The thud as the bag hit the ground was very loud in the silence. Melmarc’s jaw dropped as Ark locked the door behind him.

  Melmarc stared at the room in front of him. It was only the living room but it was beautiful. White walls, an amazing white ceiling with white lights. Black leather sofas, a television set so wide it had to be more than fifty five inches. The ground was black marble, reflective. It was also a large living space.

  “So,” Ark said, standing right next to him. “What do you think?”

  Melmarc pressed his lips in a thin line, chose his words carefully. “I think that this is not the room I selected.”

  “I know,” Ark chuckled. “I looked into the room you selected, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t like it.”

  “It was a standard Fallen High two bedroom apartment,” Melmarc protested, looking at his brother. “It was standard.”

  “And I’m not a fan of standard.”

  “So you picked the deluxe?” Melmarc threw his hands up in exasperation. “Ark, students pay extra for deluxe. There’s a reason it’s called deluxe.”

  “I’m very well aware of that,” Ark said. He shrugged and walked into the living room with his bags. Spitfire dropped from his shoulder and scurried off in some direction that Melmarc was not paying attention to. “Deluxe feels comfortable.”

  Melmarc couldn’t believe his ears. “The standard rooms were comfortable, too.”

  “Dude,” Ark flopped down on the leather couch, “the standard rooms had a shower and no bath.”

  “Why the hell do we need a bath?”

  Ark paused, looked at Melmarc, then shrugged. “No idea. But I like to have what there is to have.”

  Melmarc took in the living room once more. He took in the space, the couches, the television. He took in everything. As he catalogued, his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as something Ark had always wanted since getting into high school came to mind.

  “You asshole,” he hissed in accusation. “You got this place so that you can throw house parties.”

  Ark rolled his eyes at him. “I would say I was pained if you weren’t right.” He held his arms out wide somehow encompassing the entire space. “This has the perfect feel for a perfect house party.”

  “Our neighbors will complain.”

  Their apartment was on the third floor of the building. With six floors and four apartments on each floor, Melmarc wondered why a school that was arguably for the rich didn’t just pamper their students and add an elevator.

  “Our neighbors will complain,” Ark repeated, then laughed. “Mel, our neighbors are the children of rich parents who will be more than happy to attend any house party I throw.”

  “No.” The word was abrupt, coming out of Melmarc’s mouth before he could stop himself.

  Ark cocked a brow at him. “Yes.”

  Melmarc was already shaking his head. “It won’t work. No.”

  “It will work.” Ark crossed his legs defiantly. “Yes.”

  Melmarc groaned, running his hands down his face. “What of when I want to study?”

  “Then study,” Ark said easily.

  “While there’s a house party going on? Make it make sense, Ark.”

  “You are aware that there’s a brain in here, right?” Ark tapped the side of his head with a finger. “Only a fool throws a house party every day.”

  “Because you’ll get tired?” Melmarc asked with a touch of sarcasm.

  Ark heard it and chuckled. “God, no. Who gets tired of house parties.” He paused after seeing the look on Melmarc’s face and added, “Except you, obviously. But no. I won’t throw house parties every day because this is school, I’m here to study not fail away like some no life. And do you know how expensive it is to throw a house party? It costs a lot of money.”

  That’s true, Melmarc thought. His allowance won’t be enough.

  With the thought came another question.

  “Hold up,” he said, folding his arms while still standing at the door. “How exactly are you making the extra payment for the apartment?”

  “It’s just like four hundred bucks a term,” Ark replied, getting up and walking over to the television. “It’s really not a big deal.”

  Four hundred bucks was a big deal.

  Ark touched the side of the television and a panel slid out. He took the television remote out of the panel and the panel slid back in. Melmarc watched the entire thing in silence.

  “Besides,” Ark continued when he was seated once more. “I called uncle D and asked for permission. When he heard about your sponsorship, he said it was not a problem. He gave me the go ahead.”

  Melmarc looked around as the television came on. “We’re paying for all this with a portion of what should’ve been my tuition fee?”

  The television display was a sharp white, bright enough that Ark winced at it for a very brief moment, then frowned.

  It was a moment before he answered. “Yep. Uncle D’s already made the deposit.”

  “What does Nin think about this?”

