Few minutes passed, and Gor began to regain consciousness. He opened his eyes gradually and was greeted by an aching and smiling Ija.
"Oh, you're finally awake."
"How are you feeling?" Ija asked.
Gor stood up and checked himself, trying to see if he was injured. But, apart from the discomfort that came with using his curse, he was good.
"I'm fine," Gor replied.
"What happened?"
"Well, you put up a great fight, but you barely lasted thirty seconds."
"Thirty seconds," Gor thought in shock. He had never been able to use his curse for more than ten seconds, and now he had used it for close to half a minute. As far as Gor was concerned, that was a development.
"I wonder what changed," he wondered.
"You're a strong kid, but as expected, you still have a long way to go," Ija commented.
"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the spar too. Now I want my reward," Gor said.
"Getting straight to business, huh? I like that. I also dealt with some business while you were napping," Ija said, raising a purse filled with coin.
"Did you place bets on me losing?" Gor asked.
"What!? No! We placed bets on how long you'll last. I had you at less than thirty seconds," Ija said.
Gor looked around and saw that half of the spectators were smiling while the others were frowning.
"It must really suck for Vince, first demotion and now this. It's like he's cursed with bad luck," Ija stated.
Gor gritted his teeth at the bizarre revelation. How can these spectators bet on how long I'll last against a monster like her?
'Aren't royal guards meant to be dignified?'
He wanted to teach them a lesson, maybe even give in to his curse and let it run wild for a while. But he decided against it.
'These fools are not worth it,' he thought and looked away, utterly disappointed.
Ija led Gor to a small chest in a corner and showed him his reward for his participation.
"Here you go. Open it," Ija said.
Gor opened it and saw a black armor with strange writings all over it.
"I personally made it," Ija said.
"When did you have the time to make it?" Gor asked.
"Actually, I made it six months ago for your brother. The Queen ordered me to do it after she had lost a bet she made with him."
"What? When did Kor do that?" Gor thought.
"Although I don't know the details, the Queen just asked me to make an armor for a child and not just any one. She told me to apply my gift to create an even more powerful armor," Ija said.
"So you have a gift?" Gor asked.
"Well, yes. Although I might not seem like it, I'm a champion of the god of wisdom himself," Ija replied with pride.
"I have the ability to use runes, a language created by the god of wisdom, a language for the gods."
"Runes are very powerful; they can be used to enchant weapons with various properties. Given you use the right rune in the right manner and the right tools, you can get something spectacular," Ija stated.
"So that's what makes this armor special," Gor said.
"Well, yes, that and the fact that you can use it even when you're older. I added a special inscription that allows it to always size its owner."
"Really..." Gor stated in shock.
"Yes, all you need is to put in your imprint, and the armor will recognize you as its owner and master."
"Oh... And what if someone apart from me wears it?"
"They'll be met with a nasty surprise," Ija said.
"I guess I'll be using this for now, till I'm able to fully master my curse," Gor thought.
"How do I imprint it?" Gor asked.
"Just a drop of blood will do the trick," Ija said. She handed Gor a small blade, and the boy used it to cut his thumb, causing him to bleed slightly. He placed his bleeding thumb close to the armor, and his blood dropped on it. Few seconds later, the armor let out a light glow.
"That should be—" As Ija was yet speaking, a dark ominous, yet similar glow emitted from the armor, leaving almost as fast as it came.
"Was that supposed to happen?" Gor asked.
Ija shook her head in response. She glared at the armor for a while and spoke.
"It seems your curse also reacted to the armor," Ija said.
"Is that a bad thing?" Gor asked.
"I don't know? Just be careful. If you notice anything strange while wearing the armor, just come to me," Ija advised.
"I'll do just that," Gor replied.
"I'll be going now. Thanks for the gift," Gor said and left the area.
Few minutes later, he arrived back at the mansion, sneaking into his room.
Gor took another look at the chest, and he could not help but feel closer to Kord.
"I'll keep it for you, brother," Gor said and touched the chest one last time before going to sleep.
********
In the orphanage, Thia was lying on her bed unable to sleep.
When she got to the orphanage late in the evening, a lot of final preparations were going on as regards to the dinner the Princess was holding in two days.
She was beginning to doubt her mission and wondered how her actions would affect those around her. Although their stay here was even shorter than when they were in Miaan, still she felt more attached to the Capital than that place. There she met a lot of people, some she liked, others she wished she had not met. But here, she had met people who she felt more alive around them.
Ija, the princess, and her teacher, the queen, were all people she had met a short while ago, but still meeting them was one of the best things she had experienced since she lost everything.
Ija was like a guardian to her, Princess Lena was the sister she never had - since Talia was the sister she wished would drop dead - and the Queen was like a godmother watching over her.
"Can I really betray them?" Thia thought.
"What if after I lure Ija, they kill her, or even the princess? Can I let that happen? After all, they had done for me... but if I don't do it, they'll kill Hansi and the others. I don't want them to die either," Thia thought.
She kept on thinking on these things until an idea came to her mind.
"Maybe I'll do that instead," Thia thought before drifting to sleep...