcase our abilities. Performance Subject—activities done for school and socialization.

"That's good. Since you are new to this school, I will assign you a task, and I won't divide the Royalties. There are sixteen students here, and I will group you into three teams. Miss Chloe, you can choose your team members, but you can only pick four. The remaining students will form the last group," the professor explained.

"What will be the task?" Chloe asked.

"You must find the important stones somewhere. You have three days to find them, and I'll provide you with a map. You will face opponents—it's either you fight creatures or you fight each other to obtain the stones."

"How will we know if we win or lose?" Avery asked.

"If your group can find the three stones together, you will automatically return. The group that remains intact and obtains the stones will be the winner. Even if your group is not complete, the basis is the three stones. And this task focuses on teamwork. Wish you luck, students," Mr. Redier said with a smile.

I quickly stood up from my seat. Within moments, I heard Avery gasp as she sat on the ground. We were all sitting on chairs earlier, and I wasn't the only one who stood up quickly. I also glanced at the others who were standing—we were separated by groups.

"As I expected," I heard Niko say as he looked around.

Suddenly, the classroom disappeared, replaced by a forest. We were supposed to find the stones here? And we would be here for three days.

I wasn't too scared, but... I couldn't believe that we suddenly appeared here. I- I shouldn't be surprised anymore and should get used to it! Yes, I should get used to it!

"Are you okay, Siarah?" I looked at Kaleb as he asked the question. I simply nodded in response.

"Wow! There's a sea over there!" Avery exclaimed.

We all quickly followed her gaze as she ran towards the back, and indeed, I saw a sea. It was incredibly beautiful, and from where I stood, I could tell—the water was clear.

We walked towards Avery, who was at the edge of the sea. As we emerged from the forest, white sand greeted us. This was an island, but I didn't know where exactly. There was also a possibility that this was all an illusion.

I paused and looked at my hand as I felt something there. I raised my hand and looked at what seemed to be a rolled-up parchment paper. I quickly unrolled it and saw a map with a traditional writing.

"A map..." I whispered.

I immediately approached Kaleb.

"Kal, you do it. I'm not into reading maps," I said and handed him the map, which he took.

The others gathered around, except for me and Levi, who already stood next to Kaleb, to examine the map.

"Should we go now?" Callie asked.

"Let's go," I heard Levi say seriously as he started walking into the forest.

"Avery!" I called out to Avery, who was playing by the edge of the sea.

My companions followed Levi, who had already started walking. I waited for Avery to come closer before following the others. Avery walked alongside me.

"Where are we heading now?" I heard Avery ask as she walked beside me. We were following our companions who seemed to know where they were going. We were in the forest, and this place was new to me, so I really didn't know where we were or what was here.

"I don't know. They seem to be following the map closely, so we probably won't get lost," I said.

"Great! Your words are getting longer, Siarah! Keep it up!"

I glanced at Avery and saw her wide smile and her joyful eyes looking at me.

"It seems like you really like me," I whispered, shaking my head.

"Why not? You saved me last time. I owe you a lot! And you're not that snobbish," she whispered back to me.

I furrowed my brows. I saved her? When? I couldn't remember, and Siarah's memories didn't remind me either.

"So, it rains here too?" I heard Niko's loud question, so I looked at him in front.

"Guys! I see a cave! Let's go!" I heard Avery say. She then pulled me towards the other direction.

After a few moments, we reached a cave. Avery immediately went inside while dragging me along.

"What's this? Why are we still wearing our uniforms? Can't we change?" Avery complained, scowling.

Oh, right. We were wearing our school uniforms. We weren't even given time to change. Besides, I didn't like dresses or skirts, and our current attire wasn't comfortable for this kind of task.

"Give it to me, take off your blazer, Siarah. You're completely soaked," Kaleb helped me take off my blazer. I did get wet from the rain.

"Looks like you're soaked too," I said to him.

"No, I'm fine."

"Dry her blazer, Kal. I'll take care of Siarah," I heard Avery say.

"The sky seems too bright for rain," Niko commented.

The cave wasn't very deep, but it accommodated the six of us perfectly.

"Are you okay, Callie?" Niko asked Callie, who remained silent. I noticed that she really wasn't fond of speaking.

"Siarah, wear this," Avery said. I didn't protest as Avery put a blazer on me, one that I didn't know where it came from.

"What about you? Aren't you wet?" I asked her, and she just shrugged.

I glanced at Callie again, and our eyes met. She was looking at me—specifically at the blazer?

"Come here, Avery."

I looked at the one who spoke. I saw Levi sitting in a corner. He was now wearing a white long-sleeved polo shirt and his red necktie was loosely worn. Don't tell me—

"Are you cold?" I turned my attention to Kaleb as he appeared in front of me. I shook my head.

Levi and Avery were sitting side by side. Avery didn't seem to have gotten wet from the rain, but... if I'm not mistaken—I'm wearing Levi's blazer now.

