Pride X Familiar ReVamp (Pride X ReVamp Book 1) (29 page)

Chapter 14
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(Caelum)

Caprice and I trained for a couple of hours in the evenings alongside Maya and Rina.

Kaleb coached us carefully, and seemed satisfied we were making progress.

I was having a little less difficulty controlling the effect-field barrier around my Gauntlet. I noticed my choice of field was sometimes different from what the Gauntlet recommended. I also realized that since I knew what kind of effect-field configuration I wanted, I was able to change my fighting style to be more effective against Caprice.

By effective, it meant I started landing on my ass more often than on my back, which had normally been the case.

I mentioned earlier that I had mixed feelings regarding our training.

Well, those feelings didn’t get any better as the week wore on.

I was depressingly inexperienced compared to Caprice. She had been assigned her Valkyrie Legs more than a year ago. Her lack of training at the time limited what she could do with the Fragment. So Arisa had Caprice instructed in the ancient martial arts of capoeira and Jun Fan Kickboxing for long, long hours each day. The strenuous program took weeks of training before it began to pay off. Now Caprice was comfortable performing strange weaves, ducks, sidesteps and kicks with her manifested Fragment. But it had been a long hard road for her, and I realized that in comparison I was just starting my journey.

This couldn’t be more evident than when we sparred. I felt like a dazed and confused boxer swinging his right arm wildly hoping it will connect, while his opponent dances circles around him. The gap between Caprice and I didn’t seem to be growing smaller, only wider.

I also sparred against Rina and Maya, and faired just as poorly, especially when facing the latter who seemed to enjoy knocking me down as though I were the source of all misfortune in her life.

It wasn’t just my body getting beaten up, but my confidence and ego too. Dealing with those five seniors had been a walk in the park compared to dealing with these three girls. I felt weak, and was falling into a defeated mindset even before I stepped onto the training mat to face either Caprice or the other girls.

It was easy for Kaleb to notice, and he pulled me aside for a man-to-man talk. I told him I was frustrated by my inability to fight effectively with my shield-blade Gauntlet. I also felt incomplete. One gauntlet wasn’t enough. I felt I needed both arms to be suitably outfitted before I could begin to make progress.

Kaleb agreed, but told me that for now I was going to have to master using the one right-handed gauntlet. To that end, he promised to help me work on a method of fighting that would suit my Gauntlet best – even if it meant developing it from scratch.

That picked up my spirits a little, but only a little.

In contrast to my Fragment, Maya’s Fragment was a pair of gauntleted gloves that manifested an okatana each. The swords were three feet in length. Like the blades of my Gauntlet, Maya’s katanas could cut through almost anything. And like my Gauntlet, her gloves could manifest an effect-field that surrounded the blades. When she wasn’t using the katanas, Maya would practice kick boxing. Occasionally, she would spar against Caprice.

It seemed like a broken combination to me.

One girl possessed a Fragment suited for kicking.

The other girl possessed a Fragment suited for boxing.

I didn’t think this was lost on either of them.

It certainly wasn’t lost on Simone.

“I wonder if Arisa would be open to a trade.” She said this to me after training ended on Thursday evening, while travelling in the car together.

The Countess arranged transport to take us both back to the Academy. I was surprised to learn a couple of days ago that she was ‘lodging’ in the girls’ dormitory. Granted, the security at the school’s dormitories was better than most luxury apartments in Pharos, but I suspected Simone had other reasons for being closer to the school and away from her family.

She stared wistfully out the window. “I’d need to offer her something important in return.”

“Maya belongs to the Sora Pride,” I said. “Why are you interested in helping a rival Pride?”

She faced me. “You’re affiliated with a rival Pride. Should I not help you? Besides, we’re all working together against a common foe.”

She turned back to the view out the window at the habitat in nighttime cycle. “Besides, she’s my friend.”

“And Caprice isn’t.”

“There’s more to it than that. Maya’s father put her through martial arts and sword training since childhood. When most girls are busy dressing up their dolls and hosting make believe tea parties, Maya was learning how to tackle large boys and wield a tanto.”

“A tanto?”

“A traditional short sword.” She held her hands apart. “Around a foot long. You could think of it as a knife.”

“Oh…what a horrid childhood,” I muttered.

Simone rolled her eyes. “I agree. However, using the sword manifesting Fragment fits her best. They wouldn’t suit Caprice since she hasn’t had any blade training—I mean, proper sword training.”

“But Caprice can make use of the gauntlet gloves. Combined with her Valkyrie Legs, they make one Hell of a combination.”

“Yes…I noticed.”

I shook my head slightly. “You’re entitled to your opinion. I just don’t share your reasoning.”

“You’re biased.”

“Yes, I am.”

In the window’s reflection, I saw her looking at me. “Well, in any case, the decision resides with the Lanfear and Sora Primogens. I was simply making an observation.”

I felt I had a better grasp on where the Countess’s loyalties lay.

I chose not to be bitter about it, after all, we were benefiting from her expressing those loyalties. It was apparent to me that the reason why she arranged for the group training was to bring Maya into the fold. In other words, to help Maya accept her position as a Familiar.

Simone wanted to avoid having Maya shut herself away from other people.

I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. Having the girl thrust into the company of other Familiars could have one of two effects. She could either open up to Rina, Caprice and I, or she could grow to resent her fate even more. In saying that, attending a school almost completely composed of Aventis was bound to be hard on her. Feeling isolated would only drive home the obvious differences between her and the rest of the student body.

