Pretending To Be Gilead's Prince and Master Wizard

My ears seemed to twitch up upon hearing the blasting sound of my alarm clock that was placed on the nightstand on my right. 

With this excitement that is now slowly building up inside me, I got up from the bed as quickly as I could and went straight to the bathroom to shower.

The day has finally come when Gilead Academy will be officially starting its annual Foundation Day starting off with the opening ceremonies that will be held this morning.

Wait…

As if on cue, my feet ceased to move when I was about to go inside the shower room. Wait, why am I so excited? I wouldn't be in the opening ceremonies anyway… but the fake prince will make his first appearance in the school ever since he mysteriously disappeared.

Yup. That's me, alright.

I wonder how could I pull this one off without being suspected by the students, especially those who knew me as the real me.

Once I was done cleaning myself up, I immediately went up to the dining room, in the prince's casual clothes, and took a seat. As usual, the handmaidens that were assigned for today served my meal for breakfast and made an exit as soon as they were done with their duties.

Like the way they always do, once the handmaidens left the dining room, Lancelot would lock the door and seal the whole room with a sound barrier to prevent anyone outside from hearing all the things that they will be discussing today.

"I hope you are already prepared for the opening ceremonies later on." Alex was the first one to speak as soon as he finished his breakfast and is currently wiping his mouth gently with a clean cloth.

"Of course I am," I said, feigning confidence in front of this demanding guy. 

Well, thanks to Lucas, I was able to save some time and effort on making a speech and concentrate on our roleplay. Three days before today, the lad already gave me the mentioned speech that I will be memorizing for today's event.

"Glad to hear that then," Alex responded, now done with wiping his mouth.

Then I looked at Lancelot and tried to express what is currently going on in my mind.

"I'm afraid I cannot miss the first day of Foundation Day. There are so many preparations that we need to do for our event tomorrow." I stated in a pleading tone.

"But where will you change after giving your speech? I'm sure your fangirls would be swarming around you by the end of the opening ceremonies." Alex chimed in all of a sudden. He really likes to butt in, I must say.

"Do I really need to stay until the opening ceremonies end?" I returned my gaze to Lancelot and asked him.

The archbishop, in return, rubbed his chin as he thought of a solution to my current dilemma.

"Yes, you have to. And in regards to changing, I'm afraid you'll have to return here and change back to your casual clothes before going back to your school. In that way, we can avoid meticulous eyes that might know your secret." he finally stated.

"Yup, I'll have to agree with Lancelot. It's for the best." Lucas agreed.

I sighed. I guess I don't have a choice then. But at least I could still be with my friends and help prepare for tomorrow's event.

"Guys, Krisella and her class would have a roleplay event tomorrow by the way." I was surprised when Lucas brought in that subject which made me stop stuffing my food into my mouth.

"I'm sure we could have some spare time and watch them act. Plus we could enjoy ourselves in the booths like we used to, of course, we will be wearing our disguises to prevent attracting some attention towards us," he added.

"Nope. I will be busy tomorrow." Alex immediately turned down the offer. It made me sad, for some reason. Though I know he is really not the type to watch that kind of show in the first place.

"I'm afraid I cannot visit the school this time. I have a town to go to tomorrow." The archbishop also declined.

"It's alright guys. Thanks for bringing that up Lucas." I gave a weak smile to the lad before getting off from my seat and started walking away from here to start preparing for the opening ceremonies.

Back in the prince's chamber, the handmaidens have placed the outfit that I will be wearing for today's school event before they excused themselves. I already told them once, in the most authoritative voice that I could muster, that I don't want them to dress me up in which they willingly obliged, thank goodness.

But the truth is, I just don't want them to know that the prince they all thought is present in front of them is actually a girl.

So now, I am trying to figure out how to wear this complicated suit dyed in royal blue with gold edges in it. It's really a good thing that the prince has a small figure that would somehow fit into my even smaller figure.