  Ark paused, then looked at him so very slowly. “Are you going to be a snitch, Mel? Snitches get stitches. You know that.”

  Melmarc scoffed, bending to pick his bag back up. “You couldn’t stab me even if you wanted to. But, no, I’m not telling Ninra.”

  With his bag, he walked off in the direction of the rooms.

  “Good boy!” Ark called after him as he crossed his legs on the coffee table.

  “But if she asks,” Melmarc called back, coming to a stop at a small space that stood between both rooms, “then all bets are off. I’m telling her everything.”

  “Then make sure she doesn’t ask.”

  Where Melmarc was standing was a good distance behind the couch Ark was sitting on, the one that was directly opposite the television. Melmarc watched Ark switch through channels looking for what to watch.

  “Does this place have something like a master bedroom?” he asked.

  Ark looked over his shoulder at him. “Why?”

  “Because I was thinking I’ll have that one since part of my tuition is what’s paying for it.”

  Ark took a moment to think it over before shrugging. “Knock yourself out.”

  Melmarc did.

  Unfortunately, his wish to punish Ark by giving him the smaller room was dashed against the walls. The apartment had two master bedrooms. Both rooms were the same size with the same designs, perfectly identical. Even their bathrooms were the same.

  Melmarc hated to admit it but he actually liked the idea of having so much space. He also liked how pristine the entire apartment was.

  He picked a room and dropped his duffel bag in the massive wardrobes complete with mirrors as doors and sat down on the king size bed. For a moment, he let himself take it all in.

  He was officially a student of Fallen High. What had once seemed like a hopeless dream was now his life. He was an occupant of one of its apartments, had gained admission, had gone through the tests without any problem.

  A Delver even saw you fit to sponsor, he thought, even though the excitement of this particular piece of information was dampened by the fact that the Delver was an Oath.

  Your dreams are coming to life, he thought with a smile, one step at a time.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Delvers choosing to sponsor students was a sign that they thought the student had what it took to be a great Delver one day. A sponsorship was a scouting move. They would train you through high school. If you continued to show promise, you’ll have an introduction to the recruitment team of the Delver’s company and sign some rookie contracts before you’ll be sponsored through college as well.

  Once that was done, you would spend all your breaks interning at the company. Then when you graduate, you would be hired on a full time employment contract as a Delver of the company. The beauty of the entire thing was that once other companies find out that you are being sponsored, they would look into you. It was not unheard of for a student being sponsored to end up signing a rookie contract with a company that was not affiliated with their sponsor.

  It was all about offers and opportunities. If the company of your sponsor was offering a less attractive rookie contract than the competing company coming for you, it was totally within your rights to pick them. Most people saw it as being ungrateful, but others saw it as a smart move. After all, sponsorship was basically charity work. There was no business deal there.

  There was also some rule about how companies were not allowed to scout Gifted until they were either done with high school or were at least eighteen, which was funny since the Gifted were legally treated as adults under a few sections of the law. But there was no law against charity cases, so companies had their highest level Delvers, those paid in so much money that they could retire at any time, sponsor students to gain some form of loyalty or appreciation.

  He remembered Delano talking about how the government had once wanted to put a stop to it but only allowed it because it ensured that privileged or not the young Gifted had a shot at being educated to become better and productive adults or, as Delano called it, useful citizens.

  But do you want to work with the Oath of Pain? Melmarc asked himself, staring at the marble floor of his room as it reflected the white light above.

  His parents were obviously not in support of him associating with any Oaths. But what was his opinion on the matter. Was he against associating with the Oaths?

  The answer came to him easily. He didn’t care. Whether he associated with them or not was of no importance to him. If so, then there was no reason for him to want to go against his parents.

  So, was it fair for him to allow the Oath of Pain to sponsor him if he knew that he would not work with the man’s company? From an outside point of view, it was easy to say that signing with someone else after being sponsored through high school was not something to frown at, but standing on the inside, it was different.

  Logic was never the same as emotions. Melmarc knew that it was arguably normal to do such a thing, especially for someone like him that could easily go through high school without the sponsorship, but it still felt like the wrong thing to do.

  Melmarc looked at his still open room door.

  “ARK!” he called out.

  “Come out here if you want to talk to me!” Ark called back.

