Elizabeth sat by herself in the refectory, viciously glaring at Thomas and his new friend Joshua as they sat and ate, laughing.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYjP9qmqxd
It didn’t make any sense!236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64BMdqM6I8
Thomas must have cheated somehow or there must have been something wrong with her sword. Why hadn’t her light gone off when she hit him? The two hits that he scored should have been doubles or points for her. It didn’t make sense for her to lose. At the very least, it should have been a draw. Joshua spotted her continuous scowl and whispered something to Thomas who turned around and gave her a mocking grin. Elizabeth wished she could slap it off his face. Her view of Thomas was then blocked as another woman sat opposite her.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrDL12nrJc
“You find him annoying too?” the woman asked, dipping her spoon into her soup.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5xzEncP5O
As soon as she said those words, Elizabeth knew she liked this girl. “I just don’t think he should be here. I think he cheated”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5O0xwBGwK
“Oh?” the girl asked.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7T5av4wqvX
“I looked at the national club records and even FIE registrations. His name doesn’t even appear on either. The first time I saw him was at the Invitational”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFt8pqlEkBm
“I think you’re right. I watched his duel. His technique is all over the place, incorrect en garde, overextension on the lunge. How did he even get in?”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmDIXXcvPD
Elizabeth had the same thoughts ever since she laid eye on him during a duel. This woman, whomever she was could prove a useful ally in her fight to get rid of Thomas. It was at this point that Elizabeth decided to introduce herself.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0kX4wKolH
“I’m Elizabeth Kent by the way” Elizabeth offered her hand, smiling while emphasizing her last name.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYBFKrU5en
“Elizabeth Kent, as in daughter of Leslie Kent, the former UK Women’s Foil and Epee champion?” the girl asked in astonishment.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBSyjkviab
Her ego boosted, she grinned and replied “Yep and you are?”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztmSHQMZJa
“Alice Kwon, Macau Siver Medalist”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12LxB7u2FG
“I won the Hong Kong gold” Elizabeth replied, playing the game of oneupmanship.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu28zOlQ1iQ
“By the way, do you know you’re with?”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfR1LWmrDdP
“What do you mean?”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGG903oIqFB
“The dormitory assignments have just been posted”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjomOGWn8gF
Rushing to the giant board posted on the wall, Elizabeth scanned through the list of names.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTAWM5bJH4
What she saw next made her blood boil - the dorms were arranged according to province and that meant he was with Thomas. Then a malicious thought slipped into her mind.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnX5KoXzs6
If I can prove he’s cheating or doping or lacks any skill, he’ll be out of here in a heartbeat.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuBJnbnqIA
Allowing the cruel grin to spread across her face, she turned around to face Alice.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqxKErNmyK
“I’m going to get him kicked”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5PpgUgNgi
“Elizabeth! Thomas!” Louis screamed. His French accent was starting to get on her nerves. It had been nice at first, a reminder of true fencing lineage as the French were known for being expert duelists but he had shown his lack of class by yelling at her in front of her peers. Not that she cared what they thought - queens didn’t care what peasants thought and she was better than all of her classmates.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdupOgu3di
“Thomas, it’s clear from today’s display that you need additional training. Your skills are unquestionable but unrefined.” Thomas nodded at Louis’s words before Louis turned towards her “Elizabeth, from your actions today, I have decided that you need to learn a little discipline. Until I say otherwise, you will supervise him during his training sessions and report back to me about whether he is doing his scheduled exercises”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQ6YjHn3M5
A look or utmost horror etched itself across Thomas’s features and Elizabeth allowed herself a predatory grin. She would make his training hell. Maybe then he would throw in the towel and show the world how pathetic he was and that he didn’t deserve to be here.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviu3wgHCfx
Elizabeth’s eyes shot open at the sound of hammering on the wall. She reached for her phone, arm shivering under the cold and what she saw turned her annoyance into anger. For heaven’s sake, it was 7 AM! On a Saturday! Bouncing out of bed with fury in her head, Elizabeth flung open the door with enough force to make it ricochet loudly off the wall. Glancing around the hallway, she noticed the lights in Thomas’s room were on. Furiously pounding on the door and impatiently waiting for it to open, she pulled her arm back to sucker punch him in… his mask. Elizabeth immediately recoiled from the pain, moving back and gasping and wincing in agony. Under the mask, Elizabeth swore that she saw Thomas letting a victorious grin. Grasping her hand as Thomas casually walked away and returned to his previous action, she caught a glimpse of what was producing the hammering - he was lunging at a lunging pad and judging by the curvature of his blade, he had no idea that he was too close and that was making that horrible drum-like rhythm.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEJbuilQLO
“Hey idiot, do you know what time it is?” Elizabeth asked, still clutching her wrist.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdpew5H7JL
Thomas didn’t even glance at her but continued lunging into the wall “7 AM”.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDgwOiJfHT
“Some of us need sleep. By the way idiot, you’d be less loud if you used proper technique”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8aqJD2ONE
Thomas turned around to face her, pulling off her mask and giving her a questioning look.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OZiPyVKh6
“You are standing too close to the target. Your blade shouldn’t bend like that. Your blade should only bend a little bit, if at all. You only need the button to go off”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9V4vtGHtxW
“Thanks for the advice” His words sounded genuine. Elizabeth’s only reply came in the form of a wince as a bolt of pain shot up her arm. “Let me get you some ice for that, as thanks” as he disappeared into the kitchen. “I didn’t give you coaching for your benefit, I just want to be able to sleep!” she called after him. She heard him chuckling lightly. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTCCiLZduZ
As Thomas rummaged around the refrigerator, Elizabeth took a look around his room. There was nothing to describe about it. In fact, the only interesting part was how bland it was. No photographs of loved ones, of course, Thomas probably was unlovable anyway, no awards, probably because he hadn’t earned any and there was no decoration. In fact, everything in the room was practical and nothing was decorative. There was a lunging pad on the wall, a cheap smartphone on the table and a cheap laptop. Both the smartphone or the laptop had generic backgrounds. He was probably poor and a charity case if he wasn’t a cheat.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwen2BVh4z
“Are you done going through my stuff?”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMAjJ3R8ll
Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden noise. Whirling around to face Thomas, she fell off her feet, almost banging her head against the wall… only for Thomas to lunge forward with surprising speed and cradle her.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulW8MVT5kr
That’s when she caught a whiff of it. His scent. He had a deep spicy and woody aroma that smelt strange, but at the same time, good.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmI3R2cHei
“Umm, Elizabeth?”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1P9djC2ypg
“Thanks for the ice” Elizabeth replied awkwardly, snatching the cool bag of ice as she scurried back into her room.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrQgGXqyOE
