Knight (28 page)

She began wallowing in self-pity, hanging her head while looking as though she was on the verge of tears.

Looking at her, he couldn't help but think on how pathetic she really was. How exactly was this idiot able to defeat Courtney? She was seriously stupid.

Stupid . . . but funny.

He tried keeping a straight face, but a smile eventually stretched his lips. A low snicker echoed from his throat before it gradually got louder and he started laughing. Valeriana stared at him dubiously, wondering what he was having hysterics about.

Tamara and Charles, who were watching in the background, deadpanned.

“Tell me, Tamara,” Charles began. “Did the end of the world just begin?”

“Actually,” Tamara replied. “I think we actually might've died already. This must be just some crazy dream—no, this must be some illusion . . . hallucination. Or maybe I just went mad.”

“I've seen things I wasn't able to believe, but I'm starting to think that I cannot trust my eyes anymore.” He muttered.

“I totally agree.”

While they doubted whether what they were seeing was actually happening or not, Corvan continued. Though not too boisterous, his laughing fit was more than enough to astound the girl. He usually never allowed his composure to slip like this.

“I've never met an idiot like you my entire life.” He chuckled.

Valeriana bit her lower lip in anger. “Who do you think looks like an idiot right now, huh?”

When the situation dawned on him, he tried to regain his composure and cleared his throat. He reverted to his detached self and raised a brow questioningly at Valeriana.

“Killing intent?”

“I don't . . . exactly know killing intent. I think I can understand it somehow, but I'm having trouble trying to figure it out.”

He sighed. When he made that face, it didn't actually seem he was laughing a few moments ago. “I guess it's to be expected from someone like you.”

“Someone like me? What the hell do you mean?”

“Listen.”

“Yeah?”

“Let's just say that killing intent is a state of bloodthirstiness, and that hurting the person you're aiming for is your main priority.” He explained.

“Is that . . . even possible?”

“It is. There are very few people that can control their killing intent on purpose since they often lose control of themselves. You can often only feel a person's killing intent when they're on life-threatening situations and driven to desperation. I do not think this can be achieved by humans, though. The notion seems impossible.”

She ignored his last two remarks. “How do you control your killing intent?”

“It takes a great deal of practice. Usually, it takes years.” Corvan replied. “A great amount of self-control is required.”

Valeriana stared at the sword in her hand and thought, “This is impossible.”

When the time arrived for Seraphina to come and collect Valeriana, the girl unhesitatingly followed. The lady knight sensed her depression and examined the troubled-looking face she had on. Seraphina was likely to have mother hen tendencies sometimes and couldn't help but worry for the girl.

“Is there something wrong, Valeriana? Are you not feeling well? Maybe we should rest for today.”

“It's fine, Lad—Seraphina. Please don't worry about it.” She told her. “It's just . . . I wasn't able to do that technique you taught me yesterday . . . and my fight with Zion's tomorrow. I can't help but worry about the outcome.”

The knight smiled. “You don't have to trouble yourself. That technique was something I did not actually expect you to be able to pull off that easily. It usually takes years for someone to learn it. Learning how to control your killing intent takes a lot of time and perseverance.”

“I hate it. Maybe I should've practiced some more.” She muttered.

“It's alright, Valeriana.” Her guardian reassured.

“And I thought I can have something against Zion . . .” She said.

The lady knight chuckled as she stared at the girl. “I have faith in you, Valeriana.” Seraphina said. “I know you can do it.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight ♣ Prepare
 

The most anticipated day had finally come. Valeriana was already at her wit's end training for her duel with Zion. For the past three days, she was jumbling her schedule between her classes, studying, and training. The circle was considerate enough when they allowed her to take the
time off
from being their gopher for the mean time. It was a hellish experience that the girl was already in the brink of losing her sanity. The only thing that kept her going was her determination and her perseverance.

Even so, Quincy, Zoel, and Poulette proved to be a big help. So far, their eagerness and enthusiasm about helping the girl made her grateful that she had aides. If it weren't for them, she wouldn't have survived with how everything was going. She didn't know how to repay them and worried greatly about the matter, but all they said was that she didn't have to worry and that seeing her attitude towards everything she did alone made them feel inspired to work hard on their own as well. Her display of willpower and resolve was infectious that even the three felt the drive of her spirit.

Seraphina seemed satisfied with the outcome of their training, but told her it probably wouldn't be enough to make her win. Valeriana was familiar with those words, so she didn't pay much mind to it and focused on improving her skills instead.

