Birgit

  Birgit scanned the new class rankings list that was posted in the great hall, starting from the bottom.

  Niles must have started at the top because he found her name first. “Woo-hoo, you made the top ten!”

  Brigit shifted her gaze up, and there she was at number ten. She did not know exactly how the rankings were determined at the beginning of each semester. Supposedly, it took into account the last semester’s ending rank, grades from the previous semester’s classes, and, of course, the end-of-semester tournament results. Evidently, the tournament counted for much more than previous rank. She was not sure how she felt about being in the top ten. If she could keep that rank until graduation, it would bring great honor to her family and tremendously enhance her future prospects. However, it would also set her up as a target for other students wanting to get into the top ten, and it meant she would no longer be in the same classes as her friends, whose ranks she saw had changed little.

  “It looks like Princess Vedika didn’t make it, though,” Niles continued. “But she’s only a couple of ranks shy. Her brother’s still ranked first, of course, and Sinja’s still ranked sixth.”

  After looking the list over for another minute to see where other people they knew had landed, they set off for the dining area. They were just looking for their friends when Birgit saw Farah charging toward them, followed by Pam.

  “Did you see, did you see?” Farah exclaimed excitedly as she charged into Niles. “We’re ranked twenty-eighth now, so we’ll be in the same classes next semester, and it’s all thanks to you, Niles.”

  “I think you and Pam deserve at least a little of the credit,” Niles laughed.

  “Your magic certainly helped, though,” Pam said, catching up with them. “I do not think we would have won some of our matches without the power boost to Farah your magic provided.”

  Birgit had not noticed Pam’s jump in rank and was not entirely pleased. She was happy for Pam, but she could just imagine what Farah would want to do with Niles during their classes. A good portion of the semester would be field study, though, but she was not sure if that made it better or worse.

  Hilaria, Uma, and Bonzo joined them for breakfast, but unfortunately, Princess Vedika did not. The princess told her yesterday at the tournament that she had another commitment, but Birgit was still disappointed. It had been so nice watching the final rounds of the tournament with her, and despite the difference in their social rank, Birgit really felt like they were forming a connection. It was nice to catch up with Uma and Hilaria, though. There was a bittersweet feel to their conversation, however, knowing they would not be in the same classes for their final semester. It was especially poignant, given how much time they would be away from the academy doing field study.

  “Lady Birgit,” someone called as they were leaving the dining area.

  Turning, Birgit saw it was Lord Frip of Logbobber, the most eligible kappa in the fifth-year class. He was the heir of the Baron of Logbobber, a moderately prosperous barony in northern Deca. That alone made him a very desirable marriage prospect for a kappa, but he was also quite handsome, with vibrant green skin accented with very masculine black stripes. She used to think he was quite tall as well, and he was tall for a kappa, but having gotten used to Niles’ immense size, he seemed smaller now.

  “Lady Birgit,” Frip repeated, catching up to her. “I wanted to congratulate you on your stunning performance in the tournament. It was really quite amazing.”

  “Thank you,” was all Birgit could think of to say as she felt her cheeks growing hot.

  “Will you be staying at the academy over the break?” Frip asked with a smile.

  “I am afraid not,” Brigit replied. “I will be spending the break with my family back in Hazzerbog.”

  “Ah, well, I wish you a pleasant trip, then,” Frip said, his smile showing a hint of disappointment. “And I will look forward to seeing you next semester.”

  “I will look forward to that, too,” Birgit replied. “Seeing you, I mean, not me, because… Um, yes, I look forward to seeing you next semester as well.”

  “What was that?” Uma asked, raising an eyebrow once Frip was out of sight.

  “I think he likes you,” Pam purred with a big grin.

  “Was he not courting Lady Tandi of Lilypond?” Bonzo asked with a frown.

  “I heard he was stepping out with Ribbinda Longtongue,” Hilaria said conspiratorially.

  Birgit did not know what to say.

  After wishing her friends safe travels and parting ways, Birgit and Niles went back to pick up Susi and their luggage for their trip. Birgit had prearranged for a carriage and was pleased to see it waiting for them. It was nice that she could afford little conveniences like this now. Niles proved more than capable of carrying their bags down to the carriage, but Birgit would have felt bad making him carry them all the way to the portal.

  “So, how long of a ride is it to Hazzerbog?” Niles asked as the carriage pulled away from the academy.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “It would take a couple of weeks to get there if we took the carriage,” Birgit answered. “But we will just take this carriage to the portal hub in the capital. That will take us less than an hour. From there, we will take a portal to the county seat of Cornholme, and that is only a two-day carriage ride from Hazzerbog.”

  “We’re going to teleport there!” Niles exclaimed. “Is that safe? We won’t end up in an alternate reality, or with body parts mixed up, or anything, will we?”

  “What?” Birgit gasped. “Why would you even ask that?”

  Niles looked at her sheepishly. “Well, we don’t actually have teleportation in my world, but we have stories about it, and usually things go wrong.”

