The Ace

by Majestroke

  “Just bear the screams until tonight,” Adrian said, standing up and brushing his hair. “Don’t you remember my advice?”

  “Yeah, I do. An enemy’s screams aren’t things to be disturbed about, it’s something you should be happy about.”

  “Exactly, every time you hear her scream, remember mother’s voice and how she screamed that day. You’ll start to enjoy them more after that.”

  Ryan nodded. “Adrian, when will I be able to go out?”

  “After tonight. From tomorrow, you can walk back again in the forest—”

  “No, I mean the city. I need to go to the city. I need to talk with other children like me. I read in books how happy people can be when they are with friends.”

  The idea about going out into the city had been mentioned more frequently within the last few weeks. Adrian realized the boy’s urge to see the outside world was growing steadily. But he couldn’t let the last member of his family get killed because of his actions. He couldn’t let Ryan walk in the city until he had proceeded a few stages in his plan.

  “Ryan, do you know that after each joyous situation comes a sad one?” he asked, kneeling in front of the small child and meeting his eyes. “Those characters in fiction have their happy times, but each of those smiles comes with a cost.”

  “But there are some stories where they live happily forever.”

  “There are, but that means they’ve defeated the antagonist of the story. The antagonist may be evil, but when the heroes win, he loses his chance to smile. You cannot give happiness to everyone in this world. Happiness comes with a cost. If this world was a happy place, then everyone would be immortals. Friends can’t grant you happiness in this world. They are just temporary objects that you can use to gain happiness. But they shatter soon after you are miserable.”

  Ryan kept listening, his head slowly falling down, inch by inch. Adrian finally stood up.

  “I’ll take you a walk around the city after this is over. But there are a few things I need to do before that. Where is it?”

  Ryan knew what it meant. He jumped down from his bed and pulled out the small chest hidden under the bed. Adrian placed it on the bed, opened it and examined it’s contents. Everything was in place. The Ace mask, the costume and a small pouch.

  “Good,” he said. “I’ll be coming back today evening to take our screaming girl to a stroll. If anyone enters here, you know what to do.”

  Ryan nodded. Adrian bid farewell and walked out of the room. After closing the door, he examined the other room. Diana was asleep. She must have gotten tired of screaming.

  He closed the door and locked it, and walked up the stairs. It was time he joined the military.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Squad 72

  Viribus wasn’t your typical military academy. It was a school for newer recruits - students who had just finished their education and was looking for a job. As for people like Adrian and Minerva, they sat for the aptitude test while attending to the academy and managed to get high scores.

  Unlike normal military schools, the recruits were divided into three categories - Leader, Marksman and Soldier. Each squad had four soldiers, two marksmen, one healer and one leader. Recruits were divided into these four classes using the scores of the aptitude test. Recruits who got more percentage of marks for the physical test rather than the written test became marksmen and soldiers. If a recruit managed to excel in the written paper by gaining a higher percentage than the physical test, they were chosen as the leaders. Healers were borrowed from the medical schools.

  Adrian had taken more scores to the written test so he had become the leader of Squad 72, which sadly also had Minerva in it.

  The written test wasn’t for everyone. It was designed in a strategic way. Even if a person spent whole hours in the library studying military guidebooks, he won’t be able to pass the test. It wasn’t about studying. It was about thinking, planning and making the best choice, and Adrian loved thinking and planning. Despite being two years younger than most other recruits, he had gotten the highest scores from the test. As for his physical test, he had purposefully taken low scores. He needed to become the leader of the squad for his plan to succeed.

  Viribus was a few miles away from Adrian’s academy. Sometimes he took the tram, but for the most part, he decided walking was the best option.

  Entering Viribus, after showing his pass to the guards, he found himself facing a gigantic ground. People were training in different parts of the huge land, some doing combat training, others firearm training or a small group of people doing the regular push-ups. All of these people were below thirty years. Once they pass that certain age gap, they’ll be sent to the Royal Army School for further training.

  Adrian passed on the ground and headed for the much larger building purely made from porcelain. Its height wasn’t much compared to Adrian’s university but the enormous crest of the fox on the top of the building was enough to intimidate any outsider. Inside the bronze doors was the consulting desk, where a half drunk soldier sat on a wooden chair, which was on verge of a break after bearing the weight of the obese man.

  “Are all of my crew here?”

  Instead of replying, he opened one of the drawers and picked up a pair of keys.

  “Room 12, go straight, turn right and follow the corridor.”

  “Thanks.”

  Adrian picked up the keys and followed the directions. After each squad is prepared, they’ll get what is known as a ‘Novice mission’. It was designed to break the ice among the new team and rate each of their skills when they are together. As for his Novice mission, Adrian had chosen a special location.

  Opening the door of Room no. 12, Adrian found himself facing his crew members, with a few faces he instantly recognized. First there was Minerva - Adrian’s friendly bully, sitting on a chair and motionlessly staring at the ground. There was another girl beside her, a little short with long hair that had a slight shade of blue. In the corner were two boys, one of them being Braun Kalides, the one and only son of the Kalides family. A much elder boy, with tied long black hair and a pistol hanging by his side was closely examining a picture pinned on the wall. Another boy and a girl, a year or two older than Adrian were playing a game of chess, one of them having a necklace with an obsidian crystal in it. The girl stared at the chessboard dreamily while occasionally patting the cat whirring on her lap.

