The King’s Courtier

Chapter 8 - A Kingdom’s Worth 2

  The next day, Aurelia prepared for the dreaded tests. She knew Kai would go out of his way to make her miserable and Jeremyus was the person she needed to prove herself to most. She could barely sleep from all the stress, and well, the elicit dreams weren't particularly helpful either.

To her satisfaction, she was informed that her testing with Jeremyus will take a full day and Kai would have to wait for the next.

Jeremyus was waiting for her at the c***k of dawn.  He smiled at her when she approached and threw her a sword. "For the first task, I wanna see your skills with a sword. I figured you probably can't spar with me, so I asked Melody to take over the first task as I watch judging." 

This was both good news and bad news. Good news: she hated Melantya and her drive could possibly increase her will to cut her head off. Bad news: the feeling was mutual. 

Melantya came into light holding a sword the same size as her's. "Shall we begin?" She smirked.

Aurel was good with her hands, but she was impeccable with a sword or dagger and she couldn't wait to make Melantya eat her sly little smile.

Aurelia didn't waste a second, relying on the element of surprise to give her a head start. The sound of swords clashing filled the air as Aurelia mastered Melantya's rhythm and created a rhythm in response. 

Melantya was amazing with a sword. Her talent was rhythm, so of course after a short while of following Aurelia's lead, she learnt her rhythm and took over once again. Aurelia then spent some time reflecting on Melantya's weaknesses. 

Melantya was skilled in rhythm, which meant that if Aurelia could somehow constantly surprise her and prevent creating a rhythm, Melantya had no away of anticipating her next moves.

Aurelia halted all movement, shocking Melantya. She immediately seized, realizing she would had cut through Aurelia's arm had she not had control over her sword "are you crazy?" Melantya hissed. She had been only one flick of a wrist away from dismembering Aurelia.

Just as Melantya was opening her mouth to complain again, Aurelia switched positions and swiped her sword down towards Melantya's legs, throwing her off balance and on the ground. She knew these moves were each a gamble, and she knew that had Melantya actually wished her dead, Aurelia wouldn't had been breathing.

Melantya was more skilled than she realized, because she quickly rolled over and got back into position, but that didn't stop Aurelia from hitting and swaying her sword towards three spots she knew would miss just to throw Melantya off her next move, then she stepped forward and clashed the swords so hard that Melantya's sword went flying.

Another weakness Aurelia had noticed was that Melantya's grip weakened each time she contemplated Aurelia's next move.

Aurelia immediately aimed for right beside her head, throwing her own sword as she went to grab Melantya's sword. Just when Melantya dropped down in fear of the sword hitting her perfect little face, Aurelia pointed the second sword at her heart and said "apologize." 

"Excuse me?" Said a shocked Melantya.

"For underestimating me, for the meaningful smirks and hurtful remarks. Apologize then surrender." 

Melantya simply rolled her eyes, steams of hatred filling the atmosphere. She could sense Melantya's anger through the streaks of power shooting out of her. "I surrender. Now move that filthy sword before I break your neck." 

Jeremyus laughed and stood up, clapping slowly. "Impressive indeed." 

Despite the laugh and kind words, Jeremyus's eyes held a certain threat. She knew that if she didn't stop aiming a deadly weapon at his friend, he would slit her throat and enjoy doing it.

She rather envied Melantya. She not only had a beautiful, powerful girlfriend at her side, but also a large group of close friends who are cold to all those beside their group. She had best friends like King Sulfur, Jeremyus and Kaiyus. Never would she feel the need to contemplate and question her worth.

Aurelia halted her sword and made a small mocking bow. Flipping her hair as she turned around to face Jeremyus. 

"I was gonna go to the second task; but Melody, Oh she's the second best at sparring amongst the matrons. I merely wanted to see you over power her once or twice, not win all together. That was an impossible task for a mortal." His smile broadened. "Spar with me." 

Aurelia's eyes went wide. Spar with the best wielder of a sword in Elexia? 

"You should have her spar with Eyra instead" Melantya said.

"I will if she proves herself a member of my category. Perhaps that could give her the most stable training." Jer responded.

Aurelia tried to hide her frown. She wanted to train with a matron, had she wanted to simply train with the best mortal she would've said in the oblivion where the best of the strength category tutored her. Needless to say, that wasn't an option. She was forced out the oblivion and couldn't return at will.

He took a sword half the size of the one in Aurelia's hand and signaled her to begin. 

Aurelia thought through all her options. She should let him begin just so she has a good sense of his technique before she starts showing him just how much she knows. Her battle with Melody ended too quickly, and frankly she was holding out. She planned to let Jeremyus show his hand before she went all in.

Jeremyus was magnificent with a sword. A true warrior. She knew from his very first move that she had no chance, but to over power him even once would show great dominance. 

