Knight (11 page)

She trembled at the thought. Knowing that those
things
were just sitting outside those gates and that barrier made fear run down her spine. Corvan’s eyes were as cold as what she was feeling when he looked over. His voice dropped several octaves and she felt the warning in his voice.

“That is, if you manage to stay.
”

Chapter Eight ♣ Entrance Exam

They arrived in front of an elegantly carved wooden door. Corvan gracefully reached out and clamped a hand over the brass knob, twisting it to reveal the entrance to the room. He stepped aside and made way for Valeriana to pass, which she did so with slight hesitance.

Once she slipped through the doorway, she found a long table that took the shape of a crescent moon. People sat behind it, waiting quite impatiently and silently. Seraphina was present as well.

Valeriana scanned the room nervously when her eyes met with someone else’s. The girl didn’t look too pleased to see her, raking her fingers through her long, auburn locks. If she wasn’t sophisticated and regal, she would’ve probably spat on the ground.

The human girl broke the staring contest and turned to Seraphina for help. She was given a reassuring smile in return.

“We've been waiting, Miss Kerrigan. You and Lord Corvan were running late.”

“Nothing we can do about that now. We will commence this special entrance exam.”

“I assume you have questions before we begin?” Someone said.

“Uh . . . yes. Isn't an entrance exam supposed to be a written one?” 

One of them laughed at her. “Not every exam is written, young one. Seeing as the Court Leader recommended you to take up the Celeste’s course training, you will be placed in the Knight’s Wing to join with the other students under the same program. If you were to be placed in the Development Department, then yes, we would’ve given you a written assessment, but since a knight’s work is all physical, we will need something physical from you as well.”

“Um . . .”

“Well, then, what don't you show us what you can do?”

Crap!
 Valeriana said in her mind. 
I don't know what to do at all! Nobody even told me about this!

“Remember, Valeriana. Once you fail this entrance exam, you'll go straight to you-know-what.” Valeriana gasped at the familiarity of the voice and dragged her eyes towards its direction. Her eyes widened once she realized that Lord Aeron had made himself at home in one of the seats.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to watch, of course.”

She started to panic internally.

“W-what exactly am I supposed to do?” She asked.

“Anything.” One man answered. “Do you have any special skills holding a weapon? A bow, perhaps? How about a spear?”

“N-not really.”

“Then what can you do?”

Cold sweat soaked her back and she unknowingly wiped off the perspiration on her brow.

A few minutes into silence and she still could not think of anything. She wasn’t well-versed in anything physical. She did recall being quite good in bowling, but that was hardly useful.

“Alright!” A man exclaimed. “This obviously isn't working. We are wasting our time.”

“And so we go to the second resort!” Lord Aeron exclaimed, his smile as wide as open arms. “Courtney, come forward!”

The girl with whom she had a staring contest with marched forth and stopped before her.

“Why is she here?” Seraphina asked.

“A duel.”

They all turned to him and stared at him in wonder. “A duel?” They all chorused.

“Yes.” He nodded. “I had a feeling this would happen so I prepared everything just in case! A duel will be most appropriate, do you not think so as well? After all, there is no chance we can see Valeriana's true potential through this
examination
at all!”

Speechless, Valeriana held her hands up. The room was filled with thick silence and Corvan, who was standing on the other side of the room, watched the scene unfold with fascination.

“A duel? You mean like combat? Isn't that a bit . . . ?”

Courtney frowned impatiently. “Does fighting scare you?”

“I . . . I . . . can't we settle this peacefully?” She began to sweat.

The other girl shook her head. “Peace won't get you anywhere, it surely won't help you attend this school either. So, it is either you fight me or not.” She then said. “The idea of a human attending this academy is sacrilegious! Merely seeing you repulses me.”

“Well, I'm sorry.” She said mockingly, irritated at her speech. “I did not ask you to see me. You might as well just go blind.”

“How dare you! I wasted my time coming here!”

“Blame that on him.” Valeriana jerked her thumb over her shoulder, referring to Lord Aeron. “Look. I don’t want any of this as well, okay? If I wasn’t being forced to do this, I wouldn’t even bother standing here.”

“I do not desire your sarcastic remarks! Is it a yes or a no?”

She sighed. How was she supposed to come out as a victor? Though she knew a bit of self-defense and stuff, she still wasn't skilled in the area under discussion. Heck, she never held a sword her entire life.

Courtney huffed, growing even more impatient from the lack of response. “Listen!” She exclaimed. “I do not intend to wait for you to make up your mind—”

“I'm not asking you to wait.” Valeriana muttered to herself, her voice so low no one else heard what she said.

“—so let me tell you one thing. There are plenty of people waiting to be given the chance to attend this academy!
People
more worthy than you. So, either you prove to me that you are taking this seriously or I'll slit your throat and make sure you don't see the sun shining the next day!”

“B-but . . .” Unsure of what to do, Valeriana gulped. The girl's gaze never seemed to have left her face.

Seeing the indecisiveness of the girl, Lord Aeron decided to butt in.

