Rob X Punzel ~ Five!

The next morning, Becca was waiting for the headmistress next to the gate, nervously pacing back and forth. At eight o’clock on the dot, the steely woman marched out of the building, past Becca, and took a step out the gate before turning back and motioning for the young woman to join her. “Well? Are you coming or not?” 

“Yes! I just had… I wanted to ask-” A familiar twinge in her chest caused Becca to grip at the space over her heart, wincing with pain. Then her eyes went wide, as she realized informing the headmistress about reaching Perfection and achieving a Breakthrough Skill would be ‘sharing details’ of her class and skills. “That is… never mind.” 

“It's fine to be nervous; I would be in your shoes.” The headmistress whirled around once more and marched forward steadily as Becca hurried to catch up. “With such a useless class to start out with, and all the work you've been doing at the curio shop, I'm sure you’re hoping to see a shift towards something more usable this time around. Well, don't get your hopes up too high.”

As they stepped out onto the street, the headmistress paused and stared at a young man who looked vaguely familiar to Becca. He was well dressed and looking around with shifty eyes. When he saw the older lady looking at him with a thunderous expression, he stood straight and walked over. “Schule-tyrant. I'm glad to see you. I have this month's-”

“Not now, boy,” came the sharp reply. Becca swayed back on her heels as she realized she was witnessing an interaction she wasn’t supposed to be a part of. “I'm on my way into the city; do you think it would be a good idea for me to be carrying that the whole time?”

The young man reached into his pocket, pulling something out swiftly enough that Becca dropped back and turned to run. Both the unknown man and the headmistress looked at her with a swift, dismissive glance before he pushed a satchel into the Schule-tyrant’s hands. “It is getting harder to slip away, especially since my father has been showing signs of illness. No one wants to follow someone who is showing weakness, not these days. I have to slip out of the parties and get back before they notice my absence, so it's either never… or right now.” 

After this nearly frenzied announcement, the young man gave Becca another once over, staring at her intensely glowing hair for a long moment before turning on his heel and hurrying away. 

“Brat...!” Schule-tyrant muttered indignantly, glancing down at the small satchel then over at Becca. “I can't be carrying this. Probably a dozen people saw that interaction. Is he trying to get us killed? Stay here; I need to go and drop this in the safe.” 

Becca stood in the street uncomfortably as the headmistress ran back into the building, only reappearing nearly fifteen minutes later. Then, she was in a terrible rush, and the newly fourteen-year-old young woman had to maintain a rapid jog just to keep up with the fuming lady. They stuck to the main roads, but a handful of times had to increase or decrease their pace, as small groups of people gave them considering stares.

“Word spreads all too fast these days,” Schule-tyrant muttered waspishly. “I'm glad we’re both wearing tight-fitting gowns; they can see there's nowhere for us to be hiding that pack of coins on us. That reminds me, if I hear a word about what he said to us from anyone else, I'm going to hold you accountable. We're down to less than eight benefactors each month, and if we scare this one off, I'll have to reduce the age of expulsion to… let's say fourteen.”

“I have no idea who or what you’re talking about, Schule-tyrant,” Becca replied in her calmest customer-service voice. “All I remember is how excited I am to unlock my class and gain new skills.”

“Just one skill,” Schule-tyrant distractedly corrected the girl, missing the hint Becca was trying to give her. “Gaining your Advanced Class, then your Full Class, is no different than when you got your Basic one. Well, besides needing to get access to a Class Shrine. Orphans get in free at fourteen, but you're going to have to save up at least a full silver to get your Full Class when you turn eighteen. I'd recommend two to five silver if you don't gain any combat skills this time around, since you’ll need to bribe your way in. Remember, money is a type of power as well.”

Becca could only shrug, knowing it would be a long, long time before she had any savings at all. She could trust the other kids in the orphanage not to steal from her, but that was in part because she spent every copper of excess she had on feeding and clothing them. None of the older children were willing to be the one to take that away from the youngsters, so she was left alone by the gangs and cliques, for the most part.

“I'd say reputation is where my power is.” She didn't even realize she’d spoken aloud until the headmistress scoffed at her words, turning to regard her incredulously.

“Reputation? I have a reputation. No one tries to usurp my position because the last five who did so were carted out to be dumped in mass graves.” The surprise on Bella's face put a smile on the Schule-tyrant’s. “Didn't know that, did you? Not many people expect timing to be a combat-oriented skill, and they pay the price for their ignorance. I might not know the best place to hit to hurt someone, but I know when to stab forward and when to move out of the way. You don't have a reputation, not in the places that matter. Not the way you think you do.” 

Perhaps taking out her own frustration of the morning on Becca, the Schule-tyrant raged on, “Who cares what a bunch of small children think about you, when at any time, someone with extensively trained triceps could just take all those ingredients and clothes you bring them? The only reason they don't is because no one wants to be the person known for taking food from babies. But, you know what? If you start earning more money, or your class and skills start letting you do extra things, you might be targeted. You’d best remember to stick to basic food and discount clothes no one else wants to buy.”

Thoroughly chastised, Becca hurried along in silence. Soon, they were passing through the merchant district, only to be stopped at a checkpoint at the wall. A bored guard perked up as they came closer, standing and flexing back and forth to force some blood into his muscles in order to look bigger. “Purpose for attempting to enter an area reserved for citizens or better?”

