Viktorija Adelyte Kazlauskas

Chapter Five

Emilek was torn on being proud and worried about his third student; Valdemarr had told them that it was strange that they hadn’t been attacked while they travelled through Labia. Emilek knew that there was a reason there were so many checkpoints on the trade route through Labia, but even if he had found a bandit camp; all of them would be dead and buried. All that would be left of them, were their ruined weapons and tents.

Still; none of them had seen Viktorija for the last five days. And Valdemarr admitted that they would run into one of his nephews at the last Labia checkpoint, and that he would most likely join them for the last two days. Emilek didn’t know if it was worth waiting for Viktorija to catch up with them for a few minutes, while Valdemarr checked in with his nephew.

He only blinked when he spotted Viktorija talking to another merchant, one that Emilek guessed was Valdemarr’s nephew. Tightly waved baskets in the wagon, while Viktorija sat on the back as he spoke to her about something in her hand. He guessed that she did run into Zyta and Eryx at some point, since she was wearing two leather bracelets, under her metal ones, in the same style that they were wearing.

“Dedrick, nephew,” Valdemarr greeted as Dedrick waved at him.

“Uncle Valdemarr, glad to see your in one piece,” Dedrick told him.

“No bandits this time,” Valdemarr told him, staring at Viktorija as she looked at the thick forest to on the right side of the road. “There’s usually one or two after my stock. Liquor is something everyone can enjoy.”

“If their old enough,” Viktorija chimed in.

“Uncle, why don’t we sign in at the checkpoint,” Dedrick suggested as Viktorija removed her eyes from the birds flying in the sky to the two as they walked off to a nearby wooden building. Emilek knew that Valdemarr would put them as his guards; as he had done whenever he had to sign in at a checkpoint.

“Dead last, where were you!” Ismay hissed at her, she had left the work of protecting their client to her and Etienne yet again. She had left them with the heavy lifting, again, she always left them with the hard work. “Answer me!”

“Sorry your highness,” Viktorija sarcastically told her, as she glared at Ismay. Putting her hands on her lap and her fingers near her storage seal. In case, she needed a dagger to protect herself from the nutcase. “I didn’t realise I was talking to royalty. I’ll be sure to tell the Ombre cachée that you’re not getting the proper treatment. And mention that we happen to be missing an actual Soldat member.”

“Just answer my question,” Ismay hissed.

“I’ll end you. That’s my answer.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I’ll be the reason you’re dead. I’ll kill you.”

Emilek only rolled his eyes, they had been on the same team for less than a year. Even he saw Viktorija’s answer coming and he less of her than Ismay did. Etienne only ignored them while sharping the daggers stripped to his thigh, scanning the area for any attacks.

A habit that Etienne formed, since Viktorija liked to randomly attack them. She would attack them as they waited for Emilek to arrive, during their daily D-rank missions and sometimes while they trained afterward said mission.

One thing that he noticed; was that a lot of their clients would glare at Viktorija if she attacked them during a mission. Even if nothing was damaged by Ismay; such as the one time that Ismay almost pulled out a rose plant from a client’s garden. The moment she’d leave, their client would relax and become friendly again.

Etienne knew full well that clients could request certain people not be able to take their missions, something that was put into place in the start to stop old warring clans from fighting among themselves during said missions. Or taking revenge on their old enemy’s children, in revenge for the lose of a family member.

All their missions had requested that Viktorija not be there. Which was why he had seen her completing missions for one clan or another by herself, it helped that she didn’t have anyone to talk if she happened to overhear something that could be used against them.

He had once hired her to clean up the main garden, but when he returned to his home, he had been surprised to find that she had neatened up every garden in the Atspoguļo Compound. Along with somehow being able to save his mother’s favourite roses and violets.

“Did you run into any bandits?” Emilek asked her.

“One or two,” Viktorija admitted, shrugging as she crossed her arms and legs. She begun tracing the edge of the bracelet that Azuloas had given her, said that her kills had been sealed into it when she followed Aldona towards the hideout. “Zyta and Eryx helped me with the first lot, said they were after a package that they had stolen.”

“You lazy -” Ismay started before Viktorija looked like she was vermin that she had to put up with, shaking her head before cutting her off.

“Oh; do shut up. You got into this line of work yourself,” Viktorija told her, dusting the bottom of her dress. “Any who’s had to spend more then five minutes with you knows your head’s full of air but keep talking, by all means, and soon they’ll realise you’re a complete vegetable.”

Ismay just looked at her, Viktorija just looked at the baskets behind her, before rolling small beads and stones to hide among the baskets. It had been one of Azuloas’ ideas, but he had never had a mission where he could test them out.

