Game of Destiny

CHAPTER 2: ROYAL BLOODS

“You did a good job right there, son!” Headmaster Abdon patted Brandon’s shoulder. They just finished the war-pacifying ritual and everything was as smooth as expected. Brandon couldn’t be any happier knowing how his plan worked out so well.

“It’s all thanks to the years you spent teaching me father. So, the honor of this success still boils down to you.” Brandon grinned while patting his father back which made few of their council members and guards who are with them burst into laughter.

They are on their way back to their new home in the plains. They just made a stop to water and feed their horses, as the ride from the neighboring tribe would take a few more hours to reach their destination.

“Now that we got this deal closed, Master Brandon will now have the luxury of time to cuddle with his wife more.” Baltazar, one of the guards and Brandon’s close friend said which made Brandon grin even more. He excitedly hopped on his horse and the others followed him.

Headmaster Abdon shook his head in amusement with his son. Well, he can’t blame him. The deal with the neighboring tribe made his son part ways with his newly-wedded wife on their prime days of marriage. Sure, they needed more time to catch up with their lost hours.

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“In a count of three, everyone, face your partners. Tonight, we will practice close physical combat.”

“How about our weapons madam? Aren’t we going to practice with them?”

“Well, you are not going to use any. You need to work on your skills without any weapon, so that you can still protect yourselves in case a war breaks out. Now, think of the things you hate so much. Think of how our elders were mercilessly killed by the fake royals who are now sitting on the royal throne. Then use that hatred to take down your sparring partners. Use whatever means you have in your sleeves to take down your opponents.”

Everyone gasped upon hearing their commander. They surely know that Natalie has always been strict during training, but never did they think that she would let them hurt each other.

“Any objection?”

“But Madam, does that mean that we are going to hurt our partners?”

“Tell me, how can you win a fight without knocking down your opponents? If you want to advance to the elite team, you need to stop empathizing with your opponents. Because when a war breaks out, the royal army will surely not show you any mercy, if you hesitate to rip their throats off, you will end up as cold corpses. Now, those who are cowards, you can leave the training grounds.”

No one has said a word, they just positioned themselves against their partners and motioned for an attack. Natalie counted to three, and they immediately started attacking each other, using all possible techniques that they learned from the day they entered the camp. Natalie carefully studied every move that her trainees are using. Her beautiful face displayed a cold and serious expression, showing her Alpha female side.

This personality of hers made her stand out among all the women in the tribe. She’s the exact opposite of Freya. While the latter is soft and gentle, she exudes great confidence and skills as a warrior.

After three straight hours of sparring sessions, all trainees are still standing even with all the bruises all over their body. Natalie smiled to herself seeing how each trainee endured all the blows they had thrown towards each other.

“Okay everyone! You did great!” She said clapping her hands, making all the trainees stop attacking each other and turning to face her.

“I am glad to tell that all of you are now part of the elite team. You will be joining the elite’s training tomorrow evening.”

“But Madam, we haven’t knocked our opponents down yet.” One of the trainees asked.

“Well, the fact that you are all still standing after three long hours, even with all the bruises and injuries that you got from all the blows you had, means that you are now ready to start the real thing. I can see how all of you improved so much after a month of basic training. Tomorrow, Master Brandon will personally welcome you to the elite team, so you better start packing tonight. You will be sent to the elite’s tent at dawn. After I dismiss you, you may go straight to your tent. Tribe healers will be sent to give you healing pills for your faster recovery.”

After dismissing the trainees, she immediately walked her way out of the training ground, but she immediately stopped on her tracks upon hearing the trainees’ conversation.

“How I wish Madam Natalie had married our next headmaster instead of Freya. She’s stronger and she could be a better aid to Master Brandon in governing our tribe.”

“Kelsey, stop disrespecting Miss Freya. Sooner or later, she will become the headmistress. Be careful, you might have your tongue cut off.”

“So what? I’m just telling the truth, Freya doesn’t deserve Master Brandon. She’s nothing but a weakling! She will just bring us all down with her.”

“Enough of the chitchats! You are supposed to go back to your quarters.” Natalie’s cold voice stiffened them. She looked displeased with the words she just heard. She doesn’t like hearing anything that links her to Brandon and Freya’s marriage.

“Our apologies, Madam.” The trainees said in unison and immediately made their way back to their tents.

Meanwhile, Brandon just arrived in their tent, but he cannot find Freya anywhere.

“Where could she be?” He got worried that something might have happened while he's not around.

He immediately went to his parents’ tent only to find her there, giggling as his mother, headmistress Zaina, told her stories about him. Well, Freya was rescued by his father when she was already thirteen, making her miss Brandon’s childhood days.

“Really, headmistress? I can’t believe he would totally swim in the mud just to save his beloved wooden toy.” She seems charmed by the thought of little Brandon swimming in the mud for the love of his toy.

“Mother! What other embarrassing things about me have you told my wife?” Brandon said, emerging from the tent’s front door. The woman’s eyes brightened at the sight of him.

“Dear son, you are back!” Headmistress Zaina was quick enough to hug him first. Freya’s heart leaped with joy upon seeing her husband back, but as much as she wanted to jump right into his arms, still she has to remain calm because she doesn’t want to embarrass herself in front of her mother in law.

“Brandon’s eyes didn’t leave her the whole time. He was checking out her reaction and he smirked upon seeing how much she missed him right from her facial expressions. He motioned for his wife right after his mother pulled away from the hug. Freya immediately went to his side, maintaining to look decent in front of the headmistress.

“I think we better go back to our tent, mother. I have a few things to discuss with my wife.” He told his mother which made the latter laugh with amusement.

“Fine, dear son. I know you need to catch up with the long hours you spent away from each other. Your father will also be back in a few minutes from the training grounds.” She said and dismissed the two love birds.

On the other hand, Headmaster Abdon who is sitting across the council minister, former Duke Norman, stares at the written report with blank expression. When he went to the training grounds earlier, he witnessed how the new trainees improved so much under Natalie’s command. With the new elite warriors, their army would be near to a thousand. But thinking about the upcoming war, their thousand army would surely not stand a chance against King Dion’s hundred thousand golden army.

“Your highness, what do you plan to do now? If we choose to continue our old plan, we will surely die even before reaching the palace. I believe our spy’s letter this time is more than just a warning.”

“I know Norman. That is why I need to check everything myself. I need to see the border’s situation, so we could execute our plan successfully. The longer we wait, the longer we will suffer.”

“Fine, I will go with you. As the council’s minister and as your loyal servant, I need to keep you safe.”

The headmaster agreed at Duke Norman’s suggestion. They were about to leave the camp when Natalie came out to reach them. It turned out that she accidentally eavesdropped with the conversation her father and the headmaster just had.

“Father, headmaster. Can you tag me along?”

Duke Norman shook his head in dismay, surely, he couldn’t say no to his daughter. He looked at the headmaster, waiting for his approval.

“Okay fine. But you need to watch your daughter’s back Norman. You two get the horses ready, I need to go and check my wife first before we set off.”