Frozen Prospects (12 page)

Alir
waved the victorious boy away and shook his head at Va'del. "Go
get some water and then come back and we'll see if your technique is
really as bad as it looks."

Va'del
pulled himself to his feet and was walking around the gray-clothed
observers when one of them, a tall, handsome boy, snickered. "He's
a bloody coward, won't even attack. I'rone sure screwed up picking
that one. I guess the bloodline shows through. An inept candidate
for a stupid ogre of a Guadel. Looks like he managed to get himself
killed off none too soon."

It
had become reflex for Va'del to ignore slights against himself, but
somehow the same kind of insults directed against his adoptive
family bypassed his carefully crafted controls. Hot rage poured
through him and before anyone else could respond, he turned and
knocked the older boy to the ground with a punch that left his hand
tingling.

For
a split second nobody moved, and then as one, the other boys turned
on him with a hail of blows aimed at driving him to the ground.

A
deep voice suddenly rang out, and the blows stopped almost as
quickly as they'd started. "Enough."

The
crowd surrounding Va'del parted and he saw a thin, but heavily
muscled, man with the paired blades of a Guadel approaching. "There
will be punishments handed out left and right for this, I assure
you."

Pointing
to one of the gray-clothed girls, the man continued. "What
happened here to make these Guadel candidates think it was
acceptable to turn on one boy like a pack of starved snow wolves?"

The
girl looked supremely uncomfortable, as if trying to weigh the
displeasure of an adult against the displeasure of her peers. The
instructor opened his mouth, but before he could say anything one of
the other girls stepped forward.

"Be'ter
insulted the trainee, and then insulted Guadel I'rone. The trainee
struck Be'ter, knocking him to the ground, after which the rest of
the candidates attacked the trainee."

The
girl turned to look back at Va'del and he realized it was Jain.
Maybe she isn't like all
of the rest after all.

The
instructor nodded. "Is there anyone who would dispute that
telling of the events?" When nobody spoke up, the man turned
to Va'del. "We don't brawl. There are no exceptions to that
rule, regardless of the insult."

The
rage that had made Va'del act without thinking was still present and
nearly strong enough for him to do the unthinkable and argue with an
adult, but On'li's voice seemed to play again in his mind, reminding
him that everyone outranked him.
I'm
nobody, and nobody will take my side on anything.

Satisfied
with Va'del's nod, the instructor turned to Be'ter. "You
deserved what you got. You had no reason to insult the boy, and
even less reason to sully the memory of one of the finest Guadel to
serve the People in the last century."

Be'ter
looked up at Va'del, and there was such hatred and rage in his eyes
that Va'del unconsciously stepped back.

"I
demand challenge right."

"Candidates
can't challenge each other." The instructor turned as if the
matter was settled, but Be'ter shook his head. "He isn't a
candidate. He isn't even a guardsman, and he has sullied the honor
of the Guadel. I demand satisfaction."

A
ripple of indrawn breath went through the watching youth as they
realized Be'ter was serious.

"No,
there is no precedent for anything like this. I won't have you boys
killing each other."

"I've
read the law, there's nothing forbidding me from defending my
honor."

The
instructor turned and roared at Be'ter. "You stupid child!
You know nothing of honor and haven't yet earned the right to defend
the honor of the Guadel. The Council would decide in my favor but
I'll allow it as long as practice weapons are used."

Va'del
didn't even wait for the instructor to turn to him before answering.
"I accept."

Sighing
heavily, the instructor nodded and then pointed to a weapons rack a
little distance away. "You, go arm yourself with a dagger if
you so desire. Be'ter, run the cavern."

The
surly teenager looked like he was going to argue, but the Guadel
moved into the other boy's personal space. "You challenged
him, which means he can pick the time of the duel. Do you really
expect him to fight you now while you're fresh and he's been through
numerous bouts? You'll run until I tell you to stop. At least with
you both tired there is less chance you'll kill each other."

Be'ter
turned away and started jogging around the circular cavern, but his
manner seemed to say that it wouldn't matter, that he'd win
regardless.

