James shuddered at the thought. He had to do something. Of course, he would not pursue a relationship with Catherine. That was wrong, and he was grateful that he had some kind of morals left. If he couldn’t accept her for who she was before he had known she was the princess, he refused to fall for her now.
But that did not mean she should be with Dominic.
He wasn’t right for her either. All he cared about was the status. He would never give her attention, or laugh at her jokes, or give her a kiss on the forehead as she drifted off to sleep. As long as he was King, his rule would succeed her own. Who knows? He may even stoop so low as to cast her away and get another wife.
James refused to stand by and watch Catherine get thrown to the wayside. At the very least, for all she had done for him, he had to help her get out of Dominic’s reach. After all, if it wasn’t for her, he would have utterly failed on the second day of his test. He had to help her see the light, to show her what kind of a man Dominic was, while maintaining his own distance from her. She deserved better than either of them. James grit his teeth as he realized that, at the heart of the matter, he was probably no different than Dominic, and would have acted just like him if their roles had been reversed.
It sickened him to his core.
“I have to change,” James whispered to the dim lights as he struck the wall. “But even if I do, I still can’t be with her. If she was still a recruit in my mind, I wouldn’t want to be with her. The fact that she’s a princess appeals to me but...”
“…not her,” James’ voice broke as he rubbed his eyes hard, refusing to let anyone beyond the thin doors hear him mourn.
With a clearing of his throat, James made his way to his room while a silent vow to himself. A promise to never fall in love with the princess, and even if he did, he would never pursue it and never act upon it.
She deserved better than that.
Chapter 7 - Change
Dominic and Arimus had been waiting a long time. He could tell. Arimus’ usual patient and warm composure was one of annoyance as he harshly tapped his fingers against his left leg. Dominic was yawning and rubbing his right cheek as James solemnly entered the room. He had overslept—again skipping breakfast, but for once he didn’t care. He just wanted to stab Dominic and go back to bed.
The night before had been a hectic one and his overactive imagination had refused to let him sleep as he replayed his interactions with Catherine over and over. It wasn’t until he ground his face into the pillow and refused to think that he finally slumbered. And he had slept hard, for the next thing he knew, there was a furious pounding on his door that made him leap to his feet. He had answered the door, half-expecting to see Catherine, but found no one there. Whomever it was had run off and he couldn’t help but think that if it was her, she sure didn’t want to speak with him.
That had only soured his mood even more, and after he gave a half-hearted attempt to dress warmly, he grudgingly trekked to the east wing. Even the bitter morning cold that seeped from under his door nipped at his leg hairs, matching the sharp pricks of memories that stabbed at the recesses of his mind. James walked over to where his proctors stood casually, taking note that Arimus was completely aware of the change in his usual “pressing” attitude. Dominic snickered.
“I guess I hit a nerve last night, even if it was the truth. She wanted to tell you, obviously, but she was afraid you’d get weird on her.”
James was tired of hearing Dominic speak.
“Can’t we just get this over with?”
“Now I know something’s wrong,” Dominic said in surprise. “You just want me to end this now? All your hopes and dreams of becoming a Sage? Gone? Just say the word and I will gladly carry out your request.”
“You make me sick.”
“And you make Catherine sick. Thinking you’re above everyone else. It’s not like the ladies are dying to see your common face, so where do you get off?”
“You’re right,” James muttered. Arimus’s eyes widened in surprise as Dominic put a hand to his chest in fake awe.
“What was that?”
“I said you’re right. I have been acting childish. I’m no better than anyone.”
“Wow. Where’s an audience when you need one?”
“But I will say one thing,” James declared, his voice growing. “I will not allow Catherine to marry you.”
James stared steadily into Dominic’s eyes. The upperclassman shook his head in disbelief.
“Arimus, are you hearing this? He’s going to forbid me to marry Catherine. The guy who called her ugly and barely gave her the time of day. Why, James? So you can abuse her some more?”
Arimus remained motionless, refusing to get between the two.
“I don’t know how you became her ‘betrothed’ but you can’t marry her. You won’t treat her the way she deserves to be treated and she shouldn’t have to settle for less.”
“This is so funny coming from you. I hope you don’t think you’re who she should settle for. It’s none of your business how I became her betrothed and I’ll treat my wife however I want.”
“She’s too good for you…and she’s not your wife yet.”
“Oh don’t give me that. All of a sudden, because you know who she is, she deserves the moon and the stars? You need to cut out these wild notions and wake up. No one ends up with the ‘perfect’ man or woman. Everyone settles. Everyone. Settle for less…what a joke. She’s settling for the best around.”
“Enough,” Arimus spoke up, nearly barking the order. “You won’t get anywhere bickering over who deserves who and why. All that matters is what she wants. Isn’t it?”
“She has the Kingdom to watch over,” Dominic stated. “It’s about more than what she wants. She has to do what’s best.”
Arimus glared at Dominic and unsheathed the sword James had been using from his belt. He tossed it over to James and then walked over to the far left wall and leaned against it.
