Zaniyah would’ve loved the chance to be in a duel but she was stuck at the hotel. She had been trapped in a room with Beat, Shaw, and Rosethorn. The paladin of the trio was sitting in a chair with his face buried in his hands. He looked annoyed. More than annoyed, he was completely aggravated that Zaniyah existed.

“Summon the shield.” He twirled his hand about as he tried to coax Zaniyah into using her magic.

Zaniyah flicked out her fingers and little balls of light sparked out of them. Shaw had been trying to display her abilities to the other two but Zaniyah hadn’t been able to comply. She let out a weary sigh. Her hand flashed through the air as she caught a knife that was a hair’s distance from grazing her cheek. Rather than panic, she twirled it about her fingers and sighed again.

“What are you doing?!” Shaw stood up and halfway pulled his sword from its sheath.

“Helping.” Beat leaned back into the couch. “She can defend herself without magic. Proof of ability isn’t needed.”

The anger on Shaw’s face increased. “My family has a standard when it comes to our talents. We have maintained it for generations. If she is an Arbutus, she will be expected to abide by our traditions. There are years of training that she has missed out on and she is weaker because of it. Magic mastery, religious education, and adhering to the code of conduct and duties that I and the rest of my family perform.”

Zaniyah grimaced at the thought. “I ain’t an Arbutus. I’m a Krogastein. Don’t think that I’m gonna start living a different life just because you told me to. Magic is a waste of time and why should I listen to a bunch of absent gods? Have you seen how messed up the world is now? I’m not pushing my ass in the air just so they can step behind me and ram in their throbbing-”

“How dare you?!” Shaw’s grip around his weapon tightened. “The gods have not abandoned us. The world is ill and it is our duty as their holy agents to help humanity during this time of crisis. Iath is with us, and our mission as paladins to enact his will and protect the people.”

Maybe he had a point about the gods not abandoning them, but Zaniyah definitely had more experience with them then he did. After all, Iath apparently contacted Sybil and gave her some stupid holy mission. That had to be worth something.

Shaw tossed a look at Beat. It was a pleading stare. He wanted one person in the world to agree with him on this. Duxton had told him to leave Zaniyah alone and Sybil had shaken her head at the issue. She thought Zaniyah should do what she wanted. The fact that Beat just shrugged at Shaw made him all the more dismayed.

“She isn’t wrong,” replied Beat.

A growl passed through Shaw’s snarling teeth. “At least attempt to come to a compromise on this, Zaniyah. How can you claim that Nicolas Arbutus is your father and expect me to leave you alone? How can you tell me that you are my sister and order to turn my back on you within the same breath?”

Zaniyah regretted telling him at all. “That dad of yours forgot about me easily enough. You’re the same blood. I’m sure it’ll be easy.” She looked off to the side and puffed out her cheeks as Shaw gave her a pained expression. He had gone this long without knowing about her. Forgetting should be easy enough.

Rosethorn finally spoke up. “I did bring one of my older journals with me. It has a rough sketch of Paladin Arbutus’ shield in it.” He held up an old, beaten up looking notebook.

“How’s that help any?” Zaniyah tilted her head.

"A coat of arms is enough to identify which family of paladins you are from, but there are details along the edge of each shield that can be used to confirm direct lineage. I will able to compare your shield to both Mister Arbutus' shield and his father's to definitively prove that you are Paladin Arbutus' daughter."

"Eh, really?" Zaniyah tilted her head as Rosethorn nodded. Seemed complicated. They should just take her word on it rather than go through all this trouble.

Beat got up from his seat and moved to stand behind her. “Give it one honest attempt and I will force Shaw to drop the issue. Now extend your arm.”

As she complied, he stepped behind her. His voice shifted to a deeper tone as he placed one hand on her waist. "Magic is a part of you." The other hand slid down the whole of her arm before placing its palm against the back of her hand. "Paladins seek to defend their personal moral code. That is where they draw their power. Concentrate on what is important to you and force your soul to defend it."

A sputtering of sparks appeared in front of Zaniyah's hand. They formed into flames, which in turn shifted into her shield. She concentrated on keeping it in place as Beat circled around her again. He only needed a glance before he came up with his interpretation.

“She is your sister,” Beat said as he folded his arms. Shaw stared at him with a frown. “And she is a paladin.” Shaw blinked in a dumbfounded way. “Are you not willing to accept my interpretation of her runes?”

Shaw glanced over to Rosethorn, but the professor was eagerly doodling down Zaniyah’s shield. “I am willing to accept her as my sister but she cannot be a paladin. Only men can be paladins. That is the one rule that has been proven time and time again.” Shaw shook his head. “Unless that is… Perhaps that is the answer.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Taking a step towards Zaniyah, Shaw began to examine her more closely. She was flat-chested and dating Vincent didn't seem like enough proof that she was female. Shaw had formed the opinion that Vincent was an odd sort of paladin. He had good intentions but was a strange sort of oddity.

Rosethorn finished sketching out Zaniyah’s shield. “I will conclude that Mister Alder is correct in his interpretation,” he muttered. “Absolutely fascinating.”

“... What.” Shaw wasn’t buying it. “... What does it mean?”

“It means I have solid evidence that I can use for my research paper!” Rosethorn exclaimed. He was nearly purring with excitement.

Now Zaniyah was alarmed. “What?” She didn’t like how excited Rosethorn was. It felt like she was about to get dissected or something.