Va'del
found a practice dagger that was the right size and weight, and then
paced back and forth across the slightly-rough rock floor to avoid
cooling down and tightening up too much before the fight.

The
Guadel forced Be'ter into a more rapid pace, and then, once the
candidate was panting and sweating from the exertion, finally allowed
him to stop. Va'del shortly found himself across from Be'ter,
surrounded by a circle of youth and adults, nearly all of whom
seemed to be hoping Be'ter would seriously injure him.

Va'del
was familiar with the rules surrounding an honor duel. He'd learned
everything he could about them while still at Bitter Rocks. The
idea of challenging Jas'per to a duel had been a heady fantasy until
it became obvious Jas'per would always win.

Everywhere
I go there are bullies. Just need to force him out or execute a
strike that would be considered killing.

Be'ter
moved in, now only slightly winded from his run, and executed a
simple set of strikes designed to test his opponent's skill. Va'del
stepped back out of the way of some, and parried the rest with his
sword.
Convince him I'm
not very skilled with the dagger?

Va'del
launched his own attack, slashing at the older boy's head, but the
blow was deflected by Be'ter's dagger.
Not
bad, but not as good as I expected either. I think I have a chance.

As
much as possible, Va'del dodged, trying to force movement, trying to
take advantage of the fact that Be'ter's legs might be tired.
Be'ter attacked relentlessly, trying to force Va'del to use his
exhausted arms to deflect blows that were increasingly brutal.

As
the fight progressed, even the faces of the youngsters in the circle
became grim. Be'ter obviously wasn't going to be satisfied by
pushing his opponent out of the circle. Every blow was being
delivered with bone-shattering strength and one of them would
eventually get through.

Va'del
did his best, but his strength quickly wore thin. The tempo of the
fight subtly changed, and it became apparent that Be'ter was now
controlling the engagement.
He's
a better swordsman, but I don't think he's been exposed to some of
the dirty tricks that Jas'per used to use on me when his father
wasn't watching. He's also starting to rely on the fact that I'm
not using my dagger for anything.

Be'ter
came in with a complicated double attack, for what he obviously
assumed would be the last pass. Va'del blocked with both his sword,
and
the dagger he'd been carefully not using up to that point.

A
flash of surprise crossed Be'ter's face, and then Va'del's forehead
crashed into his nose. Before Be'ter could recover, Va'del spun him
around and pressed a practice dagger to his throat.

In
the awkward silence that resulted from Va'del's unexpected win, the
Guadel who'd been overseeing the fight proclaimed the younger boy
victor.

Carefully
releasing his opponent, Va'del backed away, and turned to leave,
only to hear a gasp from the crowd as Be'ter rushed him. Va'del
spun around to find that the Guadel weapons instructor had blocked a
downward strike that otherwise would have broken Va'del's neck.
Before anyone else could move, the instructor kicked Be'ter in the
stomach, knocking him to the ground. Be'ter stared up from his
back, shock evident on his face while the Guadel called for someone
to get his sponsor.

Forgotten
in the ensuing pandemonium, Va'del racked his practice weapons, and
slipped away into the darkness.

Jain
picked up a new spool of gurra wool yarn that she'd finished carding
and spinning the week before, and wished once again that her life
wasn't quite so regimented as she began stringing her loom.

Mali
looked up from where she was working next to Jain, and sighed as she
pulled her long black hair away from her face. "I can't
believe that vile boy broke Be'ter's nose."

On
the other hand, it's a very good thing they keep such a close eye on
us considering how foolish some of us are.

The
rest of the girls in the room twittered at the reminder that Mali
had a crush on the older boy. "Don't worry, Mali, Healer Pati
will fix him up just as handsome as always."

The
last thing anyone needs to be doing is encouraging her to set her
heart on that monster.

The
shock that anyone could believe such stupidity made Jain forget her
normal timidness. "Be'ter deserved that, maybe worse, for the
way he acted yesterday."

