- Fencing hall – Nevermore Academy. -
The slender tips of the fencing swords clashed together, shoes squeaked against the wooden floor, and the imposing statues of the Caryatids watched the young Outcasts practising fencing with their cold marble eyes, their broad, muscular arms supporting the balcony of the fencing hall.
"Touche for William Stone, Vainceur!!!" (Winner)
Announced Enid with a smile; it almost seemed as though she herself had won three consecutive bouts.
William removed his silver fencing helmet, tucked it under his arm and performed the customary salute at the end of a fencing bout: he raised the hilt of his sword to chin level and then pointed the blade towards the floor.
Yoko did exactly the same, though without looking quite so serious; she was tired, and the sweat trickling down her cheeks was making her glossy black hair stick to her face. William had deliberately drawn out the bout.
She could still remember how Yoko and Divina had been squirming with the urge to laugh but couldn't, last night in Enid's room.
It was in the afternoon, after the usual lessons; the huge fencing hall had been reserved for the young Nevermore team taking part in the tournament: the three official members and a substitute.
"Pay more attention to my shoulders than to my sword; the muscles will tell you the next move."
"I'm trying, but it's harder than you think."
Yoko replied as she put on her sunglasses; the light streaming in through the large windows that illuminated the whole hall was a bit harsh on her eyes.
Without Coach Vlad present, everyone seemed more relaxed, and one of them was forced to take on the role of referee for each round: William, the best on the team, would be the temporary coach, working on his teammates' weak points—issues previously highlighted by Vlad.
"Don't you think Will was tougher on Yoko?"
Danny whispered to Divina, who was sitting next to him on the gym floor; Divina replied, having put her mobile aside to watch Yoko's training bout closely.
"Definitely, hahaha, he'd be just as tough on me if I took part in the training."
The girl standing next to Yoko was called Danielle Lefebvre; she didn't share any classes with William or his friends, and she lived in Puck Hall, where she'd met Divina and Bianca.
She was the unfortunate girl with no culinary skills, the one responsible for the inedible cupcakes that William found one day in his room.
The cupcakes were slightly burnt and covered in the cream-coloured fur of a fluffy Ragdoll cat.
With her deep blue, almond-shaped eyes, she watched William with particular attention.
(If only I'd hurried up that day...)
The first day William arrived at Nevermore and met Xavier and Enid, Danny was there, a few metres away from them, wrestling with herself over whether to strike up a conversation with the handsome, golden-haired boy.
(I only hesitated for a minute, and when I saw him, he was already standing next to her… alongside Enid Sinclair, that failure of a werewolf.)
"Do you still fancy him? …" Whispered Divina very close to Danny's ear. "I thought you'd given up on him after seeing them together."
"Ahem… of course I've got over him, but he's still handsome, don't you think? Sexy."
Danny cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment and replied; she'd already had several conversations of this sort with Divina and Yoko, but never with Bianca, as her relationship with her had never been the best: they'd never crossed the line from being mere acquaintances to becoming friends.
"Ewwww!"
Divina wrinkled her little nose in disgust; admitting that William was handsome and nice was one thing, but calling him 'handsome' or, worse still, 'sexy' was quite another. Divina regarded him as a close friend or the brother she'd never had.
"What are you two talking about?"
Yoko walked over to the pair and sat right between them, picking up her water bottle and setting her fencing helmet aside. Unlike William and Danny, she didn't really want to take part in the tournament; she could understand Danny's enthusiasm—her passion for fencing and sport was obvious from a mile away; from what she knew of her, she'd been practising since she was very young; it was no surprise she'd be the next captain of the academy's fencing team, were it not for William.
"Danny's still smitten with Will!!! A moment ago she was practically devouring him with her eyes."
Yoko nearly spat out the water she had in her mouth, she was laughing so hard at what Divina had said.
"You're so funny, girls! Hey, Will, a couple more rounds?" said Danny as she stood up and walked over to William, who was trying to hug Enid, who was dodging his attempts; they were about to start running all over the hall.
"That's all for today. On Friday we'll meet up with Coach Vlad again, and that'll be it until the day of the tournament."
William replied after giving up on trying to catch Enid.
