by Virlyce
The sun was shining. The sky was clear. A mound of unconscious people lay by Vur’s feet. Beside him, in the arena, Lillian was motionless with an unnaturally pale face. The crowd of humans surrounding the stage were shocked: some stared with open mouths, others tried to speak but couldn’t.
One person lying on the floor in front of Vur coughed up a mouthful of blood. “What kind of black mage are you? You didn’t even cast any spells,” he said through gasps. “You should be fighting in the warrior bracket.”
The crowd broke out into discussion, and soon they were shouting at the referee. Lillian’s face flushed as she lowered her head, trying to ignore the crowd’s jeers. During the fight, Vur had thwacked everyone with his staff except for her.
“He’s trying to avoid fighting the prince, so he slipped into the ranged bracket!” a man shouted as he threw a bottle at Vur.
Vur pointed a finger at the person who just spoke. A bolt of lightning flowed from his chest to his finger before striking the man. The crowd fell silent. “See? Magic,” Vur said to the referee. “We qualify for the main tournament now, right?”
The referee scratched his head while looking around. His gaze met with the king’s, and the king nodded at him. The referee cleared his throat. “Although there were supposed to be three winners in this preliminary round, there’s only two people left standing,” he said. “Vurdurr and Lillian have earned the qualifications to compete with the students of the academy in the main tournament.” A few students swore and wailed in protest, but the referee ignored them. “The competition for the healers’ bracket will be starting shortly.”
Vur and Lillian left the stage and met up with Paul who was waiting near some food stands. “Congratulations to the both of you,” he said as he offered them kebabs. “Man, I wish you could help me win my bracket too.”
“Want to borrow my staff?” Vur asked as he held it out in exchange for the kebab. “It’s a really good weapon.”
Paul rubbed his chin and grabbed the staff. Vur let go, and Paul’s eyes widened as he fell to the ground. “Wha—!? How heavy is this!?” Paul asked as he struggled to slide his hand out from underneath the metal rod.
“I think it was six hundred pounds,” Vur said as he tilted his head, chewing on a roasted pepper.
“Is that why the caravan was uneven…?” Lillian muttered to herself as she took a bite from the kebab.
Paul rubbed his arm as he stood up. “I think I’ll just use my own staff…. I don’t get why us healers have to compete in a free-for-all knockout competition like you guys,” he said and sighed. “Well, it’s not like the nobles expect us non-students to win anyway. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” Lillian said.
Vur nodded as Paul walked to the edge of the arena. “Can he win?” Vur asked Lillian.
“Nope,” she said and tossed the kebab stick away. “He’s screwed.”
Just as she predicted, Paul lost miserably to a monk who ended up winning the preliminaries. Lillian patted her cousin on the back. “At least you tried, right?” she asked. “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to win a blessing for the both of us.”
Paul sighed.
“Due to the lack of participants for the warrior’s bracket, Stella wins by default.” The referee’s voice rang out over the field, his voice carried by the wind.
Vur tilted his head. “Why don’t people compete as warriors?”
Paul and Lillian glanced at each other. “That’s because the prince is counted as a warrior class and he commands a dragon,” Paul said. “No one wants to fight against a dragon.”
Vur lifted his mask and finished his third kebab. “Dragon, huh?”
***
Two fairies were hovering in a cave that had a layer of clean water covering the floor. Thousands of worms wriggled in the water beneath them as they levitated eggs out of the pool with magic.
“Woah, look at these big ones,” a fairy said as she raised a cluster of eggs into the air. She turned to face the fairy next to her. “They’re glowing green. Should we tell the queen?”
“You shouldn’t disturb the queen right now,” the other fairy said. “She’s busy mind-controlling her new toy. What if she loses control of it?” The fairy poked the glowing eggs. “Those eggs are really weird though.”
While they were giggling and poking the sack, a worm lunged out of the water towards the two fairies. One of the fairies snorted and bunted it away with a mana shield. “Stupid worm,” she said and stuck her tongue out at it. “You’ll have a host soon enough.”