“I've got an orphan who is getting access to her Advanced Class today.” The headmistress didn't even slow down, prompting Becca to hurry to stand as close to the battering ram of a woman as possible.

The guard tried to block her anyway, though as far as Becca knew, they had a perfectly valid reason to be there. “Hey! You can't just walk in. You don't live here, which means the street maintenance toll is a silver per head for visitors-!”

*Thud.*

The dull sound of a sap sinking into the guard’s gut was nearly covered by the explosion of air escaping his lungs as he dropped to the ground. Then the headmistress was striding forward again, snarling over her shoulder, “Theft is punishable by losing a hand, and that's highway robbery if I've ever seen it. You want my coin? Come and get it. Otherwise, we can have this exact conversation again on my way out.”

As soon as they were out of sight of the guard, Schule-tyrant grabbed Becca's hand and began running down the street. Only after they’d taken three side roads deeper into the district did the older woman slow down and let go. “Abyss… burned that entry point for the rest of the day. Help me keep an eye out for that guard on the way out. We'll have to go a different route, but you never know if they’re going to rotate to another spot around lunch time.”

“What just happened? Didn't you beat him down fair and square?” Becca glanced over her shoulder, looking to see if they were being pursued. “Why would that cause us an issue? You already showed him you can fight your way through, and that's, you know… the law.”

“He has a sword, Becca. I have a leather strap wrapped around an iron ball.” Schule-tyrant explained wearily. “He was trying to block me and extort some coin. The next time we see him, he'll be ready to fight back.”

Quietly considering the odd disparity between the law and reality, Becca followed after the headmistress without putting much thought into where they were going. Only after they exited the narrow alley they had dodged into did she start paying attention to their surroundings once again, and her eyes widened as they were filled with wonders.

The streets here were wide, paved with smooth, well-maintained stones with flecks of quartz in them that shimmered in the morning sunshine. The usual layer of dirt and nightsoil which covered the roads near the orphanage was nowhere to be seen. Gone were the narrow alleyways and thick stench of life, replaced with elegant boulevards lined with tended trees and flower boxes in windows. “By the system… where are we?”

“It's always depressing to bring one of you out of the slums and give you a glimpse of a better life, just to have to bring you back.” 

Becca almost missed the grumbling mutter of Schule-tyrant’s soft words, but the sheer oddity of anything other than firm statements from the older woman allowed her to catch every word. 

“We live in a slum?” The question popped out of Becca's mouth before she could stop herself, and the incredulous look from the headmistress caused her to flush with embarrassment, and her hair became tinged with green light. “Sorry. I suppose that is pretty obvious. Now, that is.”

The farther they went, the larger and taller the buildings became, their stone walls pristine and unblemished by grime or graffiti. They slowed down as foot traffic increased, especially around some of the grand buildings with large courtyards, where finely dressed children were punching or swinging weapons as instructors corrected their form.

Becca's steps slowed as they passed one of those courtyards, and she watched as a group of kids her own age practiced swordsmanship—their movements crisp, precise, following forms which were incomprehensible to her. Wooden practice swords *cracked* off each other, accompanied by grunts of exertion and the occasional shout of pain as someone missed a block and took a hit. “How do they have time to just stand around and practice fighting like this? Are they joining the guard or the army?”

“No. Those are citizen children with combat skills. The only real fighting they will likely ever experience is honor duels with low chances of injury or death.” The headmistress gripped Becca's shoulder and pulled her along. “Keep up, now. Listen, you're going to see many things today that you should try to forget. This isn't real life for you. Unless you’re willing to do terrible, terrible things, it's unlikely you'll ever be a part of their world.”

“Is it really so ridiculous to think I could have a life like this?” Becca looked longingly at the shops they passed by, seeing sparkling weapons in the windows, armors, dresses, and strange items she didn’t recognize, which would sell for a premium in Sorin’s Curio shop. “I was offered a potential apprenticeship yesterday-”

“Merchants live above their shops,” Schule-tyrant cut her off mercilessly. “Unless they’re extremely wealthy. If they were, they would have shops in this district or the artisan district, not the outermost layer of the city. Sorin is a wealthy man, but only when using your standards. Look, you see any one of those children playing with fake weapons? The cost of their tutelage for a week would feed everyone in the orphanage for the entire month.”

“The slum isn’t even considered its own layer of the city?”

“That's the takeaway you went with? Interesting.” Schule-tyrant went silent after that, but there was plenty to keep Becca's attention for the rest of their short journey. Unlike in the slums, the people here stood tall, spoke loudly, and openly displayed their wealth. As they passed a group of women gossiping around a small table drinking tea, she was able to catch some of their conversation.

“Just a few years until the queen's arena is finished. Can you imagine?”

“I hear she's making it for a specific purpose… if you know what I mean.” Becca had no idea what the woman meant, so she struggled against the grip on her shoulder to stay within hearing range for a moment longer.

“The king swore it would be for more than just that one event!” Another lady gasped, both hands covering her mouth in excitement. “Do you think they will christen the arena with the queen’s search for her long-lost daughter?"

They turned the corner, still in sight of the gaggle of gossiping gals, and Schule-tyrant gestured at a humble building surrounded on all sides by immense, grandiose structures. “There it is. The Class Shrine.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I thought we were going to go into one of the interesting buildings.” Becca let out a small, rueful chuckle as she was led into the Class Shrine. “At least this place looks like somewhere I won’t get beheaded just for entering.”