Chapter Twenty-Seven: Rumors

                                    

                                          


The excitement I experienced when I passed the audition to perform at the festival did not last long. Rumors that I had bribed the faculty into letting me participate and using my brother to make me look better had started to fill the Academy's halls. While it did bothered me, such rumors existed because of the well known fact that my fire magic was weak, so I figured I could prove them all wrong next week when the festival took place. However, after a few days, the rumors were getting out of control. 
                          
"To believe she would do something so cruel, she is disgracing the noble class, and worst of all our prince."
                          
"There are rumors that she is sleeping with the faculty to earn favor, isn't she often seen with the school's doctor and Prince Louis's Royal guard?"
                          
"Even the headmaster called her to his office on the first day of classes, to think that she would do such a thing with a man as old as him."
                          
"I heard she blackmailed her brother into helping her. To think an illegitimate child like her would have the audacity to use him like that. The way she is just clinging onto her position as a Duke's daughter is pathetic, he should hurry and kick her out of the family."
                          
Rumors such as these were relentlessly spreading throughout the school like a highly infectious disease. It had gotten so bad, that for the first time, some students had the courage to send me angry looks and confidently speak words of blasphemy for all to hear. Now that I was perceived to be an illegitimate daughter, the status that had shielded me previously was gone and many students were eager to take jabs at me. Luckily, classes had ended the week before the festival so that the school could prepare, so I was able to spend most of my time out of the public eye. 
                          
"It's fine Elaine," I reassured, holding her back from tackling the gossiping students to the ground. The two of us were headed to the library so that I could return the books I had borrowed for my classes this term. Finals were coming up, and though they weren't as hard as midterms due to the festival, I still needed to study. 
                          
"But everything they're saying is complete bullshit. How could anyone think such things, it's disgusting." Elaine spat, sending a nasty glare towards a group of girls who had been whispering about me. 
                          
"I know it's bullshit, but in a week I'm going to prove their sorry asses wrong with my badass sword skills. We can't do anything rash before the festival or we won't be allowed to perform. Don't worry, I'm memorizing their faces so I can remember to greet them later." I sneered, trying my best to hold back my anger. 
                          
Usually, I wasn't bothered by the comments from other students since I was used to being the center of gossip, but this time it was different. This time, the rumors were harming the people who had already done so much for me. Both Connor and Serge had been dragged into the scandal surrounding my audition, risking both their jobs and their honor as men. 
                          
In this country, being caught cheating or in an affair was basically a death sentence in society. Even the King couldn't get away with such things without facing consequences. If these rumors continued, it would be detrimental to the many people around me, so it was imperative that I ended the slander permanently. In order to that, my performance at the festival would have to prove to everyone that I earned my right to stand on the stage with talent and hard work; not the tricks and bribery that many accused me of. 
                          
As I tried to maintain patience, a bothersome girl came into view, a wicked grin plastered on her bitchy face, 
                          
"Callista, you are amazing. How could someone like you have the audacity to show your face in public." Valerie jeered, speaking down to me for the first time in her life. The surrounding students turned to watch as the brunette approached me, her violet eyes filled with glee. She had probably been waiting for me to leave my dorm, so she could use the rumors to boost her own reputation.