Chapter 7: A Chance Meeting

  Sev was given a tour of the academy and shown where his classes would be. He was given his ID card and was allowed to go to his room to finish moving in. His class materials would be handed out by the teachers in class, so Sev didn’t really have much to do. He was given his 5 uniforms, so he hung them up in his closet and placed his common clothes in the small trunk at the end of his bed. He was fully moved in and had nothing else to do, so he decided to go to the library. He spent the remainder of his day reading manuscripts about swordplay and combat theory.

  The next day, the academy started in earnest. The students were expected to attend 4, 2-hour classes each day. The topics covered ranged widely, from simple mathematics and economics to world and national history. Since he was a second-year student, the expectations for success and behavior were much stricter. He thrived in this environment; he loved to learn and studied in his free time as well. He would visit his professors during breaks and ask questions about what the lesson had covered. While he had already learned a majority of these things from Arthur, he enjoyed getting the different answers and perspectives the academy had to offer. He would often spend his free time in the library, studying anything and everything he could get his hands on. The academy allowed the students to return on a long weekend once a month, and Sev would run home eager to have a discussion with Arthur. Byron and Amalee would visit when Sev came home, and were amused at how all he talked about was classes and the library.

  “Is all you do read?” Amalee asked teasingly.

  “No. I sleep, eat, and train too!” Sev said proudly. “Oh, speaking of eating, can we go see Dottie? I can’t stop thinking about her stew!” Arthur simply chuckled. It’s almost dizzying. At one moment, he is a child excited about stew, and at another, it’s as if he is an old scholar trying to find the answers to the world. I can’t keep up with him sometimes. He thought with a smile.

  After 4 months, the students were given a month-long vacation. The academy used this time to clean and prepare for the next set of classes and instruction, as well as to give the children a much-needed respite from constant learning. Sev was eager to return home and begin training again, as he had found several new sword techniques that he wanted to try out. He had practiced them by himself, but he had yet to actually fight someone with them. I wonder if Theo would be willing. A shielded opponent adds something to combat that you can’t get anywhere else. The academy held a short seminar, which detailed the date by which the students were expected to return to the academy. They also thanked the staff and awarded small tokens to the top 10 students of each year over the last 4 months. The king and queen gave a short speech and concluded the first split of the school year officially.

  Sev was on his way to the garrison since Arthur was currently stationed there. He excitedly strolled across the city, taking the roads that Arthur had shown him before his enrollment. He was lost in thought, trying to decide what to do first when he got to the garrison. Suddenly, he heard the sharp sound of stone hitting stone, followed by the sound of something tipping over in the alley to his left. Then he heard a voice.

  “GET AWAY FROM ME!”

  He couldn’t even think before his body acted on its own. He quickly ran towards the alley, picking up a handful of dirt in one hand and a rock in the other. He ran towards the voice and rounded a corner to see 3 kids, maybe 8-9 years old, still in academy uniforms. Two of them had sticks and rocks in their hands, and the third had a kitchen knife. On the ground in between them was another child, wearing a hooded cloak. Blood was seeping through the hood, and it was obvious that the other kids had probably hit them in the head with one of the rocks now lying on the ground. Sev quickly looked around and saw a stack of crates that had tipped over, dumping out a sack of fruit. An idea formed in Sevagoth’s head. The burlap sack wasn’t very big, but it was plenty thick. A smile poked the corners of his mouth, and his heart was racing. Why am I so excited? He had been rushing to the garrison to start training, but it seemed that some training had found him early.

  Sevagoth quickly threw the rock he had picked up as hard as he could, aiming for one of the kids with a stick. The stone slammed into the kid's head with a heavy thunk, making the kid fall over in pain as his head started to bleed. Sev quickly picked up the burlap sack and wrapped it around his right hand before charging the other two kids. The one with the knife turned around to see Sevagoth rushing towards them.

  “Who the hell are you?!” The kid yelled as he started to raise the knife. Sevagoth quickly threw the handful of dirt into the kid's eyes before slamming his fist into the other’s face. The stick dropped to the ground as the kid was knocked to the ground, nose bleeding heavily.

  The kid Sev hit with a rock yelled, “Philip, what should we do?!?”