“Yesterday was a long day. To come back to a squabble of this caliber is more than my ears will allow.”
Arimus yawned and lowered his head, muttering a “begin” between breaths.
Dominic backed up a step as James stood his ground, sword in hand still lowered.
“So, James, have you figured out how you’re going to pass today?”
“Not really,” he muttered as he looked over the sword in his hand. “I was thinking of maybe defeating you with my own eidolon.”
“Oh, really? And how are you going to manage that, considering you don’t have one.”
“I have a soul. That’s enough.”
“You can’t cut me with your soul while it’s on the inside of your body, idiot.”
“I don’t intend to. Once I release my eidolon, it’ll be all over.”
“And if you’re trying to make me slip and tell you how to do it, you need another plan.”
James chuckled low and then lunged forward. Dominic barely dodged the tip of the sword as it brushed past his hair. Dominic, taken aback, tried leaping backwards to give them some distance. James continued lunging, swinging harder and harder as he gave no thought to the amount of energy he was exerting.
If he pulls out that eidolon, it’s all over. My only chance is to keep the distance between us short, hope that when he does pull it out, the sword will already be heading his way…and that he doesn’t dodge it.
Arimus raised an eye as he heard Dominic grunt, James still on the attack. Dominic waited for the right moment before he leaned into James thrust, his back pressing just up against James’ stomach. Dominic grabbed James’ wrist and threw him forward, making him lose his balance. It was the only reprieve Dominic needed as James watched in horror. The upperclassman placed his right fist on his left shoulder.
Beaten by a stupid flip, James thought bitterly as he heard Dominic celebrating.
“Well, it’s been fun,” Dominic laughed as rays of white smothered the room. James shut his eyes and swung, remembering that Domin
ic needed a little time to pull out the eidolon. Feeling the blade pierce only the air, disappointment sunk in as he realized Dominic had already moved behind him. His beautifully carved eidolon was already in hand, ready to strike should James make a false move.
Dominic didn’t bother swinging, instead choosing to lightly push James forward with his free hand. James took a few steps in surprise and turned around. Dominic put his blade forward, the tip barely touching James’ nose as the upperclassman closed his eyes in concentration.
“That’s what I wanted to feel,” Dominic swooned. “That fear. That sense of defeat. You know this is it. It’s all over you like a foul stench.”
James cringed, trying not to listen, trying to figure out his next move.
“You’re trying to think of something. Go ahead. It’s still over. Unless you do the impossible. Unleash your eidolon. Right now. If you can’t, you won’t pass this test, and you’ll go back to being plain old James.”
Dominic opened his eyes to look at his opponent.
“That’s how I passed. It was as simple as that. I was naïve in the beginning like you. I tried thinking of all these different scenarios or hoping my teacher would screw up, but I was a fool because I didn’t know what an eidolon could do. I had no clue what it felt like when your very soul is out in the open, absorbing everything like a sponge. I was so dumb to think I could weasel my way through the test. Cheat. Change the system… Don’t you get it, James? You can’t outsmart this. You can’t fight this with a normal sword. Only with your eidolon unsheathed will you be able to read my moves and act accordingly. Right now it’s as if you’re a newborn piglet, blind and unaware, and I’m the butcher with cleaver at the ready. It’s over now, 10th class. Do you hear me? And another thing—”
Too quick to see, Dominic grabbed James’ collar, lifted him up, and threw him to the ground. James clamored to his feet and readied his blade for Dominic’s next move.
I have to see him move next time. This is getting ridiculous!
“Hold out your sword and hold it tight. Keep it there for as long as you can.”
James obeyed, holding his sword out toward Dominic, not ready to accept his fate, but curious to see what other feats a Sage could accomplish. Before he could finish completing his grip on the hilt, the sword suddenly felt as if a ton of weight had been placed on its blade. James dropped the sword, and it fell hard, creating a slight imprint in the floor. Before James’ eyes, the imprint grew larger and the sword sank deeper and deeper down. James glanced up at Dominic who had once again closed his eyes.
“Another reason you would have lost is my ability. Every eidolon has three innate abilities. An attack, a defense, and a support. This is my support ability. I call it Lock. I’m not sure of the mechanics, but I do know that when I concentrate on a specific enemy’s weapon, I can make it as heavy or light as I want it at will—which makes me very hard to hit. So basically, even if you had pulled out an eidolon, I would have locked it and you’d barely be able to lift it.”
James nodded with acceptance.
“So I probably wouldn’t have passed the test anyway,” he said. The words stung coming from his lips.
“Not necessarily,” Arimus spoke up, stepping forward. “Trying to cut Dominic was a means to an end. The focus of this examination was for you to unleash your eidolon. Dominic’s role in this was to be a catalyst, nothing more.”
“You’re telling me,” James snapped angrily, “that the whole test was for me to pull out my eidolon. That was it? I didn’t even have to cut him?”
“I don’t know why that infuriates you. Doing so would be the only way to cut him anyway, wouldn’t it? Besides, this test was a perfect way to see if you could release it, which you didn’t.”
