Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Chapter 88: Eleanora Argentis

Elara:

I stared at her violet eyes as she continued, her voice growing firmer with every word. And as she told me that the Argentis name had become a disadvantage only because I was allowing everyone else to define what it meant, I couldn’t even find a proper response.

"You have been acting as if being a princess only gives people another reason to hurt you," Violet said, squeezing my hand. "But that’s not what your name is supposed to do. You just don’t know how to use it yet. You don’t know the power your family carried, the power they still represent, or the authority that belongs to you."

I wanted to argue that I didn’t know anything about authority because I had been dragged into this world barely a month ago, but the words remained trapped inside my throat.

Violet was right about one thing. I had spent the past month reacting to everyone else’s idea of Eleanora Argentis. The regents wanted to prepare me for a throne I didn’t understand. The heirs saw me as a human intruder who had somehow returned with the power to disrupt their lives. Others saw me as an obstacle, a weapon, a threat, or apparently a valuable enough target to murder. But I had never once stopped to ask myself what I wanted the Argentis name to mean.

"Your identity should never be your weakness," Violet finished, her gaze never leaving mine. "It should be your greatest strength. And if you want things to change, then you need to learn exactly what that name can do and how to make everyone else remember who they are dealing with."

For several seconds, I could only stare at her. Her words sank deep into my chest, reaching somewhere beneath the fear and humiliation I had been carrying ever since Friday night.

I had always thought strength meant fighting back with my own hands, surviving on my own feet, refusing to bow my head even when I was terrified. But maybe strength could take another form too.

Maybe being Eleanora Argentis didn’t have to mean being the helpless girl everyone could manipulate because she didn’t know her place in this world. Maybe the problem was that I knew too little about my own place.

Violet had just told me to learn the power my name carried, and suddenly, for the first time, I wanted to do exactly that. Not because I wanted a throne. Not because I wanted the regents to crown me. Not because I wanted to play princess for people who had never given me a choice.

I wanted it because I was tired.

Tired of being caught off guard. Tired of depending on others to explain my own life to me. Tired of being treated as if my greatest purpose was simply surviving whatever people stronger than me decided to throw my way.

By the time I finally pulled myself out of those thoughts, Myra had turned toward Violet with an expression so bright that she looked seconds away from standing up and applauding.

"That was actually amazing," she whispered, and Violet immediately rolled her eyes as if she hadn’t just delivered a speech that had left my entire mind spinning.

But I was still staring at my friend in shock. Slowly, I asked her, "Since when did you become this wise?"

Violet narrowed her eyes at me before scoffing and pulling her hand away from mine. "I have always been wise."

Myra made a choking sound that was far too suspicious to be a cough, and when Violet turned toward her, she immediately looked away.

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. It was the first completely genuine smile I had felt in days.

"Then tell me this, wise woman," I said, leaning back against the couch. "What exactly am I supposed to do now?"

Violet didn’t hesitate as she dropped the single-word answer. "Learn."

I blinked at her.

She continued, "You have Master Brown. You have Jasper. You have access to the academy library. And you are the princess of an entire realm. Stop treating yourself like a victim and start learning everything you can about what being an Argentis actually means instead of focusing just on magic."

Her words hit me harder than I expected. Maybe because part of me knew she was right. I had spent five days trying to understand who had attacked me and why. But instead of waiting for someone else to give me answers, maybe it was time to start finding them myself.

As my gaze drifted toward the darkening window, I felt something shift inside me.

Friday night had almost killed me. That wasn’t something I could erase with a few inspiring words and a determined expression. I was still afraid. I still didn’t know who had sent those men. I still didn’t understand how I had survived that fall or why I had somehow woken up back on the road. But for the first time since opening my eyes in the infirmary, I didn’t feel completely helpless.

Somewhere in this world was an answer. Somewhere was the truth about my family, my power, my enemies, and the identity I had been forced to inherit. And if Violet was right, if the Argentis name truly carried the power everyone claimed it did, then maybe it was time I stopped running from that name.

I slowly turned back toward my friends, a new determination taking root beneath my skin, and said, "Fine. Then I’ll learn."

Violet’s lips curved into a satisfied smile while Myra’s face brightened immediately.

"But," I added, pointing at them both, "you two are helping me."

Violet groaned as if I had just asked her to sacrifice her entire weekend, while Myra burst into laughter, and somehow, sitting there between the two of them, I found myself smiling too.

It was a small moment. A simple one. But after everything that had happened, it felt like the first breath of air after drowning. And maybe, just maybe, it was time for me to stop merely surviving Starfall and finally start learning how to live in it.