Tipping the Scales

12

In an instant, three of the onlookers reacted simultaneously - everyone else stood motionless. Levi Alhorn planted his foot on Erik's wrist; his sister, Anaya held a blade to his neck and Ellis had pulled Lukas away, before planting the palm of his hand to the ground.

"Get a hold of yourself," Anaya snapped, digging the sharp edge of her sword into his neck, drawing blood. Levi pressed on Erik's wrist until the light began to fade.

Lukas found he was paralysed, the deep red hue being an all too real reminder of what had happened to Jaspar. Had Ellis not pulled him away, he'd have likely still been stood over Erik, vulnerable and helpless.

"Good fight," Levi spoke to Lukas, as he removed his foot from Erik's wrist. Alistair and Sadie finally made a move, pulling a silent Erik to his feet and dragging him away.

"I'm alright- I'm alright!" Erik wrestled free of their grip, locking eyes with a still dazed Lukas. Ellis was nearby; now standing with his sword lowered but gripped tightly should he need to use it at a moment's notice. Erik raised a finger, "I'll see you again at the Ascension Exam, there won't be anyone holding me back then." He clicked his fingers and there was a flash of red, startling the boys around him. Erik forced a laugh as he sauntered off. Levi and Anaya observed Lukas once more, their scarily penetrating eyes putting him on edge, before following their hot-headed friend.

The other recruits broke off in excitable chatter, leaving Ellis, Leo and another noble who broke the silence.

"My goodness, what a fight," he took Lukas' hand, shaking it ferociously. "Kian by the way, my name I mean." He blinked intensely. "I would never have believed someone could defeat Erik, and with but a sword at that."

Lukas was taken aback, feeling slowly returned to his stiffened muscles as his mind was distracted. The noble before him was much shorter than the others, and had fairer features. Though still bristling tightly with muscles, his eyes seemed to indicate more intellect than the others. "He is-" Lukas blinked, returning to his senses, "-is good with a sword."

"He is, isn't he?" Kian slapped Lukas on the back, "I could never understand why he trained so much with it. I mean why train with a three-foot piece of metal when you can use magic."

"Kian!" Alistair called from the other side of the Field of Judgement.

"It's a shame really, if only swordplay alone could get you into an elite squad," Kian appeared to be sincere in his sympathy, "otherwise you would definitely turn some heads at the exams."

Leo lingered, the only noble remaining, the other nobles regarded him but didn't call him over. "Let me train with you."

Lukas raised his eyebrows, as disbelief was followed by suspicion. "It's probably best you don't-"

"I've had enough of training with Kian, let me train with you," Leo stepped forward defiantly, not backing down an inch.

"I thought you believed me to be an idiot?"

"And a simpleton," Ellis added.

"Yes, but you fight well," Leo disregarded them, "I need a better training partner before the exams, it will be worth your time."

"And what will Kian and the others think of your betrayal?"

"Kian knows his strength is in his magic; as for the others, they don't respect me so why should I treat them any differently."

Lukas pondered for a moment; on one hand Leo was a noble, and he acted like one despite being an outcast amongst them. On the other hand, they had fought and saved someone's life together. "Alright, you can train with me and Ellis on one condition," Lukas raised a finger dramatically.

Leo narrowed his eyes, "go on..."

"Don't treat us like second class humans."

"I think I can do that," Leo had expected something a lot worse, the idea of treating them as equals was hard to accept, especially the annoyingly confident Lukas, but in actuality he didn't really see them as second class humans. If anything, he envied their simple lives, lacking the immense pressure and expectations of family.

"It's settled then," Lukas looked to Ellis before holding his hand out, "you okay with that big man?"

Ellis grunted, turning his lip up as the two shook hands.

"That's the happiest I have ever seen him," Lukas told Leo, chuckling at Ellis' undeterred expression of annoyance. "Anyway, let's begin."

"You're still holding the metal sword," Leo pointed at Lukas' hand, clinging to the grip of the weapon.

"Oh, so I am," he laughed again, but there was a flash of pain in his eyes as he finally released the weapon.

Before they could start, the end of session was called, much to Lukas' disappointment. It had been an eventful one.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Leo said.

"If you feel generous enough to grace us with your presence."

"If you're lucky," Leo huffed.

And as quickly as it had begun, the training session was over.

"Do you think he's serious about training with us?" Lukas was leaning against the wall in the bunk room. With the greatly reduced numbers, the remaining recruits now had a good few metres of space each, compared to the cramped conditions at the start of training.

"Why wouldn't he be, we are better than them," Ellis was sitting nearby, the two had chosen to remain close despite now having more room to sleep in.

"Yes, but I'm surprised he admitted that by asking to train with us."

"It is un-noble of him." There was a pause, something that occurred frequently in conversations with Ellis.

"I don't know why I agreed," Lukas said, struggling to come up with a reason in his head, "I guess he's not the same as the others. Though he's still a noble," he added quickly, "I have more reasons every day to hate them."

"I'm surprised you're only just realising this," Ellis spoke bluntly, his face contorted into a scowl.

"I know buddy," Lukas glanced at his friend, if he could call him that. Ellis had expressed nothing but loathing for everyone around him, nobles and commoners alike. Having spent a few months with him, Lukas barely knew anything about the boy, yet he felt a sense of pity. Lukas was the only person Ellis had let in to his seemingly hate-filled life, and he wanted to get to the root of that anger. "Let's just give him a chance, he's an outsider like us."

Ellis looked suspiciously at Lukas but said nothing more on the matter.

"Plus, he did cook that disgusting bloodworm for us, didn't he?" Lukas grinned and for the first time, Lukas thought he spotted the slightest smile in return.

-

Hello again, thank for getting through another one of my chapters, I hope it wasn't too difficult ;) things are really getting interested between the three boys - Lukas, Leo and Ellis. As always, if you enjoyed, please consider voting, it really helps me and the story out. Let me know your thoughts on how things are going so far? I'm most interested in people's opinions of the main characters and of the story so far - what are the main questions you're asking yourself? What are you expecting to happen in the future? What are you most looking forward to happening/ finding out?