Chapter 8 - Divine Treat (Patreon)

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I was fifteen.

After years of training, I finally got to a point where Talbert said I wouldn’t embarrass him.

So I kept pressuring him for a Divine Treat. I was near the upper end of the age range when people got one. I’d proved I was dedicated. I’d mentioned it to him dozens of times. I’d asked the baron every chance I could get for half a decade.

I was probably a month away from just stealing the shit and fleeing the region.

Talbert could see how frustrated I was, and that I was on the brink of doing just that. He went to the baron and asked for an assessment, the same one they used for recruits when ranking them. Nobles were given the right to be assessed whenever they wished, assuming they could achieve those same standards. I was already intellectually a top-ten candidate for a Divine Treat, no doubt. All I needed to do was prove my combat prowess.

And I finally got the chance to prove it.

The baron’s throne room was bare, save for a set of balconies on the left and right sides of the area. There were also doors on the sides leading to balconies that overlooked impressive views of the surrounding forest and Lake Hopeful. A long red carpet, outlined with golden swirling patterns, stretched from the large double doors leading into the room to a small flight of three steps that rose to a throne.

The room was usually used for parties and formal events. I attended enough of them to know and hate the place. But it served other purposes too, such as when the baron needed to settle disputes arising in his territory, like property claims, judicial decrees, taxes, and local laws.

It was why the baron was there that day. To do his job. To determine whether I physically met the qualifications to become an Eater.

Master Talbert stood before me. He rested a longsword over his shoulder, eyeing me.

Captain Van Gallan and our castle healer, Clyde, were also on standby. There were officials who worked under my father up in the balconies to serve as unbiased witnesses to the occasion.

For almost a decade, I’d had a sword in my hand. The blade had become my dutiful partner. My hands were hard and calloused. My muscles moved steel with trained precision, like an extension of myself.

It was like—

Master Talbert darted forward.

I blinked in surprise as an overhead thrust lurched down at me.

I deflected it, bringing my own blade up overhead.

Shifting my weight provided enough balance for me to set my feet in time. Without the added support, Talbert would have broken through my guard and cleaved my shoulder.

“Shi—”

“No cursing!” Master Talbert flourished his saber in an uppercut motion toward my chin. “Focus!”

I dodged it. The steel nearly kissed the underside of my throat.

My teeth gritted together.

He’s right.

That first strike felt nothing like the ones I defended against in practice. It felt like death.

Focus… or die.

Don’t hesitate. Don’t think. Act. Survive. Win.

My eyes narrowed.

Master Talbert looked at me. A smirk touched his lips. “Atta girl!”

My lead foot scooted forward. I jabbed with the tip of my blade.

Master Talbert went to block it.

I reversed the jab left before bringing it back for a horizontal sweep.

Talbert jerked out of the way in time. The tip of my sword narrowly grazed his shirt.

He pushed the back of the edge with the hilt of his sword to vent my momentum to the right.

I stumbled slightly, falling in that direction. The handle of my blade nearly slipped from my grasp.

“Clever, but sloppy,” chortled Master Talbert. His hair whipped into his face as he delivered a kick to my side. “Is this the time to be trying new things, girl?”

Pain coursed through my ribs. I fully hit the ground. My body slid backward. Skin scuffed against the floor, chafing red from the contact.

“Stand up!” shouted my master.

My heartbeat thundered as adrenaline surged within me. Time seemed to slow as the sure feeling of death caressed the back of my neck.

I looked up.

The tip of a blade aimed down at my belly.

I rolled.

Ching!

Master Talbert’s weapon tip hit the floor, creating a flutter of sparks.

“You’re getting abused, girl! Come on! Show me my time with you these past years wasn’t a complete waste! Don’t want to die in front of Daddy now, do we?!”

“Oh, shut up,” I cursed weakly.

Taking a calm breath, I stood again. My body trembled. The idea of getting hit by an actual sword still scared me.

Talbert knew this. He knew people hated getting hurt. It was ingrained in them. Years ago, we started practicing with real swords. One time, I got a cut on my hand and freaked out. In response, he stabbed me in a non-vital place right in the shoulder.

Clyde healed me in secret. Otherwise, the consequences probably would have been great for Talbert. I didn’t blame him for doing it. It helped me understand exactly what the consequences of losing would feel like.

And I wasn’t eager to repeat the feeling.

Besides, we had Clyde. Anything less than death, and he’d heal me. Probably.

“Fine then.” I gritted my teeth.

This would be easier with two swords, but I’ll have to deal. Talbert’s got his Divine Treat amplifying his speed and strength. In a real fight, I’d have no chance. I have to make do as best I can.

My right foot braced forward. I launched an overhead slice.

It was deftly parried.

An array of swings came from my end.

Left slice. Horizontal sweep. Right slice. Overhead. Overhead. Sweep.

