After our sparring, we were both sitting in the grassy field just outside the arena while watching the clear and bright space above us. The sky was so clear that we can see spaceships orbiting around the space and countless, shining small stars visible to our naked eyes.
It was just me and Arthur, enjoying the fresh breeze of wind touching our skin and appreciating the beauty of the view above us.
"I'm mad." I said while I took a bite of the snacks that Arthur brought for us.
"Why?" He asked, his eyes locked in the space.
"You were holding back earlier. You should've fought me seriously." I said after I gulped down the food I was chewing.
"If I fought you serious, you could've gotten hurt." He said with pride behind his tone.
"Excuse you? You think I'm that weak?" I said in outrage, making him laugh. My eyes averted from the beautiful view of space to something even more precious. His face was radiating in light from the bright stars shining at us. His smile was sincere, and his usual hard face became soft as his cyan eyes were staring at the stars.
I watched him carefully, carving his face in my memory to the quiet corners of my mind and heart. Since I was a child, I never had friends. The only people that I spoke to were Silvera and my maid that has been with me since I was born in this world.
I wanted to have friends.
But because of my status, no one accepted me. They rejected me because they were scared of me, and I blamed my blood for that. Once, I tried to unalive myself because I hated living this life while the Imperial's blood was running through my veins. I hated everyone in that family, including my parents who tried to sell me to the Ruler's house just for political power.
All I wanted was to live a normal life. That's all.
But that hope died.
Then, I came here to the academy. I told myself that I will never make friends again because I know that they will reject me. But that mindset shattered when I first met Arthur.
I was in the middle of the Square, training by myself until I saw a boy staring at me with a smile plastered on his face. When I saw his sincere smile and eyes filled with light staring at me, something inside me shifted as if a crack around my heart appeared.
A wall that I placed to shield myself from everyone.
Then the Welcome Ceremony came. Through the hardships we had faced together as a team, I was able to grow closer to everyone, including Arthur. Soon, that wall cracked, which led me to this present day.
"Thanks, Teresia." Arthur suddenly said, snapping me out from my reverie.
"For what?" I asked, confused as to why he said thanks.
"For training with me and staying with me late at night." He finally looked at me.
Finally, the remaining walls surrounding my heart shattered like glass. The flames that I once blew, burning once more as I stared at his joyful expression.
For the first time since my hope died, I let out a sincere smile that I thought was gone.
"Of course. Thanks for being with me as well, Arthur."