Ymiden 71 Arc 717
Iron Hand Training Grounds
Iron Hand Training Grounds
The suns shone warmly on her new black leather armor, tailored to fit her. Her padded tunic of her squire trials she had returned to the Hand. As a Steward, she was supposed to wear a helmet during patrols, as the code described that she needed to be in full armor. Unfortunately, the Hand did not provided helmets for some reason, and Yana had needed to buy one of her own. She did not have it with her at the moment; they were not going to be patrolling today, nor would she be leading. This was merely a trial for acquainting with the others. Something she simply could not see ending well.
“All right then,” Yana broke the tense silence, her words meant to psych herself up a little. She was not looking forward to this at all, but it was best to just get it over with. “I am Saeri LaChasse, your Steward for the time being. I was promoted a couple seasons ago, but I have only recently returned for duty. This trial I would like to for us to get acquainted. To that end I will have you introduce yourselves. Any questions?”
A Knight with brown hair and blue eyes raised his hand, no smile on his face, nor in his eyes. It was a far cry from his usual demeanor.
“Yes, Ser Gudhelth?”
“How many times did you have to fuck the King to be promoted?” he bit. His tone was scathing and full of anger and venom. His eyes were hard. It was evident that he did not enjoy being placed under Yana’s care. A couple seasons ago that would have been exactly what he wanted though. The Yludih scowled visibly at the remark, her expression starting to mimic the one of her subordinates.
“I mean, no one gets promoted from squire to Steward in one go.”
“Ser Gudhelth, that is enough.”
He continued unabated. “And coincidentally you were just promoted after having been in a private room with the King at the Ball--”
“I would advise you to watch what you say. You are crossing a line.” Her voice was cold as ice, as was her glare. However, Yana felt quite calm, really. This was not a matter of being offended, this was a matter of insubordination and undisciplined behavior. In order for this whole Steward deal to work, Yana needed to be respected. Right now, she was not.
Despite her warning, Hannes Gudhelth waved her words away with a swat of his hand, as it they were annoying mosquitos. “It’s really obvious, you know,” he fake-laughed, “hence my question. How hard did you have to ta--”
“Hannes Gudhelth!” Yana thundered, raising her voice for the first time in ages. She put all authority she could muster behind her words. She squared her shoulders and planted her feet firm on the ground, doing her best to intimidate. Her face retained its scowl, and now the corners of her mouth pointed downwards. “Firstly, I would remind you of your rank and of mine. Your attitude is unbecoming of a Knight of the Hand. By not heeding my warnings twice, you have effectively earned yourself three strikes. That will be one hundred push-ups.”
He crossed his arms defiantly. “If you think that I--”
“I can increase them if you want. By which I mean, if you continue your disobedience.”
He snorted. “Make me.” The others did not do anything. They simply stood there, some looking rather pleased with these developments. Well, if they agreed with him, then drastic measures were in order.
“Make you? Are you challenging me?”
“You bet.” He sounded way too smug, so full of himself. Did he really believe Yana was still on the same level she had been as a squire? Did it not cross his mind that maybe she had trained to better fit her role? Apparently not. Well then, he would learn the hard way.
“I could just have you be demoted to squire, have you be disciplined. I could have you suspended. But very well. If you wish to receive physical punishment, so be it. I will teach you discipline myself.”