AN: Hi all! There were many questions about Santana and I just wanted to tell you all (without spoiling anything) that she won't be out of the picture for long. Please continue to stay with the story to find out what's going to happen :) This story is becoming longer than I had expected.
Enjoy!
oxoxoxox
Chapter 4: Three Ways
"My name is Quinn and I am one of the Commander's new charges to become a knight-in-training."
Quinn looked up at the guards and they stared down at her.
The guards exchanged glances and the older guard nodded at the younger one.
"The commander told me to take you to her when you get here so follow me," said the young guard motioning for Quinn to follow him. He led her to a tower and as they ascended the steps, Quinn could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest.
The guard rapped on the wooden door and a loud "Come in" was heard and he opened the door for Quinn to enter. As she walked past him, he whispered "Good luck," and winked before closing the door behind him.
When she entered the office, Quinn took the opportunity to look around. There was a shelf that reached to the ceiling containing an array of helmets, big and small, simple and elaborate. Along the walls were various shields bearing the crests of different houses and kingdoms.
"Admiring my trophies kid?"
Quinn whipped around to find the commander surveying her quietly.
"What you see adorning my walls and shelves are souvenirs of my victories. War is scarce in these peaceful times so I have to make do with tournaments, skirmishes, but we do have bandits and the occasional assassin or two," said Sue.
Quinn nodded in acknowledgement. She had heard of Commander Sue and her victories during her time in the streets.
"The King thought it beneficial to build this academy in order to raise the best of the best to keep the future of the kingdom in order. The reputation of this academy is great and people from across the land have sent their children here to learn. As one of my charges, your entire stay here is funded personally by the King until you graduate... If you can survive until then."
Quinn gulped and held her ground, clenching her fists to prevent her hands from visibly shaking.
"I expect a lot from you. I do not wish to be disappointed by your incompetence in this academy. As a knight apprentice, combat training will be in the mornings, healing and arts and etiquette lessons in the afternoons and academics in the evenings."
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," barked Sue.
The door opened and in walked a blonde girl slightly taller than Quinn with bright blue eyes and an easy smile.
"Quinn, this is Brittany S. Pierce, healer and dancer in training. She will be responsible for being your guide until you've settled down," Sue paused and took a closer look at Quinn.
"Brittany."
"Yes Commander?"
"See to it that Quinn gets cleaned up."
"Yes Commander."
Quinn blushed at that statement, aware about her state of hygiene. The closest thing that she had to a bath in a while was the dip in the fountain yesterday and she only had the same clothes to wear. When one is living on the streets, bath commodities are hard to come by.
"Very well, you are dismissed. Brittany will give you the rest of the information you need."
Brittany saluted and started towards the door with Quinn following behind her.
"Quinn"
Quinn stopped to look back at Sue.
"Don't disappoint me."
Quinn nodded grimly and followed Brittany out. Shutting the door behind her, she fiddled with the hem of her shirt, nervous about interacting with Brittany. She was always shy in social settings and blamed yesterday's handling of events on adrenaline and Rachel, seeing how she was able to handle herself in front of a crowd and the King no less. Santana usually does the talking for the both of them in casual settings such as this one.
How should she start this conversation? She supposed a greeting would be a good start. And then what? She took a deep breath ready to introduce herself.
"Welcome Quinn!"
Quinn almost lost her balance when the taller blonde threw her arms around her with a big hug, squeezing the breath out of Quinn.
"Um… Thanks?" gasped Quinn.
Brittany released and took a step back, beaming at her.
"All of us heard about how you rescued the princess yesterday. Lord Tubbington overheard in the castle that you actually knocked out the kidnapper and that you are super good at climbing walls. He was busy chasing a mouse so he didn't hear the whole story so I can't wait to hear you tell it!"
Quinn wasn't sure what to say.
Brittany is friends with a lord that chases mice?
"S...sure"
Brittany squealed and clapped her hands together.
"Have you eaten yet? Morning lessons should be over soon and everyone is going to be having lunch in the hall."
