"Your stance is off, again. Keres, are you even listening to me?"

The young man groaned. It was the tenth time he had been screamed at by his teacher, and he was getting tired of it. But his father kept telling him that this class was too important for him to miss.

Miss Clarisse was one of the best swordsmen in the kingdom. She knew what she was doing, but she was so strict and demanded quite a lot.

She knows this, too, but at the same time, it was for the best.

She sighed, sheathing her blade.

"Alright, I'll let you off, but you have to learn it, you want to protect your little sister, Iris, right?"

Keres gripped his blade with both of his hands, nodding with determination, as she took her leave.

The moment she was out of the room, she let her facade crumble.

"Damn, that brat has some power."

Stretching her shoulder and arms, she walked through the halls of the castle, knights bowing as she moved past them. They knew her power and influence, her style being taught at the academy of knights, but never fully replicated.

"You need to know the essence behind it."

She screamed to a young knight training outside the castle from the window. The knight turned to her and gave her a nervous smile before continuing to practice, putting more into each of his swings.

She chuckled to herself, finding his attitude intriguing.

She happily continued her march.

She and the king had a good relationship, which was one of the reasons she was chosen to train his son.

They knew each other quite well, since they were children actually, but they quickly grew very separated from each other, so they aren't that much friends, more like very good acquaintances.

This partnership was beneficial for both of them, since for her it meant wealth and influence, and for him, a stronger army.

She also had her own room in the Castle, that way she could get to classes with the King's son in time, since his future was worth millions. His affinity was very powerful, meaning that if he got the proper training, he was going to become extremely powerful and useful in the future.

It was also why she was so severe; she didn't want to ruin the potential of such a bright student.

Her life was good. What else could she ever want?

...

Well, there was one thing.

Putting her hand on the glass, she looked across the kingdom, beyond the wall, and into Withered District. Her mother was born there, so she had been there many times; she knew its cruel ways and life. But at the same time, she saw potential in it. She wanted the two districts to unite, and for the two worlds not to be separated.

But it wasn't time for useless dreams.

Walking outside the castle, into the training grounds. She took a deep breath, stretching the rest of her body after being stiff for so many hours now.

Keres was a good child and talented at that, but at the same time, he was very arrogant; he didn't like to listen, especially to his teachers, so he resorted to motivating himself by mentioning his baby sister, Iris.

She wondered if she was going to train that little, cute girl one day.

If she got a powerful affinity, then the King wouldn't have the choice of keeping her trapped in the castle and would put her in those etiquette lessons for ladies. She didn't need them, after all; she never took them, and here she was.

She really resembled her mother, but at the same time, she hoped she didn't grow up to be like her. Since her mother was one heck of a woman to deal with, a very proud one. She didn't seem to like her one bit, maybe because she was very different from all the other women inside the castle, and she saw her as a brute, but she always gave her a cold shoulder.

Either way, she was going to go and challenge a story soon, so she wanted to go and buy a charm to help her beat the story.

She wanted to go to the Marketplace inside the Withered, since she heard it had gotten better recently, but at the same time, it was so far away... she didn't have the energy to go that far. The local shops were that much worse.

Plus, she had a good friend who had a shop, maybe she was going to give her a discount.

Walking through the street, many recognized her, and many asked her for tips on their swordsmanship and how to get strong. She was happy to see people ask her things when they needed help, but at the same time, she didn't have time for that.

She brushed past the crowd, getting to her friend's shop.

As the door to the shop opened, the owner met her with a gentle smile. Looking around, she saw many armors and swords, but there were also things like rings, earrings, crowns. Charms, that was what they were.

...

"You want a charm, I see. Well, I have just the thing for you."

He went to the back of his shop, digging through his stuff, before finding a ring.

"Here, this charm makes people more motivated by you; you give them hope that they can trust. I think it fits you perfectly."

And indeed it did.

It didn't help her with clearing any stories, but it did help her with another monster, that being Keres. So she didn't hesitate to buy it.

Waving to her friend, she turned to leave, but before she did, she saw a little boy trying to steal something, so she grabbed him by his arm.

"And what do you think you're doing here, little guy?"

The child turned to her with a big frown as he tried to get his hand out of her grip.

"Get your hand away from me, you gorilla, do you even know who I am?"

...

Her grip tightened around his wrist.

"That's not how you address a lady. Now, apologise."

But as she was trying to get an apology out of the boy, the owner of the shop came up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Clarisse, but the boy's family has actually already paid for that relic; he isn't stealing."

...

"Oh, sorry."

She said nervously and embarrassed, rubbing the back of her neck.

As she let go of his hand, the boy instantly ran out with tears flowing from his eyes. She felt sorry for what she did, but it was just a misunderstanding; it really looked as if he was stealing something. How was she supposed to know his family was rich? Who even was his family?

She turned to her friend to inquire more about the identity of the boy and his family.

"So um... who was that exactly?"

...

"That was the son of one of the most important Celestial families."

She sighed, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, that explains a lot. These Celestial children always have the worst attitude, especially toward their seniors. This should teach him a lesson.

Her friend nodded, fidgeting nervously with his fingers.

"That is true, but aren't you scared he will tell his father, and then the King will learn? What if he takes your job? Even worse, what if he kicks you out of the district entirely? The father of that child is very important and is related to the Queen."

Clarisse rolled her eyes and chuckled at how absurd his remark was.

"Oh come on, me the King and go way back." She rested on his shoulder. "Trust me, nothing is going to happen to me. So don't worry." She pushed herself off and patted his shoulder, where she rested. "Alright?"

With that, she finally left, now with a new charm. She was actually excited for the first time for a training session with Keres, since it was the perfect chance to test her new relic. If it really worked, then her days were going to become much easier from this point forward.

"Life is looking great."

...

...

"I'm sorry, Clarisse, but this was the decision, and my wife came to. We argued for a while, but her arguments cannot be overlooked. Your actions have consequences, and you know that better than all, so I'm sure you won't take this to heart.

...

But for endangering and attacking a child of the Celestial, and a remembrance of my wife's tree line... I therefore exile you from the Blue District."

...

What had... just happened. Not long ago, she was buying a relic to help her teach Keres, and all the other Knights at that, and now she was... being exiled? For what?

It was all a misunderstanding, and she hadn't done it to hurt him, but restrain him. And why had the Queen been so against her staying inside the Blue Rose? Why did she want her to be exiled so badly...

...

She felt betrayed.

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