Raelia - from Kaiden's POV|| SLOW UPDATES ||

Chapter 2 - Combat

"So have you heard the rumors?" asked Sebastian, as he sat down next to Kaiden and decided what to order for lunch.

"I'm not interested in gossip Sebastian," replied Kaiden.

"But it's about Alex" teased Sebastian with a glint in his eye.

"What's about Alex?" asked Declan as he joined them at the table.

"The rumors!! There are rumors spreading all over the school about Alex. And Karter. And how they spent a lot of time together over the holidays, doing things that shouldn't happen between a student and their teacher" said Sebastian with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Alex and Karter. That's ridiculous." Said Kaiden.

"I agree that the idea is ridiculous," replied Sebastian. "But the rumors are all over the school. And I'm pretty sure Karter will hear them too. What do you think he's going to do?"

Kaiden and Declan shared a look of horror before Declan just shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing we can do about it now. Let's just hope the rumors die out before Karter gets to hear them"

............................

Despite the threat of the rumors, Kaiden was looking forward to Combat. It had always been one of his favourite classes. It wasn't enough to figure out how to break through your opponents' defenses, you then also needed to have the physical skills to carry out your plans. It was a challenge that Kaiden had always found exhilarating. Of course he hadn't ever fought against who was seriously trying to kill him, so Combat was a sport for him, just like dancing. Up until the weekend he would have said Combat was better than dancing, but he wasn't so sure any more.

When he entered the Arena, Kaiden walked over to his classmates and talked about the holidays while doing some stretches. He hoped that Alex really was going to join in the classes this year. She didn't really seem to have the skills yet, but she was observant and resourceful. Maybe he should offer to do some extra training with her. Kaiden smiled at the thought. He would like being able to dance with her more often.

Before he could make plans for how that could work, Alex walked into the Arena. After seeing her in the exams last year, they were all willing to accept her as part of the class now, and they put more effort in to making her feel welcome. Their friendly banter was cut off suddenly when Karter entered the Arena. He was obviously furious and he was going to take all that anger out on Alex. As much as Kaiden wanted to help her out, he knew there wasn't anything he could do for her. But then as he watched, he thought maybe Alex didn't need him to help her. He was stunned by how well Alex fought against Karter. She certainly hadn't had that level of skill last year. It looked like Combat class was going to be a lot more interesting this year.