Chapter Text
"W-Who the hell does she think she is?!" Or who is she?! Claudine's voice thunders, followed by a hiss, her knuckles white from the sheer force of her fists clenching alone. In any sane person's mind, she was not a force to be reckoned with at the moment.
"C-Calm down, Kuro!" her childhood friend's futile attempt to calm the (always) angry storm would fail miserably, to be expected—like most of the time.
"Calm down? After she humiliates me, you expect me to calm down?" she screams and messes her hair up, still the blonde's hair basking in golden sunlight looks ethereal in the eyes of the brunette lurking around the corner. With newfound affection brimming her heart, she left, smiling to herself.
—
In Bauer Kingdom, there lives the young, honorable, and well-known aristocrat, Saijo Claudine; whose words and demands are resolute, her eyes blazing with fiery passion, her chin often held up and high and as big as her pride. And alas, rumors of her beauty to behold, it could cure blindness!
Well, that last part might be a bit of an exaggeration, but that did not change the fact that she possessed innate beauty rivaling a goddess'.
She was a prodigy, considered a genius for learning and understanding well how magic worked at such a young age. She was more able than anyone else in her year, often praised for her seamless effort of executing complicated spells that required mastery, to say the least.
Yes, her whole life, Saijo Claudine was known to be at the top. No one could best her. No one could defeat her. If not for her natural talent at maneuvering wands and spells, then it was her hard work and intelligence. Raw sweat, blood, and tears on the ground were very proof that it was thanks to her determination and dedication that she climbed up to the level she was in now. She liked, and still likes to practice day and night, to study the depths and explore difficult subjects relating to magic, and at one point realizing that it wasn't enough for her, even begged her father to give her private tutors and study spar partners to strengthen her knowledge in strategy, attack, and defense. Of course her academics were never left behind, and she was just as educated and academically-inclined.
Aside from that, how could her father say no to her adorable Claudine? Her parents were never as strict, they loved their daughter with all they had. At first they were scared to let her participate in these mock battles even if it was just study sparring, fearing for her safety, but Claudine was a stubborn girl. She explained to them how she couldn't eat without indulging herself in her studies, that she would toss and turn during night, unable to sleep thinking about her lessons, and less she enjoyed life if she could not make sense of her yet to-be-experimented theories of whatsoever.
This brought a deep frown on her Mother's soft features. "Dear, she seems to be oh-so-fond of rather.. dangerous activities."
Claudine's father sighs. "That girl is such an odd ball. Yet, a genius. We cannot ignore the fact that we have a genius in our hands, can we?"
They both stare at each other, seemingly agreeing wordlessly. We cannot. It would be wasted potential. It would be cruel to stop her, when the child was full of dreams and ambitions already. When she was destined for something great.
"No," her mother quickly realizes as she responds. "But it does not mean that I cannot worry over her."
"We can only guide her," her father smiles, concerned etched in the creaks of his forehead.
"That, only we can do.."
They sigh.
Besides magic, Claudine was also well-versed in the subject of etiquette and fine arts, at this she perfected quite easily. After all, she was only second to royalty.
Next, the history of her kingdom, was it not a necessity to be aware of the past of the land you live and breathe in? One would call you foolish if you were unable to answer basic history questions. For her smart and famous rebuttals during debates, a teacher jokingly told her to become a diplomat instead, in which she kindly rejects the idea of.
After that, she learned the potential dangers of the outside world.. blinding ignorance is how you dig yourself a hole, so it is simply common sense to empower yourself with what more of a weapon than knowledge itself?
Then, she learns the greediness, naivety, and madness of men. So, in order to counter and protect herself from them, she learned how to interact and socialize in a wise, calculated manner.
Even her peers acknowledged her as a genius. She was impeccable. Brilliant. Shining.
Claudine knew this. Everything she knew.
Then, a mysterious presence manifested in the very existence of one Tendo Maya, crushes her grit and resolve for the things she once held pride in, as the best of the best in Royal Academy. Upon her arrival, only her talent and looks have been the talk of the town.
What the hell?
Ultimately Claudine falls off from her pedestal, as she was met with a victorious, and not to mention arrogant smile given to her by this.. this overly-talented commoner from the gossips and rumors surrounding her peaceful bubble of a life.
"You!" she angrily points at Maya. "Who the hell are you?!" she spats, her arms crossing in a defensive stance and giving the other girl the nastiest and deadliest glare she could muster in an attempt to intimidate her (even when she's lost in the duel they've had mere seconds ago, but all the more reason why she wants to more know about the girl with deep purple eyes, she reasons with her thoughts).
