Bastille Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Not making the student council was… problematic.

“Lady Katarina, Lady Katarina!”

I found myself walking down the halls, a paper thin smile pasted to my face, as I pondered how this set back my plans.

“Would you like to join the Tea Party club this semester? We’d love to have you.”

“I’ll keep you in mind, certainly.”

Simply put, it was about rep.

“My lady, would you be so kind as to stop by the literature club after classes? I’ve heard you share our love of the classics.”

I had a reputation among the older generation of nobility. But only as a quirky genius who came up with crazy inventions that were either interesting, curious, or society changing innovations.

“Oh my, we have a book club?” I smiled. “That sounds interesting.”

But among my peers…

“I mean, she is Prince Jared’s betrothed but…”

I was known more for kicking them out of my parties. Not that I regretted defending Sophia and Mary for a heartbeat.

“Still,” the other girl whispered as I passed. “Wouldn’t it be rude not to offer?”

I turned to them and smiled.

“Eeep!” The two girls turned and scurried away.

Not that I would be interested in the embroidery club.

Prince Jared took my arm. “You can always visit the student council, dearest. There’s no need for you to be… accosted like this.”

The biggest problem, however―

I shook my head. “Impossible.”

“Lady Katarina!”

I grit my teeth.

“Lady Katarina, have you considered the folded paper club?”

―was that everyone.

“Lady Claes.”

Wanted me.

“—Occult Research society is—”

For their stupid club.

I forced my smile back onto my face. “Favoritism like that… your intentions are showing, my betrothed.”

The blond-haired prince just laughed. “Is it so wrong that I wish to spend more time with you?” He cast an eye down the crowded main foyer of the academy. “Clearly it is a sentiment shared by many.”

I huffed. “Jealousy isn’t attractive, Jared.”

He stuttered, half stumbling before he caught himself. “Katarina…”

I flicked a hand through my hair. “Besides, don’t you have duties of your own to take care of?” I shot him a smile. “I can’t imagine your brother will be happy if you dump all of the funding proposals off on him.”

“It’s simply his duty as treasurer…”

I raised an eyebrow.

“And I wouldn’t want to leave you along in such a… fracas.”

To my other side, Sophia leaned forward impishly. “I know I’m easy to forget, my prince, but…”

A complicated expression flickered across Jared’s face, even as I pressed a hand to my mouth.

“My lady, that’s not—!”

Sophia looked down at the ground, pale white hair shadowing her features. “It’s alright, your grace.” She put a tremulous little waver in her voice. “I understand completely…”

“Guh!” Jared’s head snapped back as if struck.

I patted him on the shoulder. “You should write a book.” I smiled. “How to offend women in three sentences or less.”

He staggered. “I’ll… just be going, then. Important student council duties to attend to, my love.”

“You’ll be ever in my thoughts,” I told him.

I could see how much he wanted to ask ‘in what way.’

Of course, I could also see the moment he decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand, before offering an apology to Sophia before heading off down the corridor.

The very picture of princely decorum.

As for me and Sophia, we managed to wait until he was round the corner to burst into giggles.

I waved off an invitation to the comedy club—how many different clubs were there—as we continued our tour around the atrium.

It was supposed to be a day for older students to recruit younger ones into various student organizations, but really, it felt like more than half of them were focused on snaring the campus celebrities.

Myself being one of them.

But enough of that. “I’m surprised you haven’t already decided, Soph.” I liked my little nickname for her, it helped me divorce the name from the person who’d born it in my last life. “I thought you’d have joined the Young Ladies’ Literature club.”

Which was a distinctly different entity than the Literature Club.

Sophia gave me a devious little smile. “We have to stick together don’t we, Kat?”

I chuckled. We were the only two out of my so-called ‘inner circle’ that hadn’t made the student council.

I wasn’t the one who called it that, it’s just… I tended to draw on the influence and abilities of my closest friends when I was making changes! It’s not like I was trying to recreate the Undersiders in miniature.

Even if Keith’s golems would make a good stand-in for giant lizard dogs…

Sophia snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Katarina, you’re getting all distracted again.”

I blinked, before giving an apologetic smile. “Sorry, you know how it is.”

Sophia nodded decisively. “Katarina is Katarina.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re being surprisingly forward these days.” I leaned in. “Is my little Soph finally growing up?”

She blushed, turning away. “Please don’t look at me with those eyes Kat…” She squirmed. “I—I don’t think I would be able to say no…”

I flinched back. “Wh-what are you talking about?!”

