^^ Sir Hadrian ^^

— Alice —

The day of the Tournament, I was brewing yet another batch of the healing elixir I'd designed, the same kind I now regularly sold to the Merchant's Guild that worked with each of the Kingdoms and such around us. Their role was less one of rule or lawmaking and more of Economic Balancing and International Banking; after all, a real economist understood that War was a temporary spike in revenue followed by a crashed market, ultimately losing the country money, and from base greed came the wisdom 'Wars Cost Money, and therefore are to be Avoided.'

My contract with them was the same as my contract with the Councils of the Forest; goods in exchange for money, and transportation in exchange for money, a separation-and/or-breach-of-contract clause, all with an added Caveat, which was that I would grow very rare materials for them in hyper-secure undisclosed locations, if they paid me half in gold and half in other materials, -even trash materials like the invasive weed 'red grass', in great quantities would work,- to essentially grow their crops for them.

This was a way, of course, for the weaker adventurers to get work, because the mightier ones would never stoop so low as to go on a Fetch for some grass. They didn't know my use for these materials, of course, I would never reveal their real worth, or they'd start trying to price-gouge me for them. They seemed to think (and I had not dissuaded this,) that I was using them for Mulch or Fertilizer.

I was in the middle/end stages of planning tunnels from every major city to the 'center' of the forest, (my Guild Hall,) as well as just finished Validating my Guild's legitimacy, in their eyes, after showing my tax records to prove how much money the small deals I had within the forest were making me.

The Merchant's Guild was thus deliberating allowing me into their Upper Echelon, as a legitimate Merchant Queen, considering that's what their Guild was; a conglomerate of many, many other Merchant or Mercenary Guilds that worked together to make sure the economy of every country was supported in some way, to have less issues such as poverty and war, considering Money was why all Wars started.

They didn't actually have any say over such matters, but they advised their members of things that needed to happen to keep the peace, and those things happened. Countries couldn't go to war without the support of their Merchants, after all.

I poured the brew into a cup, setting it in front of my guest, who was sitting between Adrian and Victor with the stiff spine of someone used to dealing with powerful people. I liked him very much. "So, Sir Hadrian, was it?" I asked politely, sitting down across from him and sipping my own cup.

He hummed, gazing down at the cup of Elixir. "Yes, Lady Taurus, my Familial Name is Hadrian. Your purpose in serving me Elixir in a Tea-Cup?" He asked calmly, looking up and meeting my gaze without flinching.

"It is King Victor's preferred Drink." I nodded to the Sorcerer in question.

He glanced at Victor, and nodded. "I see. Then, I am obliged." He picked up the cup with every measure of decorum, carefully and silently sipping some of the mixture, then swallowed, setting the cup down and returning his hands to his lap. "It is an exquisite brew, Lady Taurus; my compliments." He smiled genially, and my heart fluttered a bit.

Cala sipped her tea loudly, and hummed while my eye twitched. "So, you're a Lord or a Knight, Hadrian?"

He noticed my twitching eye at the rudeness, and stayed silent while I reached over, under the table, and gripped her leg sharply. "I am a Lord, by birth, and a Knight by Practice, Lady Gravstein. I attended St. Julian's House of Lords, in Julianus, -the Kingdom directly to the east of this one,- and was granted a Knighthood when I graduated at the top of my class... I specialized in Etiquette and Fencing." He spoke calmly, ignoring her shriek at my sharp nails in her thigh.

"A worthy pursuit, yes." I smiled forcefully, removing my nails from her thighs and failing to resist the urge to lick one of my nails, which had apparently drawn a drop of blood. "Your weapon of choice? Foil or Broadsword?"

"Cavalry Blade, actually. My family breeds and raises Warhorses, you see, and I couldn't quite shake the connection." He smiled genuinely for a moment, and let it fade into the polite half-smile that he wore for appearances.

