Only wanting to convey my feelings
I tried to link up my "Selfishness" and "Wishes"
Unable to choose
That is why my voice didn't express those words and the words disappear today
-All in good time by Mami Kawada
Rainbows after the Rain
Chapter I: Necessities
Fate's POV
Normally we wouldn't be allowed to even see a glimpse of a future paladin's test but… if you were a close enough friend of the challenger you would be allowed for various reasons: one good example would be to see how fast you react to defend your allies; however, something bothered me: Sigurd's test was announced to the entire school.
"Wow… is my match really that big of a deal?" Sigurd asked.
"I don't know…" was all I could reply.
"I better get ready though… the headmaster is going to kill me if I don't arrive at least half a mark earlier than planned." She said, happily running to the arena that will determine her right as a paladin.
I watched her slowly leave the room with an aura of excitement and nervousness. I just don't know whether I should be happy for her or not… sometimes I just think that she's too carefree on what is going on. Well… Sigurd wouldn't be Sigurd if she was dark, mysterious, and mischievous… maybe a little mischievous on the side… but that's not the point.
I continued walking down the academy's corridors and eventually met up with Hayate and the rest.
"Sigurds first real battle…" Signum noted with a bit of worry.
Signum and Sigurd have almost always been sparring partners and they've always went on missions together. This will be one of the rare time that Signum will let Sigurd fight alone those two are almost like sisters except for the fact that they don't look anything alike.
"Aww… come one why be scared for her? She can handle a zweihander with only one hand!" Chrono complained.
I chuckled. "Jealous?"
His cheeks turned red and he immediately begun stuttering. "N-No! It's just that everyone seems to be so nervous!"
"Mou… you guys fighting already when we aren't even there yet!" Hayate complained, letting out a sigh.
"These twerps need to fight or else it'll be the end of the world Hayate." Vita cut in with a tone of amusement.
The rest of the way was covered with some light chatter from Vita, Shamal, Zafira, Chrono, Signum, Hayate, and me, as always someone was bound to tease someone but a few seconds later we just laugh it off and gave it a rest. Time flew and here we are at the front row of the arena as per requested by the guards.
Somehow I get the feeling that this test has something more to it…
'Sigurd do you know anything else aside from the fact that this is public?' I asked mentally.
'Nope, I know about as much as you guys do.' She replied casually.
This is one of those days that I'm actually happy that we were allowed to carry our swords, spellbooks, and other weapons we specialize in with us because I just know something is going on and the headmaster or the examiner isn't telling us. A few minutes later the examiner finally decided to begin the match with a few changes to the rules… one would be he would stop the examination immediately when he sees fit and the other would be that the use of other items such as: spare blades and other objects that will help you in battle.
This match is just too bent on Scaglietti's wishes… why did the headmaster allow it? Scaglietti is just some overly curious freak who just happens to be really curious on Sigurd… is he trying to get her to activate that phase again? I hope not… the last time she did she just… changed.
"This is ridiculous! Why was the match set up in such a way the Scaglietti would be in the advantage?" Signum complained, almost too angry that the rules were like this.
"Don't go into a fit yet Signum… I think the purpose of this match is because we're allowed to interfere… when a certain card is put into play by Scaglietti." Hayate explained.
"I hope I won't have to treat too many wounds today." Shamal noted.
Zafira and Vita gave a silent nod to Hayate, acknowledging the wisdom behind her words. I slowly relaxed but there was still an edge to my position knowing that any time we could have to interfere in case something happens. Let's just pray nothing will.
Normal POV
The match begun a few minutes at the examiner's signal. Sigurd held a zweihander with one hand and readied a defensive position to counter the first move which Jail decided to chance upon. Steel clashed and Jail's offense was powered by gunpowder giving Sigurd momentary blindness but somehow she managed to block every move Jail tried to land on her.
"Aren't you going a little too easy on me Scaglietti?" Sigurd thought out loud.
"Just testing." He mocked.
That phrase soon followed with a kick from Jail but Sigurd easily blocked it and countered it with a sliding kick that tripped Jail to his back. The crowd roared to life seeing the excitement the duel was giving them. Jail immediately got to his feet in a matter of seconds and initiated another strike which is yet again enhanced by gunpowder, nearly blinding Sigurd, this however was not going to work with her again taking the initiative to look away and simply blocking Jail's attack. Jail just smirked and quickly pulled out a knife from his waist and tried to land another blow. Taking quite a gamble and barely managing to catch the knife with her fingers, Sigurd immediately took the initiative to kick Jail away to put some distance between them.
"Damn… he always has something on his sleeve. What's next, people on his side attacking me just for kicks?" Sigurd muttered.
Jail gave some sort of signal and three men came out of the crowd covered in garments to hide their faces and swords drawn to attack Sigurd. She immediately blocked all three attacks with her zweihander pointing down to the ground at her back and fluidly moved to break free from the awkward position she was in, breaking the tension between her swords and the unknown three's attacks. At the same time Sigurd closed in on the three giving them hard blows that might possibly knock them out for days or for good if their wounds are not tended to by the end of the day. Jail then took the opportunity to strike at the distracted Sigurd almost hitting her but just vanished the moment he tried to strike her.
"Is this all you can resort to?" A cold voice asked.
"Of course not. I can always give you more of a challenge my dear." Jail replied in a mocking tone, signaling more men to appear from the crowd surrounding the girl immediately with swords raised to her neck.
"Tch. I can always count on you to make things more complicated." The cold voice responded.
