Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 10

The days passed in obscurity. Caspian spent most of that time with Elincia. Since he was essentially her chaperone, the old man had given him special permission to take her into town on school days. After classes, they head into Axium and spend most of their time wandering.

None of his peers appreciated the special treatment that he was given. On any other occasion, Caspian would have told them all to shove their complaints up there ass, but this time, he understood where they were coming from. He was getting special treatment, so it wasn't like their complaints were without merit.

Classes ended that day as they always did, with the students rushing out of the room while the instructor tried to hand out last minute instructions. "And don't forget that your papers on mechanical engineering are due tomorrow. If you don't turn them in, you will get a failing grade."

"You're already done with your paper, aren't you, Caspian?" Elincia asked as they walked down the hall, toward the school entrance. They were going into town again.

"Yes. I finished it last night before going to bed," Caspian said.

"And you woke up early this morning to exercise." Elincia's admiring glance made Caspian only feel a little self conscious. "You've really changed a lot from the boy who would sleep in every morning."

"And you've changed from the girl who used to come into my room every morning and jump on me to wake me up, Ms. Five More Minutes."

Caspian thought Elincia's swelled cheeks was one of the cutest things known to man. He grinned at her, swinging their joined hands back and forth. After a while, Elincia's pout shifted into a smile.

"And you two say you're not dating."

Frowning, Caspian turned to Christo, whose sly smile made him want to smack the other boy upside the head.

He supposed there was some truth to Christo's words. He and Elincia were close; they were always together, they held hands when they walked, and they were physically closer than two friends should have been. Caspian believed it was mostly because of their shared childhood. He and Elincia had done much the same when they were younger, and even though it had been years since they'd last seen each other, both of them were comfortable in each other's presence. That's all there was to it.

Or is there?

Caspian would admit that Elincia was beautiful. Her long blond hair, colored like honey, shimmered as she walked. Her face had matured, yet it still retained the youthful elegance that her race was known for. Also, and he felt somewhat embarrassed for even thinking this, but her body had grown from that of a skinny child to a budding young woman.

Yes, Caspian could say that Elincia was beautiful—gorgeous even—but was it right of him to think about her like that? This wasn't Erica, who loved it when the lustful eyes of men strayed to her. This was Elincia. She probably wouldn't appreciate him lusting after her.

He glanced at her again. Elincia was giggling at something that Christo had said, probably a dumb joke he made. She must have sensed him staring, however, because she turned her head seconds later.

And then she smiled. He smiled back.

Well, whatever happens happens, I guess.

Caspian wouldn't push himself onto her, but if something happened between them, then he wouldn't say no either. Besides, he was going to be her Knight. Once they underwent the knighting ceremony and became bonded through the ritual, their souls would be laid bare to each other anyway—or so he had been told.

Bound to Ele...

It was a pleasant thought. Caspian didn't have much in his life. He'd never known his father, and he could barely remember his mother. After he'd been rescued by Sylvia, Caspian had been introduced to Elincia, who'd been staying with Sylvia for reasons that were never disclosed to him.