Baxter and Iris

For three years, Iris and I would dedicate every day to learning the skills of the sword. We learned the warriors' techniques from instruction books in the library and from observing the fighting skills of the town guards. Then late in the night, the two of us would sneak out of our houses and practice together.

The first two years we stuck to the wooden swords but around the beginning of the third year, both Iris and my skills were polished enough that we were sure we were responsible enough to hold a real sword.

I’m not trying to brag but for young kids who had no proper teacher, me and Iris were pretty awesome!

Granted, Iris was way more awesome than I was. While we were both great with swords, Iris was a thousand notches better due to her fire magic. Since her powers awakened Iris trained non-stop at her home to learn the most powerful spells. As years went by she gained the power to manipulate flames and even touch them without burning her own flesh. One time when we practiced in the forest she almost torched all the trees. That was a hectic day because I remember us panicking as we tried to put the fire out.

During practice me and Iris would always end it with a duel. Of course, it always ended with her victory which half annoyed me but half impressed me. Iris’s talent was not something to laugh at and even the mayor of the town was certain she would become a great Holy Knight like her grandfather.

Everyone in Lore began to recognize Iris as a powerful warrior. While I did as well I also started to see my best friend as…something else.

Since the first day we met, I saw Iris as no different than a sibling. But during the three years of training which were also the roughest years for me because of how people were treating me, Iris was always by my side. She defended me, comforted me, and encouraged me. Plus thanks to the raging hormones I started to realize that she had a very attractive body.

It didn’t take me long to put the pieces together that I was in love with Iris. At first, I tried to bottle the feelings away but then one day in practice made me change my mind.

We ended the session with our usual spar which concluded with Iris’s victory. As I tried to go in for a strike, Iris parried me and summoned flames from her sword.

“Flame Magic: Solar Dance!”

Iris swung her fire-blade to my feet, tripping me. As I was on the ground she quickly got on top of me and her sword to my neck.

“It’s my win…again…”

Iris said between heavy breaths and smiling. At this point in our relationship, I lost so many times that it didn’t really bother me anymore. But what did bother me was my heart beating irregularly speed due to Iris being on top and getting a great night light view of her gorgeous face. She was drenched in sweat, smiling, and her golden eyes never stopped shining.

“Okay…get off idiot!”

I yelled as I tried to look away, trying to keep my red face from her view. Iris got up and sheathed her sword.

“Did you hear the news? On June 15th, the Observers from Eleiweth will come.”

I nodded in response.

“I know. It will be our only time to take the exam. If we miss it we would have to wait another year.”

The exam that me and Iris were talking about was the entrance test to get into Elendria Academy. It was a great school of combat where the best would go to learn. Graduating from the school was the best Holy Knights Ocaleveth had to offer and we were aiming to be students there.

While I was confident that Iris would pass I was mainly worried for myself. I was fifteen years old and my magic had not awakened. I tried everything—books, medication, meditation, doctors, and prayers. But all my attempts to try and awaken my magic proved to be useless. I had to fully accept that I was a Null.

My mother was heartbroken and mourned for me as if I was going to die. However, I did my best to stay positive and try to find the silver lining in it all. I continued to train non-stop and my body felt as hard as iron. Despite that, I feared that the Observers would turn me away after hearing I was a Null.

Beforehand I did my research to find that there were Null students who attended Elendria Academy in the passed. Sadly almost all of them quit the school either because it was too difficult or they got seriously injured to the point that they couldn’t continue.

I wracked around my brain trying to find a solution to my difficult situation.

“Baxter.”

I got out of my head and looked at Iris who stared at me with her usually reassuring smile. She obviously could tell I was anxious and held my hand.

“It will be fine. We will both pass.”

“Y-yeah…”

I tried my hardest to sound confident but it was difficult to pretend to be something I wasn’t.

During the summer, the Observers came to the Town of Lore and held the exam in an abandoned building. Only six people were taking the test—Iris and I were two of the six.

We waited outside as the Observers would call in the examinees one at a time. Some would come out quick or others would take hours before the door opened again. And as I waited I could hear loud explosions, yelling, and smashing.

Iris was called before me and she didn’t even take an hour. After some loud explosion, Iris exited the building and walked away while flipping her hair. As my best friend and crush went out she turned to me and winked. In return, I faked a smile and nodded.

“Next!”

I took a deep breath and walked into the abandoned building. On the inside, the place looked old dirty water was dripping from the ceilings, and all the windows were broken. Sitting by a long fancy table with golden chalices, paper with notes, and fancy clothing that shined so bright that the Observers looked like ghosts.

