Chapter 111: Rejection

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14V6zX1iYk-3bCMiQ-EVkpxwreZOLmaqUQlmG49HNaDA/edit?usp=sharing

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Cayden repeated the name to himself several times as they re-entered the square where the princess and her bodyguards waited, deactivating [Dual-Speak] as he did. He was amazed and impressed with the power of the skill; so far, it had managed his outward words and expressions perfectly, simulating exactly what he might have done had Cayden actually been the one making the decisions, while at the same time never making Cayden feel as if his autonomy was violated. The skill didn’t so much take external control from him as it did manage his external actions, allowing him to devote the entirety of his focus to the internal conversation.

Regardless, the skill was still new to Cayden, and only level one. He didn’t trust it enough to manage his reactions near to the princess, so after warning his sister, he deactivated [Dual-Speak].

“I’ll see you soon,” he said, giving Tiana a hug goodbye. “Be safe. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Tiana simply rolled her eyes, but she returned his hug before moving to stand behind the princess with Valeria’s bodyguards.

“Tiana, wait one minute. Cayden, if I could have a moment of your time?” the princess asked, and Cayden nodded. The princess led the way to one of the small shops at the edge of the square, her fire mage bodyguard trailing behind. After a quick glance to where Tiana waited with the earth elemental bodyguard, Cayden followed.

The shop looked fairly standard for what one might find in a store off of the main square. It contained rows of different fabrics and pre-made clothes displayed on mannequins, of a much higher quality than the stalls that lined the market streets outside. In one corner, Cayden even spotted some clothes that seemed to have some runes sewed into them with different-colored thread – ridiculously impractical for most people, considering how easily the runes would be ruined by any stretching of the fabric or even a stain. Yet it was obvious this store was made to serve a higher class of customer rather than ‘most people’.

Cayden wouldn’t have expected the shop to be swarming with people, but he’d have thought that there would be at least a few customers walking around, considering Dyneday was the day many people did their shopping. Yet the store was completely empty, and after Cayden stepped inside, the fire mage bodyguard stepped in front of the closed door before casting his strange anti-surveillance fire spell.

“Henrietta informed me of your desire to become my guard,” the princess said, wasting no time.

Cayden took a moment to catch his bearings. He wasn’t surprised that the princess was responding to his request, but the secrecy and change of environment caught him a little off guard – there would be no need for more secrecy if he was to publicly become one of her guards. “Yeah, I figured it might be good for me to start thinking about my future after the academy,” he lied.

The princess stared at him for a moment, no expression on her beautiful face, before she slowly nodded. “I understand. Unfortunately, though, I will be declining your request.”

“What? Why?” Cayden exclaimed. But then he guiltily glanced over at the bodyguard. He wasn’t sure how the mage’s skill worked, but he didn’t want to make it any harder to mute their voices than was necessary. So after lowering his voice, he asked again. “Why?”

“Henrietta presented a compelling argument, but I believe it is better if things remain as they are. At least for the time being.”

“I’ve hardly done anything for you, though!” Cayden replied. “I’ve done one task – one! And that was just to explore a dungeon, barely a task at all. What is it you need me for that needs to be kept so secret?”

Once again, the princess paused, staring at Cayden with the same robotic stare as if she could read his inner thoughts by staring hard enough. For a moment, Cayden wondered – was that possible? He knew all sorts of strange skills existed. In addition to her [Compulsion] skill, did the princess have one that could read minds, too? Was she, at that very moment, listening to his internal panic over the possibility of a mind-reading skill?

“My father does not believe I am in any more danger.”

Cayden’s panicked thoughts ground to a halt as he focused on the princess’ words, frowning. “What? How’s that possible? You’ve been the target of two failed assassination attempts in the last year. Of course you’re in danger – that’s the reason you have bodyguards, right?”

“Let me amend my statement: my father does not believe I am in danger at the academy.” Cayden frowned, about to protest again, but Valeria continued before he could find the words. “Delver’s academy is one of the most secure places in the kingdom – so many noble families would not entrust their children to it if it weren’t. Now that the academy is on the alert, he does not believe any assassin would be willing to risk an attempt while I am there.”

“...I take it you disagree?”

A tiny frown curved down the corners of Valeria’s lips. “The academy is extremely secure, it’s true. Between the guards, enchantments, and the personal power of the instructors, the average assassin would be insane to attempt anything on the academy grounds. But those after the lives of my family have proven they are not average assassins. The mere fact they have remained anonymous after so many attempts is testament enough to that.”

“Wait, have there also been assassination attempts on the rest of your family?”

“Yes, at least two that I know of on my siblings. Neither was successful beyond a few injuries, and the occasional assassination attempt is not unexpected for members of my family. But so many in such quick succession implies there is a greater plan than usual at work here. And while my father does not believe there will be another attempt on my life while I am at the academy, I am not willing to be so cavalier with my life. Which is where you come in.”

Cayden’s eyes widened, and he mutely lifted his hand to his chest, thumb pointed back toward himself.

“I do not know what I may need you for, which is the reason I have not provided you with many assignments. But, should I need you, I would much prefer your allegiance remain secret to those who might wish me harm. So, for the foreseeable future, I ask that you continue as you have been – remaining ready should I need you. And if, after the assassination plots have been resolved, you still wish to become my guard, I will be able to grant you that position.”

Valeria fell silent, waiting for Cayden’s response, either his agreement or his rejection. Although…could he even reject her? What would he do, loudly declare his allegiance and insist on guarding her out in the open? It wasn’t like he was willing to risk his meetings with Tiana by refusing to work for her outright. But doing as she suggested would keep him from being able to use the princess to figure out who was responsible for the fateweaver compound. Aside from the name Tiana had just given him, the princess was his only lead on his parents’ deaths. And acting as her ‘secret agent’, would prevent him from being able to follow that lead.

