"Kathyln, Hester, thank you both for all of your help," Arthur said as they stood at the beast stable, ready to leave back for The Wall.
With the conclusion of Arthur's training everyone had their duties to return to. Just a little bit ago they said their goodbyes to Elder Camus as he returned to Elenoir through the teleportation gate. Lunaris joined him, as that particular gate was closer than any other to the dungeon his unit was operating in.
They all expected Buhnd to be returning to Darv, but learned he was instead staying as the Darv representative on the council. Apparently he was actually the first choice after the previous king and queen were killed by the Asura as traitors. However Rahdeas held a higher position in Darv, so they didn't want to cause potential friction that could affect Darv's cooperation in the war.
"You are welcome Arthur, I feel it was beneficial for me as well," Kathyln replied.
"Yes you are very welcome, and if you feel like you could use some more training, don't hesitate to ask," Hester added, a big smile plastered on her face.
"And don't you ever hesitate to reach out if you ever feel like you want a duel. The other Lances are always out on missions so it's hard to find strong opponents."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Kathyln then mounted Llyr and pulled a pair of goggles down over her eyes, as Hester mounted another bird like mana beast. With a flap of its wings Llyr let out a frigid gust of air as it left the ground and flew out of the stable, Hester and her beast going right beside them.
With the goodbyes out of the way Arthur proceeded back to the teleportation gate for the next item on the day's agenda. Upon arriving he sees Ellie and Boo waiting for him, right on schedule.
"Good morning dear sister," Arthur greeted bright eyed and fully awake.
Ellie looked over to him as she yawned. "It's too early to be a good morning." Arthur chuckled at her response. "How is it that you can be so hard to wake up, yet be so awake this early, especially after being up so late last night?"
"I believe I'm what people call a morning person," Arthur replied with a smile, continuing to taunt her a bit.
"You are too happy," Ellie accused. A devious smile formed on her face. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Tess leaving your room this morning would it?"
The banquet last night was a massive feast with large amounts of alcohol, all supposedly paid for by Elder Buhnd. Everyone feasted on rare delicacies that made Arthur feel a bit guilty considering they were at war. Nevertheless he and everyone else enjoyed themselves into the late hours of the night. Many of them showed considerable moderation in their alcohol consumption, except for Blaine who had to be carried back to his room by two knights.
Tess partook in the alcohol as well and tried to keep up with Arthur's pace. The problem was that she had a very low alcohol tolerance, and Arthur was drinking like he did in his previous life. This was a problem for Arthur, because he now weighed nearly one hundred pounds less, and had barely drank any alcohol in this life. This resulted in both of them getting rather drunk, not as bad as Blaine, but enough to make them feel more relaxed, and honest.
Shortly after the banquet they found themselves in Arthur's room making out intensely, until Tess eventually passed out. When she awoke she found herself fully clothed with her arm out of the dresses single strap. Arthur was topless and spooning her with his arms wrapped around her waist. She of course was excited by this development, but didn't want Arthur to feel guilty that he took advantage of her in her drunken state. She tried to leave but Arthur pulled her back, asking her to "please stay a little longer."
The weight of the war and near constant fear of losing someone he cared about had been taking a toll on Arthur. So when he woke up before her and found them in that position he allowed himself to be selfish and remained, even going as far as asking her to stay when she woke up.
"I see, so that's why you're so grumpy," Arthur leaned in, getting his face closer to level with hers. "You aren't getting enough sleep young lady."
"Don't change the subject," Ellie replied as she punched him in the shoulder.
"I'm not. You clearly woke up too early," Arthur straightened back up. "You're thirteen years old now, you need to be responsible for yourself. At least enough to make sure you get enough sleep."
"Why's that?" Ellie asked with an annoyed tone.
"Incoming from Kalberk City," announced one of the guards manning the teleportation gate.
"Perfect timing," Arthur thought out loud and took a few steps closer to the gate. "Now Ellie, be on your best behavior."
"Why? Who is it?" Ellie asked as she followed him.
"You'll see."