"I, too, raised horses in my first life... not Warhorses, of course, but rather Racing Horses and Derby Horses. I suppose it's one of the reasons I was so enamored with riding a Dragon, beyond their inherent beauty." I smiled and pet the dragon in question's horns, as her 35ft tall body was curled into a disk behind us, dominating the rest of the room in its entirety.

He blinked slowly, the first outward sign of shock. "You... remember your first life? Most only have flashes of previous lives, I've been told?"

"I have perfect recall of all three of my lives, unfortunately. Part of the Deal I made with Death, you see, was that I not forget anything that'd been a part in making me, me. They were quite literal, it seems." I nodded primly, and drank the rest of my tea. "Regardless, today is the Tournament, so I'm sorry to say our time relaxing here is fairly limited. Your purpose was to deliver a message from the Merchant's Guild? I am terribly sorry for the rush, I'm aware it's rude, but Cala and I must be on our way to the tournament in the next half-hour, and Victor and Adrian are officiators of said Exam."

He nodded seriously. "Of course, I understand your purpose and forgive your impatience; the Final Exams of any School are the most important days in the year, without a doubt. My reasons are those of a messenger, nothing more; I came to deliver this from the Merchant's Guild." He presented a small letter with an elegant flourish and a bow.

I smiled and accepted it, taking my seat again. "You will need to be careful, Sir Hadrian... I am quite enamored with those who show Manners, and you would do well to beware my attentions..." I met his eyes as he looked up, confused, and he paused at the icy blue of my gaze.

He sat down slowly, a blush building on his face, and cleared his throat softly. "Well, Lady Taurus, I would be remiss if I did not inform you of my Marital Status, which disallows me any such flirtations, even from so favorable and fascinating a source."

I sighed. "I feared it would be so... Ah well." I opened the letter, and raised an eyebrow slowly at the contents.

Cala saw the tensing of my shoulders, and gently stroked my back. "What's it say?"

"The Merchant's Guild... believes that I am unworthy to be called a Queen." I sneered at the contents, and crushed the letter in my Fist, turning it to ash with a flash and sudden explosion contained within my hand.

Even Adrian flinched at the sudden concussive sound and flash from within my hand, and Sir Hadrian cleared his throat, recovering quickly. "Ah... I am sorry that such an answer came from my hands, though it was not my tongue or pen that wrote it."

I straightened my back slowly, and gazed at him icily, my posture absolutely perfect in every way, and then nodded calmly. "All is Well, Sir Hadrian. Not even I would Dare to Kill a Messenger. Good day to you, and Deliver my Deepest regrets to the Merchant's Guild, that our relationship is to be ended in such a way. I had hoped for a prosperous future for us all, based around the Free Trade that my Guild would have assisted in creating for them. Inform the Guild that I am Axiomatically and Officially bringing forth proceedings for the Breach of Contract Clause."

He paled a little at the Voice of the Fae Queen, -which I'd done my best to restrain,- and then bowed his head, standing and making his way to the door wordlessly. I heard him lean heavily against the wall, outside, taking deep breaths to center himself, and I nodded slowly at the knowledge that he was afraid of me, which his scent had confirmed.

"Their approval meant quite a lot to you?" Victor asked slowly.

"Their Resources did. Their approval was never my goal, but it is a Slap directly to my Face, saying I do not 'meet their standards for a Queen', and I will not stand for it. I don't need them, it would've just made things easier. I always hated Easy Things." I growled softly, staring at the ash in my hand, and whispered a verbal spell, which I didn't do often.

The letter reconstituted, the ink moving to write my declaration of the Breach-of-Contract Clause, and my imminent recall of all of my goods and inventions, or double their original market value, if recalling them was impossible, such as if they were already lost or in a dungeon or used up. The final paragraph simply read, in bold script and elegant font, 'You had a Chance at Greatness.' Then the letter turned to Ash again, flying on an ethereal wind out of the window.

I filed the other documents immediately, knowing that if I didn't they could find a way to beat the contract, and sent those magically to a clerk in all of the guilds involved, along with an offer of individual contracts, instead of the Blanket Contract from the Merchant's Guild, and finally I sent my Breach of Contract to all the Legal Guilds and Law Offices that were in the effected area, along with a copy of my formal request and their rejection letter.