  Philip (the kid with the knife) screamed, “Who do you think you are?! Do you know who I a—” Sevagoth grabbed the knife with his wrapped hand, slamming his other fist into Philip’s stomach, cutting him off. As Philip doubled over, Sevagoth twisted the knife out of his hands before grabbing his head and slamming it into his knee. Philip dropped like a rock, screaming and crying from pain as blood spurted from his now broken nose. The first kid panicked and ran out of the alleyway, leaving Philip and the other one. Sevagoth threw the knife and burlap to the side, quickly running over to the hooded child and pulling them up off the ground. He put his shoulder under their arm, leading them out of the alley.

  “Come on, we gotta hurry!” Sev said excitedly to the other child, leading them through the maze of alleys that Sev had explored with Arthur months prior. After a few minutes of running, Sev turned another corner and set the other kid down to rest. Sev was winded a bit, but his adrenaline was raging, and his heart was pounding. Not bad, Sev. Not bad at all. Though the rock throwing could use some work. Sev mused to himself while catching his breath. He quickly turned to the other kid and asked, “Hey, are you alright?? I think you are bleeding!” Sev said hurriedly, pulling the hood down to get a better look at the injury.

  “NO! STOP!” The kid screamed as Sev pulled the hood off. As the hood fell back onto the cloak, Sevagoth was staring into the eyes of a terrified young girl. She had blueish grey skin, dark black hair with accents of deep purple, glowing cyan pupils surrounded by black sclera, two small black horns poking out from her hairline, and small metallic silver scales around her eyes and hairline. “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!” the girl yelled, pushing Sevagoth away and trying to pull the hood back over her head.

  Sev rolled his eyes in frustration, simply walking back over. “It’s a head wound. If we don’t stop the bleeding soon, you could pass out. Or worse.”

  The girl stopped for a second before asking, “Why should I trust you? You humans, are all the same!”

  Sev rolled his eyes once more and quickly responded, “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not a human, then. Now come here!” He once again reached for the hood and pulled it down. The girl was frozen a bit, but was starting to calm down. Sev saw several bruises and cuts on her face, the worst of which stretched over her right eyebrow down to her cheekbone. “Shit, that might scar…… And here it is.” Sev said as he finally found the large wound about 2 inches above her hairline. It was weeping blood quite quickly, which had started to run down her face and neck. “What did this? Was it a rock?” Sev asked calmly as he tried to see just how deep the wound was.

  “Yes.” The girl replied.

  “Good, then it shouldn’t be too deep at least. Your hair padded the impact for the most part, but it still made a pretty nasty cut.” Sev said as he stood up. He reached down to his shirt and ripped off a long section of it. He gently wrapped the girl's head, putting a bundle of material over the wound itself to help staunch the blood flow. “That should help slow it down, but we really should get you to somebody. Do you live near here?” Sev quickly asked.

  “No.” The girl answered.

  “Damn. Well, lucky for you, I happen to know a healer who is pretty close by. And he kinda has to do what I tell him. Let's hurry, we don’t want that thing to get infected, or it’ll hurt even worse.” Sev said.

  Sev helped the girl up and began to quickly lead her towards the garrison. It’s a good thing Arthur is so paranoid and showed me all these side routes. I’ll have to thank him later. He thought as he weaved through the side streets and alleys of the city center. Eventually, they arrived outside the castle garrison, and he opened the door and walked right in.

  "ELIAS. ELIAS, WHERE ARE YOU?!” Sev yelled as he entered the garrison and made his way towards the barracks, leading the hooded girl by the hand.

  Elias poked his head out of the barracks and waved as he saw Sev storming down the hall. “Oh, hey, little man, what's up?” He asked with a smile. Sevagoth quickly ran up and caught Elias up to speed on the situation. Elias simply nodded and bent down to look at the wound. As he pulled the hood back, he saw the girl and shot Sev a questioning look. He quickly moved the makeshift bandage Sev had made and looked closely at the gash, still seeping blood. “Well, I’m impressed with the bandage kid. Could have been a lot worse…” Elias quickly asked the girl, “Just a heads up, little lady, this is gonna hurt a bit, probably more than when you got it. You ready?” The girl simply nodded. Elias channeled ‘heal’, a low-level yet incredibly efficient healing spell. When paired with Elias’s talent ‘Embrace of Asclepius’, which amplified the effectiveness of healing twofold, it was more than enough to cure most noncritical wounds. The girl yelped a bit and squeezed Sev’s hand as the healing magic took effect. The girl’s wounds were all quickly healed, and Elias took one final look at her head to make sure everything had healed fully and properly. “Alrighty, good as new.”

  Sevagoth started to lead the girl out of the barracks, heading straight for the castle proper. “Thanks, Elias, you’re the best. Where is Arthur?” He asked quickly.