Instead of cowering in fear when faced with the Saijo Claudine, daughter of the third most powerful man in Bauer Kingdom, she meets her powerful gaze with an equally confident smile. "I am Tendo Maya, though this was not the way I expected to introduce myself, it is still an honor and my greatest pleasure to meet you, Saijo Claudine." She bows at the end while gently placing her hand on the back, and the other one holding out, showing respect and kindness. Her words seemed sincere enough, but the blonde couldn't help but feel pissed off still.
On the contrary, it doesn't stop the satisfaction of seeing her previous opponent bow down to her presence. So she stifles any rude commentaries for now and focuses on properly exchanging pleasantries, like the purebred aristocrat she supposedly is. "Very well," she clears her throat. She supposes she can play nice for now.
She hesitantly places her hand on top of her opponent, and says, "It's a pleasure to meet you," it feels warm. She shrieks in panic by the sudden warmth, "but you piss me off!" she bluntly puts out, and slaps Maya's hand away. If she was feeling entitled to anything, she uses her entitlement to get away from her blatant disrespect towards Maya, of course knowing in normal circumstances, her choice of words and actions would be deemed inappropriate and crude. The young aristocrat was most of the time humble and respectful to say at least, in her own sense. Even with her wild, almost uncontrollable temper, but for now it was too much for her to handle with both her pride shattered and temper flaring.
To make things worse than her pride crushing and breaking, the ever-mysterious Tendo Maya does nothing that indicates her surprise and of her possibly taking offense to Claudine's rude welcoming. In fact, she looks quite amused at how things have escalated.
The crowd gasps, they've pooled together in anticipation of their match. Of course they would. It was the Saijo Claudine versus the mysterious, talented commoner. And they gasp after their tense exchange, after what Claudine had said. Really, how did they know we were going to be here? Claudine thinks to herself.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here and just.. randomly inviting me for a duel. Are you insane?" Claudine asks Maya, genuinely confused by her actions that seemed so.. spontaneous. Without logic.
Maya remains calm in the surface and watches Claudine intensely. "If you've rumors of me, then you should know about yours as well. The genius that you are," she clicks her tongue showing just the smallest hint of amusement in her expression, "and I wanted to see how much of a genius you really were."
"Oh? My, is that a challenge? And why, pray tell, would you only show up now?" she asks, still confused as ever. Seriously, she was not Claudine's first challenger. Over the years, there were other people which doubted her capabilities and underestimated her. Of course all she could do was accept their request for a duel and ultimately defeat them. Claudine was undefeatable, until Maya came. She forgets her confusion for a while as she comes face-to-face and makes the mistake of making eye contact with the dazzling brunette who looked like a handsome prince out of a romance novel she read last night.
Wait, what?
Claudine instantly almost falls over the second her deep voice cuts into her thoughts. "Hearing that you're quite a challenge, why would I show up untrained and unprepared to fight someone of your caliber?" she also sounds confused at how Claudine sounded confused.
She.. does not sound as arrogant as she made her out to be when talked to properly. Still! This woman was already infuriating. Not because it was the first time she was overthrown in a match. It was a close match! And she was a bit over fatigue from her lessons the other day, that's why she won this match. Yes, that must be it..
The woman was infuriating. Claudine decided that she is, so she is.
"H-Huh! Stop praising me, it's embarrassing!" The blonde stomped away, her back turned and hips swaying left and right, the sight almost made even the straight-laced Tendo Maya swoon a bit.
Swoon? Because she has fallen for Claudine already.
How? That was a secret to be revealed next time.
—
Whispers recalling the events of the other day reached Claudine's range of hearing, and it irritated her to no end.
"Ugh! I was just tired! And shocked! And.."
"Stupefied by her pretty face?" The short pink-haired girl tries to help her in her wordings.
"Yes! Precisely!" she exclaims loudly. A second after that, she brings her palm up to cover her mouth, "No! I mean, that is precisely not what I mean! Futaba, what is wrong with you?!" she rages yet again early in the morning, catching the attention of several students passing by. Futaba uses her index finger to signal, shush, and Claudine immediately does so.
It does not stop Claudine from glaring at her ice cold, as if she were a criminal that had been caught in a crime, "Fine! Sorry, Kuro. It's fun to tease you when you get so easily riled up."
"I, for one, don't appreciate it! I'm seriously frustrated and you're not helping," she frowns deeply, already making giant strides that reflect her temper level maxed out. Futaba struggles to keep up with her short legs, so she grumbles and follows anyway.
"One victory is all it takes to discourage you? You know you're better than that, Claudine." Claudine is irked by what she says, but she knows that Futaba is just being truthful. Otherwise she wouldn't have kept her by her side as a close companion that she cherished.
