Chapter 231 First Impressions
“Are you serious!” Cerina growled. “You already have a male!” Glaring eyes at Tabitha who let the anger roll off her like it was no big deal.
“Come on now Cerina. This doesn’t concern you. Me and Seral here were having a pleasant conversation before you butted in.” Tabitha said, waving her fan around. “And what’s wrong with having an extra male in the dorm? It’s not like anyone is using him…”
“You just want to monopolize the only few males we have! If they all join your dorm, that means all the girls in our group would have to come to you for them!” Cerina said with great fury. “Not to mention it was already stated that it’s one male per dorm!”
“Calm yourself Cerina. The poor boy hasn’t even said whether he would agree with my proposition or not. And I am aware of what they said… but that doesn’t mean that's only for the males sake…” Tabitha rolled her eyes “But, if he if chooses otherwise…” She then fluttered them towards Seral. “What do you say, Seral? Would you take my offer?”
Seral was now suddenly put on the spot. But the answer to him was quite clear and he tried to turn her down as diplomatically as he could. “While I appreciate the offer… I’m afraid I will have to decline, I do not wish to go against what our instructors told us…” Using what the guides from yesterday said.
Tabitha gave a small pout and snapped her fan shut. “A pity… You know… I can protect you… No one would bother you if you join my side…”
Cerina walked in between Tabitha and Seral. “He said he’s not joining you. Take a hint.”
Tabitha gave an annoyed look towards Cerina, but then noticed Van out of the corner of her eye and turned to him. “And you? What do you say? I can provide a great deal of wealth and support, as well as protection while you're here in school. With my aid, many doors will open to you. And you will never lack for whatever you want.”
Van was surprised now to be on the receiving end of this himself now. But turned her down the same way Seral did.
For a flash of a second. A more than just an annoyed look crossed Tabitha’s face. Before she opened up her fan again and hid it.
“You hear that! They both don’t want anything to do with you! Maybe you should just go back to your own boytoy instead of trying to snatch what doesn’t belong to you.” Cerina said smugly.
Tabitha snorted. “Do you really think I just bring Trevor around just for his looks? Unlike most males who don’t know anything about fighting. I had him trained for years now to not only be an excellent lover. But bodyguard and fighter! If those two had joined, I wouldn’t have minded in helping train them to be able to defend themselves as well.” Giving Van and Seral a look that said they just missed out on something special.
Which made Van and him share their own look…
“You mean train them to obey you.” Cerina retorted, rolling her own eyes now.
“Say what you will. But it’s just a matter of fact that my butler is superior to any male I have ever come across. And soon, all the girls here will know it too. Whether or not you like it, everyone here will name me as the leader of this group, because I can provide them something you can not.”
Probably referring to how it was stated earlier, after the dinner party last night, that Van and Seral didn’t have to have sex with anyone they didn’t want to. Meaning any girls out of the group of forty or so, had to go to Tabitha to get their fix in if they ever wanted to get laid.
“Just because you may have trained your male a little. Doesn't mean he's better than ours.” Cerina grumbled.
“Oh yeah? Let’s put it to the test then.” Tabitha said, giving an evil smile. “Let's have a competition to see whose males are better. If you win, I won’t ever bother them again. If I win, I can make as many overtures and propositions as I want until they agree. What do you say?”
That seemed to gather the interest of the group surrounding them. Wondering where this was leading.
Cerina hesitated. “What… kind of competition?”
“Simple ones. Like… who's the better cook, lover, and fighter.” Tabitha said.
“How would we even judge the middle one?” Cerina asked incredulously. “And don’t say through hands-on testing!” giving a quick glare.
Tabitha pouted. “You're no fun…” she then tried thinking about something else they could do.
“Umm…” Van began to say, drawing both of their attention. “Don’t me and Seral get a say in this?”
“OH! You're completely right! I’m so sorry!” Cerina quickly said, realizing that she was acting no better than Tabitha by not even asking about their feelings on the matter.
“Oh my, yes, of course, we should ask the males…” Tabitha agreed hollowly. Acting like she was reading through a script. Earning another glare from Cerina for how obvious she was in not actually caring at all.
