Took away his father? What does he mean by that?, Allen thought.
Allen was confused about what was making Stephen so furious. Back when he first had a conversation with him, Stephen seemed like he had no issues with him. However, now out of nowhere, he was furious with him?
It must've had to do with William in some way, but what was it exactly? What did Allen do to "take away" Stephen's father?
"Stephen, what do you mean?," Allen asked, trying to figure out what's going on.
"I can't believe this," he angrily said, both disappointment and fury in his eyes. "It just had to be you!"
"What's going on?," Thomas asked, looking around the room for an answer.
"Stephen," Rose began to say, standing up out of her chair. "You don't need to-"
"Shut up!," he pointed at her. "I don't wanna hear anything from you!"
"I-," she tried to speak again, but decided to sit back into her chair and quiet down. She knew she wasn't going to be able to get through to him.
"There's not much we can do now," William mumbled, loud enough for Martha, Rose, Thomas and Cecily to hear.
"There has to be something, William. He's your son, isn't he?," Martha whispered.
William didn't respond. He just looked down at his desk for a moment, thinking.
"Stephen, can't we talk this out? I don't know what I did," Allen exclaimed, trying to get an answer out of him.
"You know my father, don't you?," Stephen asked.
Allen turned back to the rest of them for a moment. William was still looking down, Martha looked like she was thinking about something, and Thomas and Cecily looked like they weren't sure what to do. Only Rose acknowledged him, shaking her head back and forth. She was most likely trying to tell him not to answer, but Allen decided in that moment he would be truthful to his word to Stephen, no matter how mad Stephen got.
"Yes, I know William," Allen responded, looking back at him.
"Only few would call my father by name," Stephen explained, but still had his furious tone. "So, you must be the mage he trained, aren't you?"
"Correct, he trained me for five years. From when I was eight years old to the age of thirteen, he trained me almost everyday," Allen explained, trying to keep a calm tone.
"I knew it!," Stephen yelled. "You've been here all this time, right under my nose!"
All the rest of them in the room could only watch the scene unfolding, not much room to intervene. Despite being Stephen's father, William made no indication to try to speak up. Allen wasn't entirely sure why that might be, however he wouldn't without a good reason.
"For five years, he helped me to become a better mage, training me despite having very little mana within me," Allen explained. "Without him, I wouldn't be the mage I was today"
"But why did it have to be you, of all people?," Stephen asked. Despite him still being furious, he seemed to look a little sad, as if he had wished it was someone else.
"I still don't understand Stephen," Allen started to say, trying to reason with him. "Why are you so aggravated over the fact I was trained with William?"
"Because you- you-," Stephen started to say while pointing at Allen, but didn't finish his sentence. He started to look more sad than furious at this point.
The rest of them in the room still had yet to say anything, which left Allen to be the only one to try to reason with him. He kept trying to think why William wouldn't intervene, but couldn't come up with anything.
"If you hadn't… if he…," Stephen started to say, but his words got quieter the more he talked.
It finally occurred to Allen as to why he might've been angry with him. He recalled from the entrance ceremony where he seemed displeased to be considered the "Director's Son". Rose also seemed to try to avoid the topic back when Stephen walked in the infirmary when Allen was still healing back up. He must have something against William, his father, for William deciding to train Allen (or whoever it would be if not Allen).
If William had a son, but chose to go out and train some kid from the middle of nowhere, then no wonder Stephen would be angry. Allen had no idea that William had a son until after joining the academy. William made no mention of having his own son living back in London. But why did William never tell Allen about him? Why didn't William just bring Stephen with him?
But then it raises the question as to why William decided to train Allen more over his own son. Or, did he even train his own son to begin with? Allen always assumed William trained him because he was friends with his adoptive parents. He also must know about Allen's mom, so that might be a factor as to why. But still, why would he train Allen for five years but no mention of his own son? Thinking about it raised more questions within Allen, and most of them probably won't be answered by William even if he asked.
"Allen Fleming!," Stephen raised his voice out of nowhere, looking directly at Allen. It was loud enough to shift Allen back to reality. "I challenge you to a duel!"
"A duel?," Allen said, the only thing that could come out of his mouth at that very moment.
"Allen, don't do it!," Rose finally spoke up. "You already dueled Nathaniel not long ago. There's no need to-"
"Rose, let Allen decide," William spoke softly, while looking over at Rose.
"But-"
A duel? Stephen wanted a duel? Did this have to do with his feelings towards William, and now me?, Allen thought.
