Definitely Not Canon

It seems like ages ago now, but I published the first chapters of ISINADL in April. True to my usual form, I began in March by writing a bunch of random scenes based on familiar light novel tropes, twisting them to my liking. Some of it went into notebooks, and some was typed into Scrivener. About half of that early work will never see the light of day, and the other half is barely recognizable today. Somehow, out of all that soup came the core ideas for ISINADL.

I don't throw away the unused scenes. I still have the physical notebooks (ten novels worth), and I drop the typed chapters into a folder generously named "Reserved". Once in a while, I comb through it looking for any ideas whose time has finally come, little gems that fit perfectly into the next book.

This is not one of those scenes.

The scene I have for you was written in a hot minute when the Gordian Empire had a traditional nobility structure, Taylor went to the Imperial Academy, and he had the unfortunate title of Lord d'Arc Ness. (You see what I'm laying down there, right?) The scene starts with low-ranked noble girls bullying a talented commoner. It's raw. There are swear words. There's not a lot of character development. But something about it scratches an itch.

Without further ado, here is the "Reserved", non-canonical scene.

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"This school is for patrician families, but you're just trash someone picked up off the street. You don't belong here."

Suianne looked down at her feet and tried not to let them see her tears. One of the girls got in her space, and grabbed her hair. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you! You should leave. Today. Make space for someone decent!" Another girl knocked the books from her hand, spilling them all over the floor.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bilius growled from the alcove.

The pack of girls looked him over. "One piece of trash defending another. Do you know who you're talking to?"

"Do you? Suianne is here on imperial scholarship. That means someone close to the emperor is paying attention. Think about that for a second. If you mess with her, you're messing with them. And if you don't know who sponsored her, then you're the ones who don't know who you're messing with right now. Are you sure you want that kind of trouble?

"You're just low daughters from weak families gone to rot who haven't done shit for generations except steal land from peasants. I could buy a dozen of you brats, and you wouldn't be missed. Not that I'd want any of your children. Piss off already."

They reached for their wands, an empty threat given how closely the school monitored magic in the halls. Billius let his mana bloom in warning, with enough menace to bring them to their knees.

"Go ahead and try. I know a spell to peel wyverns out of their skins. I wonder what it does to humans?" He released them and watched them run away in a panic, clinging to the wall just to stay upright.

"And you." He turned his attention to Suianne. "Stop being such an easy target. I'm sick and tired of watching you mope around with your head down, begging to be kicked. Those girls don't decide if you belong here or not. Just tell them off and move on. They're the trash here. Their grades suck, their magic is weak, and their families are shit. Fuck them."

He'd spent enough time on their juvenile nonsense and turned to go. Maybe he just made her situation worse, given his lack of finesse. He'd let the principal know what was happening and demand they crack down on the bullying. What the hell was Administration thinking, letting that kind of thing pass?

"I don't know how." It was barely more than a whisper, but he heard it. He wished he hadn't. "I don't know how to be strong like you."

Even through his mask, anyone watching could have told he was screwing up his face, trying to resist. He had to resist the urge to get involved any further. He had things to do. 

He tried to leave, to take another step away from her, but he couldn't. It was wrong to leave her like that, especially when she had the talent to be truly strong. He cursed at himself under his mask. Was he seriously considering this? Groaning, he turned to face her.

"You know my reputation. I'm not nice, I'm not genteel, and I have one foot out the door of this place already. Training under me would suck. It would take up all the time you're not already studying. You would hate it. My views contradict what the school will tell you. There's honestly a lot more reasons to learn from someone else instead of me."

"All my homework for today is done! I could start right now!" The spilled books were forgotten, and that spark of excitement was in her eyes. But this wasn't some fluffy new summons she could pet. Her life was about to become a lot harder.

"We're both probably going to regret this, but fine. You can be my apprentice. Get out pen and paper and write this down. To Miss Grady from Billius, Lord d'Arc Ness, I have taken Suianne as my apprentice and require her constant presence. Please transfer her room assignment to the empty one next to mine." Billius signed the missive with a thought, raising and darkening the paper into an ominous-looking signature. The paper promptly folded itself and flew away to find its recipient.

"I'll have to move my things."

"No, you won't. I'll have it done for you. You don't have time for trivial chores anymore. You need to study."

"What are we doing first?"

"Monster anatomy. Today's a butchering day, so it's a good opportunity for you." The girl paled. "You're a healer. You'll see more blood and gore on battlefields and dungeon floors than you've ever imagined. It's better to get used to it now, while nobody's life is at stake. Or are you giving up already? Because I don't need to do this."

"No! I'm coming! Please don't give up on me."

"Well, come along then."