William knew that Brice hadn’t come here to fight, for his dinosaur was still very small and therefore it didn’t give him much strength. If it wasn’t for their shared ability that he could harness, he wouldn’t be considered a threat. And sadly for him, this ability wasn’t allowed in most disciplines…
No, in truth, that playboy had solely come to brag to his seniors and show off his new bond. With this motive in mind, it was inevitable that their young lord would attend feast after feast during the night, and all of his bright hours he would sleep away. Leaving his servants to warm up an empty tent.
William sighed. He wondered if the protagonist would be able to stabilize his spirit in time for the main event. Luckily for Julian, the Fake King’s knights would appear as the main attraction, at the end of the week and not at the beginning. Giving the youth plenty of time to strengthen himself.
Inside the stall tent, William vividly imagined how Julian pulverized these knights when a sudden gust of wind invaded the space. Both William and Rex raised their gaze as all three of the nobles entered the tent, with an entourage of likewise drunken men. “Ah, Rex… Tonight I promised the others that we could party at my place. So go get some of those snacks and ale we prepared!... Oh, and get some of the whiskey too!”.
The stench of alcohol was like an overbearing perfume. It quickly spread towards every corner of the place; making those who were sober feel overwhelmed. Brice gave William a certain look. He knew what needed to be done, thus William fetched some flat cushions for Brice’s guest to sit and be merry on. He neatly arranged them in a circle, which was quickly filled out by all kinds of men. One of them even had the audacity to grab William, to make him sit down on their lap!
In that instance William’s world shattered. An old fear pumped through his veins, as he tried to struggle his way off of this person. He was barely 11-years-old for god’s sake! Who was this barbarian!?
William kept his cool on the outside, as he felt the other’s grasp become slack. But then they held him even closer to their body, as their disgusting fingers fondled something they shouldn’t have…
To think this day would come so soon. William thought he would be able to tackle this kind of situation with vision and if necessary with force, but right then and there, he froze in shock. He wasn’t exactly blank on what to do. Rather he couldn’t decide out of the many options that were available, which one would be the best. Should he scream and fight back, even if this shameful sight would be bathed in attention by the whole room? Or should he make the other lose interest by acting gross?... WHAT SHOULD HE DO!?
William felt inexplicably lost, until a voice rang out, “Ah, Lord Caspian don’t touch my servant so casually!”. William’s time began to flow again, once Brice heaved him up from that stranger’s embrace. Then he was lead out of the tent as Brice gingerly apologized, “Sorry, Mirabelle, these friends of mine tend to seek the company of women… I think it would be for the best if you switched duties with Henric tonight...”.
“... Yeah”, William muttered. Brice patted him on the head, obviously because he too was a little tipsy. Then he left the servant girl to her own devices.
William stood silent. Replaying what had just happened inside his head. He trudged between dimly lit tents, thinking: Molested… Was that person a child-molester? Or am I not considered a child anymore?... Just why did that happen!? I’m so confused!? What is this feeling?... I feel really disgusted!... URGH!...
To shake this sticky feeling of his chest, he ran and he didn’t stop until he reached the area designated for dinosaurs to rest…
****
The following days, William tried to swallow the fact that in these times a girl at the age of 12 would be considered mature, and therefore be entitled to marry… It was a tender age to accept womanhood and some would even fling their attention at these small women, as he had just experienced himself…
In the end, he had to admit that these factors weighed heavily on his will to accept the fact that he was now a woman. Because when it comes to accepting one's gender role in society it depends on whether this person’s identity fits with it. If not, a person will find it hard to accept their given role in society. They will seek acceptance in another way, by either changing their own gender or they will try to change the society they live in as a whole. In worst cases... Their own identity…
William felt a big gap between these two entities: Gender role and identity…
Because being a woman meant accepting that he was now ‘weaker’ than before. That he had a different role in society that could be objectifying and repressing at times and that a part of him, that could be accepted in the past, now had to be shunned away to fit this new role...
William sank deep into thought but was brought out of his slump when he saw Julian enter the arena. With newfound glee, he shut away those annoying questions as he thought: The protagonist actually made it in time! That’s fantastic!... Now I will get the honor of viewing an important battle before we leave!...
Julian’s skin was no longer dreadfully pale and his overall appearance exuded strength and confidence. Because he wanted to attend anonymously he wore a helmet and went under the name of ‘Darkson’. Contrary to his wishes of anonymity, Julian’s alias was rather on the nose.
His father, the Fake King that looked on from above, was not someone to be trifled with. He was infamous. Commonly known throughout the land for being the lord who had attained the most power. He had forced nearby castles to bow to him. Their lords were no longer their own but worked under his command and if they didn’t adhere to his leadership he would tramble their crops and make their castle’s into corpse-ridden ruins. To follow such a man, one must be just as ruthless. His knights were his manifesto, carrying out his will into the huge territory that he ‘owned’.
Julian’s first opponent entered the stage as the announcer roared, “Folks! We have a brave warrior who dares to challenge a knight of the Righteous Blade! A humble sir Darkson! Who will be challenging lord Caspian! the Lord of Silver!”.