Stephen should be aware of the fact that Allen was an F rank, even if he's managed so far. He barely got close to beating Nathaniel, but how was he supposed to beat an A rank, who also happened to be the representing student of their grade at the entrance ceremony? Was there something he was hoping to prove?
"Well? Are you going to accept, or not?," Stephen said, staring down Allen and awaiting his response.
"Allen, I would highly advise not accepting," Rose spoke up again. "I don't think this is a good idea!"
"Let him decide for himself, Rose," Stephen remarked, looking at Rose for a moment.
"William, aren't you going to say anything?," Rose turned to William, hoping for him to do something. "Shouldn't we just-"
"Rose, you heard what I said earlier," William interrupted. He looked back over to Allen.
Allen looked over at William, hoping for him to say something back to him. William gives him an insightful look, as if he was wondering what Allen would do next.
"Go ahead, Allen," he spoke, still having the same look on his face.
"Very well," Allen started to speak, turning back to Stephen. "I accept your duel"
"Good, then I will see you next at our duel," Stephen spoke, with a bit of a cold tone. His anger seemed to have finally started to settle down.
"The duel will be held tomorrow," William finally spoke. "As Head Director of the Academy, I officially recognize this as a formal duel. I will appoint Vice Director Martha Clark to be the judge of the duel, and to oversee its entirety"
"William, you can't be serious!," Rose exclaimed, still upset with the whole scene unfolding.
"Are you sure about this William?," Martha asked him.
"As sure as I will ever be," William immediately responded.
"Alright then, I shall judge their duel fairly"
"Good, cause I wouldn't want the Head Director to get caught back on his work," Stephen remarked in a cold tone, already heading for the door.
"Stephen, you don't need to be such a jerk!," Rose said as she got up from her chair, trying to walk over to him.
"And you can mind your own business," he responded after Rose had gotten up.
"I-"
"Don't worry about it, Rose," Allen tried to reassure her. "We will settle this on our own"
"But-"
"Rose, I would advise not trying to intervene further. This has already been recognized as an official duel," William spoke, trying to quiet down Rose.
"Fine," she said, finally giving up and going back to her chair.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Fleming," Stephen said without looking back at him, heading for the door.
"See you for our duel tomorrow," Allen responded, as Stephen closed the door and walked away.
For a moment, the room was silent. No one knew what to say afterwards. With the sudden outburst of Stephen when he originally walked in, no one truly knew what to say. It seemed like only William knew the full story, but Allen, Rose, and Martha knew asking about it would be pointless.
"He didn't have to be such a jerk!," Rose exclaimed, the first to speak up. She had her arms crossed with an annoyed look on her face.
"What's already happened, has happened," William sighed.
"What exactly happened?," Thomas asked, finally speaking up after a while.
"Hmph, Stephen being a complete moron," Rose crossed her arms again in annoyance. "I swear, one of these days…"
"Is that something that happens often?," Thomas asked, wondering if Stephen acting like this was normal.
"He's just a moron over all," Rose responded, the only thing she would answer to Thomas' question.
"But why did he act that way?," Cecily asked. "He doesn't seem the type to get fired up for a simple reason"
"William, I think we need an explanation," Allen asked, who was in the middle of the reason Stephen was furious earlier.
"I'd rather do paperwork than deal with this," William sighed.
"I agree, I think you should tell them William," Rose added.
"I think you owe the kids a bit of an explanation based on what just happened," Ms. Clark also added.
"Alright, alright. I'll do my best to explain," William sighed, sitting up in his chair.
After everyone went back to their seats, and Allen finally took his seat (Ms. Clark decided to stay standing), William finally explained his side of the story.
"Fifteen years ago, my fiance and I had a child. We decided to name him Stephen," William began to explain. "However, shortly after his birth, my fiance passed away. She had died during childbirth. Stephen would grow up to be without a mother figure"
"William, I had no idea. I'm sorry," Allen spoke up, bewildered at what William had just told them.
"Let him finish," Rose whispered, shushing him.
"It's fine Rose," William assured her. "I never told Allen for the many years I've known him"
Even with just the information William has provided so far, Allen would've never guessed it. He only found out William actually had a son at the entrance ceremony, when Stephen introduced himself. Allen never knew either that William has, or had, a fiancee. Then again, William was considered attractive by many women's standards (as he's indirectly found out over the course of knowing him), so it wouldn't be that hard for him to find someone. However despite being considered attractive, William has always seemed like the type where he wouldn't just settle for anyone.