"It looks like the rain won't stop. What do we do now?" Kaleb, who was sitting beside me, asked.

We were sitting side by side, while on the right, Levi and Avery were seated together, and on the left were Niko and Callie.

"We have no choice but to stay here for the meantime," I heard Niko say.

"Well, you have a point," Kaleb agreed.

Silence dominated among all of us. Several minutes passed before someone gathered the courage to speak.

"Since we can't do anything here, why not have a storytelling session? So we can get to know each other?" Avery suggested with a smile.

I don't think it's a good idea. I shouldn't share any details about my life—as Elena, and as Siarah... I don't know.

"Well, I think we already have a good story, the five of us. We've met before, right? Whenever there were events at the palace, we were all present except for one," Niko said.

I could feel everyone's gaze on me.

"Care to explain, Princess Siarah of Yrena?" Niko raised an eyebrow as he looked at me.

"I was an introvert. But... I was now slowly breaking that part of mine," words came out of my mouth.

I couldn't be Siarah; I should become who I was. Even though Siarah and I had similar attitudes, I didn't want to imprison myself in solitude.

I even said to myself that when I escaped the dark part of my life, I would change my dark sides. And slowly, I realized that... I need to change my dark side first before I could escape from the dark part of my life.

Siarah was gone; I was here to continue her life, and I had no choice in that part. But I did have a choice to choose and decide as Siarah and not Elena because, well, I'm already here. I couldn't be Siarah, but I could probably embody being Siarah.

"Well, we couldn't blame you..."

I looked at Kaleb slowly when he said that.

"Yeah. You have reasons. Yrena has been through a lot. Even I would probably become an introvert. We have no choice but to sit and watch what our parents are doing. But don't worry, Siarah. We won't treat you as nothing like everyone treated you," Niko said, speaking at length, so I turned my gaze to him.

"You seem to have experienced a lot, but we understand you. We were here for you," Avery said.

"Such drama!" Niko said, laughing.

"You pity me?" I asked them seriously.

"Do you need to be pitied?" Callie asked in return, making me look at her.

Silence once again dominated the surroundings. Callie and I maintained our gaze.

A smile formed on my lips.

Her eyes and lips were really something. A dark side hiding in an angelic face? I've encountered many like her before. From the start, I smelled something bad about her, and I really don't like it.

"Who knows..." I said simply and focused my attention on the faint light coming from the cave entrance.

---

"Is it far?" I heard Avery's question.

"The sky is getting dark, and we haven't found even a single stone. What's the shape of that stone?" Avery added.

We were walking towards our destination. Kaleb was holding the map and leading the way with Levi and Callie. Niko, Avery, and I were at the back.

"Let's spend the night here for now. We don't have a choice," Kaleb said from the front.

I saw my companions settling down on the roots of the trees surrounding us. We were positioned between five trees, I think. I didn't know what kind of trees they were, just trees with green leaves and brown stems and branches.

I remained standing while observing my companions. After a few moments, I noticed a hand reaching out to me. I saw that he was holding my blazer, so I lifted my face to see who handed it to me.

"Levi..." I whispered his name.

"Your blazer was already dry, could I retrieve mine?" he said seriously. I nodded and then took off the blazer I was wearing, which was his uniform.

I took my blazer from his hand and handed him his blazer, which he promptly took. After retrieving it, he walked towards a tree and sat there.

"It's getting dark. Siarah, could you use your power to create fire here?" Niko said.

"We can't just use our powers without proper training," Callie said.

I walked towards Avery and sat beside her.

"So, what's the plan? Are we just going to freeze here in the cold and let darkness prevail? I'm also hungry," Niko said with a hint of annoyance and sighed.

"About that, where are we going to get food now?" Avery asked, sitting next to me.

Silence dominated the surroundings when suddenly the wind picked up. I had to squint my eyes due to the accompanying dust carried by the wind.

"Sorry for that," Kaleb said, and a moment later, the strong wind disappeared.

"Foods! Great!" Niko exclaimed happily and quickly approached Kaleb.

"Well, that's all I found around. Not bad, fruits are good for the body too," Kaleb said.

I-I see...

"You already know how to use your powers..." I almost whispered.

I saw them pause in what they were doing, and all their attention shifted towards me. We formed a circle. Some leaned against a tree, while others sat on the large roots surrounding us.

"Not completely, but enough for us to control it. What about you?" Kaleb asked.

I looked at Kaleb's hand reaching out to me. He was holding food that the beings here were eating, but it would be my first time tasting it if I ate it.

I took it from him.

"Each of us has teachers in the palace, so we learn. Sometimes it's just self-study. Why, Siarah? Still can't control your power?" Avery asked while taking a bite of the peculiar fruit they were eating in this place.

I examined my right hand carefully. In my left hand was the fruit Kaleb gave me.

"Self-study, too..." I whispered.

Slowly, I raised my palm and quickly lowered it. A fire suddenly appeared in the middle of us—a bonfire.