***
“Something doesn’t seem right about that warrior,” Paul said while shivering. Vur and Lillian were beside him at the edge of the arena, watching Stella leave the platform. She turned towards Vur and smiled, her eyes swirling with different colors. Lillian’s and Paul’s bodies stiffened as Stella winked at them before walking away.
“Did you know her?” Lillian asked Vur.
Vur shook his head. “The only Stella I know is a lot shorter than her. Like, a whole person shorter.”
“Excuse me,” a voice said from behind them. A boy, who was half Vur’s height, fidgeted and handed him a letter before running away.
Lillian and Paul exchanged glances as Vur tore the letter open.
To the winners of the preliminary:
It would please us academy students if you attended a banquet we’re holding tonight in the royal courtyard. Be there at eight. We’ll be waiting.
“Should we go?” Lillian asked.
Paul scratched his head. “They’re only inviting the two of you,” he said and made a face. “I don’t think either of you know how to behave appropriately in front of those nobles…”
Lillian snorted and Vur crossed his arms across his bare chest.
“Snorting’s not ladylike,” Paul said. He turned towards Vur. “And do you even have any formal clothes?”
Vur ignored the question. “A banquet should have lots of food, right?”
Lillian nodded. “Those nobles from the capital spend so much on food that it’s disgusting,” she said. “I love it.”
“We’re going,” Vur said.
Paul sighed and shook his head. “Just try not to offend too many people, alright? And use Grandpa’s name liberally. He should still have a lot of influence even if he was given land next to the border.”
“Mhm, yes, Mother, I got it,” Lillian said as she yawned and waved her hand. “You worry too much. Nothing’s going to happen.” She tugged Vur’s arm. “We still have a few hours before eight. Let’s go shopping; you need some clothes.” Paul sighed as he followed behind them.
Hours later, Vur and Lillian approached the entrance to the royal castle. Lillian wore a blue dress while Vur wore a black suit with his raccoon mask still on. Lillian presented the letter to the guards at the gate and received directions to the courtyard.
The courtyard was filled with tables that had a multitude of dishes arranged on them: steaming meat, goblets of wine, baked potatoes. Some students were milling around, getting food, but the majority of them were sitting in a circle.
“It’s almost eight,” a student said, holding a glass of sparkling liquid. “Do you think they’ll show?”
“Of course they will,” another student said as he leaned back against his chair. “Didn’t you see that girl’s demeanor on stage? She’s definitely a noble and wouldn’t pass up this opportunity.”
“Should we really scare them with Johann then? We can’t let a bumpkin win, but if it’s a noble…,” a girl said as she shot a glance at the corner of the courtyard. Rudolph was sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He didn’t seem to care that Johann was waiting beside the entrance, crouching behind a wall. The blue dragon’s head perked up as the sound of footsteps approached from the other side. Johann inhaled, causing his chest to expand. A few students noticed and plugged their ears.
Vur and Lillian stepped past the threshold, entering the courtyard. Johann opened his mouth and roared. A massi
ve breeze, carrying globs of spittle assaulted the duo, causing their hair to fly parallel to the ground.
Lillian shrieked and fell over, scrambling away from Johann’s gaping maw. Vur picked his ear with his pinky before glaring at Johann. A golden rune appeared on his forehead underneath his mask, invisible to onlookers. He placed his hands on his hips, copying Lindyss’ posture.
Roar? Johann tilted his head and blinked his eyes.
“Sit,” Vur said and pointed at the ground. The students’ eyes widened. Rudolph stiffened as green runes shone through his sleeves, readying himself to stop Johann in case the dragon lunged. But his concern was unwarranted. Johann shuddered and sat on his haunches while Lillian stared at Vur, her mouth gaping. She was still on the ground, shifting her head back and forth between the dragon and her strange companion.
“Down,” Vur said.
Johann’s tongue flickered in and out of his mouth as he crawled onto his belly.
“Roll over,” Vur said and twirled his finger in the air.
Johann barked and rolled over onto his back.
Vur stepped forward and scratched under Johann’s chin. “Good boy.”