  Adrian took a deep breath. He needed all of these idiots for his plan to succeed.

  Put on a smile. Show confidence. Conquer the room.

  Those were his mother’s words.

  Before he could clear his throat and introduce himself, Minerva noticed him.

  “He’s here.”

  All heads turned towards Adrian. Adrian mentally imagined himself torturing Minerva in a torture rack for stealing his thunder, but he proceeded as planned.

  “I’m glad all of you are here,” he announced, dropping his hands to his pockets. “I won’t be going on to the usual chit chat. I am Adrian Blackheart, eighteen years, currently completing his final year at the university. That’s more than enough for you to know, and I like you to introduce yourself as well.”

  “Wait a minute,” Braun, with his squad mate came towards him. “So you are the little guy who got the highest scores.”

  Adrian sighed. The perfect picture of a happy conversation was being ruined by this delinquent.

  “You are Braun Kalides, if I remember correctly.”

  “There’s no need to remember correctly. You know who the Kalides family is?”

  “I do,” Adrian replied. “It’s one of the main noble houses that support the prince.”

  “And what were you about to say to me just now?”

  Adrian smiled. “I am your squad leader, so I require you to behave like my squad mates.”

  There was a moment of tension in the whole room. Then Braun gripped Adrian by the collar, and lifted him close enough to reach his face.

  “Do you need me to teac
h you the meaning of the word ‘respect’?”

  “I know you are the son of a nobleman, but what matters to me is the present. Currently, I am your superior.”

  The final word seemed to strike one of Braun’s nerves. He angrily fumed before pushing Adrian to the door. Adrian gritted his teeth. All he wanted was a friendly conversation.

  “Do you know why I called you little?” he turned towards the rest of the room. “This son of a bitch isn’t an inborn Innercast. He had the highest scores from all the Outcasts and got here because of a scholarship.”

  The room greeted Adrian with a different air. His power was gone. His authority was gone. All because of this……

  “Braun Kalides, I’m warning you—”

  A kick landed on his solar plexus, and Adrian fell down, choking for breath.

  “Just who the fuck do you think you are to warn me? You are just some low born son of a bitch who isn’t even worth enough to touch me.”

  Adrian needed to get up. He needed to stand up and fight, but then he would be at pure disadvantage. Even if he believed Braun would succumb to defeat so easily, that didn’t mean the other people in the room were on his side. They had barely got to know him, but now that they knew he was a lowborn, they were going to have their doubts about following him.

  He had gotten used to the beating, and with his years of patience he managed to pacify his anger.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll know my place from now.”

  Right now, he was a dog - a dog that had gone rabid before being kicked by its master for discipline. Whatever honor he had among the group was now gone.

  Braun smirked and chuckled.

  “That’s good you little lowborn scum.”

  A dead silence invaded the room. Adrian had doubts about what to do. His dignity was stripped away from him.

  Surprisingly, it was Minerva who gave him a helping hand.

  “There is not point fighting among ourselves,” she said, standing up from her chair and squatting down beside Adrian. “Get up. I never knew Blackheart to be a lowborn but in this case you are our leader. Just do your shitty business and get out of here.”

  It wasn’t what he could call a helping hand, but it was enough for Adrian to regain his composure. Still clutching his abdomen, he stood up and surveyed the room once again. He didn’t know what to say. There were expectant eyes, plus the blazing eyes of Braun and his crew mates.

  I need to tell them to introduce themselves.

  Adrian wanted to talk, but he wasn’t exactly in the appearance of a leader.

  “What’s the problem?” Braun jabbed. “Can’t talk?”

  “The guy lost his cool,” his friend interjected. “Cockblocked.”

  A little laughter rose from the room, especially from the boys.

  “My name is Minerva Adaiya,” Minerva stepped in front of Adrian and introduced herself. “Eighteen years. I study in the same university as Adrian, and I am the future heir of the Adaiya family. My class is soldier.”

  “You have a boyfriend?” Braun’s friend asked.

  “You want to break a few teeth?”

  Everybody fell silent.

  Adrian knew no one would dare to argue against Minerva. Adaiya household was one of the four houses that directly supported the prince - even more powerful than the Kalides house. If Adrian had Minerva on his side, his plans would proceed much faster, but he wasn’t in the mood to call Minerva his friend, much less his own subordinate. She had been stalking him for a few weeks and Adrian didn’t know why.

  Does she know I’m Ace?

  The next one to talk was the boy with the pistol and the long hair.

  “Iato Rentaro. Twenty three years, work in the ministry of defense and that’s all you need to know.”

  “Katherine Waver,” the girl beside the chess board said. “Twenty years, and I am a violin player.”

  “What is a violin player doing in the military?” Braun questioned, trying to keep a straight face. “Besides, I’ve never heard a Waver house.”

  “I am a good marksman, my father was a marksman as well,” Katherine said, with a slight indignant look on her face. “As for the Waver house, we aren’t very popular.”