  Melmarc sighed. It wasn’t as if Ark was watching anything on the television yet. And, if he knew his brother the way he thought he did, Ark wouldn’t be packing into his room until late in the night—Ark was not a fan of unpacking.

  Pushing himself off the bed, Melmarc walked out of the room. When he got to the back of Ark’s couch, he leaned on it.

  Ark took a moment to look at him before returning his attention to the television. “Do you know what channel Uncle D uses to watch those his reality shows?”

  “Fear factor?” Melmarc asked, unsure.

  Ark shook his head. “No, not those ones. The other ones.” He made a vague gesture with his hand that was holding the remote, as if trying to figure something out. “The other ones. You know, like that one about the guy with an arm made of mana.”

  Melmarc didn’t know that one. His silence must’ve clued Ark in because Ark continued.

  “There was the one about the boy who was kidnapped and taken to an Order of priests who actually had nothing to do with God.”

  “These don’t sound like reality shows, Ark,” Melmarc pointed out.

  “I know,” Ark shrugged, “they are actually just movies, but he insists they are reality shows.”

  Melmarc remembered them now. They always seemed like they annoyed their uncle while he watched them but they always caught him watching them once in a while. He remembered one about a slime becoming human. That one particularly annoyed him.

  His brows furrowed as he tried to remember what channel their uncle watched them on and failed.

  He shook his head in the end. “I’ve got no idea.”

  “I guessed so,” Ark sighed. “Any way, what did you want from me.”

  It took Melmarc a moment to remember why he had been calling for Ark. “Do you know what company you want to work for? Do you have any plans that far out?”

  “Not really.” Ark seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook his head. “Yep, haven’t thought that far. Always thought I’d be more of a ‘get a job’ kinda guy. You know, normal human guy who works for a living while having a trust fund because mom and dad are rich.”

  That made sense. Ark had always wanted to be Gifted but it hadn’t been an obsessive drive like Melmarc who wished so desperately for it. Ark had wanted to be Gifted because everybody wanted to be Gifted.

  “What about when you got your class?” he asked.

  Ark simply shrugged, selecting a movie with a cover that looked like it was supposed to be horror. “I guess I figured I’d just end up working for the government like mom and dad.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yep. Why struggle when I can just use my connections and get a government job. Yeesh,” he winced, staring at the television, “when a horror film starts with someone killing a half-naked girl, you just know that it’s going to be rubbish.” He changed the channel to sports. “Anyway, I was going to go the government route. It has job security and all that. The pay isn’t the greatest but it’s still enough to get nice houses and nice cars and all the works.” He paused, looked at Melmarc again. “Why? Do you have a company in mind?”

  Melmarc shook his head. “Not really, I was just thinking about the Oath sponsoring me and wondered if… maybe we shouldn’t be calling him that for the moment.”

  “You’re looking around rather suspiciously,” Ark muttered. “You think the rooms are being monitored?”

  “They shouldn’t be,” Melmarc said, a little worried that they might be. “It’s actually against the laws for schools like these to monitor what is supposed to be a private living space, but I won’t put it past them to break a few rules.”

  “Fair point. So what were you thinking about the Delver?”

  “That he might want me to join his company.”

  “Oh.” Ark returned his attention to the television as if nothing of import was being discussed. “If they come, just say no.”

  “I know, it’s just going to be…”

  “Unethical?” Ark supplied, “Immoral? Ungrateful?” He shrugged, noncommittal. “Doesn’t matter you didn’t ask him to sponsor you, and you would’ve done alright without him. You owe him and his company nothing. Someone can’t expect you to be grateful to them when they come and put a plate of rice in front of you even though there’s already a plate of rice in front of you.”

  Melmarc nodded. “I know.”

  “Good. So… any other company in mind?”

  Melmarc shook his head. He’d always wanted to be a Delver but just the way he didn’t have a favorite Delver, he also didn’t have a favorite Delving company. Solo Delvers had always looked like fun, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew that that path led to a very quick death, and you needed to be really strong to even stand a chance as a solo Delver.

  “No company in mind,” he answered verbally.

  “Then it’s settled,” Ark said with a finality. “If you find a company that catches your fancy, let me know. If you don’t, then you’ll blackmail mom into using her connections to get a spot in the government.”