“It is Tria’s role to maintain balance in the world,” replied Rosethorn. “She created a divide between the priestesses and the paladins. Around twelve years ago, necromancers reported that their powers had started to weaken. You would’ve been six or seven at the time. A little late for your magic to awaken, but not completely unheard of.

All of this can only mean that Tria has entered a state of decay." Rosethorn began to wave his hands about, growing all the more eager as he spoke. "Women can be paladins and there may even be priests of Eatha! The miasma is further proof of this! We are entering a magical apocalypse! Much like when Tria was born and blood iron was first created!"

“... Whoa.” Zaniyah’s existence made her some sort of herald of the apocalypse? “... Awesome.”

Shaw stared at Rosethorn as though he were insane. “What are you on about?”

“No Tria, no blood iron,” replied Beat. He walked over to the couch and laid down on it. His arm draped over his eyes, indicating that he was feeling tired.

“Precisely!” Rosethorn began to scoop up his notebooks. “It will only be a matter of time before humans rage war against each other for control of the mist regions! No doubt that this will lead to the fall of the kingdom and the reestablishment of regions as individual territories.

How exciting! I must begin work on my paper immediately. If we are to stop another civil war, the royal family must start taking precautions immediately. I cannot wait to see how all of this unfolds!” He raced out of the room so that he could immediately get to work.

Shaw glanced over to Beat. “He’s not serious, is he?”

“Completely,” replied Beat. “I wouldn’t worry about it. If it happens at all, war will be a few years off.”

“A few years?” Shaw tensed up. “Five? Ten years?” Beat shrugged. “Two? Perhaps three?” Beat shrugged again. “Shouldn’t you know?” Beat shrugged a third time. He was too tired to care.

Zaniyah was feeling a bit out of it. Too much information for her to process. "So am I allowed to drop my shield or what?" She had been awkwardly holding it up the entire time.

“... Do as you will,” muttered Shaw. Zaniyah let her shield crack apart before she stretched out her arm muscles. “... At least give some thought into meeting father. After he receives the news of your existence, he will be willing to work with-”

“Work with me? Because being a paladin is what makes me important enough for him to care about? Not because I’m his flesh and blood?” Zaniyah shook her head. “I don’t care. If you really want to bitch at me about it, I’ll try to figure out how to do a little of the magic thing, but I refuse to do anything involving your father. He chose to stay out of my life and it’s my choice on when he can come back.”

“Then what about…” Shaw struggled to find the right words, gesturing between himself and her. “... You’re my sister, Zaniyah.”

"And why does that matter to you?" Zaniyah spat back. "Not that long ago, you were fine with viewing me as the nameless blue-haired freak."

“Because of such traditions as maintaining family honor and our duty to the crown. The…” He was struggling to find the words. “The legacy of the Arbutus family is-” His jaw tensed up, as did the rest of his body as he attempted to explain. “As your elder brother, it is my responsibility to ensure that you have the skills needed to protect yourself.”

“I already have two ‘elder’ brothers, and they’ve been looking out for me a lot longer then you have,” she replied. “I don’t need you.”

The silence in the room hung heavily in the air. So much so that Beat opened one eye to look around. Shaw’s face had gone pale. One of his hands formed into a fist before loosening up.

“... Zaniyah,” Shaw whispered.

“You can’t find out that we’re related and toss…” Zaniyah waved a hand about the air. “All of this at me. Zynn is just as useless as me with his magic and Zyris is normal, but both of them have never asked me to be anything other than my best!”

Shaw shook his head. “I can assist and help you transcend your best. There is no reason to be content with your current limits,” he whispered. His expression was still pained.

“I wasn’t done yet!” She raised her voice and Shaw took a step back from her. “I don’t care if you want to be there for me now. I’ve got brothers, and I have Chickadee, and Sybil, and even Alton. No one but you has ever tried to push me into being something that wasn’t me. I don’t give a shit about how powerful I can become if I’m still not me in the end.”

She turned on her heel and began to walk away. Shaw started to walk after her but stopped when Beat clicked his tongue. Zaniyah entered the next room and slammed the door behind her. All she did was let out a huff as she greeted the two waiting in the room.

Duxton and Sybil were making and eating lettuce wraps at a table. Neither was speaking to the other.

“How can you even stand to hang around these losers all the time?” Zaniyah rolled her eyes so hard that they felt like they were about to fall out of her head. “Let’s just leave them behind and go ruin Alton and Chi’s date.”

Sybil held up a wrap and waited for Zaniyah to chomp down on it. “I’m being dragged out against my will to the Mart temple.” She would rather stay inside and ignore all the outlanders. A part of her wanted to punch out as many as she could for being so disrespectful towards the core massacre.

“No need to be so bitter, ladies.” Duxton flashed them a smile. “It isn’t being forced, it’s a privilege. We get to enjoy the fun and games and not a soul out there will recognize us.” He relished the idea of being lost in a crowd without anyone knowing who he was.

Zaniyah knew she was free to go but hated the idea of leaving Sybil behind. Beat didn’t seem so bad, even if the rest of them were terrible. Maybe if she hid behind him for most of the day, Shaw would leave her alone. Plus, if they were in a crowd, someone might be lucky enough to succeed in assassinating the prince. It didn’t seem so bad if she thought of it like that.

“Well okay then. Let’s go do some stupid outlander festival,” muttered Zaniyah under her breath. “It won’t be as fun as a core festival, but we’ll manage.”

It still felt like a bad idea, but she felt better when Sybil mouthed, “Thank you,” at her. Zaniyah would make the best of it. Having fun was one of the things Zaniyah was best at and she wasn’t going to stop being good at it now.