The Maid and Her Princess [On Hiatus]

Knock 'Em Down (Spring 3)

III.

The view of an arena greeted them and many gathered around it. Madoka recalled her months spent training in the Estate's yard fondly. This place reeked of desperation and certainly did not have any good memories in store for her. The sky hazed with a familiar grey, its clouds were stirred until it was about to burst with rain. She sighed. A crowd was gathered around the rickety fencing, watching the two girls approach with the rude Guild Lady.

In the center of the arena stood the mage girl and what Madoka presumed were her own team members. There was a nimble looking man who wielded multiple daggers and a pathetic grin behind her. Madoka saw that same smirk on the fat noble before she wiped it off. He made no attempt to hide his cockiness but he was not her opponent.

"A rogue class, huh," Audrey mused. "Cute."

Another taller man towered over both the mage and the rogue. He was dressed from head to toe in armor fashioned from bones of a slain creature. The man observed the girls but made no gestures or jeering. Madoka grew absentminded again. She had already forgotten the girl's name. Perhaps she was simply too weak for Madoka to remember.

The maid paused. Where did this arrogance come from? Was it because they were not dragons or bears to defeat? She heard the click-clacking of wood next to her. With a glance she noticed Audrey's hand in her talisman bag. She fiddled with the statuettes within it but stopped after Madoka bumped her shoulder. Boredom encased them both it seemed. The mage glared at them but Madoka remained stoic. She will let these rusty blades do the talking. The flapping mouths of other adventurers doubting them interrupted her thoughts.

"These scrawny kids are trying to be new trainees? Ha! Send them home!"

"Little children? What is this guild thinking?"

The bone-armored man cleared his throat and raised a hand, silencing the murmers and useless words until tunics and brown cloaks were the only things that fluttered in the wind like a wilderness in a storm. Madoka could not blame them for thinking those things for they were only fourteen. The Guild Lady bowed and walked away without a word.

"I am Juujee, Gold Rank adventurer," the bone-armored man introduced himself, pulling his necklace out and revealing a gold plate. His voice was rugged and a low growl prowled beneath it. The golden tag was similar to the plates hung above the Guild Lady's desks, only more garish. "I care not that you are mere children but I will not allow your foolishness to continue within this place!"

He roared.

Madoka sensed a semblance of intent but it was nothing like Audrey's killing intent. Speaking of that girl, she quickly glanced over to the princess. She was yawning!

"Okay," Audrey said blankly, undeterred by the offended look on the gold ranked adventurer. "Are you going to do the exam or whatever?"

Madoka said nothing but remained on guard in case her friend's stupid mouth got the both of them in trouble. She sensed no killing intent but her hand remained steady on her blade beneath her garb.

"Listen. Some here are fighting to explore the world. Some here are here to find treasure. Others for fame and glory. I do not know what has led you inside this Hall but what I do know is that this life is full of danger," Juujee said. His voice was desperate as he tried to get the maid and her princess to give up. "In this exam, you will apply all that you know about combat in a mock duel with each of us. That way you can understand what kind of danger you are getting into."

"Okay," Audrey repeated herself in the same bored tone. The crowd became restless and began to jeer. Juujee looked as if the girl slapped him in the face and then maintained his composure by cracking his neck.