  Melmarc gave him a flat look. “We don’t need connections. The government is always happy to have Delvers.”

  Ark grinned. “I know, but what’s the point to having connected parents if you’re not going to use their connections.”

  Rolling his eyes, Melmarc moved to return to his room.

  “What’s the time?” Ark asked, halting him. Melmarc paused to check his phone when Ark spoke again. “Never mind.”

  Melmarc looked back and found Ark looking at the clock just above the television. It was a few minutes past eight in the night. The world outside was dark. It had been dark when they came in.

  “Why are you checking the time?” Melmarc asked, suspicious.

  “No reason.”

  Ark got up from the chair and turned the television off. He proceeded to deposit the remote on the couch and stretched loudly, groaning in accompaniment.

  “Ark?” Melmarc said very slowly.

  Ark looked at him. Ark was grinning. “Yes, my lovely little brother.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Room. Shower. Why?”

  Melmarc’s brows furrowed. “Use more words.”

  “I’m going to my room to take a shower and change into a different set of clothes.”

  “Classes start next tomorrow.”

  Ark chuckled as he walked over to the rooms. “Why you are telling me is beyond me.”

  Dissonant.

  “Ark.” Melmarc turned to follow him. “Why are you going to take your bath?”

  “I always take my evening baths.”

  “You hate evening baths. Getting you to take them is like trying to convince a king to give you his crown.”

  “Or fuck your pig.”

  Melmarc’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “Gross.”

  “Point being that it’s very difficult to get me to take an evening bath, but I still take them. You’re too paranoid, Mel.” He laughed.

  Dissonant.

  “You’re a shitty liar,” Melmarc told Ark, as Ark walked into his room.

  Ark took a moment to stick his head out. “I’m actually an amazing liar, Mel. I just don’t lie to you, and you’re a lie detector.”

  He stuck his head back inside while Spitfire came out from wherever it had scurried off to when they came in and stopped at the door. It looked contemplative.

  “You coming in or what?” Ark’s voice called out from the room.

  Spitfire looked inside, its bright colors seeming to dim a little. Its galaxy eyes looked inside before it turned its head. Galaxy eyes stared into Melmarc’s room.

  Did I close the door?

  Melmarc paused. He had not, in fact, closed the door.

  He moved, but Spitfire was faster, it darted into his room. Melmarc heard Ark’s laughter as he followed after Spitfire.

  Once he was inside, he found Spitfire standing at the foot of his bed, staring at it in confusion. It looked a little pitiful.

  “You can’t keep nibbling on my clothes, Spitfire,” he told it, not knowing if it understood him. “It’s not right.”

  Spitfire looked at him, cocked its head to the side as if to imply that it did not understand what he was saying.

  Or maybe it just thinks what you’re saying is stupid. You don’t know demon culture.

  “You know what? Never mind.”

  Ignoring Spitfire, he went to the bag carrying his toiletries and began bringing them out. In less than five minutes, he had arranged them in his bathroom and was brushing his teeth. He took a quick shower after brushing, reveling in the warmth of the water.

  The bathroom was not as large as the one in Grace Hall neither was the shower as fanciful, but it was definitely better than the one in the apartment he had initially booked.

  When he was done, he came out to find Spitfire lying at the foot of his bed. Its eyes were still opening so it wasn’t asleep. However, its eyes looked sad, like a pet that had lost its favorite toy.

  Melmarc stared at its eyes, feeling a little bad. He shook his head, discarding the feeling. No.

  He walked over to the wardrobe, opened his bag, and began searching for what to wear for the night.

  “Brotherly.”

  Melmarc turned with his towel wrapped around his waist just as Ark opened his room door and strolled in. He took Ark in with a frown.

  “Oh, please,” Ark muttered. “We both know this was what was happening. However, as the lovely brother that I am, I wish to extend it.”

  Ark stood in front of Melmarc door in baggy blue jeans and a loose white tee. He wore brown boots on his feet to finish the look along with a silver bracelet on his wrist.

  “And what, pray tell, Ark,” Melmarc began with a tired sigh, “what would you wish to extend?”

  Ark gave him a grin. “How would you, Melmarc Lockwood, like to follow me to attend the start of the semester party?”