《Lovestruck》


 Chapter One

    Plain.


    That one word is all Moirin Ni¡¯ Lapain ever heard, whether it be from the other students or her own family outside of her mother and father. Never beautiful, never exceptional, just always there.


    Existing.


    It had been like an empty void within her heart for the past few years as the future seemed dimmer and dimmer. Doomed to a life of mediocrity in the halls of the Ascean Knight Academy, of just being another random squire within the hordes of the empire¡¯s forces. She had initially been excited, seeing it as a new opportunity and one that would help support her family. That bit of delight had quickly soured as the daily boot camp regiments wore her down. While she still wished to help her family, she had dreams, aspirations for more.


    In the end, she just felt empty, because she knew that it was just another day of living a life where she was just another person in the crowd. A mere farmer''s daughter among so many of the movers and shakers of the world.


    The nobles among their ranks would probably take over their family¡¯s lands and businesses once they got old enough, seeing the knighthood as a means of prestige and glory. Similar things would occur with the richer students, and even the more modest recruits had something to go back to in that world of theirs, full of lights and wonder she had never gotten to see, living so far out in the countryside as she had.


    Just another town that dotted the landscape of the Ascean Empire.


    Still, at least there was one good thing in this world. Her eyes glanced across the library, her amber eyes looking over the book she held in front of her face and at the table of her true love.


    Personally, she couldn¡¯t care less, but she had an appearance to keep up that she was interested, even if there was nothing more that she wanted to do than stare at her beloved. Demian Novikov sat across the library, his face planted in a book. He was always so hard working, always wanting to present himself as the best of the best, and having succeeded as he was an Honored Esquire. One of ten within the entire academy, and probably destined for greatness with how well he did in both the classroom and in the drills.


    Considering he was one of the few esquires with the honors of representing the entire knighthood within the Tournament of the Seven Hills, that was to be expected.


    ¡°Moirin, you¡¯re staring at him again.¡± A bored voice caught her attention as she turned, spotting the customary dark-skin of her foreign friend. Tarabai Garima, from the country of Bharatavarsha across the Pantas Ocean, looked at her nails, feigning an interest in them even if it was clear that she was bored out of her mind.


    Moirin didn¡¯t know why that was.


    She never tired of watching Demian.


    ¡°S-so what?¡± The redhead tried to say, her stutter getting the best of her. ¡°You know how I feel about him, so why do you care if I look?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a difference between looking and stalking.¡± Tarabai sighed as she fumbled in her pockets and pulled out a small can of Meha-Cola. ¡°And by the grin that slid across your face as you looked at him, I¡¯m thinking it was probably the later.¡±


    Moirin cursed underneath her breath. She had to cut down on doing that, but she just couldn¡¯t help it. Sometimes she got a little excited when she saw her beloved. She just wished he would see her too.


    ¡°It¡¯s n-not stalking. It¡¯s research.¡± Moirin fired back, a bit of venom in her words. ¡°How else am I supposed to know what he likes, or what his h-hobbies are?¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°¡­By talking to him. You know, like a normal person.¡± Tarabai took a sip from her can, her tongue licking her lips afterwards. The girl smirked as she looked down at Moirin, and the redhead personally wondered if her acquaintance thought it funny to get her so heated up.


    ¡°Easy for you to say!¡± Moirin said loudly, drawing a bit of attention to the two of them, a few glares coming from the other students. She winced as she muttered a quick ¡°sorry¡±, the shy girl curling in on herself slightly before she turned back towards the foreigner. ¡°You¡¯re t-tall and pretty, and you¡¯ve got a nice figure. Plus, you got that exotic appeal.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Tarabai was quite smug. It wasn¡¯t enough that she could wear the military uniform and still look like a model in the heavy armor, but the beautiful golden jewelry that adorned her face made her look near divine. ¡°It comes from decades of fine breeding to produce someone as beautiful as me, but I believe it is quite worth it.¡±


    ¡°Not everyone c-can have that.¡± Moirin bit her lip as she looked down at the table. ¡°Some of us just g-got to live with the fact that we¡¯ll never be as pretty as the other girls.¡±


    ¡°So why not level the playing field?¡± Tarabai suggested as she leaned forward. ¡°There are means to¡­put things in your favor. Potions, maybe a touch up by an alchemist-¡°


    ¡°All things I c-could do if I had the crowns.¡± Moirin gritted out as she clutched the book in her hands. ¡°My family isn¡¯t exactly rich like yours. I-I can¡¯t afford to hire an alchemist to improve me or¡­those other means.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Tarabai tilted her head. ¡°You say that, but I¡¯m sure you could get your hands on a love potion. My father used to favor men, but a few regiments of love potions fixed that. Once it sunk into his bone marrow the only one who he¡¯ll ever love is my mother. As it should be.¡±


