The Templar

4 The first Night

The ceremony carried on and venomous glares, filled with rage and disdain, shot at Mat throughout the rest of it. Once all the names had been called, the secretary announced the outcome of the selection. "Two hundred and eighty-five heirs have been presented tonight. One hundred and fifty-three have been accepted for the second selection." He rolled his scroll and gestured to the door. "Those who have been rejected may leave."

The nobles concerned dragged their feet towards the dark staircase, shame bowing their heads and curving their backs while anger boiled in their hearts and lit their eyes. Mat felt proud, revenged, but also slightly embarrassed. She shoved those thoughts at the back of her mind. She had no reason to be ashamed. After all, she was the first woman who entered the ranks of Templar trainees.

The secretary spoke once more. "Those of you who are still here may accede to the trial period. If you manage to complete the tasks you are assigned during this period, you will be granted the honor of becoming Templar trainees." Mat straightened her back and raised her head as the secretary scrutinized the remaining pairs, standing sparsely along the fire boxes. "But," the secretary spoke again, a hint of threat clear in his voice, "fifty-three of you shall be eliminated regardless. If you complain, if you abandon, do not improve your skills or manage to work as a team, I can assure you that you shall be standing on the other side of the Temple's gates before you had time to understand what happened." He gave one last circular look around the long hall before coming back to his composed and impassive self.

Duke Romuald leaned closer to Mat's ear while the King, most of the council and the secretary disappeared in the shadows behind them. The Duke whispered, "Don't mind Lord Kannan, Mathilda. The years got to him so the man compensates by being authoritative. With a sword in hand, you can win a duel against him in a heartbeat."

Mat felt a smile tug at her lips as her father straightened up but she suppressed it quickly, careful to keep up her impassive front.

Laggard, who had remained at his spot, stepped forward and took the secretary's – Lord Kannan's – place. "Say your adieus to your fathers and follow me, lads." And on that, the Templar started heading towards the shadows where the others disappeared moments ago.

Mat turned to her father, wide-eyed. The Duke simply nodded with a smile and tapped her on the shoulder. She returned his nod with a sad smile and bitterness in her throat while her eyes burned with determination and eagerness to get things started. She ran along the long row of burning boxes to the other end of the hall, impatient to catch up to the Templar, and stepped into the shadows.

Laggard was holding open a thick wooden door and other trainees already stepped hurriedly on the other side. Mat gulped, raised her head, and passed the door among the other heirs. She closed her eyes while stepping in the corridor beyond the opening. This was it. She had officially left her father, duchy and previous life behind her, embracing that of a Templar.

The green symbols depicted in her eyes shone slightly when she opened them again, making the trainee beside her flinch. But she didn't pay any attention to him. She was used to people reacting that way towards her more than particular feature.

Laggard closed and locked the door once the last trainee had joined them and took the head of the group. They walked quietly through number of corridors, all cold and dimly lit, until Mat lost track of the number of turns they made. She felt lost in an underground maze.

The group finally stopped upon arriving before a wooden door, identic to the many others present on either sides of the corridor. Laggard pushed open the door and stepped aside, gesturing to the new trainees to enter.

The room left Mat rather dumfounded. It was a wide room with several rows of fifteen small beds with metal frames. But the rows were slightly different from each other. The beds closer to the back wall had rather thick and comfortable mattresses, fluffy pillows and blankets and fresh, white sheets while the beds closer to the door had thin mattresses and single, knit, brown wool, blankets. Depending on the row, the conditions changed slightly, one element at a time being replaced, added or removed.