Nefarious came to watch us before the suns were high at the sky.
“Good Morning, Cyperus! How are our warriors training?”
“Good Morning. They are doing well, after lunch we will have some students from the third level.”
What? Training with other students? It always can get a bit worse, right?
As the Bible says, ‘the humiliated will be exalted’. Really, I didn’t need to be exalted, if I could manage not being humiliated thought, would already be a relief. My fingertips were hurting from me biting them. Billions of people are in the first dimension, why me? I was regretting accepting this suicidal mission. But this time I was surprised. I never imagined coming out of this with a huge smile on my face.
Chapter Eight
His Name Is Viggo
We got early to lunch. We were hugged by an irresistible smell of vegetable soufflé. I could eat the whole thing, just from greediness. We sat comfortably at the second table. At Valkyrie, they didn’t have a reserved table for the professors, we all ate together and chose the table as we arrived. Who got there first could choose a place closer to the food, it was easier to make a new plate or for desert later.
Dakota seemed friendlier than yesterday. The redhead was telling us how her father searched the forest after the race, until a girl came to our table interrupting our conversation. She handed Professor Cyperus (who was eating with us) a sharp little ax.
“Professor here it is the ax you asked for. It is as sharp as a razor.”
“Thank you Gyda. We will check how it is after lunch time,” smiled the professor.
The girl was a student of the third level at Valkyrie, from the Keepers class. She was blond and tall and could look like a model for Schillerska, my school at Gothenburg. We could smell her perfume when she got closer. She had a haughty stare and a fake smile for the three of us, who were watching the dialogue in silence.
“Gyda is one of the veteran students. She thinks she is better than everyone, only because Professor Cyperus likes her,” Dakota whispered in my ear.
“I heard that, lady. Gyda’s father is one of the best blacksmiths in the Kingdom,” the professor answered, while taking a full fork to his mouth.
Dakota chose to eat a piece of broccoli big enough to keep her busy.
“Lola, this is your weapon, you grandfather’s war ax. We are not going to train with the wooden sword anymore. You need to know how to handle it. At least it has the size of your forearm, you can hold it at one hand. We will train as much as you need to gain trust. We still need to put back the amethyst at its point, it is with Nefarious for safety. We will add it before you go. It has a special power. I only saw it in use once, so take care.”
Nothing is so bad that can’t get worse. Besides training with other students, I would be fighting with a real weapon, the professor was crazy. I was almost making up a stomachache to stay inside the castle, but for sure someone would have a potion for that. I couldn’t escape, again.
I had to admit it was a beautiful weapon, the oak handle was curved and supported the sharp metal head. A lotus blossom was carved on both sides waiting for the amethyst to finish the image, it was better than that giant sword.
We finished our lunch before class started. Dakota, Zyba, and I went for a walk around the castle. We had a few minutes before the professor would call us back.
“Your ax is beautiful. I’m just waiting to see how this training with the veterans is going to be. They think they are better than us, only because they’re almost at the last level,” Dakota murmured, while looking the ax over in my hands.
“I think so, too. They think they are experts, but it’s relative. Comparing to us at the first level, they can be, but looking to the seniors, they go back to being freshmen!” Zyba added, both seemed to have fun with the situation.
“I thought all prisms were perfect, without flaws as ‘rivalry’ and judgment. You and the people at the Turf competition are showing me the opposite.” I felt I had enough intimacy to ask things that teachers wouldn’t tell me.
“A prism is not perfect, Lola. We are like the hybridus but we chose the good side. We have flaws, sometimes we judge without knowing it all or complain without reasons. We can even have some non-noble thoughts, but we never will do something to hurt another life. At least not intentionally.” Zyba cleared that up.
We were interrupted by Professor Cyperus who whistled like a whip in our ears. This class would last all the afternoon and my humiliation was about to start. My stomach made a noise from nervousness, I had to disguise it saying I was still hungry.
When we got to the field, the professor informed us.
“Guys, now that everyone has a weapon, we will practice your skills in the fight. Dakota take your bow, Zyba the Royal shield, and Lola with the war ax.” For a few hours we practiced alone how to handle our weapons. We trained non-stop until a nice surprise came to us.
“To make the training as real as possible, I brought in the best three students of the third level. Lola, I want you to meet Kenzo, Gyda, and Viggo.”
It was him! My face burned. I tried to fix my bangs as fast as possible, my heart raced as a horse on the run. I didn’t even need to look aside to know Dakota was having fun with my shyness. They greeted me, nodding their heads, everyone with a personal style.
Kenzo Aoki was an oriental boy, handsome but not my type. He had strong arms, as he lifted weights but seemed very gentle, returning my friendly smile. He was a skilled student who handled his sword as no other. He was the oldest son of three brothers, raised by his mother. His father, Doctor Yoshi Aoki, was taken by the death jackals ten eclipses ago, leaving a weight of guilt on his oldest son’s shoulders. Zyba told me that on a red moon night, all ran into their houses, but Kenzo, who was around five eclipses at the time, went to find his dog on the street. Trying to protect him from the jackals, Doctor Yoshi ran in his direction and was captured in Kenzo’s place. People say he was enveloped by a dark mist and disappeared as the Turf seahorse had. Now Kenzo’s only goal is to become a Keeper and finish off all the monsters that destroyed his family.
Gyda was the girl from before, at the lunchroom. Her beauty could make me angry, she had long blond hair in a ponytail which she kept rolling on her finger. A seductive charm, I never had the courage to try. To Dakota and me, she was a threat to our self-esteem. To Zyba, she was the last Miss Universe, waving and blowing him kisses. I noticed my eyebrow frowned when she rested an arm, with some intimacy, on his shoulder.
Viggo, this was the first time I heard his name.
“Welcome, Lola.”
In the daylight he was even more handsome. He had blond hair that highlighted his mysterious green eyes. The sound of my name from his mouth shook my emotional being. His shy stare searched for the ground, attracting mine. It disconcerted me when he gave a discreet smile. If I couldn’t remember why I was at Lumen, he could be the perfect reason if I needed one. I had never felt that, not even for Karl at school. Professor Cyperus interrupted my thoughts, which had wandered on a specific spot, giving us a demonstration order.
“Viggo, Kenzo. Let’s show them how the future Kingdom keepers really fight. On place!” Each one went to a side of the field, sword in hand, in battle position. When the professor gave out the order to attack, they ran to each other, locking into a synchronized sword fight. The noise of the metal clashing made the battle even more exciting and scary. I was cheering for Viggo, without even noticing.