The Iron Rose: Volume 1

“Gudomlay! What happened?” Tapp and Britta ran up to her when they spotted her coming from the stripe’s side of the school. Tapp was in a frenzy, calling to her and waving wildly so her body temperature went up and caused her skin to shine. It was a bad idea since it was already a hot day and had her perspiring more than just the stale air would.

Gudomlay looked up at her and Britta and winced when she knew what had them alarmed. She lifted her hand to a bruise on her cheek but stopped herself from touching it since it hurt whenever she did. Pausing, she let the others run to her and tried a smile.

“Who do I need to kill?” Britta asked, her voice hoarse as she looked at her. She grabbed onto her arms, her thin fingers curling into her flesh so they stabbed her. Gudomlay made a wry face for it. Leave it to Britta to be the thug of their little trio.

Wincing, Gudomlay shook her head while easing herself out of her grip. “It was my fault,” she said, shaking her hand at her. Britta was the most violent of them despite being a little silly. Gudomlay had no doubt that the yellow-haired girl would hunt down her attacker. And then she would promptly beat him down with her small fists. Gudomlay sighed, her shoulders sagging. “I got scolded the other day, and I realized my weakness. So, I started training with Kunagi a bit,” she explained.

“Kunagi did that to you?” Tapp asked, her brow twisted. “I didn’t think he fought.”

“Oh, it wasn’t him,” Gudomlay said, shifting her gaze nervously at Britta. She couldn’t explain that it was one of the dummies Kunagi had made for the stripe’s training center. Besides, the last person she wanted to get into a fist fight with was her guardian. He looked scrawny and weak, but she knew that wasn’t the case.

Tapp blinked, suddenly understanding. “Oh...” She glanced at Britta too and then sighed. Knowing the stripe’s secret and not being able to talk about it was a pain. “Well,” she slipped her arm through Gudomlay’s and shut her eyes with a nod. “So long as it was done in training. Though...” She frowned. “I didn’t think you liked that sort of thing.”

Gudomlay scoffed. “I didn’t like putting in the effort because I was afraid of embarrassing myself. And...mmm.” She struggled, uncomfortable with admitting her faults. “If I didn’t get good no one would put all their effort into beating me. Besides...” She shrugged, looking around at the other students. “I have a hard time wanting to hurt people.” Though, thinking about what Kunagi said, she was beginning to think that that last one really was a lie.

Britta broke out into laughter then, holding her gut as it jiggled in her amusement. Gudomlay glared at her and Tapp gave her a wry side glance.

“Right!” Britta chortled. “You don’t want to hurt anyone,” she said, sniffing and running her hand under her nose.

“I don’t!” Gudomlay cried, offended by her reaction. The fact Kunagi had her doubting her own volition and Britta being in agreeance with him made her struggle all the worse!

“Until someone makes you mad,” Tapp said, giving her a sympathetic pat on the arm. “Now, hurry up. We’ve got class.” She pulled on Gudomlay and hurried off. Britta went after them, still snickering as they rushed inside to make it to class before the final bell.

Gudomlay sat in her desk while drumming her fingers during political philosophy. She was slumped and still brooding over the previous day. She needed to apologize to Albert. What she had said...she regretted it so much. She was known as the one star who actually thought well of the stripe students. She didn’t want any of them thinking that she thought of them as tools. She didn’t. She knew they were people. It was just her ignorance and frustration speaking. She had wanted to excuse herself from not performing well. And she had said something unforgivable in the process.

At the end of philosophy, she made her way down to the gym for her fencing class. Britta met her on the way and they walked together. Britta talked easily, telling Gudomlay what she had learned in her first class. But Gudomlay barely heard any of it. She thinned her lips while looking in at the others preparing their sabers and things. Today was study application so they would actually be fighting.

Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to put effort into class this time? She took a breath and retrieved her saber locked in her cubby and switched out her shoes. And then she went to line up with the other students to wait for class to begin.

The professor came out and gave them instructions, telling them what they would do for that day. While he did, Britta bumped her shoulder against Gudomlay’s so she glanced at her and Britta nodded.

“Partner with me today,” she said, her voice low. Gudomlay blinked. It was rare for Britta to offer herself as Gudomlay’s partner. She liked being able to go all out and couldn’t do that with her. “You want to get better, don’t you?” She asked. Gudomlay swallowed but nodded, so Britta nodded back. “I’ll help. But don’t think I’m going to go easy on you because we’re friends,” she warned in a whisper. She was totally serious, her mood emphasized by the smell of the last class’s sweat and the usual gym scents of equipment and rubber.

