Maxwell stared at his reflection in the shiny metal breastplate. this is probably a bad idea he thought he reached for delicately with one hand it was cool to the touch. Simply grazing it with his hand left a fingerprint on it. He eagerly wiped it away to not ruin the armour. Next to it was a maze nearly as big as the armour.

A grin covered his face.

He reached for it and with great effort was just barely able to get it out of its rack. When it threatened to fall he placed it back, slamming it into the rack as he lost balance at the end.

He looked around as the sound of the echo died down.

Maxwell exhaled in relief. That could have gone very badly. He thought to himself.

“Miss Sofia would like to see you.”

Maxwell nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Don’t scare me like that Marco!” said Maxwell. He had never been able to notice when Marco was near him. He was so stealthy when he walked.

“My apologies master,” said Marco.

“Where is Sofia?” asked Maxwell.

“She’s in the garden/courtyard,” replied Marco.

Mark walked out to her. He had gotten used to the layout of the mansion and was able to navigate down to it without much difficulty.

Sofia was sitting down on a blanket playing with her giant dog.

“Bastion, fetch,” she said, tilting her hand back and launching the stick forwards. It shot through the air, it tumbled before landing gently in the grass almost reaching the end of the courtyard. Bastion barked and darted after it.

“You called,” said Maxwell nervously.

“Oh, that’s right,“ said Sofia

“What did you want?” asked Mark.

“What’s wrong with simply wanting to spend time with my brother?” asked Sofia.

Bastion lay the stick at Sofia’s feet panting heavily.

“Oh, I’m too tired Bastion!” exclaimed Sofia patting down her dress before collapsing onto the grass with a sigh.

“Fetch!” said Sofia pointing down the garden. A grin had covered her face.

Bastion charged at where she was pointing.

Marco was trimming the bushes along the side of the mansion. When Bastion had nearly reached him Marco lowered his head narrowly missing Bastion’s gaping jaws. Marco paused his gardening dodging tackles and swipes from Bastion’s large body and claws.

“Get him!” shouted Sofia gleefully.

Bastion’s massive maw encircled Marco’s leg. Marco spun around taking his leg out of reach. The jaws clamped shut with a sound like a bear trap

Maxwell felt goosebumps on his skin.

“Isn’t that too close, he was almost bitten?” said Mark

“This is simply a training exercise, can’t you see Bastion’s just playing around,” she said waving him off. In that moment one of Bastion’s claws grazed Marco’s cheek drawing blood that ran down his face.

It really doesn’t look like that. For a training exercise they sure were getting into it but then again he would be best to cast away the normal logic of his old life this might just be the harshness of the time. He wondered if the servants also acted like bodyguards or such for the Vanderbilt household. Marco moved with such incredibly rapid yet fluid movements. It was the sort of motion that could only be honed through training.

Bastion snarled. He had pinned Marco to the ground and proceeded to tear at his body.

Maxwell instinctively got to his feet.

“Isn’t it done, he’s lost“ said Maxwell frantically.

“Huh, what do you mean,” exclaimed Sofia, annoyed. “Marco’s tougher than he looks, and besides it wouldn’t matter even if he got hurt.”

“What do you mean by that?” said Maxwell, side eyeing her.

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“We can always get another,” said Sofia nonchalantly.

“”Get another …” said Maxwell, staring at her. She didn’t mean… No, no no, there’s no way she meant that. I must be mishearing, that’s right It's a misunderstanding.

Sofia brought her curled fingers to her lips and whistled. It rang out sharply.

“Bastion, game’s over!”

Bastion immediately raised his head before trotting over panting heavily.

“You’re not hurt are you?” said Sofia addressing Marco.

Marco trudged to his feet. Clutching his shoulder, his clothes were now scuffed from the dirt.

“No ma’am,” he said picking out some stray grass that had gotten in his hair.

“See,” said Sofia looking at Maxwell. “Just a training exercise we do together, in fact Marco enjoys it too, right Marco!”

Marco paused for a second before answering. “That’s right ma’am it's just a training exercise.”

Sofia tackled Maxwell to the ground. “What’s got you so lost in thought, you were never much of a thinker?”

“I feel that you've been acting strangely since your accident,” remarked Sofia.

“What could you mean?” asked Maxwell nervously.

“I don’t know,” said Sofia softly as she stared in the distance.

“Sounds like you’re calling me stupid,” said Maxwell.

