Sophia approached the large ornate door to her father’s bed chambers. The guard by the door stiffened up in attention as she drew near. He tapped the floor with the butt of his spear and saluted her, the red tassels that hung where the shaft and spearhead met rustled from the movement. She reached towards the familiar door handle, an imposing brass knob adorned with an eagle, a bull and a viper. The same crest was emblazoned on the chest of her uniform, a deep blue military cut. Her hand hung in the air, stopping just short of touching the eagle’s beak.
“What time do you have?”
The soldier looked down at the timepiece by his waist, “Answering, seven fifty-nine young master.”
She gave him a brief nod before returning her attention to the door. She drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. It’s time to grow up, she gave herself the stern pep talk that she had often laid on her siblings. The young woman of twenty put on her best smile and closed the eagle’s beak. A click could be heard as the door’s latch released, allowing her to step in.
The inside of the room was dark, the heavy curtains still drawn over the large glass door that led out to a small veranda. Sophia waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimness before approaching the large bed that dominated the floor space of what once was the study. The walls were lined with shelves, holding the various knick knacks that the heads of the Varks family had collected on their campaigns over the decades. Four generations of military commanders serving the royal family, some proudly, others less so.
“Good morning sir.”
She heard the bed sheets shuffle for a moment and quickly rushed over to help her father sit up. His body was light, too light for her to believe that this was the same man that used to lift her just as easily.
“Morning Fia,” He gave her an easy smile, but the expression was far less comforting when worn on his wrinkled and cracked lips.
“I’ve arranged for breakfast in an hour,” Sophia put a pillow behind her father’s head. “I’d really like it if you could eat a little today.”
“Just some water will do,” He motioned towards the pitcher on his bed stand. His personal attendant stepped out of the shadows by the curtains and began to pour a glass.
“Thank you, I’ll take that.” Sophia dismissed the nurse and she returned to her shadowed station by the curtains. She helped her father take sips from the glass. “Is there anything you want? The villagers nearby brought some livestock with them to pay tribute.”
“Send them back,” the old man shook his head. “Tell them I appreciate the thought, but I’ve shed my mortal need for sustenance.”106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2sv4v6Xj0
“No you have not,” Sophia sighed. “Please sir, it’s been four days since your last meal.”
He tried to laugh but it sent him into a coughing fit. The nurse dashed towards the bed but Sophia raised a hand and she reluctantly returned to the shadow. Sophia rubbed her father’s back gently as his coughing subsided. She wiped his lips with her handkerchief, it came away with tinges of red and she felt a familiar knife through her heart upon seeing it.
Lord Varks took his daughter’s hand in his and gave her as much of a squeeze as he could manage. “Do you know what day it is today?” He grinned.
“No,” She shook her head.
“It is a good day to die,” He tried to laugh again, this time he was successful.
“Today is not your day sir,” Sophia shook her head again.
“Where is your brother?” The duke asked softly. Sophia closed her eyes.
Sain braced himself for impact as a large man clad in armor slammed into him. He felt his own armor begin to crumple from the blow as the stadium roared with excitement.
“He’s working,” Sophia replied. “Would you like to see?”
“Does he still hate me?”
“I doubt even he knows.” She massaged her father’s palm, gaunt and marked from age. “You can ask him yourself when he visits. He’ll be back for the winter when his troop’s field excursions conclude.”
“It’s a bit late for that I think.” The duke sighed. “I would like to see. My son… employed.”
Sophia nodded and leaned down towards her father. She laid her forehead on his and closed her eyes again.
Sain was blasted back as the second hit came in, sailing through the air in an arc.
“Look at that clean impact folks! That is five thousand kilo newtons of force through the boost assist provided by Imperial Arms’ newest model seven military platform.
”The announcer shouted over the crowd through several large amplifying crystals hovering above the stadium grounds.
The crowd began chanting one word at Sain. “Forfeit! Forfeit!”
“Hold on folks, let’s not rush to conclusions!” The announcer rebutted. “Lancier may be the new face in town but their defensive options have quickly proven themselves among the best on the market!”
Sain struggled to not be crushed under the weight of the larger man on top of him, but despite the physical discomfort of the situation his attentions were focused within his own mind.
‘I’m a little busy sis, leave me alone.’
“Forfeit! Forfeit!” The crowd continued to roar.
‘Father would like to see you.’
‘Fuck no, get out of my head.’
‘I’m connecting him now.’
‘Wait! What do you want? I’ll do it, just tell me.’ Sain felt a second presence in his mind as his protest ended.
The duke surveyed the arena quickly, a practiced gaze darting to each of his peripherals. Roughly a dozen other men clad in the same blackened leather armor as Sain lay on the ground around them. He tested the weight of the man pinning him down, checking each of the pressure points. The duke smiled and jabbed Sain’s heel into the man’s lower calf. The metal boot slammed into the armor, causing no harm but throwing the larger man’s balance just enough for the duke to sneak his leg back under the man. With perfect leverage and the leg power of a young man in his prime, the duke threw his opponent off and whirled to his feet.