"Well, that's done... foolish of them, provoking me in that manner... I wonder if they had a plan to keep my work? Or maybe they already found a way to create my Elixirs, despite the contract saying they could not do so? If so, I'll be very busy soon, suing them for all their worth." I sighed.

"Suing them? You realize Suing the Merchant Guild will not end well?" Adrian asked slowly, confused.

"I imagine it will be difficult. However, I've just sent their Breach of Contract to every major Legal Organization in the continent, and so they will have little choice but to bow to the Law of the Land. Power is in the hands of the Legislature and the People it represents, not simply those who have money; if they disagree, it will be that much simpler to destroy them and restructure their organization... And then Sue them." I shrugged carelessly, and stood up. "Now, time for an Exam, yes?"

Victor smiled proudly and set his empty cup down. "An Ancient poem comes to mind, my Apprentice... 'I heard the Titan's Three, Before Zeus' Door; when Hyperion said 'I am Mighty, Hear my Roar!'... go and teach them, my dear. But yes, a Tournament is to be had, so we'll be off. You two get ready. And I say two, not three, because Zara is always ready to sow a little chaos." He patted her horns, and she purred loudly at him, pleased by the attention, while he and Adrian sauntered out with the careless walk of men leaving a conquered city.

"You liked him, didn't you?" Cala asked, looking at me curiously.

"I did. His poise and manners mixed with that elegant demeanor in general and his pleasantly muscled body were all very sexy." I answered honestly, and hummed. "Does that worry you? Or make you jealous? I'd assumed we had an open relationship, what with your having your own lovers these past months?"

She nodded. "We do, I was just mildly worried for a moment that I wasn't elegant enough for you. My manners are terrible, after all."

"Very true, but while 'Manners Maketh Man' is something I live by, I am also a firm believer that 'Intent Maketh Etiquette'. You're fine the way you are, my dear, don't worry your beautiful heart about that." I nodded, kissing her cheek. Then I paused, and drew back to look her in the eye archly. "Though, if you ever slurp your tea at my table again, I'll do worse than just pinch your thigh a little. It's incredibly rude."

She grinned casually and kissed my nose. "Eh, it's good tea. Now I've got to go get kitted out!" She slipped out of my arms and up the stairs, laughing happily.

I nodded and stood, cleaning the tableware with the wave of a hand and some prestidigitation, then turned my elegant robes into my armor, while my belt changed back into my sword again. "Ready to win a Tournament, Zara dear?" I asked needlessly, looking at my gorgeous Pale Ride.

She smirked, and stretched slowly; her wingspan wouldn't fit in this room, and her length was likewise unable to fit here. I'd need a bigger room, soon enough. "Zara is always ready for War." She chuckled, and hopped out onto the balcony.

I mounted her back, and helped the running Cala board behind me. "Well, today we will Win, and then we will go break the Merchant's Guild for their rudeness to us. Does that sound nice, my dear?" I grinned.

She shivered violently, and leapt off the balcony without preamble, shaking the entire academy with an Earth-Shattering Roar of Violent Intent.

"God's help your opponents..." Cala muttered, kissing my shoulder.

—

The tournament was separated into three parts; Fencing, Magical Warfare, and Dungeon Clearing, (the subjects of study here other than healing,) but you didn't have to take the Magical Warfare section of your Class wasn't a Magical One, though it did affect your final grade a little.

Fencing, a simple duel with whatever physical ability you had available to you, didn't allow magic until Third Year, so I won each and every match with a visibly contemptuous ease, despite my best efforts. Zara had demanded to be considered a student, attending courses and everything, and so was given her own fights, against various monsters that were her size and general abilities. These were challenges she relished and threw herself into with an unbridled savagery that pleased both me and the audience; family and alumni from all over the continent, (including my own parents, who had come through my personal Teleportation circle in my Lab).

