Chapter 10

 

“The conifetters are in full bloom this year.” Tiberius Rathbone noted, adoring the beauty of the conifers bearing small pomegranate-like fruits that burst out showering confetti emanating a rich and unique scent that signaled the beginning of spring.

“Ma says the bigger the bloom, the luckier we are.” Little Celeste Shireen said, pulling his little granddaughter with her.

“Why, I hadn’t known that.” The old man smiled. Although he had lost the fierce build and muscles of youth and his jet black hair was now gray, the Valley knew he was every bit as strong as any youth. To the world, Lord Rathbone was shrewd, fierce and powerful with a permanent seat in the Council of Seven whose strength was second only to the Imperial Crown. To his granddaughter, he was the indulgent grandfather who had him wrapped around her pinky finger the day he saw her face as an infant.

In the heavily embroidered pale lilac frock he had chosen with his sister-in-law and hair tied in a mermaid plait with flowers in its loops, she looked like a fairy in the woods. The little girl bringing her around wore a similar sunset yellow frock, her fair tone a contrast against Selene’s honey toned skin. She proved to be a faithful friend to his lonely granddaughter whose mother had a hard time bearing the snide comments of the world, especially from her wolf-like mother for not producing a male heir.

He bent down and handed them a long strip of tickets they could exchange at the shops in the Spring Fair. “Don’t spend them all at the games.” He fondly advised. Celeste energetically nodded while Selene silently tucked them in the pockets of her dress. Seeing that Selene still hadn’t cheered up, Celeste gave her a hug.

“I know you wanted to read those big books but you know that the Spring Fair happens once a year right? If you’re going to be sad, I’m going to be sad too.” She said.

“I know.” Selene smiled. “Don’t worry, Celeste. I wonder if I can scoop out the fishies from the big ice block like when we did on winter.”

Given that he had to pay double to the stall owner at the Winter Fair because she had cleared them out, Tiberius Rathbone had no doubt she would be successful this year. She had already learnt apparating, which proved to be a challenge when she would escape whenever someone would mention about dressing up for a party or having bell peppers in lunch. She had also become fond of reading and would spend the days holed up in the gigantic library, head bent over tomes older than him. She would skillfully conjure up shields and transfiguration spells in a single read. Even as a baby, he was amazed at the sheer pulsating energy that flowed through his granddaughter’s fingertips �" if only her mother were as sure of her as he was. Her skills reminded him of his own childhood before his father had sent him away to Army School to make a fitting Rathbone out of him. He resolved not to interfere with her life as his son had stubbornly mandated that he would not be allowed to see her if he decided to ‘weasel’ his way into their decision making when he gave up the choice to be the Rathbone heir. However, it was no surprise to him that even if there were grandsons in the future, Selene was destined to be the Rathbone heir.

He remembered his own participation in the Spring Tournament arena with the Emperor when they were eighteen �" young, stubborn and standing as if they owned the world. The friendships he made on the battlefield continued to be as longstanding as the traditions themselves. Someday he envisioned Selene making such bonds for herself. With her immense capabilities, it was no doubt she would take the Rathbone name even further. He signaled one of his guards to keep an eye on the girls as he left to check on the arrangements for the tournament.

Celeste handed three tickets for tries on the ice block that held almost two dozen goldfish in stasis. “We’re supposed to wait after the other kids are done.” She informed Selene.

Selene nodded, looking at the kids and adults trying hard to catch the slippery fish once they melted the core of the ice. Some tried carving the fish out of the ice and catch it at the end which took too long and caused fights between the stall owner and the players on having been cheated out of their tickets. When the owner asked them to take a seat, Selene rubbed her palms together as warm-up. She stood on the stool and lined out a circle on the top of the ice block and then crouched down to do the same at the front.

“She’s going big, the little girl.” The stall owner said to the amusement of the onlookers.

Selene continued unaffected by their comments. She concentrated on the circle as she rubbed against it with her hands. The water at the core slowly melted, freeing the fishes in the area. They watched in wonder as the area grew to net in more than a dozen fishes. Satisfied with the catch, she slowly made waving motions against the faces of the block, swirling the water to freeze in an icy sphere with the fishes in stasis. Finally, she cut out a circle with a swift motion, carving out the ice with a blade of energy and secured the sphere, freezing the open spot before the water could melt out.

The crowd broke out in applause as the little girl handed the perfect sphere to the surprised owner who merely blinked at what had happened. Celeste held the sphere in a cover, melting away the ice to water and freeing the fishes. The owner sputtered furiously at having to close up early but stopped when the Supreme Commander came forth and handed him a bag of gold.