Gudomlay’s face paled slightly and she winced. “R-right.” She didn’t think Britta would be capable of holding back even if she wanted to. She grabbed her own elbow, uncovered by her gym clothes, with nervousness and glanced about warily at the others. They paired up as they’d been instructed and went to the mats. They’d stopped using protective gear a while ago, but that was also when she’d stopped putting effort into the sport. When it was realized she wasn’t going all out, her partner always held back. But that was because she’d wanted them to.

Now, facing Britta, she knew she might not have that luxury. The match begun, and it was all Gudomlay could do to defend herself. She stepped back and back and back as Britta lunged, spun, and shifted toward her. It’d been a while since Britta had stopped paying attention to the rules of strict fencing. And because of her skill level, she was allowed to. After all. Fencing was only a fundamental class. One they were meant to deviate from once they had perfected it.

“Ugh!” Gudomlay barely blocked another one of Britta’s attacks. Gritting her teeth, she looked up at Britta’s face in alarm. But seeing it made her wince when she realized she was scowling.

“You’re not even trying!” Britta shouted, pushing her arms forward and knocking Gudomlay back. Gudomlay stumbled a few feet away before she got her footing again. She gawked at her, surprised by the forcefulness of her push. Britta grit her teeth, now looking angry. Gudomlay stared. “This is why I’ve never paired with you,” she said, huffing and puffing. “Because I knew you weren’t putting yourself into it. You are wasting everyone’s time. We’ve come here to improve. Everyone that gets partnered with you is being held back. Stop it!”

“Bu--” she had been trying this time...hadn’t she? She looked down at her hand holding the saber. No. Not really. She was only putting in the effort required to keep herself from getting hurt. She was telling herself that it was all she could do to withstand Britta. But she knew deep down that wasn’t true.

“Again!” Britta jumped at her.

Gudomlay gasped and, lunging in a low squat, lifted her saber up to block her. Britta’s sword came crashing down on her, but her solid stance made her spin off. In those next few moments, they were circling each other. Gudomlay swallowed when she realized the whole class had stopped to watch them. Her heart flickered in a panic. She didn’t want them to see. She didn’t want them to know she could do more than she’d been doing. And so...she dropped her sword and ran out of the gym.

She spent all of Wild Lands study with her head down. Zhi, sitting near her, frowned with his head tilted at her. He, nor anyone else, had seen her hide herself during this class. She barely paid attention, and her brooding mood was almost visible. When the hour was over, she closed her books and left in a hurry to get her next class over with. But when she got through the door, she almost immediately ran into someone. Grunting, she rubbed her forehead where she’d hit the person and looked up.

A tall young man with dark hair and dark eyes looked down at her. He was dressed in stripe’s attire and getting a lot of awkward looks ranging from fascinated to annoyed. Gudomlay blinked to recognize him as the group leader who’d attacked her and her classmates. Bard, Kunagi’s top fourth year student.

“Are you Gudomlay?” He asked in a low emotionless voice. It was almost monotone though not so much since she could hear a twinge of irritation in it. She got the immediate sense that he neither wanted to be there nor did he like her. Had Albert warned the others about her so they’d all turned against her?

She blinked. “Yes,” she said a little hesitantly and now even more worried.

“Kunagi sent me to fetch you, come.” He turned then, expecting her to follow him.

“I have class,” she said, a little intimidated by his manly physic, handsome face, and cold personality.

He paused and glanced back at her. “You’ve been excused for the rest of the day.”

“Gudomlay?” Gudomlay looked back and swallowed when she saw Zhi standing behind her. He glanced from the striped student to her. “Everything all right?” He asked.

She looked back at the stripe waiting for her and cleared her throat. “Yes, I think so. It’s just Kunagi,” she said, wondering what he wanted with her during classes.

Zhi gave a quick glance at Bard before shifting his gaze to rest on her again. And then he shook his head. “I don’t mean that. I mean, are you all right? You haven’t been yourself.”

“Oh!” She hadn’t realized he’d noticed, or that anyone else had for that matter. She sighed. She should have known better. The stars were trained to sense a change in those around them. And she’d been sulking since fencing class. “Sorry, Zhi. I’m fine. But I’ve got to go.” She turned then and followed the stripe down the hall through the mass of her classmates. She didn’t want to explain the situation to Zhi, and she didn’t think it a good idea to keep Kunagi waiting. Not when he sent one of his students to fetch her in a sea of stars.

They came out of the main building and started toward the stripe’s side of the school. Gudomlay watched as the pristine beauty turned to that of a not so clean landscape. It was the first time she noticed just how gray everything seemed to be, but not in a way that was so noticeable. It was subtle. To her, it was almost like walking away from a fairy tale world with bright colors. She looked back at it and then turned ahead to cross over into a slightly more medieval reality. The trees were wilder, and the foliage was grown over. It was like stepping into a forest hiding a castle away for none but its secret residence to see.

