Chapter 23 part 2

  The bright light from the sun was peeking through the window, illuminating the dark green rug that sat on the wooded floor of the office, giving it an almost glowing look to the Leaf Blade Guild symbol in the middle of the rug. Somehow today had started as both a peaceful day and a headache all mixed into one for Rose, as she recalled her younger sister, Violet, who was now a licensed tamer, much to her disapproval. She had hoped that she had dreamed all of it, one big nightmare she would wake up from at any minute, but Arthur had to make sure it wasn’t just a nightmare but a real breathing problem for her now.

  “How could he be so careless.”

  Rose scratched her head,

  “He’s going to be the end of me,” she said to herself, letting out a sigh.

  Violet was only twelve and not even at the minimum age of thirteen that was required to be a tamer, yet he had made her a tamer by his so called instructor discretion, which she was sure wasn’t even a thing. And now she had to deal with the repercussions her sister being a tamer would bring to not only to her but to the guild as well.

  “Is going to be a long year.”

  “I’m assuming Arthur is the reason for the frown,” Emily said as she came into the office, carrying in her hands a stack of papers, regretting to add more to the already tense look of Rose, which she was glad she wasn’t the Guild leader at that moment.

  “That stack of papers isn’t because of what Arthur did, is it ?” Rose said, letting out a faint smile that was accompanied by her eye twitching for a second, bracing herself.

  “No,” Emily said, setting the papers on Rose’s desk,

  “Not entirely, most of them are just the usual paperwork the Association sends, making us justify our existence as if we’re the only guild with less than a handful of tamers and wins.”

  Emily walked toward the window that was in the center of the small office that served as the Guild Captain's office and laid her back against the wooded wall. Her eye darted to the backyard, where she could make out the silhouettes of the young tamers of Leaf Blade Guild no doubt getting ready to go to that secret place that Arthur had mentioned. It was kind of impressive that such a place had been able to hide for so long, that secret training ground, as he was calling it. Perhaps this was a blessing by the Ancient One to their guild, for they would need all the training and blessings if they were to survive another year, especially for this upcoming tournament which was the most important tournament for Leaf Blade Guild’s livelihood.

  “I see Arthur is going to take them to that place,” Emily said,

  “And that's another thing I forgot, is that place that Arthur found up to code, what even is it? " Rose said, not expecting an answer as she vented,

  " Can you believe this new dumb requirement the Association is implementing on us?"

  She began to inspect some of the papers, trying to find answers that she knew weren't there, the Association was never helpful to their guild, for reasons they all knew too well.

  “Yes, I heard, but is not necessarily against us.”

  “Yeah right, the Association has always been trying to bury our guild, even before you know what…” Rose said, remembering the once famous and strong guild of the south and what followed after its demise.

  The incident of the south.

  “And now with Arthur's little stunt, bringing in Lex and Violet to the guild, we might have to not only win to survive but deal with any pesky Association intrusion once they hear of what he did.”

  “ Well get through it, we always have, the south, despite its flaws, is resilient,” Emily said.

  “Of that we are,” Rose said, letting out a faint smile,

  “What choice do we have.”

  “But I do wonder how good Lex is at battling.”

  “Well he’s her son, so I’m sure he’s inherited her will for taming,” Emily said, her face softening as she thought about the friend she had cared about most in this world.

  “Let us hope he has, and at least for Violet, I know she’s stubborn but can back that stubbornness.”

  “I just hope the Association doesn’t try to bring more trouble to us with Violet not being the minimum age for a taming license, seriously what was Arthur thinking? “

  “He never does,” Emily added,

  “But it appears in this instance, he wasn’t lying when he said he had instructor discretion, apparently, article 5 section 3A, if an Association Instructor deems a tamer worthy. He can overrule certain rules when it comes to handing out licenses.”

  “That’s a real thing, “ Rose said as she got up from her seat in such a flash that she knocked some of the papers onto the floor, being taken back by Emily’s words. To think that Arthur might have done something by the books, was almost unheard of in all her years as the Leaf Blade Guild Leader.

  “Yes, Rose, it appears Violet is here to stay, at least for now.”

  “ But will the Association honor its own rule?”

  “Now there lies the problem,” Emily said, brushing her dark black hair to the side, both women knowing full well the Association was no friend of the south.

  “I don’t know whether to be thankful or cry, just what I needed, another troublesome task to keep an eye on,” Rose said as she picked up the papers that had fallen on the floor.