“You needn't worry. In the end, it would be up to us to decide whether you pass. If you can prove to us that you have what it takes, then we will gladly accept you.”

“If she's even able to come out in one piece.” Courtney commented.

There was a pause.

Then, all so suddenly, Valeriana screamed, “I CHOOSE SLAVERY!”

“You're fine with serving me for the rest of your life?” Lord Aeron taunted.

“No way!” The girl childishly stomped her feet. “You told me it should go for at least only a year!”

“I recall no such thing.”

“Urgh . . .”

“Then, choose.”

She was cornered—left with no choice but to oblige. She clenched her fists. “Fine! Geez!” She sighed.

She took a deep breath and straightened her back. She could see the satisfied smirk of Courtney from the corners of her eyes and the look of discomfort Seraphina had on her face.

“Prepare yourselves. Before dawn, you must rise.”

“Can't we do it next week?” She begged.

“We have other duels that would require the arena for the next few days. It'll only be available later since one was cancelled.”

“That's just . . . bad timing.”

They all then stood up and started to leave. Seraphina, on the other hand, made her way towards Valeriana and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Don't worry. Rest easy for a few hours and I'll do what I can.”

“Thank you so much.” She told her.

“Come on, I’ll take you back to your room.”

Valeriana was then led away by Seraphina.

Once there, she saw a paper, a quill, and a bottle of ink sitting on top of a table she remembered pushing by the wall when she came back. She inhaled and exhaled noisily before making her way towards it. And since there was no chair, she pulled the one which was lopsided and tested if it was alright to sit on. When it didn't give out, she made herself comfortable and got to writing.

Writing with a quill was . . . weird.

She spilled her heartfelt emotions on the paper, careful not to tell the whole thing about being dragged to another world or being kidnapped.

After she was done, she folded the paper and sealed it inside the envelope she was provided before hitting the sack.

As soon as Valeriana's head hit the pillow, her heavy lids closed and she succumbed to the blanket of darkness that enticingly sucked her in.

A loud sigh escaped her lips. “I wish this is all but a dream. An impossible, crazy dream.”

Chapter Nine ♣ Ten Hours

Valeriana's eyes shot open when she heard the loud knocking on her door. Out of shock, she rose into a sitting position as sweat broke from her forehead. The bed, the ceiling, and the walls weren’t what she was expecting. After everything, she had hoped she would wake up in her room.

She threw her feet out of bed and placed them on the floor. “Oh, damn, I'm screwed. So I really wasn’t dreaming?”

Valeriana sighed as she rubbed her face with the palm of her hand. The knocking got louder and more impatient. She raked her fingers through her messy, honey-golden hair that nearly resembled a bird's nest and took a deep breath. She then stood up and opened the door.

“What do you want?” She asked rudely. “It’s in the middle of the night.”

“It’s half past ten in the evening.” The boy before her seemed irritated that she had the galls to say that to him. “Valeriana, right?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“I was told to fetch you and lead you to Lady Seraphina in preparation for your duel. She is waiting for you in the arena.”

Realization dawned on her. “Oh my god. Right.” She lightly tapped on her forehead with the bottom of her palms. “I don't know a thing about sword-fighting or whatever. How good is this Courtney exactly?”

“One of the best in the academy.” He answered.

Valeriana groaned. “Why is this happening to me?” She rubbed her eyes and yawned noisily, trying to hide the trepidation she was getting from the impending fight. She didn't even know a thing about holding a sword. How was she going to stand up against someone obviously was more experienced than her?

Maybe she should just become a slave instead.

“Is it dawn already?”

“No. It's about ten hours before so.” The boy answered.

She groaned, feeling her heavy lids dropping back down. She fought the urge to simply fall back down and go back to sleep. “I hate this.” She whined. “Can I just . . . go back to sleep?”

“I also want to go back to sleep.” He told her irately. “I was told there was a letter. Where is it?”

“What?”

“The letter.” He repeated impatiently.

“Oh.” She said, feeling dense. “There.” She pointed at the envelope on top of the table she used a few hours earlier.

He snatched it off the table and slipped it into one of his pockets. “Come on.”

She distractedly began twisting the golden band around her wrist, trying to restrain herself from strangling the annoying person in front of her. Her brows were knitting together while she pouted furiously.

Valeriana sauntered behind him and suck in the urge to stick her tongue out.

The boy guided her through a far walk from the girl's dormitories. The distance was really long that Valeriana began wondering how big the academy really was. How much land did it cover anyway?

Valeriana was certain she wouldn't get used to this place any time soon.

“Just how long will it take us to get there? Maybe I should grab a ride for myself.” She muttered impatiently under her breath.

Seraphina was waiting somewhere within the arena, as the boy once called it on their way there, but she wasn’t sitting patiently, waiting for her to arrive.

She was warming up with the sword.

The arena resembled a football field. There were layered seats that circled a vast, empty space, although the ground wasn't grassy but sandy and no lines were drawn. It was one of the common sights that could be seen in a movie with a Roman gladiator theme.

“Lady Seraphina,” the boy politely addressed. “I've brought her.”

