Synnove Ciro wakes up to the sound of knocking on her door. The third year student finds herself lying on the bed in her own room. For a few seconds, Synnove couldn’t remember how she got there. Then, everything comes crashing down like an avalanche.

“Master is in danger!” yells the beautiful pigtails girl as she pushes the blanket someone had used to cover her and jumps out of bed. Someone had also changed her out of her maid uniform, dirtied from crawling in the mud and dirt of the courtyard, and into a nightgown. But Synnove doesn’t care, all her priorities and thoughts right now are towards her Master.

Unfortunately for the pigtails girl, her left foot gets caught in the blanket she had thrown away just moments ago and she falls hard on the floor. Synovve would have injured herself badly if she didn’t manage to twist her body at the very last second and manages to soften the impact by slamming both of her palms onto the floor.

The pigtails girl is momentarily grateful for all those self-defense classes at the training center her mother had forced her to go through when she was a child.

The knock on her door continues. Synnove half-crawls, half lunges towards it and opens the door forcefully. There her best friend, Delyth Anatol, stands in shock with a package under her arm and her mouth agape. She is surprised to see the panic state that Synovve is currently displaying.

“Synnove, there’s a package here for you.”

“Master! What happened to my Master? Is he dead? Did Rolfe Primero killed him?”

“Calm down. If you’re talking about the boy, he is still alive… ish.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the boy was alive and kicking the last time I saw him, but then Rolfe knocked him out and brought him to his manor.”

“He did what?”

“Yes, all the girls are gossiping about that. They feel it’s kind of hot actually.”

“Fuck that guy! I’m going to kill him! How long was I out?”

“Barely half a day has passed. You were unconscious since yesterday afternoon. I was the one who brought you back to your room, you’re welcome by the way.”

“Shit. I have to be by my Master’s side. He needs me. Give me that package.”

“What’s in it?”

“It’s a new maid dress I ordered from town. My old one didn’t fit me anymore. Close the door, I’m changing.”

“Synnove… I don’t think you should be hanging around the boy anymore.”

“I’m not hanging around Master. I’m serving him.”

“What would your parents say if they saw you wearing a maid dress?”

“Pffft, my dad wouldn’t even care. He’d be too busy fucking all the maids in the palace to even notice me. And my mum… Shit. My mum would probably drag me back to the training center in order to be re-educated. She has this method where she thinks the best way of knocking some sense back into someone is by knocking them out.”

“See? It’s not good for someone of your status to be doing this… whatever the hell this thing you think you’re doing.”

“It’s called fulfilling one’s lifelong dream. You ever had one of those?”

“Yeah I do. I want my prince in shining armor to come riding in with his white horse, sweep me off my feet and take me to the meadows where he will go down on me while I’m leaning against an oak tree. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen any time soon.”

“You’re confusing your perverted fantasy with a dream again.”

“Every girl is a pervert, Synnove. It’s just a matter of how much you’re willing to pervert yourself to the ones you love. And knowing you, I bet all your fantasies are pretty vanilla.”

“If only you knew…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Anyway, fantasies. Dreams. Same things really, which is to say they have a hard time being real.”

“Well. I'll tell you my dream right now. It’s finding someone worthy to serve under. And now that Master is taken away from me, I’m going to get him back.”

“Synnove, you were born to rule over others. Hundreds upon hundreds of men would kneel in order to offer their services to you. Why choose this one? Why choose him?”

“Because he’s the only one who won’t.” smiles the beautiful pigtails girl known as Synnove Ciro, much to the chagrin of her best friend.

********************

Synnove Ciro steps out from the building and into the morning sun, wearing the brand new maid dress she ordered yesterday. The pigtails girl had manage to send out a special request to a dressmaker in town while she was running errands for the boy, finding the things he asked her to find, things he need before his duel. The maid dress is elegantly designed and well-made. Usually something like this takes weeks to make, but Synnove's family name and the generous amount of money she paid helps speed things up.