    Moirin bit her lip. She liked the sound of that, having Demien only thinking of her, as it should be. ¡°But the consequences¡­i-if I get caught, I¡¯ll be sent to Section Seventy-Seven for sure. If I dosed one of noble blood like him, then I could end up as some lab experiment-¡°


    ¡°Relax Moirin. All you need to do is not get caught.¡± Tarabai waved her concerns off. ¡°And if you won¡¯t take the potions, then you¡¯ll need to do something else. Maybe you might actually have to talk to him,¡± Moirin gulped. ¡°Or even find other ways to communicate with him. Either way, this whole watching him from afar garbage won¡¯t cut it. If you don¡¯t stake your claim on him, then I assure you, one of the other girls will.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t let that happen.¡± Moirin glared as a fellow student sat next to Demian. ¡°I won¡¯t let that happen.¡±


    ¡°There you go. Get mad and prove yourself better than them. Or watch as he slips right through your fingers.¡± The taller girl shrugged. ¡°Either way, I have homework to do, and I¡¯d rather do it in the privacy of my room. We can do it together if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°No thank y-you.¡± Moirin muttered as she stood up, placing the book down on the table. She needed to be alone. ¡°I just need some alone time r-right now.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Moirin felt the girl¡¯s eyes on her back as she left the library, the old musky smell of the book room giving way to the ancient scent of the stones that made up the Ascean Knight Academy. Her boots clicked and clacked against the floor, and made her way down to the girl¡¯s dormitory.


    Her room was small. The Ascean Knight Academy wanted efficiency after all, so they weren¡¯t too big. Moirin didn¡¯t mind though, since it did provide her with one thing that was a precious resource for her back home.


    Privacy.


    As Moirin closed the wooden door behind her, she slowly walked over to her bed and kneeled onto the floor. She moved her hand around as it fumbled beneath the bed before she felt it. She grabbed it and pulled back, revealing a small brown box. She popped off the lid and pulled a few photos out of it.


    She licked her lips as her take in the sight of her man. It may have been hard to get the photos, but she was nothing if not dedicated. A quick snap when he wasn¡¯t looking went a long way, and even better when he was with his friends since he was usually to busy talking to them to notice her.


    He never noticed her.


    No one really did.


    That still left his friends in the pictures, but a few moments with a cutting spell left holes where their faces had been. Demian really didn¡¯t need them in his life.


    Not when he could have her.


    Not when he will have her...or the other way around. A spark of ambition filled her heart till it became a raging inferno, ignited with endless passion.


    She had stood by the sidelines and watched him for so long...


    It was time to do more than just watching.

 The Price

    Chapter Two


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen Fire Slugs move faster than you pukes!¡± Drill Sergeant Taras screamed out. Moirin could barely hear him over the sounds of her own breaths, finding it hard to breathe as the harsh sun hung over them, bathing it in it¡¯s light. She wished the frost from the spring return, the naturally cold climate of Ascea allowing for frost well into the summer, but it seemed Miion hadn¡¯t decided to bless her that day.


    Neither did her classmates seem particularly blessed either.


    ¡°Move it ladies! If you can¡¯t run in that armor, then you won¡¯t be able to fight Lusus, and that makes you worthless! I don¡¯t waste my time on worthless people!¡± The man jogged alongside them, his mithril armor clinging to his muscular frame like a second skin. The armor they were forced to wear on the other hand was known as svetli-steel, a heavy suit of armor that was nowhere near as advanced as the one the Drill Sergeant wore. Not to mention the under suit that was worn beneath it to keep from chafing.


    All in all, Moirin felt like she was trapped in a furnace as her legs ached. She felt a smile spread across her face as she finally finished the two-mile run, trying not to collapse and failing like her comrades did as they fell to the ground, the other girls groaning and one barely managing to calm her raging stomach.


    ¡°Who said you were done?!¡± The man muttered a vremya spell, a few glowing white numbers appearing along his hand. ¡°We¡¯ve got two minutes of pushups ladies!¡± A chorus of groans replied back to him but they all assumed their positions, legs off the ground as they continued their training.


    They knew what was at stake if they failed.


    PT.


    Moirin shuddered at the thought. The man was voracious with trying to make sure they were fit. While she understood why he did it, since women, outside of those alchemically enhanced, were usually less physically strong as men, it didn¡¯t stop the burning hatred she had for the man.


