Obelia's Beloved Princess [ONGOING]

Chapter 7: An Invisible String Called Fate

Felix wasn't quite fond of swimming.

As a child, he hated the water. He feared it more than anything else. The deepest depths of the ocean gave him shivers-- who knows what's hidden underneath it all?

And so, he avoided swimming at all costs. When they had family trips that included water, Felix immediately declined.

However, when his Knight Training requires the said activity, Felix has no choice but to agree. Of course, knowing swordsmanship is vital in becoming a knight. Along with swimming, too. Being a knight required being ready at all situations, regardless of how bad it is.

That is why 14 year old Felix Robane is now mentally preparing himself.

Yes, you read that right. Fourteen year old Felix has now been practicing his Knight Training for three years. In two more years, he'll eventually graduate and (he hoped and prayed) that he'll become the Top Knight.

That wasn't the problem right now, though.

His father, Luther Robane, was sent by the Emperor in an expedition outside the Empire's barriers. So, the one in charge of teaching the trainees were the senior knights. They were mostly experienced and a bunch of guys who were in their early 40s.

Still, their teaching strategies wasn't as effective as Luther Robane's.

Then again... Felix had no right to complain. He needed to do this for the Empire. For the future. For Claude.

(Felix would be lying if he told anyone that he wasn't practicing his Knight's Oath almost everyday. He didn't want to disappoint Claude, after all.)

Speaking of Claude, he was now 10 years old. The little and innocent prince was quite mature now. And a bit taller, too. Not to mention, he was quite famous with the young ladies. Mainly Penelope Judith, who was friends with Odette.

Anyway, back to our favorite red head--- Felix.

Lucky for him, they weren't assigned to a literal ocean. They were only assigned to the huge man-made lake that surrounded the Royal Palace. It was so huge that a whole ship could enter. Also, the man-made lake was connected to Anastasius' secret garden. But no one really tried to even enter that part of the lake. They'd be dead in a ditch if they did so.

"Hey Felix!" a trainee exclaimed. "Let's hope ya don't disappoint your daddy's expectations, eh?"

Felix rolled his eyes. This trainee, in particular, was always getting on his nerves. He'd always receive useless 'insults' from the guy. He didn't quite mind it at first, but it was getting annoying and repetitive.

"Hey," he mimicked the guy from earlier. "Let's hope you don't drown from your stupidity, eh?"

Felix was, usually, a bright and cheery type. But when he said that, everyone who heard it got shivers down their spine. The trainee gulped and simply walked away. Felix just looked away and started stretching for the swimming exercise.

"To all aspiring knights," the trainer declared. "you will need to search for ten decoys displayed as bodies. You will need to do this in only an hour. The ten decoys are ranked from one to ten, one being the most important and ten least. Whoever gets the highest number will earn more points."

The training, then, eventually started.

There were only 40 knights remaining ever since the ceremony started 3 years ago. Before, they were arranged to age groups. Felix belonged to the kid's group, but now, they were all merged into one big group.

That meant that Felix was competing first place with people probably twice his age. Not that it bothered him that much. He was confident in his own skills. But his fear of water....