The Princess of Light and The Knight of Shadow

Year 1: Fourth Month, Part 3

It was beyond a disaster; it was a catastrophe!

"What did you do?" Estella hissed as she hurried after Nox toward their dorm room. She clutched the bag of honey custard pies in her hand, but there was an urge to fling them at him, consequences be damned.

She was trying to resist that urge. And she was failing.

In front of her, she heard Nox sighed. "You can throw Astra at me for all I care, Master. It won't change anything."

Her rage erupted. There was the smell of burning paper and pies, but Estella didn't care. "Of course it won't, you idiot! You challenged the son of a governor in a duel! Do you even know what that means?"

They've reached the dorms. Estella leaned on the wall with one hand for support, her chest heaving. Only her rage kept her legs from buckling under her.

Standing in front of the door, Nox turned to face her. His face was a mask of worry, but that didn't really suppressed her anger. "Master, I..." He sighed. "How strong is he?"

A mirthless laugh bubbled escaped Estella's throat. "As you are now, you can't defeat him. But that's not the point, is it?" She scowled. "If you lose, you'll get expelled!"

"I passed the first Assessment Exam. I still have—"

"No, you don't get it." Estella inhaled sharply, then released the air in a controlled breath. Breathe. It was going to be okay. She shook her head, meeting his gaze. "In this school, if a Squire challenges a Knight, and the son of a government official at that, the Squire will be expelled if they lost."

He had the decency to be speechless at that, easing some of Estella's rage. But even so, it wouldn't help them get out of the mess they were in. "Now, do you understand?"

Slowly, Nox nodded. "Yes. I have to defeat him."

Estella groaned. Since when did he become so naive? So sure of himself? She straightened and pushed past him with a growl, entering the lounge. As he followed her and closed the door, she whirled around.

"You can't defeat him!" she snarled. "For the Goddess's sake, Karsos is ranked five among the Wielders in this school! Not even Aldros could beat him, and we were trained together!"

Her head swam, and before Estella knew it, she had collapsed on the nearest sofa. She buried her face into her hands, the tears threatening to spill. She wanted to scream, or burn the whole place for all she cared.

It was over. Nox could never defeat Karsos, and at the end of their duel, he would be expelled. She would lose her Squire, and she would never be able to graduate with high grades, Knight Second Class or not.

Her dreams, her goals, all of them gone.

Warmth enveloped her hands. Estella looked up through tear-clouded eyes, seeing Nox kneeling in front of her. He grasped her hands, placing his own over them, a comforting warmth seeping through his skin.

"Do you trust me?" he asked softly.

Estella hesitated, then nodded. "I do." She even trusted Nox with her life.

"And do you trust yourself?"

"Of course!"

He smiled, and some of her fears melted at that. "Then please do not worry, Ella. You've trained me well for the past three months. The Intra-School Competition is still two months away. There's plenty of time."

"Two months will not be enough to match Karsos's skills." Estella wanted to hope; she wanted to believe. But she had experienced how Karsos fought. He was ruthless, fierce, and unyielding. Nox couldn't—