"Stephen has disliked me ever since he was a child, blaming me for the death of his departed mother, who he could never meet. I have yet to know why he would point the blame at me for something so out of my control, but it has always kept us divided for a long time," William continued to explain.
Stephen blamed William for the death of his mother?, Allen thought.
For whatever reasons he had, Allen was sure it most likely brought William more pain after already losing his fiancee.
"Despite the divide, I did my best to take care of him, with help from others. This was part of the reason I never joined the Triumvirate, but was never the main reason," he continued.
If Allen recalled correctly, the Triumvirate was the current governing figure of matters related to elemental magic, with Solomon Windblade (William's older brother) as its current leader. As far as Allen knows, William has never involved himself with the Triumvirate, or even the Council of Magic before the Triumvirate took its place. If Stephen was part of the reason he never got involved, what was the main reason?
"Eight years after the birth of Stephen, I received a letter from some of my friends. They described in the letter that their son was starting to… develop his magical talents. They asked me if I could help with this matter, as I was the only one they could turn to. They lived in Lyfast, a small farming village a bit west of London. Their child they spoke of happened to be their adoptive son, Allen," William explained, but as he continued he seemed to be intentionally cutting out parts, some Allen noticed and some he didn't.
"I agreed to help them, as I owed them. I headed over when I could, and that's when I met Allen Fleming," William explained, looking directly at Allen.
Everyone turned to look over at Allen for a moment. Allen wasn't sure how to react, so he just limped a bit into his chair.
"After meeting with the boy, and learning what he was capable of, I deemed it necessary to train him. I still owed his adoptive parents a bit, and I also made a promise to someone long ago…," he added, but his eyes seemed to have a sad look on his face for a moment before going back to normal.
"For five years, I trained Allen how to use his mana effectively. I also trained him how to use a sword, which is why he is well equipped in how to use the one he currently carries around with him. After he turned thirteen, I deemed his training complete," William continued. "After about a year after the end of his training, I became the Head Director of this academy"
"Wait, then how does Stephen fit into all of that?," Allen asked. "I'm sure you wouldn't have explained my training if Stephen wasn't involved somehow"
"I was just about getting to that," William said, smiling.
"Idiot, let him continue to speak," Rose half mumbled.
"Anyways, as I was saying," William got back on track. "Stephen began to resent me further during those five years I trained Allen. While I was busy training with Allen each week, we would see each other less and less. I of course paid to have him trained by very skilled mages, as I was preoccupied with Allen's training. However, it seems he began to grow frustrated with me, most likely due to the fact he wanted me to train him instead. I had originally deemed it would be better if I hadn't trained him personally, due to his bitter feelings against me, however it seems I have made a mistake in the long run. Not as a teacher, but as a father…"
The last parts of what he said hit Allen hard. William knew almost everything about Allen, and yet Allen didn't know that much about William. Just what sort of life William had been living during the course of Allen's life was unknown to him, and the life he had before Allen was born was even more vague.
It seemed what William had explained hit everyone in the room hard. Even Martha and Rose, the only other two people in the room who would know William, both looked genuinely surprised and shocked at what Willam had revealed.
"Aside from that, I've tried my best to reconcile with Stephen, with no avail. It seems his resentment has been placed on Allen as well, when he should only be frustrated with me. I apologize Allen, but it seems my failures have been placed on you to partly work out," William said, looking down at his desk.
"It's fine William, really," Allen tried to reassure him. "Stephen asked for a duel with me, and I could've declined. I chose to duel him of my own choice. Perhaps this duel is what I need to get through to him, so we can work things out. Maybe he will no longer resent me, and he can work to try to start talking to you again"
"Thank you Allen, I appreciate it," William exclaimed, his eyes looking almost like they would tear for a second.
"No need. You have already done plenty for me," Allen said, smiling.
The room remained silent for a few more moments, everyone taking in what they overheard. It seemed like Thomas and Cecily were confused the most, although that made sense. They barely knew the head director, and this is one of their first impressions of him, outside of what they've seen of him so far.
"Well, that sums up just about everything," William said, being the one to break the silence. "Now I do believe it's getting late, so all of you should be heading back to your dorm rooms"
For a second, no one responded. Everyone was still in a bit of a surprise to what William had said earlier.
"Alright, we should head out then," Thomas said, as he got out of his chair. "I'm getting tired anyways. We have class tomorrow"
"Thomas, you don't have to act so insensitive," Cecily angrily whispered.