  “Translation, you aren’t very rich,” Iato said. “You are one of the middle-class aren’t you?”

  Adrian looked at the Katherine who was patting the cat on her lap. She was wearing a regular blouse and a pair of blue jeans - beside her was a tattered raincoat lying on the floor, which he assumed was hers. The citizens of the Innercast consisted of both nobles and middle-class men. The latter were the group of people who weren’t directly supporting the king, but had enough money to spend a moderately luxurious lifestyle. Even they were considered as a higher status than the lowborn in the Outercast.

  “Just cut it out,” the boy beside her waved his hands frantically. “She said she’s good as a marksman, that’s all that matters.”

  Adrian was glad there was a person who wasn’t blind to the orthodox views of people, but by the way he said it, it was enough for him to realize he had a crush on the girl. He had heard the same tone before, by someone he closely knew. And he irked that feeling. It brought back bad memories.

  The boy, who had realized all eyes had fallen upon him, introduced himself.

  “Jay Darkflood,” he announced. “Nineteen, I quit university after seventeen and now I am a landowner. Most of the Outercast lands belong to me you know. Besides, I am a good soldier.”

  Adrian couldn’t hide his curiosity any longer.

  “Darkflood? Are you related to Nalius Darkflood?”

  The boy’s face darkened.

  “Yes, he was my grandfather, but I don’t want to bring that up.”

  Even though he said he was Darkflood, the boy had no qualities of the Darkflood family. All Darkflood heirs were scholars and politicians, but from the way Jay was boasting about himself while occasionally throwing a glance or two at Katherine wasn’t exactly supposed to be scholastic behavior.

  “Everyone knows me,” Braun said. “Braun Kalides and I am a soldier. My friend here is-”

  “Olsen York. A marksman. That’s all. No questions.”

  “I never had heard of a York family,” Jay pointed out.

  “You got a problem with that?” Olsen came towards him and kicked a few pieces in the chessboard. Learning from Adrian’s example, Jay quickly apologized.

  The only one who remained was the blue haired girl, which Adrian supposed was the medic.

  Everyone looked at her expectantly, but she looked at all of them, and finally at Minerva.

  Minerva sighed. “She’s speech-impaired. Her name is Natalie. She doesn’t want to mention the house she belongs. She’s our medic.”

  “Perhaps she’s a low born too,” Iato guessed.

  “Seconded.” Braun agreed.

  The girl looked at all of them, her eyes conveying some emotion Adrian couldn’t translate.

  “Who cares? She’s the medic,” Katherine said. “You can heal us right?”

  Natalie nodded. Everyone turned their head away from her, and she looked down once again. That was the way of the Innercast, you have no power, and you have no status. The Innercast wasn’t a sanctuary for the disabled.

  Now that the introductions - either formally or informally - were over, everyone’s heads turned back to Adrian. He had enough time to regain his composure while assessing each teammate. Braun, his friend Olsen and Iato were the angry horses. Adrian needed to keep the reins steady in order to control them. Jay and Katherine were regular nobodies, and as long as they displayed their skills Adrian could the two love birds mind their own business. Natalie was the deaf and dumb healer, who was only important for healing duties and it was best to ignore her all other times. As for Minerva, she was the bitch.

  “Very well,” Adrian cleared his throat. “Our training would be held in the Mary Cathedral. Everyone knows where it is right?”

  “Yeah we do,” Braun grunted. “I
t’s in the Outercast, the place where scum like you were born.”

  “We don’t have permission to train inside the Innercast since we are novices,” Adrian explained, ignoring the insult. “The Area near the Cathedral was recently burned by the soldiers after a certain rebellion occurred. General Talon said he would dispatch a few soldiers for our training drill.”

  “At what time?” Jay asked.

  “Eight in the night,” Adrian replied. “We’ll be starting out training at sharp eight.”

  “The night is creepy,” Katherine objected. “Why can’t we do it in the daylight?”

  “Because one, the Outercasts who are right now in a very rebellious mood may attack us and at night, most of them are at their houses. Two, it was Talon’s orders to train everyone at night, since they have to deploy soldiers for other various tasks during the day. Any other questions?”

  “What about weapons?” that was Minerva.

  “We’ll be provided with weapons by the soldiers that arrive there. But for safety precautions all of you must carry a pistol.”

  Adrian looked at the room, expecting more questions. After he confirmed there was none, he told them the meeting was over.

  “Sign the paper in the entrance desk and you are free to leave,” he said. “We’ll be meeting at eight in the night.”

  One by one left the room. Braun brushed past him muttering something about lowborn scum before following his friend. Only Minerva remained.

  “Why eight?” she asked.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Why eight? It could have been seven, or nine. Why did you pick exactly eight?”

  Oh, for fuck’s sake! Adrian cursed. He was starting to hate her more and more.

  “Because I have to jerk off at seven and take a shower at nine. What’s exactly wrong with you? These were the times provided to me by the military schedule.”

  Minerva looked closely at his eyes, and Adrian didn’t pierce them away.

  “You didn’t ask General Talon to change the time did you?”

  I did, Adrian thought, but instead he replied in the negative.

  “I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Minerva warned.