Beautiful Scar

Chapter 21

When Scarlet got out of the dining hall, Frederick happened to lean by at the corner of the pillar nearby.

She presumed he was with the lot of the Council men trying to introduce themselves to those suitors just now.

Scholar Frederick finally saw Captain Scarlet. He straightened himself when he saw her.

Scarlet saw him, but she had no reason to associate himself with. She was unsure where his morals aligned with.

That was one thing. And the other thing was that, there was this small timidness that Scarlet had with him.

She remembered stumbled upon him at the castle's library when she was six or seven, and frightened him instead when he saw her face. As a child, she was hurt when people reacted that way. But it was not severe from the person who called her outright ugly at her face that time.

She didn't know he was the son of General Collins at the time. Until when she took that intensive training session under Collins, that she got to know a bit of his character.

And boy was she met with backlash from his son as well for joining the warriorship.

She remembered for every punishment she went through, he was not supportive at all.

Every time she nursed herself from the sore regime they both went through, he only spat, "You're not fit for this", which she huffed at him instead, or retorted, "Leave me alone!"

Ah they were both quite stubborn, she managed to muse. But that was that.

There was the last punishment she gotten from Collins, harsh beatings, that she even vaguely remembered.

She even blanked out but she could've sworn she saw Frederick was there to witness it but the memory was a blur at that time, she was tired from the mission and yet she failed to deliver them on time or something like that. She just accepted the beating.

But for Frederick he remembered them.

How he met her, was at first scared of her but eventually was not repulsed at her. In fact, there was sympathy at first, and then it developed into admiration and envy. And then back again at sympathy.

For he became a Scholar because he could not be her. Even if she was molded with the grace moral of Homes, she was tainted by his father as well. His father had, while a bit, embedded his viciousness into her.

Sympathy for seeing this poor orphaned and scarred girl. Admiration and envy at her wits and strengths. And then sympathy and maybe empathy for whenever she was punished and beaten by his father for he suffered as well. And the latter was the point he could not stand. But he didn't know how to approach her, or he was timid to say, so instead what came out of his younger self was the words of a boy, feeling insecure when a girl was performing better at something they were told to be good at.

But the truth was much more than that.

Maybe his father knew how soft his heart was, despites the apathetic mask he wore, even till today. His father knew he cared for sick people and animals in the quiet. So, behind Scarlet's back, when she was still training under Collins, he had requested and argued to not take Scarlet under him for training. But Collins didn't bother to listen.

And on one night he argued with him, tried to reason with him, Collins only remarked, "Since I can't have a son who is fit to do the physical battle, I might as well borrow and shape a helpless girl. She seems to be more adept at it. It's alright son, at least you are free to pursue your scholarly studies. They are worthy to me as well".