The notice board was right outside the library, so the area was packed before Daneel even arrived.
The prize for the first ranked Daneel especially made everyone gawk, but not in envy.
The 2nd ranked Laravel had been awarded a "1st Grade Pyromaniac Trinket", which was a special trinket that could aid a mage's connection with fire elementary particles, letting them cast spells faster. Although it did not aid directly in the speed at which a mage developed, it was a great help in combat as long as one was an Amateur Mage.
The 3rd placed student's award was a defense trinket, specifically a robe which could block punches and kicks from Amateur Fighters.
Both of these awards were only meant as a means to encourage others to do better, but they already cost 300 Gold Lans and 100 Gold Lans respectively.
But when one read the award for the First ranked Daneel, they could only sigh with pity.
All he got was unrestricted access to the academy and the right to choose a master. The first could simply be gained with time, because a student unlocked new areas in the academy as they progressed year by year. As for the right to choose a master, any talented student would have masters offering their teaching because a talented student had higher chances of passing out successfully and in a shorter period of time. The faster a student graduated, the more handsomely a master would be paid.
Most of the students had been spectators when Daneel had been forced to kneel in front of the King, bleeding. They assumed that this unfair treatment was also because he had opposed the King in some manner. Of course, many assumed that it was because he had beaten Laravel into such a sorry state. Since the incident, Laravel had disappeared from the academy and many whispered that it was because he could not bear to show his face around.
As Daneel neared the library, some people turned around noticing his arrival. Although they still did not dare to talk to him due to the prince's orders, his performance in the assessment had truly astonished them and he now had a place in their hearts. They sighed and shook their heads wistfully before starting to disperse from the notice board.
Noticing all the sighs and head shakes, Daneel wondered what the heck was happening before checking the notice board himself.
Trinkets! Damn trinkets again! He thought when he saw the awards for the other two students. Although he knew that what he had gotten was much more valuable for him than any trinket, he still couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the shiny coins that turned into magical things or had magical properties. He still treasured the dagger/knife trinket that he had "borrowed" from Elanev.
The others watched on as he also sighed and shook his head. This elicited another round of sighs before they left, cursing the black-hearted King in their minds.
Little did they know that Daneel was sighing because he was looking forward to swimming in a lake of trinkets as soon as he developed the technique to learn them by observing an enchanter. The others would have simply puked blood on seeing this image in Daneel's mind.
Suddenly, he heard a yell from inside the library before somebody skidded to a stop near his feet.
It was Faxul! His snub-nosed face was pallid, with blood leaking from his mouth as he gasped for breath.
A rage bubbled up inside Daneel seeing his friend in such a dire state. He immediately turned around to see who had the gall to hurt him.
3 students wearing the robes of nobility walked out, with panic evident on their faces as they saw the enraged Daneel glaring at them.
The trio were made up of 2 boys and a girl, who stood in the center and seemed to be leading them. The girl wore the most luxurious clothes, with the royal crest shining on the hem of her velvet dress.
The other two 13-year olds were dressed the same, and they even seemed to be twins.
"Weren't you at the classroom....", the girl said before immediately closing her mouth as if she had said something she shouldn't.
Daneel had indeed rushed over on hearing the announcement. Everything clicked into place as he heard her say these words.
Over the past year, there had been many instances when Faxul had been injured, limping into bed with bandaged arms or legs. When Daneel asked, he had simply told him that it was because of some sparring practice in the woods.
Now that he thought about it, all the days that Faxul had become hurt were days he was either in the woods or in the library. Completely absorbed in his schedule, he had not noticed the little clues such as a noble always near him wherever he was or even some times, kids running right after they saw him coming.
He hit his own head as he realized how foolish he had been. Although spars were forbidden in the first year, it did not mean that someone could discreetly attack another student. For the nobility, it seemed that any rules could be bent.
Daneel had many questions. For instance, why had he not been attacked? Why had Faxul not told him about the altercations? Why had he not complained to the council?
All of them were irrelevant at this moment. His friend was in his arms, bleeding. He had endured countless amounts of pain, suffering and blood all without even telling him a word. And he was definitely the reason for everything. He had been foolish to think that the prince wouldn't enforce his rule to stay away from Daneel.
"Why?", he simply asked, as the trio in front of him shook in their shoes. They wanted to move, but at some point of time, 3 ice pricks had appeared in front of their throats. Even a tiny movement would result in their deaths.
"It was my choice to be your friend. It was my responsibility to take care of them.", he said in a hoarse voice before passing out in his arms.
The trio shrieked as the ice pricks moved closer to their throats, drawing tiny lines of blood.
Daneel bent and checked Faxul's pulse. Seeing that it was fine, he wiped his forehead that had beaded with sweat.
He did not even know that he had such a friend who could endure any amount of pain just because he had made the choice to defy the prince for him.
They never spent time joking around. They never talked about themselves, laying their hearts out.
Yet, they had grown close enough with time to understand the other without a need for words.
Such a friend was truly hard to come by.
Daneel picked up Faxul gingerly and started walking towards the infirmary, while the ice pricks floating in front of the trio faded into the air. The three heaved a sigh of relief, but a strong voice that echoed in their ears birthed a fear in them that would give them nightmares.
"This is not over."