“Of course not,” said Sofia giggling. Maxwell lied down looking at the blue sky contemplating the events that just took place. Maybe this world is different in more ways than I thought, the emblems every person is endowed with, the gods that rule people’s lives even- Maxwell glanced over at Marco who had gone back to trimming the bushes. The only difference now is that he winced slightly whenever he moved suddenly. The ideologies of people even in my world changed so much over the centuries. Who knows what that means for an entirely different world with a different history entirely. That’s not to speak of the inclusion of magic and sorcery.

Sofia’s giggles turned to sobs.

“Are you crying?” asked Maxwell, sitting up. “Why are you crying?”

“But…” Sofia sobbed, tears streaming down her face. “It’s just, I’m happy,”

She clasped Maxwell’s hand.

“You had your awakening, you’re joining the academy, i’m just happy for you,” she said looking into Maxwell’s eyes. “Maybe it’s sappy but you deserve this.”

Happy for me? Maxwell felt a weird sensation fill his chest. When was the last time I had heard those words? He blinked back tears. Sometimes one doesn’t know how important it is to hear something until after those words grace their ears.

“I should get going. I have some things to take care of,” said Sofia, getting to her feet. She patted herself down before walking away. She whistled sharply after which Bastion bounded happily after her.

Afterward Maxwell found himself wandering the hallways he spotted Marco. He had fresh bandages on his face. He was carrying a broom hurriedly walking.

“Hey Marco,” said Maxwell, calling to him. “Are you alright?”

Marco nodded. “I’ll manage,”

Maxwell studied his face but it was expressionless. “Try not to have so many training sessions OK, you can’t get injured like this,” he said.

“huh-OK” stammered Marco. “Thanks for stepping in.”

Footsteps echoed behind Maxwell.

“What did you do to Marco!” said Amelia. She grabbed him around the neck, almost hoisting him above the ground. “You better say what you did right now or I swear on all things holy-”

Let go, he didn’t do anything,” said Marco. “He was helping me!”

Amelia’s pupils were wide open and burned with red hot fury, they darted back and forth from Marco to Maxwell.

“If you laid your hands on Marco” she began.”I swear I won’t let you nobles take -”

Maxwell bit her. His teeth dug squarely into the flesh of her forearm.

Her grip loosened slightly allowing him to rip himself out of her grip. He collapsed to the ground coughing and gasping for air.

I can’t take this anymore of this. What had he done to deserve this? He hadn’t been mean or rude to them, he had treated them as equals, yet why now was he the one being strangled?

“I’ve had enough of this!” he shouted. “I am fed up and done!” He glared at Amelia. “I’m doen with this partnership, I haven’t done a single thing to you and yet you seem to hate me for no reason! I’m going back to my family who does nothing but treat me nicely. All you’ve done this time is try and use me, well to that I say I've had enough!”

“What do you mean you’ve had enough?” said Amelia stepping forward.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” said Maxwell cautiously. “I Ignard Vanderbilt, activate the Violence Pact!” he commanded. Power coursed through his body condensing at his center for a second before fading.

Amelia hesitantly took a step back. She eyed him warily. Maxwell clenched his fist. He smiled bitterly. It seems your true colors are finally showing!

“I knew it, all you’ve been doing this time is trying to use me. Why are you so afraid? Is it because you can’t control me like a dog anymore? I thought deep down even though you always were rude to me and hit me that you had my best interests at heart but I see it now. I was genuinely working to free you guys but the hypocrisy you’ve shown me is blinding!”

He stormed out of the room leaving them behind. The door slammed violently behind him jarring the door frame and rattling the hinges. Why did i ever agree to work with them.

“Maxwell.. “ said Marco in an agonized voice at his departure.

“Why would you do that!” snapped Marco at Amelia. “Now this is all ruined!”

“I was protecting you!” burst out Amelia.

“No you weren’t!” shouted Marco. “It was Bastion that hurt me, Maxwell was checking if I was alright! He just wanted to help!”

She froze in horror, all the color was strained from her face. “No…but I didn’t mean to do anything, I was just looking out for…” Her words trailed of as even she couldn’t defend her own actions.

“I thought we were a team, we were doing this all for mom, but when you do stuff like this… I can’t help but hate you!”

Marco stormed out of the room. The door swung firmly shut behind him.

Tears welled up in her eyes. “What have I done…”