"Right, I'll have her know to the fullest extent of who I am, and what I'm capable of!" That's right. She is Saijo Claudine. Her pride is at stake, she is not allowed to be swept under the rug simply because she was outdone once.
Her newfound determination rises, making her chest puff up, she walks to class in confidence and sits down with a completely straight posture. Ignoring a certain person that lingered at the back of her mind. She shakes her head, no, now's not the time to look back at her mistakes. She needs to move forward with a clear head, path, and goal. That should be easy enough for someone as refined, flexible, and goal-oriented as her—
"Uhm, excuse me, is this seat taken?" A familiar voice speaks to her, distracting her once from her mental walkthrough before settling her eyes on the—unbelievably—good-looking commoner before her and she finds herself staring, mouth agape.
Maya awkwardly waves her hand in front of Claudine, "Hello, Saijo-san? I... uh, should I just go?"
Claudine answers in a beat, "No." She curses under her breath, regretting the second she does without thinking. Merde.
This surprises Maya, as she half-expected the French to swear at her and make her leave the second she sees her nearing her. "Okay. Glad to be of your acquaintance, Saijo-san.." she then takes her sit right next to the flustered genius of a girl.
"Are you teasing me or what?" Claudine asks grumpily. Not that she wasn't used to being addressed that way, but if it came from her lips.. it just sounded like she was being mocked. She huffs and Maya smiles at her in return. That smile! She doesn't know if it's genuine or not!
"No? I truly have a great deal of respect for you as the only heir of the Saijo house, are you not? Therefore, it is only befitting," she says with a matter-of-fact tone. This makes Claudine flush a bit more, if possible, and zips her mouth from making a retort, if it was also possible. Claudine suspects Maya's annoying presence is the reason that she acts the way she acts around Maya.
Honestly, it made no sense.
"Right. So much for manners I thought, but I guess.." Claudine bites her lip, not knowing what to say. She flushes, realizing that the reason as to her being suddenly rendered speechless is because of Maya's honesty. How could she sound so sincere, honest, and respectful?
"..Not bad for a commoner," she mutters.
"What was that?" said commoner asks, tilting her head to the side. Although this time, there was a hint of playfulness under her feigned innocence. Claudine is quick to notice this difference, and steps back, "You! H-How sly!"
Maya says nothing in return, but the smugness of her smile is so subtle that Claudine nearly takes her inner praises of her back. I knew it!
Never mind, she was as infuriating as she initially thought she was! She glares at her, and Maya doesn't look away, decidedly accepting her silent challenge.. or because she just likes every chance of taking a proper glance and marvel at the fuming, yet still mesmerizing beauty that is Claudine.
It's deathly obvious, the difference between Claudine's vile and dehumanizing stare versus Maya's smug, teasing one, shadowing the true emotions of admiration and affection for the other girl. Anyone can see it. By now even their classmates see it.
Their passionate staring contest continues until the teacher of that time period arrives, and they sit straight to focus on their lessons. Claudine, ever-competitive, remains active in recitation and makes sure to glance at her rival, flame alighted within her as she answers the most difficult of questions.
Maya, also every bit of competitive and prideful, raises her hand up every single time Claudine does, if not more than the blonde—which makes the latter's nostrils flare. She does it out of spite, or not, Claudine most definitely thinks she's still arrogant. Infuriating.
And so throughout the classes, their little competition continues.
"What is the importance of the merit-based program in our academy?" The teacher asks. Claudine looks around to see no one raising their hand. As expected, most of them were proud and greedy sons and daughters of nobility; they wouldn't know. Nor care.
This pleases her. It was her time to shine. She makes it her mission to raise her hand in a quieted room full of the ignorant nobility. "Yes, Saijo-san?" Maya's head seems to be faced towards her direction, she does not dare check.
"Whether it was the king's compassion or thoughtfulness that has resulted to the decision of implementing the merit-based program, one thing is clear: it keeps the bridge between the commoners and nobility from crumbling as it provides benefits for both parties involved. Most commoners, although lacking in education, may be able to practice and delve deeper into their education here at the academy to support of being their magically-inclined selves, as well as to access means of contributing to and serving our kingdom that takes place after fully complying the requirements and graduating from our prestigious academy."
She pauses, observing the intrigued looks of her classmates, and the curious one. Hm.. "Aristocrats are not directly affected, but may still benefit by strengthening their skills from training with talented scholars. Besides, it could serve as an opportunity to further improve society in the context of setting aside our prejudice, as repulsive as it is, as it sounds to some of you. But I'm willing, and so must you. Do we not cater growth and change? Must we remain stagnant because we cannot address the elephant in the room? Well," she huffs.
