Gambit

Dan stared at Lucien, his eyes wide with disbelief. He had clearly heard Lucien's words, but he found them hard to interpret. If what Lucien had just said was true, and he meant every single word, then Naya would be serving Lucien as one of his women for the rest of her life. Dan was not ready to accept such a fate, even if it wasn't his decision to make.

"Wa–" Dan began to speak, but Naya held his hand, stopping him from making matters worse. She flashed a charming smile at Dan, which only made him feel more annoyed rather than calm. Yet, because of Naya, he restrained himself.

"You all can rest for today. By tomorrow, you shall begin to fulfill your new roles," Lucien said, dismissing the meeting. He and his daughter Ella left the room, followed by the champions.

"Dan–" Naya started.

"Naya, go on ahead. I will be right behind you," Dan said with a forced smile, trying to hide his rage.

"Please, Dan, don't do anything stupid," Naya urged, knowing he was up to something.

"Yeah, I won't. I am more than that, Naya. Now just trust me and go. I will catch up later," Dan assured her.

Naya shifted her gaze to Cornelius, who was standing patiently behind, then looked at Dan one last time before leaving the room.

Dan let out a sigh and slowly turned towards Cornelius, his eyes sharp and cold. "So, let's have it," Dan demanded.

Cornelius remained quiet for a moment before speaking. "This…it's all part of the plan–"

"There is no plan! We made a deal. It was meant to be a fair trade. You keep Naya safe and get close to Ella. That was the deal, and I performed my part well so what the hell were you doing?" Dan barked uncontrollably.

"Like I said, it's all part of the plan. You need to trust me," Cornelius added, but it wasn't helping matters.

"Trust you? You want me to trust you?"

"I am afraid that is the only thing you can do. Even if you possess the power of the seven, you cannot do anything to me. After all, I am in possession of the dark amulet."

"Haha…" Dan laughed. "Seems like you got it all wrong."

"W-What do you mean?" Cornelius asked, shocked by Dan's current state. 'Is he mad?' he thought.

"If you think the dark amulet is the reason I am keeping you alive, then you got it all wrong," Dan said, turning his back to leave. "Believe me, once I get what I want, your life might be next." Dan left the room, leaving Cornelius alone in an endless sea of thoughts.

***

The next day in the training hall, Dan and Shawn were sparring, both holding strong wooden swords.

Shawn dashed at Dan, swinging his sword. Dan carefully watched his movements, predicting and dodging every attack. He leapt backward, building momentum before accelerating at Shawn, swinging his sword.

Their swords clashed, sending out a loud echo. Still holding onto the momentum, Dan twisted his body sideways, making a spin and swinging again. Shawn blocked the attack, but the force of Dan's sheer strength pushed him back.

"Awesome, such strength at such a young age," Barnabas exclaimed.

Shawn leapt backward to take a break. 'No, he is still holding back,' he thought. "Your speed and strength are good, very good for your age, but your swordplay is poor," Shawn said, even though he was the one being pushed to the wall.

"Yeah, my master didn't teach me that," Dan replied.

"Very well, then make sure you learn a thing or two." Shawn swung multiple slashes at Dan. Dan managed to block some, but as time went on, he was overwhelmed by Shawn's speed and technique.

When he noticed he couldn't keep up, Dan threw his sword into the air, distracting Shawn, then aimed a punch at his face but stopped before making contact.

"Hmph…you got me," Shawn chuckled.

"Yeah!"

"Wow, that is three wins out of three matches. Way to go, small one," Barnabas exclaimed.

"But his methods of winning were not ones to expect," Shawn added, sitting down to catch his breath.

"Right, first he attempted to run, then caught you off guard. Second, he called your name out loud, which startled you. And now he let go of his sword, catching you off guard again. What's wrong with you? Can't you concentrate or what?" Barnabas snorted.

"It's not his fault…" Dan said. "One of the reasons my master didn't teach me swordplay is because all swordsmen share one weakness."

"Which is…?"

"Nobility, pride, whatever you call it. They are afraid of letting go of their swords and find it odd when someone else lets go of their sword," Dan explained.

"Yeah, but that doesn't apply to the first two reasons he lost."

"Those were just psychological tricks," Dan said with a grin. "My master used them a lot on me. Sometimes when I am too engaged in a fight, she yells out my name. For that moment, I get surprised and lose focus, and then BAM, she wins."

"Oh?" Barnabas exclaimed.

As the three of them were chatting, they didn't notice a boy entering the room.

"Um…excuse me," the boy said softly. "Excuse me!" he repeated, finally catching Barnabas's attention.

"Oh, it's the little guy," Barnabas said.

Dan scanned the boy from head to toe, staying speechless. The boy had long dark hair that covered his eyes, pale skin, and was the same height as Dan. At first glance, one could think they were the same age.

"Um…can I train with you?" the boy asked in a low tone.

"Sure thing, small one," Barnabas said, tapping the floor for him to sit, misunderstanding the boy's request.

Noticing Dan's constant gaze, the boy turned to him and asked, "Um…what's the problem?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just wondering…" Dan stuttered and remained silent. 'What's this? I'm definitely sure I've met him somewhere,' Dan thought.

The door slammed open, and a guard entered the room. "Sir Dan, the lady seeks your presence urgently," he said and left the room.

"I guess I'll be going then," Dan got up and was about to leave.

"I know it's painful…" Shawn said, stopping Dan midway. "...but you have to let go, for your sake and the girl's sake too."

Dan chuckled softly and departed the room, leaving the three of them behind.

***

Some hours later, Dan had washed up and was waiting patiently in front of the mansion for Ella. Unlike before, he was now somewhat free and had a good share of liberty.

The mansion door opened, and Ella emerged. As usual, she wore a fancy princess gown and had her hair tied with an ornament.

"Thank you for waiting," Ella said.

"Yeah," Dan nodded awkwardly. This was his first day as Ella's bodyguard, and he felt nervous.

Dan and Ella boarded a carriage that took them around the realm. Apart from guarding her, there were other duties he needed to perform as a bodyguard, and getting to know the area was a head start.

"It's rather scanty today," Dan observed, looking outside through the window.

"You noticed, huh," Ella sighed. She signaled to stop the carriage and stepped out. Dan followed her as expected.

"Hey! You guys should get away," a woman barked at some children, a boy and a little girl. Ignoring her continuous scolding, they kept asking for food and water. Ella walked up to them and squatted.

"What's the problem?" she asked. The little girl burst into tears while her brother answered.

"Our daddy…our daddy was taken away from us, and we haven't eaten since then."

"Oh, that's bad," Ella exclaimed, patting the little girl's head, managing to calm her down. She walked up to the woman.

"Please, can you get them something to eat? I promise to repay you handsomely," Ella said.

"Sure, Milady," the woman replied without hesitation.

Dan, who watched everything, felt a sense of pity. Knowing what it felt like to be alone, helpless, and hungry, it wasn't pleasant at all.

Ella and Dan continued patrolling on foot, witnessing many distressing scenes—hungry and weeping families and much more.

"Dan, I have a dream," Ella said, looking up at the sky. "I want to make this place better. I want to help these people. Fulfilling that dream will be tough. Not only am I weak, but I am also a woman, so I cannot become a chief, let alone a head chief. I can't do it alone." Ella turned, looking at Dan and stretching out her hand.

"Dan, I need your help. Together, let us turn this world into a better place."