  Elias had that familiar shiteating grin and responded, “I know, but it’s good to hear now and then. But Arthur should be with the king and queen right about now.”

  Sev smirked, an idea creeping into his mind. “Good.” He said with a chuckle.

  Sevagoth led the girl out of the barracks and into the castle proper. Many of the paladins he had hung around were acting as guards, and simply called greetings as he walked towards the room that Arthur often used to meet with the king. As he approached the door, he saw Magdin and Bryton standing guard.

  They saw Sev approaching and called out to him warmly. “Hey, kid! Out of school already?”

  Sev nodded a few times, waving at them with his free hand. “Yep, just got out this afternoon. Is Arthur inside?” He asked quickly.

  Magdin nodded a few times. “Yessir, he and the majesties are having their monthly throwdown. They should be getting close to done now, though. Head on in, I’m sure they’ll be happy to see ya.” Magdin and Bryton stepped aside and knocked on the door. A faint ‘Yeah’ came from the inside, and Magdin bumped the door open just enough to poke his head in. “Sev just got here, are we good to send him in or do you need a bi—?”

  An excited Amalee cut him off. “Nope, send him in! All good here!” Magdin chuckled and pushed the door a bit more, rocking his head to let Sev know he could enter.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Sev, you are back!!” Amalee said excitedly as he entered the room. She quickly wrapped him in a long hug before pulling back and asking, “What did you do with your shirt? Don’t tell me you got in a fight?!”

  Sevagoth chuckled a bit, avoiding eye contact. “Well, about that. Yes and no. But before I explain, I’d like to introduce someone.” He said as he gestured towards the hooded girl he still led by the hand. As the eyes in the room turned towards her, she tightened her grip on Sev’s hand.

  Amalee somehow got even more excited, beaming with pride as she saw the girl. “Oh, you brought a friend! It’s wonderful to meet you, what's your name, dear??” She asked warmly. The girl didn’t respond; she simply stood there and tucked herself behind Sevagoth.

  “I don’t know her name, but I do know what happened to her.” Sevagoth said as he thoroughly explained the situation to Arthur, Amalee, and Byron. Byron and Arthur were fighting to keep from laughing and shouting out their pride for Sev’s starting and ending the fight so fast. Amalee was concerned and knelt to be closer in height to Sev and the girl.

  “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry that happened to you.” She said gently, before looking at Sev and coldly saying, “I want names, Sev.”

  Sev responded without hesitation. “I only got the one. Philip, tall and skinny. Brown hair, broken nose.” He said with a smirk.

  Amalee nodded approvingly. “That’ll be more than enough. Take care of her, okay, Sev?” She added as she gently rested her hand on the girl's shoulder.

  “Of course.” Sev said quickly.

  Amalee quickly stood up, moving towards the door. “If you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be. I’ll stop by to visit later today.” She said quickly, leaving the room without another word. Sev somehow knew that metaphorical heads were about to roll. He couldn’t help but smile. Good riddance. Byron and Arthur could no longer hold back as Amalee left.

  “HAHAHAHA. Good shit, boy, I knew you picked up something from me!” Byron hollered as he laughed.

  “Good use of what I taught you. Quick and efficient. Well done, Sev.” Arthur chimed in proudly.

  As Byron stopped laughing and calmed down, he approached Sev and the girl. “Well, would you care to tell us your name, little one?” He asked softly. I didn’t know Byron could be this quiet. Sev mused while feigning an impressed look towards Arthur, who snorted back a laugh.

  “Lilliana.” The girl said quietly.

  Byron quickly stepped into the role of king, something that was rare for Sev to see. “Well, Lilliana, I am truly sorry for what happened today. But I can assure you that my beloved Amalee will make sure you don’t have to worry about this ever again. Now, your parents must be worried sick. Shall we get you home?” Byron asked gently. Lilliana quietly nodded, squeezing Sev’s hand again. “Very well, let's get going. Arthur, care to join us?”

  “By your command.” Arthur responded, standing to leave.

  The king ordered his personal carriage as he and the group left the room. The other paladins complied immediately, running off to fetch it. Within a few minutes, Magdin returned, driving the carriage. “Thank you, Magdin. Now, Lilliana, where are we off to?” Byron asked, opening the door and kicking down the steps.

  “The southern hidden quarter.” She responded quietly.