"Are you sure? There'll be some very good fencing teams competing in this tournament, and without Bianca, it'll be harder to take first place."
Danny spoke seriously and took a step towards him; she looked completely different from how she had when she'd been talking to Divina; now she wasn't standing in front of William, the boy she fancied, but in front of the team captain, who had defeated her and proved himself superior to her in this sport.
Bianca had decided not to take part in the fencing tournament, not after the bit of a scene her argument with Coach Vlad had caused over who would be the team's next captain.
She hadn't been interested in the position before she found out that the team would be taking part in the 'Silver Sword' tournament, the winners of which would receive recognition not only from Nevermore, but also from all the participating schools.
The gleaming trophy and medals for the winners also appealed to her, of course—but only if she were the one leading the team.
"Sorry, but two hours' training is enough; we've all got other things to do."
"But…"
"A few hours' practice won't make us drastically better; we'd be better off relaxing until the tournament."
"Captain, we're done for today!" Yoko shouted loudly; she usually only called William "captain" when they were in the fencing hall, even though she knew he didn't like being called that. "I can't wait to take this off."
"That's right, see you later!"
Yoko had already started taking off her jacket; she'd only agreed to take part because William and Enid had asked her to; if it weren't for that pair, she'd never have taken part of her own accord.
Being a vampire made her more agile, with quicker reflexes and great flexibility – ideal qualities for a good fencer; if it weren't for her lack of interest, she'd be much better than Danielle.
"I'd love to stay with you a bit longer, but I want to 'attend' the last few minutes of the Dance Club," Enid replied, even though Danny didn't even turn to look at her.
Although reluctant, Danielle raised no further objections; she knew that, with William not here, no one else would be around.
- Two days later – William's study. -
Despite the chill in the room of the old castle, the young man with golden hair wore neither a jacket nor any warm clothing; he sat cross-legged on the carpet in his study.
Resting on his lap was a long spear made of one of the world's rarest metals, mithril; it was Artemis's spear, or, as William called it, Titan.
With two small open glass bottles right beside him, these were what William usually used to maintain his weapons.
*Deep breath*
William took a deep breath as he dipped a small stick with a spongy tip into the bottle of oil; Titan would never rust, neither on the blade nor anywhere else, no matter how much blood, water or dust stained its blade.
Maintenance was just one way in which William demonstrated the importance he attached to his inanimate companions.
(According to Dad, you lot have pride too.)
The oil William used was no ordinary oil, but a special one employed for ancient artefacts and relics; it was called 'Myrmidon Oil' and was made from a rare mineral. Legend has it that it was the very same oil Achilles used on his weapons.
With the utmost care, William ran his fingers along the blade of his prized spear; the edge was so sharp that, if his fingers brushed against it, a deep wound would 'spring' open on contact.
Having finished off the spear, it was the turn of his sword, Maegnas, the 'Spiderbane', or 'Sting', before he slew a Spider Queen with it and bathed its blade in her blood.
'It's surprising that you've acquired the ability to scare away spiders just from Saenathra's blood.'
'We need to test whether it has any other effects against spiders… on another Queen, or perhaps a King.'
Will had confirmed this when, whilst walking through Caliban Hall towards his bedroom with the dagger at his waist, he saw how, in the dead of night, thousands of small, hairy, many-legged spiders fled from him in orderly rows, scurrying towards the windows and doors from the ceiling, the walls and the corridors.
Just as he was watching the Myrmidon oil form a golden film on the blade of Sting, the sudden sound of something metallic striking the wood caught his attention.
'It was about time the effect wore off; Bruma left without breaking the spell beforehand,' he said as he sheathed Sting once more and placed it on his white rug.
Several days had passed since Bruma had left Nevermore with the pale man's head behind her, after promising William that she would return as soon as the weapon Princess Moanna had promised him was ready and packed; she would bring it to him herself.
As soon as he reached his room, William wanted to unwrap the treasure he'd obtained from the pale man's chamber—the one he'd found behind the small golden door—but try as he might, he couldn't do it; Bruma's spell had not only shrunk the object but also sealed it.
With no other option, he placed it on his desk and forgot about it, until now, when the object had returned to its natural size.