Sain blinked and buckled at his knees, stumbling and almost face planting into the dirt. His opponent recovered in that moment, equally confused. Sain felt a wave of nausea as his senses returned to him but it passed after five breaths as he had trained to do.
“That’s not in my script, is it in yours?”
Up in the broadcast tower, another pair of confused men attempted to improvise with the situation. “No. I hope he knows what he’s doing. Keep doing the play-by-play until we hear otherwise from production.”
The announcer gripped his amplification crystal once more, a small current buzzed through his hands.
“Now that we’ve seen the offensive power of the model seven, we’ll see how it holds up on the defensive!”
Down in the pit, Sain charged towards his opponent.
“Saiiiiiin!” A shrill shriek rang out, tearing through the serene calm of the morning air.
Inside the lecture room, an eight year old boy jumped up from his desk and rushed to the window. The instructor dashed towards Sain but was just short of grabbing onto the boy’s leg as he dived out. The rest of the class roared into action and every child inside crowded around the windows to see the spectacle down in the courtyard.
In a neighboring building, Sophia paused in her martial routine and carefully sheathed her sword. A light scrape upon the scabbard made her click her tongue, that’s at least half a percent of edge degradation. She left her training room and the soldier standing guard by the door handed her a towel.
Leaning against the railing overlooking the yard was a familiar man, one of the temporary style and technique trainers. She had observed some of his classes and found his teachings to not be suited for her needs. He looked up when she approached and quickly snapped to attention to offer her a small bow.
“Good morning sir.”
“Morning miss.”
“What’s going on? I heard yelling.”
“Seems like some of the children are fighting in the yard,” He looked back down and Sophia joined him by the railing.
“What happened?” Sophia surveyed the situation. She saw a couple of very recognizable kids down below along with a small squad of kids she didn’t know.
“Not sure myself, I came out to check on the screaming just moments before you.”
Down in the yard, Sain landed on his side from his two story dive, bruising several ribs and knocking the wind out of him. He gasped as he tried to regain his breath at first, and continued to gasp for air as the pain hit him. The boy struggled to his feet and ran towards the source of the scream. As he approached, several of the other boys in the yard turned to face him, blocking his way.
Without hesitation, or rather, thought, Sain charged in. His awkward half lopping attack was easily deflected with a swift kick from one of the boys standing between him and his little sister. Sain tumbled back, falling in the dirt but he sprung up the same instant he landed and charged in again.
Another kick sent him back, along with a fresh bruise on his shoulder in the shape of a child’s boot. Sain hit the ground and rolled back, dirt forming mud with his sweat caking his back and hair. By this time, the instructors had alerted the security team and several soldiers in uniform were running towards the yard.
Sophia ran in at seventy three percent power, then adjusting it to sixty five. As another foot flew towards her, she stomped her left leg into the ground to whirl to the side. She grabbed the leg and using the attacker’s own momentum, Sophia threw him backwards into the ground.
Sain blinked and fell to his knees. He coughed and spat on the ground as he regained his senses. Before the other boys could pounce on him, he tackled the boy that was holding his little sister against a tree.
“Run!” Sain yelled as he wrestled with the larger boy against the tree.
Instead of fleeing as her brother wanted, the small girl mustered up the power she could in her leg and leapt into the air, spinning upwards in a perfect spiral.
Sophia felt the sickening snap of the boy’s neck as her foot connected with the side of his head. She was too late to stop her sister.
“Call the medics!” Sophia yelled to the bewildered man beside her. The horror in her face must’ve gotten the message through and he took off running.
‘I came to say goodbye son, I’m departing today.’
Sain focused on the foot that flew towards him to stop his approach. He flipped over it and tried to heel drop onto his opponent’s shoulder.
‘Hey old man, I’ll come piss on your grave in a couple of months. Now get the fuck out of my head.’
The young fighter’s boot connected for a brief moment before a large power assisted fist knocked him clean across the arena. Sain was unconscious before he hit the ground.
“What a knockout!” The announcer shrieked. “That man won’t even remember the fight!”
The champion fighter turned to wave at the cheering crowd, when he lifted his left arm he felt the power assist give out as the armor split at the shoulder joint where Sain had landed his attack. The large fighter froze for a moment, attempting to process what happened. He recovered quickly and leaped onto the unconscious Sain. He raised his right arm and released a large blade within the armguard. He plunged it down into Sain and it easily pierced through the leather the boy was wearing. Blood seeped out and began to soak the arena dirt as the champion stood up. He jogged around the arena once to the roaring cheers of the crowd and stopped in front of the decorated box seat where the emperor sat under a canopy. He bowed and didn’t dare raise his face to look directly at the imposing figure. The man under the canopy tossed down a sack of coins before leaving. Several attendants and a small group of soldiers followed behind.
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