Library of Rain

Fallout

Rain paid close attention to the fights. She didn’t want to overuse her strategy, so she needed to know which of the boys would be threats to Lucus. If Rain had to guess, Lucus was slightly better than average with a sword. Rain doubted she could help him win the whole tournament, but she might be able to get him one or two more victories. 

That would make him happy, right?  

When it was Lucus’s turn to fight, Rain rushed to the bottom of the pit to stand close to the circle. Fortunately, his next opponent wasn’t very good, and Rain didn’t have to do anything. She still cheered loudly when Lucus won, but like last time, he didn’t pay attention, leaving the stage quickly and looking almost angry at the people watching. Rain really hoped helping him win would cheer him up.

Then the moment came; Lucus’s name was called along with Toivo’s. If there was ever a time to act, it was now. 

Rain watched as Lucus and Toivo walked down the terraced sides of the pit. The crowd cheered for Toivo, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. Lucus, however, just glared daggers at the other boy. Both boys got into position. Rain rushed to make sure she was in position as well. 

Getting into place just behind Lucus, Rain tried to stand behind a couple, but as always happened when Rain stayed in one place for too long, the people around her got uncomfortable. They started edging away from her, leaving a pocket of empty space around her and destroying her cover.

Rain readjusted so that Lucus was between her and Toivo. It was a good thing she was so small; Lucus’s body was enough to mostly hide her.

The announcer called the fight. Rain couldn’t see Toivo’s face, but she could imagine that cocky look on it as he approached Lucus with a leisurely gait, no doubt assured of his victory. Rain really hoped she could help take him down. 

When only a few steps away, Toivo lunged forward towards Lucus, who only barely managed to parry the blow. Toivo used the momentum of his sword being deflected to swing it around for an attack at Lucus’s side when Rain’s tactic finally worked. 

From the moment Toivo had first lunged, Rain had been staring at him and waving with all her might. The empty pocket around her now helped as nothing obstructed Toivo’s view of her. She couldn’t flex her aura, or it would be obvious she was trying to cheat, but she didn’t really need to.

The combination of her staring and him catching a glimpse of her in the corner of his eye was enough to capture Toivo’s attention briefly and make him flinch as Rain grinned, showing him some teeth. 

That small moment of involuntary fear and hesitation was all it took for Lucus to hit the arrogant jerk with a winning blow. There was silence for a moment until the announcer started giving excited commentary on the match, and a large number of lords began shouting in anger. There were also some lords who looked thrilled at the outcome. Most of those went to the gambling counter to accept their generous winnings.

Rain, for her part, skulked back, hoping no one would try to blame her for cheating. It would be hard to argue that her standing there and cheering was cheating without knowing about her skill, and since Rain's class was hidden, there was no way they would ever guess she could use skills. 

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Looking through the energetic crowd, Rain caught a glimpse of Lucus. For the first time that night, the bitter look on his face was gone, replaced by a look of confusion. Both boys were ushured off the field so the next fights could start. 

Rain, excited at her success, found a place to sit on one of the terraces to watch the match. The next time Lucus was up, she repeated her feat, causing the opponent to flinch when he saw her smile at him, costing them the match. 

Rain couldn’t stop herself from giggling as she fled the scene. This tournament was way more fun than she had thought. 

Climbing out of the dueling pit, Rain skipped over to the table for a victory snack. There were some more desserts she wanted to try. 

A few moments later, Rain was happily munching on some fruit covered in a sweet sauce when a shadow fell over her. Rain looked over, confused. She was standing in a mostly empty part of the room, and no one ever went out of their way to stand close to her. 

She immediately recognized the man looming over her: Lord Orom. he was standing next to her and drinking something from a glass, gaze pointed towards the dueling rings. 

“I wanted to thank you,” he said without looking at her. “For teaching my son such a valuable lesson. He was getting arrogant. 

To lose the tournament because of a simple distraction. Well.” Lord Orom grinned like a predator. “With how angry he is right now, motivating him to work harder should be easy.”

Rain didn’t know what to do. If she accepted the compliment, then she would be admitting to guilt, but Lord Orom didn’t seem mad.

“Thank you?”

Lord Orom looked down at Rain for the first time. His searching gaze took her in from top to bottom. 

“Huh, seems like those Estom fools did something smart for once. Regardless, stop interfering with the matches; it won't end well if you continue.”

And with that, he left.

Rain wasn’t sure if he had just threatened or warned her, but the look in his eyes convinced her to stop. Lucus would just have to take it from here. He had already done well enough that he should be happy, right?

Finishing her snack, Rain returned to the ring to watch more of the matches. Between fights, she looked over to see if she could spot Lucus standing with the other boys, waiting for their turn. 

There he was, standing slightly by himself; he wasn't as happy as Rain hoped. Rain couldn’t help him with his next match, either. 

When his next match came, it was against a red-haired boy who sneered at Lucus and said something Rain couldn’t hear. She could, however, see the shift in Lucus’s expression as he lunged at the boy, who easily sidestepped and sliced at Lucus’s leg despite having an easy opening for a finishing blow.

The commentator announced the hit. Lucus had two hits left.

The boys paired off again, and the redhead said something else. Rain couldn’t make out the words through the cheering crowd, but she could almost hear the mocking tone of voice just by seeing the boy's face. 

Lucus tried attacking again, and the redhead parried, taking a swing at Lucus’s arm despite having another opening for a finishing blow. 

The announcer called the hit. The next time Lucus took a hit, he would lose no matter where it was. 

Rain had her fists tightly clenched, and her brows furrowed in worry. 

“Come on,” she muttered, “you can do this.”

He couldn’t. In the following exchange, the redhead attacked first, bypassing Lucus’s guard and striking him firmly in the chest. A fatal blow. The crown cheered at the match as Lucus hurried off the field. Rain left as well, cutting through the crowd to meet up with Lucus. By the time she caught up, he had already found Lord and Lady Estom.

“Do you know how much money I lost because of you! If you had any honor, you would have let him recover and fought him with skill rather than take advantage of his stumble to take a cheap win.”

The anger on Lucus’s face was gone, along with his other emotions, leaving his face completely blank. 

Rain didn’t understand what was going on. What was wrong with taking advantage of an opening in a fight? Didn’t that take skill?

“I lost two hundred old in that bet!”

With that, Lord Estom turned and left his son behind, Lady Estom following closely behind him.

Wait, a bet? Did Lord Estom bet against his own son?

Rain hesitantly approached Lucus. Had her help caused Lucus problems instead? Hadn’t he wanted to win to impress his parents? Why were they angry?

“Are you alright?”

“Go away.”

Rain shrunk back.

Maybe she could cheer him up.

“You did really good.”

“I said go away, you annoying weirdo!”

Rain looked down, tears threatening the corners of her eyes.

“Sorry.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait! I’m sorry… thanks… for caring.”

When Rain looked back, it was to see Lucus with his back turned to her, ears slightly red. 

Did this mean he wasn’t mad at her? Was there a chance something good could come from this disaster?