Synnove straightens her dress, which was created all for the purpose of enticing the one she feels worthy of being acknowledged as her Master.

Even though Synnove is young, the girl has met many great men due to her environment. Growing up in the palace, she has seen all types and manners of men. But none like the boy. Even the mightiest general in her father’s service would pale in comparison when standing next to him.

Synnove could feel it when she first laid eyes on the boy the night he stormed into the dining hall two nights ago. No. It wasn’t something silly like love at first sight. She wasn’t some normal schoolgirl with her head filled with romance novels.

It was awe. Reverence at looking someone who is capable of destroying the world by lifting a finger, but chooses not to out of some weird ideal or principle. Synnove is strangely attracted to that. It’s like flying too close to the sun. You know your wings will melt, leaving you spiraling out of control, crashing and burning into the ground. But you can never imagine yourself living in darkness ever again without that light or warmness.

Due to the stress of her surroundings, Synnove has grown up with some very particular habits and urges. It didn’t help that her father is a skirt-chasing hound, always going after the next piece of tail, and her mother is a cold person, always pushing her daughter to excel, both in her academics and her personal life. Synnove knows that her particular habits and urges aren’t normal, but repressing them would drive her crazy.

She also knows she would die if someone was to learn about them, which the boy did, and he only gave them an indifferent shrug. That made Synnove desired the one she’s willing to call Master even more. And now the maid feels the boy is in dire need of assistance, and she is determined to come to his aid. Which is why she’s heading out towards Rolfe Primero’s manor, the last known location of her Master.

Just as Synnove takes a few hundred steps away from the building where only the elites among the elite female students have their own private living quarters, she is suddenly accosted by two older male students who are waiting nearby.

“Hey Synnove. Can we talk with you for a second?” says one of the male students, a guy with a horse face.

“Buzz off. I’m busy here.” Due to her family background, Synnove is accustomed to attracting unwanted attentions from insects.

“Could you slow down a bit? It’s about the boy.” says the other male student, a guy with a crooked nose, one that probably didn’t heal properly from a fight he had years ago.

“Who are you and why should I care?”

“We’re the boy’s friends.”

“Yeah. He told us to come get you.”

*raises eyebrow “Really?”

“He said he wants to meet with you secretly, but he can’t go out in the open.”

“The boy said it was too dangerous for him to be walking around in broad daylight.”

“Which is why he asked us for our help.”

“Come with us. We’ll show you to where he is.”

“You guys are true gentlemen. Very well then. Please lead the way.”

“Follow me.” says the older student with the crooked nose as he sets off in a new direction, towards a couple of buildings located west of the school’s ground.

Synnove trails behind him while his friend with the horse face insisted on staying at the very back, saying something about making sure they are not being followed.

Just as they are rounding the corner of an isolated building, far from prying eyes, the male student with the horse face lunges at Synnove. To his complete and utter surprise, the male student grabs nothing but air. The maid has side-stepped to the left, her movement too fast for the male student to follow. It is as if she has eyes on the back of her head. Before the student with the horse face could recover from his surprise, Synnove does a low sweep with her right leg that knocks him off his feet.

The male student falls backwards and hits the ground with a thud, his head receiving most of the impact. Before the dazed student could process what has just happened to him, Synnove knocks him out cold with an open palm strike. The maid turns and faces her next opponent, the student with the crooked nose. The male student is in shock that their ambush has failed… and that his partner was taken out quickly.

“How did you know…“

“I may have been born at night but I wasn’t born last night.”

“You whore!”

“Language. Now you’re going to tell me everything I need to know. Starting with who sent you and what’s your plan against Master is.”

“You should have just let us grab you. Now we’re going to have to do it more forcefully. You’ll probably get injured, even though he told us not to harm you.”

“Don’t you know, cretin? You shouldn’t lay your hands on a woman if she doesn’t give you permission.”