I was fortunate. I had Caprice to keep me company so I wasn’t entirely alone.

Also, my situation had changed over the last couple of days.

Haruka and I were mending our old friendship, and starting a new one.

And she wasn’t being shy about it, spending lunch with us, and talking with us during breaks, and during morning and afternoon homeroom.

When I say ‘us’, I’m referring to Caprice and I.

I was starting to see subtle changes in Caprice. The emotionless persona wasn’t as emotionless as before. Hints of the girl under it were starting to come through. By they were only hints at this stage.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I was used to the emotionless Caprice and liked her just the way she was. But what if I started to like the new Caprice even more? Would I be able to work with her the same way? I told her she was special to me, and since then I’d felt a little uncomfortable at times.

Had I given her the wrong impression regarding my feelings?

Or was I trying to deny that I saw her as more than just a friend?

The car pulled into the parking lot of the dormitory for male students.

The Countess intruded into my ruminations. “Caelum, be careful not draw Haruka Amiella too deeply into the fold.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t want her to be hurt for being around Familiars with special duties.”

I stared at her unblinking for a short while. “Are you saying Crimson Crescent may target the people around us?”

“I’m terrified that they will,” the Countess replied. “So be careful.”

“I should tell Haruka the truth. If I push her away now, she won’t understand why.”

Simone looked away and through the car’s front windscreen. “In that case, leave her to me.”

I opened my mouth to protest but she gave me a hard look that made me reconsider.

“Caelum, I’ll take care of her. You just focus on what you need to do.”

I exhaled loudly. “As you wish, Countess.”

The car had come to a stop, so I opened the door and climbed out with my carry-bag in hand.

Simone’s voice followed me out of the vehicle.

“Caelum, have a little faith in me.”

I looked down at her. She was leaning over the backseat and looking up at me.

“Countess, I have no choice but to trust you. Arisa placed me in your care, didn’t she?”

Simone started to reply, but I bowed politely to her and bade her good night.

I closed the car door quickly, retreated a few steps, then turned and walked toward the boys’ dormitory building.

I couldn’t ignore the unease with which Simone left me.

#

(Haruka)

School Week Two, Friday.

Morning went well.

It was becoming a habit to talk to Caprice and Caelum.

It was becoming a habit for Siobhan and Alistair to ignore me.

My classmates were pretty much clued in by then that a shift in allegiances had taken place. I was worried they might do or say something, but nothing untoward happened.

What was unexpected was that Éclair and Lauren started to talk to me in the absence of Siobhan and Alistair. At first I was a little wary, but then I realized they didn’t seem to mind that I was spending time with the two Familiars rather than with my Avenir friends.

Unexpected and surprising was that they included Caprice into their conversations. I guess Caprice made a good impression on them during gym class on Wednesday. As a result, Caelum found himself pushed to the sidelines, though he didn’t appear to mind. He would either listen to the girl talk, or focus on reading school material on his study slate.

However, there were times he would watch Caprice with a troubled look.

Was he worried she was slipping away from him? Didn’t he know how she felt about him?

I wanted to talk to Caprice about this, but felt it was too early for such a conversation. So I shelved the matter for now, and went about Friday’s business with gusto.

The medical exams were ongoing, and it was announced that first year high-schoolers would be attending their checkups today. Even if the medical buses could process ninety to a hundred students an hour, it wasn’t certain if the second year high-schoolers would get their chance today.

Then something odd happened during lunch break.

I was sitting in the cafeteria, eating lunch with Caelum and Caprice, when I received a message on my palm-slate.

The Vice-President of the Student Council wanted to see me.

I showed it to Caelum and he tensed up before telling me it was a good thing not to keep the Countess waiting.

I made the connection between the mysterious Countess who would call Caelum up at odd times, and the Vice-President. It felt like an electric shock through my body.

Caelum was acquainted with the Vice-President?

This was the girl who called him up frequently on his palm-slate and managed to ruffle him up with her odd conversations?

I excused myself from the table and hurried off to meet the mysterious Countess.

The instructions in the message guided me to a storage room behind the gymnasium. I saw a girl moving boxes inside and assisted by a couple of boys. I was surprised to note she wasn’t wearing regulation indoor shoes, but a pair of expensive looking high heels. How on Pharos had she managed to that considering the Academy was tight on its dress regulations? Then again, I had noticed the Princess of the Third Years also wore high-heels rather than indoor shoes.

At sight of me, the girl with silver hair smiled broadly, dusted her hands and waved me in.

“Ms. Haruka, come in, come in,” she cried happily.

I blinked. This girl was the Vice-President? I gave myself a moment to collect myself. “You wanted to see me, Vice-President?”

She pointed at a box on the floor nearby. “You take that one, I’ll take this one. We need to carry them to the administration building.”

I looked at the box. It was sealed up so I had no idea what was in them. I was starting to think this was just an excuse to pull me away from Caelum and Caprice, but that would imply she knew about my association with them.

A quartet of girls walked up to the Vice-President, and I recognized them as the Princess’s entourage. Why were they here?

One of the girls asked, “Vice-President, how much more of this do we need to do?”

Another pointed out, “It’s lunch break. We’re entitled to a lunch break.”

The Vice-President slowly turned to face them. “Entitled? Really? Shall I tell Prissila that you’re slacking off in your punishment?”