Morgan was awoken by banging on his door. Bleary eyed he stumbled over to the door and opened it to find Marith, Ross and Louie.

“Good, you’re up.” Marith said with a wide grin. He wore a green short sleeve silk shirt and a pair of pants with intricate embroidery. It was obvious that Marith had dressed in some of his finest clothing yet Morgan could only think of how cold it had started to become. Behind Marith, stood Louie shaking his head, dressed in a simple leather coat and thick woollen pants he looked properly dressed for an outing. Ross was clad in his usual sailor's garb but had added a thick tunic.

“Get dressed the girls are waiting in the cafeteria.” Marith said and left for the cafeteria leaving the others behind.

“Didn’t Marith have a date?” Morgan asked, surprised.

“He said it was after lunch so he said he will tag along.” Ross said with an amused smile and Morgan gave Louie a look.

“I warned him.” Louie said with a shrug. “He just dragged me along saying that it was ‘fine’.”

“Okay.” Morgan said with a feeling that it would be anything but fine. “I’ll get dressed and be down in a bit.” The two nodded and went down to the cafeteria on the first floor. Morgan took out his old fur lined winter clothing from his travel chest but opted for an old hand me down leather tunic and a pair of Academy pants. He had never really thought about it but he now had two Academy uniforms, two sets of workout clothing and his winter clothing from back home. This was way more clothing than he had ever had before and looking at all of his clothes felt rather strange.

As he dressed he came to the strange realization that he was most likely happier now than he had ever been. He had friends, all the books he could read and he might even be freed from the disease that has plagued him since he was little. He was not overly troubled by the slight but constant pain he felt in his body and he rarely noticed it. But what would it be like to be rid of it completely? Morgan could not tell, as he could not remember a time when it did not exist.

Thinking about all of this felt strange to Morgan and only when he got to the cafeteria and got his food did he manage to shift his mind to other things. What struck him when he sat down was the clothing the girls wore. Mary-Ann was dressed in what was a rather plain but was obviously very well made linen pants and tunic. They seemed to be lined with wool and were probably what passed for winter clothing in the Imperial capital as it was in the southern part of the empire.

Rina however was wearing a very lovely dress in purple and gold that somehow both captured her youth and at the same time made her look more mature. It was not a ball gown per say, but it was still clearly a very expensive dress that cost far more than all the clothing that Morgan owned combined. Behind her on her chair she had a jacket that complimented her dress very well and her bundled up hair gave off the impression that she was going to court gathering, not an outing to Academy town. Thus she obviously became the centre of attention, and there was more than one boy at the adjacent tables that was captivated by her.

“You really don’t know the word moderation do you sister?” Ross said in a tired voice.

“Just because you don’t care if you dress like a country bumpkin doesn't mean that I have to dress like one.” Rina said, with a derisive snort. Ross was rubbing his face in his hands and subtly glared at the many gawkers. Morgan was at a bit of a loss. The gap between her normal appearance and temperament and the very noble and elegant air around her now was rather stark.

“Besides I look rather fetching don’t I?” Rina added with a smirk and looked around at the other boys. This caused three distinct reactions. Louie looked away pretending to not have heard her. Marith gave her a charming smile that she completely ignored and Morgan looked down with a feeling slightly embarrassed as he spoke.

“Umm… yeah.” Morgan’s words were just barely audible over the din of the cafeteria. “Y-you look very lovely.” His cheeks turned a bit read as he spoke. His words still reach the ears of Rina however which was apparent as Rina grinned in triumph at Ross despite her slight blush.

“Yes, you look surprisingly good in a dress!” Marith added smiling as he nodded.

It was like the noise in the cafeteria was suddenly turned down and Rina’s neck creaked like that of a broken doll as her head swivelled over to Marith. The smile she directed at him did in no way reach her eyes and Morgan who was not even the target of that smile felt a chill run down his spine.

“Surprisingly good?” Her tone of voice made it feel like the temperature in the room had just dropped and Marith's smile slipped.

“Eehh… uhhmm… yes?” Face twitching Marith tried to look to the others to escape from the bone chilling look he was receiving from Rina.

Yet no help was forthcoming, as the other avoided his pleading eyes. Well everyone but Morgan that somehow seemed oblivious of what was happening as he was looking down at his food in an attempt to keep from blushing. When Marith was at his wits end it was surprisingly Morgan who unwittingly came to his rescue.

“I-I think that we should finish breakfast. Cute girls tend to attract a lot of attention so if we don’t want to be swarmed with a crowd we should hurry.” Think of the few times he had been to town with his sister Morgan looked up.

