Arthur Bastard 

"So that was a fight, right?" I asked 

"Technically, it was. However, I think he wanted information more than anything. Well, at least we now have information on who might target us, although I doubt they'll make a move while we are in school. You remember what happened at our old school though, so I don't know." Riley said

"What happened?" Xander said 

I forgot he was even there, and Riley seemed the same way with the look on his face.

"Well, you see, back at our last school, we went on a field trip and" I said before Riley cut me off, "And a high house sent men to escort us."

"Oh, okay. Oh, by the way, wasn't someone supposed to show you around the school," Xander said

"Yeah, but she kinda refused to do it and handed us a map and told us to figure it out," I said

"Weird, must not like you, lol," Xander said. "Well, here we are. If you need anything, here is my number," Xander said as he put his number in our phones. 

"Thank you," I said as Xander walked away.

"Well, I suppose we should devise a game plan before going in," Riley said as I knocked on the door.

"What the fuck are you doing? We can't just walk in there with no plan. We need our stories to match up and decide whether we want to talk a lot or not much at all, and you just ruined it. Riley said 

"Come in," A voice said from behind the door.

I opened the door, and we walked in. Sitting in the chair was a woman with short red hair in a green and black fur dress.

"Take a seat, please." She said, "I am Mrs. Kingsberry, but you will refer to me as headmistress." 

Kingsberry, that name sounds familiar. I think Riley said something about it.

"So why are we here, Headmistress?" Riley asked before I could ask

"Quick to the point, I see, just like your father." She said, "Anyway, I heard of your little fight earlier, and on behalf of the school, I would like to apologize. It was unprofessional of Mr.Wayne, now that that's out of the way. While you are in this school, you will be under my protection. No high house will touch you. The Blood Angles won't be able to attack you."

"So you know the truth then. I see my father must trust you." Riley said

"Yeah, he doesn't even trust us," I said 

"Let's just say I owe him something, but I called you here because, well, a lot of the council in this school think it is a disgrace that I allowed you two to join this school with scholarships. I can keep most of them from trying anything, but a few have been trying to undermine me. I know I said you were under my protection, but that will only work from outside sources. Inside this school is a different story altogether. They won't get involved directly, but they may try to have some students take care of you, and I mean, most students don't like you anyway, so it will be hard to tie any attack to them. So watch your back I can't get involved in student fights, but if you can tie anything to a council member, I will gladly take care of it." She said

"Great, there goes my normal college experience," I said

I knew this was going to happen. I might not be the brightest, but we did join this academy late and on a scholarship after the school was at maximum capacity.

"What about our mana types? What happens when people find out about those?" Riley asked

"Well, I assume it will keep most students off your back, but some council members have ways to make people do their dirty work, and some students will be too prideful," she said

I knew some students might have it out for us, but I didn't think high houses would have it out for us. I wonder if they want me to join their house. I'm not against it; my house isn't that great anyway, and I would get a last name and not be a bastard, but I would rather it be through marriage or something like that.

"Well, I figured as much, but nobody should make a move on us while here, and even if they do, I'm confident enough in my fighting ability to deal with whoever. I want to know why you wanted us to keep our colors a secret. It's hard to attend school when we can't use magic." Riley said

"Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty good with a sword, but it's more suspicious if I didn't use any magic," I said

"Yes, I know all of that; I had you hide it till now because I wanted to explain what you would be dealing with if you decided to stay at this school." She said

"Stay at this school?" I said 

"We have a choice?" Riley asked

"Of course, you have a choice. You can stay here and deal with the dangers that come with it or go back home and back to being a slave for your father. The choice is yours, of course." She said

"That's not a choice. Either we stay here and maybe get into fights or return to our father and not be able to join the military and earn a name," Riley said

"So we're staying, right?" I asked 

"Of course, like I said, I'm not that worried about other students. Maybe some from the ten, but even then, I'm not that worried," Riley said

"Well, now that that's decided," She said

"Hold on, I have a question. Why did you pick the members of our squad?" Riley asked

"That's simply. I wanted to ensure no high house would try to have their kids pick you so they could use you without consequence." She said

"Well, what about Mrs. Phoenix? She is a part of a high house," I said

"Yes, but I trust her, and I won't say why. Well, I've kept you too long enough. Get out now." as she said that, we were lifted in the air and thrown out of the room.