They were all easily blocked or shifted away.

“Faster! You’re too easy to read! Anticipate!”

Swing, swing, swing, swing, swing, swing, swing, swi—

Master Talbert switched his stance. “I’m tired of defending.”

I inwardly grimaced.

Master Talbert launched a diving thrust.

I evaded to the left.

Master Talbert, predicting this, lurched out his foot.

I tripped over it, spiraling out onto the floor. My sword stayed firmly in my hands as I tumbled.

“That’s twice now, Scarlet!” roared Master Talbert. “If I see you land on the floor again, I’m stabbing you in the shoulder again.”

That was not an idle threat. The scars on my body proved as much.

On the floor, I kicked my own feet out. My left foot hooked around Talbert’s back heel. I used it as a pivot point, pressing my weight against it and pulling my body toward him. My grip was solid. It surprised my master.

“Hmm,” muttered Master Talbert as his downward strike missed me.

I threw my blade up into a jab.

Master Talbert went to jerk away.

My second foot latched onto his other calf.

Talbert fell to the ground. His blade remained in his hand.

“Will you stop fooling around!” my master screeched at me. Genuine anger latched onto his face.

“Hey, in a real fight, that would be a good move!” I motioned with my sword at his side. “See? Now I can stab you while you’re on the ground!” I feigned a jabbing motion at his abdomen.

“That’s disgraceful!”

“But I’d be alive!”

“Just stand up again already! For real this time!”

The two of us rose.

The baron laughed on his throne. “Ah, I see your tutelage has not outdone my daughter’s sense of self-righteous wit.”

“She certainly has a mind of her own.” Master Talbert shook his head. “She even started picking up practice with a second sword.”

“Oh? Is she good with two?” The baron seemed intrigued.

“Much better than with one sword. She’s admittedly an above-average swordsman with a single blade. With two, she’s on par with those of greater experience. She’s gifted. It’s a sight to behold.”

The baron’s eyebrows crinkled. “Then give her a second sword.”

“No one fights with two swords,” Master Talbert said, annoyed. “It’s not common, and it’s inefficient. Unsightly. Those who use two swords are usually mercenaries, inept in training, and cannot properly use the style. It’s more efficient to be better with one sword regardless.”

“Yes, but I use them to make up for my deficiencies,” I explained to the baron, ignoring Master Talbert.

“Explain.” The baron turned his attention to me.

“My offense considerably weakens with only one sword. Master Talbert can easily keep up with it, so I’m not able to catch him off guard. My body is not strong enough. As such, I’m forced to resort to cheap tricks like tripping because the skill gap is so great.” I scratched the back of my head with embarrassment. “But with two, my offense becomes less predictable. Most importantly, having two swords enhances my defense. The dual blades also allow my best asset, my speed, to really shine. That plays more to my advantage.”

Master Talbert lamented, “We’ve been practicing with two swords for the past year and a half since she started asking. I humored her. She’s better with them, true, but, again, nobles do not carry two swords. No one does but untrained vagabonds who steal and kill for a living. She’s already too much of an anomaly.”

“I don’t see why that matters in a fight over life and death. You’ve said it yourself,” I argued with Talbert. “If I’m good with two swords, I should use two swords. We trained with them. Why not use the skill?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re just afraid you’ll get hit.”

Master Talbert’s eyes twitched.

“Scarlet, come here,” the baron beckoned.

I walked over to the throne, slightly nervous, though it did not show in my steps.

“Here.” The baron pulled his blade out of his belt and tossed it toward me. I barely caught the hilt before it hit the floor. “Back up your claims. Regardless of what Talbert says, if you can use two swords better, I’d rather see that.”

I gulped. With a nod, I turned back to the floor.

Master Talbert eyed me.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Don’t waste this chance,” scolded Master Talbert. “Do what you need to do.”

My stance adjusted. The blade in my left hand jutted forward at a horizontal slant. The edge in my right sat casually above my head.

A calmness flowed through me.

I lunged forward with my left, swinging it at an upward left angle at my master’s body.

Anticipating an easy block, I followed up with my right arm in an overhead slice.

Master Talbert stepped back rather than block the first strike.

With both my swings soaring past him, he reached forward with a jab.

I ducked sideways at an angle.

The blade soared past me.

I twisted my blades into an X.

His caught in between them.

I jerked his sword to the right, thrust it down, and roundhouse-kicked him in the stomach with my right foot.

Master Talbert grunted. He pulled his blade away, taking a step back.

We both breathed hastily.

“A vast improvement,” echoed the baron.

“Annoyingly so,” shouted Master Talbert as he lunged onward.

We exchanged strikes for what felt like hours. My arms began to hurt, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. The extra hours of practice, the beatings with the wooden swords, the psychotic exercises, the time with my friends, the excessive training, the dieting. All of it had made me better.