Seraphina stopped and turned to look at the two, lowering her sword. She flashed them a smile and nodded at him gratefully. “Thank you, Rommel. I'm sorry for bothering you.”

“Not at all. It's been an honor.”

“It's alright. You can go and have your much-needed rest.”

The boy, Rommel, bowed and left.

“Come here now, Valeriana.” She threw a hand on Valeriana’s shoulder and steered her away.

Seraphina made Valeriana wear the protective gears usually worn when sword-fighting. She was also asked to put on some more comfortable clothes since the one she wore was inappropriate, not to mention disgusting. She hadn't taken a bath for a 
while
 after all.

The gears were a simple leather armor that came with shoulder pads and a belt that held a scabbard for weapon.

“You should know that Courtney is included in the
Celestial Circle
. It’s impossible for you to stand up against her the way you are now.”

Valeriana's curiosity perked up as her ears picked up the unfamiliar term. “What's the Celestial Circle?” She asked.

“The Celestial Circle is comprised of the top twelve students in the Knight’s Wing. They are, by far, the best.” She explained. “Courtney is currently ranked fifth.”

“I'm dead meat.” She murmured.

“Let us start immediately. There's no time left to waste. I've only ten hours to teach you how to hold the sword.”

“Will that even work? How am I supposed to learn within only ten hours?”

Seraphina gave her a confident look. “It will. It should. However, I'm going to expect you to exert more effort than usual.”

“You're really going so far to help me. I don't know how to thank you anymore.”

“No. It's alright. I'm the reason why you're here in the first place. Besides, you're my responsibility now, Valeriana.” She smiled. “But now is not the time to talk. Let's focus on the job at hand.” She threw the sword to Valeriana, who caught it around the hilt.

“Shiznits!” She wobbled on her feet slightly. “I'm supposed to fight with this thing? It's as heavy as a baseball bat! Yeah, but I never really got how those people could swing something so heavy. I don’t know if that’s just the wimp in me talking.”

“I'm surprised. I was expecting you to scream and wait for the sword to drop to the ground before picking it up.” She said, laughing.

Valeriana pouted angrily at Seraphina and tightened her grip around the weapon, trying to find her balance. “I'm not entirely useless, you know. I do know a little about self-defense.”

Seraphina smirked. “So I've heard.”

“I really can't believe I got challenged in a duel. Like, in my seventeen years of life, who would even think I get to hold a really really long knife?” She said while testing its weight. “Not to mention use it to smack down someone.”

She pulled out her own weapon and aced it forward. “I'm sorry, Valeriana. I can't do much in this situation. Teaching you is all I can do.”

“I'm sure I'll learn a lot from you though.” She had seen Seraphina use the sword once. The way she held her sword displayed her familiarity with handling the weapon. There was no questioning her experience and competence.

Seraphina smiled. “Look forward to it.”

Clutching the hilt with both hands, she decided to test its weight again by swinging it around. It looked so light-weight when people in the movies held it. The real thing required much more balance to use, and it was heavy.

Well, obviously, it 
was
 made of metal.

“Can I even do this?” She asked herself, slightly anxious with the sudden change brought down upon her. If her father was here, he would probably tell her she could do it. He would say that there was nothing impossible for a hard-working person. If she put all her effort into it, she would succeed with no doubt.

At the thought of her father, her eyes flew to her bracelet. She felt homesick. A painful ache lingered in her chest.

She felt like crying.

“Let's start.” Seraphina brought out the sword tied around her waist. “We'll begin with blocking. Make sure to have a fairly good grip on your sword to prevent it from flying out of your hands.”

“Alright.” She mumbled.

“Good.” Seraphina said and stilled her hand, the sword readily positioned before her. “After you already know the basics of sword fighting, it will make things easier. In order to make sure you stand a chance, I'll teach you all of Courtney’s weak points. However, the time is short. Managing to learn all these with just the time we have will be a miracle.”

“Well, I have no choice but to try my best.” She shrugged.

“Three hours for the basics. No, four. It’s the most important. After that, we'll move on to attacks and counterattacks. We'll work on your balance and the proper stance.”

“Okay.”

Valeriana's training began. Seraphina was a strict one. Since it was already like a matter of life and death for Valeriana, she determinedly focused on learning.

Using the sword required eye and hand coordination, good reflexes, and guts.

Seraphina showed her simple moves and she imitated. It went on like that for a few hours. So far, Valeriana managed to understand and get half of everything right.

Soon enough, Seraphina told her it was time to engage into one-on-one sparring. She told her to fuse everything she just learned while they fought and try to block all of her oncoming attacks. This was the part where everything became hard.

At first, Valeriana found herself running away when Seraphina attacked her, but she got over it. Hopefully.

“I told you not to just stay in one place! Move!” Seraphina yelled.

“I thought you told me I should plant my feet or—whatever.”

“So what will you do if I come at you and you cannot block this attack so all you can do is evade? What will you do? Let yourself get stabbed? Focus, Valeriana! Swordsmanship requires common sense as well!”

“This is really confusing.”