While Quinn agonized over the decision of eating or not facing a group of strangers, her stomach did the answering for her and growled loudly. She blushed at the sound it made.
Brittany cocked her head to one side and grinned.
"Good answer. We'll get you cleaned up after lunch."
She linked arms with Quinn and proceeded to drag her towards the hall while pointing out random buildings and rooms and rattling out random information. Quinn stumbled along trying to keep pace with the happy blonde. She would have to explore later as she tried and failed to keep track of what the blonde was saying.
Santana would be so amused that Quinn's personal bubble was broken into within minutes.
As they entered the hall, Quinn was relieved to see that they were the first to arrive. After getting their food (They were serving bacon!), they sat down at a table just as the rest of the apprentices began to file in. The once quiet hall began to fill up with loud chatter, laughter and grumbling. Quinn could see people ranging from kids younger than her to young adults looking old enough to be graduating from the academy soon. Quinn could feel curious looks being thrown in her direction as she kept her head down and ate her food, feeling conscious of her street clothes in comparison to the uniforms the others were wearing.
Wishing that she had her hat to shield her from all the stares, she smiled weakly at Brittany, who sensed her nervousness, was patting Quinn's hand to soothe her while explaining the inner workings of the academy. The apprentices here are classified into different areas of expertise: combat, healing, arts, and academics. While each of them will have a main focus, they are expected to have a good understanding of the other areas as well and are encouraged to specialize in more than one area as long as they are doing well in their main focus. As a knight apprentice, Quinn would be specializing in combat. Brittany is specializing in arts as a dancer and in healing as well.
"It's pretty cool really. It's like I have a sixth sense that tells me what's wrong with the person and what sort of stuff would that person's body needs to get better," explained Britt.
A presence approached their table and proceeded to take a seat next to Quinn.
"Hi Britt. Who's the new kid?"
Quinn looked to her left to see a boy smirking at her. Her eyes drifted to the top of his head where he had the most obnoxious hairstyle she had ever seen.
"Quinn, this is Noah Puckerman, knight apprentice. Puck, this is Quinn, she was the one who rescued the princess yesterday!" said Britt happily.
The apprentices sitting near them sat up at what they overheard from Brittany and the news about the newcomer spread quickly throughout the hall.
"Oh so you're the 'Quinn' that Rach was going on and on about. She's been saying some pretty cool stuff about you. I'm Puck, awesome knight in training," said Puck holding his hand out.
"Quinn," Quinn shook his hand.
"So tell me Quinn, is it true that…"
"So this is the kid that rescued the princess? Hah! She probably had help from someone else and decided to take all the credit." An obnoxious voice sounded behind Puck and Quinn.
Brittany looked up and frowned at the 3 boys standing behind them. The leader of the trio stood in the middle with his arms crossed and an arrogant smirk on his face.
Puck turned around in his seat and stood up to face the boys.
"Back off Azimio."
Despite his mohawk, Puck was still shorter than the three older boys and both sides knew who would come out the winner if a scuffle was to break out.
"Aww, wittle Puck Puck has come to the rescue," said Azimio Adams, the leader of the group. The boys burst out laughing as Puck turned red with embarrassment and anger.
Quinn remained seated, her back still facing the boys. She had hoped that ignoring the bully would cause him to give up and go away but Puck was too quick to jump to her defense and she could sense that things were going to go downhill from there. She was taken aback when Brittany stood up from her seat.
"Go away Azimio. Don't be mean"
"What are you going to do about it Pierce? Hit me with your stupidity?"
Quinn watched in horror as Brittany's eyes began to well up with tears. Furious at the treatment of her new friends, she turned around in her seat to face the boys.
"Apologize to Brittany, please," said Quinn quietly, still remaining seated but looking at the boys. The leader was taller than any of them but he wouldn't be the first bully that she had to deal with. She had met many boys and girls on the streets who wanted to establish their dominance over their territory when she first arrived and Santana had taught her how to deal with situations such as this one.