That, and my talents from my past life.

A smirk flickered on my face as I licked my top lip from corner to corner.

“Still have that sadistic habit, eh?!” called Master Talbert.

His strike was parried by my blade as I countered with a sweep at his legs. It weakened his overall attack, forcing him to dodge and reducing the momentum of his swing.

I opted not to speak on the off chance it’d ruin my concentration.

Our swords spoke for us.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

On and on we fought.

Narrowly, I avoided a backhand cut to my abdomen. I watched Talbert’s blade slide by me as I stepped back, using the momentum to launch myself forward into a counterstrike.

A jab. He needs to go for a thrust. I can end this if he—

There!

Master Talbert launched a thrust at my upper shoulder in a retaliatory effort to push me back.

With my left blade, I caught the thrust, pushing it away from my body.

Right sword in hand, I performed my own thrust at his shoulder to end the bout.

It’ll hurt, but I won’t go too hard. Enough to fi—

Master Talbert suddenly hit my left blade hard from the side. A rebound, and with such little movement in his wrist.

My balance stumbled.

You damn bastard.

Master Talbert shifted around my side, got behind my back, and pointed the tip of his blade at the base of my neck. “Yield!”

A tuft of wind seemed to blow through the room, signaling an end to the fight.

I sighed.

Both my blades dropped to the ground.

“A fine match,” commented the baron. “It was surprising, but you actually can use two swords. I’ve not seen it done so effectively before.”

“It’s because of her odd little quirk,” stated Master Talbert as he removed his blade from the back of my neck. He sheathed it at his side.

I relaxed as well.

“Meaning?”

“I’m ambidextrous.”

The baron appeared puzzled.

“Her left hand and her right are equal. She has no preference over either’s use,” answered Talbert for me. “People like her tend to have the talent for this style.”

“This I know,” the baron stated. He cocked his head to the side. “This was all a ploy, wasn’t it?”

Master Talbert grinned. “You know me too well, my lord.” He gently bowed.

Master Talbert had explained to me the impracticality of two swords several times before.

There was no better combo than a sword and shield. Mentally thinking of one hand as defense and the other as offense was superior. It always would be. Plus, the sheer circumference of a shield made it the better choice when your life was on the line.

If I were never to become an Eater, it’d be to my detriment to fight any other way.

But I was going to be one. That was my end goal. If I didn’t, there’d be no point in me ever using a sword. Talbert and I agreed on this. So we leaned into my ambidextrous quirks, and it paid off.

“I would have accepted your word if you’d said she was an exception to the norm at the outset,” relayed the baron from his throne. “She is a Chosen Child. She was ahead of her peers in academics and still is. Her having enhanced physical traits was not outside the realm of possibility.”

Yikes, he gets so robotic when he’s working. Guess he’s taking my Divine Treat request seriously. That’s good, at least. Now, gimme.

“Couldn’t take the chance. Besides, actions speak louder than words,” replied Master Talbert. “Though normally in this style, she’ll have one blade that is shorter than the other. We determined that two shorter blades overall best suit her tendencies, each around two feet in length. She will not have the reach of a normal fighter, but her speed and overall dexterity make her an exception.”

“That’s high praise coming from you.”

Master Talbert jolted his gaze over to me. “Do not let it get to your head.”

“I won’t!” I recoiled.

“Hahaha!” The baron chuckled. Then his face became stern. He looked up at his advisors in the balcony. “Your thoughts before I make my own?”

I couldn’t really see any of them. They were somewhat hidden, likely on purpose, but I could hear the advisors’ voices as they spoke.

“She’s more than qualified.”

“I’d see no dispute rising were she given a Divine Treat.”

“She is qualified.”

“Against a swordsman and Eater like Talbert, she did exceptionally, even if he didn’t use his gift.”

The baron glanced at Captain Van Gallan.

“She’d be number one in the current recruiting class,” said Van Gallan. “By a wide margin.”

The baron took that all in, staring at the ground. He nodded as they spoke, but every time they complimented me, his eyes darkened. It was like something bitter had hit his tongue.

“If I may,” interjected Talbert, “I’ve not taught someone as exceptional as Scarlet in my many years as an instructor. I believe she can be used for something more than a political pawn. That is not her destiny.”

Huh?

Baron Embers’s eyes narrowed at Talbert.

“Johnathan,” Master Talbert dropped the pretense, speaking the baron’s first name, “you are in a position of control that you earned through military service. Your power does not come from lineage, so you have concerns about inheritance and control. Your daughter, Scarlet, though exceptional, will be used by you in marriage to build your political alliances. To affirm your position. I know you think this will keep her safe, and it likely will, but it denies her something we bled on the battlefield for everyone in our country to have: freedom. But you are her father, and you must make the decisions you think are best for your daughter. However, the least you can do is empower her in every way you can before one day shipping her off to some advantageous stranger. Or are you merely pitying her with the effort she’s put in so far? If she were a man, you wouldn’t be hesitating like this.”