“I suppose this should cover up the losses.” The violet eyed man said.

Scoffing, the woman pushed the bag away. “She won it fair and square. I don’t need your money.” She went back to her stores and brought out a new set of fished to fill the ice block. The crowd soon moved on to other venues and the stall was in full operation.

“That was quite a show, little one.” The Supreme Commander said, bending down. He pulled the dark hood of the royal blue cloak off his head, revealing gleaming silver hair perfectly bound in a long plait as he pulled it out in one swift motion.

“Bhappa!” Selene cried out happily, launching into his arms.

He laughed as he picked her up in his arms. “My little goddaughter has been up to a lot, I see.”

“Supreme Commander Vladimir.” The assigned guard saluted.

“At ease, soldier. You’re relieved from your duties now. Please go ahead and enjoy the festival.”

“Hello, Sir.” Celeste shyly said after the guard left.

“Why, hello Celeste. I must say you look radiant as usual.” He smiled, making the little girl blush.

Selene giggled as she slid down. “You’re in uniform, Bhappa.”

He looked at his standard-issue cloak and white pants in mock surprise. “I suppose I was in such a hurry that I rushed in from work just to see my favourite girls. Someone told me a little girl is very excited to see the tournament at the arena.” He said.

Selene brightened up at the mention of the tournament. “That’s me! That’s me!”

Vladimir held the girls’ hand in his as they made their way to the exam hall where the preliminary written test would start. The level of difficulty was being increased every year. As he watched Selene absorb what the organizer briefed him, he wondered if his goddaughter would continue to pursue her childish dream of being a ‘warrior’ or seek some other career as she grew up.

“I want to enter the fight.” Selene said to her godfather.

“Kids can’t enter the tournament, little one. You can do it when you’re a grown-up like everyone else.” He said.

“Goddess Manyata didn’t have to write a test or wait to be a grown-up to be a warrior.” She countered.

He chuckled at the logic. “She was a Goddess, little one �" the first of our kind. The rest of us wait till the coming of age.”

“Not really…” she said. “Grandpa once said that anyone can enter the fight if they pass the test.”

 Vladimir pursed his lips at her remark. He would have to have a little chat with Tiberius Rathbone on watching what he said around impressionable young minds. He hadn’t expected the removal of the age limit statute to bring in the Seventh Emperor in the Army during the time of war to bite him like this, since the test was advanced enough that no one underage could think of attempting it.

“In any case, you’d need to take a written test.” He stressed, trying to persuade her out of it, as if it were a chore.

“I can do that.” Selene chirped.

“Even grown-ups fail the test.” Vladimir said.

“I’ve seen the books in Grandpa’s library. He reads them to me when I can’t fall asleep for my afternoon nap. I can pass the test.”

A perfect gray eyebrow shot up. “It all depends on whether the organizer agrees to it.” He quickly added.

Before he could say anything else, Selene freed her hand and ran to the tent where the organizers performed the registrations, calling Celeste with her. As Vladimir sprinted to catch up with the little girls, he saw with bated breath as a mustachioed giant of a man bent down to meet the little girls who placed their unified request. He shook his head and mouthed a ‘no’, irrational panic rising in his chest. The man nodded and said something to the girls and it took Vladimir the patience of all the hundred odd years he had lived to not smack himself in the head when he gave him an impish smile.

“He said yes!” Selene said, skipping over to him as he approached them in defeat.

“The Imperial Family won’t be happy you let a child sit for the entrance test.” He said.

“You may be the Supreme Commander, but I make the rules here. Besides, what harm can come from a little girl?” he chuckled.

The two girls were accompanied by a volunteering officer to another tent where they would fill in their details. Vladimir let out a chuckle when he heard his goddaughter’s frustrated shout of “I can read and write! I’m not a baby!” and proceeded to fill out the form as Celeste held back the young officer to help them out at the more difficult sounding questions as Selene pouted at having to grudgingly take the help.

“Celeste, I need you to help me.” Selene said in all the seriousness a six year old could muster after the officer left, shaking his head at the course of events.

“Okay. What should I do?” she asked.

“I’m supposed to have a retainer.” She said, testing out the word. “Someone who’s supposed to help me out when I fight, like, help me out to select battle stuff and heal my owies.”   

The girl shrugged. “I can do that.”

“The officer said it can be boring. I know you’d rather have a ride on the big dragon again.” She said, shuffling with uncertainty.

“It’s okay. Besides, you got me a lot of fishies today.” Celeste replied, equating winning goldfishes to sitting in as a retainer in her head.

Hand in hand, the two girls walked to the tent to sit for the test.