"How
can you say that? That
failure
attacked him for no cause. He was well within his rights to
challenge, and then the boy used such underhanded tactics to win.
Why, I've never seen someone drop their sword like that. It was
shameful. No wonder Be'ter got a little angry."

Jain
briefly considered a stronger response and then mentally shrugged.
It was becoming evident to her that nothing was going to convince
the other girls that Be'ter wasn't who he pretended to be. Even the
instructors seemed to be realizing what a snake Be'ter was, but the
rest of the Daughters seemed largely to think he was perfect.

"He
insulted Va'del, lost the fight fair and square, and then tried to
attack Va'del from behind. You can't say the attack on Be'ter was
unprovoked but the one on Va'del wasn't. Be'ter ended up with a
fat lip and a broken nose—Va'del would have been killed if Guadel
Fi'lin hadn't stopped the blow."

Mali
tossed her hair and then turned her back to Jain. "You sound
like you like the ugly, scrawny thing.
You're
obviously not objective."

The
willful, honest corner of Jain's mind that inevitably got her into
trouble wanted to press the argument, but it was obvious the rest of
the girls were all firmly on Mali's side.

Sighing
once again, Jain returned to her work.
He's
actually quite attractive. Exotic, dark skin, and he's not scrawny,
just tall.

As
she listened to the other girls fawn over Be'ter, she wondered if
even the Council would be smart enough to stop him from being made a
full Guadel.

##

On'li
walked into the suite of rooms her family shared and wished for the
thousandth time that she and Javin didn't have to sit on the
Council.

Mar'li
looked up from the book she'd been reading as her sister-wife
arrived. "Bad day?"

"Very
much so. The girls in my class seem more inane every year. I
refuse to believe I was ever that foolish as a teenager."

Mar'li
chuckled as On'li kicked off her shoes and buried her toes in the
thick, red gurra wool rug. "Careful. It wasn't that long ago
that I was in your class behaving as if I didn't have a brain.
You'll hurt my feelings."

"Hardly.
It's been more than ten years since you were a student, and even
when you were, you were too quiet to have possibly said half of the
stupid things I hear on a regular basis."

Mar'li
got up and poured a cup of tea. "Be that as it may, you've had
plenty of time to accustom yourself to the frustrations of teaching.
There must be something else going on to put your back up like
this."

Accepting
the tea with a nod of thanks, On'li sighed. "You wouldn't have
heard yet, of course, even though the rest of this part of the
Capital is positively abuzz with the news, but Va'del was in an
honor match against Be'ter."

Mar'li's
soft eyes momentarily showed a brief, poorly-hidden flash of pain at
the reminder of her isolation from the rest of the Guadel, before
her mind processed the rest of On'li's statement. "He what?"

"Apparently
Be'ter mocked him, and then insulted I'rone and his wives. Va'del
knocked him to the ground, which wasn't the most diplomatic action,
but doesn't really surprise me. That boy is a bundle of raw nerves
about everything that happened. I think the four of them became
much more attached to each other than I'd have expected in such a
short time."

Holding
up the book she'd been reading, Mar'li nodded. "Jasmin's
journal indicates as much. It isn't surprising though, you know how
much of a sucker all of the women in our bloodline end up being for
the emotionally injured. We can't help it after marrying who we
marry and seeing how far they've come from the wounded little things
they were when they were selected."

On'li
took another sip of tea. "Of course, and on Va'del's side, the
three of them rescued him from a state of utter misery. He was
almost completely unloved, so it's only natural he'd come to love
them, especially considering how personable Jasmin in particular
is...I mean was."

Both
of the women were silent for a moment as they tried to fight off the
feelings of grief that were part of losing someone in the close-knit
family of a Guadel bloodline.

On'li
was the first to speak. "I understand why Va'del reacted as he
did, but it was less than ideal for us. While Fi'lin was trying to
reprimand both boys Be'ter demanded an honor match. Since Va'del
isn't really a candidate, or even a trainee right now, there's
enough fuzziness in the law that Fi'lin decided he couldn't get away
with refusing Be'ter."