"There are three ways Lucy Q," said Santana holding up three fingers. "If that person is smart and you meant no harm, try to reason with him or her and strike up a bargain. It doesn't hurt to be on good terms with the leader of that area. However, if that person is stronger than you and you know that you have no chance, get the hell out of there."
Quinn nodded. "What's the third way San?"
Santana grinned.
"Listen closely Lucy Q. If that person is a dumbass and you know you have the upper hand, you should use the third way which is personally my favorite-you beat the crap out of that person until he or she understands that you mean business."
Azimio snorted and swaggered over to Quinn, towering over her.
"Think you own the place just because you claimed to have rescued the princess?" he said and grabbed Quinn by the collar of her shirt with both hands and dragged her up. She was a head shorter than him and yet he managed to lift her by her collar until they were seeing eye-to-eye.
No one moved and the noisy hall had become silent as everyone was watching the scene unfold.
Quinn arched an eyebrow. This idiot was actually trying to physically intimidate her. God knows how many people had tried to do that and failed, miserably.
"No, I don't. Please release me and apologize to Brittany for making her cry," she said calmly even though her feet were dangling inches above the ground.
Azimio laughed in Quinn's face. Quinn wrinkled her nose. Eww bad breath.
"That girl is probably too stupid to understand what I'm saying," he laughed even more.
Quinn rolled her eyes. Clearly Azimio wasn't smart and she could see that he wasn't that strong as he makes himself out to be. Third method it is.She sighed and reached out her hand, grabbed the back of Azimio's neck and head-butted him in the face.
Azimio's laughter turned into a howl of pain. He immediately released Quinn and crouched down, groaning and clutching his nose which was already dripping blood onto the ground. His two sidekicks looked around panicked and seeing that no one was coming to their help, bent down and dragged a blubbering Azimio out of the hall. Quinn watched them leave and absentmindedly rubbed her forehead which was slightly pink and stinging from its impact with Azimio's face. Those remaining in the hall were still silent as she seated herself down at the table and continued to nibble on her bacon.
"Damn…" said Puck in amazement and that snapped everyone out of their silence and the hall erupted into chatters as people went over what just happened.
Puck plonked himself down next to Quinn, still staring at her with admiration.
"Damn…" he said again in awe. "That was so badass."
Quinn shot him a smile. "It's no big deal. My friend Santana taught me how to deal with guys like that."
Puck's eyes widened. "Then why isn't she here with you?!"
Quinn shrugged sadly. "I just got lucky getting into this academy."
"Oh." Puck frowned, staring at his hands that were propped on the table. "Okay," he said nodding to himself. "Okay," he repeated facing Quinn again who raised an eyebrow at him.
"The next time we get to go out of the castle, I'm coming with you to meet her. I wanna learn some badass moves from her too."
Quinn choked on her food at the thought of Puck swaggering up to Santana, asking her teach him her 'moves'. She would more likely sit on him and demand for his money before sending him along his way.
Brittany frowned. "You'll be badass when you grow up Puck. Quinn is just more badass now 'cause girls mature faster than boys," she said wisely.
Quinn and Puck paused at that thought. When one looks at it that way…
"Anyways, thanks for standing up for me Quinn," continued Brittany smiling at the blonde who was suddenly aware of all the stares from the apprentices in the hall and was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second.
"No problem Britt," Quinn looking around uncomfortably. She leaned in and whispered loudly so that Britt and Puck could hear her.
"Can we get out of here?"
Brittany smiled. "Sure! We've gotta get you to your room and get you cleaned up now just in case Azimio reports you to the Commander"
Quinn paled at that statement.
"Although… I highly doubt he would since he got beaten up by a girl," said Brittany thinking aloud and looking towards Puck for confirmation.
Puck nodded. "Azimio would never tell the Commander that he got beaten by a girl and a newbie no less."
Quinn let out a breath of relief and stood up to follow Brittany out of the hall.
"I'll see you guys later!" yelled Puck as he became lost in the crowd of apprentices that converged around him to ask him questions about the blonde newcomer that stood up to Azimio.
End of Chapter 4
AN: This story is fueled by your reviews which are highly appreciated :)