But it wasn’t like he had a choice.

Belatedly, Cayden realized that this might be one of the only chances he’d get to interrogate the princess about the fateweaver compound. After all, her bodyguards weren’t around while they were on campus, and even if they were, he and the princess couldn’t keep sneaking off to talk together under the protection of the fire mage’s anti-surveillance skill without people gossiping.

Cayden struggled to think of what he could ask, of a subtle question that might reveal the powers behind the fateweavers without betraying his true purpose. He’d assumed that he’d be guarding the princess and have days, weeks, or even months to subtly suss out the information he was searching for – he wasn’t prepared to be so suddenly put on the spot.

But there was no helping it. If this was his last chance to ‘interrogate’ the princess, he needed to take advantage. He just needed to figure out what to ask.

He opened his mouth, paused, and closed it. Then opened his mouth, took a deep breath…and closed it again.

He sighed. “That’s fine. Things can stay as they are.”

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Cayden was still lamenting his lack of social skills – both skills and skills – the next evening. There were so many things he could have asked. He could have asked about her future plans for Tiana, to get a better gauge of her relationship with the fateweaver compound. He could have asked about her father and the rest of her family, to get a better, firsthand understanding of the power structure of the kingdom’s ruling family. Even a simple question about Betsy Merridan would have been better than nothing, and could easily have been explained away as curiosity relating to his sister.

But of course, he didn’t think of any of those questions until after he had already left the square and was walking alone back to the academy.

It was bad enough that he seriously considered making room in his build for social or espionage skills. He was realizing that even if the princess had allowed him to become one of her guards, he was unlikely to be a successful ‘spy’ without any skills to help him along. But ultimately, he discarded the idea.

He already felt as if he was being pulled a dozen different directions from [Borrowed Power] and the other prospective skills he was looking into; adding social skills on top would be more than he thought he could handle. And besides, he’d shown no aptitude for social skills previously – it was unlikely a few skills would allow him to close the gap with nobles who had been training their social skills since going through the change.

No, he would stay committed to his combat-focused build. But that decision didn’t make him any less annoyed with himself for his flub the day before, so when he walked into the classroom scheduled for their team’s weekly meeting with Instructor Barry, he already had a frown on his face.

Luckily, he was the first one to arrive, but the others would be joining him soon. He had somehow managed to avoid running into Velic since their altercation in the library, but that wouldn’t last much longer. Given that they were meeting in a classroom rather than in one of the arenas, this was likely to be a discussion-based lesson rather than a physical one, meaning that it would be all but impossible for him to avoid speaking to his roommate.

And eventually – finally – it happened. As always, Marvenal walked through the doorway first, scanning the room for threats – his eyes resting on Cayden for a moment longer than usual – before stepping forward to allow Velic his entrance. Velic didn’t hesitate, walking directly to one of the empty desks without his eyes ever shifting to Cayden. Even after sitting, Velic simply stared straight forward, his face fixed into its ever-present slight grin of welcoming amusement.

Cayden breathed a sigh of relief. After his disaster of a conversation with the princess, he’d prepped more thoroughly for what he might say when he inevitably ran into Velic. But the noble boy choosing to ignore him was the easiest to deal with – Cayden was more than willing to ignore him right back. It might prove an issue with their team’s cohesion in any remaining academy tests, but Cayden couldn’t bring himself to care. There were enough empty desks in the room that they could keep their distance for now without it being an issue.

A few minutes later, Delphia slipped into the room, silent and cloaked in shadow. If he weren’t so focused on looking at the doorway to avoid looking at Velic, he might not have noticed her enter at all. He gave her a nod as she chose a desk roughly between where Cayden and Velic were seated, which she returned with a hood-bob of her own.

Cayden hadn’t said more than a few words to Delphia, either, since the day he’d seen underneath her hood, which bothered him much more than the issues he had with Velic. He considered Delphia a friend, and while it didn’t seem like she was outright avoiding him, neither was she making any effort to interact beyond a nod as they crossed on the way to their rooms.

He knew they would need to talk about how Cayden had seen under her hood, about her scars and pale-ness. As much as he wanted to simply ignore it until it went away, he had enough experience to know that wouldn’t work. Until they addressed it, the hidden knowledge would sit like an anchor between them, keeping them from relaxing around each other.

At least that’s what Cayden imagined from what he was feeling. For all he knew, Delphia didn’t feel awkward about it at all, and the fact that they hadn’t said more than a few words to each other over the last few days was simply a coincidence.

Cayden sighed and rubbed his head. Social complexities were such a pain.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to sit in the tension for long, as finally, Instructor Barry burst through the door with his usual gusto.

“It seems congratulations are in order!” the man exclaimed, waving around a sheet of paper.

Delphia and Cayden looked at each other in confusion, while Velic simply looked at Instructor Barry with the same placid smile. Barry’s smile widened.

“The results of the test are in! Did you completely forget about it?!”

Truthfully, Cayden had forgotten about the recent test in the wake of everything else that had happened. Though he couldn’t imagine why Instructor Barry would look so happy about it – they had lost their match, after all.

Instructor Barry must have seen the question on his face because his smile widened even further as he slapped down the sheet of paper on the desk next to Delphia. Hesitantly, Cayden stood and crowded around the desk with the rest of his team, careful to keep Delphia between himself and Velic.

It was an updated ranking list of the academy’s teams. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for: team twenty-three – their team – was in fourth place.

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