They sparred and sparred until she memorized his pattern. She then started making the exact same moves as him. Shocked, Jeremyus halted furrowing his eyebrows trying to figure out her tactics.

Just as he halted, she wielded her sword and crashed it against his the same way he would hers. He now had to follow her pattern as she took over, slightly changing the pattern so he wouldn't think that her technique was merely mirroring. She could do far better than mirror and copy.

She had won in her own eyes. She had overpowered him, and she loved the taste of victory. She craved more. She trashed and turned the same way an animal would, a technique Iliyus had taught her when they were kids, and she went aiming for his foot. Once again shocked, Jer went to stop it, weakening his grip, and she immediately came down with full force throwing his sword out of his hand.

She had done it. She had out done him. 

Melantya and Jeremyus's eyes simultaneously went wide with surprise, jaws practically on the floor. 

Jeremyus clearly detested losing as much as Aurel because he quickly reached back for his sword and once again dominated her. They sparred like that for a short while before he said stop.

He looked speechless. Complete and utterly speechless, and for once, the insufferable Melody appeared to not have a snarky remark either. 

The three stood there looking at one another for a few minutes before Jer finally spoke "Melody you can go. Thank you." 

He dismissed her as if she was merely a servant. Despite the way he cared for her, he clearly held more power. As she walked away, he whispered: "amazing." 

That was all he said before he walked back to the station and grabbed two pairs of gloves. It was time for her to prove her bare strength.

She grabbed the boxing gloves from him and waited for him to put his on. But to her surprise, he instead signaled her to walk into a separate hall in the palace. The hall was her biggest dreams come to life. In the very middle was the biggest boxing ring she had ever witnessed, but that wasn't where he was taking her. He took her towards a big boxing bag with numbers on it. It was digital. 

"This will determine your strength with each punch. Your strength will be compared to the warrior list." She could already guess that he was talking about the grand competitive list that everyone fights for a spot on in the strength category. When she was young, she often laid awake wishing she could have a spot on that list.

She threw some punches in the air as warm up, and when she was finally prepared, she threw a huge punch at the punching bag. 5600. She could almost bet she could do better, so she once again shifted on her feet and punched again, this time harder. 6200. She tried one last time, 6300. All the punches after that ranged from 6200-6300. She couldn't go higher. a sting of disappointment overpowered her body. 

Jeremyus told her to step back as he threw one powerful punch at the punching bag. 1100. And the king was even stronger, he had said. 

"I thought I was a lot stronger..." she sulked.

"Aurelia, the strongest mortal in my category's highest record is 6600. And that is with training. You now hold the second spot amongst twelve thousand mortals." 

She couldn't believe her ears. She was stronger than almost all the others. Poor Iliyus, wasted away in the oblivion when he had proved to her multiple times that he was even stronger than her. He could've held the highest record in the strength category if only his beauty hadn't taken away his opportunities. The anger hit her like a truck and she was quickly inflamed with anger for her dear friend. 

She mustered up all that anger and once again threw a very hard punch. 6600. She was as strong as the strongest mortal in Elexia. 

Jeremyus's eyes were almost bulging out of its socket. 

"A matron once asked how I would punch the king. This record was with him in mind." Was all she said as she wiped the sweat off and opened her ponytail, walking outside the ring. 

Jeremyus followed her back to the previous hall they were stationed at to retrieve the materials for the last task. She couldn't stop looking at him, her eyes begging to ask a question without the strength to ask it.

"Out with it." Jer finally said as he noticed her silent begging.

"What was Eyra's highest score?" 

"6605" he merely whispered. 

5 points was nothing. 5 points was a shift in angle. Take that Eyra. She couldn't help her wide smile at the realization that not only is her beauty extraordinary, but also her skills. That made her better than Eyra in every way. Wait till the king heard of this. 

Jer asked no questions about how she knew Eyra, and if he was curious, he didn't let it show.

The last task was fairly simple. Rock climbing. She had loved rock climbing since she was a child so it was merely a breeze for her. She wasn't as fast as the highest record, not even close, but she was satisfied regardless and had a fun time doing the test.

After all the exercise, she truly needed a bath. Lucky for her, Jeremyus only expressed how impressed he was before he let her leave for the day. It was already dark outside when she walked into the shower. She spent as long as she could in the shower. She hadn't seen the king in three days, and she was hoping to feel so tired by the time she exited the shower that she wasn't provided a second to overthink, or to dream about Kaiyus and his cruelty. 

She hadn't managed to gather any information about Kaiyus, but she didn't frankly care enough to go out of her way to collect it. She should had been collecting information on the king instead. Should be finding ways to get him interested in her since that was the main goal since she was born.

She walked out the shower after an hour and walked towards the wardrobe. She clicked the button and silk pajamas appeared. She had never felt so blessed and comforted in her life as she dropped onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.