The Leo's Ruby

Chapter 4

"Ruby, move a bit faster." Mr. Thomas advised. I was trying to improve my strikes per minute. So far, I was at 10 strikes but 20 was the target. I jabbed at the the idle dummy. The spear was much easier to use now. I feel like I could now protect myself in a fight.

But I couldn't compare to Leo. He could hit 40 times per minute. He was too fast.

"Can we ever learn magic?" He asked Mr.Thomas.

"You will need it. It will be very helpful in this fight since the assassins don't use magic. It goes against their creed. But you can use it to improve your own stats and heal your friends in battle."

"I never knew assassins could have a creed." Leo mused.

"Of course they do. They do this to train within constraints. They become very powerful, even rivaling second tier mages of this world."

"What reason do they have for attacking the king and the princess? They're clearly powerful." I asked. I never understood super greedy people. After a certain point, the amount of stuff you have becomes too much.

"The king wanted to make certain weapons illegal. Most of these weapons were used by the assassins. Like guns, kunai and maces. The princess wanted to ban more of them. Currently, there is a death sentence for anyone found carrying them without a special liscence. The assassins want to hold them hostage until they lift the ban." He explained. "This would cause a wide spread panic of the people of Calatran."

"So we're supposed to stop these assassins. How many assassins will be there?"

"I don't know. But we must keep this a secret since the last time the citizens had panicked was the last mage war. That was very bad. We have to prevent this." Mr. Thomas said as he focused out into the distance. It was a clear and sunny day. The sun beamed through the trees.

"Why were we chosen? Anyone could do this..." I said. I couldn't imagine my thick self fending assassins to protect royalty.

"You were chosen because you were the only people of this generation that could wield these special weapons. These weapons have magic and can be very powerful against assassins." He continued.

"How many assassins are we looking at? Two or five?" Leo sounded optimistic.

"I don't know." He admitted. He looked up to the sky and the sun was at the top of it's journey through the sky. "It's time for lunch. I want to learn more about this America."

He snapped his finger and a small table with a huge feast on it appeared. Golden brown rolls, fresh salads and juicy chicken. The three glasses of water glistened in the sun. Three chairs were arranged around the table.

We sat down. I picked up a roll and stuffed it in my mouth.

"How do you all survive without magic?" He seemed genuinely curious about our way of life. The way he asked made us seem like the weirdos.

"We have technology. Ever heard of a phone?" Leo asked as he pulled his Galaxy out.

Mr. Thomas looked as if he discovered the secrets of the universe.

"It's very sleek. And ooh it even lights up!" He marveled as Leo showed him, unlocking his phone. He had a nice picture on there. It was him wrapping his arm around a girl's shoulders. I squinted to see the girl and she had a necklace with a pink heart pendant on it. I was too far to see her face but there was no mistake of who it was.

He quickly unlocked the phone and blushed furiously.

"It's not what it looks like Rubes." He said defensively as he gave Mr. Thomas his phone who inspected it.

He had a picture he didn't want me to see. I had recognized that the girl was me.

Me fifty pounds lighter.