Samuel breaks away from a passionate kiss in the back of a pickup truck. "Gare Bear, do you ever feel like something just isn't right about you? I feel like I can't put my finger on it."
"Honey," Gary, affectionately known as Gare Bear, starts sassily, "There ain't nothin wrong with me. Maybe there is something wrong with your ass but I am fabulous the way I am!"
"Gare that is not what I meant, I meant.. I guess.. I feel like.. Something is wrong with.. me…" a soft sob.
"Aw, Sam you will ruin your makeup if you cry hon. Speakin of that, you look fabulous. You could be a model. F'real you are H. O. T. hot fire." Pleadingly Gary snuggles up.
"Gare would you still like me if I liked wearing dresses?"
"Bitch I have one in my back seat, you think Imma fault you for drag?"
"No Gary I mean… if I told you I wasn't sure I was supposed to be Samuel…"
"What are you saying? Sammy I love YOU… not your name."
"But what if I wasn't Samuel but Samantha?"
"Oh shit." an unintentional recoil says more that he can imagine.
Matthew and Samantha were assigned to the same sector to sleep in… well all of the grayshirts lived in the grayshirt dorm. Lucky for Matthew, Edmund… Baron Kincaid got trapped by the principal and other nobles in order to discuss his taking all of the Freshmen grayshirts. So at least until there was a visiting day he should be safe. Oh no it is over I am doomed. I am not supposed to get harmed in this game but I am going to walk away with trauma… I am .. Suddenly everything calmed with a whisper and a touch. "Hey you doing alright?"
Matthew couldn't explain that her father was known as the butcher of the east for killing as many of his own men as his enemies. He would rather die every hour in horrible ways for 10 years than let this little cabbage patch kid get hurt.. But by letting her join the grayshirts he already let her… OH NO. as Matthew started to spiral again Samantha chanted another calming spell as she set her hand on his shoulder… This stupid little boy is going die of anxiety before Papa even gets a chance to talk to him. Papa is such a meanie, he already knew she was planning on joining him when she graduated and yet he frightened this dumb kid out of his cute little head. Luckily for him she had been helping deal with Bo's night terrors for years… Hopefully he is going to be ok with Will casting the spell instead, especially since Will's spellcasting has always been… shaky to put it mildly… he took 30 seconds to cast a low magic spell. Samantha could cast such magics with but a word.
Samantha may have been under the false perception that such a thing was average since Papa and Bo could both cast up to second level magics in the same way. What she didn't know was that both of the aforementioned experts couldn't do so till after they had seen war for decades. Magic in this world was divided into circles one through nine and in these circles there are the divisions of low, average, high. To be able to cast a spell with one word the user had to understand the very essence of what they were trying to do. For example, to cast a firebolt one must understand the heat of the fire. Not just the color of the flame or about how warm it was a foot away. No you had to understand the heat of the fire expected, thus if you wished to cast a spell which could melt steel, you had to feel that heat yourself. And for most people one time is not enough.
"My daughter decided to take up the mantle of a grayshirt since she already decided to join my army when she was old enough. So stop worrying about what she is wearing and where she lives. No matter how much I love her I would be doing a horrible disservice if she was unable to survive because I coddled her too much. Think of her as any other grayshirt… but don't you dare let her die! And if she is hurt you better have a damn good explanation!"
The whole school board nods immediately almost as if in unison. "Would you like us to spread her identity amongst the kids so they don't bully her?" asks the principal sincerely.
"Someone wasn't paying attention, DO NOT CODDLE HER. She is a strong young lady and when she joins me on the front I want her to understand what being a soldier means! Oh and if you would give this note to her Matthew friend."
"Yes sir… sir, may I ask a question?" one of the new board members queried.
"That was one but I am in a giving mood so I'll give you two instead when you asked for but one" Edmund chided mirthfully.
"Oh ha very good sir, … why don't you go by Duke Kincaid?"
Suddenly the whole room is frosty, and whatever slightly happy demeanor that had come over the Baron disappeared instantaneously.
"My Wife was the duchess, I lost that title when I lost her. My patience is thin but I am glad today went well for my daughter who gained a friend. So I will let this slide. Now, goodbye."
After the baron left the room many blue faces finally let out breath. A certain new board member almost became an ex board member in an instant for even a seemingly small mistake. That was life here in the phoenix kingdom, if you weren't strong enough to ask questions then each one may be your last. The strength of the mighty is the biggest rule. Even nobles have been toppled by commoners coming back from war stronger and with a vendetta. Most chair members did not like that they were made to pit the commoners against the nobles but orders were orders. And in this kingdom we just follow orders.