The Vermilion bloodline owed their name to their unmistakable, cascading red hair and generational ruby eyes. Their blood was of warriors, of fighters and survivors — all of the traits which Vivian erased when she chopped her waist-length hair into a sparse bob barely reaching her shoulders and dyed it a deep raven.
She covered her piercing ruby eyes with dark brown lenses and looked into the mirror before her. The girl who stared back at her was almost unrecogniseable with a bit of make-up. Gone were the round doe eyes, button nose and full pink lips. The thick lashes and eye-liner overline elongated their shape and the crimson lipstain gave her mouth a sultry look.
"It's fine, they wouldn't be able to recognise me. Vivian never got to have a Debutant Ball and she had been hidden from the society for the last three years. See? Mother was always doing me a favour, huh. They would never know," she whispered to her mirror-self.
Whilst Vivian used to wear frilly dress and floral prints, owing to her mother's desire, Azelie Darmier's things were baggy pants which hid her high heeled shoes, cropped-tees, silver chokers and chunky bracelets. She started a Stargram account and hacked into the system to alter the dates of her posts so that Azelie could have a history.
On the account, she posted about books, rock music and artsy sketches to make a fake presence for Azelie. Day and night, Vivian would stay in the room assigned to her and call out the name 'Azelie Dramier' to condition herself to instinctively respond to it. And the day before the enrollment examination, she left a note addressed to the King and Queen of Veronia, stating:
'I was glad that I met you. I hope to you see you again.'
All Vivian picked from the castle was the laptop, the phone and Azelie's clothes, as she made her way to the examination centre. The fear of being found out grappled her as she pressed Azelie's EID (Empire Identity Card) on the registration panel and let herself in. The horror of being recognised stayed throughout the examination as Amaris Veronia made rounds in the examination hall along with a few other examiners.
The joy of seeing Azelie's name on top of the digital ranking list clenched her heart. Her father would have been so proud to see Vivian Vermilion's name topping the charts instead. But Vivian was dead to the world and the best she could do for her father was shine as Azelie.
The examination was based on Multiple Choice Questions and digitally graded, almost immediately, owing to a pre-approved answer dataset. Therefore, the enrollment ceremony followed as soon as the results were out. Royals, Nobels and six commoners got into cars assigned on their social ranks and made their way to Academia Gradenia.
Azelie travelled with the other five commoners, of which, one was from the Lowlands of Hester. It seemed to her that she had used up all of her luck in Demiseland.
"How come I have never seen you around? Who are your parents?" The boy asked, suspiciously frowing at Azelie. "I know everyone in town, my dad's the milkman," he informed.
The ravenette merely glared at him as she replied in a cold tone, "I do not owe you answers."
Four other commoners fidgeted around the tension between the Hesterfolks.
"Wow, she's so rude. Who does she think she is? No one will respect her for it. I guess she isn't here to make connections," Aria Pinne whispered.
"Shhh, she came in first place. She beat all Royals and Nobels! Do you know what that means? She gets to be arrogant about it," Gabriella Yules whispered back, shaking her head.
"So what if she came first place? She's still travelling with us, in Fern Class. She'll never be a Rose," Desmond Frank snorted as he folded his arms against his chest and stared at Azelie.
"She's made it to the top once. Surely she can do it again," Silas Loid smirked as he leaned into the hard seat of the car.
"I think she's a fraud and a cheat," Hans from Hester accused, his glare clearly meeting Azelie's, "She looks like one."
"Do not project your insecurities on me," Azelie snapped coldly and whipped her head to look out of the window.
She wasn't here to make friends, indeed. She was here to make it to the top and gain power. If any of the Royals or Nobels recognised her, she would be doomed along with her family name and it was too big a risk to take.
Now, all Azelie had to do was survive the next four years. Easy, right....?
Though, her hopes came crashing down as soon as they entered the dainty carved metallic gates of Academia Gradenia and a stranger tackled her to the cobbled floor. She fell down with a loud thump and before realisation could hit her, her wrists were locked on top of her head and the cold barrel of a gun was placed on her forehead.
"Welcome to Gradenia, Ferns. The real game begins now. Wager or Death. Do you have something to wager for your life or should I shoot you right this instant?" The cold velvety voice bellowed in the open grounds.