Cerina turned back to Van. “What would you suggest? Of course, you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to!” she quickly added.
“Well… I…” He paused. Now that the decision was up to him, he wondered what he should say. He looked over to Seral, who also seemed just as lost as him on what to do. “Maybe… we can do… that competition that was mentioned? But just the fighting one, me and Seral versus… uh… Trevon.” Remembering what Tabitha said the name of her butler was.
Everyone looked at him in shock.
“Really? You don’t mind fighting?” Cerina asked, looking surprised and a little wide-eyed. Trying to make sure she didn’t miss hear.
Van shared a look with Seral once more, trying to gauge his friend's reaction. After a few moments, Seral gave a nod of agreement. He then turned to Cerina and gave his own nod. “Yes, I’m sure. If what Tabitha said is true. Then Trevon isn’t the only one with training on how to fight. Me and Seral are actually friends and sparring buddy’s. We know how to take care of ourselves. If anything, it would be interesting to see how a male from the east would fight, I think both me and Seral are interested in finding that out for ourselves at the least.”
Seral looked approvingly towards Van, while Cerina just looked worried. “You do realize that the person you will be fighting is someone trained by Tabitha, right? He’s also a male of the east! He’s not been pampered like most males of the west have been. Comparatively speaking, a male of the east should easily beat a male of the west, if only because the upbringing of our people is generally harsher. And this male has been trained on top of that! -I mean- I’m not saying you two aren't strong but… You two can get seriously hurt…”
“Now, now Cerina.” Tabitha interjected. “You heard what they said. They’re sparring buddies…” her voice sounding derisive over that last part. “I’m sure they can handle themselves. And Trevon will go easy on them if necessary, you have my word.”
“And how many times have you broken that?” Cerina said sarcastically.
“It’s okay Cerina.” Van said. “Me and Seral can take care of yourselves. Trust me.”
“YA!” Luna said from behind, making Van jump a little. “He’s going to kick your butler's ass!”
Van turned to give his wife a thankful smile. She must have woken up and joined the onlookers with everyone else. Her outburst earned a few smiles and giggles.
“See? Even his…” It took Tabitha a moment to remember who Luna was. “His wife is for this. Surely you can’t say no now?”
Cerina looked incredulously towards Luna, then towards Van and Seral, gauging their expression. When she saw they both weren’t going to back down from this, all she could do was sigh and let things play out. Hoping for the best. “Alright… let’s have your fight…”
Tabitha smiled as if she already had won, then called out her butler. “James!”
From the crowd, a straight-laced looking young male with blue eyes and black hair wearing a butler uniform walked to join his mistress. “Yes mistress, how may I be of assistance?”
“I’m sure you have already overheard everything. I want you to go out and bring glory to my house by showing these two who the real alpha male is here. Don’t be too harsh on them though, we need their pretty faces for later.” Tabitha said full of confidence.
“As my mistress wishes…” Trevon said with a small bow, then proceeded to walk forward to do Tabitha’s bidding.
Slowly, Cerina organized everyone into a wide circle to give room to the three males that would be fighting. She had a group of hers cast a minor barrier over the area, trapping Van and the others in and making sure the onlookers were protected from anything fired from inside.
A few of the girls even joked how there was no need for such a thing. Afterall… It was just a couple of males fighting. It would be this world's equivalent of a catfight. Already they were making bets on who would win, a few just excited to see males go at it, and hoping for torn clothes…
The troops who were here to be properly processed into the barracks were largely forgotten about. And instead have joined in with their owners to watch the spectacle on full display.
“Alright, you three. I want a clean fight.” Cerina began, acting as referee. “Should it look like it's going too far, I'll intervene to protect you. No hitting vital spots. And the fight ends when your opponent is knocked out or unable to continue fighting. Are the combatants ready?”
Van and Seral shared a look and nodded, indicating that they were ready.
Cerina looked towards James who also nodded.
“Alright then… let the match… begin!”
Van and Seral dashed toward Trevon in the blink of an eye. Both silently agreed to not fully go all out, but instead operate at half power to test the waters to check their opponents capability.
But Trevon hardly moved. Still standing proud and with confidence.
