Arthur raised his sword in a defensive stance, just managing to block a strike from another boy. Barely did anything, though. The sheer force of the impact sent him flying across the training arena. For what it was worth, he was able to maintain his sword stance and land on his feet, narrowly dodging a huge fireball that had been sent at him.
He gripped his training sword tighter and rushed back at his opponent.
The opponent(a boy roughly his age)coated his own training sword in pure flames, catching Arthur by surprise. This caused him to side-step on instinct, leading him right into a devastating kick to his face. His nose nearly shattered on impact, the force sending him flying back into a nearby wall. This time, he didn't get back up.
The nearby onlookers all went back to doing their own things. None of them was willing to help Arthur get up from where he lay. It was a common occurrence to see him get wrecked in such a way, so Arthur's pathetic state wasn't really news.
His opponent walked towards Arthur's sprawled form on the ground and held him by his hair, allowing Arthur to get a good look at his torturer.
Marcus Prince-son of the current family patriarch and an Erd-cell user(Erd-user, for short). Fourteen, with the blonde hair and bright blue eyes that most direct members of the family had. Unlike Arthur, who had obsidian black hair and dark eyes, Marcus looked more 'belonging' of the Prince family name than Arthur ever was or would be. His 'Erd-mark' was located on the upper side of his left arm, taking the shape of a fiery vertical crack.
"Arthur," Marcus sneered, "how many times did I tell you not to interfere when I'm training here?"
"Piss off, I was here first. You're the one who came and started doing shit-"
Marcus' fist punched Arthur across his face, making some blood splatter onto the floor.
"Do I need to re-educate you on our family's etiquette?"
Arthur just smirked as Marcus held him up by his hair.
"Those lessons don't seem to be doing anything for you back at the academy now, are they?"
"You damn brat!"
Arthur got another punch to his face. At that point in time, his conscience was already starting to give in. He'd pass out if he got another one of those punches. Still, he wasn't about to give the bastard a chance to feel good about himself.
"Don't kill him yet. We still need someone to blame all the messes on, don't we?"
The voice was Ashley's. Same blonde hair as Marcus with blue eyes that seemed to gleam just as brightly. Her Erd-mark was on the her shoulder, taking the appearance of a thorny vine-like structure while still retaining the black rift appearance all other marks had as their most basic foundation. Unlike the two guys, who wore rough training gear, she had a nice white dress on.
"At least Ashley sees some value to your life, 'cousin'," Marcus told him,"even if it's a rather sorry reason for staying alive in here."
"Honestly, I can't understand why you keep trying even after we remind you of your case, cousin." Ashley grabbed Arthur by his chin, making him face her,"just what don't you understand? You have no Erd-cells in your body, not a single trace. Even the air around this family's estate has more of that than you do or ever will have."
"At least not having Erd-cells gave me more brain power than you all probably will," Arthur's voice was defiant, "before the merger, I read a book that said blondes were dumbasses, and you two are proving to be amazing supporters of that."
For a brief moment, Ashley's smug smirk faded before it returned.
"What did you just say?"
"I said what I said. That's that."
Ashley turned to Marcus and nodded once before standing up. Marcus cracked his knuckles before pulling his hand back.
"Shit-"
-----
Arthur could barely stand by the time Marcus was done with him. He struggled to get up, coughing up blood in the process. His 'cousin' had roughed him up-badly. Still, he wasn't about to let himself lie there forever.
It was shaky, but Arthur was able to stand and make his way to a table on the far side of the training field. When he got there, he had to lean lightly against the table to prevent from falling flat on the floor again. After catching his breath lightly, he took a transparent container that had dozens of small, green tablets in it. Healing pills, usually put at the training field for when any member of the family had an "accident" when training.
Most of the time, though, Arthur was the only one who actually used them.
He popped a pill into his mouth, sitting on the ground for a while as the effects of the medicine took hold. A refreshing warmth spread through his body as his external wounds slowly started healing.
Servants passed by him, many of them not paying much mind to the broken kid on the floor. Most of them didn't want anything to do with Arthur, mainly because they didn't want to offend anyone from the main house. One of the younger maids passed by him. When she was about to help him stand, one of the senior maids pulled her away and led her to another location.
"Don't do it," the older one told the new maid,"unless you want to die where you stand."
"Isn't he just fourteen though?" the younger maid asked,"he'll die at the rate he's beaten here! Don't you have any empathy?"
"It's not a matter about of, idiot!" the senior maid snapped,"do you want to get killed yourself?"
For a moment, the young maid flinched.
"That's what I thought."
The senior maid looked around for a short while.
"Between you and me," the senior maid's voice dropped to a near whisper as she leaned in,"I think the boy's mother is the cause of all this. I heard she-"
Before she could finish, a white flash passed a few inches from her neck before a dull thud sounded from the wall near her. Arthur was standing, facing her. On the wall, a throwing knife was embedded into the it.
"You were saying?"
She stared at Arthur for a while, her eyes narrowing slightly. Arthur could handle people talking crap about him, but he wouldn't let them slander his mother's name while he was still breathing. The other family members might have been able to do something to him, but he wasn't about to get disrespected by someone whose best skill was probably something related to cleaning.
"Scram before I show you my skill with more of those throwing knives."
The senior maid walked away quickly after he said that, leaving Arthur to have a short glance at the younger maid. Dark hair, violet eyes, small figure- nothing really remarkable.
"What's your name?" Arthur asked her.
His sudden question caught her off guard.
"O-oh! I'm Vesper, young master," the maid did a slight bow,"always ready to serve."
Arthur just gave a nod before picking up his sword and walked towards another training dummy. A simple mannequin, nothing much. Arthur swung once, unable to make so much as a dent despite his best efforts. Looking at that, Vesper could only feel a bit of pity for the young kid.
He'd probably die to his own family members before the Erd-monsters even got to him.