I barely caught the smirk that flicked across her features. “Oh, My lady Katarina is so forward.”

I huffed. “If you keep messing with me like that, I’m going to be very upset.”

“Oh? And what are you going to do about it?”

Sophia’s smug little smile clearly needed to be addressed posthaste.

I knew exactly what catastrophic levels such smug could reach, if left unchecked.

Turning to the side, I smiled at the brown haired second year. “Say, are there any openings in the fencing club?”

The boy blinked. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia’s smile beginning its catastrophic collapse.

“Uh, yes, of course.” The fencing club associate shrugged. “We’re always accepting new members, though rarely are ladies… interested in combat.”

I clapped my hands once. “Wonderful! I’ve been looking for a way to keep in shape. Are you doing bouts today?”

“I—uh—yes, of course!” To his credit, the young man gathered himself rather quickly. “I’d be happy to escort you to the room we’re using, my lady.” At my smile he turned. “Terrence, mind the table for a while.”

The other boy, Terrence, presumably, just waved his hand.

“K-Katarina.” Sophia tugged on my sleeve. “I don’t—that’s—”

“Hmm?” I wrapped my fingers around the girl’s petite wrist, pulling her along. “Weren’t you just the one who said we needed to stick together?”

“B-b-but!”

I smiled at her, half closing my eyes. “You know, Soph, I’m so happy you’re here to share this with me.”

“Ahhh… that’s not fair.”

I just kept smiling as I pulled her along behind me like a struggling kitten. “Come now, weren’t you just complaining about your figure, Sophie?”

“Waaaah, you’re so cruel, Katarina.”

“Please, I admire your svelte body line.” I ran a hand down her side, causing her to jitter. “But it does take work, you know. Don’t think I haven’t seen the crumbs between the pages of those books you lent me.”

“Urk—!” Sophia hung her head. “I was hungry, I’m a growing girl!”

“Hmmm, somewhere you are, certainly.”

Perhaps I’d been affected by the smug as well, but I couldn’t help it. Sophie had the cutest reactions to even the most basic teasing.

It was an enlightening experience, being on this side of things for once.

“You should be thankful though.” I crossed my arms under my bust. “Really, they just get in the way of things.”

The boy in front of us tripped over his own feet.

I ignored him, instead thinking back to my last life. Back then, I’d wanted to be more… endowed, at least, before I’d wanted to save the world and everything else just kinda fell by the wayside.

Having now lived on both sides of this issue as well, I could safely say I much preferred svelte. Honestly, how did Aisha even manage to survive? At fifteen she was more ‘gifted’ than I was now!

And really, that was saying something. I was no Mary Hunt, but then, even a goddess of fertility would have trouble competing with my floral friend.

I shook my head once as our guide got back to his feet. Okay, Kat, you need to get your head out of the gutter. Even if it was just an aesthetic appreciation of my rather beautiful friends, they really were just children.

Even when was I eighteen years old, I felt older than my years. Now… well if I didn’t have mirrors I might start thinking of myself as a grandmother in a few years.

To my side Sophia blinked once. “Why do I suddenly feel sad…” she murmured.

“Hmm?” I tilted my head. “You know, it might have something to do with the fact that we’re here.”

“What? No! I was going to escape!”

But there would be no escape for the albino girl as I yanked her into one of the smaller ballrooms.

Inside, there were already a few club members practicing their swordplay. Several of them glanced over in surprise as two young women walked into the room.

“Could you help my friend Sophia with her gear?” I asked our guide. “It’s hardly the first time I’ve fenced.”

“Oh, of course!” The older student nodded, taking Sophia’s arm. “This way, Lady Sophia. I’ll show you how to put on the various gear, and then you can go get changed.”

She sent me the cutest glare over her shoulder as the young man led her away.

I quickly gathered my own set of gear and walked over to the changing rooms. Fortunately, I was wearing a set of trousers beneath my flowing dress like always. Sophie, on the other hand, would be treated to the unenviable experience of sword fighting in a dress.

Fencing in the Kingdom of Sorcier had some noticeable differences than back on Earth bet. For one, it took place in a ring, though the sword fighting part of things was largely the same.

It differed with nobles however, due to the existence of magic. Professional dueling occurred when any sort of magic was allowed, along with live steel blades.

Formal dueling allowed for only defensive or support magics, nothing that could be considered an attack.

With a satisfied sigh, I walked back out into the ballroom, stretching my arms as I felt a small smile slipping over my face.

I’d taken up dueling when I’d realized just how utterly stifled I had begun to feel with my daily studies as a ‘child.’ Really, I probably should have been worried with how easily I slipped back into fighting, but I was comfortable with who I was.