  “You heard the lady, hop to it!” Bryton yelled from the seat next to Magdin. The king let Sev and Lilliana in first, before entering with Arthur. They rode in relative silence, but both the king and Arthur noticed that Lilliana had yet to let go of Sevagoth’s hand. They looked at each other with a knowing smile and simply rode in silence. About 20 minutes later, they arrived at the Southern hidden quarter. A small neighborhood of homes came into view, many of the homes having lovely gardens and landscaping to fill the yards in front. The carriage came to a stop, and the group climbed back out onto the street. Lilliana started to pull Sevagoth this time, leading him by the hand to one of the houses.

  She quickly ran up the steps and knocked loudly on the door before shouting, “MOM, DAD, I’M HOME!” Sevagoth was taken aback. I forgot she could yell; she's been so quiet. Frantic steps were heard from inside the home, and the door was suddenly ripped open.

  “Oh, dear Lilli, you’re home!” Lilliana was pulled into a frantic hug by a woman who looked very similar. Bluish gray skin, black hair, and large black horns curving slightly back. It was obviously her mother, and Sev tried to step back to give them space. Lilliana, however, refused to let go of him. So there he stood, awkwardly standing beside them as the mother hugged her daughter and cried. After about a minute, the mother calmed down and turned to face Sev and asked, “And just who might you be?” There was obvious venom dripping from those words. Now I see where she gets it. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. Sevagoth thought to himself as her mother shot daggers through her eyes.

  “MOM STOP! He saved me today; he is the only reason I got home. Leave him alone!” Lilliana yelled as she stood between her mother and Sevagoth.

  “Well then, what is it you expect in return, hmm?” The mother was still far from trusting, and Sev could tell he was FAR from wanted here.

  “I’m sorry for any inconvenience. I’ll be on my way, ma’am.” He said, half-bowing as he did so. As he turned to walk away, Lilliana once again refused to let go.

  “Sev don’t. Please.” Lilliana said, sounding hurt as he tried to leave. Well, hell, what to do. Make her cry or get scrutinized by her mother. Choices choices.

  As if hearing his thoughts, Byron stepped forward and spoke up. “I’m sorry for the bother, ma’am. We simply wanted to ensure Miss Lilliana arrived home safely. We mean no offense.” He said formally. As Lilli’s mother looked up to yell at the new voice, she quickly recognized the king. She was shocked, too stunned to speak.

  Another set of footsteps came from the house, and a tall figure filled the doorway. “You’ll have to forgive my wife. She can be quite……. Close-minded. Please, come in.”

  The voice was gruff, yet calming. As Sev looked towards the door, he saw a large, muscular man decorated with scales. Silverish white sheen caught the light as he stepped into the doorframe, revealing the dragonoid. His broad shoulders took up a majority of the doorway, casting an imposing silhouette. He was covered in silver and white scales, forming a natural gradient. He stood several inches taller than even Arthur and had a far more imposing presence. Sitting atop his head were 2 large yet simple horns, both of which went more back than up. His right horn tip was broken off about half an inch in, and both were decorated with scrapes and chips. They were rather short, especially compared to Camilla’s, but still added a couple of inches to his height. However, despite his appearance, his face held a fairly calm and almost gentle expression. Ooooooh. That explains the scales, then. Sev thought.

  "Camilla, please allow our guest in. It seems we are in their debt.” The man said, stepping back inside.

  Camilla snapped out of her daze and said, “Oh, yes, of course. Please, come in.” Oh, so you’ll believe the king but not me. Sev rolled his eyes and followed as Lillliana led him inside. Byron and Arthur followed behind, leaving Magdin and Bryton with the carriage.

  The dragonoid led the group into the living room and gestured for them to sit. “Please, make yourselves at home. I’m sorry we don’t have more comfortable arrangements, your highness.”

  Byron laughed and waved his hand, “Oh, please. It would be nice to be treated like normal for once. We dropped in unannounced. I’m very grateful that you would invite us inside in the first place.”

  Camilla was now frantic to recover the situation. “W-would anyone like something to drink?” She asked, her voice shaky. Shmoozer. Sev thought, being dragged onto the couch next to Lilliana, who had since taken her hood down.

  “My name is Orsen, it is a pleasure.” The dragonoid said, taking a seat opposite the others. “We were beginning to worry about what had happened to our dear Lilli. I am relieved to know that she is safe, and I am eternally grateful that you brought her back to us. May I please ask what happened?”

  “Wait, Orsen? The Orsen?” Byron asked quickly.

  “Most likely, yes. But we can discuss that a bit later.” Orsen said with an embarrassed chuckle.