  Other than costing the usual exorbitant fee, nothing went wrong using the gate. It was almost noon by the time they arrived, and Hazzerbog was two full days of travel away, so they spent the rest of the day arranging a carriage for tomorrow and touring the county seat. With new things to see and experience, Niles was in good spirits. His ready wit and sense of wonder made him a delightful companion, even if Birgit received quite a few strange looks as they walked along, hand in hand. Niles’ mood had definitely been picking up lately. Was he finally coming to appreciate this world, or did it have more to do with the increased attention he had been getting from several pretty young ladies who had been hovering near him since the ball?

  The following day, they ended up sharing their carriage with a middle-aged merchant and his wife. They exchanged news from the capital for local news and had a pleasant conversation that helped the miles pass quickly. The couple was quite nervous about having Niles ride with them at first, but his lively retelling of some events from the academy slowly won them over. It was interesting to hear his interpretation of events. To hear him tell it, he had done next to nothing but stand at Birgit's side while exciting things happened. Birgit wondered if he really felt like he was just a spectator in his own life. It could explain some of the dissatisfaction he had expressed.

  They reached the town of Greenwood just before sunset and found food and lodging at the best local inn. Birgit was quite familiar with the town, and it started feeling like she was almost home. They set out just past dawn the following day on the last leg of their journey. Finding that they had the carriage to themselves was a relief. The couple from yesterday had been very nice, but it was good to relax and not worry about other people’s perceptions. She had explained her reason for holding onto Niles yesterday, but still felt very self-conscious. Today, she could make herself comfortable. In fact, she got so comfortable leaning against Niles and feeling his magic course through her that she had almost drifted off when the trouble started.

  The first sign Birgit had that something was wrong was when the horses whinnied in fright, accompanied by their driver’s shouts as he tried to calm his panicked team. The carriage came to a fast, jerky stop, and Niles lurched to one of the carriage's side windows and poked his head out.

  “Uh oh,” Niles reported. “It’s not a good sign that there’s a wall of fire across the road, is it?”

  Birgit’s mind raced through plausible reasons, but there was really only one that was likely. “Bandits, I can’t believe there are bandits this close to my home. We need to stop them.”

  “Alright,” a voice yelled from outside. “Everyone in the carriage, come on out. Do as you are told, and we will only take your valuables and leave you your lives.”

  “Why don’t I go talk to them?” Niles said, opening the door. “You stay in here and get some spells ready, just in case.”

  Birgit was not sure what to do. She felt that as the mage, she should take charge, but it did make more sense for her to stay where it was safe and cast magic. She shifted to the window as Niles stepped out on the side the voice had come from.

  “Hey what is that, an elf?” a voice asked as Niles stepped out.

  “Must be,” another voice answered. “What else could it be?”

  “Ha, elves are always rich,” a third voice chimed in. “This is our lucky day.”

  Looking out, Birgit saw a half-dozen bandits. They were a motley group: three kappa, two goblins, and one troll. Dressed in homespun and crudely tanned hides, they had the look of woodsmen, all save one kappa, dressed in clothes worthy of a merchant of some means. The woodsmen held a collection of cudgels and wood axes, while the well-dressed kappa carried a staff that looked like it had some prepared spells on it. No doubt he was the source of the wall of fire and would be the biggest threat.

  “Alright, I surrender,” Niles said, raising his hands as he walked right toward the bandits. “Which of you is in charge? I’ve got some special treasure, but you probably don’t want everyone else to see it.”

  “I am,” the well-dressed kappa answered.

  Realizing she had gotten caught up in the drama and was just watching, Birgit quickly began preparing a spell. If Niles could stall them long enough, she would not need to waste one of her prepared spells on these brigands.

  “Great,” Niles said and walked right toward the kappa.

  Preparing a spell without Niles’ magic felt strange to Birgit, but she continued casting.

  “Wait, do not come any closer,” the kappa said, evidently realizing just how big Niles was as he approached.

  “Do you want it or not?” Niles said, slowing, but not stopping.

  “Stop him,” the kappa shouted.

  “Too late,” Niles laughed and sprinted at the mage.

  Niles crossed the distance before any of the other brigands could react. The mage brought up his staff, but Niles plucked it from his hand and punched him in the face. As the kappa fell backwards, Niles spun around with the staff, crashing it into the side of the troll’s head hard enough for the staff to break. The troll fell as well, and the remaining bandits hesitated.

  “Surender,” Niles roared in a deep, loud, and menacing voice.

  Had he still held the entire staff, the bandits might have complied, but since he only held about a foot of broken wood, the bandits looked at each other and began stalking toward him.

  Birgit’s spell was finally ready. It was a simple wind spell that picked up the two remaining kappa and threw them a half dozen paces back, or would have, except one hit a tree after three paces. Birgit was pleased with the effect. It was a much more powerful spell than she would have been able to cast before Niles helped her increase her potential, but without Niles to draw power on, she could tell it had taxed her reserves of magic heavily. The two goblins turned and ran, however, so it looked like her magic was longer needed. Running with all the speed they could muster, the goblins were still not fast enough to escape Niles.

  Birgit was relieved that Niles had not killed any of the bandits. He would have been within his rights to, and it would have even been understandable if he had, but she was happy that he had shown restraint. She knew how strong he was, and he likely could have killed the kappa mage with his punch, but he had only used enough force to make sure he was out of the fight. He had hit the troll harder, but you had to with trolls.