RFC-ARC 5-Winter War-53 (Patreon)
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I have nothing against him for standing up to Arthur. Saints, I approve. He could have laid my teammate on his ass and Iâd have bought the arrogant bastard a drink.
But the way heâs treating Alana? I could snap his neck. Who does he think he is? Why in the nine hells should she be ashamed? Is it her problem Arthur canât control himself? And where does this bastard get off talking down to us? Who gave him the authority to command us?!
Iâm not the only one offended. Alanaâs friendly demeanor becomes hard as steel. Heâs a head taller than her but sheâs undaunted as she stares him down. âThe initiates surrendered their positions of their own volition. My teammate didnât lay a hand on them. If there was a problem, I imagine the acolytes registering the teams would have intervened. You have less authority than them so youâre in no position to pass judgement.â
He scoffs at her. Scoffs. âI have both the authority and the duty as a chivalrous man to intervene. I donât expect a woman to understand.â
Oh, heâs pissed her off now. Alana goes from cold and determined to tense and angry. âI understand chivalry. I understand the good men who live by the code,â she snaps, voice rising in volume. âChivalry is not about throwing your own ideals around. Defending the weak does not mean putting your nose into everyoneâs problems and punishing evil does not mean you have blanket permission to confront every asshole who gets on your nerves! Donât you dare use knighthood to justify your ego!â
I may be imagining it but her voice echoes in the ensuing silence. Anyone who wasnât paying attention to the confrontation before certainly is now.
Robert isnât cowled but he stares at Alana with wide eyes. If thoughts made sound, his would make enough to make my ears hurt. At least he doesnât appear to be contemplating violence. If I thought he might lash out, Iâd already be between them. I wonder if his âchivalryâ stops him from hitting a woman.
ââŠyou speak the truth.â He takes a dramatic step backward and bows to her, including a sweeping gesture with his arm. âMy distaste for his methods made me speak out of turn. Forgive my rude behavior, my lady.â
ââŠas long as you recognize your fault.â Alanaâs shoulders relax at his de-escalation. Ah ah, here I thought she would tear into him a little more.
âHowever, his behavior is unacceptable. Selfishness or not, I will insist he stop.â
This is where Alana loses momentum. She hates Arthur as well and distastes his behavior. If he werenât on our team, sheâd be the pillar of righteousness who stepped out to confront him. She has no ground to stand on and she wouldnât defend him if she could.
Time for me to step in.
âYouâre right!â I say brightly, stepping up to them. I motion to William and Marthe standing quietly by the side and they join me. âHis behavior is completely unacceptable. Iâll make sure he stops right now. Bell.â
âCoo!â My imp stops choking Arthur and moves to his feet. She drags him forward by the ankle. I motion my team to follow me as I step past Robert, the man hastily moving aside when he sees I have no intention of going around him. I donât stop until I reach the front of the line, stopping behind the team currently being registered.
One of them glances back but swiftly turns to the acolyte handling his teamâs registration. The team weâve cut in line take one look at Arthur being dragged through the dirt and collectively steps back, smartly avoiding conflict.
Too bad Robert isnât so smart.
âHey!â
He stomps over to us, nose flaring in anger. I raise my brows. âIs there another problem?â
âYou canât cut in line. Go to the back!â
âCut? I would ask you not to slander my reputation by spouting unjustified accusations. These people kindly surrendered their place in line. Correct?â I turn to them, doing my best to channel my wife in my smile. The five hastily nod. âSee? Donât demean such selfless generosity.â
âYouââ
âI donât understand you. Wasnât your problem with Arthurâs behavior? Heâs quiet and he isnât bothering anyone.â I kick him in the side. He tries to kick out at me but Bell stops him with her tail. âWe are standing in line properly. Whatâs the issue?â
âThis isnâtââ
âIt seems to me,â I interrupt, âthat the only one causing a problem right now is you. Tell the truth, little hero. You donât care about the right thing. You just want a good fight, donât you? Normally, Iâd be happy to let you apes slug each other to your heartâs content but we came here with a goal. Iâd appreciate it if youâd stop disturbing us and get in line. No cutting.â
His calm façade is completely broken. His eyes are aglow and his fists are clenched at his side. A boy after all if this is enough to get under his skin. Probably too used to getting his way if he canât get around a little bit of tongue-twisting. That heroic figure while confronting Arthur has been replaced by a mute idiot.
