Emily Roseglade stretched as she warmed up for her turn on the track. She watched from the sidelines as John ran with several other students. She could hear as some of the students cheered one runner or another, though most cheered for John. No doubt they were trying to curry favor with the heir and future Duke of the Jade family. John, on his part, ignored the cheers and simply focused on running as fast as he could. He had always been in good physical shape but it was in times like these he shined, as he slowly began to overtake the rest of the runners. Emily found herself cheering as well.

“Your fiancée is the star of the show, like always.” Claire, captain of the cheerleading squad, said as she walked up next to Emily.

“Physical ed. is the time for students to show what their capable of.”

“Ha, you think it’s hard work that makes all those people cheer John on? Because he runs a bit faster than the rest?” Claire laughed, her red ringlets bouncing along with her ample breasts, an effect she knew, seeing as she glanced at the boys who were staring.

“Hard work always stands out.”

“Oh sure, I must say you can very well much see the results of his work outs. His body really is nice,” Claire licked her lips.

“Stay away from him,” Emily glared. She was reminded all too well of Claire’s reputation as a flirt.

“Or what? My family, isn’t a vassal under you or your fiancée. You’d do well to remember that not everyone here is, instead of flaunting your titles around.”

“That is not what we do.”

“That isn’t what I heard. It’d be best if you don’t try to threaten other nobles. It rarely ends well.”

Emily recalled how Taegan had gotten into a fight with John a few weeks ago. They hadn’t spoken since. This was probably his doing. Trying to paint John as a bully.

“But don’t worry, I’m not interested in your fiancée.” Claire stretched her long legs. “There are others far more interesting.”

Emily followed Claire’s gaze, to another student. He was also warming up, but unlike the rest of the students, one could clearly see the heavy set of muscles he had underneath his shirt, and the way they rippled as he stretched. His tall figure, coupled with the contrast of his dark black hair and icy blue eyes made him the affection of most girls. “Shen Stone, huh?” Emily sighed. He was known to be a willful disobedient noble who did whatever he wished, even at the cost of the school. A detriment to John’s goal.

“Please, you’re not fooling anyone with that act Emily.”

“Not everyone is interested in Shen, besides I love John.”

“You can’t expect me to believe you aren’t interested whatsoever in him. Even if the bad boy streak isn’t your thing you can’t deny that body.”

Emily found herself looking back at Shen. His rippling muscles, wide back, and handsome square jaw.

Claire smirked, “So the flawless Emily isn’t as perfect as I thought.”

Her cheeks reddened at the realization of her ogling, “I-I”

“Hey, who is that tramp flirting with Shen?” Claire stared in surprise.

Shen had turned and was talking to a girl who didn’t even reach his shoulders. He smiled as the girl said something Emily couldn’t quite catch. The girl for her part didn’t seem to be too interested as she was reading a book while speaking with him. Nonetheless Shen continued to talk with her enthusiastically.

“Why is she reading outside? And why Shen is talking to her? Who does she think she is?” Claire turned to Emily, “Who is she?”

“I don’t know. Not from one of the count families. Probably a baron’s child then? Why are you even asking me? You’re the one always gossiping.”

Coach Schaffer blew the whistle, signaling the runners had finished their mile run. John had come in first place. Many of the nobles cheered him on as he walked back to the grassy field.

“Lover boy is coming back. I’ll be on my way then.” Claire began walking to the track for her turn. As she passed by John she smiled and did a little curtsy despite being in shorts, as she bowed she made sure to show her ample breast towards John. He smiled and nodded, barely giving her cleavage a glance.

“That whore,” Emily muttered as John walked over. “Hey, hot shot.” Emily smiled as she greeted him.

“So how did I do?” John wiped the sweat from his brow, as he tried to calm his breathing.

“Amazing as always.”

“Yeah, but how fast?”

Emily glanced at her stopwatch, “You finished at five minutes and forty seconds. A new best.”

John laughed, “Still not as good as Shen though.”

“Why do you even care about that guy. He may be a noble but he doesn’t act like it. He spends his time skipping class and running around with that Foxe.”

“Believe it or not Emily, Shen is my aspiration.”

“Him? How is that delinquent the aspiration of you, the man who will change the nobility as we know it?” Emily asked incredulously.

“Emily, I do plan to change the nobility. To cut out this stigma of arrogance and selfishness that the nobles have carried for over a century. The nobles of old were brave warriors who’d lay down their lives for noble or commoner alike.”

Emily was reminded of her new classmate. Dek, sat on the field, far away from all the rest. He too was reading a book, but unlike that girl, there was no one beside him. Dek was an enigma. Though he kept quiet and to himself, whenever the teacher called on him, no matter the class he’d quickly and easily answer each question, no matter the difficulty. Though they hadn’t met on the best terms, Emily tried to talk to him whenever she had a chance, but he always kept his distance and would leave without a word. It was strange and slightly irritating, she wasn’t used to people just rejecting her outright like that, especially a commoner. Nonetheless Emily thought he had the potential to aid them, even if he wasn’t a noble.

