Waltzing With Fate

Where Are They?

"Guys...they aren't here." I say as I walk down the stairs.
"Liam, are you sure?"
"Yes, Hanna, I'm sure. Some of their stuff is missing too. Leigh took her knives, and her duffel bag is missing."
"Damn it, where would they have gone?" Hanna yells as she paces in the dining room.
"I don't know where my brother is, but when he gets back I am going to kill him."
"Calm down Wyatt. Besides, they both will be dead before you can get to them. Liam can't you reach out to your sister through some telepathic thing that you two have?"
"I could if she wouldn't have left her necklace behind." I reply as I hold up Leigh's necklace.
"Where would they have gone? I mean there isn't anywhere they could go."
"Are you completely sure about that?" Jackson asks.
"Yes, Jackson, I am. The only place that they would go would be to the magjick realm, and they wouldn't go there without telling us."
"Guys they will come back, so we have to start thinking about how we are going to defeat Caassius. We don't have a lot of time so we need to get going." Cassie says as she gets up from the couch.
"Okay, Cassie, how should we approach defeating Cassius?"
"I think that we should gather some soldiers and then attack."
"That's going to alert him, he has spies in Elena's army" Aldric states as he comes down the stairs. "Also, I think I know where they went."
"Where do you think that they went?" Hanna asks in a tone that demands an answer.
"I think that they betrayed us."
"My brother is not a traitor and you will  not accuse him as such," Wyatt yells as he grabs Aldric by the collar of his shirt. Wyatt pins Aldric to the wall. Aldrics hands go into the air in surrender and Wyatt lets him down.
"Wyatt I know you are set on the fact that your brother isn't a traitor, but hear me out. Hanna, you and I both know that Leigh's uncle still has an immense amount of power over Leigh, we also both know that she is very good at convincing people to go along with her plans. I mean look at me I would not be here if she hadn't convinced me to join you guys. She could have convinced Matteo that her uncle is the winning side. I mean she is a royal and she maintains power if she remains on the winning side, and we aren't likely to win this fight. I also know that with her uncle she has an army of people who back her. She obviously went back to her uncle and Matteo went with her."
"Aldric, you must not know her as well as you think you do because I know that she would never do that to us and neither would Matteo." Hanna says as she turns to Wyatt. "Wyatt, your brother isn't a traitor and neither is Leigh, and they will not be considered as such unless they are proven to be traitors."
"Hanna I do know her, and I also know that when she writes a letter saying that she's leaving to go with her uncle it's not usually a joke." Aldric says as he dangles a letter in front of Hanna's face.
"Let me see that letter," Hanna replies as she snatches the letter from Aldric. She takes the letter out of the envelope and starts to read it. Her eyes get wide as she gets further down the letter.
"That bitch. After all that we have done for her she goes and does this. Not to mention that she takes the best fighter, besides her, that we have. I swear the next time that I see her she is going to regret ever leading us on like this." Hanna tosses the letter at me and storms out of the room.
I open the folded letter. In Leigh's almost cursive handwriting I read:
I never belonged with you all. I went back home. I went back to my army, and my uncle. Good luck beating us. Matteo knew what was good for him and came with me. I can't say the same about the rest of you. You all think that you can win, but you can't. You never could. You don't stand a chance without me. You don't have the knowledge to win, and you never will.
Her Highness,
Leigh Wilson
I stare at the letter in front of me in shock. My own sister betrayed me and her friends just to maintain her position of power. How awful of a human being do you have to be to betray your own sibling that you said that you spent years protecting.
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After the duel Matteo and I head back to our rooms. I head straight for my closet and I grab a fresh pair of clothes to change into after I take a shower. I go into the bathroom and I start my shower. I take my hair out of it's braids and I get in.
Thirty minutes later I am laying on my bed reading one of the books that is on the shelf in my room. I hear a knock on the door to Matteo and I's joined rooms.
"Come in," I say loud enough so that he can hear me. Matteo steps into my room and walks over to the chair that is at the desk next to my bed. He sits down in it and I move into a seated position.
"I didn't know that you knew Asher," Matteo says.
"Yeah he was one of my best friends before I left, and he still is one of my best friends. He and I met when he came here at the age of ten."
"I didn't realize that he worked for your uncle."
