John Tarvitz was beyond nervous. As the son of Saul Tarvitz, one of the Emperor's Children's most famous warriors, he was used to rubbing shoulders with those much more important than himself. Unfortunately, these rare events had done little to prepare the young lad for the task laid before him.
It had all started one evening after school, when John's father received a serious-sounding phone call from the Phoenician himself. After finishing their conversation, Saul had turned to his son and asked how he would feel about tutoring someone. Apparently, Victoria, daughter of the primarch and queen bee of the school John attended, had been struggling in her History classes. In an attempt to help her, Fulgrim had organised several tutors. Several, because every single one of them had quit after only a few sessions. John's father had not said why, but the teenager guessed that it had something to do with Victoria, who had a reputation for being full of herself. John himself never really had much contact with her though, being relatively insignificant in the school's social hierarchy. The opportunity to meet Victoria was actually one of the reasons that John had agreed to the proposal. The other was that Fulgrim was offering a hefty sum as compensation, and John could always use more pocket money.
This brings us back to the present, with John standing outside Fulgrim's home on a fine Saturday morning, trying to work up the courage to knock on the door. Said home could better be described as a resplendent manor, perfectly encapsulating the qualities that Fulgrim and his legion held dear. Swallowing, John finally raised his hand and knocked timidly on the enormous double doors in front of him. He had dressed in what he thought looked equally smart and casual, and hoped that his dress sense wouldn't cause offense. After a few tense moments, the doors swung open and John was met with the sight of the Phoenician in all his glory. John almost wanted to weep, he had been told how handsome Fulgrim was and yet found himself woefully unprepared. The teenager was brought out of his trance by the sound of the primarch's resplendent voice:
"Hello there young man, you must be Saul's little John, correct?."
"Y-yes my lord, I'm here for your daughter's t-tutoring session." John replied with a nervous stammer. If he had been anxious before the door opened he was positively panicking now.
"Excellent!" Fulgrim exclaimed, clearly happy that John had accepted the job. "Please, do come in." he continued with a warm smile. "...and you needn't call me 'lord', 'sir' will do just fine."
"Y-yes sir." John said, still extremely nervous despite Fulgrim's warm welcome. He followed the primarch inside and took the offered seat at the dining room table.
"Now then..." Fulgrim began, his smile never leaving his face. "...My dear Victoria has a history essay due in two weeks, I'd like for you to focus upon that primarily." The tone in the primarch's words was kind, yet commanding, and John wondered if this is what he'd sounded like to his father during the Great Crusade. "There are a few other issues but Victoria can tell you about those." the primarch continued, before hardening his gaze and becoming much more serious in tone. "I am aware that my daughter can be… difficult to work with, to that end I am giving you free reign to do whatever is necessary to get her to take these sessions seriously. You will speak with my authority, within reason of course, is that understood?"
"C-completely sir." John was still nervous, but the idea of having the Phoenician here to back him up set his mind at ease. Maybe today was going to be easier than he thought?
"Wonderful!" Fulgrim almost shouted, his smile returning. "Now, I'll be leaving shortly for an important meeting. Victoria is currently in the arena and will join you once she's finished with dueling practise." As he spoke, the primarch got up from the table and made to leave the house, leaving a dumbstruck John to sit there and contemplate what just happened. How was he supposed to convince the Phoenician's daughter to take him seriously without the Phoenician to enforce his demands?! John heard the front door slam before he could voice his question, leaving him alone in the dining room.
Not knowing what else to do, John decided to wait for Victoria to come to him, mainly because he was afraid of interrupting her. It took the boy several minutes to realise that she wasn't coming. Eventually John's feelings of anxiety turned to frustration. He had worked up the courage to make this journey into the jaws of proverbial death and his reward was to be ignored. Standing, John resolved to find Victoria and give her a piece of his mind. Marching through the immense manor, it took the boy several minutes to actually locate the arena. By the time he found the room he was looking for, John's frustration threatened to boil over into rage. Instead of knocking on the extravagant double doors as he normally would have, the son of Saul Tarvitz threw the doors open with a force that surprised him.
The room John was presented with as the doors parted was more akin to a grand theatre than any sort of practice arena. Such a lavish display was to be expected in the home of the Phoenician, and John had seen many like it, being the son of an Emperor's Children Astartes himself. Even so, the sight before him was breathtaking. As John took in the sight, his eyes fell upon the only other person in the room. She was wearing a traditional fencing outfit without the accompanying mask, allowing her silver hair to flow freely as she moved. The duelist seemed to dance as she fought against imaginary foes, practicing various techniques as if performing in front of an entranced crowd. John himself found it difficult to tear his eyes away from Victoria. His anger evaporated and for a moment the tutor forgot why he had even entered the room. Victoria, for her part, seemed not to notice the new arrival. She continued to stab at the air as if he wasn't even there. Regaining his composure and chastising himself for staring, John began to approach the daughter of Fulgrim. Stopping just outside of the reach of her blade, he made his presence known: "E-excuse me, I'm here for your tutoring session, can you ple-"
John didn't get to finish. There was a flash of silver, and then Victoria was standing right in front of him, her sword pressed against his chest. So much for being out of range. When she spoke, it was with a voice as melodious as her father's: "Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?"
"J-john Tarvitz, ma'am. I'm here to help you with your History assignment!" the tutor stammered frantically.
"Tarvitz?" Victoria repeated slowly. "Wasn't he some kind of big hero in my father's legion?"
"Yes ma'am!" John said, pride filling his voice despite his precarious position. "He fought alongside Ancient Rylanor on Istvaan III!"
"Is that right?" Victoria murmured, clearly amused at John's outburst. She moved her sword upwards, lifting the boy's chin with it before speaking again: "And what makes you think I need your help, hm?"
John's heart was pounding in his chest and he had to fight to get his words out: "Y-you might not, but your father asked me to come here and offer it, so here I am." John attempted to sound as diplomatic as possible. It was not the sword he feared, for he was almost certain Victoria wouldn't actually kill him. No, it was her forked tongue which scared the son of Saul Tarvitz. With her social standing at their school, she could make John's life a living hell with but a whisper. Even so, he would not allow himself to be intimidated. John attempted to match Victoria's gaze with a defiant one of his own as she continued their conversation:
"My father…" Victoria said with a sigh. "If I send you away my father will simply bring someone else in, won't he?" The look she gave John when he began to answer told him it was a rhetorical question. After a long silence, Victoria lowered her blade and stepped away from John, who in turn was finally able to relax. "Alright, you can stay. But you can forget about any sort of tutoring."
"What?" John asked, puzzled. "What else are we gonna do?"
"It's just the two of us." Victoria said in a slightly seductive tone. "I'm sure we'll think of something…"
Caught off guard by her sudden change in demeanor, John's face went bright red as he attempted to formulate a response: "I-I, I'm flattered, but that's n-not why I-"
"Oh, relax." Victoria said, interrupting John's stammering with a voice full of mirth. She was clearly enjoying teasing him. "I know I have a certain... reputation at school, but I'm not going to seduce you or anything, promise!" John was relieved in spite of himself, slightly embarrassed to admit that he had bought into those rumours. His focus returned to Victoria as she continued to speak: "I don't actually know much about you, so why don't we just talk for a bit? Who knows? Maybe we'll even discuss history if you're lucky."
John's face brightened upon hearing the idea, he was pretty sure he could handle talking. "That sounds nice." he managed to say, as he followed Victoria out of the practice arena. John didn't know what the rest of the day involved, but he resolved to have a good time with the primarch's daughter and hopefully still get paid at the end of the day.