“Yes, Emily.” John too looked at the boy who sat alone, “To give someone like Dek a better life. Where he doesn’t have to run away from the nobles for fear of them. That’s the whole reason why we came to this school. So that we can convince these student, most of who are second born sons and daughters of the nobles, to join me. The vast majority of heirs are as arrogant as their parents. But the people here, they can learn what it truly means to serve, to help the people we rule. Together we can change this whole empire.”

“I know, John. But why are you interested in Shen of all people. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d want to help us.”

“Because I’ve known him for longer than you. I remember meeting him and his brother three years ago at the capital. His brother being heir to the legendary count Stone, garnered the attention of most of the nobles, they lavished him with praise and spoke of his skills. Ranging from military tactics, marksmanship, horsemanship, to his handsome looks and refined speech. He was like the knight in shining armor of some fairy tale. But it was his younger brother, Shen who caught my attention. You see, Shen didn’t care about the fame. He didn’t try to stay close to his brother at balls and parties, to try and show off his own skills. No, he instead worked together with the soldiers in the mud and rain. Though he was only fourteen he worked harder than any knight I had ever seen. He was devoted to his duty more than anyone else. It was then that I realized that the hope for the nobility did not lie in the heirs. But in the ones, that came after them. I don’t know what happened to Shen to change him so much, but I am not going to give up. I’ll prove to him my dedication for our cause and I will convince him to join us.” John swore. He looked at Emily, “Will you help me.”

She smiled and held his hands, “The Roseglade family have been vassals to the Jade family for centuries. I will listen to you as your vassal. I will help you as your fiancée. And I will follow you anywhere as your love.”

John drew her in close and kissed her. He was very lucky for his fiancée to also be the woman he loved.

******

Dek looked up from his book as the whistle sounded once again, signaling the second mile run for the class was about to start. He spotted Alice among the crowd of spectators. She too was carrying a book. Dek grinned, at least someone else was taking advantage of the time. Everyone else simply watched as the others ran, in the hot bloody sun. Nobles, he thought, they were a strange lot indeed. He was about to go back to reading when he noticed Alice wasn’t looking down at her own book, but instead watching the track as well. In fact, she was talking to someone. A runner, who looked like a man in his twenties judging from the size of his hulking stature and muscles, though he wore the student P.E. uniform. The man waved at Alice, who frowned slightly but waved nonetheless. The man smiled happily. The coach whistled, starting the race, and the runners were off. Alice turned back to her book.

Dek followed suit, but his mind was elsewhere. Why did they even have to do a mile run? He knew it was the midterms, but what kind of test forced people to run in circles. So many of the students would run as fast as they could to try and impress the others, inadvertently pushing their selves past their limits. Most of them would just collapse after the race. Somehow the coach thought making the students fall on the ground in exhaustion was a good way to see if they were healthy. Nobles.

******

As usual Shen ran around the track as fast as he could. His wounds had finally healed and he felt great. He enjoyed running, the feel of the wind on one’s face, the power going from your legs into the ground with every push. Running was one of his favorite past times. And now he had someone he cared about watching. As he came around the lap he waved at Alice, but she was busy reading her book and didn’t notice. That was fine, Shen thought. On the next lap as Shen got close he shouted, “Alice!”

“Sheeeen!” Jack shouted, appearing from among the crowd, waving his hands like a madman. Alice however ignored all the noise, and kept reading.

“Dammit,” Shenn said under his breath.

“Oi! Sheeeeen!” Jack shouted jumping up in the air.

Shen ignored him and kept running. As he ran by for a third time he passed by Claire, who was also running, she turned around and smiled.

“Hey, handsome. It’s been a while. What have you been up to?”

“Claire? Long time no see.” Shen nodded though he kept his eyes out for Alice, who looked up just in time to see Claire playfully slap Shen on the shoulder. Alice frowned.

“Oh damn. Talk to you later!” Shen quickly said as he ran passed her. He waved at Alice, who proceeded to go back to reading her book.

On the final lap Shen decided to run as fast as possible, to outdistance everyone else, in a bid to impress Alice. When he neared the finish line he pushed himself harder than ever. He felt his muscles contract with great force as he practically leaped his way to first place. The crowd cheered when they saw their best athlete sprinting for all he was worth. As he crossed the finish line he slowed down. He looked for Alice among the crowd. Jack came running up to him, his cast and crutch nowhere in sight.

“Sheeen! Nice run man. You just broke the school record, five minutes and eight seconds.” Jack smiled.

“Thanks. What happened to your leg?” Shen asked, though his eyes were still scanning the crowd.

