Edwin sneered, a hint of true malice in his eyes, as if he had finally snared a rabbit he had been hunting. Everyone had assumed that he would be able to beat this simpleton quickly, but the battle had lasted longer than any other. To them, Willem seemed to almost be of equal ability to Edwin when it came to strategy and movement. The crowd was genuinely surprised at how long the boy fought.

The not-so-silent judging of the crowd weighed down on Edwin heavily, forcing his true abusive nature out. Edwin took a running start and kicked Willem in the gut, forcing him to puke up another mouthful of blood. Before the officiator could call that the match was over, Edwin was already pinning Willem's spine beneath his knee as he broke both of Willem's arms. Knowing full well that even with recovery magic, it would take three to four months to fully heal such a disastrous injury.

The officiator raised his hand and shouted that the winner was Edwin, before quickly running up to the downed boy in order to carry him to the emergency tent. He understood immediately that this boy's fate was sealed, even if he was considered gifted, now that his arms had been broken. He will be forced into a long recovery and no Knight will take him. At most he would only be able to display half of his previous ability after his recovery.

Before he left the healing tent, the officiator took one last long glance at the young boy and saw within his half dead eyes a will that could not be broken. With a slight shiver, the officiator went back toward the stage to announce the winners and finish his duties.

Willem knew the extent of his injuries better than anyone else. He understood that because of this, no Knight would take him as a squire and he would be forced to be a beggar on the streets. To some, it was basically a death sentence and they knew it. Willem again cursed his rotten luck as his eyelids became heavy and the darkness of sleep consumed him.

A petition was raised later on, after all the fights were finished, against the unfair treatment of the brilliant apprentice named Willem Saye. The concern was about the viciousness displayed during the fight even after it was obvious he could not fight back. Hundreds of apprentices voiced their concerns against the youth named Edwin Forrest.

The voices unfortunately fell on deaf ears, no matter how many times it was talked about. From the viewpoint of the higher ups, why bring down another genius because of a broken one?

Eli and Mark went to the barracks where Willem was moved after his emergency treatment was performed. Their fourth attempt at a petition against Edwin was a failure, and at this point they truly understood nothing would be done about this grave injustice. What's more, Edwin was given a squire position under Sir Gehrig, one of the top one hundred Knights in the army. His future achievements were deemed to be more important than the viciousness he displayed during the bout.

Willem had both arms bandaged from shoulder to wrist and around his torso where his ribs had been cracked, leaving only his fingers to move. With maximum effort, he moved his fingers into the form of a handshake in response to the brothers that visited him. He knew about what they had been doing, and although he appreciated their efforts, he knew nothing would be done. In this world, strength is everything and he understood that better than anyone.

Willem greeted both his brothers with a smile and nodded his head. Even this small movement proved painful as his torso was heavily bandaged. Eli and Mark quickly got him into his original resting spot, as they described to him the exercises that they now had to do as official apprentices.

They joked about how lucky he was that he didn't have to do any of the exercises, regaling about how some mutual acquaintances had puked and passed out from the exhaustive work. They had done their best to keep Willem distracted from his pain, not realizing that Willem would give anything to be enduring those exercises with his brothers instead of being worthless in his bed.

Eventually Mark and Eli realized that Willem was in so much pain that he again had passed out during their conversation. With a heavy sigh, they both tightened the cloth around him and nestled him into the covers. They quietly left and resumed their apprentice duties.

Only when he was sure they were both gone, Willem opened his eyes and soft tears slid down his face.

He truly felt like a worm beneath the feet of this world. He had to rely on his friends, his tormentor had taken from him his future and he could do nothing about it, and his prospects for the army was dismal.

He relaxed all of his muscles as he once again began to slip into unconsciousness. At that time, the officiator came into the barracks to look upon the young boy.

In the short amount of time since the fight, he had come once or twice a day to look upon the child. There was something about the boy that felt off, but he could not understand what it was. He constantly thought about the look in the boys eyes that day. He did his best to convince his superiors to let the boy rest in the barracks.

Normally those who were injured were left to their respective families. He argued that since the boy had no one, the least they could do was to offer him food and shelter until he recovers. The higher ups agreed, but his safety remained in the hands of the officiator, and no one else, since it was his late reaction that put the boy in the tent.