The lady knight was quite surprised by her display of quick progress and was initially not expecting her to learn a lot of things in such a short period of time.

When Seraphina told Valeriana of her thoughts, the girl humbly denied the fact and proudly stated about having a great teacher. But, the lady knew that wasn't the case. Her explanations were detailed, but it wasn't something easily understood and done by someone only beginning to hold the sword. Shocking as it was, she started to see that Valeriana might actually deserve the name of the fifth-ranker—not that she didn't think so from the beginning. What she lacked for in the field of magical power, Seraphina had a feeling that she would be able to make up for it with her potential with the sword and other weapons which she might actually have a talent for.

Despite her comments, Valeriana seemed to remain completely oblivious of her talent. But even so, it made the whole situation a lot easier for the both of them. Having a good student was a blessing to Seraphina, and having the ability to take in a lot of things within a short period of time proved to be advantageous for Valeriana for her upcoming duel.

The girl wasn't at all able to sleep that night. She was filled with anxiety about the upcoming match that closing her eyes became impossible. Like last time, the duel would occur by the first light of dawn. Finding herself to the point of cracking under pressure, Valeriana took out her MP3 player and plugged in her earphones.

Listening to music seemed to have a calming effect on her.

It went like that for a few minutes until she got bored. Listening didn't really help at all like it always did. It seemed that she was more anxious than she thought.

Seeing as she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, she stood up and decided to stretch. She wasn't feeling like holding the sword since looking at it made her more nervous than she already was.

She then changed into more comfortable and loose clothes.

“Might as well do something to entertain myself . . .” She said under her breath, stretching her limbs.

Sighing, she unplugged her earphones and threw them into the bed. She put the MP3 player on its highest volume before she started dancing to Jennifer Lopez's
Live It Up
. She went along with the music's beat and started a little slow before she eventually attained speed.

'We don't believe in defeat, that's why we're back for a threepeat. Hi Jenny, mira que esta loco. Yo me locomo como pastelitos de Coco.'

She allowed her limbs to move freely in random directions, letting the music itself judge the best choreography that would represent itself. She didn't care how she moved really, she just wanted to dance to get all of her pent up frustrations out. Slowly, she felt her anxiety disappear.

“DO THE CHICKEN DANCE!” She started flapping around like some chicken.

'Yeah push me harder, I do the same. Boy I wanna feel you in every way.'

She threw in some random kung fu moves.

She sang the lyrics under her breath, almost breathlessly, while moving nonstop with the song's melody. “I hit the spotlight, all night, ready to go. Give you a hard night, so tight, ready to blow.”

She heard a short squeal when she dragged her hand up her waist and immediately turned to look at the door. She saw Zoel, Poulette, and Quincy leaning against the open door with fascinated look on their faces. Quincy was beet red, holding both of her hands against her mouth and nose. It was obvious she had been trying to hold back her laugh.

“You guys . . . what are you doing here?” Valeriana asked, brows furrowing in confusion. “Anyway, come in and sit. Don't just stand there.”

“Oh!” Quincy jumped, quickly entering her bedchamber with the other two. “We're sorry, Miss Valeriana.”

“Please pardon us if we didn't make our presence known sooner. You were just so good at dancing and all, and the music sounds nice.” Zoel told her, smiling sheepishly.

The girl laughed. Zoel stuttered less than when they first met. She was glad that maybe somehow they were growing more familiar and comfortable with her presence. Quincy still acted a bit shy, though. Poulette was as bold as he could ever be.

“Yup! Your dance was so . . . so . . . uh . . .” Poulette paused and tapped his chin to find the right word.

Quincy pushed him aside harshly. “Unique and incredible.”

“I have a feeling you guys are lying to me.” She chuckled. “It's embarrassing you had to see that, too.”

The music continued playing, so Valeriana went towards it to shut it off. She didn't exactly want it losing its battery life since there were no electrical sockets in this world. When the song stopped, the room was filled with silence. The girl turned to her aides and smiled again. The three looked startled when she did so and stared at the MP3 she had in her hand in wonder.

“What are you here for, again? I don't think I called for you or anything.” She placed the MP3 down on her bedside table.

“You never do, Miss Valeriana.” Quincy said.

“That's right, so we decided to come to you instead! It's an aide's duty to help their ranker prepare for their duels, after all.”

“It is? I didn't want to bother you guys.” She glanced up at the clock and out the window. “It's still awfully early and I don't think anyone's up yet in this hour.”

“A lot of our classmates are awake now, Miss Valeriana. Lord Charles and the others are, too!” Poulette informed.

