This was a bit unprecedented because she had been banking on him being alone (based on the fact that they had arrived really early.) But lo and behold, there were four people waiting casually in their seats. The fourth one was standing.
Wallice absolutely hated walking healing into unknown situations like this. Here she was thinking that she would be with the president alone. And yet she was In the most powerful man's office on the University's grounds, with a bunch of strangers she didn't recognize at all.
Though Galen was a dignified entity, he was also a very courteous host. As soon alas he saw Wallice enter his office, he stood up immediately to welcome her in with a very warm reception despite the fact that he was with guests.
"Ah, Miss Wallice. You're welcome. Please come in."
Wallice was truly in awe of the old man's humility. Who was she for the old man to rise up to greet her when she entered his office? The feeling was akin to watching a king acknowledge her. So, she didn't waste time in greeting him with the whole of her heart;
"Principal Galen.." she bowed down slightly. "It is an honor to be in your presence at this hour. Thank you for having us." As she bowed, the other students followed her example as well.
Much to Wallice's surprise, the other two stood up as well when Galen rose. The old man proceeded;
"Glad to have you here Miss Wallice."
Galen smiled warmly and beckoned her; "Please do come in. Come closer and let me introduce you."
Introduce her? She thought it was just going to be her and the president! The secretary could have simply told her that Galen was with guests (who looked every inch like important people) and she would have gladly waited. After all, the whole point of being tardy was to make sure that she would wait on Galen, instead of Galen waiting for her.
Very quickly, she gathered her thoughts (and anxiety), and shoved them somewhere deep and unreachable where they wouldn't be easily reached. Right now, she needed to be on her A-game. So, she smiled and glided across the room with her students marching brusquely behind her like a band of minions. She approached Galen's desk just a few feet shy, and stopped.
"Miss Wallice, I'd like you to meet Princess Royal- Rachel Caesar of the house of Caesar."
Wallice very nearly shit herself. The royal princess?! What?! Why hadn't she been informed earlier? No, wait, it was actually her fault. She should have known that something of this sort was going to happen. Wallice kept reprimanding herself for not being prudent enough.
Rachel was the only one who hadn't risen or as much as turned to acknowledge Wallice and her students when they had entered. The big oak chair on which she sat on kept her back hidden from the sights of those behind her. In fact, if not for her jewel bedecked hands that had been resting on the arm of the chair, Wallice wouldn't have even known that someone was there.
Her instincts immediately overcame her, and immediately, she dropped to her knees with her face flushed. Totally caught off guard, her students also had no option but to follow suit. They also dropped down to their knees and kept their heads bowed to the ground. This was the customary way of greeting royalty, especially those that were of the direct royal family. Praying that her voice wouldn't be as shaky as her heart right now, Wallice greeted the princess;
"Forgive me princess! I wasn't aware you were present!"
She wanted to add "a good morning" or "good day" or some other felicitation that wouldn't make her seem obsequious. But she held her tongue and remembered her own advice to her students from earlier on; do not speak too much.
The princess finally rose up from her chair, and in slow graceful moves, she turned towards Wallice and her students. Her glamorous gown flowed gracefully behind her, shimmering in the rays of the early morning sun that filtered through the window. In a voice that sounded like the melodious ring of a harp, she addressed Wallice;
"Please rise Miss Wallice . I hear great things about you and your promising students. On behalf of the royal family, I say congratulations on coming this far and emerging as finalists."
Wallice still felt like she was in some kind of dream or something. It was all so unbelievable. She was truly flattered beyond measure! The royal princess knew her name, and was aware of her accomplishments! Wallice's career was off to a great start!
Wallice rose to her feet very slowly, Ibneiah and the rest followed suit.
"Thank you very much princess. It means a lot to I and the students. Right boys?"
"Yes ma'am!"
As young students who had never been in the presence of royalty before, they were all thirsting to catch a glimpse of the face of the heavenly being that was the princess. But as much as they wanted to, they were pretty sure it was a crime to stare longingly at her. If they were caught, the important looking men in the room might smite them with a lightning bolt or something. All things considered, it was best they kept their heads bowed.
Now that the first stage of the introduction had been completed, Galen proceeded with the charade. He turned his hand towards the smartly dressed middle-aged man dressed in a formal suit and tie. The man had this aura of a high ranking official or a soldier of the crown who wasn't to be approached or taken lightly.
"And this is my protégé, Harry."
Galen's voice thundered in Wallice's ears like a lightning storm. Wallice might have been standing still, but internally, she alone knew the storm that was raging through her. Her mind was basically aflame with joyous shock. There was just no telling her state of mind in that moment. Wallice couldn't believe her ears. She broke her own rule of speaking out of turn and addressed Galen directly, but respectfully;
"President Galen, did you really say this man was Harry? As in- THE HARRY?!"
Galen sighed. Oh no, here we go, he thought.
"Yes Miss Wallice, I assure you this is my impiety disciple Harry."
Even though Galen had basically confirmed that it was truly him, Wallice was still having difficulty believing that this was the man himself. She had good reason to be star struck. Galen might have been a celebrity in his own right, and Rachel was all royal and stuff, but Harry- this was a man who was basically a god! In Wallice's world, Harry was a name she had heard often, right from her childhood.
Harry was one of the few SSS-level mages left in the world. And he had wrought a great deal of wonders in his time. Not only that, Harry was also a master of illusion. In fact, his nickname was 'The Illusionist.' And he specialized in the most extreme form of light magic. His dexterity and skill in t his area was unparalleled. He was truly in his lane and no one came close to him.
Still dazed, and still very much in awe, Wallice forced her legs to move forward towards the legend himself. His serious face and his general facade that made him look unapproachable didn't deter her. In fact, it drew her to him like a moth to a flame. This was particularly interesting because Harry's affinity for light magic was extremely repulsive to dark magic. And as it was, Wallice had an abundance of darkness in her.
It wasn't by her making. Because of the blend of bloodlines speaking in her as a hybrid, she had been gifted the unenviable gift of harboring a thick swarm of darkness in her blood. This darkness was diametrically opposed to the light magic emanating from Harry. In fact, all her instincts kicked within her, screaming at her to keep away from this man. Subconsciously, she couldn't help but feel that Harry was an extremely dangerous entity.
The darkness in her made it seem like it would be wise of her to stay away from him. Light and darkness were always polar opposites and would continue to be natural enemies for all eternity. That was just the natural order of things. Wallice knew all this and refused to be deterred.
Instead, she suppressed her instincts roaring within her and gingerly worked her way towards Harry. Their individual natures didn't matter to her. She was his biggest fan, and now that she was in his presence, she was determined to get as close to him as possible. Rigjt from the time she was just a little girl, for as long as she could remember, this had been her dream. Never in a million years had she thought that it would come so soon.
The powerfully built middle-aged man with the robust middle, stepped forward gracefully with a serious expression on his face, and nodded curtly at Wallice, acknowledging her presence.
"Pleased to meet you Miss Wallice. I've heard good things."
Wallice literally had to force herself to open her mouth and speak. "T-thank you Mr. Harry."
"I am very optimistic about your potential. Your ancestry is a very interesting one indeed. Not everyone has privilege of having a mixed bloodline of vampire, werewolf, dragon and human bloodlines. It's possible you might even surpass the genuis Valarie."
Wallice blushed hard at the praise. It wasn't everyday a person met their idols, and it definitely wasn't everyday they also received heartwarming genuine praise from them.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l