Fortitude Round 11 - Assembly

[yaycapitalism]

"Good morning!"

Dolorosa she ain't. Her second assembly of the day, Recette has learned from her height issues and is now sitting on the headmistress's podium, legs swinging.

"The headmistresses have a lot of work to do this week, and I'll be taking their place today. Um, I've been rehearsing all weekend and Conquest's assembly went okay so... I'll do my best!" She doesn't even bother looking at her notes this time, having checked on her PDA instead.

"Aww, you lost this time, but that's okay. I think it's nice for Conquest to have a chance to win, right? And you all did great against that bird on fire. When I had to fight that, my hair went up in flames and I had to jump in the lake... It was really embarrassing."

Recette, focus. "The Mayor wants to talk to you, so if I just... press this button..."

A minute of fumbling later, a prefect takes mercy on her and the screens start up to show Dunleavy sat in the kitchen of the mansion,

"So, you have opened the second tower and defeated the Firebird. No mean feat, so well done. I would like to congratulate Golbez and Suzaku Kururugi of Conquest, and Sora Himoto and Jake English of Fortitude for their efforts and all of you for your heroic fight against the tower guardian. I hope you enjoy your gifts."

"Another reward for you, another part of the legend," The parts that they had already heard on the train, the part she had told to Golbez and the part they heard after the first tower opened came up first on the screen:

This is a very simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her. The Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess. No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end.

In a faraway land, a Knight sought to finally defeat the Demon Lord that terrorized the people. Again and again they clashed, but victory mattered not for the demon always returned, darker and more powerful than before. After countless battles, the despairing Knight sought the help of an ancient Sage.

"How can I defeat the Demon Lord completely, save my people and my Princess, and live happily ever after?"

The Sage told of the one sure way to truly defeat a demon: the source of the Demon Lord's power lay in six beautiful stars, protected by six devils. Defeat the devils to gain the stars, said the Sage. Only when the Knight held the six stars could the Demon Lord finally be slain. Only when the Knight held the six stars could she return home.

Years later, in a faraway land, a Knight consulted a Sage and returned to the castle with new wisdom, but was too late to save the Princess. The land had been corrupted by the Demon King. As the land sickened, so to did the Princess. When the Knight arrived home, she was almost gone.

'I'll save your kingdom,' promised the Knight.

'I know,' said the Princess.

With those words, she used the last of her life, becoming the blade that had so often aided her Knight in the past. On the hilt was an etched bird, frozen in silver. Its eyes were stars, its wings light. The Knight held the sword close, and wept bitterly.

Dunleavy read a fourth part out loud as the words appeared on the screen.

"This is a very simple story that everyone knows. A Knight journeys to save a Princess who is captured by the Demon Lord. One time, the Knight reached a fork in the path. One road bright and safe, the other dark and dangerous, haunted by death. The Knight found something at the beginning of one of the roads. Something easily overlooked: a single flower petal.

It was a sign left by the Princess. Such a small sign, but the Princess had believed that the Knight would notice it. The Knight took the dark road with a glad heart, because the Knight also believed in the Princess. Showing no doubt, showing only trust. And so they were never tricked by the Demon Lord." Dunleavy smiled one last time, "Good luck for this next round!"

With that, the screens flick back, now showing the list of names. Recette forgets to read them out. Again.

Alex Furest
Dirk Strider
Jade Harley
Komachi Onozuka
Sora Himoto

She does, however, remember to point out that she brought doughnuts for everyone, which have apparently been stored in a crate for the assembly. She pulls it forward as the assembly ends.

Comments

[fracturedsoul]

"If it's a friendly match...?" Dirk raises an eyebrow, waiting for Alex to finish his statement. He can guess what it is he's saying, but he wants to hear it aloud anyway.

[afraid_of_my_shadow]

Alex worries his lip a bit more, his voice cracks, "I-I-I-I... w-was, w-well, never m-mind." Even if he lost Brittania to Dirk, Dirk would take care of her. He might have managed to ask, but his nerves were already a bit frayed from the entire assembly.

[fracturedsoul]

"No. Continue."

Dirk has no patience for pussyfooters.

[afraid_of_my_shadow]

Alex runs his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. "W-w-well, i-if y-you t-transfer h-her back, w-we c-could m-maybe have a-another match l-later in the week? I-if that's c-cool with y-you." He rushed his question, seeming to barely take a breath at all. He sighs and takes another deep breath at the end of it, eyeing the other people in the room, trying to keep an eye on all of them at once.

[fracturedsoul]

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Dirk says it completely casually without even stopping to think. Why was Alex making such a big deal out of it?

[afraid_of_my_shadow]

And he had started out acting so cool too. He actually seems a bit surprised that Dirk just says yes so easily. He takes another breath and sighs, ruffling his own hair, trying to relax a bit. "A-awesome. M-m-maybe I c-c-can learn from you."