“Ah, turns out it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The doctor took off the cast this morning. You know it was actual-

“Yeah, good for you. Hey, where’s Alice?”

Jack made a minor grumble of annoyance, “She’s over there.” He pointed several dozen feet away. Alice was sitting next to a guy, with soft red hair. Both of them held books in their arms, though they were both talking to each other. Shen headed over.

“Hey, Shen” Jack called, “Don’t do something stupid. Ah, what am I saying. I don’t care.”

Alice looked up as Shen walked up. “Shen?”

“Hey, Alice. Did you see me waving at you?”

“Nope.”

“Haha,” Shen scratched his head. “Can I join you?” Though Shen had already sat down before he finished speaking.

Dek moved back a bit, preferring a bit of distance.

“Seeing as you already have, I guess we don’t have much of a choice.” Alice pointed out.

“Hey, I’m Shen Stone, you probably know me. But I don’t know you.” Shen said as he loomed over Dek.

Alice moved between them, “This is Dek. He is a friend of mine. Can you back up a bit?”

“Huh, yeah. Sorry. Sooo, how do you two know each other?”

Dek looked at the two trying to gauge the situation. He didn’t know who this guy was but he was acting oddly. “She helped me find a book.”

“Yeah, Dek is actually one of the few people in this school who loves reading. I think he’s actually in the library more often than me. He’s also helped me with some of my schoolwork. He’s probably the smartest person I know.” Alice spoke enthusiastically. “And get this, he is studying gem locks. Not even our professors study that.”

“Hey, Alice, you don’t have tell him that much about me.” Dek was regretting sharing anything about his personal life to Alice.

“No, I’d like to know. So, you’re the smartest kid here, huh?” Shen raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know about that,” yes, Dek actually thought. At least he was in terms of academic knowledge.

“How old are you? What year? How come I haven’t seen you around?” Shen fired the questions.

“Seventeen, 2nd year. How should I know why you haven’t seen me?” Dek answered just as fast.

Right as Shen was about to retort Alice spoke up, “Hey stop interrogating him. He’s my friend. So, get off his back.”

“Hey I just wanted to get to know him is all. I wasn’t trying to mess with him.”

“Yes, you were.” Alice spoke in a clear direct tone.

Shen didn’t know how to respond. The whistle blew.

“Looks like I’m up next.” Dek closed his book and got up.

“Good luck,” Alice smiled. Shock crossed Shen’s face.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Hey, um. It was good to meet you,” Shen stuck out his hand.

Dek ignored him and headed for the track. He found his lane and began a quick stretch before the run.

“Good afternoon, Dek.” Emily said as she walked up next to him.

“H-hello.” Dek said. He turned away, trying to ignore her. So, she was running too and right next to him to boot. He really didn’t want to deal with nobles right now. He just wanted to go home and study, and see Erica.

“I didn’t know you were friends with Shen.” Emily pressed.

“We’re not.”

“So, you guys were just randomly talking each other?”

“Yep.”

“Hmm, alright. Hey, who’s that girl you were talking to?”

Coach Schaffer blew the whistle. Dek started running without answering Emily. He didn’t want to deal with her right now.

“So, what’s her name?” Emily asked as she ran up next to him.

Dek turned in surprise, he hadn’t expected her to follow him. He looked forward and ran faster.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Emily teased, as she too sped up.

Dek grit his teeth, he wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. He took a deep breath and ran as fast as he could.

“What the hell!?” Emily shouted behind him.

He ran as if his life depended on it, like it had so many times before. The wind roared in his ears as he passed one runner after another. His lungs began to burn but he didn’t care, he was going to finish this race then go home. Nothing else mattered right now. He saw Emily coming up from in front of him, he was about to overtake her by an entire lap.

She turned around as he ran by, “Hey! W-wait a sec!”

But Dek didn’t stop, in fact her voice only served to make him run faster. His legs began to hurt as they kept slamming into the ground with his full force but he thought of the bloody sun and how nice it’d be to be out from under it. How it’d be nice to be home, sitting next to Erica, and just relaxing.

“Focus,” he breathed out. Focus, he repeated to himself. Just get through this run and he could then go home. He thought of his goal. Of how he’d accomplish it the faster he could learn about gem locks. Dek ignored the voices he heard and only focused on the race. Suddenly, all he could hear were his own footsteps and his own breathing. He turned and saw that he had crossed the finish line. The crowd for once was silent however.

Coach Schaffer shakily raised his stopwatch, “Four minutes and ten seconds.”

Dek looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at him. This was bad, he had attracted too much attention. He quickly walked over to where he had been sitting.

“That was amazing, I didn’t know you were so fast.” Alice congratulated.

“How did you do that?” Shen looked at him suspiciously.

Dek ignored them both, grabbed his book, and ran home.