After a few more seconds a man exited the gate. He was a tall man with a head full of grey, and looked like he was well past his prime. He was wearing glasses and a dark green suit that resembled a military uniform, with gold bars on his shoulders. There was an ornamental looking saber secured to his left side with a cane in his left hand.
"Headmaster McGrath, welcome to the floating castle," Arthur greeted.
"Thank you General, it's a pleasure to be here," he replied as he bowed slightly.
"Headmaster?" Ellie questioned as she looked to her brother with a suspicious expression.
"That's right, he's the headmaster at the Lancer Academy," Arthur replied with a smug smirk.
Over the last few months Ellie, along with her tutor, had made her desire to attend one of the academies crystal clear to Arthur. He had personally wanted to keep Ellie in the castle where it was safe, but the loneliness she felt was obvious. So over the last month Arthur discussed the matter with his parents, via the communication scroll he left with them, and researched for the best school away from the front lines. With the closing of Xyrus Academy, the Lancer Academy regained its title as the prominent mage academy on the continent. But it also had other selling points as well, such as also being a military academy which meant not only that the security would be higher, but there would also be plenty of soldiers there that could act as guards for Ellie. The next was its location, Kalberk City, where their parent's convoy would come to pick up supplies before returning to The Wall, giving them a chance to see each other from time to time.
"So you must be Miss Eleanor," the headmaster commented as he walked up to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you young lady. I'm here today to evaluate you for the possibility of being admitted to my school."
"Thank you headmaster, I hope that my skill will be worth your time," Ellie replied with a curtsy, as she contained her excitement, knowing this was all Arthur's doing.
"Well," the headmaster walked past Ellie and Arthur, and stopped right in front of Boo. "If you're planning on entering into the beast rider curriculum it'll definitely improve your odds," he said as he looked Boo over. "This truly is a magnificent mana beast you have here. Do you know it's rank?"
"We don't, but he bonded with my sister when he was only a cub," Arthur answered.
"So a minimum A rank, but probably S," the headmaster thought out loud.
Arthur didn't exactly like that Boo was getting the headmaster's attention over Ellie, but hid his disapproval knowing that Ellie's skills would speak for themselves.
"If you'll come with us to the training ground, Ellie's tutor should be almost done setting everything up for her demonstration," Arthur said, reminding him that he was there for a student not a mana beast.
"Of course, please lead the way," the headmaster replied as he stepped back from Boo.
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After a few minutes they entered the training grounds, and Ellie and Boo went off to speak with her tutor about the plan for her demonstration. Arthur and the headmaster sat down on a bench that Sylvie was already laying on as they waited. Arthur could see several targets set up, as well as clay disk launchers, which looked similar to those used in his previous life.
As they waited the doors quietly opened again, and Tess stuck her head in. She had been visiting with her family, but now they had to work, so she came to support Ellie. She saw Arthur and the headmaster sitting, and stealthily made her way over to them.
"I really hope you don't depend on your stealth while raiding dungeons," Arthur commented with a cocky smirk.
Tess scoffed. "I'll have you know I have snuck up closer to a mana beast than anyone else in my unit."
"Yet it still saw you coming before you could attack," Arthur teased.
"Princess?" The headmaster quickly stood up and bowed. "I had no idea I would be in your presence today."
Tess playfully punched Arthur in the arm and sat down beside him, and Sylvie jumped into her lap. "Arthur told me about Eleanor's demonstration, so I thought I'd come to support her."
"I see," the headmaster sat back down. "You must feel very honored that the princess has taken an interest in your sister's performance."
"Well Tess gave her a bow and arrows for her eighth birthday, so this isn't a surprise to me," Arthur replied nonchalantly.
The headmaster looked a little uncomfortable as he took account of how casually they talked to and about one another.
"Welcome headmaster McGrath," Lyle said as he arrived, gaining everyone's attention. "I am Eleanor's Tutor, Lyle Glazor. Her demonstration will consist of two portions, first she will be firing at both stationary and moving targets while riding atop her bond, followed by a one on one sparring match against a level five Tobi unit." With a nod of acknowledgment from the headmaster Lyle left to initiate the demonstration.
