Royal Academy Diaries I

Conquer ⚜ Ch. 3

Raelynn was a bundle of nerves. If she thought she'd been nervous talking with the professors, she was about to have an anxiety attack now.

Up ahead was Finn and her second year friends. She'd invited her to join them for break, and she was as nervous as if she were to be having tea with an army General.

Breathe and don't be an idiot, she reminded herself. Putting on a smile, she approached the only people who might actually befriend her. "Hey."

They looked over and Finn nodded. "Hey. Come here, we're planning out the swords we're going to make in Andris' class."

She walked up, paying attention to each step as she went to look over Finn's shoulder. One of her friends was sketching.

"So I was thinking, if you got the balance right, the tang would be the length of the blade," he said.

"Exactly. That would be so perfect," the other grinned. "I like the gold inlay in the handle."

"Nice." Finn glanced to her and then ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I forgot the introductions. Salvatore, Aleksandar, this is Rae."

They both glanced up, and smiled. "A pleasure Rae. Hey Alek, give her a sheet. I'm sure you've thought about your sword for next year, right?"

She nodded, taking the paper quickly so they wouldn't see her shaking hands. She hated that she had social anxiety, but these guys seemed nice enough. "Thanks. Of course I've thought about it. Why else do you sign up for the class?" she grinned.

Taking a seat next to Aleksandar, she began sketching out a rough design. "I was thinking about doing a short sword, maybe broad. With dragon wings on the hilt like this... And maybe etch some runes into the blade like that."

They all looked over her shoulder, and she felt rather small next to the three of them. As she sketched, she nervously awaited their opinions.

"You could have one of the Magic Academy kids put actual spells into them," Salvatore finally said.

"How cool is that?" Aleksandar grinned. "You could have them come and weave spells into every layer of the steel."

"An enchanted sword? Do you really need that?" Finn asked with a raised brow. "I mean you have to give your opponents some small chance, right?" she winked.

Her eyes widened. "You saw that?" she asked embarrassedly.

"Everyone saw that," she smirked. "Stevensen's still fuming."

"Oh so you're the girl everyone was talking about. Nice." Aleksandar held out his fist and she bumped it.

"Yeah," she blushed. "So um, what about you Finn? What are you planning to make?"

She thought about it for a moment, and she saw at these close positions that the scar under her eye was rather deep. "Maybe a rapier, or possibly a jian. I haven't decided."

"Jian."

"Jian." Raelynn chuckled and grinned at Salvatore.

He shrugged. "Great minds think alike. You will make a jian, possibly with enchanted steel."

"Although," Aleksandar frowned, "you can't use magic weapons in the tournaments. They check."

"True. I guess the same would go for the Tri event," Finn reasoned.

"Yeah, we should really start training for that," Salvatore nodded.

"What are you talking about?" Raelynn asked, curious.

Finn answered, "Oh, there's an annual Swordsmanship Tournament, there's six rounds throughout the year I think. And then in March is what they call the Tri Event, where you go from archery, to sword fighting, and then an obstacle course."

"The twelve schools can only send three competitors, so it's really tough to get in. The third years always win the tournaments and the Event," Aleksandar shrugged.

They could see the spark this ignited in her, and Salvatore grinned. "I'm starting training this weekend in Vanera. Anyone who can keep up is welcome to join."

She smirked. "I'm game."