“Fuck you! Come here.”

“Again with the language. Didn’t anyone teach you not to speak that way to a lady?”

“Stop dodging me. I’m gonna fuck you up!”

“I’m starting to wonder why you couldn’t get a girlfriend. Even though you have such a charming face and a winning personality.”

“Hold still! Once I catch you I’m gonna make you one sorry bi-“

“Your nose. My pleasure.”

Synovve suddenly turns and strikes the older male student in the face, halting his movements and shattering his nose to pieces. He goes limp and falls to his knees. He strains his neck to looks up and sees the maid standing in front of him.

The male student tries to spit out another curse but only a gurgling sound can now be heard, his throat is filled with blood.

“The enemies of my Master are my enemies.” says Synnove as she lifts her right leg and delivers a kick to the side of the student’s head, making him spit blood and sending him to join his friend in slumber land.

The maid turns and resumes her journey towards her Master.

********************

As Synnove is about a few hundred yards away from entering the forest that separates the Whiteford Academy and Rolfs Primero’s manor, she sees a crowd gathering at the edge of the courtyard outside the north hall. A gut feeling makes the maid change her direction and walks towards them instead.

Synnove makes her way through the crowd, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She then sees a sight that makes her heart leap with joy. Her Master is standing in the middle of the courtyard, alive and well, except for his right arm which is in a sling of course. Before the maid can break free and hug her Master from behind, she notices him making a small sweeping gesture near his hip using his left hand.

Stay, is what Synnove feels her Master's hand is telling her.

********************

“The boy has arrived. He’s either extremely brave or really stupid, I’ll give him that.”

“I’m going down there to meet him now. Pyrm, stay by the window and be on the lookout.”

“But Jakka and Hyans aren’t back yet with the girl, Joze.”

“Screw those slow bastards. I can’t wait to make the boy have a taste of his own medicine.”

“Huh? Joze, I thought you said you were going to make the boy swallow some poison you sent him.”

“Oaffa, I like you, but sometimes you have the brain power of a sack full of potatoes.”

“…Thanks?”

“I don’t know why Master Haithur had let you into Ouroboros.”

“It’s because his father is also a member.”

“Figures. Now, guys. Remember what I’ve said. If you see me giving out the signal, you slit those two gutter rats’ throats. If the boy makes a move on me, you slit their throats. If you see the boy drinks the vial of poison I gave him, keels over and falls dead, you…”

“Slit those two boys’ throats?”

“No Oaffa you dumb fuck! What Joze was about to say is we let them go if the boy holds up his part of the deal. His life… for theirs.”

“Actually, Oaffa’s right.”

“What…”

“Haha. See? I told you.”

“Once my business with the boy is concluded, you guys slit those two fuckers' throats and meet up with me in the dining hall. I hear they’re serving pancakes this morning.”

“But Joze…”

“You’re suddenly developing a conscience on me, Kern?”

“No…”

“Listen here. You being merciful is going to be bad for your health. You let these peasants look down on Ouroboros, they’ll be stepping on our heads next.”

“…”

“They’re commoner students. Who gives a shit about them? What’s another one or two dead bodies to add to the pile?”

“…”

“The boy should be grateful I’m sending him his friends to accompany him in the afterlife.”

"And what happens if Jakka and Hyans finally arrives with that girl, Synnove?"

"Just tie her up and and keep her quiet in another room. You can smack her around a bit if she gives you too much trouble, but don't be too excessive. You know who her father is."

“…”

"And besides, I don't think you guys should have any trouble handling a girl."

********************

“Joze, is down there talking to boy now.”

“Where? I wanna see.”

“Get back from the window, Oaffa. They’re gonna see your dumb big head sticking out the window.”

“My head’s not that big…”

“I’ve just call you dumb and that’s what you’re harping about? Your head?”

“…Yes?”

“Gods, go sit in a corner you dumb bastard.”

"Okay..."

