Two and a half weeks had passed without Camille realising it. Between her daily courses and her training session at night, the teenager had trouble keeping her head straight. The month of hell, as every student called it, ended with a significant moment. The last examination was scheduled for the final three days of the week. The first two would host each subject examination, but the main event was on the Orcas, the last day of the week. The trainees were organised in squads, one in charge of command and deployed into a mock battle. Of course, they had no information about the map or enemies they would face, but everyone awaited the challenge with eagerness.

Camille, like all her comrades, was giving her everything. From Kiel’s dojo to the shooting range, she used every second of her time to improve. Her grade had kept going up, and she was ten places under the magical number of a thousand-five. If she managed her exam correctly, she would be at the bottom of the basket. Not enough to join her comrades in the primary, the best squad of their year, but brother and sister in arms. The sneaky noble managed to glimpse at Lesskov’s holo-screen after one of her training sessions and saw their names on the list. When she had seen it, she was overjoyed for them and was even more motivated to catch up.

“What are you thinking about?”

The flowery smile on Camille’s face shattered as a violent shock pushed her back. Moving her sword up, she launched a counterattack right away. The blades clashed together, and the teenager understood her offensive was a bust. She took a step back, considered her option, and moved to a neutral stance. Kiel made her sword spin in her hand as a crystalline giggle left her carmine lips. Camille’s growing instinct kicked in; Her tutor was about to hit her hard. Clenching her tiny hand on the wooden guard, she narrowed her gaze to see the attack coming.

Kiel dropped her guard and dashed forward, a reckless move needing to be punished. The teenager lunged at her teacher’s face, falling into her trap. Kiel’s blade had already moved to intercept and threw her student blade to the side. Wide-open, she bent away from the ravenous thrust that followed and slashed low to try a hit at her teacher’s leg. Kiel retreated with the same grace, allowing her student some respite. Camille passed her hand over her forehead and washed away hair sticking to it. The girl breathing was heavy but steady; she had made a long way since her first P.E session.

“How I am going to beat you.” She finally answered with a cocky smile.

Kiel raised an eyebrow before assuming her favourite stance. Blade over the shoulder, she presented a feline smile to the girl. Camille hardly swallowed and took the most defensive position Kiel taught her. Jumping in to punish the girl, the instructor feinted an overhead slash. The blade vanished from Camille’s vision as the girl felt like a screw drill into her head. Kiel frowned as her sword was blocked at a centimetre from the girl’s belly. The abnormal reflex had saved her.

“Impressive.” Noted Kiel as her blade stopped next to her student’s throat. “You should have lost at my last attack.”

Hand raised to put a stop at the spare, Camille acknowledged her master superiority. The two women bowed to each other before putting their blades away.

“I was lucky. I lost your blade for a second”.

“As it was intended. But you fought well. I was under pressure a few times, and you are slowly starting to go to the offensive.”

“As if I had the slightest chance to touch you. I always fall right into your feints.”

“Don’t be so negative.” Kiel stopped. “I have students who needed months to reach your current level. Quick on your feet, reckless but not too much, and a head filled with ideas. With a bit more training, you would become a brilliant skirmisher.”

Camille took the remark with a smile. Her friends had already found their glass slippers, and only her tarried to identify the M.E.A classes she wanted to master. Since she had started training the sword, and because of Kiel’s numerous remarques, she had begun to see herself as a skirmisher. Only the most talented pilots had the chance to become one. Among the students trained in the forty training camps, only a thousand chose that discipline. It was the only classes where failure was common as a mysterious instructor Miller conducted the final examination. When Camille heard about it, she understood right away who was hidden behind that name. Lesskov repetitive slips of the tongue made it easy to identify Blue’s real name. Since Kiel confirmed her intuition, she had found her goal. Becoming a confirmed trainee and follow the legend footstep.

“What are you planning to do after, trainee? Play a bit with Dead?”