  “ She couldn’t wait another year, and besides why does she even want a taming license, I mean she already has a monster partner of her own. Her Froeater, she had it since she was small.

  “You can always ask her, “ Emily said, folding her arms, also curious as to why she needed a license since most tamers only want one to be able to tame more monster partners and be able to engage in taming battles in tournaments , and she was sure Violet wasn’t once for just the fame and glory of being a tournament tamer.

  “You know she wouldn’t tell me, we barely talk nowadays beyond just me scolding her.”

  “Then perhaps this is a blessing,” Emily said, letting out a faint chuckle.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  “As guild members that means you guys would spend more time together. “

  “Haha..” Rose said, sarcastically.

  “But enough about my headaches, how are you holding up.”

  Rose walked toward Emily, she had been her vice-captain and friend ever since she took on the mantle of being the Leaf Blade Guild leader when her mother retired.

  “I must say it definitely feels strange to have Lex here with us, he looks so much like her that it almost feels like she’s here with me but I think that’s what she would have wanted.” Emily said, as she looked at Arthur and Lex appear on the yard.

  “You knew her better than anyone else, so I’m sure she would have loved seeing the two people she cared about under the same guild,” Rose said, looking at Emily, despite the eye patch that covered half her face, a testament to the red night and what many tamers gave that night, she still had retained a certain youthfulness to her despite them being only 5 years apart. But she did wonder why Emily had refused to be the guild leader that day when her mother retired.

  *************

  Lex and Arthur walked toward the backyard of the Leaf Blade Guild Inn.

  “Trust me you’ve never seen anything of what I'm about to show you, you won’t regret having joined the great Leaf Blade Guild, ” Arthur said, proudly.

  As Lex and Arthur came into view of the backyard of the inn, Lex noticed that it was filled with bushes , trees and a nice patch of grass, it looked like your typical backyard he was accustomed to.

  “I don’t regret it,” Lex said, this was her mother’s taming partners and a part of her, he could never regret being in Leaf Blade Guild, besides, he couldn’t have asked for a better turn of events.

  Arthur smiled at Lex and nodded.

  “Well, what I’m about to show you will blow all the other guilds out of the water. If there's any doubt.”

  “I wonder where were going?” Lex thought, as he reached inside his brown leather bag that hanged across his chest, petting Mirabit’s soft fur. Wondering just what kind of place was making Arthur so exciting to show him.

  “Mirabit,” Mirabit said, taking a peek, but the light from the sun blinding him for a second and making him retreat back to the shadow of the bag to finish eating the nice treat that Lex had left in the bag.

  “Just follow me, the place I want to show you is behind the Leaf Blade Guild Inn backyard,” Arthur said, as he walked toward the forest that lay in front of them.

  “Don’t get lost now.”

  Lex's anticipation grew, just what was Arthur going to show him?

  Lex followed Arthur further into the forest, he turned behind for a second, the Leaf Blade Guild Inn had disappeared now and all that was left was a sea of trees, and as he looked in front of him, he could make out three silhouettes in the distant.

  “I want you to meet your other guild mates first,” Arthur said waving at the three individuals that were waiting by a group of trees.

  “This is Jaden, Stanley, and Felicia. I see you didn’t get lost and were able to read my map.”

  “Barely, but we managed Captain, and this must be the new member of the best guild in Monsterra, is Nice to meet you,” the boy named Jaden said, he looked to be around sixteen years old to Lex, he had wavy orange hair and a red earring on the right side of his ear. He was wearing a dark green Jacket, almost identical to the one Lex had on, and an orange shirt underneath with a leaf blade symbol in the middle, with dark grey pants and dark green boots.

  “Nice to meet you too, I’m Lex,” Lex said, extending his hand toward Jaden and shaking it.

  “Mirabit,” Mirabit said peeking from Lex’s bag.

  “KIAAAAAAAAA!”

  A screech vibrated through the forest making a few Birrows that were sitting on top of the trees scattered.

  Lex, Arthur, and the other boys flinched as the young girl of the group screamed, touching her cheeks as she dashed toward Mirabit.

  “Who’s this cutie pie,” she said, grabbing Mirabit from Lex’s bag, and hugging him like a stuffed toy.

  “He’s adorable.”

  “Mira..bit....” Mirabit tried to say as the walls of her embrace closed in on him like a pair of barriers, suffocating him for a second.

  “His name is Mirabit, and he’s my monster partner,” Lex said proudly.

  “hmm.. looks more like a pet than a monster partner, my Grabug would sure run circles around it,” the short boy of the group said.