Why did it feel that way? Why did the star’s side of things feel so...fake?

They came to one of the larger patches of grass surrounding the school. There, Gudomlay saw Albert standing with his back to the buildings and his arms crossed. She didn’t know where he was looking, but his back was rigid and his head held up so the wisps of his hair came lower on his neck. The sides tied back were clasped with a golden clamp. Gudomlay wondered at it. She hadn’t known of any stripe students owning anything beautiful.

“I’ve brought her,” Bard, still leading Gudomlay, said. She glanced at him, and Albert turned around. When she looked at him he was gazing at her with a soft frown. And then he lifted his eyes to meet Bard’s and nodded with a sigh.

“Thanks,” Albert said, his arms loosening down to his sides.

Bard nodded then left. Gudomlay watched him for a while, wondering what this was all about. Bard’s intimidation followed him, like a great bear leaving his lunch behind. Seeing his broad shoulders in that dark coat of his made her shiver. And then she swallowed and looked back at Albert.

“Forgive me.” He bowed, his arms stiff at his sides. The crown of his head dipped low enough for her to see over to the mostly straight slope of his spine.

She blinked, a hand coming up to her chest. She felt mortified, and she knew why. “Don’t!” She cried, her throat aching. How low he must have felt for having to be so submissive to one who didn’t deserve it. “Don’t bow to me!” She shouted, taking a step back. He tilted his head up to stare at her, a look of surprise on his face. “I’m not one of them!” She said, tears coming to her eyes. “I’m not afraid to admit I was in the wrong. So, don’t take the blame and pretend that you were fallacious in defending yourself. I spoke out of frustration and pride. I didn’t mean what I said, but I shouldn’t have said it. I wasn’t thinking and that was my shortcoming, not yours!”

Albert slowly straightened and stared down at her. First, it was with the same look of surprise and then it softened to a tender smile. After a moment, he grinned a little wider and chuckled. “How stubborn you are,” he said, his eyes crinkling. “I recognize your argument and accept it, but I shouldn’t have reacted as I did to Kunagi’s proposal. I too acted out of frustration. I should have known better than to expect you to do well in a straight hand to hand combat scenario. So, let’s begin again? Kunagi has explained to me that you understand the theory of combat. But your application is weak because you haven’t practiced.”

She stared up at him, wondering at his sudden patience. She lowered her gaze and lifted a hand to curl around her arm. “I’m a liar, you know,” she said in a quiet voice.

He blinked, looking confused for a moment, but then it went away. “About why you haven’t been putting yourself into it?” He asked, his face soft again.

She nodded. “I keep making up excuses. Hoping someone will believe the lie instead of finding out the truth,” she whispered.

Albert was quiet a time as he studied her. She looked troubled, ashamed even. That despondent look on her face just wasn’t one he was used to seeing on her. “Are you embarrassed by the truth?” He asked, his head tilting as he tried to understand her.

“It’s selfish, so yes. I’m ashamed of it but...I can’t help it.” It seemed so cold now. Was it possible for the weather to be that different between the star’s and stripe’s side when they were so close together?

“Then let me help you overcome your fear,” he said with a hand out to her. She looked up at him and wondered at the genuine look in his eyes. They crinkled again as he laughed. “Otherwise, we’ll both be punished by Kunagi,” he said.

Gudomlay blinked, still uncertain if she could do it. “Are you not going to ask?”

He blinked, his face falling from its expression of mirth and his hand faltered slightly in the air. “My business isn’t your reasons, Gudomlay. The only thing I need to do is help you. To learn how to defend yourself should there ever come a time when there is no one else to do it for you.”

She took a great breath, her chest expanding and her brow still twisted with uncertainty. But she nodded and took his hand. He smiled and led her out into the field, and there he started at the very basics. Gudomlay watched and mirrored his movements. It was almost frustrating.

She knew these things, and yet he felt the need to guide her through each position. He even moved out of his own to adjust hers by tilting her elbow there or adjusting her foot somewhere else. And though she started out with a great sense of impatience, she began to understand why he was doing what he was.

If she was going to fight as she performed now, it would be as sloppy and weak as the last time they battled. With his perfecting each her stances, she too would be perfected.

But then he took her through each one again, reminding her again what he had changed the first time. And then, he changed new things the second time around. And they did it again and again and again until she realized. He was adjusting her less and less so her confidence went from shaken to fairly solid.