Bead sealing wasn’t quite as popular as some other forms of sealing, in fact, Azuloas told her it was the newest form of sealing. Based on the Gintaro’s clan gem sealing, newer still was Aldona’s card sealing and Viktorija had quite a few cards that Aldona had given her.

Or that she and Aldona had created in the three days that they travelled together, before they disappeared into a nearby cave. One that Aldona, Page and Azuloas made her swear not to tell anyone about.

“Dedrick, you’re ready to leave soon?” Valdemarr asked Dedrick as they walked back to the team, Ismay huffing as she glared at Viktorija. Emilek had warned her about starting fights in front of clients and how it made the village look.

“Just let the horses finishing eating,” Dedrick told him.

“How did you find Viktorija?” Valdemarr asked him.

“She arrived at the checkpoint same time as I did, heard me asking if you’d had gone past,” Dedrick admitted, Ismay glaring at Viktorija while she looked at her boots. Maybe she could ditch them like Aldona and Azuloas had done, even if it would take her a while to get the same scar tissue in her feet. “When she asked me why I was asking after you. She showed me her necklace telling me as she told me that you were her client.”

“That means I’ll be off again,” Viktorija told them as soon as the horses finished eating, she had sensed something familiar about the two. She still didn’t want them near Valdemarr or Dedrick, and she didn’t want the two to any of the people that Page and Launcelot warned her about.

She feared that it would be that black creature with the sickening grin. In the end, if she was there target, she didn’t want to drag civilians into her battles. Creating a clone, she hid herself in a nearby tree.

“And don’t try to stop me,” Viktorija continued, Etienne moving to the right of Valdemarr’s wagon and Ismay moved to the right. So, it would be her turn to rid with Valdemarr at the front, Ismay was muttering words that Viktorija knew that Mama Martin would wash her mouth with soap for saying them around her.

“This is your first C-rank mission and you need to stay with the team,” Emilek told her, but her smile matched Xavierra’s and he knew that it was a lost cause. “Viktorija -”

“And I’m sure you don’t Ismay dead, so why push our luck?” Viktorija told him grinning as Emilek looked at Ismay. Nothing would make her stay with Ismay longer then she had to, not even Emilek could make her stay.

Aldona or Azuloas couldn’t make her stay around that woman.

She could kill Ismay without losing a wink of sleep.

“Ismay is your teammate,” Emilek told her.

“No, she’s not,” Viktorija told him. “And boss say, bye.”

Emilek just looked at the spot her clone had been, he knew that she could pull off a solid clone, but he didn’t think she’d use one to escape from her own team. At least he knew she could think on her feet; she was fine for the last five days. “That happened, Valdemarr we should continue going.”

“What about Viktorija?” Dedrick asked him looking at the spot that Viktorija’s clone had been, he had never seen a clone before. Valdemarr just blinked before looking at the bottle that he was about to pick it up.

“She’ll catch up, she scouting for any bandits that might be up ahead,” Emilek told him, he just had to make it look like he had some control over his team. Even though he knew that; in the end, he had no control over his students.

Viktorija would do her own thing, while Ismay would moan and groan about it. While not doing anything to improve her own abilities or skills, staying the same as she was were when she left the Academy.

Emilek was never going to take a team after this. He knew that in terms of teamwork; Team Seven was the worst in the village.

Ismay couldn’t stand Viktorija and she’d only stared at Etienne with hearts in her eyes. Etienne was indifferent to Viktorija and couldn’t stand Ismay, not that Emilek could blame him on that one, since she ask him out ever second day.

Viktorija clearly hated Ismay, while she was indifferent to Etienne.

“And she’ll be fine?” Dedrick asked him.

“She’s able to keep up with most member of the Garde Unit,” Emilek told him without thinking about it. “Trans with members from the Espionner and Chasse Units.”

Emilek had once caught her training with Athos and his student Charlies. Both were heavily into swords play, form and technique. Emilek had known Athos and Charlies to go over basic movements for hours until it was perfected while fighting, training to the point that barely anything could tip them over.

Both Athos and Charlies were nice, but neither could use chakra to safe their life. Emilek was just proud that both had turned that into an advantage, but that didn’t mean he understood the reason that Viktorija would want to train with either of them.

Then, he didn’t know why anyone would want to train with Xavierra. And it looked like Viktorija had been doing that for a few years, all he could say was that; he was glad that he wasn’t a bandit with her as annoyed as she was.

“She can keep up with the insane members of our village,” Emilek whispered to himself, he didn’t have to worry about her. She could keep up with Xavierra and Athos. “She’ll be fine with a few bandits.”