Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

[Arc 9] Ch. 4 Warlock's Audacity

Sebas

I smiled knowing I had really pushed her last button with that one.

"You dare! Do you know how much I sacrificed to get where I am? Do you know what I-" Shannon railed.

"You are making some dangerous assumptions, Warlock." Magus Kallit interrupted. "Choose your words carefully."

I shrugged. "I'll give you that. I don't know you. I don't know what you've been studying. Frankly, since this is the first time we've met I would have no way to know how refined or barbaric your magic is. Nor your personal tastes, though I can say if you despise sorcery and wish to court the Phantom Prince, you'll have a rather hard time considering he is the Audacitor that composed the work Sorcery is founded on."

"Your assumptions grow increasingly bolder. There is no way you could know that." Shannon claimed.

"Well, I don't care if you believe me or not. Any more information on the subject is quite expensive and exclusive. But it brings up and interesting Segway. Let's say Sebas publicly admits to being the Audacitor. Which do you pursue? Will you sacrifice your desire for the Phantom Prince for your current path toward the Magus, or will you sacrifice your current path toward the Magus for the Phantom Prince?"

Magus Kallit rolled her eyes. "I grow tired of this dribble. Regardless of your personal feelings, Mister Edward Hyde, nobility must travel a different path. You may see us as entitled dolls dressed up in fine clothes and discussing how to best obtain our pride fueled desires, but I think you've overstepped your bounds." Her voice became surprisingly even as if she had to expand on a difficult subject. "You may hold your own opinion on her merits, but it is not your place to tell her what dreams she can and can have nor attain."

Since she was not speaking down to me in any respect, I squared my shoulders and listened. "I'll consent to that point."

"Yes, you will. I'm disappointed in your behavior. Status dictates you defer to your superiors. Status we may have attained through 'an accident of birth', but it is status we have been groomed to live up to." Magus Kallit stood up straight and I felt her authority as it began to swell. "While common youth play, Nobles sacrifice their time to be tutored. While commoners may sometimes choose the trade they will live by, nobles are expected to die for their people and so they are trained to fight and govern so that may not happen. When a commoner may fall in love with who they choose after a lifetime of choice. The Noble's dreams are limited and governed by expectations. The only difference imparted on the nobles to compensate for this sacrifice that the commoners usually berate them for is a certain amount of money, fame, and luxury."

Honestly, I was shocked. Most nobles would never speak this way. They never admitted weakness... but I guess there were nobles like my family who saw things differently.

"Interesting." I said. This was a new perspective on being noble vs having noble blood.

"You seem the intelligent sort, I expected more. But I suppose an apology is the least you can offer for this embarrassment." Magus Kallit said.

"Very well, Magus Kallit. I admit that I was wrong about you. I Apologize to you for my attitude. I also apologize for questioning the dreams of my fellow student. It was not my place and it was rude." I bowed carefully.

"That's a start. I'll have you apologize for what you said to my student and take back that nonsense about the Phantom Prince being connected to Sorcery just to stir up trouble." Magus Kallit looked fairly satisfied as if she had won.