Confident Stupidity

Lynne:

As Cecilia took Clay to the armoury to get him suited up with a weapon I followed Isabella to the training grounds which seemed to be connected to the infirmary. Which makes sense. Whoever designed the castle definitely thought of practicality in that sense at least.

She took me to this giant sized Japanese style dojo. The floors were made of long wooden floor tiles and the walls made of a darker wooden finish. At the opposite end of the room, there were sliding doors made of whatever that strong paper looking stuff was in anime. As I walked in there were a group of students. Most of them with crazy hairstyles, all just swinging wooden swords in a rhythm but each in their own unique ways. They seemed to be too focused to notice me for a moment, but as soon as one of them turned my way they all did.

Within a moment they were all bowing their heads. I felt my heart tighten with discomfort. These people didn't even know who I was. For all they knew I could be a despicable guy unworthy of their respect. Yet, they still showed this humiliation. Like they did not have a choice.

"Enough with all that." I announced, the group of students looking up at me with genuine surprise on their face. "If I'm going to be a student here, I just wanna be a student. Ok?"

They raised their heads after I said that. Some seemed off-put by it, but others… it was hard to explain but it looked like a sense of relief had washed over them, especially for a boy with dark blue hair. Once that was over with, one student broke the awkward silence.

"There is gonna be a fight right!? Oooo I'm excited to see them get covered in blood~ Interesting, so interesting! Exciting, so exciting!" I was taken back by how unhinged this guy sounded. He had that classic serial killer voice about him, high pitched and crazed. It was a rushed speech, something was so unsettling about it… like he could snap any second. "Hey! Hey Eyvind you're not gonna kill him right? I wanna fight him~ he could be strong! I wanna be the one to make him bleed!"

I had this visceral reaction to step back from this man. He even looked unhinged. His hair was a light grey, white colour. It was long… so long that his hair went down to his hips. However, despite it's length it seemed like this guy never brushed it, not even once in his life. He was also short, much shorter than me with narrow eyes and a toothy grin plastered on his face. Those red eyes of his made him look like he was possessed or something.

Unlike the other nobles, he was dressed casually. He had a very long lime shirt that was basically the length of a dress and a darker green cropped cloak with a white + on the left side. He wore capris, something I thought I'd never see a guy wear, let alone a guy from some sort of feudal era, but there he was. He was so pale that I could have sworn he never saw sunlight in his life.

"Wow Rowan, that's really creepy… the boy's some lowly peasant. Of course Eyvind is going to beat him. That insect should just crawl back to his master." A small boy with short, very spiky orange hair interjected. He was dressed in brown with a yellow sash and belt with black pants. Chestnut eyes shooting a glance like daggers my way.

"Like… Is it really a good idea to let some, like outsider stay here any longer? Especially if he's totally not from a noble family." This time it was a girl that spoke, her voice sounding like the most typical valley girl from those teen dramas. She had fluorescent hot pink hair, long and curly. The girl seemed to have a pretty face, but for some reason her bands were covering her eyes so that nobody could see them. I wondered for a moment how she could see through them, but I guess she managed somehow.

Her outfit along with her hair didn't seem exactly battle ready. She wore a tight dark purple top, a low v cut to show her cleavage with a bright pink belt and gloves. Her leggings were also dark purple, but darker than the top with high leather pink boots that matched the colour of the gloves. The boots even had a heel on them. The reason why she would want to fight in that outfit was beyond me.

"Come now, Elizabeth." The man with dark blue hair about the same length as mine stepped forward. "When does fun stuff like this happen? I know you are interested to see just how weak a mere slave-boy can be." The way he spoke sickened me. It sounded like he was talking down to everybody around him. Even the way his eyes narrowed and his lips curled as he spoke gave off that same superiority vibe.

"You're going to do more than beat him." The small boy with orange hair said. "My guess is he'll be dead within 5 minutes." His lips sickeningly curled.

"You're right, Simon. I guess there's no helping it. I can't step on a bug without squishing it after all." The boy with blue hair responded, and they both laughed at that.

I didn't understand this guy's sickening confidence. He didn't even look that strong. He wore a dark blue outfit, that looked something like a karate uniform with the outlines in a sky blue colour. Through the uniform, he did not look very buff. From what I could tell he seemed to be about the same size as Clay, even around the same height.

"Don't dismiss him so easily!" I interjected. The entire room went silent making me feel a little tense for  having such a loud outburst.

"Oh, I heard what you think of him already, Prince Charlton." Eyvind said, for some reason the way he said my name sounded mocking. "It definitely wouldn't look good for your reputation if this boy gets killed after you spoke so highly of him. Especially after pushing for him to take this little test when it is against the rules for a commoner to even step foot here!"

The way he spoke… he sounded angered with me. The look of disgust on my face somehow made him continue. "The guards talk hotshot. We know all about our little plaything… Clay, was it? Don't worry. I'll kill him quickly so he doesn't have to suffer. It'll teach you the disparity between a nobleman and a lowly slave. Something even lower than a peasant... Disgusting dirt."

"Enough!" I shouted, lashing out and grabbing his collar. My fist was tight, so tight that it was shaking. It took all of my strength not to deck this loser across the face.

"That's not a very diplomatic look, Mister Prince. What? Did I rile you up a bit too much?" Eyvind sneered.

"How dare you speak to the prince in that way!" A voice I recognized shouted. I let go of the boy's shirt, turning to see Cecilia standing by the entrance with her arms crossed.

"He was the one who said to treat him like any other student, Cecilia." Eyvind responded, that tone never changing, never failing to piss me off.

"Who gives a crap what he says, Lynne." A gruff voice echoed from behind one of the sliding doors. It slid open with a thud, revealing Clay holding two giant blades, bigger than his entire body. They looked heavy, one resting on the ground and the other across his shoulder. "I'll prove my strength with a fight. I'm ready when you are…"

Eyvind laughed. It took a moment for him to compose himself in order to speak. "Are you serious? Of all the weapons to pick… You do realize those two swords you chose are each meant to be wielded with two hands right?"

"Oh yeh… I'm dead serious… Those pathetic little swords that you guys use aren't powerful enough to handle my overwhelming skill…" Clay replied, with an evil looking smirk across his face.

Eyvind and Simon, even a few others from the group began to laugh. I placed my head in my hands, unsure if I was feeling worried or embarrassed. I had never seen Clay like this before. He was brimming with confidence, like nobody in the world could defeat him. The only way I could describe it was...

Confident stupidity.

I didn't even know how Clay was going to swing those giant things with one hand… without realizing it… I was already thinking that he was screwed.