"We'll return to the school dueling grounds."
Gerald's voice was uncharacteristically serious, as he carefully gathered up their purchases and walked towards the road leading to the school.
Frederick laughed, crumpling up the challenge sashes in a clenched fist.
"Why not here and now, Prince? Worried about fighting me outside the safety of the academy? Need the teachers to watch your back while I beat your face in?"
"So angry!" Gerald laughed lightly, reaching out to grasp Erin's hand while continuing to walk towards the school. "It's nothing so dramatic. I just don't trust you two. Even if I beat you, you're the type that will claim it was a surprise attack rather than an official match."
He turned towards Erin with a grin. "We still haven't gotten dessert yet. Want to come back to town after I humiliate him?"
"Sounds good." Erin kept her tone easygoing as well, enjoying the obvious rage of the two student council members at not being taken seriously. She looked down at their clasped hands, raised an eyebrow, briefly considered pulling away, but in the end kept her hand in place.
"This is just too tragic." Wilhemina jumped in, walking behind the two with a bitter expression. "Prince Gerald had the capabilities to truly excel in this academy, but now he's being dragged down by the school's garbage."
Frederick laughed along with her, but once he realized that the target of their mocking was ignoring them, grew sullen and silent.
"Your boyfriend is going to regret standing with you today." Wilhemina hissed, moving faster to get to the school ahead of them.
"We'll see." Erin sighed at their persistence. This really was getting annoying. She glanced over, only to do a second glance as she saw Gerald smiling widely. "Why are you so happy?"
He squeezed her hand. "You didn't correct her when she called me your boyfriend."
"Idiot. Just focus on your fight." Erin looked away, but heard him chuckle and knew he had seen her embarrassed expression.
"Yes ma'am. " Luckily he was smart enough not to comment further, and they traveled the rest of the distance to the academy in silence.
Once they had found a teacher to stand witness to the duel, they assembled on the practice grounds to begin. Erin stood on the sidelines, clutching the bags containing her birthday gifts and their purchases from earlier, feeling nervous. It was strange, she had no problem facing these people in fights by herself, even knowing she was going to lose due to her restrictions, but watching Gerald face the same danger was... disconcerting.
The boy in question did not seem to share her concerns, giving her a wink and a grin before heading to the center of the field.
"Wish me luck?"
She rolled her eyes. "Try not to embarrass yourself."
Gerald turned, bowing in her direction. "Your wish is my command."
"Stop screwing around!" Frederick's face was livid as he took his stance.
"Hush, this is important flirting time, don't interrupt. It's essential to the royal courting process." With a laugh, Gerald turned back towards his opponent and also took a ready position.
The teacher stepped forward, briefly stated the rules, and waved the sashes, signaling the start of the fight.
Frederick shot off two blasts of fire right away, a light forming at his feet as he activated physical reinforcement magic. Gerald stood still, watching every movement the other boy made intently, finally moving a step to the right at the last minute to avoid the ranged magic.
