Tiffany had begun to feel strange. At times her mind would wander off and she would find herself lost in the school ground, nowhere near where she needed to be. It was like she was there, but she didn’t feel like she was present in a situation. The days would fly by and she wouldn’t be able to recall what had happened.

A similar thing happened after meeting the Royal Family of Ignus. After she and Siwon had talked for a while they intended to head down to the palace gardens to meet with the others, but instead she found herself walking on the opposite side of the palace, mumbling to herself about things she couldn’t remember. When she finally met up with the others, they told her she said she was heading to the toilet.

“Do you think there’s something in your head?” Donghae asked her.

“I don’t know but it’s been happening to me as well.” Jessica replied.

“Really? When?”

“A few times to be honest. I was wondering around the city with my headphones in and soon enough I ended up in a part of town I didn’t even know. Like the back alleys. I just assumed I had started day-dreaming.” She explained carefully.

“Sica, you need to be careful! You could have gotten attacked or even hit by a car!” Taeyeon warned her.

“I don’t know what happened Tae. One minute I was wondering in the park, the next I was in the back alleys behind an apartment complex.” Jessica said.

“Guys we’re going to be late for the next lesson. We need to go.” Qian told everyone whilst looking at her watch.

“What is the next lesson anyway?” Nichkhun asked.

“Politics.” Qian replied. Siwon, Minho and Donghae groaned, much to the amusement of the others.

“Why Politics?” Minho asked.

“Exactly. Who cares if some kingdom has slightly different rules on imported and deported goods than another kingdom?” Siwon continued.

“I’d rather be in combat than Politics.” Donghae muttered grumpily. Jessica snorted with laughter and punched him in the shoulder.

“You’d rather be in combat than anywhere else Hae.” She called affectionately.

“Well it’s all to keep my princess safe isn’t it?” Donghae replied sweetly. Jessica glared:

“Lee Donghae you well know that I am not some simpering damsel in distress.”

“I know Sica, believe me I know.” He muttered. The others giggled at their little banter and quickly walked to their next lesson. The classroom was a big, old room made of stone. There was one large window on one side, letting in the bright midday sun which illuminated the classroom. Their teacher, a small, old professor with a kind face, was stood waiting for them in front of the class as they walked in. He surveyed each of them with a keen eye, taking in their body language, the looks on their faces and where they each chose to sit in his classroom. He observed every single one of them for no more than a few seconds before speaking to them as a whole.

“Welcome to Politics. I am Professor Veteris. Here you will learn more about the Royal Families and important political decisions made in history. You have already covered a general insight into the different kingdoms with Professor Umbra. Here you will learn and memorise the Royal Families in detail. Their history and ancestry is as important as the present day.” He told them once they had all sat down.

“Why must we learn the ancestry of the families?” Yuri asked.

“It can cause great offence to the families if they think you are not interested in their histories. If the families get into an argument it can escalate into a full-blown war.” He explained.

“Yikes the royal families are touchy aren’t they?” Yuri muttered.

“It is more an expectation of respect for their history which is not an unreasonable request. For example; you would not like me disrespecting your parents right Miss Kwon? No matter how much you might hate them, even if they kicked you out of their home?” At his words, Yuri paled and she suddenly fell silent. Minho looked at her in concern before turning to the teacher angrily.

“How di-“

“I know a very many things Mr Minho, so I would keep silent if I were you.” He interrupted while the rest of the class gaped at him. After a few moments of silence, he turned to the rest of them.

“Let’s begin with the lesson!” He launched into an explanation of the various Royal families. They quickly learned that; although they appeared demure and haughty, the Royal Family of Ignus was not afraid of a fight.

“When confronted, the Royal Family of Ignus are like a small pack of wolves. And what do wolves have?”

“Tails?” Minho remarked.

“Teeth!” Jessica shouted.

“Followers. Just like a pack of wolves, the Royal Family of Ignus has a pack of followers.  They are the Ladies and Lords of the Ignus Royal Court. Now, I have business to attend to, so the lesson will be cut early.” The Professor announced. The class whooped and cheered.

“However! You will have homework. I want an essay on one of the families of the Ignus Royal Court. You can pick whichever family you choose, they do not have to be serving in the Royal Court at present. I want detailed essays on their heritage, how they came to serve in the Royal Court and what influences they have had on the Royal Family. Feel free to add your own opinions to the essays, I want to know your different opinions on the families.” The Professor said sternly.

“How long do we have to prepare the essay?” Taeyeon asked curiously.

“You have 3 days.”

“3 days?” Yuri asked in shock, “You are joking right?”

“No Miss Kwon I am not. I only expect the best from my students, and with ranks such as yours you are required to obtain this knowledge.”

“But- “Yuri tried to protest.