“I don’t like this, Prym…”

“What’s there to like?”

“…”

“You suddenly feel sorry for these two bound, gagged, and unconscious boys we got laying on the floor.”

“I don’t know…”

“Kern. You keep this indecisive shit up, Joze’s gonna have you joining them next.”

“…”

“Hey. I’m just looking out for you, man. But if Joze sees you continue being a giant pussy, he’ll do you in. And he’s gonna make me do it. And you know I have to.”

“Gee, you're a real stand up guy."

"I'm the best friend you'll ever have."

"And you still owe me two silver coins, asshole.”

“I’ll use them to buy flowers to send to your mother.”

*laughs “Screw you. What kind of flowers cost two silver coins to buy?”

“Hey guys. What’s so funny?

“Shut up, Oaffa!”

“Fine. I’ll use the rest of them to buy your mother a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant.”

*continues laughing “Man, fuck you.”

“Show her a hell of a good time. Maybe do little dancing. Later we’ll go out and paint the whole town re-HOLY FUCKING SHIT!“

*alarmed “Why? What is it?”

“The boy… he’s pointing at me.”

“Seriously? Did he see you?”

“I don’t know man. Oh shit! Kern…”

“What?”

“Now he’s waving at me.”

“Hey guys. What you all doing on the floor?”

*screams “Shut up Oaffa!

*screams as well "Go back to your fucking corner!”

“Okay…”

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“I’ve told you this was a bad idea. I’ve told you I had a bad feeling about this.”

“Keep your cool, Kern. Joze is still talking with him. Oh thank goodness.”

“What is it, Pyrm?”

“He stopped waving and has put his hands down.”

“What the fuck was that about?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s trying to scare us?”

“Well, he’s doing a good job so far. Oh shit.”

“What is it, Kern?”

“…”

“Kern? Talk to me!”

“You didn’t hear that, Pyrm?”

“Hear what?”

“There was a sound...”

“What sound?”

“The sound of something breaking. Like wood being snapped in half.”

“Hey guys…”

*together “Shut up, Oaffa!”

“No, seriously. Guys…”

*together “What!”

“I think there’s someone outside the door.”

“…”

“…”

Kern and Pyrm look at each other. Both nod and silently take out the knives they have hidden in their sleeves. Pyrm is at the far end of the room, his back is near the windows overlooking the courtyard outside the north hall. Kern is crouching in the middle of the room with the bound, gagged, and unconscious hostages.

Kern turns to their third companion. “Hey Oaffa. Be a good sport and open the door.”

“Okay.” replies the lumbering giant. The male student known as Oaffa approaches the sliding door and opens it without cautious.

No sooner than he does so, something that looks like a bat flies into view from outside the room and connects with Oaffa’s left knee. The slow student howls in pain and falls down to one knee. Immediately, a second attack hits the male student’s head. Then comes another one. And another one. And another one.

Both Kern and Pyrm are shocked by the swiftness and brutality of the act. Kern couldn’t believe that Oaffa’s head didn’t split open like a watermelon right there and then.

Oaffa suddenly stops making a sound. He is either unconscious or worse. The bat that is used to take down Oaffa nudges the body of the male student gently. The slow giant falls to the side like a fell tree.

The person who is holding the blunt and bloodied instrument steps over the barely breathing student and into the room. Both Kern and Prym are holding their breath, terrified at the horrible sight they are currently seeing.

“Hello boys…” says the blood splattered pigtails maid as she swings the broken leg of a wooden table and puts it across her shoulders.

“Catch you fuckers at a bad time?” grins Synnove with blood still dripping from her face.

********************************************************************************************

Hey guys, mushashi here. I’ve been getting some questions about how Rolfe Primero’s future wife got herself pregnant. It looks like I wasn’t clear enough in my writing. The girl Rolfe rescued was held in a bandit camp.

A group of unlawful men plus some captured girls equals to not a very good time for the said girls.

Good talk.