Glass Soldier REWRITTEN

Chapter 4

                While the council, or, well, those that hadn't gone to war yet, had to deal with the spoiled brats, I was able to peacefully run away. And I sure didn't stop, not even into the next day. That's how I was here, in one of my few remaining classes, watching my professor quite literally throw people that got close enough. Staring I leaned against my sword, which I had stuck into the ground.

             Watching as her body moved despite not even looking, following her gaze as she found a student every once in a while that could handle more than a strike or two of her blade, dodging a few swords not my own in the event they flew my way. The hair on the back of my neck stood as I could feel someone's gaze on me. Humming I didn't move, not really wanting to get hurt when I knew I wouldn't be able to get so much as a swing in before I was face-first in the dirt. Not yet. I had to wait.

Edwards POV

                  Unmoving a safe distance away the salt-streaked fiery-haired girl watched with her arms comfortably cross, her head tilted and sword resting under her elbow- spearing the dirt. Simply watching the seasoned warrior swat the other students away without so much as breaking a sweat. In fact, this teacher of hers was playing with them as they tend to do, however, I wasn't going to stop them, they were a fantastic professor, they merely had a bit of a poor personality.

           Every time the teacher's gaze glanced at a promising student, Lilith's followed, watching said student for a moment before returning her gaze to the one she should be fighting. Essentially, she wasn't doing anything. Just hiding behind the crowd. A coward as all glass-mages are. Returning my gaze to the teacher I was supposed to be surveying I watched as they ruthlessly threw, blocked, and hit the students with the proper courage to fight.

              Without any hesitation, the teacher kicked one of the students into another, blocking those approaching from their front, blocking those on the left without even looking, their gaze focusing on the blade they just sent flying from a student on the right. It wasn't something unexpected, this was a soldier that had been in war longer than these children had been alive. Of course, they weren't going to win, numbers or not, this was an exercise to break their arrogance, after all. Children were children and a monster was a monster.

         Just as I was to leave, having seen all that I needed to, the monster froze, her hands raised with a death glare that stopped the students in front of her. Blinking in utter disbelief as the warrior dropped their blade, an angered shake of the head and a sigh left her mouth before they turned around. As if it wasn't already something I had yet to see, there stood the little glass mage. The one my elites had been arguing to be a monster already.

          Her short sword pointed at the now front of the large beast that held a look that promised death. Frowning I understood in a moment what had happened. It wasn't that she was being a coward, she was looking for gaps, a chance to slip behind the teacher. A chance the most promising of her class gave her without even knowing. This teacher's downfall was thinking all her students were stereotypical leads. But that particular student, well, she was a rogue, a rather cunning one at that.

         My frown deepened at having not even seen it myself. It's one thing if it's in the field, one can be too focused on the more developed students, but for me? Who was watching from above? I should have noticed. Especially that bright red hair- my frown turned to a glare in a second as I realized her once down and wild curls were tightly held behind her head- now darkened with mud.

           She knew I was watching.

          As if reading my mind, the dark gaze of said child slid from the enraged teacher to me, who not even the teacher knew was watching. A smile pulled at her lips as she tilted her head, her eyes closing and my heart quickened despite my best wishes. Clutching the robe over my chest I glared at the child full of arrogance. She needs further discipline. She was cocky, too cocky, it could end with her or her unit dead.

          That was the point of this exercise, to break such a dangerous thing, but it didn't work on that one. No. That one would need a different approach. A specialized approach. "I want the Merger on the expedition next week," I said sharply, her hand moving in a wave as her head fell to the side, her sword going to her shoulder.

          "You know how he is, you know what will happen to put Perfects with him-"

         "I do not care, Lilith will be on that trip, and if she does not receive a crash course in how horribly dangerous her arrogance is, she will not be accompanying any Elite outside of the school," I glared at Saris who opened his mouth to argue further before sighing.

          "I will also arrange to send a healer then." With a firm nod, I turned and left the loud shouting of the professor and a notable whine from a particularly dangerous student. "But I do not think it will solve your problem," He mumbled leaving me to glare ahead, having already failed a handful of times to break that cocky attitude. Only a drastic measure could fix it at this point.