    She continued on, gritting her teeth as her arms burned. How long had it been she wondered? A minute? She glanced at his hand. ¡®Only thirty seconds?!¡¯ She mentally groaned, but continued on.


    ¡°Keep going Yerkhova!¡± One of the other girls, a short brunette, quickly picked up the pace as she became subject to the man¡¯s ire. ¡°If you slow down I will PT all of you till you can¡¯t move another Miion-forsaken muscle in your body!¡± A few angry glares were sent Yerkhova¡¯s way. Incentive for her to do better.


    Because if she didn¡¯t¡­


    Dark thoughts flooded Moirin¡¯s mind. A few spells would teach the other girl a lesson. Nothing harmful, lest she get punished. But a tripping jinx would certainly knock some sense into her. At the very least, the violent thoughts gave Moirin an outlet for her anger as her arms slowly began to lose strength.


    Luckily, she didn¡¯t manage to lose strength till the end.


    ¡°Well would you look at that! You bunch of pansies actually finished today! And here I was thinking I would get to PT you all!¡± The man¡¯s cheery grin only made them hate him even more. Which Moirin supposed was the point. ¡°Double time it back to the showers! Breakfast is in thirty minutes, and I expect to see everyone of you there!¡± The man trotted off, leaving Moirin and her classmates behind.


    They quickly made their way to the showers, shedding the heavy armor and stepping underneath the cool water. Moirin let out a sigh of relief as she let it run over her for a minute, before a bar of soap smacked into her back.


    She sighed as she picked up the bar, hearing a few of the other girl¡¯s laughing. Probably Valka or one of the other girls, Moirin thought as she quickly cleaned herself. She didn¡¯t wish to stay longer than she had to or else they¡¯d start insulting her and¡­well, she believed she had enough on her plate already.


    ¡°Aw, is the plate gonna cry?¡± She heard Valka¡¯s haughty tone over the shower, even as she tried to ignore it. She hated that ¡°nickname¡±, if it could even be called that. It was meant to refer to her figure. Flat all over her body, from her chest to her hips, hence the nickname ¡°plate¡±. Of course, Valka didn¡¯t have a nickname like that, being that she was so much prettier than Moirin was.


    ¡°Bitch.¡± Moirin mumbled underneath her breath, the girl being careful enough to make sure the other girl didn¡¯t hear her.


    ¡°What was that?¡± The tall girl asked as she loomed over Moirin, the redhead cringing as she turned her head away from Valka. ¡°Thought I heard you say something nasty about me.¡± The black-haired girl grinned as she looked down at her, a cruel sort of joy in her blue eyes. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be talking like that to me, would you Moirin? After all, we¡¯re such good friends.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°N-no.¡± Moirin bit her lip as she tried not to meet the girl¡¯s eyes. She wished she could go to the staff, but they had proven useless. While it was generally a meritocracy in the knighthood, as everyone was expected to carry their weight, children of high status were given a bit more leeway. And Valka was the child of a minor lord on the western front, while Moirin was nothing more than a child of a farmer and a wine-maker. No, the staff would never help her.


    ¡°No what?¡± The girl loomed over her, a few of the other girls surrounding her. They whispered horrible things about Moirin. About how she slept around, how easy she was, how¡­ugly and plain she was. The redhead clutched her arms tightly around her chest, her nails digging into her arms. She wanted nothing more than to jam her thumbs into their eyes, or curse them into oblivion, but the only thing awaiting her for that was prison at best, or being Section Seventy Sevened.


    ¡°No Lady Gavrikova.¡± Moirin winced, practically feeling the smug aura the girl put off. Valka snorted before walking off, a few of the other girls trailing after her, leaving Moirin alone. She let the cool water flow down her hair as she hung her head low, slowly scrubbing all the grime and sweat off.


    ¡°I hate you.¡± The soap started to smush under her tight grip. ¡°We¡¯ll see who¡¯s laughing when I become Demien¡¯s wife. You¡¯ll be begging just to talk to me then.¡± Moirin glared at the wall, muttering underneath her breath. She wasn¡¯t sure if the other girls had left the locker rooms yet, so she kept quiet.


    ¡®Never know when I¡¯m going to ¡°trip¡± again¡¯, Moirin grimaced at the memory. Valka was always so good at covering things up and lying through her teeth, the traitorous serpent she was. A few minutes later, she shut the shower off and carefully made her way out of the showers. It was quiet, and as she peaked around the corner into the locker room, empty as well.


