Chapter 412: Squire (Part Two)
"You know, little hayseed," Kurtz said as he finally caught on to what the two witches seemed to have in mind. Their offer was so obviously unappealing to his adventure-seeking little treasure that they wouldn’t have to reject her outright, she would turn them down herself. All he had to do now was create a different opportunity that wouldn’t see his daughter running off to follow the witches into the Vale of Mists before she was old enough to live on her own.
"You can still learn to fight and become strong enough to fight for Lady Heila one day," he pointed out. "You don’t have to become her ’squire’ and study chores. In two years, I’ll enroll you in the best school for gladiators, and I’ll train you myself until then," he promised.
"By the time you’re sixteen, you can go across the High Pass and visit Lady Heila yourself to show her what you’ve learned," the veteran gladiator said. "I’m sure that if you’ve worked hard, you can earn a place at her side, just like, um, I’m sorry," he said awkwardly as he looked to Virve. "I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name."
"I’m called Virve," the bearish woman said with a smile. "I’m the captain of Lady Ashlynn’s guard. I don’t know if Lady Heila will require an entire company to protect her, but she may have need of a few loyal retainers in time. But if you wish to fight at her side, I don’t recommend training as a gladiator," she added with a frown.
"I have seen the way that the champions of High Fen City fight," Virve said candidly as she looked at the young girl. "They fight for glory and the entertainment of the crowd. Fighting against humans and people who are hunting you is a very different kind of fighting. If you want to become a guard or a soldier in the army of the Vale, you should come to us when you turn fifteen so you can learn to fight with your brothers and sisters of the Horned Clan."
"You know, you don’t have to decide anything right now, my treasure," Kurtz said, pulling his diminutive daughter up into a tight hug. "Her Dominion even said that people don’t usually become squires until thirteen. It’s okay to grow a little older before you make a decision."
For a moment, Emmie wanted to shove her father’s hands away. Everyone kept talking about how she needed to be older to do anything. Older to join an arena school, older to learn to be a soldier, older, older, older! But if she waited... if she waited...
"If I’m not your squire," Emmie asked, struggling slightly against her father’s hug and trying her best to look serious. "If I’m not your squire, will you find someone else to be with you? To help you when you need help so you’re not alone anymore?"
"I don’t know," Heila said honestly, casting a glance at Ashlynn before she continued. "I never thought about it until today. I give most of my time to Lady Ashlynn or sometimes to things Lady Nyrielle and her progeny need help with. I still learn things from Madame Zedya. I never thought about having someone to help me."