3.16 – The Competition


    For a brief moment, Natalie considered turning the conversation back to Camille’s offer. But she wasn’t sure it had been genuine, and when it came to Camille’s endless teasing, it was better to not give her more fuel. So instead, she dropped it.


    “I really don’t,” Natalie said. “I know who House Parda-Halt is, though.”


    “I would hope so,” Camille said, giving her another odd look. “Anyway, there’s not a Parda-Halt out there who isn’t a prodigy. Won’t be surprised if she’s at the top of the ss. As in, top-top. Number one.”


    “Which one is she?”


    “Red hair. Over there.”


    A few sparring pads away, Natalie saw who Camille pointed at. With long red hair, the same vibrant color as Natalie’s, and piercing green eyes, Natalie ced the woman in an instant. “Oh,” she said. “She’s in my barracks.”


    “Poor you.”


    “Poor me?”


    “She hasn’t been awful?”


    “Haven’t exchanged two words with her.”


    “Suggest you keep that up.”


    “Why?” Natalie had formed an immediately poor impression of the woman, because her first experience had been Elida giving a mocking, disdainful look toward Liz, clearly finding her sociable chatter as … Natalie didn’t know. Childish? Embarrassing? She supposed she was making assumptions. And that had been a while ago, and a rather minor incident, but now that Natalie <em>liked </em>Liz, the event bothered her more. Still, she wanted to hear Camille’s thoughts on the matter.


    “Always a good policy to keep thirty feet away from any Parda-Halt. Bunch of snakes, them.” She grimaced. “Don’t tell her I said that, though. Or anyone. My house is technically on good footing with hers.”


    Which made the point even stronger. “That bad, then?”


    “Haven’t talked to her,” Camille admitted. “But really. Parda-Halt.”


    Natalie knew Parda-Halt had a poor reputation. Not more than a century ago, they’d tried to overthrow the monarchy. It spoke to their cunning their House hadn’t copsed for the failure. Hatred obviously lingered between Beaumon and Parda-Halt. Since Natalie had made friends with Liz, and Elida hadn’t set a great impression in the first ce, it was obvious which side of the line Natalie stood on for that rivalry. Not that she ‘stood’ in any meaningful capacity; she was a nobody.


    “Huh,” Natalie said. “And Johanna? I think Liz has mentioned her.” She was pretty sure she’d heard the name once or twice.


    “Not surprised,” Camille said. “They’re probably best friends. Johanna Valeria?”


    “Ah,” Natalie said. House Valeria and Beaumon were inseparable. Valeria had effectively led the military for generations; they were the Beaumon family’s right hand. “Don’t think Liz’s talked about her that much, though.” Then again, Natalie had hardly spent any <em>significant </em>amount of time with Liz. They’d made friends, but not to any deep degree. “She’s in ss twelve, too?”


    “Over there,” Camille said. “Blondie with the short hair.”


    Natalie ced her in a moment. She was in a two-on-two spar against Sofia. Johanna Valeria <em>looked </em>like a military woman. The effect was amplified by being in activebat, but her short hair, carved-from-stone expression, and powerful build radiated “soldier”. She filled out the T uniform in a way not many others did—and that was saying something, considering where they were.


    “Don’t stare <em>too </em>obviously,” Camille said, amused. “She’ll catch you. But yeah. I agree.”


    “Tank?”


    “Fighter. Tough as nails. Takes a hit better than most tanks, and’ll tear other fighters apart limb by limb, too. That’s a Valeria. Like Elida, I’ll eat my foot if she’s not in the top ten when rankingse out. Top five, probably.”


    “That’s next week?”


    “Rankings? First day of it, far as I know.”


    “I wonder how I’d fare against her,” Natalie said idly.


    “You’re good, Nat,” Camille said. “But you’re not Johanna Valeria good.”


    Natalie bristled, but as she watched Johanna’s two-squad tear apart Sofia’s, making even her white-haired rival struggle to keep up, she hesitated.


    “I’ve got a while to go,” Natalie reluctantly admitted.


    She liked to believe she was talented, but she hadn’t been brought up under the full support of a major Valhaurian house.


    The Valerias especially werebat-oriented in a way even many major houses weren’t. Most houses had prominent delvers, but all members of Valeria were military in one way or another—even the ones who didn’t delve and reach enormous personal power through their ss still knew warfare. Generals, soldiers, or delvers. Johanna had undoubtedly lived and breathedbat since she could walk. Which was same for many T students, but her especially.


    Still, even if Johanna hadn’t <em>done </em>anything to Natalie, and even sounded like Liz’s friend, Natalie found herself frowning. She had a measuring stick topare to, now. Someone she wanted to surpass. Though Sofia still came first. Johanna had dismantled even Sofia, and Natalie still couldn’t. Her friend thrashed her in fights.


    Her … friend?


    Natalie shivered. She’d really just thought that. <em>Rival</em>. Sofia wasn’t anything but her rival. Reduced hostility in recent weeks or not.


    She scanned the rest of the fights. She and Camille were recovering from their own bout, but they would rejoin the fray shortly.


    Onest person caught her eye. Half because of her distinctive appearance, half because of how she was, like Johanna and Elida, tearing herpetition—Natalie’s ssmates—apart. With wicked twin daggers in either hand, she flowed between her opponents like water, and even that metaphor didn’t do it justice. Like smoke, slipping between attacks as if she were formless.


    Even more prominently, the heavy, criss-crossing scars running across her face. Natalie had seen this girl back in the barracks on the first day, but now that she thought about, hadn’t since. Had she even been sleeping there? She’d seemed especially ufortable with how many people were stuffed in the barracks; twitchy, to understate things. Had she snuck off to sleep somewhere else? Why would T allow that, though?


    “Who’s that?” Natalie asked.


    “Not sure,” Camille said. She’d followed Natalie’s gaze even before her prompting. “But she fights like a demon, doesn’t she?”


    “Another top ten?”


    “Probably. She wasn’t put in ss twelve without a reason, I’d figure.”


    “Assuming it works like that.”


    Camille shrugged. “Even their worst members are a nightmare, if you haven’t noticed. No way that’s a coincidence.”


    Natalie definitely had. Her first few bouts hadn’t been easy. Hadn’t even pulled out a victory today. That they were matched up against, apparently, the best ss of the year only relieved her irritation at her failure slightly. She didn’t like other people being better than her. Wouldn’t have made it to T if she did.


    “Anyway,” Camille said. “Should get back to it. Wanna have a go against them?” She stuck her thumb toward two bystanders of ss twelve.


    “Might as well,” Natalie said.