  Lilliana jumped in immediately, filling in the details of how she was followed by a group of bullies after leaving the ceremony at the school. She tried to shake them in the alleys, but they cornered her. She told them how she had gotten hit with sticks and rocks, including the head wound that stained her hood. She then detailed Sev shutting Philip and the others down, before rushing her to safety and dressing her wounds. She filled her parents in on every detail, including the fact that Elias had healed her free of charge without even a second's hesitation.

  “Well, after hearing that, it seems we owe you yet another apology, young man. My wife was concerned for our daughter, and you know firsthand as to why that concern exists. She jumped to conclusions. Please forgive us.” Orsen said, the sincerity apparent in every word. Wow. A genuinely good guy. Rare these days.

  Sevagoth just shrugged. “I get it. She at least didn’t hit me or shove me, so no harm, no foul. Nothing to apologize for as far as I see it."

  As soon as Sev finished that thought, Lilliana yelled, “HEEEY. Are you still holding a grudge for that? I was really freaked out, I didn’t hit or shove you out of malice!”

  Sev simply held his hand up. “Wasn’t trying to take a jab at you. Sorry.”

  Orsen chuckled lightly as he observed the two of them. “You are quite mature; you must be older than you look. But it’s not every day we find someone our Lilli warms up to. Let alone this fast, and enough to hold their hand. Seems our daughter has grown quite fond of you. I’m glad. But we are in your debt. Is there anything we can do to repay you for your kindness?” He asked.

  Sev didn’t hesitate to respond. “Nope. I’m good.” He said with a heavy shrug.

  Orsen and Camilla were both caught off guard. “Are you certain?” They asked.

  “Absolutely, sir.” Sev responded confidently. “It’s not like I did anything special.”

  “Very well, how old are you, young man?” Orsen asked.

  “6, sir.” Sev responded.

  Orsen was again caught off guard. “Truly? I would have thought you were 9 if not for your stature.” He added with a raised eyebrow.

  Lillina stared blankly at Sev for a moment. “Wait, I’m 2 years older than you? No way!” She added as she moved her face closer to his, as if scrutinizing his statement.

  Orsen simply smiled. “May I ask another favor? It feels selfish after all you’ve done, but I feel I should ask anyway.”

  “Go ahead,” Sev responded.

  “Would you be willing to be friends with our daughter? We catch a lot of attention, most of it unwelcome, as I’m sure you can imagine. But you don’t seem to be bothered by our appearance one bit. It would put our hearts at ease to know someone was looking out for our daughter while she is away, especially if that person has already proved they are willing to fight others on her behalf.”

  Sev laughed a bit, more out loud than he had intended. “Sorry, but that’s the big favor you wanted to ask? I figure at this point it was already a given, whether I want it or not.” He said as he lifted his and Lilli’s hands, pointing at her, still holding his hand even after he had let go.

  Orsen chuckled for a second at the display. “Very well. I am grateful, young Sevagoth. You have done our family a great service, and you have opened my wife’s eyes to the fact that not everyone wishes us ill. A well-needed wake-up call, I would say.”

  Camilla hung her head as he said this. “I am truly sorry for the way I treated you before. I’ve just had so many experiences with humans that I assumed you were all the same. Please, forgive me.” She all but begged.

  Sev sighed heavily. “I already told you that you don’t need to be sorry. You were protecting your daughter; it was the right thing to do. But could people stop lumping me in as a ‘human’ if they hold them so damn negatively? Everybody sucks, but I’m not even human, I’m dwarven and elvish.”

  Orsen laughed a loud, hearty laugh. “Truly? Hah! The irony is not lost on me. Well then, Sevagoth and company. Would you all care to stay for dinner? It’s the least we can do.”

  Arthur and Byron shrugged as they looked at each other. “Why not. Should be fun!”

  Sev and the others all shared a meal at Lilliana’s house for the first time. There were many laughs and stories told that night. Sevagoth had made a friend, Lilliana had a new friend, and Arthur and Byron got to experience a night as normal civilians. Orsen and Camilla softened up substantially, enjoying good company. It was a good night, and one that they would all remember for a long, long time.

  “So what are you planning on doing this break??” Lilli asked Sev as he was preparing to leave.

  “Hmm. Training, ideally. A lot of training.” Sev answered flatly. “Why? What about you?”

  “Would you mind if I tag along?” She asked with a wide smile.

  Sev thought for a moment, looking over at Arthur, who simply shrugged. “It’s fine with me, though I can’t imagine it’ll be all that fun to watch. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”