Chapter 57: When Porcelain Breaks
"What?" Ruelle uttered, not because she didn’t hear it. But because she was in shock. "But m—"
"Incomplete. What’s the point of bringing water when it doesn’t even touch the dying man’s lips?" Ms. Gemma asked, looking straight into Ruelle’s eyes. "Sexton prepares you for the world. You should have known when you and your family signed up to study here. To advance yourself."
But Ruelle had never wished or thought of attending here in the first place. And now she couldn’t pull away from it.
"Maybe you will not fail the next time. If there’s one, that is, hoping you pass in other subjects. You may leave now, Ms. Belmont," the older woman politely waved to the door, and Ruelle exited the room.
A chill ran down Ruelle’s spine because there was a possibility of failing... as she had missed the questions in the stuck sheet of the questionnaire. The image of the Groundling tied in chains flashed through her eyes.
"Ruelle?" Hailey called, who had been waiting for her.
"Do you know when the results are going to be announced? All the subjects that we wrote," Ruelle asked, worried.
"It should be put up the day after tomorrow on the board. Before we leave for the weekend," Hailey replied, before coming to realise what might have Ms. Gemma told her friend. She placed her hand on Ruelle’s arm. "Let us not think of the worst now."
Ruelle nodded her head, but she couldn’t get rid of the hopelessness she felt sink into her. She had studied hard. She had gotten her ears pierced. Yet things didn’t go the way they were supposed to. She began to imagine the worst direction her life could shift in once the results came out and she felt her stomach ache.
She followed Hailey through the quiet corridor, their footsteps muted against the stone floor. They reached the stairwell. A few students hurried past, chatting about the river trip and also the prince’s arrival.
"...they’ll have lanterns strung across the trees at night," one of the female Groundlings said in a hushed voice. "It will look like starlight fallen onto water."