    Good. That meant she was safe. She let out a sigh of relief as she slipped her school uniform on, the blue knee length skirt and the white buttoned up shirt with a sun-like patch on her left arm fitting her nicely. Her socks and shoes came next, and within a few moments she was fully dressed. She was thankful, as sometimes the girls had gotten ideas and ¡°misplaced¡± a few of her items.


    She bit her lip, nervousness wracking her frame as she took a step out of the locker room. Her eyes glanced left, then right. No sign of them, but Zilya Yerkhova was looking particularly dejected as she walked down the halls.


    Moirin could sympathize with her. She too probably bore some of the bullying, but the redhead wasn¡¯t going to help the girl. That would bring more attention to her, and probably end up with her things ¡°misplaced¡± somewhere in the school grounds or just outright broken. By ¡°accident¡± of course.


    She quickly made her way past the girl as she went towards the cafeteria. If there was one part Moirin particularly enjoyed, outside of seeing her future husband of course, it was the food. As she got closer, she could smell it, the delicious scents wafting down the hallway.


    A smile spread across her lips as she made her way into the cafeteria. She grabbed a tray and soon had a nice assortment of fruits and veggies, and some grilled crattlerat. Her eyes looked over the room and saw Demien sitting at the far end of one of the smaller steel tables.


    A ping of jealousy filled her as she looked at the people around him. They shouldn¡¯t be there. It should be her there, by his side where she belonged. Instead, she was relegated to just watching because she knew that she wasn¡¯t nearly as beautiful as the girls at his table, Valka especially.


    His green eyes met hers for a moment, and her heart stammered in her chest. She could feel the blood rushing to her face, and she stammered out a jumble of words before she turned and saw Tarabai, the foreigner engrossed within a few texts as she slowly prodded the crattlerat with her fork.


    The girl raised an eyebrow as Moirin sat next to her, but didn¡¯t seem to mind it too much. Being as she was the closest thing the redhead had to a friend, Moirin was grateful for that.


    ¡°I saw you looking over at him.¡± Tarabai flipped a page. ¡°Do I really need to have this talk with you again?¡±


    ¡°N-no, I j-just¡­whenever he l-looks at me, my heart just hammers in my chest.¡± Moirin looked down at her lap, her hands clenched tight into fists. ¡°I c-can¡¯t talk to him and I-¡°


    ¡°Love potion.¡± Tarabai said. ¡°Just use a First Confession potion. It just amplifies existing traits while giving you a bit of bravery.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t just solve e-everything with potions.¡± Moirin ground out. ¡°If I-I do that, then once the potion ends, I¡¯ll still be a stammering mess.¡± The girl gulped. She had promised herself she would do more than just watching, because if that¡¯s all she did then Demien would slip through her fingers and end up with some hussy that didn¡¯t deserve him and love him like she did. So, she had to ask Tarabai for her help.


    Even get on her knees if she must.


    ¡°I need your h-help.¡± Moirin pleaded, her face downcast. She shouldn¡¯t have to beg, her father always telling her to keep her head up and proud. Or at least, he used to do that before mom died. Then he had changed, seeming to find her repulsive for some reason. ¡°You¡¯re pretty. F-far prettier than me,¡± She admitted. ¡°So can you help m-me? Please?¡±


    Tarabai was silent for a moment, her eyes looking over Moirin, before she grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t do anything for free. What can you possibly offer me that I don¡¯t have?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll d-do your homework.¡± Moirin replied.


    ¡°I already get better grades than you.¡± Tarabai tone was drenched in smug. ¡°Though I must admit, it is a bit odd to see you so close to me in potions¡­¡± Her red eyes lit up in excitement. ¡°Potions¡­I do need a test subject¡­¡±


    ¡°F-for potions?¡± Moirin gulped.


    ¡°My love potions.¡± Tarabai grinned. ¡°Yes, that¡¯ll work. I help you out with your little problem, and you be my taste tester. I¡¯ll even give you one of my First Confession potions. Deal?¡± The girl extended her hand.


    Moirin looked at her acquaintance. Would it really be worth it? To do something that could hurt her just to have a chance at the boy she loved? Her eyes glanced at Demien, his face alight with joy as he laughed. Was it worth it?


    Absolutely, Moirin thought as she shook the girl¡¯s hand. She would learn from the girl, and if needed, take a potion to help. She had to win his heart somehow, before someone else stole it from her.


    ¡®Don¡¯t worry Demien.¡¯ Moirin thought as she glanced at him. ¡®You¡¯ll be in my arms soon enough. Right where you belong.¡¯