“No but’s! 3 days! You are dismissed.” They filed out of the class silently with Yuri staring defiantly ahead, determined not to let her emotions show through to the professor. As soon as they were out of the classroom Yuri turned around and hissed:

“How did he know about me?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll find out Yuri.” Minho placed a hand.

Siwon sat down in the school library to begin the homework. As much as he didn’t want to admit it; this subject fascinated him. Royal family histories were always thick with secrets and affairs and he wanted to learn them all.

He picked a book from the shelf about the Ignis royal family and began to flick through. The entire court for the royal family were listed in the contents and throughout the book were detailed paintings portraying them. It seemed that the Ignis royal family favoured families that had a lot of military background. Army generals, captains and so on seemed to feature heavily in their court.

But something seemed off about. He didn’t know what it was. But something wasn’t right.

One of the families, one of the few that didn’t have a military background, hadn’t been written about. There were no explanations of how they came into the court. What they did. No paintings. There were only 2 dates on there. The day they started serving court and the day they died. Curious, Siwon headed to the librarian.

“Are there any more information books about this family?”

“Which family?” She asked without even glancing at him.

“Umm, the family named Ignus Avem.” At this the librarian’s head shot up.

“Why do you want to know about them?” She asked.

“…Homework.” Siwon shrugged.

“There’s another book in the Higher Access section, but you need to sign it out.”

“That’s not a problem.” Siwon shrugged.

The librarian sighed and reached down below the desk. When she emerged, she dropped a huge stack of paper on the desk. Siwon gaped at her.

“Is this a joke? I thought I just had to sign it out?” he asked incredulously.

“Yeah, this is an agreement that you will look after the book, that you’ll return it when you are done, that you won’t scribble over it etc.” She waved her hand dismissively.

“And I have to sign all of this?”  Siwon the papers apprehensively.

“If you don’t want the book- “

“No I’ll sign it.” He sighed. The librarian went to go collect the book from the back and Siwon just flicked through to the end and scribbled his signature when he saw the dotted line. He didn’t need to read all of it.

She came back with a thick, leather-bound book. It was old; the dust layer thick as she transferred it to his hands, making Siwon cough and sneeze as he breathed. Carrying the book back to his table he placed it carefully on the table. The pages were so yellowed and old it felt like the book would disintegrate at any second.

The writing was so intricate and loopy that he had a tough time reading some of the words, but he could just make out the words ‘Ignus Avem’ in the contents page. Carefully turning the pages; he found the correct section and began reading.

The family Ignus Avem derives its name from the Latin translation of the phrase ‘Fire Bird.’ The Fire Bird is considered to be the most underestimated animal in the Ignus Kingdom. Small and seemingly innocent, this bird releases a poison so deadly it kills within mere seconds of consuming it.

The same could be said of the Ignus Avem family. They were appointed once the head of the family saved the King from assassination from rebel groups of the kingdom. Once there, the family quickly rose through the ranks to become the King and Queen’s most trusted advisors and were considered by some to be their unofficial seconds-in-command.

Siwon found this enthralling. It was a classic tale of rags to riches and these people must have been talented to be second-in-command to the royal family. He made a note to talk to their descendants to find out more about them before reading on.

Unfortunately, on their way to discuss a trade deal between the Lux and Ignus kingdom, they were involved in a car accident. The accident killed both heads of the family and their only heir.

“Well there goes my plan of talking to them.” Siwon muttered as he scribbled out the note.

However; many people speculated that the family was murdered to prevent the deal coming through. The deal was not considered by the Lux royal family to be advantageous to their kingdom and the deal was altered a many number of times before being agreed upon. However, no concrete evidence has been found to support these claims and the death was ruled as an accident.

Siwon sighed heavily. The book didn’t go into much detail after their death, just a list of achievements that they cultivated during their time at court. They had done considerably well; securing deals that benefited both everyone from the commoners of the kingdoms to the Royal family members. After he read through this he turned to the family tree, with the insignia of a small bird Siwon guessed must be the Fire Bird.

As he traced down the names he felt a sense of familiarity. Had he heard these names before? They echoed within his head, stirring some unknown feelings within him. The occupations seemed very lowly; mostly farmers or small business owners. Nothing to suggest the names might be familiar to him.

His long fingers traced down the family line till they reached the bottom. Siwon inhaled sharply before slamming his hand down over what he just read.

Impossible.

The names were far too common. This was a coincidence. Just a coincidence.

Taking a deep breath; he uncovered the family tree again. With a shaking hand he flipped over the page to reveal what he knew would be the portraits of the last heads of the family.

And when he confirmed what he suspected he roughly shoved the book into his bag and marched away from the library, needing to see one person and one person only.

Professor  Veteris.