Van moved in, going to the left and low, while Seral went to the right planning to go high. Van slid and swiped his foot towards Trevon’s leg, toppling him forward. Seral then kicked Trevon upward while Van spun on the ground and did a low summersault that followed up the kick, sending Trevon higher. Seral didn’t miss a beat and jumped then flip kicked the butler down, back to the ground.
Van stood by the side, ready to deliver the finishing blow with an uppercut to the face. When he instinctively realized something was off and instead took a step back to let the passed-out young man land, hard on the floor…
Trevon just layed there…
Van and Seral stood looking over his body. Wondering if that was truly it.
The rest of the crowd just looked on in stunned silence. Even Cerina watched, mouth agape at what just happened. Tabitha looked wide-eyed and in horror, frozen in place, unable to move.
Finally Cerina shook herself out of it and declared Van and Seral the winner and had the barrier dispelled. Doing so seemed to have broken the spell on everyone else and they began talking about what they had just witnessed. Tabitha was the first to rush forward, a worried look on her face as she began checking her butler’s pulse and looking for any wounds on his body. Showing uncharacteristic worry for just a mere male…
Luna rushed in and gave Van a big hug. “I knew you could do it! That guy had nothing on you!” He thanked her and looked awkwardly around him at all the people staring now at him. Wishing he was somewhere else…
The crowd soon had a new series of mutterings. People began to turn and jostle each other out of the way as something made its way behind them. Confusion began to spread, and people quickly began to make distance between themselves and the newcomers that were revealed after finally making their way towards the circular clearing for the fight.
A young beautiful woman with long straight golden hair and pointed ears came into view. She had blue eyes and sharp features. She wore a white, green, and gold dress with silver threading and was joined by an entourage of other odd people.
There was a cat girl with white ears and tail, but with two horns on her head with golden bands wrapped around them and small white wings on her back. She had golden eyes and was a little stripped as if she was a tiger. She wore clothing that was easy to move in, but also gold and white.
The third person was a woman who had her face completely hidden by a hood. She wore a robe of gold, silver, and white, and carried a bright white book with silver and gold on its cover.
The final women looked tough and lean with sharp features. Watching everyone around her with calculating red eyes, as if she was ready to make a move to end someone's life at a moment's notice. She had blue hair with a lithe figure and compared to the others she wore dark and brown leathers that were packed down by daggers and blades, as well as a crossbow on her back.
“So… is this how Vampires conduct themselves when left to their own devices? How… fascinating…” the lead woman said. Though whether she meant it or not was hard to say.
No one said anything… it was obvious who they were…
Fandorians.
The woman looked around at everyone staring at her. No one moved. No one greeted her. Everyone was frozen, unsure of what to say or do. So she decided to make the first move and held herself up and straight, introducing herself to everyone.
“My name is Avalyn And these are my companions.” sweeping her hand at those behind her. “And as you all probably have guessed… we are from Fandor.”
She looked side to side. But nobody moved or acted.
“We will be staying with you for the foreseeable future. Though please keep our presence a secret until we are properly introduced at the school opening ceremony.” She gave a small bow. “I hope we all can get along and work together.”
Finally, it seemed Cerina came to her senses. She then quickly began introducing herself and offering her dorm to them, as it was the only one that had any available beds. Tabitha looked between her butler and the Fandorain princess, clearly unsure as to what to do.
Luna on the other hand clearly wanted to jump in and introduce herself to Avalyn, but did her best to hold herself back. She also looked very nervous, probably because she had some elf blood and was worried about how they would take that.
Van took his time to check the princess out, trying to recall everything he knew about them. As far as he remembered. Fandorians were a special species of half elves. Long ago when Fandor was first founded, the elves left behind to keep the vampire lands in check, interbred with humans that came later to colonize Fandor, to the point that they became a new species of half-elf. They live for twice as long as normal humans and have some of the beauty and powers of an elf.
They were a unique existence to say the least. Taking up the duty of the elves they eventually replaced, in keeping the vampire lands in check.
After a few more exchanges of words. Cerina and Avalyn came to an agreement and began working together on a way to organize the soldiers they brought into the barracks.
While Van and the others wondered what kind of future awaited them now that they had to live with these… Long-time enemies turn guests of honor…