"Yeah, he and I trained together since we were ten."
"Yeah I met the idiot on a mission that I was sent on. He and I were both trying to kill two people in the same family. We teamed up and we have been friends ever since."
"Aww, your bromance started on a mission," I laugh.
"Hey, don't judge our bromance."
"I am not judging your bromance, personally I think it's cute. Although, I hope Rose doesn't start to feel threatened because she will hurt you."
"She scares me."
"Yeah me too," I reply with a laugh. "On another note how was Mallory as your second?" I ask, although I already know the answer.
"It was awful. She flirted with me the entire time and never gave me any helpful hints on how to beat you."
"You should know that you never get a coach that hasn't beaten your opponent as your second, especially in a duel."
"Asher hasn't beaten me, so why did you pick him then?"
"I picked him because he knows you, and I knew he would help me beat you."
"How did you know that?" Matteo questions as he shifts his weight in the chair.
"I knew that if I got you two going back and forth that he would want to help me win even more."
"Yeah he has always been better with physical fights than verbal ones." Matteo says through a laugh.
"Absolutely. He tried to beat Rose in an argument once and he walked away pouting like a child."
"Please tell me that there is video evidence of this."
"I may or may not have a video of the entire interaction."
"That is amazing, can I see it?"
"If I can find it, yeah. I will look for it later, but right now we need to figure out how we are going to get my uncle to trust both of us.
"Yeah, that's probably more important. What are you thinking?"
"I was thinking that we just do everything that he asks no matter what it is."
"Isn't that all we can do now that we are here?"
"Yeah. Dinner is in a little bit and the rule here is that you have to dress business casual for dinner as a trainee because my uncle will be there. There should be something in your closet for you to wear. If there isn't, ask Asher for something for dinner."
"Alright."
"Be ready in ten minutes," I tell him as I walk to my closet.
I hear the door between our rooms close and I grab a plain black dress with a gold belt at the waist. I grab a pair of black and white converse to go with it. I put them all on quickly and I go over to the door between Matteo and I's rooms. I knock on the door.
"I will be right there. I am having some wardrobe difficulties."
"What do you mean by wardrobe difficulties?"
"The shirt that was in here for me to wear doesn't fit and the one that I grabbed from Asher also doesn't fit."
"Well that's unfortunate." I say as I open the door between the two of our rooms.
"Matteo, where are you?" I ask as I look around his room for him.
"I'm in the closet," he yells. I walk over to his closet.
"You're in the closet, huh?" I ask jokingly.
"Physically, yes, in the other way, I haven't been there in a few years."
"That's relatable. Anyway, what is this shirt malfunction you are having?" Matteo grabs the shirt to his left and tries to put it on. "Matteo, what is wrong with the shirt?"
"This shirt is too small for my shoulders. It feels like if I move too much or relax it is going to split open at the seams."
"Matteo, what is wrong with the other shirt?"
"The shirt that I got from Asher doesn't fit my arms." He says as he switches out of the shirt that he was talking about before to put the next one on. He buttons this shirt and I can see why this shirt doesn't fit. The material around his arms is tight which gives him little room to move.
"Matteo, did you bring a different shirt from the house?"
"I did, but it isn't a good one like this."
"Does the blazer over there fit you?"
"Yeah...why?"
"Put it on so you have some semblance of clothing on, and we are going to go get into Aldric's old room."
"Okay," he replies as he takes the blazer from its hanger and puts it on. I open the front door of his room and I turn left. We pass a couple of doors and I finally get to Aldric's old room. I wiggle the door handle and the door opens. We both go into his closet and I grab a black shirt for Matteo out of it.
"Thank you," he says as he puts on the shirt. He moves around in it and he gives me a soft smile.
"Let's go. We are going to be late, but it's better to show up late than to not show up at all. We walk out of Aldric's old room and I carefully shut the door.
"Wanna race?" I ask while I look down the hall to make sure no one is there.
"It's on." He announces as he starts to run. I start running and we tie. I catch my breath, stand up straight, and head into the dining hall. As Matteo and I walk into the dining hall everyone looks up at us.
"It is nice of you two to join us this fine evening," my uncle announces. "I saved two seats for you both to my right," he says as he gestures to the two empty chairs beside him. I walk confidently to the seat that I knew would be mine and Matteo follows suit as he walks to his seat to my right.
