Episode 11
889 Words
The morning bell rang through the academy like a war cry. Students poured onto the training fields, clad once again in crimson, the grass already slick with dew. Today was different, the air carried tension, excitement, and a thin edge of fear.
For the first time since arriving, the beginners would spar.
“Pairs!” the instructor barked. “You will test not only your bodies, but your discipline. Fight like warriors, not savages.”
The students lined up. Austin glanced at Ethan and Ashly, who both looked nervous. Gina, however, stood tall, her expression unreadable.
From the stands above, a small crowd gathered. Not just students, but the figures who ruled over the academy’s fate.
Lord Kane sat at the centre, his presence heavy and commanding, a predator watching prey.
To his right sat Lady Valtira, graceful, her dark hair coiled like a crown, her sharp eyes scanning the field with quiet amusement. To Kane’s left lounged their son, Casper, draped in black, his smirk cutting as deep as any blade. David, ever his shadow, leaned at his side, whispering things that made Casper laugh.
Casper’s gaze fixed on Austin almost instantly. His lips curled.
“Let’s see if the village boy lasts five minutes,” he muttered, just loud enough for David to hear.
David grinned. “If he does, I’ll eat my boots.”
The first pairs clashed. Wooden swords struck, staffs spun, fists collided with open palms. The field roared with the sound of combat.
Ethan was paired first, facing a boy nearly twice his size.
“Ready… fight!”
The larger boy rushed him, swinging wildly. Ethan ducked, panic flashing in his eyes, then managed a clumsy block that rattled his arms.
The fight went poorly at first, until Ethan remembered the drills. One-two-step, strike. He swept his leg low, surprising his opponent, and brought him tumbling to the ground.
The crowd cheered. Ethan stood, panting, disbelief on his face.
“Not bad,” Gina called from the side-lines. “Not graceful, but effective.”
Ethan grinned sheepishly.
Ashly followed soon after, paired against a quick-footed girl. Unlike Ethan, Ashly fought with fire. She threw herself into every strike, her eyes blazing with determination. Though her opponent was skilled, Ashly’s sheer stubbornness forced the match into a stalemate until the instructor called it.
“You fight like a storm,” the instructor told her. “Unfocused, but fierce.”
Ashly smirked. “I’ll take it.”
Then it was Austin’s turn.
As for Austin, Casper set a trap for him.
Austin’s opponent was announced, and his heart sank.
“Casper,” the instructor called, “choose his challenger.”
Casper rose slowly, smiling. “David will do.”
David swaggered onto the field, twirling a staff. His eyes gleamed with mischief.
“Don’t worry, farm boy,” David taunted. “I’ll try not to break you too badly. Casper’s orders.”
Austin clenched his fists. He glanced at Gina for just a second, and though her face was calm, her eyes blazed with protective fury.
“Begin!”
David attacked instantly, his strikes fast and mocking. He jabbed, swept, and prodded like a cat playing with a mouse. Austin blocked and dodged as best he could, each impact jolting his arms. Laughter from the stands stung his ears.
“Come on, boy!” Casper shouted. “Show us you’re not completely useless!”
Austin’s teeth ground together. Then, as David lunged too far forward, Austin shifted, remembering the stance from yesterday. Drop weight, pivot, strike.
His fist slammed into David’s chest, sending him stumbling back. The crowd gasped.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then Casper’s face twisted in anger.
David recovered quickly, snarling, and charged again, this time furious. But Austin held his ground, blocking, countering, refusing to yield. The match stretched, tense and brutal, until finally the instructor barked,
“Enough!”
Austin stood sweating, bruised, but unbroken. David scowled, rubbing his ribs.
From above, Lord Kane’s cold smile widened. “Interesting.”
Lady Valtira’s voice was silk. “The boy has spirit.”
But Casper’s eyes promised nothing but future torment.
…
That night, when the dorms grew quiet, Austin slipped out into the courtyard. The moonlight silvered the stones, the air cool after the day’s heat. He found Gina waiting beneath the shadow of the old oak.
“You shouldn’t have looked at me like that during the match,” she whispered, though her voice trembled with emotion. “Casper noticed.”
“I couldn’t help it,” Austin admitted. “If David had hurt me worse, I… I just needed to see you.”
Her hand brushed his. Just for a second, hidden by the night.
“You can’t let anyone suspect,” she warned. “If they find out we’re mates…”
Austin nodded, swallowing hard. But then he leaned closer, his forehead resting briefly against hers. “I don’t care what they say. We’ll make it through this. Together.”
Gina closed her eyes, letting herself have that moment, just one heartbeat of forbidden warmth. Then she pulled back, steeling herself.
“Tomorrow, it starts again,” she said. “Stay strong, Austin. For all of us.”
From the shadows of the courtyard, unseen by them both, a figure slipped away. A smirk curved on unseen lips.
Casper.
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