With the unwanted interaction with Nathaniel cut short, Allen was suddenly caught in between two brothers facing each other. Just what was going on? And what was going to happen?
Charles Rivertide, who proclaimed himself as Allen's rival, stood tall as he faced his brother from across the hall, wearing an annoyed yet serious look on his face.
Allen had never seen Charles like this before. He has had problems with Charles in the past, most notably during the entrance exams. Charles was very stuck up, believing himself to be above Allen in any way shape or form.
But as time has progressed, perhaps Charles has changed his ways. Allen could think and talk to Charles about this later, but now was definitely not the time.
"Just what are you doing here, younger brother?," Nathaniel asked, clicking his tongue.
"I thought that would be obvious, older brother," Charles spoke back to him, crossing his arms.
Allen looked back and forth between the two of them, not quite sure what to do. He was definitely glad that Charles had interrupted, giving him an excuse not to talk to Nathaniel.
"You're interrupting my… talk… with Allen Fleming here," Nathaniel spoke with disdain. "I assume you have better things to do?"
"Of course I could be training right now, but why should I?," Charles asked, as if the answer should be obvious. "I will not stand for how you are treating my rival!"
And there it is, Allen sighed, as Charles proclaimed himself as his rival. But Charles is… defending me?
"Rival? Really, you?," Nathaniel scoffed. "You proclaim yourself a rival to the Weakest Mage, even when you're not participating in the tournament? Don't make me laugh!"
Murmurs swept through the crowd of students surrounding them. With their interaction grabbing so many student's attention, Allen was surprised that they haven't been cleared out of the hallway by now.
So much for Ellen and her magical knights enforcing her stupid rules, Allen thought, as he rolled his eyes. But, he had more pressing matters to worry about rather than that.
"I will have you know that Allen Fleming, my rival, is the strongest mage I have ever faced against!," Charles yelled. "He's stronger than you, brother! I may not be participating in the tournament for personal reasons, but Allen is worthy of being my rival!"
As Nathaniel clicked his tongue, the crowds of students became louder with their murmurs, no doubt intrigued yet confused about what a member of the Rivertide family had to say about Allen.
While still a bit arrogant, Charles really thinks of me that way?, Allen thinks to himself, completely caught off guard. I-
"The weakest mage, being the strongest? Don't make me laugh," Nathaniel spoke with a hand to his face, holding his laughter in. "I would've hoped you had better jokes to tell, younger brother"
"But it's not a joke!," Charles raised his voice, clearly getting upset. "I will not stand for any further mistreatment of my rival!"
"Mistreatment?," Nathaniel asked, with a small grin forming. "What mistreatment? All I am doing is simply acknowledging the weakest mage of his weakest spot. He will forever remain there, and I am happy to remind him of his place!"
As Allen tried to hold back his frustration and anger, Charles spoke, which helped keep Allen distracted.
"You have always done this brother. You think you're all that, and humiliate any student you can! You're a disgrace as a mage!," Charles yelled, his eyes focused solely on Nathaniel.
"Humiliate? A disgrace?," Nathaniel laughed, but bit his tongue, holding in his anger. "I do no such thing, and am no such thing. Ellen Marion is right, you know. The strongest should remain at the top, and the weakest should remain at the bottom. I am simply here to help-"
"You've always done this! This is exactly why I lost respect for you, years ago!," Charles yelled, taking a step forward. "You're nothing like how a mage should be!"
As the crowd of students only grew larger with the commotion, Allen couldn't help but form a larger respect for Charles. While Allen did his best to hold in his anger, he felt further relieved when Charles kept standing up to Nathaniel, something Allen couldn't do right now.
"That's hilarious, considering you've always been a cocky one yourself?," Nathaniel laughed. "You're almost no different than me, younger brother"
Charles clenched his teeth, almost as if he knew that Nathaniel was right. He clenched his fist, as he held in his anger.
This is only going to get worse, Allen thought to himself. I- I need to do something quick. I need to set aside my anger and de-escalate this situation before we all get in trouble.
But before Allen could do anything, Charles did something completely unexpected. He unclenched his fists as he took a deep breath, with his eyes closed. Nathaniel seemed to stare at him, almost in confusion. Perhaps Nathaniel was expecting a different reaction, and wasn't about to get what he wanted.
Once Charles opened his eyes, he spoke in a direct, yet calm tone. "Some of what you say may be right. I haven't always been the best mage, and I have slowly come to terms with that, thanks to a mage here"
Charles turned his gaze over to Allen, with a small smile on his face. As Allen didn't know if he should say anything, Charles immediately turned his attention back to his older brother.
"However, I at least have worked hard to get to where I am now. I learn from my mistakes, and try to stay true to myself!"