Magic was likewise pathetic, but a spot of fun did make itself known, as Zara baffled everyone by performing advanced magics such as Besan's Shield and my Black Barrier, spiced with her own draconian flair; she'd managed to take the Square Motif and turn it into a regular hexagon, making it capable of creating a near-perfect sphere instead of a cube, as well as conforming to shapes such as the Barriers that we'd always tried to figure out from Besan's Barrier Golems.

Her opponent, -a Professor who'd apparently drawn the short straw,- slowly placed down his staff, and looked at Victor. "Nope." He shook his head sadly and simply walked out of the arena.

She grumbled at him, then snorted lightning at the ground, sitting primly on top of the Champion's Dias. "Fine... whosoever wishes to have my Throne may Duel me for it." She snapped testily, and glared down at the group of students.

Soon I was the only contestant, and I laughed as she readied herself, her tail swishing slowly like a cat about to pounce. When she did, I dropped into a shadow and came out under her, grabbing one of her horns with a spectral hand big enough to wrap around it, and then slammed her head into the ground. The hand held her still, while small knives made of rock enchanted with my Elemental Swordsmanship broke the circles she tried to make. Not one to be outmaneuvered, her tail surprised me, smashing me Clear across the gut and sending me flying up into the air, knocked entirely senseless.

By the time I recovered, time had been called, so I conceded the match to her, shaking my head.

The dungeon, though, was bound to be the biggest disappointment of all; it was a Tier 2, and apparently that was what we were expected to be able to solo clear by now. I didn't really know which irritated me most; the incessant babying of the students on Victor's part, or the fact that some of them needed it. All in all, I was set to blaze my way through wherever I was sent when Adrian spoke, and a new grin of amusement spread, taking over my annoyed mein.

"This year, we have several very promising students, with various classes and skills, and so we've decided, the Head-Master and I, to send specific individuals, at their request, to a separate, much more dangerous dungeon... this will be a challenge you must take willingly, and the reward will be, of course, your passing the exam, but also the sponsorship of myself and the Headmaster, in any future Business or Political Dealings by yourself or your Clans." His voice boomed out over the crowd, and he allowed the resultant clamor, as children immediately squawked to their parents like irritating little geese, and they to each other.

"But... We do not give our Sponsorship easily... as such, the Dungeon you must Challenge is a Tier 6, a lower-Expert Dungeon. Just slightly more than the equivalent of the Third-Year's Exam, as better reference for... some of you." I grinned when his eyes found me in the crowd, and the space that'd been made around myself and Zara.

The quacking stopped, as the few that'd been confident and hopeful shrank into themselves.

"So? Is there anyone who would like to challenge the Expert Dungeon?" He asked, not even bothering to look away from me and my excited grin.

"Did you even have to ask?" I laughed, and Cala frowned at me from her position standing nearby. She'd known my answer as soon as he'd begun talking, and sighed now, unsurprised and ready for just about anything. "You coming with? You don't have to, you know?" I asked her, curious.

"Someone's got to make sure you don't do anything stupid, and Zara is no help with that." She gestured at the grinning dragon, who nodded seriously.

"It's true, Zara is a force of nature." The Dragoness responded facetiously.

"Alright, three challengers... anyone else?" He asked needlessly, then we all paused when someone spoke.

"Uhm! I-I'll do it, if you don't mind?" The Wizard-girl from some of my classes stepped forward, wielding a staff that made my eyes hurt, for some reason.

"Oh? Alright, a Fourth Challenger... acceptable?" Adrian looked at Victor, who frowned sourly but nodded, flicking his fingers in acceptance. "We will proceed at once, then... hold onto your hats!" He grinned, and a teleportation spell sigil flashed into being underneath me, making the other students nearby rush away in a panic, even though it was only 20 feet in diameter. Zara barely fit, and the Wizard girl ended up under one of the dragoness's wings to be included in the spell. Another, differently colored, opened at a different place, and he waved a hand at it. "And for the normal Exam, that sigil is your Ride. Hop to it, the Exam begins Now!"