"I'm not. I think, it's just best we leave. I think they need time to themselves," Thomas responded, notioning over to William and the rest.
"Alright," Cecily sighed.
"I will see you two tomorrow," Allen waved them out.
"See you tomorrow!," Thomas smiled and waved as they left.
"I believe I should head out as well," Ms. Clark spoke up. Before, she seemed like she was in some sort of trance, thinking.
"Well then, I will talk to you later," William smiled as she began to leave the room and say goodbye back to him.
"Well, that was quite the meeting," Allen finally spoke up after it was just William, Rose and him left in the room.
"Yes, it seems I had revealed a little bit more than I intended," William added, thinking to himself for a moment.
"I'm glad you were willing to explain that to us," Allen smiled.
"I agree with Allen. You don't talk much about yourself, despite your attitude at times," Rose added.
"Attitude? What could you mean?," William exclaimed, laughing.
"Oh, you know exactly what I am talking about," Rose scoffed.
"Aside from that, you got yourself quite a day tomorrow Allen," William changed the topic. "You have yourself a duel with Stephen"
"True, and I don't plan to lose that easily," Allen grinned.
"Be warned though, Stephen is no easy opponent. He is an A rank for a reason," William explained.
"Even so, I still don't plan to lose," Allen restated what he said before.
"Ugh, first your duel with Nathaniel, and now a duel with Stephen. Just how many times are you going to accept duels from students ranked way higher than you?," Rose scoffed.
"Well, both were situational," Allen responded, shrugging.
"Still though if you keep this up, you're going to end up dueling the entire academy," Rose sighed.
"Well, technically I will be in the tournament later this year," Allen smirked.
"Ugh, you know what I mean," Rose crossed her arms and looked away.
"Do be careful with this duel, Allen. Do not underestimate Stephen. He will fight fair and square, unlike how Nathaniel did, but you'll find him a tougher opponent than Nathaniel. He may be a first year compared to Nathaniel being a second year, but he still packs quite the punch with his magic," William elaborated.
"William isn't overexaggerating either," Rose added. "Despite me being a third year, Stephen could give me quite the duel"
"Even so, I don't plan on backing down, just like any other duel I face," Allen explained, determined. "Honestly, winning is not the main objective. It's getting through to that head of his. But, that doesn't mean I won't try my best to win regardless"
"I see," William smiled. "Well, I wish you best of luck with your duel. But I believe it's time for the both of you to head out as well"
"Yeah, it is getting late. It's time we should leave," Allen agreed.
" Let's head back to our dorm rooms Allen," Rose said as she got out of her chair.
"Sure, I'll follow you out," Allen responded after getting out of his chair as well.
"I'll see you both later," William waved them out.
"Bye William," both of them responded as Allen closed the door behind them.
"Well, let's walk together until our paths differ," Rose suggested as they started to walk away from William's office.
"Sure," Allen responded.
They began to walk towards their dorm rooms, talking on the way there. They talked about recent events, and also about how their classes were going. After a few minutes, they reached a hallway where they each had to go their separate ways.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at your duel, Allen," Rose waved as she began to walk away.
"Wait Rose, I have a question," Allen tried to stop her.
"Sure, what is it?," Rose asked, turning back around.
"Were you the one who-," Allen started to say, but wasn't sure how to ask it.
"The one who?," Rose echoed back, wondering what he was trying to ask.
"Were you the one who trained with me those years ago?," Allen asked, a bit nervous. "The girl I used to train with at times, under William?"
For a moment, Rose was quiet. Her face became flushed for a moment, and she looked like she wanted to say something. After a moment, her face went back to normal, a grin on her face.
"That's a secret," she declared, pointing a finger at him.
"Why won't you just answer me?," Allen pleaded.
"Well…," Rose thought for a minute. "Tell you what. If you can win the duel with Stephen tomorrow, I'll answer your question"
"You're putting a lot of pressure on me, aren't you?," Allen sighed.
"Maybe that so-called pressure will help you win then, hm?," she smirked.
"Guess I'll have to win then," Allen declared, determination in his eyes.
"I-" Rose began to say, but then her face got flushed again. "W- whatever idiot. I'll see you tomorrow!". She began to stomp on her way back to her dorm room.
So much for being quiet in the hallways at night, Allen thought. Guess the Student Council President is the loudest of all the students.
Allen finally headed back to his dorm room, preparing to get a night's sleep for tomorrow. He had his duel tomorrow, but he still had to get through class first. As he fell asleep, he wondered how it would be best to face Stephen in his duel tomorrow.