Chapter Two-Meeting
1
"My, aren't you a lovey sight!" he strode over to the girl who was devouring a pile of sweets at the table. He approached her from behind with the confidence of a king.
"Excuse me, Miss." he held his hand to his chest. No response.
"Ahem-Miss. I would like to get to know you so…mm" he furrowed his brow. "Hey, when a Noble is talking to you, it's best to"
" Huh.. when did we get that chandelier?
Crash Suddenly, he was staring at the ceiling, and the next thing he knew, he had crashed into the table; above him, stood a beast of a girl looking down at him with wide eyes.
"Hm… white with a blue ribbon, huh?" he mumbled in a daze.
"Ah, so-sorry about that! It's a bad habit of mine!" She stepped back awkwardly.
He was helped up by some staff, "That's ok, it happens to the best of- hey wait a second!" he was finally coming to his senses, "What kind of a Girl flips someone unprompted? What were you raised by neanderthals?"
He pointed a finger at her,
"I'm sorry!" she bowed three times with her cheeks hot pink.
The rest of the guests who remained went silent. Rhys came by to see the commotion.
"I'm sorry if my son offended you in any way, Miss. Nicco," he said frantically.
"No, no, it's my fault, my training has left me with this weird reflex... I'll help you clean up!"
Joshua looked between his father and the girl, "Hey, what is going on here! She flipped me over like I was a bean bag! First that little Hob globin, then that pixe, and now this orge, what's the deal with all these violent women on my birthday?!"
He went on a rant that left him wheezing. He looked back at the girl, and that sweet apologetic face went to one of a demon
. " Who are you calling an orge?" She rolled up her (non-existent) sleeves. " He quickly hid behind his maid.
"Forgive me, " said a man approaching with a calm bow. Thanks to Henry, she's developed an aggressive reflex,
. No worries," Rhys said with a smile, "it's all fun between kids. Alphonse,"
The man named Alphonse was tall with the same chestnut hair as the girl. " Apologies, Father, it happened again." The girl pouted
. "Don't fret, Aki, these things happen!" he patted her head
. "Like hell it does. No normal girl throws people around like that!" he fumed
. A piece of pie slid off the top of his head and made a loud "splat" sound. It'd been a while since he'd felt so humiliated, and it was a girl a year his senior to boot. It only pissed him off more that she was a beauty.
"Why are you letting her off the hook, Father? She assaulted me."
His father shrugged, " Well, maybe next time you'll think twice before you lay your hands on a young lady without permission."
"Come along, young lord, let's get you cleaned up in the bath," Clairce said, whipping some desert off his shoulder,
"Wait a second.." He brushed her off. "What is your name?" he demanded
. " Eh, my name?' she tilted her head.
" Yes, that's what I said? You speak Raonacian, don't you?"
The girl pursed her lips. "Akirui," she said," Akirui Nicco,"
And with that, the young lord's tenth birthday came to an end.
That night, he stewed in his misery in the bath. Humiliated and thrown like a sack of potatoes, a girl pounds lighter than him wouldn't be something he forgave easily. He let his maid scrub him from top to bottom as he thought of ways to get back at her for embarrassing him in front of all those people. There was a gumdrop in his ear; he took it out and munched on it.
"No matter the coast, she's mine now…"
Ah! Choo!
But first, before all that, he would need to get over his cold. A few days later, after the party, he was looking for the next time they would meet.
2
It was springtime, and he was in the yard. He was practicing throwing a statue of a woman with a blindfold over her eyes and who was armless.
"Put your back into it big brother!" one of his sisters cheered
it had been 3 weeks since his birthday and he had been trying to learn that flip move that was done to him, he wanted to exact his revenge the next time he saw her, he didnt care if the person was a man, woman child or even his grandma, those who dared wrongeed him would face his might ten fold
"Gyah! Grkk ah." he was having a little trouble
. His audience was his two little sisters and the one he still called "Emilia," and he was sweating, huffing, and puffing
His teacher, Cavil, stood nearby. The man was built like a brick: he had a square jaw, square shoulders, and a square everything.
"What's wrong, young master, don't tell me that's all you got?"
" Grrk," a vein appeared on his head, and then "Blrrrt."
. "Master, did you just.."
"I did not."
"But I could've sworn.."
" You heard nothing."
He let out a sigh and flopped back onto the grass, looking up at the sky. He didn't understand how a girl more petite than he was could flip him
. He had until next year's gala, the anniversary of the alliance between Prosper, Raonach, and Ymadaellon. Nobles would gather, and so would Akirui. That would be his moment. During all this, however, there was a sort of peace in the manor; maids' skirts remained unflipped, plates were being picked clean, and he even started to meditate using mental battle imagery .. The whole exprice seemd to have some what of a positive outcome for now at least, who knew the desire to flip a person a girl at that would strike such a change in a person it was honestly remarkable, this was his fathers thoughts, and said father was coming up with a plan of his own for the upcoming Party.
3
The days before the Gala…
"Hyya! "Blam!" he flipped over an armless statue of a woman with a blind fold draped over her face.
His audience applauded, including his two sisters and their dog Sherily.
"Finally, " he panted, swiping sweat from his brow. Months of effort had paid off. Revenge was a powerful motivator for a man who had gained some muscle under those rolls; he achieved things he would've rather found a waste of time.
"Her,e master," he was handed a washcloth." You see that, Emilia? I can flip anything now, let me try it on you."
She shook her head and bowed, "I'd rather not get dirty, young lord."
He clicked his tongue
" Try tossing me," Cavil said," just like how I taught you."
Joshua stared blankly, "as if I could your built like a giant cube with hair-yeow don't twist don't twist" he swatted him away.
Cavil used his hand motion to usher him to try. "Alright. Still, if I pull something, it'll be your head."
The young man went to grab him and throw him using what he'd been taught. He stepped inside his guard, a hand placed on his wrist and the other on his shoulder, twisting his body. He dropped his weight low and turned his back on him in quick succession. His momentum pushed forward, and just as he had been treated, THUD, he flipped the man
. "I.. I did it, haha!" he raised a fist in the air and smiled big and flopped down on the grass below."
Mister Cavil, we need your assistance at once." Clairce called
. "Ah? Alright," he stood up, brushing off the grass from his shoulders. He put a hand on Joshua's head, " Good work, kid."
You should clean up, young master," and so he did, he put the equipment away in the family shed, but then he came across something odd
. Inside the dimly lit shed were more than twenty statues — each one a slight variation of the same armless woman, blindfolded and perfectly balanced in weight and shape.
Lining the walls. "The hell is all this?" he was taken aback. "Whoops, you weren't supposed to see those.