"Now you said that she doesn't have an elemental affinity yet, is that correct?" The headmaster asked Arthur.
"That's right. It won't be a problem now will it?" Arthur replied.
"Not at all. All I want to see is how effective she is, affinities are irrelevant in that."
With a blow of a whistle Ellie took off atop Boo's back. Quickly she began firing arrows at the stationary target, even those that were further away. Then other stationary targets started popping up, but she quickly hit each one. Lastly came the moving targets, as clay discs began firing from different directions, and Ellie shattered each and every one. Once done with the targets, she dismounted Boo, and walked to the sparring portion.
"Hmm, looks like some miss calculations were made," the headmaster commented. "She's all out of arrows. She needs to learn to keep count of those otherwise she'll be in trouble in a real fight."
"Oh she's not out," Tess replied with a smirk.
The headmaster looked down towards them confused.
"Just watch, you'll see," Arthur added as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his thighs and resting his chin on his left fist.
Ellie walked to the edge of the sparring ring, which also marked Tobi's range before activating, and took a deep breath before stepping in. Tobi immediately activated and took off running towards her with a smile on it's face. Ellie pulled back on her bow string and formed a mana arrow, and let it fly. As the first arrow hit and shattered a section of Tobi's barrier, another arrow was already flying for the same mark. However unlike the previous mana arrow, this one splintered as it passed through the barrier. The result was something similar to the effect of a shotgun pattern, as it's chest plate was riddled with a number of small holes. Despite not bringing Tobi down, this would have been sufficient to take down the average armored soldier.
As soon as Ellie drew her first mana arrow she had the headmaster's complete focus, and as he saw her second arrow perform differently than the first, he began wondering if this demonstration would be truly accurate at gauging her full abilities.
In response Tobi fired a spiked ball on a chain, but Ellie effortlessly dodged. Instead of a normal dodge, she instead chose to show off more of her mana arrow options. She quickly fired a mana arrow at the ceiling, but instead of exploding or dissipating the arrow stuck with a mana thread attached. With a jump and a tug on the thread Ellie took to the air over the attack, and swung towards Tobi. As she cleared over its head she pulled back on her bow, and fired another arrow downward towards its head. The head plate shattered, and as it turned around it was directly under Ellie's arrow in the ceiling. Using the thread still in her hand to deliver the signal, the arrow exploded, bringing several heavy chunks of rock down on her mechanized opponent.
However even with its head half smashed it refused to stop and charged at her again. Ellie pulled back and fired another mana arrow, before ducking down and rolling out of the way of two metal fists. She then fired another arrow by its feet, right outside of its barrier. Tobi turned around and began to chase her again, however as soon as her arrow passed through the mana barrier it detonated. Tobi fell to the ground with one of its legs blown off.
Everyone thought Tobi was done, and got up ready to walk over to her, but it raised its head back up and fired the chained spike ball again. Ellie dropped to the ground to dodge, with a spike only grazing her forehead. Everyone was moving to finish her relentless metal opponent, but it was Boo who charged in and smashed it to pieces.
"Ellie are you alright?" Arthur asked in a panic as he arrived by her side.
"I'm fine," she then pointed to her head. "I think I'm almost done healing already."
The wound on her head wasn't very severe, and only looked worse than it was.
"It seems that Tobi was very determined to win," Lyle commented as he couldn't believe it didn't shut down after its leg was blown off.
"I think it was looking for revenge for all the other ones Arthur destroyed back in school," Tess joked, earning a giggle from Ellie.
"Tell me Miss Eleanor, how old are you again?" The headmaster asked.
"Thirteen, why?"
He then looked to Arthur and Lyle. "What kind of hellish training have you two put this poor child through?"
Arthur laughed. "People used to ask my parents the same about me." He then put a hand on Ellie's shoulder. "I guess my sister and I are just natural born fighters."
"It seems so." The headmaster said, then cleared his throat. "That said, that thing could have killed you. You must never let your guard down until you know your opponent is dead. In a real battle not only your life can be put in danger, but also an ally's."