After all, wiping the floor with people was a long-standing hobby of mine.

“Lady Katarina! Over here.”

I walked over.

“My thanks.” I smiled. “Though it appears you have me at a disadvantage after all.”

“Oh, my apologies, my lady. I was just so surprised that someone of your standing would choose to join the fencing club, as it were.” My guide smiled. “My name is Martin. And your friend is getting changed at the moment, would you care for a warm-up bout?”

“That sounds delightful.”

With a wave, one of the more central rings was cleared out. I suppose you had to put on a good show for prospective club members.

And really, what could be a better show for young—sword obsessed—young men, than a girl taking part in their favored pastime.

I settled into a relaxed stance across from Martin, my thin rapier-like practice blade settled loosely in the air before me. As one, both of us lifted our blades in a salute, before donning the light padded helmets.

“I didn’t take you for a fencer, Lady Katarina.” Martin began to circle to the right.

“I am a woman of many talents.”

I saw the air swirl around him as we began to circle. A wind mage then. They were the most common fencers, as wind magic had a slew of useful spells for moving faster and blocking attacks.

Earth mages, naturally, were the least common. Summons were forbidden in all levels of dueling, though at the Professional level, disrupting the enemy’s footing could prove even more deadly.

As for me…

I let out a breath, sending a wave of mana into the wooden floor. It was less effective than with dirt or stone, but I’d had years to practice this technique.

With each step, Martin sent a vibration through the ground. For even a seasoned earth mage, picking up on such a thing would be nearly impossible, especially when they could spend their time honing useful magic.

But my magic power was pitiful, and not likely to grow much beyond that no matter how much I ‘communed’ with my element.

My control on the other hand?

Well.

I was moving to the side the moment I felt Martin’s balance shift.

He leapt, wind carrying him in a devastating lunge. My own blade snapped out as he blurred past.

It sparked off his air shield, and I caught an answering riposte on the basket hilt of my sword. With a step back, his remise also—heh—caught only the wind.

I felt the moment of indecision as his stance wavered between pushing forward and pulling back.

I lunged.

My first attack met blade to blade, but with his stance akimbo, I locked blades and pushed him back. Martin staggered.

My rapier chimed as it rang against his neck guard.

“Point!” One of the other members called, raising a handkerchief bearing my color.

That would be white in this case, as I’d started on the ‘white’ side of the circle, making Martin ‘red.’

Normally, a bout would last to five touches, but I wasn’t surprised when Martin pulled off his helmet, a surprised grin on his face.

“That was exceptional!” he said. “Lady Katarina, you really must join our club, my friends and I have been talking for years about how not enough young women take an interest in the sport.”

“I’ll think about it.” I smiled, pulling off my own helmet with a flick of my hair. “Though, out of everything I’ve seen so—”

I stopped when the doors to the ballroom slammed open.

“Kat!”

I blinked. “Mary?” I tilted my head as she practically stormed across the room. “Is something wrong?”

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, and you go off fencing?” She shook her head, grabbing my hands. “Come on, quickly!”

I blinked again, but I could hear a real urgency in her voice. With a nod, I quickly pulled off my helmet and protective lame.

“Oh, thank the elements.” Sophia was right next to me a moment later, as I waved to a bemused Martin and the three of us exited the room.

Mary pulled us into an unused classroom across the hall.

“Jared sent me to find you.” She wrung her hands. “I… oh why did I study so hard to get on the student council!”

I gave her a wry smile. “Be careful what you wish for, I suppose.”

She nodded glumly, and I waved a hand as if to say ‘what’s going on?’.

“Right.” Mary nodded. “The Princes just received a missive from the capital, along with corroborating evidence from the Duchy of Lleverin.” She frowned. “There was an attack from across the eastern border.”

I stilled. To the east of Sorcier lay the Marlate Republic. While their nation was hardly our ally…

“Is this an invasion?”

Mary shook her head. “A village was sacked before a regiment could be sent to push back the attackers. So far… the Republic has yet to offer any sort of statement, but…”

I nodded. Relationships had deteriorated in recent years, I’d heard, due to the prosperity of Sorcier while Marlate continued to wallow.

Mary looked down at her hands. “It could be an act of war.”

Well, that was certainly one way to kick off my high school career in another world.

Really, it felt almost familiar.

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A/N:  I hope you enjoy this chapter of Bastille! Looks like the poll is popping as well so that always brings a smile to my face. Now I go drop chapters around other sites like the update fairy.