A subtle clearing of someoneâs throat draws everyoneâs attention. The team in front of us is gone and the acolyte is staring at us from his seat behind a small table. âNext, please.â
âThat would be us, thank you.â I step forward and give the young man our names. From the corner of my eye, I see Robert stomp away but he frequently looks back. Do yourself a favor and let it go. It wonât end well.
âYou may come to regret that,â the acolyte says without looking up from the paper heâs scribbling on.
âOh? Whyâs that?â
âAcolytes donât pay much attention to initiates but everyone knows him.â He looks in the direction of the failed hero. âRobert Quintana. He has all four basic affinities.â
I stiffen. ââŠseriously?â
âThatâs not something anyone jokes about.â
Saints. A human with four affinities. Thatâs a one in a million talent. Maybe one in ten million. The kind that used to make the mediocre me of the past quiver in my boots at the thought of attending the Grand Hall.
âHeâs been trained by an ex-royal knight and is practically the adopted son of the king. Thatâs the next Harvest Hero you just pissed off. Maybe a future duke.â
Dunwayne slew a dragon, which was actually a drakkon, with only the wind affinity and he didnât receive formal training until he was a teenager. Thereâs no telling what a boy with four affinities and a lifetime of training is going to accomplish.
But what do I care? Iâm the daughter of a god.
âWell, someone bound to be that great shouldnât be petty enough to hold a tongue-lashing against me. We done?â
âHeh. Youâre a bold one. Lourianne Tome, is it? Youâre done.â He hands me a wooden token with the number thirty-seven written on it. âTomorrow at ten, you and your team need to be at the west gate of the Beast Sanctuary. There, a guide will be waiting to lead you to the site of the test. They will also explain the rules. The test begins the moment you arrive so be prepared for anything,â
âThank you.â
âYeah, good luck.â
We leave the table. I spot Robert in line and wave to him, chuckling at his glare.
âThereâs no need to antagonize him,â Alana says.
Marthe chuckles behind her. âYou practically took him apart.â
She has the conscience to flush in embarrassment. âPeople think swinging around a sword and fighting monsters is enough to call themselves knights. They bring out chivalry and honor whenever they please to make themselves look good. ItâŠbothers me.â
Really? Never would have guessed. âNext time he tries that, you have my permission to blind him.â
She smiles. âA surprise attack isnât very chivalrous.â
âWho said it had to be a surprise? Challenge him first if it makes you feel better but donât tell me you abide by some code of chivalry?â Thatâll make corrupting you much harder.
âThe knight orders of Victory donât flaunt a code of chivalry like preening roosters,â she says icily. âThey donât need it. They are respectful because everyone is crucial to the war effort. Thereâs no evil to punish because no one dares in a place where even the wives are trained in swordplay. No one does stunts for glory or honor, as that is measured by the amount of enemy blood they spill.â
âHm. Then why are you so angry?â
She looks me in the eye. âA knight is a knight. I may not care about the more traditional orders of Summer Spire but if he wants to portray himself as one of them, he will do so properly.â
âOr else?â I ask in amusement.
âOr else, IâllâŠIâll, uhâŠâ She trails off with a frown.
I laugh. âDonât worry. Youâll get your chance to figure it out.â
âIf youâre talking about the test, it wonât be about combat.â
âItâs the Grand Hall. They train the best combat casters in the kingdom. They trained Dunwayne, for saintsâ sake. I doubt they managed that by teaching him to avoid fighting. There will be combat, mark my words. And if Mr. Four Affinities is the kind of man I think he is, heâll take the opportunity to get even.â Arthur is Robertâs antithesis and I seriously embarrassed him. A peaceful man would be tempted to throw a punch.
ââŠdid you say four affinities?â