"You know we have legs, right? No need to throw us around," Riley said

"Oh, I know, but it's much more fun this way." She said, and with that, the doors closed

"Yeah, but that conversation felt pointless. All it did was confirm we need to be careful," Riley said

"Dad must trust her a lot if he told her about the blood angles," I said

"I know," Riley said with a gloomy look. "But we can't worry about that now we have bigger problems. If what she said was true, anyone could be an enemy."

"Who cares? We will kick whoever's ass we need to," I said

Riley laughed. "Yeah, you're right. No one stands a chance against us."

I smiled. Granted, I know full well that some are also white mana born. They could be bad with magic, but I'm willing to bet anyone here is a threat.

"Hey, let's go get something to eat," I said

"Sounds good. It is seven right now; I'll ask Xander if he wants to go." Riley said, "I sent him a text. Let's go to the cafeteria." 

As we walked, I noticed a gathering of students in the courtyard

"What's going on over there?" I asked

"No idea I'm standing next to you," Riley said as he grinned

"Shut up, let's go check it out," I said

"Really, you can afford to make dinner wait," Riley said, but I ignored him and started walking off toward the crowd. He ran to catch up. When we reached the group, we saw Xander being ganged up on by three students.

"So, are you a bastard lover or something." said a boy who seemed to be the leader of the three

"Oh fuck off, who cares if their bastards what are you guys four and still care about stuff like that," Xander said

After he said that, one of the guys threw a right hook and hit Xander. Xander lost his balance and fell.

"Should we help him?" I asked, but Riley shook his head 

"No, not until one of the others tries to fight him," Riley said

As much as I wanted to argue the fact, he was right at this school, one-on-one duels are acceptable even if one party doesn't agree to it but if it becomes a two vs one or higher and one party doesn't agree, it is no longer allowed. However, some students ignore that rule anyway and force the victim to say they agreed to the fight.

"how did you like that you little shit" said the guy who threw the punch

 Xander had managed to regain his footing, threw a jab at the guy, and hit him square in the jaw, knocking him out in one punch. 

"you know if you want to fight someone at least make sure you can take a punch." Xander said

One of the other goons was going to try to throw a punch when a teacher said 

"That's enough. Xander won the duel; that was the end of it."

"We will get you back for this. Mark my words, Xander." The leader said

"I'm free all week," Xander said

Eventually, the crowd left, and we walked up to Xander.

"That was a solid jab you hit him with. I got a little worried after you lost your balance," I said

"Oh hey, yeah, he caught me off guard with that, but it was a pretty weak hit. I don't think he enhanced it with magic," Xander said

"So you hanging out with us is making enemies for you?" Riley asked

"Yeah, but who cares? I knew what I was signing up for when I first talked to you, but like I said, it's an outdated system. You are still human." Xander said

"Well, I'm assuming you didn't see my text. Then did you want to go get something to eat with us," Riley asked

"Sure sounds good to me," Xander said

With that, we started our way to the cafeteria. While walking, I thought about what Xander had said about it being an outdated system. Well, I know he is right, and only high houses still do it, but I'm not mad. I'm a bastard. I get to stand out because of it, and who cares if it's not for the right reasons? I will be the strongest and prove to the king that I deserve a name.

"Well, here we are," Riley said

"Thank goodness I am starving," I said

"When are you not," Xander said

Riley broke out into laughter, and Xander joined him

"It's not that funny. I like to eat; I don't see the issue," I said with a smile 

 We chatted for a while about classes and after we finished dinner, we said our goodbyes to Xander and headed back to our dorm room

"You know, I'm happy we got put in this school. There are so many strong opponents for me to fight. It's a good chance." I said 

"Yeah, it's nice, but it's only the first day. Why don't you wait till we finish the school year and say that." Riley said, "I'm going to bed, and you should too."

"What are you, my mom? I'll go to bed when I want to," I said

"Fine, but if you're not up on time, I'll leave you behind," Riley said as a threat

"Yes, sir," I said, knowing full well he meant it

"Good night, Arthur," Riley said 

"Goodnight," I said