"Now everyone I would like to make a toast to my dearest niece and Matteo for joining the winning side" my uncle declares as he grabs his wine glass and stands up. "It is nice to have you back my dear, and Matteo it is nice that you have joined us. We always need committed soldiers like you that are willing to fight dirty. I also always welcome amazing fighters into my ranks. The skills that the two of you possess are one in a million and I am proud to say that I am the one encouraging the use of them. Cheers to Leigh and Matteo!"
"Cheers," everyone around Matteo and I shouts as they raise their glasses. My uncle looks at the two of us and says "After dinner I would like to meet with the two of you in my office to discuss business."
"Yes, sir." Matteo and I respond robotically. I begin eating and I survey everyone around me. The noise around me grows to a roar as more and more people talk among themselves. Matteo shifts his weight in his chair and looks around the room. I can tell he's uncomfortable so I nudge him with my elbow to get his attention.
"You must have really caught my uncle's attention because no one has ever gotten the seat next to me after only the first training session."
"Really?" he asks me as he turns towards me.
"Yeah, it took me years to get this spot. We are sorted by rank for dinner and this tells me that you won't start out as a soldier."
"Wow, I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything, son, you earned that seat at the table." Cassius says as his conversation with Rose ends.
"Thank you, sir, I won't disappoint you."
"I know you won't. My niece has good judgment when it comes to people, so if she believes in you, I believe in you."
"Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me, sir."
"You're welcome son." Cassius says as he turns to the boy who tapped him on his shoulder. I watch my uncle interact with this boy. He is gentle with the boy. He doesn't get annoyed that he tapped him on the shoulder. He speaks to him gently and he makes sure that the boy knows that he is not going to get in trouble for asking his question.
The boy looks over at me with his big blue eyes and I smile at him. He walks back to his seat, and my uncle gets up from the table. He struts out of the room heading to what I can only assume is his office on the third floor.
"Matteo, we should probably follow my uncle. It sounded like he wanted us to go to his office as soon as we finished our dinner."
"Alright, let's go." He says as he gets up from his chair. I push my chair in and I follow him out of the room.
"Do you know where you are going?"
"Nope," Matteo responds, emphasizing the p.
"I know where we are going so move."
"I will only move if you ask nicely."
"No."
"Then I'm not moving."
"If you don't move I will have to hurt you," I say as I get closer to him.
"You had better change your attitude if you want me to move out of your way." Matteo says in a joking manner.
I grab him by the shoulders and I shove him out of my way.
"You didn't have to get violent. I would have moved if you had just said please."
"Matteo, this is serious. My uncle could be plotting to kill us both as we speak for being late."
"Got it. Did you know that you are kind of scary when you get mad?"
"I have been told that once or twice," I reply through a laugh. We get to the elevator and we head up to the third floor. I lead up down the hall and to the left. My uncle's office doors are a set of wood french doors with intricate designs decorating the outside of them. Some of the beautiful designs include emeralds and have touches of gold leaf sealed into them. I knock on the door and my uncle answers. He leads us down the hall in his office and into his meeting room.
"I suppose you are wondering why I called both of you into my office."
"Yes, sir, we are," Matteo answers.
"Well, you both are the best fighters in the training room besides those that are teaching the lessons, and I would like to make you an offer."
"What kind of an offer uncle?"
"I want the two of you to be mission partners. You both balance each other out. Matteo you are better with things like a bo staff and Leigh you are better at hand-to-hand and using knives. If you agree to my offer you will not be training in the classes that Rose teaches. I will have you training by yourselves to sharpen your fighting as a duo and to build teamwork between the two of you."
"Can we discuss this between the two of us for a day or so before we decide?" Matteo asks as he shifts his weight to his left foot.
"Absolutely, if you could give me an answer by the end of the week that would be wonderful. For now, I want the two of you to teach one of my advanced classes together, so I can get a feel for how well you work together. These classes will be every night at nine."
"Thank you," I say as we walk to the door.
"You're welcome, I hope you really think about my offer."
"We will, sir" Matteo responds as we both walk out of the room.
We head back down the hallway that we came in through and back out of the beautiful doors.
"We should probably get back to our rooms and change, so we can go teach that class."
"We probably should."Matteo says as we make our way to our rooms.