“Huh?” She glanced at them questioningly. “They are?”

“Yes!”

“Oh,” she whispered. “I guess I didn't realize.”

“It looks like a lot of people are coming to watch, Miss Valeriana. They look excited, too. They're really looking forward to it!”

“Well, I'm not.” She sighed.

“Um . . . can we ask a question?”

“What is it?” She asked, grabbing a towel and using it to wipe off her sweat.

“I hear a voice singing and music playing . . . but there's no one else in your room. What's more . . . it seems to be coming from that thing in your hand. What is it? If we may ask.”

“This?” She held up her gadget. “It's called an MP3 Player. It's programmed with pre-recorded music, so you can play it any time you want, and anywhere.”

“Amazing. Is that one of the so-called human technology?” Zoel fixed the glasses around his eyes.

“It is.”

“Anyhow, I'll get your bath ready, Miss!” Quincy made her way towards the door that led to her personal bathing space.

“You don't really have to do that.” Valeriana said.

“Oh, but I must! Zoel and Poulette will get all your things ready.” She said.

The girl sighed, but smiled at their enthusiasm. “I feel really bad making you guys do this. Thank you anyway. You've done so much already. I wanted to do that myself but . . . I guess there's no stopping you guys, I might just as well back down.”

Quincy giggled before she trudged into the bathroom and disappeared. Valeriana heard the water running later on. She turned towards the other two, and saw them poking the MP3 Player curiously with their fingers. As soon as the pad of their fingers made contact with the object, they hopped back as if it was going to bite their hands off.

Valeriana laughed. “There's no need to be scared.” She told them. “It doesn't bite.”

“But . . . what of the voices inside?” Zoel inquired. “I don't think it will allow us to touch it unless permitted by you, Miss Valeriana.”

“Really. This thing's not even alive. It's just a device with music.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Sure. Here,” she forced the object in his hands. “Be gentle or you'll break it.”

“A-alright.” Zoel looked down at the item on his palms.

“It's . . . pretty.” Poulette commented, leaning over his friend's shoulder.

Zoel pressed a random button and music started to blast off its tiny speakers. It wasn't that loud, but it was enough to startle the boy it almost flew out of his hands. He held it away from him and stared at it in arm's length, wide eyes.

Katy Perry's
Roar
was playing, so Valeriana couldn't help but chuckle and sing along.

“I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath. Scared to rock the boat and make a mess. So I sat quietly, agreed politely.”

Poulette stared at her curiously. “You aren't the best singer, are you, Miss Valeriana?”

Valeriana went beet red at his statement. “N-no. I'm . . . not really . . . good at singing.”

Before she even knew it, the two were holding both of their hands against their mouth, trying to hold back the fit of snickers threatening to spill from their lips. Valeriana went even redder and bit her lip in embarrassment. She probably shouldn't have opened her damned mouth.

“It's not nice to laugh, you know.”

“You're really good at dancing, but your singing is horrible.” Poulette giggled.

“I know. I've been told that millions of times already.”

“But this song is really good.” Zoel said.

Katy's voice echoed through the whole room and everyone fell quiet.
'You held me down, but I got up. Already brushing off the dust.'

“This song is very meaningful. It sorts of suits you, Miss Valeriana.”

“It does?”

Both of them nodded. They all went silent and continued to listen until the chorus came.

'I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter. Dancing through the fire. 'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar. Louder, louder than a lion. 'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!'

“It's perfect! But I think we have to change lion to dragon. That's Zion's alias, and we don't really want to offend Lord Charles and make him think we're challenging him.”

“What are you guys talking about? And I thought only the Twelve's got aliases?”

“Zion was recognized for his great talent.” Zoel explained. “He's called the Snapping Dragon because he bares his fangs to anyone he considers a threat—those he considers strong. He challenges anyone who interests him, but after he got his purpose, he purposefully loses in the end . . . although he would win easily if he tries.”

“He loses on purpose?”

“That's right. He said so himself—that he didn't want to win any fight not worth winning.”

“So that's why Corvan was so pissed off . . .” She mused.

“And that being one of the Twelve, which was a big honor to be a part of, was boring and that the responsibilities that came with it are just burdens.”

“So he's going to lose anyway? I guess I don't have to worry about anything.” She said.

“I wouldn't be too complacent, Miss Valeriana.” Said Zoel as he fixed his glasses. “Zion leaves his enemy in a state of utter shame before he declares his loss—so it'll be clear to anyone if you lost or not. Even if you won formally, you wouldn't receive the recognition of anyone if they saw you like that.”