“But I didn’t even know that was the purpose.”
“Irrelevant. Unleashing your eidolon comes in response to a need. A consequence to a stimulus, but something greater than fear. This exam tests your character, to see if you have the proper determination, motivation and will to become a Sage. If you had this, the eidolon would have emerged on its own.”
“Well, then I guess that’s it…”
“I must say though, I was impressed. Believe it or not, I thought you were going to make it. You were so determined and confident.”
“Is that what it takes?” James asked, glancing at Dominic.
“No,” Arimus chuckled, “but you did give a great effort.”
“But I thought,” James said lowly, calming down, “that everyone in Allay had the…I don’t know—capacity to become a Sage, like, only Sages come from Allay. So, how could some little test determine if I’m going to become one? Are you actually telling me that I’ll never be a Sage?”
Arimus stood motionless, looking for the right words to relay.
“James, I’m not saying it’s impossible, just highly improbable. You were tested as everyone is, but you lacked the necessary components to pass, which is nothing to sulk about. What I’m trying to say is that most people in Allay—recruits included—rarely face danger or fear. Most people are content where they are and even those that aren’t, are not willing to face the hardships and trials it takes to succeed. To get to a higher place in life could be a long and arduous journey that could take years. Most quit halfway through or even right at the brink of their reward. No one enjoys pain, but few are willing to suffer through it and continue pressing on when they might have to change the very person they are to get ahead. This test places them in that danger. When they see the eidolon coming before them, they make a choice, whether to stand and fight, or run away. And I will tell you this, ninety five percent of the recruits I see, run away. They quit and wallow in their fear. And even those that face it don’t always unleash their eidolon.
“Your eidolon is a manifestation of you, and sometimes one’s will or one’s soul just isn’t strong enough to take on a world outside its own shell. There’s nothing wrong with that, and you need to understand this. If one’s soul can barely stand a world outside its shell, how can it fight in grueling battles against others? A Sage is not all honor and glory. I have heard that even when a Sage kills a man, they feel their pain and last emotions as they fade away. Few can handle such an endeavor. So when I say all of this, I need you to understand, that ultimately, it is okay that you did not pass.”
James refused to look Arimus in the eye. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around what had happened.
Was it true? Was he not cut out to be a Sage? Maybe his soul just couldn’t handle being outside his body…perhaps it wasn’t ready. If living things were so instinctively tied to survival, detaching one’s soul from their body seemed ludicrous. Still, he would’ve liked to experience it firsthand. Maybe there was more than glory to being a Sage. Maybe there was a lot of suffering behind the legends, but still, just to feel what Dominic felt when his eidolon rang through the air, to suddenly be allowed to experience life through so many senses when for so long he had taken for granted his five...
James had been such a dead weight until he came to the Academy, and although it had only been a little while, he felt like he had grown so much and gotten so far…but for what? To become an infantryman? There had to be more…
“I’m not saying you should quit, James, although everyone wants to,” Arimus said, as if he were reading James’ mind.
“But…I am of Allay. This test doesn’t mean I can’t ever become a Sage.”
“There is one thing that may interest you.”
“What’s that?”
Arimus reached behind his cloak and revealed a broken dagger. Only the hilt was left of it. He placed it firmly in James’ hand, who mulled it over, examining it carefully as his mentor spoke.
“It’s called a manumit. It forces your soul to come out of your body and fashion into a blade which then rests on the hilt here. Sort of like a knock-off eidolon.”
“Why didn’t I get to use this earlier?” James perked up.
“Because if you use it, your so
ul will only stay on the blade for less than a minute, and then you will die.”
“What?!”
“You die. Forcing the soul to come out when it isn’t ready will ultimately result in death. A full minute is actually the longest I’ve seen a manumit last. Most only stay a few seconds. They are primarily used as last ditch efforts, when a battle is about to be lost. The manumits are handed out to each soldier in the infantry for emergency situations. This will be yours if you survive the next test—when you have proven yourself worthy of its use.”
James handed the manumit back to Arimus and noticed that the sword in the ground had stopped sinking. James smirked as Arimus raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“What’s so funny, James?”
“Who said anything about this test being over?” James laughed as he grabbed the fallen sword and sighed in relief that its weight was back to normal. With one last burst of energy, he lunged at Dominic. The upperclassman, with eidolon still unsheathed, blocked the attack despite being caught off guard.
James reached out and grabbed the eidolon’s blade, ignoring the fine incision it made into the palm of his hand. He winced instinctively as he held the eidolon with all his might, refusing to look at Dominic who was busy yelling in his ear. James thrust his sword forward, barely missing the side of Dominic’s torso as he just managed to dodge James’ attack, shuffling to the side. Dominic leaned forward with the eidolon in response, causing it to dig deeper into James’ palm. Crying out, James lost his focus, letting the eidolon slip out of his hand. Dominic wasted no time. He sped behind James and delivered one diagonal swipe across his back.
The Works of Julius St. Clair - 2017 Edition (Includes 3 full novels and more) Page 14