Camille answered with a shake of her head.

“Not tonight. I met with my friend at the library. They need some help for their academics.”

“You still manage to find time for them?”

“They help me every day. I want to do my part.”

“Then you should not make them wait. Major Lesskov’s could think they were slacking and made them run some laps.”

Camille laughed at the idea. If she had managed to come back to a neutral status with the man, she was not ready to ask critical questions again. If she had not sworn on blood and kin, she promised herself to try again when she would be strong enough—The day she would be an M.E.A pilot. After another short bow, the girl ran outside. If jogging between buildings was a chore at first, the girl now enjoyed it. Her endurance had grown enough to allow her to cross the base without spitting her lungs out. She was still far behind Sevos or Ender, but she could run alongside Gwen and Tavis without problems now. That last was still bothering the girl every day, but she had learned to ignore him. She wanted to confront him but was afraid of the possible outcome. When the half-vlin’ns was not acting like a spoiled child, they could share long conversations on almost any subject. Their favourite was strategy, as they had opposed perception. Tavis behaved by the book, following a strict logic to bring the most out of the less while Camille followed more Drayn vision. The man was renowned for the weird tactics he had used during the war. Every time he spoke about one of his battles, she could picture it as a legend in her imagination. One sentence from the man was stuck with her: War is the only game not played by the rules.

Camille tumbled down in front of the library. Her group of friends waiting for her in front. They had barely left professor reg’s mathematic classes, but already Camille felt their exhaustion.

“Snip! I need your help!” Mijuu plaided right away. “I don’t understand a thing about geometry! And Tavis is not pedagogic enough to explain!”

“Could you also land me a hand in physic, cutie?” Followed Sevos with a smile large as his face.

Camille turned a pleading stare to the other nerd of the group. Tavis answered with a roll of the shoulders.

“Sorry, Camille. I tried, but I don’t share your pedagogic talents.”

Mijuu stuck out her thong to the boy, holding her friend against her. Tavis turned a glance to his friend, but Sevos also answered with a dry smile.

“Don’t worry, Tavis. No one is perfect everywhere.” Laughed Ender with a light thump to his friend’s shoulder. “In the meantime, you can help Gwen with strategy classes. How was your training with Kiel, Camille?”

“Zat! It was mental! she taught me some cool offensive kata, but I have trouble doing them properly. She even showed me her own fighting style today! She used her psyck in combination and did somersaults while attacking. It’s crazy.”

“I really want to see her fight.” Commented Sevos. “But I can’t imagine a sword-wielding Camille. It sounds weird.”

“Because I’m a girl?”

“No.” protested the boy. “I can imagine Karin with one. You are just tinier.”

“Luckily, she had the brain for both of you.” Mocked Ender. “Maybe she will show her skill during the battle. I heard special weapons are allowed, and you might get a hand on a blade.”

Camille took the news with an excited grin. She wanted to show her progress to her comrades. It would have been even better with Askorat at her side, but the Lispblade was kept secured in Lesskov’s home. At any moment in the day, Camille could feel the elder relic in the distance. The blade was constantly calling to her, and she had to keep her head straight to not run there. Even if Lesskov had forbidden her from using it, she kept training with her when he was absent.

As they kept talking, the little group passed the door together. B.D base’s library was massive—multiple levels filled with shelves of holo-books ready to be taken by the trainees. Of course, anyone could have access to the numerous articles from a few clicks on their holo-screens, but the place allowed them to retrieve physical holo-books of their favourite literature pieces. At first, the noble had trouble understanding the concept. Holo-book had the same rank as paper one in her Weiss mind, new rich folly. She had heard her parents criticise others over them so many times that she was shocked when she saw all the trainees reading in the dormitory. When Mijuu explained the fun of turning pages, the noble had abandoned. Liking books was usual for the common folk of the federation, and once again, the nobles were the strange ones.