Rudolph’s face was frozen from the time Johann sat down, but he regained his senses when Johann sighed in content from Vur’s scratches. “What do you think you’re doing!?” Rudolph shouted as he rose from his chair and stomped towards Vur. The students fell silent while backing away.
Vur stopped when Johann raised his head to look at Rudolph. “Scratching his chin,” Vur replied. “He likes it.”
“You!” Rudolph spluttered. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m Vurdurr Besteck. I came here for the food,” Vur said as he patted Johann’s snout. Johann scrambled to his feet and sat on his haunches, making whimpering noises. Vur stopped petting Johann and turned his attention to Rudolph. The prince froze and shuddered as a cold aura enveloped his body. His skin crawled, and he couldn’t help but take a step back.
“Who are you?” Vur asked, tilting his head.
Rudolph placed his palm against the hilt of his sword and found that it was slick with sweat. “I-I’m the crown prince, Rudolph the First,” he said as he tightened his grip on his sword.
“I see,” Vur said. He turned around and walked towards Lillian who was still on the ground. Rudolph let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding as Vur extended his hand towards Lillian.
“What are you?” Lillian whispered with wide eyes as she grabbed his hand.
“Hungry,” Vur said. “Let’s eat.”
From a nearby table, Michelle observed Vur and Lillian as they gathered food and found a place to sit. Beside her, there were three other students. “Where do you think he’s from?” the girl sitting next to Michelle asked. Students scattered as Vur sat down because Johann had followed him and curled up by his seat.
“The girl’s from the Leonis household. I’ve seen her a few times,” a red-haired boy said. “I’ve never seen the freak before. His table mannerism is proper, so he can’t be a bumpkin. Maybe he’s an illegitimate child?”
“I’ve never seen Johann act like that to anyone,” Michelle said as she put down her glass. “Not even Rudolph.” She glanced at the prince who was sitting alone at a table with his eyes closed.
“You think the prince is angry?” the girl asked. “I know I’d be angry if my lion acted that way to someone else. I feel bad for the peasant girl Rudolph’s fighting tomorrow.” She sighed and shook her head.
“What about for me?” the red-haired boy asked. “I have to fight that raccoon-faced freak just because I’m the strongest in our class. Sure, the administration’s going to rig the tournament and place us top seeds against the non-students, but that really doesn’t help me at all.”
“You don’t matter, Roy,” Michelle said and stuck her tongue out at him.
Roy snorted. “You don’t have to worry about anything. Everyone knows you’re going to win the healers’ bracket because of your dad.”
Michelle laughed. “You sound jealous,” she said and smiled. “Why don’t you go make friends with him? He might go easy on you tomorrow.”
Roy’s brow creased. “You know we invited them to intimidate them, right?”
“And look what good that’s done: Two of the winners didn’t even show up and now we’re terrified of the person we wanted to scare,” the boy sitting next to Roy said. “Let’s go talk to them. Besides, the girl’s pretty cute.”
“No way,” Roy said as he shook his head. “I’m not going.”
Michelle snorted and stood up. “Coward. I’ll go.”
“Wait, you serious?” Roy asked as he raised his eyebrows. Michelle ignored him as she approached Vur’s table. Roy grumbled and rose to his feet, slamming his wine glass against the table. “Dammit. We can’t let her go alone.”
The other boy and girl followed after exchanging glances. Maybe Vur and Lillian would take it easy on them if they made friends with them.
Lillian sighed as she put her fork down. “Why would they bring a dragon to a dinner party? I nearly pissed myself, and now no one’s talking to us. How am I supposed to make connections if every one of them avoids eye contact?” She glanced at Vur who continued to eat. His eyes were covered with a bat-shaped masked while his raccoon mask lay on the seat beside him. Lillian pouted. “Are you even listening to me?”
Vur shook his head and continued eating. He passed a piece of meat to the dragon waiting behind him. He ignored Lillian as she muttered a string of curses and grabbed another piece of steak.
“Is this seat taken?” Michelle asked, placing her hand on the chair beside Lillian.
