Heir Apparent - a Summoner FanFic

Commoners and Uninvited Guests

Dorien was rarely alone after that particular session. Celia and Moira seemed bent on gaining his affection, taking it in turns to sit with him during meals and laughing every time he spoke, flicking their hair and batting their eyelids. Of course, there being so few of them, the rest of the nobles sat wherever the girls sat, and they sat wherever Dorien sat, so he quickly gave up on trying to change tables to be alone.

During lessons Lytar seemed to have decided that their shared experiences with Lycans made them best buddies and he often stood next to Dorien with crossed arms and puffed out chest as if he were part of the prince's bodyguard, despite his five-foot-nothing stature. This left Celia and Moira almost beside themselves with mirth and Lytar in a foul mood. Nadia no longer tried to speak to Dorien but did always sit on his left at meals and stood midway between him and the other nobles when he managed to separate himself from the girls' advances and Lytar's 'protection'.

Dorien was able to observe the commoners from afar, because the nobles wouldn't dare mingle with them of course. During meals he watched the interactions among the four young people and managed to guess their identities based on conversations between his new fan club.

The girls, Tilly and Poppy, were both nothing and everything like Celia and Moira. One dark haired and one mousy, they had neither the natural grace nor the arrogance that resulted from a noble upbringing. However, they giggled at the same comments, put their heads together in that same secret-not-so-secret way and spent more time whispering than doing any work during sessions. From the comment "I wish that irritating snot Poppy would put that damn bug away! She's putting me off my dinner" from Celia one evening allowed Dorien to identify the mousy girl by the large Damsel hovering above her head, making the dark haired girl Tilly.

Micca had been a stable boy gifted with a Lutra by the noble master he had been serving. The old man had no family to speak of and so was due to have his estate taken over by the crown, but wanted his favourite demon looked after. The Inquisition had identified potential in the strapping ginger boy and so here he was, fawning over Tilly, much to Lytar's amusement.

Barrik was the anomaly. He rarely spoke to anyone, and when he did he exhibited the vocabulary of a village bumpkin and a level of arrogance that rivalled that of Lord Forsyth himself! None of the nobles knew anything of his background, nor his demons.

"Celia?" Dorien began, addressing his current right hand woman. If he had to sit with her he was at least going to use the situation to his advantage.

"Yes, my dear Dorien?" Celia replied, extra flicking and batting going on.

"What were the commoners' fulfilment levels at the beginning of the year?" Dorien asked, looking over at the quartet.

Celia gave a sigh, disappointed with the topic of conversation "The bug girl came out with seven, the oaf a nine, a surprise in itself that he didn't fall over himself or that prissy Tilly on the way to the fulfilmeter." When he didn't join her in her laughter she swallowed and continued "Tilly herself only had a five would you believe, and Barrik surprised everyone with a fourteen."

"Thank you." Dorien smiled slightly.

"You're welcome, my dear." Celia patted him lightly on the arm, before withdrawing her hand with another sigh when he turned away again. Get the picture! He thought at her.

With the meal over, nobles and commoners alike stood and made their way to their next lesson. This would be Dorien's first lesson with Arcturus focusing on spellcraft. Though Dorien's etching was nearly unnecessarily thanks to his tattooed symbols on his right hand, there were still many new spells to learn. However, when the students arrived at the classroom in which Arcturus usually taught his lessons, it was not the captain waiting for them but someone he already had a strong disliking for.

"Good morning everybody." Inquisitor Samil called over the chatter. "Quiet!" As nobles and commoners alike looked on in interest, Dorien flashed back to the brutal private sessions Samil had given in the previous four years. The Inquisitor prided himself on the capture of particularly rare demons and his duelling prowess.

"The King, upon the advice of his father, Old King Alfric, has decided that cadets at Vocans require a heavier curriculum in duelling. To that end, and as I will be covering half of Captain Arcturus' lessons now that he is on alert with the Celestial Corps, I have been asked to oversee such training." He smiled an oily smile. "My name is Inquisitor Samil, you will address me as such, and thus we will get along swimmingly!" He paced to the door. "Follow me please."

The nobles led the way as the cadets followed Samil through the academy and down into the dungeons. Dorien struggled to feel awed as they passed tapestries, suits of armour, weapons and cells. Even their arrival at the Arena did not stir him from his feeling of dread. He knew what was coming.

"Prince Dorien," Samil began, his oily smile fixed back in place for the benefit of the others. Dorien saw the true feeling in his eyes: distrust, disgust, and just a hint of pity. "As you have had some training in duelling already, would you care to join me in the Arena for a small demonstration?" Samil's eyes hardened, though the smile never slipped "Please, show the rest of the cadets what they will be learning."

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I really like Samil's character because of his similarities and differences to Rook. I hope you agree as we're going to be seeing a lot of him.

Thanks for reading!