Outside of the massive number of works, Camille loved the vlin’ns architecture of the place. White walls covered with arabesque, joining together in large arches. The style was modern but filled with the dignity of tradition. Following the war, the library had been given to the base by prince Adrin’s wife. The vlin’ns noble had visited the planet many times and was loved by every inhabitant. She had spent her time repairing the damage created by her husband, not without his help. Erin IV was a symbol of the federation unity, and the base’s library was a solid example of it.

They sat around a long rectangular table and started their respective activity. As always, Camille had to give courses to her comrade. Mijuu and Sevos were good students. Both were born in civilian families, were school level was lower than their higher-ranked counterparts. B.D. had a strict academic program for a military base, and Camille was excited for the next month where all the real courses would start. The girl started her lecture and found herself giving lessons to a whole class of trainees. Many had joined, intrigued by the cute girl writing on a large holo-screen, and stayed when they realised she was pretty clever. If many laughed in her back for her martial talent, no one dared a word when she was in her territory. Only Tavis break the rules, but Camille had to allow him. Time rolled like water in the stream. Between question to answer and new subjects to explore, the girl barely breathed for two hours. Her throat dry and head pulsing, she sat next to her comrade.

“I think my head will explode.” She said, leaning against Mijuu. “How professor Reg do this all day?”

“Don’t ask me. I don’t even know where you store all this stuff.”

A wry smile twisted her face.

“I was supposed to succeed to my father. I needed to know all that.” She turned her gaze to the trainees leaving. “Everyone worked hard. I need to keep going too!”

“That’s the spirit, Camille.” laugh Ender. “Let’s grab something to eat before sleeping. Sevos, you are in?”

The boy, who was more a walking stomach than a human, vividly agreed. All the girl rolled their eyes at the same time. They had not expected anything else from him. They all left their sit at the same time, ready to run for the canteen. Camille was about to follow them when her eyes met two ambers hidden behind a veil of soft brown hair.

“I will catch up soon.” She said to Mijuu before turning away. “I still need to do something.”

Camille let them walk away before turning to the now empty room. Only one girl was still present that last trying to hide away from her professor. Camille didn’t leave her a chance to escape and walked straight toward her. Karin’s frowned, ready to defend herself against the incoming assault. Camille had another idea in mind as Sevos words were ringing in her ears.

“Do you need help with something?”

Her eyebrow relaxed, and surprise painted over her face. The valag had not expected something like that from who she considered as a maggot.

“You followed the whole course but didn’t ask any question. You are still working on algebra. Do you want some help?”

“What? Why?” spoke the bully. “Why are you asking me that?”

Now large as the moon over Erin, Karin’s eyes met the two pools of dark water. Her valag mind pushed her to believe the maggot was mocking her, but something was odd. For weeks, she had watched over the noble girl. Seen her fight, lose, and stand up after the most unbearable humiliation. At her place, she would have hidden under a rock and never showed her face again. Yet, the dark-haired girl kept coming back every day with the same smile. It pissed her off for the first few days, and no among of bashing made it waver.

“You need help, and I can give it. I don’t need any reason.”

Karin bit her lips and stared at her for a minute. Feeling the time long, Camille tilted her head and invited her to talk. She knew the girl had a lot of questions as her holo-screen was filled with mistakes. Karin got up from her seat, narrowed her eyes and grabbed the girl by the collar. Camille didn’t budge and kept staring at her with the same intensity.

“What is wrong with you today?” asked the warrior loosening her grip. “You are acting so strange!”

“Do you need help or not? My friends are already gone, and I need to catch up with them.”

Karin stood still for a second before moving her finger to the holo-screen.

“Could you explain this again?”

“Not an easy part. It will take some time, and the library is about to close. Come with me. I will explain during the road!”

