Chapter Text
1 Year Later
Sereda might not be good at a lot of things. But there was one thing she was good at: fighting. She had been fighting all her life. Fighting for attention, fighting for love, fighting to fit it, fighting to stand out, fighting to find her own way in this family.
So when it came time for Sereda to learn how to wield a weapon and defend herself, she wasted no time picking up a sword and shield. For the first time in her life, she found something she could excel at.
Trian was the first born. He was set to inherit the throne. From a young age he was able to use his status to bully others into getting what he wanted. He knew all the rules, knew all the important respectable people, he also seemed to excel at pissing them off. Trian was never good at playing well with others, but when you were born to be king, Sereda supposed, others had to play well with you, not the other way around.
Bhelen, on the other hand, had always had a sharp mind and a silver tongue. Even as a small child, he had a gift for chess and thinking ahead, anticipating things before they had happened and knowing how people would react.
One week, for bad behavior, Bhelen had been denied his weekly dessert. Trian would have screamed and thrown a princely fit. Sereda would have made a break for the kitchen when her teacher’s back was turned and barged in. Bhelen, though, had managed not only to trade favors with the kitchen staff and the younger servants, but had found a way to pin the entire thing on Trian who had made the mistake of gloating at Bhelen’s misfortune.
Sereda had always felt like she didn’t belong in this family. She felt she lacked any sort of skill to make herself stand out. But for one of the first times in her life, Sereda felt that she had something that she could be good at. She was a fighter. She could be a warrior. And when she got really good, she could maybe one day be a commander of a regiment of her own. She finally felt like she had a path of her own. Something beyond just being a princess or Bhelen or Trian’s sister. She would shine in this family in her own right.
“That’s enough for today,” her instructor called out. “You’ve done very well today. So long as you continue to practice every day and work hard, you will be a master in no time.”
Sereda grinned and bowed. “Thank you! I will continue to work really hard. I promise!”
The instructor's laughter bellowed throughout the room, “I’m sure you will.”
Sereda put up her practice weapons and turned to find Bhelen. No doubt he had also just finished his lessons and was looking to fetch her before they were called for dinner. She couldn’t wait to tell him all about what she had learned today.
Before she could meet up with him, she bumped into two other boys around her age.
“Watch it!” the red headed one barked.
“You watch it!” she barked back.
“You’re the one who ran into us," he growled
“Well that doesn’t give you the right to be rude!”
“If you can’t even be aware of your surroundings, you don’t need to be in here. The training room is for serious warriors.” He looked behind her and looked at Bhelen. “Aren’t you a little too young to be here?”
“I’m the one that’s training,” Sereda growled. “If you have a problem with mus being here, then you have a problem with me.”
The boys sneered, “Please! We’re from the warrior class. This is in our blood. You’d best leaving the fighting to the real men.”
“I might,” Sereda scoffed, “If there were any real men here. All I see are two boys who are too big for their britches.”
“And who exactly do you think you are?” The red headed boy asked poking Sereda in the chest.
Bhelen stepped behind Sereda, but she took a step closer to the boys, “Someone who’s not going to take your shit”.
The dark haired boy elbowed his friend. “Are you gonna let her talk to you like that?”
The red head, realizing that he was now on the spot, shot back, “I’m not gonna fight a girl.”
She smirked. “Smart boy. Best to leave while you still have some dignity.”
“That’s it! You’re no lady.”
“I never claimed I was, just that I could kick your ass.”
“What is going on here?” A gruff voice boomed through the room.
Sereda turned to see her instructor enter back into the room.
“Nothing!” The three of them mumbled.
“It doesn’t look like ‘nothing’ to me. Is there a problem here?”
“Just a disagreement.” Sereda turned to look at him. “Nothing to worry about.”
“If there is a disagreement, then we need to settle this right here and now. I don’t want the three of you causing trouble. And I know the three of you all well enough to know that you are all trouble.”
He pointed to the center of the room, “Aright, Sereda, Gorim, we’re going to settle this like warriors. You’ve both been training for some time now. Grab your practice weapons and get into positions.”
Their eyes widened for a second, but they nodded and turned to grab their practice swords and shields.
The other boy turned to Bhelen, “Aren’t you worried about her?”
While Bhelen was smaller, he just rolled his eyes, “If anyone needs to be worried, it’s not us.”
Sereda and Gorim stood opposed to each other at the center of the room.
“Alright, you will start as soon as I say, ‘Begin!’ Once I call it, you will disengage. Do not make me separate you. If I have to intervene, both of you will regret it.” His gruff voice left no room for argument. ”Are you ready?”
Both Sereda and Gorim nodded.
“Begin!”
Sereda and Gorim slowly circled each other, but Gorim was the first to attack. Sereda dodged, and struck at Gorim’s hand.
The two parried back and forth, both giving as good as they got. Where Gorim clearly had strength, Sereda was quicker and her movements fluid. Bhelen knew from experience that Sereda was stronger than she looked. Years of wresting with her own brothers had made her tough.
After a few minutes, both were exhausted but still determined. As Gorim went to strike, Sereda found an opening to not only parry, but push Gorim back leaving him to stumble backwards and fall onto the floor.
“Enough!” The instructor calls. “Sereda wins. Now both of you will shake hands. I expect you to admit defeat with grace, Gorim. And Sereda, you will accept your win respectfully with a warrior’s honor. ”
Sereda offered her hand to pull Gorim up.
Gorim icily stared at it for a moment before finally accepting it. Once standing, Gorim grumbled “You’re a better fighter than you look.”
“I could say the same for you.”
“This won’t happen again you know.”
Sereda smirked, “We’ll see.”
The instructor called out, “Alright, that’s enough for today. Sereda, you’re done for the day. Go on, get out of here. I expect you back here tomorrow at the usual time. Boys, get your asses in gear! Gorim, get Seweryn warmed up. Don’t expect me to go easy on either of you.”
Sereda bowed and left with Bhelen in tow.
“You really showed them.”
“Yea, but he was tougher than he looked." She mumbled reluctantly, "I wasn’t sure I would win for a moment there.”
“Really?” Bhelen smirked before flipping a gold coin, “I never had any doubt.”
Sereda looked over in shock, “Did you bet on me?”
“Of course. I’m no fool.”
Sereda smirked before nudging Bhelen. “Well I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”
“Why should you be the only one to get something out of it?”
“Oh? And what exactly did I get out of it?”
“Well it looks like you made yourself a new friend.”
Sereda laughed, “I’m not sure I would say that. He might have been good, but he’s still an ass.”
Bhelen shrugged, “Well you know what they say, ‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
“I’m not sure that’s quite my style. Either way, I’m not sure I want him close either way.”
“Who knows, things could change. Besides, he would be a good sparring partner.”
Sereda shrugged, “Maybe… But in the meantime, we still have an hour until dinner, which leaves us plenty of time to get into some more trouble.” Sereda grabbed Bhelen’s hand before she pulled him down the hall, “Let’s go find some!”