He gently woke Willem, and joking said "your gruel has arrived" with a rather mischievous grin on his face.

Willem awoke, and with a placid smile opened his mouth as if he was a young bird about to be fed.

"It has been a few days, and your recovery is going well. Sooner or later you will have regained your strength. If we were to let go of such an outstanding talent such as yourself, the army would lose out big time. I have petitioned my bosses to allow you a scouting position so that you can continue to be a part of the army." The officiator did his best to give the young boy hope.

A small glint appeared in Willem's eyes, he understood quickly that the officiator felt it was his fault for his injuries, for not being quick enough to call the match. However, no matter how much he thought it to be true, the real fact is that Willem was too weak. If he had been stronger he would not be in the position he is in now. He quickly took a bite of the food, and a wave of shivers washed over his body.

The food, if it could be called that, had been very plainly under cooked and was disgusting, but it was food nonetheless. This was the only thing they would give to a worthless leech like him.

Willem nodded his head but said nothing, and after a few spoonfuls of food, he again rested his head back against the pillow.

The officiator smiled bitterly and said his goodbye before leaving the barracks.

This trend happened again for a month, then two and three. Eli and Mark would tell him all about their training, Eli had managed to get noticed by a Knight and was taken under his wing. Mark was still doing the normal training but due to his brother's luck, he was occasionally given elixirs and recovery medicines which further increased his training capabilities.

Before Willem was released from the confines of his casts, the officiator whom he now affectionately called "his tormentor" for bringing him the gruel they called food had visited him.

His visit was not surprising, but the expression he bore was. It was an expression of extreme regret, as if he had witnessed a family member hung. He approached the bed and helped Willem to sit up.

Before Willem spoke, The officiator raised his hand to silence him. He looked apathetic as he described the events that had unfolded when he went to speak with the higher ups about the scouting position.

After months of pleading for a council to decide Willem's fate within the army, he was finally granted an audience and had prepared his case. He pleaded with them to give Willem a temporary position as a scout to show the prowess of the youth and his natural abilities. The motion was quickly rejected and he was sent away with nothing to show for his efforts.

Willem already understood that was the case, who would want someone who was wasted? As soon as he saw the man's expression, he knew that his time in the army was now much shorter than he had hoped.

Though it was true that he could see his friends, it would be considerably less than it was now. Their duties brought them farther and farther away from the capital for training, where as he could only regrettably stay out of the way of the army from this point onward.

Three months after the devastating news, the day of Willem's release had finally arrived as he was almost fully recovered. His casts had been removed and he was no longer in any capacity part of the army. His friends had all seen him off as he was sent away, and the guards stood close by in case something unruly happened.

He gave all of his friends a quick handshake, with noticeably less strength compared to when they had first met. He saluted the officiator that had given him such hope, and turned his back. A single tear slipped down his face and was quickly wiped away as he headed through the gates back into the capital.

His return heralded a multitude of cheers from his old friends that he used to hang out with before his parents died.

They were all close to him even after he had told them he intended to become an apprentice and train. They knew that the only reason for the decision was because he had no one to support him, and so they encouraged him wholeheartedly.

Eleanor still had her eyes on Willem, and she was one of the few who understood a little of what he went through because she too had lost her Mother. Her Father was never home as he was a Drill Instructor for the apprentices and was always busy on excursions. She had even attempted to put a good word in for Willem when she was told about his injuries, but it did not have any affect. To men like her Father, strength is the only reason for a change of heart. Connections meant nothing in the face of true oppressive strength.

"Welcome home." Eleanor quietly said as she approached Willem with a gift in hand.

"Thanks." Willem was quite aware of her feelings for him, but he felt that she was too young to truly understand what love was. He quickly took the gift presented to him and opened it, revealing new leather bracers. With a warm smile he donned them and showed them off to the group. They laughed and threw a couple fake punches at him to test them.

"Your girlfriend has been waiting this entire time you know!" Craig laughed as he slapped Willem's back.

"I-I.. Not his-... Wuuu...." Eleanor's voice began to trail off as she buried her face in her hands.

"Well, enough messing around. We have all pooled our money together to throw you a nice party for your return. We'll have you tell us everything that happened while you were gone. Especially if there was any women there!" Arin, one of his other friends, rubbed his hands together excitedly at the prospects. Eleanor rolled her eyes as Arin spoke out loud to Willem.