Crowns And Swords

Chapter Six

~One Month and Four Days After Arriving at the Academy~
"Get up, ya fat lug," Mavis's voice boomed in my ear. I felt the covers hastily pulled off from my aching body as Mavis took me by the leg and dragged me onto the floor. I fell hard.
"Mavis!"
"This is the third time in the past two weeks you've overslept! You need someone to wake you up, and I'm willing to be that someone."
"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a morning person," I said as I stood to my feet, rubbing my head. I walked over to the pile of clothes that laid on my table and continued on, "and, I'm not overweight, Mavis. I'll have you know that I've been training harder than any other trainee in our group since the day we started. If anyone's fat, you should be looking at Jonathan."
"It's a saying we say back at home to those who never wake up in time, silly."
"Well, whatever. Get out of my dorm before I throw my chess board at you, I need to change."
"Fine, fine... I'll be waiting outside."
Mavis stepped outside and shut the door. A small thud came from the other side of the wall as I pulled the curtains and began to change out of my nightgown and into the clothes Levi gave to me a month ago. I would've gone faster, but my joints ached more than they ever did before; four straight weeks of training with short breaks did me in.
I rushed out the door and ran down to the hall with Mavis. There weren't many people left, just the usual night owls and trainers who always ate after the trainees went out to prepare for them. Mavis and I grabbed our bowls of porridge and sat down at our spot: a small table near the stairway to the outside so we could dine and dash.
Mavis shoved her food in her mouth, as she always did with every meal (except supper). From what she's told me and what I've observed, she's the impatient, always on the clock kind. Her family grew up always on a tight schedule, as they were in charge of this huge inn in her home town that was renown for their soups. People would come around from other kingdoms just to try her parents' rich and creamy coconut and chicken soup, which is a specialty there, as not many other kingdoms reside in tropical areas. It surprised me when she told me how far her home kingdom was from the Academy. I thought those who lived in closer kingdoms were only notified about such a place, but even those living hundreds of miles away from the inner land heard about the Forrester Guard Academy.
I got three swallows in before we were interrupted by an unfamiliar face. A lean woman, taller than the both of us, towered above our heads with a stern look to her face. Her straight jet black hair covered her shoulders; the arms that protruded from said shoulders were crossed tight. Her almost glowing yellow eyes was shooting arrows into ours.
Mavis wiped away the mess that surrounded her lips with her forearm and swallowed. "You need something, miss?"
"You two. Stand up. Now," she said harshly. We stood.
"Is there a problem?" I asked.
"There is. I've seen the way you look at my boy."
"What... Boy?" Mavis asked.
"Oh, don't play silly with me. I'm talking about Levi, your trainer. I've seen the looks you two give him, and I want it to stop. Got that?" The woman stared hard and long into our eyes to intimidate us. It must've worked on Mavis, as she quickly nodded.
"Excuse me, madam, but it looks like we got off on the wrong track... I'm Giada Hope. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," I said formally as I stuck out my hand for her to shake.
"What are you doing? I didn't say I wanted an introduction, I wanted you to stop with the weird looks."
"Wow, rude much?" Mavis said quietly.
"What was that?" The woman said harshly.
"H-hey, don't get upset with my friend... I think she just wants to get back to her meal. Right, Mavis?"
"Oh, uh.. Right," Mavis said. She sighed and sat back down to continue her breakfast.
"Anyways, madam, I'll have you know I've yet to look at my trainer in such a way. I look to him for advice or help, and I have no means of looking at his body in a... uhh... crude way. Neither would my friend here."
"Hmm... Fine. I'll be keeping an eye on you two though... I'll be watching. Always watching."
The woman left us in a hurry. I sat back down to eat, but before I could get another spoonful of lukewarm porridge in my mouth, Levi rushed to our table and sat down.
"Are you two okay? I saw Katrina come over here real upset, or, something."
I looked at Levi, setting my wooden spoon back in its bowl. "Katrina? Is that who just left?"
"Yes. Apparently, she keeps getting territorial over various men, including myself, around other female trainers and trainees here at the Academy. What did she say to you?"
Mavis continued eating. I looked at her to talk, but she was preoccupied stuffing her face.
"Well," I stated, "she wanted us to stop looking at you. I was confused at first, but then she went on and it sounded like she thought that we were acting crude and staring in the wrong places. Of course, we would never do that!"
"Just as I thought..." Levi went on with a sigh. "From what others have heard and been told, that's exactly what she's been thinking of all the other girls. It's strange, really. Some have even thought about leaving because she does it so often." Levi looked at our bowls and back up at us. "I apologize I couldn't come over sooner to prevent this from happening."
"It's fine, really!" Mavis exclaimed, accidentally spitting out some of her food. "Giada handled it extremely well! It's like she was taught how to calm people down, or something."
"Well, I did get a good education, growing up."
"That's fantastic! Hopefully, that comes in use for today's lesson," Levi said.
"What would that be?"
A silly grin quickly took shape on Levi's face as he said, "We'll be learning about how to negotiate with those we can't afford to fight. Finish up soon, girls! You won't want to miss this one." He then stood from the bench and hurried up the stairs.