I just finished wearing the said apparel when three consecutive knocks immediately caught my attention followed by the opening of the door and the appearance of the annoying jerk Alex walking his way towards me.

'I wonder what it takes you so long. The carriage is already waiting outside." he asked in his usual pissed tone.

"I'm sorry, okay? Clothes by men are not easy to wear for me without any assistance. I had to take a couple of seconds before knowing how to put it on." I countered and almost rolled my eyes at him.

Oh please, why bother explaining my side to him anyway? He would never understand where I'm coming from--

"Wait…"

I was just about to storm off outside the prince's chamber when Alex got hold of my hand and spun me around to face him once again which caught me off guard and almost tripped over him. 

"What is it? I thought you are in such a hurry--"

"Hold still. You haven't undone the buttons properly, dummy." he cuts in through my sentence and proceeds with fixing the last three buttons of my suit that almost reached my navel.

The pounding of my heart began to get louder as soon as he started unbuttoning the last three buttons of the suit to put it in its right place. I am pretty sure Gilead is near to having its winter season, yet I am feeling so hot around him all of a sudden.

"There. It's finished." 

It's like everything in this place moved in slow motion as he gradually lifts his head to meet my gaze. Even the movement of his eyes upward is also taking its time to make it up to meet mine.

"Come on, let's go. We have no time to waste." 

And as usual, the heartless, cold, jerk did his thing again... leaving me hanging and already made its way towards the door. 

"Hey wait for me!"

It did not take long for us to arrive at the magical institution of Gilead Academy, for I have said previously that it is only a walking distance from the castle. The gates were opened for the arrival of the prince's carriage before it proceeded its way inside the campus grounds.

I tried to sneak a peek through the window and saw all the students of the academy pouring out their whole attention on the newly-arrived carriage. If I have known, they are truly anticipating the arrival of their prince.

Their fake prince, to be exact.

"Remember your speech, Kris?" Lucas asked.

"Yup," I responded.

"In case you will feel nervous once again, you can always revise your speech in front. Besides, not all students are really into listening to lengthy speeches. Just make it quick." the lad added and winked at me for a split second.

That may be true, but I still can't help but feel nervous facing this whole crowd. I thought I already got over this feeling during the time I faced the citizens of Cordova on the king's birthday.

"Thanks for the tip, Lucas." I smiled at the counselor as the door swung open and in it revealed the charioteer and the thousands of students who are eager to see their prince.

Well, here goes nothing…

"Today, a very special guest has indeed blessed us with his presence after those troubled times when we thought we can't see him any longer." The dean of this institution, Mr. Radsbury, gives his introductory speech for their honorable speaker. 

"But for now, giving his speech is none other than the prince himself and an alumnus of this magical institution, Prince Arthur Spellman!"

The crowd cheered as they saw me standing from the chair that I was sitting on earlier together with my confidants (except for Alex since he is out on the field and making sure no enemy is present while I am here) and went towards the slightly large microphone placed in front of the outdoor stage facing the school's football field. 

Students are now in their respective lines while teachers are here on the stage with us seated as well. Each of their faces looked at me with admiration as they waited for what I was about to say.

Just as when I was about to belt out my pre-memorized speech, an unexpected moment suddenly occurred in a span of milliseconds that made me halt to my place

"Depulso!"

Alex's masculine voice echoed within the area as he chanted the mentioned spell with his right hand stretched upward, fingers spread over its palm. That made the students flinched for a second. 

I wasn't able to understand what was going on at first, but as he bent his body and picked up something from the grassy ground, he stood up straight once again and examined the thing that was in his hand.

Wait… I-is that an arrow?

"Good thing I was able to catch it just in time." Alex then sighed the moment he looked at us, especially at me.

"What is happening here?" The dean curiously asked without having any idea what is going on.

Alex kept his silence for a while, as if observing his surroundings. But it did not take long before he responded to the dean's question.

"Sir, I'm afraid an enemy has sneaked its way around here to kill the prince."