The baron stared at Master Talbert. There was anger in his eyes, but also disgust. At himself? I didn’t know.

The onlookers exchanged weary glances. If anyone other than Talbert had said all that, they’d be imprisoned or exiled. Maybe worse. It showed how close the baron and Talbert were if he could speak so freely and so bluntly.

Given the conversation, though, my mind could only focus on select parts of the speech.

Holy shit, is this bastard about to marry me off?!

I stared at the baron, mouth agape.

Is it happening soon, or is this still hypothetical!? Was he ever going to tell me!? Shit, I guess I knew this was going to happen someday, but, like, is someday this year!? Next year!? Someone was gonna give me some heads up, right!? Right!?

I started sweating, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I felt like I was going to throw up as I started overthinking.

I’ll have to marry some guy, have kids, and then what?! Be my mother?! What does she do?! Is she of any value to anyone?! Besides, I can’t have kids! I don’t want to do that! Not in this body! I should never have to do that, dammit! I came consciously into this reality with a penis! Just because I don’t have one anymore doesn’t mean I want anything going in me or out of me against my will just because I have a vagina!

“If that does not move you, then think of the value it presents her,” Master Talbert articulated. “She’s well educated, smarter than most adults, even at her age. Her combat skills are exceptional. She’s a Chosen Child. It makes sense she’d earn a Divine Treat someday. There are multiple witnesses affirming her efforts. It’s only right she becomes an Eater, in my humble opinion.”

“Gods, I’m gonna be sick,” I muttered to myself, barely following along with the conversation. “I’m gonna get married off to some fat old dude who can’t even get it up.” I shook my head. “Actually, that would be ideal. What the fuck am I complaining about? If he could, I’d have to cut it off and kill him. No one’s putting anything in me. Ever. Just me. Only me.”

Thankfully, I was speaking so quietly that no one heard me.

The baron chewed the edge of his lip.

The room was deadly silent, save for my very soft, despairing mutterings.

“Captain Van Gallan.” The baron looked at the giant of a man standing in the room. “Get the chest.” He stared out into the wider room. “Everyone else, leave us. I wish to speak with my daughter for a moment alone.”

Master Talbert nodded. He turned. Before walking past me, his hand gently rested on my shoulder for a moment. After a solemn look between us, he left the room.

Clyde and Van Gallan followed him. The aides from the upper rows soon trickled down and, without looking at me, exited too.

It was just the baron and me.

“You are not a political pawn to me,” said the baron.

“Oh? The whole marriage thing? No, you’ve been mentioning it my whole life. I definitely didn’t just ignore that.” I nervously laughed. “Is something happening with that? Something you should tell me?”

Oh, I’m running the fuck away the first chance I get. 

No, wait, my life’s mega cushy here. All I need to do is make myself undesirable. Easy. Rumors and shit. I’ll be fine. Just need to put in the work!

The baron saw my nervousness, and his gaze softened. “You’ve done well socializing in the city, but you’ve made no real connections.”

“I have friends.”

“Our soldiers don’t count. They work for us.”

Well, fuck you. Rude.

“I am giving you what you wanted. Not only did you earn it, you deserve it,” admitted the baron. “I expected you to give up years ago when you asked for sword training. I knew what you were trying to do. I expected you to fail. You didn’t. That was on me for not believing in you. You’ve gained these powers through your own effort. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.”

I kind of just stared at him after that. I didn’t expect him to ever say something like that. It was kind of heartwarming. Honestly, we’d never had a real heart-to-heart conversation before. I didn’t know he thought that highly of me.

“But you are a noble, and you are my daughter. We have obligations to our people and to our titles. You are my only child. My firstborn. The only baby of three to survive,” he stressed. “Even with your gift, you will not be a soldier. I will not allow you to go to war or fight. You will do your duty as a noble. Nothing more. It’s all I ask of you, as your father.”

My eyelids drooped slightly. I’d figured they’d had several pregnancy complications before me. They alluded to it when I was younger, but hearing it and the actual number confirmed threw me off.

“Whoever you marry will have rights over these territories when I am gone. If you have a son, this throne will be his to rule.” The baron gestured around. “We all make sacrifices, Scarlet.”

“And if I don’t want to get married?” I asked.

It was deathly quiet after that sentence.

“You will,” said the baron curtly, in a commanding tone I’d never heard directed my way before. “I’ll start introducing you to people shortly. An official debutante ball will be arranged on your eighteenth birthday. From there, we shall see.”

“Oh. Good,” I said blandly.

Inside, I was dying.

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