I'll Live A Quiet Life

Elise’s POV

Snow had begun to fall over the capital.

Outside, people crowded the streets, hurling rotten fruit at the carriage rolling down the road.

“A disgrace!”

“Send her to the wolves!”

“Good riddance! The curse of this kingdom is finally leaving!”

Those were only a few of the countless insults I heard through the carriage walls, along with the wet splatter of fruit striking the wood.

That was what I was.

A curse.

A disgrace.

I didn't even know what I had done to deserve it other than being born as the daughter of the kingdom's most hated queen.

All I knew was that because my late mother had supposedly had an affair with the Devil, my birthright had always been questioned, and the kingdom had long since judged me guilty for a sin I never committed.

So, when word spread that I was being sent to the Royal Academy—a neutral land where royal heirs and the successors of noble houses from every race and kingdom gathered to study—the people came to give me the grand send-off they believed I deserved.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

The voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked across the carriage and met Maya's worried gaze.

Maya was the only servant assigned to the abandoned palace where I had spent nearly my entire life.

Her question lingered between us while the sounds of the crowd filled the silence.

“Why wouldn't I be?” I replied, leaning back against the cushioned seat. “Tell the coachman to hurry. I want to open the window once we're out of the city.”

Maya nodded and relayed my order.

I watched her execute it before letting out a quiet sigh.

She shouldn't even be here.

The Royal Academy might be neutral ground, but it had its own laws and restrictions—or so I'd heard.

Servants weren't allowed inside the academy itself. Apparently, even neutrality had its limits, though every student was permitted to keep one servant on the surrounding neutral lands.

I'd rather Maya live in a small cottage near the academy than remain in the royal palace.

Knowing my sister, Katherine—the king's beloved daughter, born from his former concubine and now his queen—Maya would be tormented until she no longer drew breath.

Maya returned to her seat and exhaled softly.

“Your Highness... aren't you nervous? I've heard all sorts of things about the Royal Academy.”

I merely looked at her.

“They say...” she lowered her voice and leaned closer, as though sharing a dangerous secret. “...humans aren't exactly welcome there.”

My lashes fluttered. “Was that supposed to be news to me, Maya?”

“You already knew?” she gasped.

Of course I knew.

The king would've never sent me if he feared for my safety.

He feared for my sister's.

Many centuries ago, this world knew nothing but war.

Wolves, vampires, beasts, faes, giants, dragons, witches, and humans slaughtered one another until the Moon Goddess descended and brought the bloodshed to an end.

The very place where she descended became the Royal Academy.

According to every history book shoved in front of me as a child, the Moon Goddess ended the war with three simple rules. If only the royals had bothered following them.

The first:

No one was ever to attack the academy.

Legends claimed that those who had dared were punished so mercilessly that no kingdom ever attempted it again.

The second:

Every designated heir to a kingdom, clan, or realm—and the successor second in line—must attend the academy. Only by graduating could they claim their birthright and secure a peaceful reign.

There were exceptions, of course.

My father had never attended the academy. When he was young enough to enroll, his older brother had already inherited the throne and produced an heir of his own. My father had been too far down the line of succession for the law to apply to him.

Then both the former king and his only heir died, leaving the crown to a man who had never been prepared to inherit it.

The Moon Goddess’s laws permitted emergency succession when a kingdom was left without a qualified heir. Otherwise, a throne could remain empty for years while its next ruler completed their education.

Conveniently, that exception had placed a crown on my father’s head without forcing him to spend a single day among the other races.

Perhaps that was why sending me away had been so easy for him. He had no memories of the academy to haunt him—only the stories that had frightened him enough to spare Katherine.

The third:

Within the academy, everyone was equal.

Simple rules… at least on paper.

Their purpose wasn't to govern the world, but to preserve the fragile peace the Moon Goddess had created.

Yet everyone knew the truth.

No one truly treated each other as equals.

Otherwise, the king's knights wouldn't have dragged me from the Cold Palace and ordered me to prepare for the academy in my sister's place.

They spoke as though they were granting me an honor.

I knew better.

In a place where every race believed humans were beneath them, being born human wasn't exactly an advantage.

I shook my head.

The noise outside had finally faded. Reaching toward the window, I noticed my fingertips trembling.

What if there were more people waiting outside?

Taking a quiet breath, I slid the window open anyway.

There was no one.

Relief escaped me as the cold winter breeze brushed against my face.

“Your Highness!” Maya whispered sharply. “Please close the window before you catch a cold.”

I ignored her.

Resting my head against the carriage wall, I breathed in the icy air.

“Maya,” I said quietly. “You'll be staying on the neutral lands too, won't you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” She smiled warmly. “His Majesty has already prepared a residence where you can return on weekends. From what I heard, it was originally meant for Princess Katherine... but he changed his mind at the last moment.”

My eyes drifted to the frost creeping across the roadside.

“How strange,” I murmured. “I wonder what suddenly changed his mind.”

As far as I knew, Katherine had always been destined for the Royal Academy. Everyone talked about it. Then, all of a sudden, she became too ill to travel.

And somehow, I became the replacement.

“Your Highness,” Maya said after a moment, “before we left, I overheard some servants talking.”

She waited until she had my full attention.

“They said His Majesty met with the House of Van Pelt. Their heir attended the Royal Academy... but gave up after only one semester.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“They say he returned completely broken. He could barely recognize his own family.” Maya swallowed. “After that meeting, His Majesty suddenly announced that Princess Katherine was too sick to leave the palace.”

“The very next day... we were preparing to leave.”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

Of course.

The king wouldn't hesitate to send me somewhere that might drive me insane. But his precious Katherine? Never.

“That's why I'm worried, Your Highness.” Maya rubbed her hands together anxiously. “The palace was cruel... but the Royal Academy is an entirely different world.”

I smiled, carefully hiding the fear threatening to surface.

“Don't worry. As long as we don't attract anyone's attention, we'll be fine.”

Will you? The question echoed inside my head.

I ignored it.

“We'll keep our heads down,” I continued. “We'll live quietly, avoid trouble, and finish our years there without anyone remembering our names.”

Maya forced a smile, clearly unconvinced.

She knew me too well.

I had a habit of making my own life more difficult.

“I promise,” I said before she could make me swear it. “I'll live a quiet life.”

I grinned. “Quiet enough to make a dead rat look noisy.”

I meant every word.

That had been my plan from the very beginning.

As long as I remained invisible, the academy wouldn't be a problem.

Had I known the month-long journey ahead would end at the gates of hell, I would've turned back before I ever laid eyes on the Royal Academy.