  "Why is he out of his taming crystal, even more reason to think of it as a pet."

  Lex noticed he had short black hair that was styled into a mohawk with shaved sides, a very peculiar hairstyle he had never seen before, he was wearing a light green guild jacket as well with green pants and brown booths.

  He was leaning against a tree, at a short distance from the group, almost as if investigating Lex’s demeanor.

  “Mirabit!” Mirabit said as it pulled himself away from the grasp of the girl, and jumped back into Lex’s bag for safety, and leering at the boy that had insulted it. It's ego taking offense.

  "Is okay," Lex whispered, as he petted Mirabit's soft fur.

  “Don’t mind him, the name is Felicia by the way,” Felicia said, extending her hand toward Lex.

  “Nice to meet both of you.”

  She had long black hair that was styled back, a green guild jacket as well with a black blouse underneath and a brown skirt with underneath leggings peeking out and dark green boots to finish off her outfit.

  But what caught Lex’s attention was the strange ears she had.

  “You’re probably wondering about the strange ears,” Felicia said, noticing Lex’s staring at them for a second,

  “S-sorry,” Lex said, apologizing.

  “These are models after the lost Elvian people.”

  “Elvian people?” Lex asked, confused, for he had never heard that name in all his thirteen years.

  “You never heard of the Elvian people?” Felicia said, shocked, to think there was someone that had never heard about them was unthinkable to her.

  “The Elvian people are the stuff of myths and legends,” Arthur said,

  “Fairytales, if you ask me,” the boy with the mohawk said, scuffing at the thought of anyone believing in fairytales and myths.

  “They were great people who are said to have lived in the old lost continent of Monsterra when it was all together one big land mass, some say, the very first tamers, then again I don’t think they were tamers, since legend says they descend from monsters themselves, undistinguishable from one another. But finding any information on them is so hard, I even went to the great library in the kingdom of Traineria but you know how Trainerias are, either way. I’m sure more is out there to be discovered by us, which is one of the reasons I became a tamer myself, and you, why did you become a tamer? I’m sure it was for treasure and glory, at least that's why Jaden became one, then again maybe like grumpy Stanley over there, wanting to prove himself, or maybe a more noble reason like the Elvian people, wanting to live together in harmony, some say that…”

  “I don’t think we have all day to chit chat,” Jaden said, cutting Felicia from going on and on, something he had one too many experiences with, her ramblings and tangents that seemed to last for hours, which he found quite impressive, never a silent air around her.

  “I’m sure Lex’s reason for being a tamer is personal,” Jaden added.

  "For a lot of tamers, becoming a tamer was usually a personal endeavor, and for others, it was just fame and riches. "

  “Y-Yea,” Lex said, feeling embarrassed as he thought about his reason for wanting to be a tamer, chasing after his mother’s legacy.

  But what he found interesting underneath Felicia's lengthy introduction was these so-called Elvian people, his curiosity peaking.

  “Elvian people..” Lex thought to himself, touching the strange birthmark on his hand, almost instinctively hiding it.

  “Oh! Almost forgot,” Jade said,

  “and last but not least this little fellow is Stanley.”

  “Watch it,” Stanley said, walking toward Lex.

  “Hmmm…..” he said, rubbing his chin, and inspecting Lex.

  “You don’t look strong at all, I’m surprised you were able to pass the license exam.”

  "Be nice," Arthur added,

  “Don’t mind the weird girl and playboy-looking guy there, I’m the leader of the group, and as such you will be under my care.”

  “Haha... very funny, little Stanley,” Felicia said.

  “Don’t call me that, I’m the same age as you.”

  “Maybe but not the same stature.”

  He’s not the leader but he likes to say it because he’s won two battles more than any of us, “Jade said,

  “Battles that don’t count if you ask me,” Felicia added.

  “Well tell that to the Tamer association that has me at 10 wins and 6 losses in my taming license record,” Stanley said, feeling proud of himself.

  “Well, when never you want to go a few rounds, let me know, my Fernoat and Birrow wouldn’t mind the practice.”

  “Name the place and time,” Stanley said, looking up at Jade and feeling confident in himself.

  “Children, children,” Arthur said, interrupting the two boys egos.

  “You would have your chance, but today I didn’t bring you here for only quarrels.”

  “Why did you bring us here? ” Stanley asked, curious as to what his Guild’s third in command had in store for them.

  “To show you guys our secret weapon, Arthur said, grinning,

  “Now follow me.”