The weight of humiliation pressed heavily on Elara as she sat in the oppressive silence of the classroom, her golden eyes glaring fiercely at the smug red irises that returned her gaze.
'H-How insolent!' she thought, the anger boiling within her chest. Her clenched teeth betrayed the storm brewing behind her composed exterior as the memory of this insult seared itself into her mind.
This wasn't the first time she had endured such indignity; it was only the second, but that alone made it an intolerable offense.
Elara, the Imperial Princess raised in the lap of luxury and privilege, had been conditioned to expect reverence from everyone she encountered.
The idea of rejection—let alone outright mockery—was antithetical to everything she believed about herself and her station.
From the moment she resolved to attend the Academy, her ambitions had been singular and unwavering: to claim the Imperial Throne.