Without further explanation, she grabbed the girl by the arm and brought her with her. The other members of her little squad were quite surprised when the noble girl dropped the valag on a sit at their table. Ender the most, but when he realised the girl was explaining her algebra, he let it fly. Karin was by far the most disoriented by the run of the event. Sevos kept staring at her, a grin going from an ear to the other. The boy had saved a truck of mockery for the girl and would, at last, be able to use them. The other kept talking together while eating, giving little to no attention to the girl.

“Karin, are you listening?”

The valag turned some empty eyes to her new teacher. She had no idea what to answer.

“Oy! You have trouble with that part too? Camille is the best at explaining those. I managed to understand it. It should not be a problem for you.”

“What the hell is wrong with all of you?” threw the valag. “Why are you all acting so friendly?”

Ender moved to the back of his chair, dark eyes on the girl.

“Don’t go ahead of yourself, Osder. I tolerate you because Camille wants you here. I don’t know how she ignores your action, but I don’t.”

“Come on, Ender! Chill out.” Spoke Sevos. “Camille is the first one to compliment that retarded valag.”

“What!” jumped the two girls at the same time before staring at each other.

“How can they both look surprised?” sighed Tavis. “They spend their day training together and don’t know a thing about the other.”

“It’s not like I have the choice.” Camille Stopped. “Master Kiel wants us to fight.”

“Yes, that’s right!” Karin Confirmed. “I could crush the maggot anytime.”

“Of course, Karin can definitely do that.” Camile ironised her arms crossed. “That’s why I am still here.”

“I was going easy on you, maggot!”

“Of course, you were!”

“Stop fighting already!” Yelled Mijuu. “Karin, do you want my pie?”

The valag watched the piece of sugar before agreeing with a node. Both Camille and Sevos turned to meet Mijuu’s almond gaze, hurt by her treachery.

“You eat too much, Sev! And you will get fat if you only eat sugar, Snip.”

Camille’s cheek swelled like balloons as she threw her back on her chair.

“How am I supposed to get fat when I run twenty kilometres a day?”

Camille turned toward Karin, the girl’s sapphire gaze moving between her face and the slice of sweat coated fruits. Everyone was watching the duel, and the valag felt sweat drench her back. What kind of test was that? She grabbed the plate and moved it toward the rapacious girl.

“No, Karin!” they yelled all at once, but it was too late.

With widening eyes, the noble grabbed the slice, threw it in her mouth, and made quick work of it. Karin’s jaws dropped. She had not expected something like this from the squishy girl. That last gave a thumb up at her friend, accepting her bride without remorse. All the others sighed together. The noble always found a new way to size the sweat prize.

“Welcome to the team Osder.” Spoke a wry Sevos. “I don’t even have the right to touch my dessert anymore.”

“A deal is a deal, Sevos!” spoke the girl, her mouth full. “You made the right choice by working with our company Karin.”

After that, they kept talking for some time, Karin listening more than involving herself. They could feel her tense, but she slowly opened up to the team. Before she could realise, everyone had accepted her, and only Ender kept a solid gaze on her. When they left the canteen, the tall girl kept her face straight, but everyone could see happiness dance in her amber eyes. Karin had long thought valag couldn’t make friends. They were solitary creature driven by rivalry. When she first saw valag with a pack of maggots, she laughed out and waited for them to come back. After a week, she was all alone. Her gaze moved to Camille. The small noble was fighting with the half-vlin’ns again. Watching the girl made her heart pinch. For weeks, her only interactions were with the weakest maggot of the base. If fighting against her was a chore at first, she had learnt to enjoy it. She spent hours trying to make her improve, even teaching her the third Arcana. Now the girl was paying her back by helping her in the complex mathematic. Exactly like a real friend would do. Realising the dark-haired girl was her first friend, Karin had to clench her jaw to prevent the fuzzy feeling from displaying on her face. She wanted to hug the girl so much, but never the proud valag would drop that low. She could already hear the others laughing about it and felt her bloodline judging her action. She bubbled it all deep in her chest and looking at the start she spoke under her breath.

"Thank you, Weiss."