Azelie tried to wriggle out of his grasp but his muscular body stradled her firmly by her waist. She looked around to call for help but the other five commoners were in similar positions and the guards standing at the gates acted quite nonchalant about the hostage situation behind them. Azelie deduced that what was happening to her wasn't unsual but a custom on the contrary.
"What do you accept as wager?" Azelie asked as she looked the man in the eye. His dark gaze felt oddly familiar but she couldn't pin-point where from. His face was beaten down by the sun and the scars on his left eyebrow and right collarbone conveyed that he was no simple man. Though clad in Gradenia Gold and Navy, uniform colours for High Nobels, he peered down with the force of a man who had more than a lavish upbringing.
"Your life, for starters. A fortune bigger than my status, any historical artifact of significance and slash or your eternal servitude," the boy smirked.
"This game seems rigged for the rich," Azelie scowled in his smirking face.
He leaned in, close enough to breathe over her ear, "Serving me isn't a bad idea, you know."
The warmth in his breath pricked the sensitive skin around Azelie's ear and nape. Quite instinctively, she jerked her foot and kneed him in the balls, causing him to roll off her. While he groaned on the ground, Azelie took the precious moments to knock the gun out of his grasp, straddle him, load the weapon and place it over his forehead.
Her crimson lips curved into a smirk. "How about your life over mine?"
A maniacal laugh escaped his lips and an evil glint lightened up his dark eyes. He raised his thick brows with amusement, "You were smart enough to unarm me but you weren't smart enough to restrain me," he all but cooed.
Within the blink of an eye, the boy whacked the gun out of Azelie's hand. Though her finger was on the trigger, the gun flung out of her hand as she pulled it and a shot was fired into the air. Birds chirped and trees rustled as nature fled man's cruelty.
Azelie's right hand slightly shivered as she stared up at the flying birds. "I—I didn't think it would be loaded," she whispered, mouth agape.
He took the moment to restrain her hands behind her back and press a hand over her throat. "Rule number one: Everything is Fair for Graduating Gradenia. Especially if you're rich enough," he whispered the latter for her attention as he sat up.
"I bet you wouldn't be the same around the crown prince," Azelie scoffed in his face. They were both sitting up now, with Azelie over his feet and the boy closely restraining her.
"Back to the wagers," the boy reminded.
"What do you prefer?" Azelie challenged, looking him in the eye.
The boy thought for a moment before uttering, "You."
Azelie scoffed. Now that she was facing the gate, she was able to see the other Ferns. Aria was already kneeling on the feet of the man assigned to her. Whereas Gabriella had somehow managed to climb over her tester's shoulders and was busy punching his nape. On her opposite, Hans was handing his tester a key. Silas was signing something as tears streamed down his face and Desmond was nowhere to be seen.
What could she give to a seemingly dangerous yet evidently rich man? He seemed like he liked danger and would always be up for game of cat and mouse.
Azelie looked back at the man in front of her and smiled. "I wager you a secret," she proposed.
He raised his brows, intrigued, "Is it enough to spare your life?" His grip tightened around her throat with each passing word.
Azelie heaved for air as she struggled, "L-let me get my phone out. I-I will show you. Y-you can d-decide after that."
He did not nod or agree. He merely loosened his grasp on her wrists. Azelie immediately dove for her phone in her pocket and pulled it out. She unlocked it and tapped away until she pulled up a screen in his face. His eyes skimmed over the contents of the page and his brows furrowed as he abandoned his grip on her throat to scroll further.
"H—How the fuck do you have this...?" He gulped as his face squirmed while going through the images attached.
"I'm worth more when alive," she raised a thumbs-up in his face. "I'll even help you catch them. If you promise to save me," she shrugged her shoulders and got off him. As she stood in front of him, she held out a hand for him to take, "What do you decide?"
He whacked her hand away and got up, "You haven't won, Fern. I won't let you off until this is done," he raised a brow and passed her the phone.
"I'll wait for the weekend then," Azelie smiled in his face.
"Know that you're walking hand in hand with death," the boy smiled back.
"And what's its name, I wonder?" Azelie raised an inquisitive brow.
"Clyde Delarson," the boy replied, casually dropping the last name of biggest controller of the underworld.