The audience roared back with claps and screams, ready to see blood. William stared at Julian’s opponent with a frown. To think Brice had managed to invite such a big player to his party and even had the guts to openly scold him!? This sir Caspian must have been beyond drunk to have left the tent intact!…
The ice rivers that had run up and down William’s back, were consumed and turned into gleeful anticipation mixed with shame. He was shameful for having forgotten this character’s name but very happy that this offender would soon be met with indirect punishment.
Down on the battlefield, lord Caspian was trying to provoke Julian with some senseless banter but was thoroughly ignored. Without a fight, his provocations failed and made a rebound. Making lord Caspian gnash his teeth as he swung his giant sword in Julian’s direction. It missed a couple of times and when it came too close it was parred away by Julian’s swift blade.
These small encounters went on for about 5 minutes. During these encounters, it was clear for all to see who was being played by who. Lord Caspian even got so agitated in the end, that he mindlessly went in for a heavy-hitting attack. To this intense aggression, his opponent of unknown origin merely smiled mysteriously. As Caspian went in for the killing blow, a kick was directed in his direction, that he couldn’t avoid in his rush towards Julian.
This kick seemed pretty harmless at first until it made impact. The scene that followed was surreal, for in that simple kick something similar to a shock-wave could be seen and felt. It was even strong enough to make the heavy-armored Lord of Silver fly a few meters backward. When he landed, people could spot the giant crater that was left in his armor. The metal was so abused from the impact, that it had melted partly into lord Caspian’s skin! Making the audience gasp as they stared in awe and disbelief.
The feat they had just witnessed would of course not be possible for a normal bonded human being. But Julian wasn’t normal. He was born with enough energy to bond with 5 dinosaurs simultaneously, while others could only bond with one at a time! Making the power in his kick enough to turn into extreme heat on impact.
As lord Caspian’s body reacted to the scorch of metal, he made a blood-curdling scream. The injury he had attained on that day would permanently be etched into his body. Disgracing him furthermore... The fallen knight was carried away by a team of doctors, while the audience went berserk. It was now divided into people who worshipped this power and those who abhorred it.
Julian’s father glared down at him, not knowing that this monster was his son… After their first defeat, another two knights came to uphold order and the prestige of their lord, but alas they too were thoroughly beaten as well. All of these duels couldn’t be called a fair fight but an unusual feast of slaughter for those who watched.
William who had watched the first fight closely felt very refreshed and cheered the protagonist on as he continued to toy around with his opponents. When all the duels were over, Julian’s future lover was officially handed over to him in a grand gesture. She was a being of exquisite breed. Her hair that carried hints of ruby matched perfectly well with her grey eyes; a combo that was very unique. From the audience seats, William was thrilled to finally lay an eye on this beauty but oddly enough her figure didn’t really make him fawn or drool…
Nonetheless, with all of this beauty shimmering before a person, one wouldn’t hesitate. They would take her fair hand as they led her towards a splendid future. Julian, however, wasn’t normal on this part either. He had the balls to leave this ethereal goddess behind without a word.
Of course, she wouldn’t let him leave. Such a powerful man was exactly what she needed and so the chase began. William who saw this ‘familiar’ scene, sighed with regret. At first, when he read the book he really liked this woman and thought she was the perfect match for Julian. For it was she, who set him on the path of conquerors... She was his kingmaker...
William knew somewhere out of his sight, this lady would continue to pester Julian into coming home with her. There, she and her semi-wealthy family would concoct a suitable path for him to walk on… Alas, it was a shame that it was done so half-heartedly...
Before William left with the retreating crowd, he took another peek at the Fake King. According to the book, this tyrant should be pondering right now whether he should hire this mysterious master or have him killed for ridiculing his men.
Having such thoughts, this man was surely a good contender for the honored role of the main villain. And yet, William still found It hard to decide who should wear the ‘villain-hat’...
Did it belong upon the head of Julian’s father? His lover? Or his most loyal knight?...
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That m*ther f*cker. How dare he lay hands on our precious Mirabelle. Even if he was drunk. I was so upset when i read those lines that I literally jumped from joy when our hero Julian beat him up. Serves Caspian right, melding with his armour!
On a side note though, I like how you described Will's reaction to the situation. When you're a girl going through an incident like that, usually you either just freeze or do what William did and figure out a way to get out of the situation. It was a realistic portrayal that was straight to the point. You even touched on Social Anthropology topics there for a bit. Haha, I don't know if you meant to put that there or didn't notice it at all though but it was a neet touch I didn't expect.
So happy Brice stopped that guy though because it would've been a huge incident for sure if William did something to a male who's a noble in front of other nobles at that and in the presence of his young master. That just smells like trouble..
Makes me really wonder who out of the 5 male characters Will has interacted with would be supportive of his "dragon bonding with a female" endeavor and his practice of swords.
P.S. Thank you for the chapter by the way! Beautiful story as always.