"You know what I think? I think it is something that must be resolved for the sake of our nation. As a dutiful aristocrat, I fervently believe that we can brave great endeavors better if we're together, do you not all agree?" she ends sharply, glancing to see that none of the entitled nobles are delusional enough to argue with her.
Claudine truly hates foolish nobles who rely on their social ranking. She's starting to think they don't even have any personality.. besides being power-hungry and greedy to an ugly degree.
Just because you're a noble, doesn't mean you can have everything you want without having to move a single foot forward! She never liked throwing around her name and status to her advantage.
Claudine likes to work hard and receive the things she thinks she deserves, otherwise it would be no good. Not at all.
She would rather let criticism rain on her than receive praises for nothing. To her it was pitiful, shameful, and so fake.
She despises them, the retards who're full of themselves.. so much so, that she scowls and scrunches her nose when she's put in the same room as them.
And she's not afraid to tear them apart if they choose to plot against her and wrong her.
Amidst her running thoughts, the teacher nods as Claudine finishes elaborately answering her question perfectly. "Splendid, Saijo-san! Very clear and insightful answer, as expected of the Saijo household. You may sit down." The French woman sits down and an air of pride radiates from her as she peeks at Maya, who looks nothing but distracted. What the.. how infuriating!
Later on, another student is praised for her correct answer, and the students also clap. That included Maya, to Claudine's surprise. That surprise turns into something ugly that blooms inside her chest.
Claudine does not know why, but she wants Maya's sole attention on her—well of course she does! So as not to miss her small victories in the making, no matter how petty it seems. And she also realizes something else.
What she does a minute later out of impulse is a bit too childish and immature for her liking, but she gets frustrated whenever the brunette doesn't see how she's winning.
The brunette, upon noticing the small piece of paper passed onto her by her classmate, reads the said note.
Earth to, Tendo Maya! And look at me.
Maya blinks once, then begins to write down a response.
At the end of classes, Claudine notices her rival's silence. What she doesn't notice, is the constant burning gaze of admiration that the Japanese woman plants on the French woman's back.
Pocketing the little note that she has yet to read, she decides to read it there and then.
To the most honorable Saijo-san,
You're sorely mistaken. I am known to be grounded, and my eyes never stray much away from your buzzing presence.
Would you grant me the pleasure of inviting you to drink some tea outside later in the afternoon? :)
That filthy commoner, how dare she? She even talks better than the rest of the boring nobles that hit on her every other day!
She eyes Maya as she thinks, and it comes off looking like she was glaring at her rival. With both of them looking at each other as if they were uncovering the darkness within their souls, the people around them glance curiously and even take a step back lest they start a challenge, no matter the venue and the time.
"I-Is Saijo-san mad?.. let's get out before we get caught up in their mess!" Claudine snaps free from her train of thoughts, only to see that her classmates were scurrying out of the classroom.
"You certainly possess a unique aura," Maya thinks out loud.
"Oh, you mean, I'm scary? Gee, thanks." Claudine says nonchalantly. Most of the time she is aware that she had an unpleasant attitude anyway, though opinions from other people she didn't care about had her yawning instead. For her, it's a waste of time trying to enhance their opinion of you. Let people think what they want to think.
"No.. that is not what I meant. You often like to twist my words, do you?" Maya smiles, amused, the angry red orbs staring right back at her keeps getting more interesting the longer she observes her half (most of) the time. She subconsciously thinks she can get lost in them.
"I'm not gullible enough to be blinded, nor stupid to fall for your word play," the young aristocrat scoffs, "and what is the deal of your ridiculous invitation?!" A tinge of red found its way to her cheeks, Claudine growing to a blushing mess. Growing up, she struggled managing her emotions, and as can anyone see, currently she is still struggling.
It delights Maya to her very core.
"I apologize.. I suppose now is a better time to present myself better," she smiles. "I wish to spend my leisure time with you, Saijo-san. I would be honored to serve you as my guest," she bows formally, making Claudine feel all sorts of things, silent as she is.
"Saijo-san?" Maya calls out to her.
"Quiet, you!" she angrily says. She pretends to think even when she already knows what she wants to answer. Maya gives her a patient nod.
"I-I guess.. I have.. no choice but to grace you with my presence! E-Escort me, then!" Claudine's words stumble upon each other, and she abruptly stomps her feet going ahead of Maya, leaving the latter dumbfounded.
Nonetheless with her back turned, Maya lets out a light chuckle. "With pleasure, Saijo-san."