What he saw made him think back on his words and cause his mind to go blank. Ross was gapping at him, Mary-Ann was giggling and Rina was looking away with a slight smile as she played with a loose strand of hair. There was a slight but notable blush colouring her cheeks. Morgan opened his mouth but no words were forthcoming and he quickly looked down at his plate and busied himself with finishing the breakfast. Morgan did his best to ignore Mary-Ann’s giggling whispers to Rina.

“Ehem.” Louie cleared his throat pointing out that the group had all finished their food. “Well since we have all eaten should we get going?” Everyone agreed and the group made their way to through the Academy to Academy town and it became apparent rather quickly that Morgan’s words had rung true. As they gathered quite the crowd even as they moved the short path over the Academy Bridge that leads from the central part to the Academy to the northern side of the Academy town.

Morgan was rather surprised when they entered the Academy Town because it was absolutely massive. Having come from the northern Imperial highway he had only seen the outline of the town as he came to the Academy. But now when he entered the town proper it was far larger than the town of Willowhill that was the closest town to his father’s domain of Bluevale. In all honesty he felt that it was incorrect to call it a town at all. It was more of a small city if anything. Noticing Morgan’s wide eyed stare Marith clapped him on the back with enough force to make Morgan stumble and give Marith an irritated look.

“You should see yourself right now! Haha!” Marith laughed heartily. “Haven’t you visited Academy town once in the three months since you came here?” Marith seemed quite amused.

“Umm… n-no.” Morgan spoke in embarrassment as he rubbed his shoulder pointedly. “And I have never been in any other town than Willowhill and that town is much smaller.”

“I see.” He smirked. “Seems like I have seen more of the empire then you have.” Morgan felt quite embarrassed hearing that. Consider that he was an Imperial noble and Marith was not even from the empire. Before he could think of anything to say Marith saw an opportunity to jump into Rina and Mary-Ann’s discussion. Morgan seeing Marith run up to the girls that lead the group felt a bit exasperated.

“When it’s not about girls or training Marith’s attention span is like that of a toddler.” Louie snorted, shaking his head.

“Wait!” Ross turned to Louie. “You mean he is always like this?!” He looked incredulous.

“At least for time I have known him.” Louie said with a dry chuckle

“Hu.” Ross looked at the dark-skinned boy with a conflicted expression. “I thought it was only because he had a crush on Mary-Ann…” Ross let out a disappointed sigh. “With people like him around it’s no wonder that big sis says that all boys think with their member.” He clicked his tongue.

“Well, it’s not like Marith is the only one.” Morgan said looking around at the many townsfolk whose heads were rubber banding when they caught sight of Rina. Ross moaned softly as he looked at his sisters clearly over the top cloths and the attention she drew. Had it not been for her thick soled leather boots and the town’s paved road her dress would likely have been ruined. Ross would have almost preferred it if Academy town had the normal dirt roads that were so common in rural towns. As his sister would never have worn this dress then. Since she would never risk ruining her favourite dress.

“Sorry about this all.” Ross said suddenly in an exhausted voice. “My sister loves to dress up when she gets the opportunity.” He looked around at the many gawkers watching the girls as they walked imperiously in the middle of the road. And he ignored Marith who kept shooting glances over at them as they walked several paces behind the three.

“Don’t worry about it.” Louie elbowed Ross good-naturedly. “At least no one is pointing and staring at me like when I was little.” Louie said in a conflicted voice. Morgan wanted to offer some words of comfort but was unable to find the words. Instead he just gave Louie a pat on the back thinking back on his own childhood.

“Sounds rough.” Ross frowned and got a faraway look in his eyes. “Back home we would get yelled at constantly when on the ship but that happens to any greenhorn on a ship.” Ross shrugged. “Seems rather tame in comparison though.”

“Don’t worry about it. I was almost as tall as I am now even four years ago and since I tend to get sunburn just by going out I mostly stayed inside so I was just as pale back then.” He gave a hollow laugh. Not sure how to respond to that, the three were walking in silence when Marith, having eventually been glared away by Rina, fell back to join them. The look he gave the other boys made it clear that Rina was still very angry with him.

“Your sister is really scary.” Marith rubbed the back of his head and glanced over at Rina.

“You have no idea.” Ross said flatly. “You should be happy she is in a good mood.”

“Wait? This is her in a good mood?!” Marith gaped at Ross.

“Obviously, she hasn’t scowled once today.” He paused. “Well, expect for at you Marith.” Ross pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Luckily Ross did not see the incredulous look that Louie and Morgan exchanged. Morgan did not doubt Ross’s words but he could not notice much of a difference between Rina’s mood today compared to yesterday. “Maybe she smiles more?” He thought to himself. After walking for a bit the group arrived at a street that was lined with what looked like high end shops likely directed at the many merchants that passed through Academy town and the wealthy students that studied here.