It surprised a lot of the candidates to see a little girl with her head bent over the paper, marking the answers in a standard-issue pencil as they raced against time to join one of the most prestigious professions in the Empire. After the test was done, they were surprised at the level-headed little retainer who side-stepped trained and experienced Masters whose families had been trained for their posts for generations with a confidence rivaling the little candidate herself to check the scores.

No one was more surprised than Vladimir when he saw the girls rejoice at Selene’s near perfect scores. He was then involved in placating some suspicious retainers who demanded an investigation in the matter and after a lengthy and heated discussion with the staff on duty and the intimidating organizer cleared her name and declared that a six year old girl had indeed cleared the entrance test without any internal or external help, the Council of Seven found themselves in a predicament on what was to be done about the little girl who was poised to battle with trained opponents more than thrice her age.

Even Tiberius Rathbone sided with Vladimir to have her out of the battle arena. Plans to call in substitutes were being formulated when the Chief of Council �" barely sixteen years old himself �" brought in the two girls. The council noted that they were rather level headed for two little girls brought in front of the most powerful people in the Empire.

“Are you sure you want to battle the most fearsome people in the Empire �" no fear?” the man gently asked her.

Her eyes glinted with resolution as she nodded. Volleys of abuse were hurled at the young chief as he gave them the same example that Selene had given her godfather. When her parents received the news, they saw their little girl happily walking in the crowded arena with her friend. They folded their hands in prayer for her life after thoroughly chewing out the negligent guardians.

The preliminary knockout rounds started out with thirty-two contestants matched randomly for battle. The initial shock and laughter at the thought of a little girl on the battlefield soon gave way to irritation when she escaped with the swiftness of a breeze when the blows landed heavy and blasts were easily reflected back by shields, magnifying their power to cause more damage than expected. Their feet were swept off the ground with nifty thrown traps, her agile fingers snapping at salt circles and turning the ground to quicksand, employing invisible lasso to tie up the opponent’s legs and the like. The opponents grumbled at the little devil that had landed in the arena, taking advantage of those who had undermined her size as she blazed through while her puny retainer watched in the stands with far more grace and character than others in the participant stands, occasionally offering water and juice along with a patient ear while she wiped away stray smudges of dirt at Selene’s face.

Tiberius Rathbone watched with mixed feelings of awe, pride and dread as his granddaughter advanced to the finals. The little girl was already being hailed a champion �" even being proclaimed as the image of Goddess Manyata herself �" as she entered the arena with Celeste by her side for the final match.

Irving Leary was the tenth generation of Learys to have entered the battlefield and gone ahead to occupy coveted positions in the Army hierarchy. With a hulking figure and a massive display of brute force with the flitting footwork of a butterfly, his opponents were lead to believe that he would only work on combat. He had surprised them with an extensive knowledge and application of shadow manipulation to overpower them to submission. When the press asked him on having to face a little girl in the finals, he lamented on the lack of a ‘good bloody fight’.

As was the tradition, the Supreme Commander himself came as referee for the last match as the opponents and retainers gathered at the center of the arena.

The Leary retainer was a slithery blond with beady toad like eyes that meant no good. He bent down to meet the eyes of the little opponents and gave them a sickly sweet smile.

“Won’t you two be good little girls and scamper off to your toys? I’ll give you candy if you do.” He said in a sing-song voice.

“We don’t take candy from strangers.” Celeste sternly replied.

The man glared, his bulbous eyes prominent with the pupils shaking in anger.

“Let them be.” Irving Leary said as he pushed him away from them. He bent down and studied his calm little opponent with a serene expression. He stroked his bushy red beard that stood in stark contrast with his bald head. With smiling emerald eyes, he gently took the little girl’s hand in his and placed a kiss against the back like a gallant prince, making her giggle.

“You’re supposed to beat him.” Her retainer furiously whispered.

“He’s nicer than the other grown-ups we beat up.” She replied in defense.

“Yeah, well you’ve to beat him up too.” She said.

“I just wanna have fun.” She shrugged.

“A battlefield is an odd place for a little girl to have fun.” He said.

She giggled with mischief glinting in her eyes, extricating her hand out of the man’s larger one.

Both stood straight as Vladimir approached the arena to cheers and applause from the crowd, rooting for the little Goddess. He introduced the finalists and presented a short highlight of their previous matches on the huge panoramic display placed on all four sides of the arena.

After the customary handshake promising a fair match, Leary’s retainer pulled him aside as he assessed his weapons. “She’s a sorceress” he whispered as he passed a battle axe, mace and chains and a bag of infused salt for inspection. “Just look at the evil radiating off her.” He whispered with abhorrent malice. Leary looked at his little opponent standing a yard away from him as her retainer handed a small bag of salt with a big blue flower embroidered on it.