“Does it frickin’ look like it’s taken?” Lillian spat as she turned around. Her face turned pale. “Err, I mean, no. It’s not, um, taken. You can sit here if you want is what I meant to say.” Lillian’s heart raced. I swore at the pope’s daughter. Paul’s going to throw a fit.
Michelle smiled and sat down while her friend sat on the other side of Lillian. Roy and the other boy attempted to walk to Vur’s side of the table but decided to sit next to Michelle when Johann growled at them while pawing at the ground. Vur cut his steak in half and slipped the bony portion towards Johann.
Michelle’s eyes widened as Johann licked Vur’s hand and took the piece of meat into his mouth. “I think he really likes you,” she said to Vur. “He’s never that friendly to anyone.”
Vur turned towards Johann. “Is that true?”
Johann nodded and sighed through his nostrils.
“What’s your name?” Michelle asked as she retrieved a plate.
“Vurdurr Besteck,” Vur replied as he wiped the slobber off his hand. “It’s common courtesy to introduce one’s self before asking for another’s name.” The students exchanged glances with each other. It looked like Vur really was a noble.
“I’m Michelle Heilig, the daughter of the pope,” she said. She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never seen me before?”
“Nope,” Vur said and continued eating. “I didn’t know there was even a pope.”
“Where are you from?” Roy asked as his brow creased. “How can you not know the pope?” He glanced at Lillian. “Is he serious?”
“Huh?” Lillian asked as she flinched, practically jumping out of her seat. “I-I’m Lillian Leonis! I didn’t catch your question. What did you say?”
The girl beside her laughed. “See,” she said as she poured herself a glass of water. “Now that’s a normal reaction to the pope’s daughter sitting at your table.”
Michelle rolled her eyes while Lillian blushed.
***
“How’d it go?” Paul asked as Vur and Lillian entered the living room of their suite in the inn.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Lillian said and walked straight to her room.
Paul tilted his head and turned to Vur. “What happened?” he asked as muffled yells resounded from Lillian’s room. He thought he heard a punch against the wall.
“She spilled wine on the pope’s daughter,” Vur said. “And she used her as a shield to avoid dragon puke.” Vur muttered to himself as he walked towards his room, “I shouldn’t have fed him those plants…”
Paul sighed. “Well, it could’ve been worse.”
“Oh,” Vur said and stopped closing his door. “She also slapped the prince and called him an obnoxious twit before publicly denouncing the behavior of all the nobles present. I think that’s it.” Vur paused. “No, wait. She cursed at the pope’s daughter too.” Vur nodded and closed the door.
Paul’s face paled. “Wait! You can’t just tell me that and not explain what happened,” he said as he tried to open Vur’s door.
“Tired,” Vur said from inside his room. “Going to sleep now.”
Paul’s shoulders drooped. What do I tell Grandpa?
The next morning, three people exited the inn: Two of their faces were haggard with dark circles underneath their eyes. The third wore a mask. Vur’s metal staff was strapped to his back, while Paul had left his staff in the inn and carried a bag instead. Lillian had a longbow staff in her hand along with a quiver holding her arrows and a bowstring strapped around her waist.
“Lillian,” Paul said.
“Still don’t want to talk about it,” Lillian replied and shook her head. “I was hoping last night was just a dream. The hangover tells me it wasn’t.”
The three traveled in silence to the competition area. The stone arena platform was gone, and the spectator seats were pushed outwards, making the center of the area larger. There were fifty stone golems on the grassy field, all of them motionless.
“This wasn’t part of the competition,” Paul said with a frown. The students were standing around the field, smirking at the trio that just arrived. Spectators murmured in confusion as they filled in the surrounding seats. The referee from yesterday was sitting on top of a golem with his arms crossed. The king’s and pope’s entourages arrived, and the referee stood up.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the referee announced with his voice amplified through wind magic. “As you can see, there have been some slight modifications to the program. Many nobles have expressed their discontent with the tournament style. After taking their accounts into consideration, the administration have agreed with their views.