"And?," Nathaniel asked, as if nothing Charles said was important at all. "What's your point? You speak of all these unnecessary matters. You'll never get anywhere if you are so worried about the matters of others"
A smirk formed on Charles' mouth, before he responded. "Nathaniel, the fact that you cannot restrain yourself and keep to your selfish ways is the reason that despite being your younger brother, mother chose me to be the next head of the Rivertide family"
A wave of surprise formed on Nathaniel's face, as he took in Charles' words. The frustration and irritation was very prevalent, and seemed to strike a nerve.
But without warning, Nathaniel yelled, almost lashing out. "I am the first born, younger brother! I should be the next head of this family! Our mother would be wise not to choose you, but to choose myself! I-"
Nathaniel cut himself short, as if he had nothing else more to say. The irritation and frustration remained, but it was though he was at a loss of words.
Allen did not fully understand the argument between Charles and Nathaniel, as it seemed to run deeper than what has transpired today. Allen knew he didn't know much about the Rivertide family, or rather any of the prominent families in general.
The only information he knew was primarily what either his former mentor and head director, William Windblade, had told him, or his friends had told him. Luckily, most of his friends happened to be a part of the prominent families, strangely enough.
From what he could remember from primarily his conversations with Cecily, both Nathaniel and Charles are the only children of Susanna Rivertide, the current head of the Rivertide family. The Rivertide family is the most prominent water family in the mage community. The other two prominent families are Windblade, the most prominent for air, and Terrastone, the most prominent for earth.
Alice and Cecily are both sisters, and cousins to Nathaniel and Charles. Their mother is Judith Rivertide, the current water leader of the Triumvirate, which is the current governing figure of elemental magic that Allen has come to despise more as time progressed. She is the current owner of the dagger of water, one of the three great elemental weapons that Allen has heard about.
Other than that, Allen didn't know anything else about the main prominent families. It would seem that Nathaniel and Charles' relationship was on thin ice, as shown with their argument.
"Anything else, brother?", Charles asked, crossing his arms again. "Or would you like to gloat further? Perhaps I should ask mother-"
"Enough!," Nathaniel yelled, gaining the attention and surprise from all the students around them. "I shall take my leave… for now"
Charles sighed as Nathaniel took a few steps away from Allen. Allen felt as though he could finally breathe again, with Nathaniel out of his space. Confused looks came from all of the students surrounding them, as they looked between the three of them.
"But know this, Weakest Mage," Nathaniel broke the silence, turning around to face Allen. "I promise, that once we meet again in the tournament, I will claim victory, and I shall be the reason that you are expelled from this academy. You do not belong here"
Charles was about to speak up before Allen immediately stopped him, with his hand in the air. Allen closed his eyes for a moment, took a second to think, before finally responding to Nathaniel.
"Very well, 'Infamous B Ranker'. We can finally settle all of this where it counts the most. I will see you in the tournament's third round, and will see to it that you are defeated"
"We shall see about that," Nathaniel smirked. He turned to face Charles for a moment, almost as if he wanted to say something. He clicked his tongue once more, before finally turning around, and leaving the way he came from.
As the altercation finally started to settle down, the groups of students that had formed to watch had started to disperse. Allen had taken a moment to himself to breathe, as the whole situation had got his emotions riled up, and he needed to stay calm.
I can't let Nathaniel get to me, Allen reminded himself, slowly recalling the events of his past duel against Nathaniel. I can't let-
"Hey, are you alright?," Charles asked, putting Allen back to reality.
Allen was surprised to see Charles standing next to him, as he didn't hear him approach.
"Yeah, I think I am," Allen answered, scratching the back of his head. "I appreciate the help, and the gesture"
"Of course! Always happy to assist my rival!," he grinned, putting a thumb up.
Well he's still calling me his rival, but it's better than before at least, Allen thought, as he had a smile on his face.
"Anyways," Charles started to speak, changing the subject. "This 'resistance' I've heard about. Do you think I could join you?"
"Huh?," Allen asked, caught off guard. The 'small resistance' they had was the last thing on his mind, as he was more worried about the encounter with Nathaniel.
"Well, if you're going to go against my older brother, I figured I could offer you some assistance! I would want nothing more than my rival to defeat my annoying brother!," Charles explained, with an excited look in his eyes.
"Wait, you want to join us?," Allen asked, confused but not appalled by the idea.
Charles nodded, an excited grin forming on his face. "We may be rivals, and I will defeat you one day, but we can't do that if my brother defeats you, right?"
Well, he does have a point, Allen thought, as he agreed with him. If I lose, I won't be a student here anymore.
"I'll have to talk to Mr. Garet about it, but I don't see why not…"
"Yes!," Charles cheered, as he almost danced in place.
With the tournament continuing with Nathaniel returning as Allen's next opponent, he's left with mixed emotions. But in the process of all of this, at least one good thing may have come from this - a former rival becoming a potential ally, to help him with the problems ahead.