“She’s a Rathbone.” Leary said. “You would be a fool if you called yourself a retainer and didn’t notice that prominent star-sign on her hand. This one’s all raw power. Lord Rathbone is a lucky man.”

That shut up the retainer. Leary didn’t mention the frisson of fear he felt when he held her little hand in his as the power rolled off her in waves. For the first time since Army School he felt wildly out of place, his mind failing to come to terms with his instincts �" this little girl was probably more powerful than all his opponents combined. The matter remained to be seen on how much her fragile external shell would hinder her godlike energy.

With the signal to start the fight, Leary concentrated on tiring her out with physical swings and blows with mace and chains as she flitted away from the attacks. He knew his opponents would not have thought of it given it was considered demeaning for a fight to be drawn out so long. She conjured a pale blue shield that not only caught his mace, but disintegrated it and absorbed it in. with a smirk and a snap of her fingers, shard rained on Leary who blocked it out with a shield of his own.

He fired electrified whips and lassos to break through the dome shaped shield maintained by a pretty little salt circle with floral runes, patiently maintained by the little girl as he panted, increasing the frequency and intensity of his attacks. Leary found it peculiar that his opponent would choose to remain defensive, only choosing to reflect his attacks between long intervals. One such attack had now left a nasty bruise on his ribs.

“Why don’t you fight me girl? Are you afraid of the big bad man?” he taunted.

“I’m not scared of you.” She said. “You’re here to have fun, just like me.”

He ignored the fact that he was indeed having fun as she mentioned. But he was also a twenty-two year old grown man with an eye on the Leary seat.

“I’m here to win, little girl.” He said, taking control of her shadow to manipulate her into dismantling her shield. The girl panicked as her body moved without her command and was rendered immobile as he placed a body bind on her, keeping a hold on her wriggling shadow.

“Time to end this, little girl.” He said, tightening the bind.

He was a second away from declaring victory when a burst of golden light burst through from the star-sign over the girl’s hands. He lost control over her shadow as the sheer force blew away his body bind and knocked him to the ground with an unprecedented force.

He barely resisted the weak body bind as he lost consciousness. The voice of the Supreme Commander shaking him awake brought him to reality.

“Do you yield?” Vladimir asked as Irving Leary looked at the concerned face of his opponent. “I yield.” He said. He ignored the Supreme Commander’s declaration as Selene ran to the giant man who was now sitting up.

“Did you get an owie?” she asked, handing him a kid’s bandage.
 “Ah… no, I’m fine.” He said.

She gave a beaming smile. “That was so cool! I never saw people do a shadow trick before! Will you teach me that?”

He laughed, despite the unexpected series of events. The crowd roared in applause as they were lead to the stands where their families awaited. His retainer charged at the girl, foaming at the mouth with rage, “You witch!”

Leary covered the girl’s ears. “You’re dismissed, permanently.” He said with finality and snapped at the guards to take him away.

Two people rushed to the scene who he guessed to be her parents. The girl excitedly skipped to her mother, who slapped her face. The father held the startled child in his arms, burying his face in her hair.

“I’m so deeply regretful.” The woman started. “Our daughter had no right to behave as badly as she did….”

“If you’re apologizing for her being so powerful, I’m afraid you’re humiliating me, noble Lady.” He said coldly. “It was an honor to lose gracefully against a worthy opponent. It will serve me as a reminder that I must never let my strength get to my head and that I have a lot to learn.”

Before the woman could say anything, Tiberius Rathbone came forward. As the men shook hands, he said “It looks like you’ll still be the winner of the tournament.”

Leary was shocked, his hand sliding out of the old man’s grasp. “I don’t understand.”

“While the fight was on, some of the members went to the Palace to obtain a Royal decree declaring the match null and void. Since you are the strongest fighter in the arena, nobody will question the title being awarded to you. I suppose it turned out well for all parties involved.” He said.

Leary stuttered in shame and fury. “What about the Supreme Commander? Have his principles let him stand by as an unworthy warrior is awarded the title?”

“Since he’s her godfather, any objections he has will be overruled.” Rathbone replied.

There was a mixed reaction from the crowd as Irving Leary was declared the champion of the tournament. There was not even a hint of satisfaction on Irving Leary’s brusque face as he accepted the trophy. The people rose to their feet in applause as he strode over and handed the trophy to the little girl sitting in her father’s lap, declaring her ‘the real champion’. Laughter ensued as the giant blushed when the little girl kissed his cheek.