"Oh. Hello there." A friendly smile played on his features.

My hands clenched unwillingly.

"Your majesty. It is an honor meeting you."
I managed to stammer out the words, as a series of memories flooded over me.

Sweet nothings whispered on green fields.

Afternoons spent with friends and family.

The distance as he started falling for Madeleine.

And the sensation of cold metal ending my life.

Every time I glanced at him, I seemed to recall the cheers of the crowd at my execution.

And I remembered his smirk. His disgusting, vile smirk.

I suppressed a gag.

"Oh, please do drop the honorifics while we're at the academy. I am merely another student here." Once again, he put on a smile that would charm any normal child.

Quinn sighed next to me, scratching at his ear.
"Luca, why are you here anyway? I thought princes don't need to be smart?"

Luca chuckled, though I saw a familiar wrinkle between his eyebrows form. "Your words are as sharp as ever, Quinn. I merely wish to mingle with the fellow nobles, for they will be the future of the kingdom alongside me. And I figured showing them that I'm kept at the same standard might be the first step toward that."

".... What's mingle mean?" Quinn turned to me.

Seems he perceived me as his personal dictionary.

"To mingle means to join others." I longingly looked into the room.

"Ah. Alright." Quinn looked disinterested.

"May I ask your name?" Luca turned to me, his soft grey eyes locking into mine.

I tightly gripped my skirt, as I felt sweat drip down my face.

"Her name's Antony something." Quinn replied in my place, leaving me to involuntary sigh.

"Antoinette Crawford." I curtsied.

"Oh! You're part of the Crawford duchy? Why didn't you say so! I was longing to speak to someone about the former duke Augustine!" He stepped closer.

I involuntarily took a step back, which Luca seemed to notice.

I could see a flash of emotion on his features. He opened his mouth, to say something, but before he could, the bell rang.

"Excuse me, I must go take my exam now. I wish you two the best of luck." He bowed deeply, shooting both me and Quinn a look that seemed to have a deeper meaning.

I couldn't recognize said meaning, so I just turned and finally crossed the threshold of the exam room.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of children were already there.

Spread over multiple tables, they shot both me and Quinn a judgemental look as we entered.

I just tried to walk as quietly as possible to the seat with my name on it.

Quinn was assigned a seat on the other side of the room, thankfully.

Now that I was here, memories began flooding over me.

All the years that I anxiously took the exams, hoping to have a passing grade.

I somehow managed to pass, but it was only after I turned eighteen and became more serious that I studied as much as possible.

Although it wasn't for the exams, but to be worthy of Luca.

I sighed.

It was truly an embarrassment.

Luca might have loved me at some point, but all that love seemed to vanish as soon as Madeleine appeared.

I couldn't blame him.

Madeleine was like an angel on earth, not to mention the only one who treated me kindly and without judgement, even as I was led to the guillotine.

I missed her.

My train of thought was interrupted by a stack of papers being put on my desk.

The instructor who was handing them out shot me a dirty look.

So, persecution would already start when I was just ten? What kind of backwards country was I living in?

I just shook my head, grabbing the exam papers.

"You have two hours to finish. 50 is the passing grade. Give it your all, and if I catch any of you cheating, your grade will automatically be a zero of a hundred." The instructor turned a huge hourglass, the sign to start.

I looked over the papers.

This was... surprisingly difficult material for ten-year-olds.

Thankfully, I could answer most of them right, though I made sure to answer wrong in some places.

If I had a perfect grade, it would be suspicious as well.

Finally, the hourglass's sand ran out, and the instructor asked everyone to lay down their pens.

I could only hope for the results to be acceptable.

                                ------------

"Stop pushing! Don't you know who I am?!?"

"Right back at cha! My father's a count! He'll make you go bankrupt!"

It was a week later, and I was waiting for the crowd around the scoreboard to disperse.

Many of the children were yelling, trying to decipher the fancy font of the board.

Finally, the crowd dispersed, and my eyes immediately caught on a name.

"Wait what's going on? The prince isn't in the first place?!"

1st. Place - Madeleine Campbell 98pts.

"But he isn't in the second place either??? Isn't he supposed to be the smartest????"

2nd. Place - Antoinette Crawford 95pts.

3rd. Place - Luca Findlay the second 78pts.

I couldn't do anything but stare.

Madeleine... was here?