Sigurd the once kind and carefree youth transformed into something cold and cruel, some could say her polar opposite. Her original features which were raven black hair, hazel brown eyes, and a cheerful personality was replaced with an elegant silver hair, blood red eyes, and a cold persona.
"No…" Fate mumbled.
"It looks like our cue to step in." Hayate announced.
Everyone gave her a quiet nod and stepped into the arena immediately knocking out four of the men who were pointing their blades at Sigurd and she immediately took the opportunity to knock out the rest of the men who were pointing their blades at her. After that it seems that an entire gang of thieves just popped out of the crowd on Jail's signal and an epic battle ensued on the arena, making the crowd roar in excitement; the examiner didn't seem to be fazed at all by what was currently happening in front of him and let the duel continue as if all of it was supposed to happen.
"The examiner doesn't seem to be surprised by any of this…" Hayate noted while casting a spell to knock her opponent out.
"It's like he's a part of the commotion." Vita added.
The battle continued to ensue with the examiner's silent permission. Fate and Hayate made a deadly pair, almost instantly knocking out five men with their combined magic and direct combat prowess; Vita, Shamal, and Chrono made an almost invincible trio with Shamal supporting the two with her healing magic and boosting magic and Vita and Chrono utilizing the magic wisely and in full unison with each other, knocking out eight opponents; Zafira, Signum, and Sigurd immediately stood back-to-back, gave each other a silent signal, and immediately did their own thing individually with the usual sync-in from Sigurd and Signum, in total knocking out another eight opponents.
"Just how many are there?" Chrono complained.
Sigurd paused for a bit to examine the entire arena. "About fifty left." She stated nonchalantly.
"H-How…" Chrono started.
Fate immediately cut in, saving the topic for later. "Questions later! Knock these guys out first!"
Fate's POV
This is bad… Sigurd's other self has been activated in front of everyone and it looks like this was planned, more or less by Jail and the examiner. I'm going to have to pray that no one will get her mad in this mode; the catch is that she is really irritable in this mode.
"Hayate!" I signaled.
Hayate immediately raised her saber to the height of her stomach and chanted a few things to herself making beams of energy form at her sides, which was eventually released towards the attackers we both had coming to us from opposite directions knocking them both out.
"Thanks." I said briefly, moving on to another set of opponents.
Eventually we managed to knock out all our other opponents signaling the end of the duel between Sigurd and Jail.
"This match is finished the victor goes to… Sigurd of the house of Alevi." The examiner announced.
Sigurd's eyes widened in surprise as the examiner proclaimed her last name without skipping a beat. She let her bangs cover her eyes and let out a smirk. The crowd gasped in surprise to find out what house Sigurd was from… to be honest I was quite surprised too… she never mentioned her family or her last name to us.
"So you know…" She muttered.
After that she just collapsed making her features return to normal. Zafira was just in time to catch her from her fall. It took me a while to register what had happened but when it did a thousand questions just popped into my head…
Normal POV
In a forest in the general direction of where the Academy is located, Alexis began tracking for the source that seemed to reveal its presence the more she stepped towards the Academy's general direction.
It's this way then… towards the academy. Something about that school intrigues me. – Alexis thought to herself as she continued traversing the forest floor.
Destiny has begun to slowly turn the wheel of fate. How will Alexis, Sigurd, Fate, and the others deal with the encounters they will have, the coincidences that will surface, and the necessities that will follow? Only time will tell.
Fate's POV
I was allowed by the headmaster to take the Ventris family diary to our room where I can go and read it, under the condition that I will not reveal its veiled contents to the public. Knowing that the one in the library is actually a fake; a duplicate to disguise whatever truth I am currently entrusted with.
Taking a chair from my desk and lighting a lamp to illuminate the surrounding area, I lay the book down and began from the first page…
BEWARE: All who read this journal shall see the truth beneath all the lies, the cruel realities, and the harsh past that the Ventris and Alevi both share.
It was written neatly in a cursive writing that I can somewhat compare to Sigurd's handwriting. I continued to study like this for the entire night… stopping at half the book realizing that I need to make do with what little sleep I can obtain now.
Normal POV
The headmaster looked out his window with a sad smile carved on his face.
"…Sir, would you mind me asking what the purpose of this duel was for?" A knight who bowed in respect to the headmaster asked.
"…I believe… it is for the sake of reviving the fallen kingdom of guardians we are working so hard to rebuild." The headmaster replied, the tone of unease settling in the air.
"Understood. What shall we do of Alevi and Harlaown?" He asked with an obvious tone of curiosity.
"Leave them be. I will soon assign Harlaown, Alevi, the others who helped her during today's duel, and a special student on a journey soon. I can feel her head this way Roy." The headmaster responded in a shaky tone.
"As you wish." Roy replied nonchalantly and took his leave.
The headmaster brought out a book from the shelf and took a seat.
I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.
The headmaster chuckled in silence to see how similar this phrase is to the situation he was currently in. He closed the book and gave out another sigh.
I can only hope for the best with these children… after all… I have failed my duty to protect the princess a long time ago… and I will not do so again. – He thought to himself.
The headmaster arranged his fazed blond hair and took his leave from the room. Yuuno Scrya, the last captain of the guard and head librarian for the kingdom of guardians, is the headmaster's name.
Author's Note's:
Feel free to point out mistakes... v.v I haven't had the time to edit this since I've got too much workload... And well v.v My updates will depend on how heavy schoolwork is... The good news is... the next chapter is about around 30% done... And seriously guys... PM me if you have any ideas for the riddle.
Flames will be used for fried chicken.
This fic has been prescribed by the doctor!