“Gudomlay!” Gudomlay shifted out of her current fighting position when she heard Tapp calling to her. And then she glanced at Albert. He was already looking in her direction and his cheeks were a little pinker than before. She smirked to herself and twisted around to wave at Tapp. “Permission to approach?” Tapp called across the way, something in her hands.

Gudomlay glanced at Albert who sensed her watching him and so looked at her. When he realized she was waiting for him to give an answer, he nodded.

“Permission granted!” She called, twisting around to look at her again.

Tapp smiled big and then stepped onto the grass field, walking briskly to them. “I was told you missed your last two classes!” She called, now coming upon them. “Which means you didn’t have lunch. Zhi said you headed out with one of the striped students. So, I thought maybe--” she glanced at Albert who didn’t make much of an expression and then back at Gudomlay. “Maybe you would be with him and needing food.” She lifted a box with offerings, looking a little nervous.

Gudomlay gasped and hugged her before snatching up the food. Sitting where she stood, she crossed her legs on the grass. Then she revealed the sandwich within and sunk her teeth into it, looking a little bit like Kunagi as she did so. But this wasn’t smelly old fish. This was soft bread, juicy roast, pepper cheese, crunchy lettuce, and smart condiments.

Tapp smiled wryly at her and then glanced at Albert. “There’s some for you too if you want,” she said, offering it to him.

He glanced at her, surprised for the second time that day. And then he smiled gently. “Thank you,” he said, accepting her gift and sitting with Gudomlay to eat. Tapp knelt onto the ground, hugging the tray to her chest now that it was empty. She watched Albert for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she glanced at Gudomlay’s bruise. “Are you the one that did that?” She asked, sliding her fierce stare back onto him.

He glanced at her, eating now a little dumbly as he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“No, it wasn’t him,” Gudomlay said with her mouth full and still watering. Tapp frowned at her. “It was one of Kunagi’s dummy robot monsters,” she said.

Albert choked on his food and put a hand over his mouth. Tapp gawked at him, wondering at his reaction but not able to say anything with him suffering. When he recovered, he glanced at Gudomlay with a twisted brow. Once he’d stopped coughing, he swallowed before taking a breath.

“You fought one of his metal beasts?” He asked, now leaning toward her and his eyes round.

“Three of them,” she said, slumping her shoulder with a sigh. “I knew I couldn’t take on that many, but I thought having it at a low setting might have given me a chance.” She grumbled to herself a moment and then sighed. “I was proven wrong.”

“Three? What did you ask for?” He asked, now staring at her with an intensity she wasn’t used to.

Flustered by his intensity, she leaned back slightly. “Dummy set three. I didn’t specify a level. But I figured Kunagi would know better than to put it at a difficult standard I couldn’t handle.” She was looking glumly at the grass with her chin in her hand by then, sulking.

“This was last night?” He asked, his brow low and voice even lower.

Gudomlay frowned at him, wondering at his exasperation. “Yes. Why?”

He rose onto his knees and reached forward to smack her across the head.

“Ow!” She shouted, lifting her leg to kick him back.

Tapp, watching silently, narrowed her eyes. A darkness flickered through them but then faded away when she realized Gudomlay wasn’t going to chastise him beyond that.

“You brat! You can too fight. Why am I out here wasting time with you when you can take three of those things at setting level eight?” He shouted, clearly miffed by discovering her story the way he was scowling and the spittle coming from his flapping mouth.

“Level eight?” She shouted back at him, covering her head. “There’s no way!”

“We haven’t used the dummies since the day before yesterday! And when I was cataloging their use and saw they’d been out last night, I thought Kunagi was tweaking them. I couldn’t figure out why he was doing that at level eight but that was the setting the computer recorded.” He was glaring at her, his brow twitching as he continued to hold his sandwich. By this time, he’d bruised the bread and part of its insides was sliding out.

“There’s...no way...” She said, her breath now coming out so to make her voice soft. “I was able to take out one and almost a second, but it and the third got me before I could. That I could take out one is a miracle in itself. Level eight? What was he trying to do?” She suddenly stood, looking quite alarmed. “Was he trying to kill me!”

Tapp looked between the two, a little shaken by this sudden turn of conversation. “I don’t think Kunagi would try to kill you, Gudomlay.” She stood to put a hand on her shoulder then. “The man cares about you. He wouldn’t just do something so dangerous without knowing you’d be all right.”

“He left the room!” She shouted, now twisting to glare at her though she was not the target of her menacing stare. “Come on!” She flipped around, shoving the rest of her sandwich in her mouth and marching toward the school. “We’re going to figure this out.”

Albert jumped to his feet and grabbed Tapp’s fingers as she was only staring after Gudomlay. She gasped but let him pull her along as they went then to go interrogate the lunatic professor.