Ellie looked down and away. She was normally more cautious than that, but was so excited to hear how she did that she didn't wait to make sure Tobi was beaten.
The headmaster grinned. "But I guess that's what school is for."
Ellie's eyes shot back to the headmaster. "What?"
"You heard me. School is a place to grow and learn from your mistakes." He then pulled an envelope with the Lancer Academy crest from his coat. "And I hope to see you doing that learning at Lancer Academy next semester."
Ellie's face lit up. "Yes sir, I will!" She said excitedly as she accepted the letter.
"Very good, in that case I'll see you in a month."
Sylvie jumped up into Ellie's arms as Arthur hugged her from one side, and Tess from the other, followed by Boo trying to hug them all, but instead knocking them all down. The three of them laughed, making them almost look like a real family.
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A month seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and it was now time for Ellie to leave for Lancer Academy.
"Get..in..there," Ellie grunted as she tried to close her trunk. "Boo, give me a paw please."
Boo was laying on the ground next to her bed with his eyes closed. Upon hearing her request he seemed to grunt in frustration, before getting up and doing as he was asked. With the extra force Ellie was finally able to latch her trunk.
"Finally." Ellie then went over to Boo and gave him a hug. "Thanks."
"Looks like you're trying to bring everything that isn't bolted down," Arthur teased from the doorway, wearing the white uniform of the Lances. "Are you planning to bring the kitchen sink too?"
Ellie tilted her head and looked confused at him. "Why would I bring a kitchen sink?"
"Don't worry about it," Arthur said dismissively as the joke from his previous life became a flop. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yup!" Ellie replied, and picked up her overstuffed backpack from her bed. She then looked over at her trunk, and knew it would be way too heavy for her. "Oh dear brother, the strongest Lance of them all. Would you be so kind as to carry this for me?"
Arthur shook his head as he chuckled a bit from her sucking up, and walked over to the trunk. But instead of picking it up, he held out his hand over it and sucked it into his larger dimensional ring.
"Show off," Ellie huffed.
"Put your bag down."
"Why?"
"Just do it," Arthur told her while removing his first dimensional ring from his finger.
Ellie put her bag on the floor, and Arthur took her hand and placed his ring in her palm.
"Here's your going away present."
Ellie's eyes lit up. "Thank you!" She practically screamed in excitement as she tackled Arthur in a hug.
She then placed the ring on her right thumb, which was still a little too small for the ring to fit properly, and activated it, storing her backpack inside.
Arthur and Ellie made their way to the teleportation gate with Sylvie riding on Boo's back behind them. At the gate Alduin, Merial, Virion, Buhnd, and Lyle were waiting to see her off. It was a happy goodbye, as Tess' parents and grandfather had gotten rather close to Ellie over the last few years and were very proud of her. Buhnd was the only one who actually cried, but he kept saying something was in his eye to try and explain it away. After Ellie gave Buhnd a hug it was time to go, and the four of them walked through the gate to Kalberk City.
"I guess this is where we part ways then," Ellie said as she was ready to start her school life.
"Not quite yet," Arthur said as Sylvie transformed into her full sized dragon form, catching the attention of everyone nearby. "I need to make sure my little sister makes an entrance."
"You just want to scare all the cute boys off don't you!" Ellie accused with her hands on her hips.
"Not at all, now climb onto Sylvie," Arthur replied, dismissing her accurate accusation.
Ellie wanted to argue, but riding on Sylvie's back was something she always wanted to do. She then climbed onto Sylvie's back, as Sylvie took Boo into her claws, and they took off for Lancer Academy.
It only took a few minutes by air before they had the school in their sights. Ellie would have wanted Sylvie to show off with some loops or barrel rolls, but she could feel how nervous Boo was, and decided to not make this any worse for him.
At the school students were arriving by carriages, both private and public. Returning students were seen reuniting with friends they had already made, while some of the new students tried to introduce themselves to both new and old students in an effort to form new friendships or enter into known groups that would benefit them.
A few feet past the arched entrance to the academy stood the headmaster, his aid, and the two professors of the beast rider classes, Curtis and Kira, with their mana beasts behind them. Several students stopped to greet them, but more of the girls flirtatiously waved to Curtis. This behavior wasn't new to Curtis, as this happened quite often while he was a student at Xyrus. However now with the current issues he and Lilia were having he only had enough patience to simply acknowledge them with a nod and weak smile.
A roar was heard from up above, gaining everyone's attention, as Sylvie and Arthur made their landings in front of the headmaster and the others. Everyone gawked at the sight of a dragon, but this also told everyone else who else was there. Nearly everyone on the continent knew about Arthur and his dragon bond, resulting in nearly everyone taking a knee when they saw him.
"You really know how to make an entrance don't you," Curtis commented as he shook his head with a genuine smile from seeing his good friend arrive.
"Well you know me, I don't know how to be subtle," Arthur replied as he walked over with Ellie behind him.
The two met and shook hands. One girl actually fainted, unable to handle the two incredibly handsome young men in the same place.
"Everyone get up and proceed," the headmaster yelled.
"Sorry about that," Arthur replied sheepishly.
"It's fine. Occupational hazard," the headmaster replied dismissively.
"Ellie!" A voice rang out.
Arthur turned to see a well built student with long dark brown hair running up to his sister with a big smile on his face. When the boy arrived he took Ellie into a hug as he lifted her off the ground.
"Excuse me, I have something to deal with," Arthur said to the headmaster darkly.
"Better tell the medical ward to be on standby," Curtis commented as he followed behind Arthur.
Arthur cleared his throat to gain Ellie and the boy's attention. "Hello, and who might you be?" Arthur asked with a threatening smile.
"Arthur this is William Maxwell," Ellie introduced.
"You're friends with my older brother, Theodore," William added as he extended his hand, but Ellie pulled it back as she remembered how hard he shook Tellynnan's hand a few months ago.
"Move it along Mr Maxwell," Curtis said, wanting to get him away before Arthur had a chance to hurt him.
"Yes professor," William replied before giving Ellie a quick peck on the cheek and running off.
Arthur's eyes widened as an overwhelming urge to rip off Williams' lips threatened to overtake him.
"Calm down Arthur, he's just a kid," Sylvie said.
"That's right, and let me help you feel better," Curtis said as he brought his female counterpart forward. "Arthur, allow me to introduce to you Kira Nightwatch. She's in charge of ensuring the safety of all the female students in the beast riding program. Not even I can enter the female hall without her, so rest assured that no boys will even get a chance to lay a hand on her."
Arthur sighed as he calmed himself down. "Well that's good, but what about when she's out of her room?"
"Are you seriously trying to keep me from dating?" Ellie asked in frustration before Curtis could reply.
"Where have you been? I've been doing that since you were eight."
"I wasn't interested in boys back then."
"That doesn't mean they weren't interested in you." Arthur then refocused on Curtis. "Now, you were saying?"
"Unfortunately we can't intervene unless a boy were to be causing a disruption during class or breaking school rules."
Arthur didn't look like he was too pleased with that answer. He had already had this conversation with the headmaster before, but with the recent act by Theo's brother, he felt he needed more reassurance. However before anyone else could speak, Kira did.
"I'll ensure they stay away," Kira said as she stepped up beside Curtis.
"You? How?" Arthur asked.
"There are ways to accomplish what you want, while still obeying the rules," She explained while seeming emotionless.
Arthur stared at her and could see she was confident.
"Fine, I'll trust you," Arthur relented.
He was ready to bring Ellie back up to the castle, however knowing how lonely she was up there, and how excited she was to come to an academy, he didn't have the heart to bring her back.
"I guess this is finally goodbye," Arthur said as he turned to Ellie.
She nodded, then lunged forward and gave him a hug. "You better be careful, I still want to have a brother when this war is over." Tears we're starting to escape her eyes.
"You know me, I'll be fine," Arthur replied with a grin.
"I know, that's why I said it."
She then released Arthur and went to Sylvie and gave her a hug too.
"Please look out for my reckless brother," she said to Sylvie, before releasing her and following Kira.
"Don't worry, she's in good hands," Curtis said as he patted Arthur's shoulder.