“State your name and power.”

“My name is Baxter Ale! I am fifteen and skilled with the sword!”

“What is your magic power?”

“I-I…I don’t have magic. I’m a Null good sirs…”

I sweated profusely after speaking the truth. A part of me wanted to lie but I knew that wasn’t smart. They would figure out my secret after seeing me not use mana and there was no way to play it off in front of experts like them.

The Observers said nothing and just continued to stare at me with emotionless expressions.

I stuttered as I tried to speak more.

“I-I promise to show my good sirs my skills and why I deserve to be a Holy Knight!”

One of the Observers leaned forward.

“Your test will be to defeat the four wooden golems that we will throw at you before the timer runs out. You have ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes? To beat four golems?”

Another Observer stood up and took a wand out of his robe. He waved it which caused green sparkles of magic to come out and touch the ground near my feet.

“Earth Magic: Dolls of Mother.”

Spawning from the ground were for wooden golems which looked similar to people.

“Ready? Begin!”

The golems charged at me with incredible speed and attacked me all at the same time.

“W-woah!”

It was unbelievably tough while I was holding them back with my sword skills the golems were programmed with amazing hand-to-hand combat. I found myself getting hit constantly and thrown to the floor or the wall.

As I was getting beaten and bleeding from my nose I glazed over at the Observers who were writing everything down. I began to panic and got back up to counterattack.

I managed to slice one of the golems in half with one powerful swing. The other three jumped on me and managed to disarm me. Frustrated I grabbed one of the golems and ripped off its head with my bare hands.

Two more golems remained. Without another second I punched a massive hole in one of their stomachs and they stopped functioning. I grunted aloud due to my bare knuckles bleeding from the impact.

Then there was the last golem which took a lot longer to take down. We traded blows until I managed to grab the animated doll's face. With all my strength I slammed the wooden golem down on the ground, breaking its head into many pieces.

I stood before the Observers—sweating, breathing heavily, and bleeding. Like before they showed no emotion and continued to write in their notepads. I glanced over at the timer near the Observer at the center to see that I only had one minute left.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. The disappointment I had in myself was unbearable.

“Thank you, Baxter Ale,” One of the Observers said. “You will receive the results in four days. You can be off now.”

After bowing I exited the building and hurried back to my house. My mother saw my battered body and was worried sick but I ignored her as I went up to my room and locked my door. I crashed onto my bed and proceeded to lament my own weakness.

Four days later, both me and Iris received letters from Elendria Academy. Iris wasted no time opening hers to see that the school had accepted her, which was no surprise to anyone. But when I got my letter I struggled to find the courage to open the envelope.

After some comforting words from my mother, I ripped open the letter to see bolded words written in gold:

ACCEPTED!

Once I realized the words present in my letter I fell to my knees and cried tears of joy. Despite feeling down on myself I was grateful to the world for giving me the chance. I saw the moment as a sign that my struggles weren’t for nothing. Even though as a Null I could still accomplish my dreams. However, my mother did not share the same excitement.

“Are you sure about this Baxter?” My mother said while looking at me with a worried expression. “Eleiweth is not kind towards Null and you might have a difficult time at the academy. What if you are unable to keep up with your peers? Maybe…you should think about a different career choice…”

I stood up and put my hands on my mother’s shoulder. My face was stained with tears but my smile was bigger than ever.

“Mother, I always wanted to be a Holy Knight ever since I was little. Elendria Academy has accepted me despite me being a Forsaken! If I don’t take this chance to prove myself I know I will regret it for the rest of my life!”

My mother wanted to say more but she held her words and sighed.

“Well at least you won’t be there alone Iris will be your side so if things get difficult go to her okay?”

“Iris…”

For a moment, I had forgotten that Iris and I were enrolling in the same school. The thought of both of us training together, graduating together, and becoming Holy Knights filled my soul with happiness. It was then that I was also reminded about how I felt about her. If I were to look for my acceptance letter as a sign from the universe that I could succeed in anything despite being a Null then I should try anything.

After kissing my mother on the cheek, I ran over to Iris’s house. I knocked on the door and greeting was Iris’s parents who were far from happy to see me.

“What are you doing here Null? Get out before we call—“

“I’m not here for you, I want to talk to Iris.”

The Brimstones were angry at my bluntness but I did not care.

“Baxter?”

Iris approached the door.

“Is something wrong?”

“Iris, I want to talk to you, meet me by the lake.”

With that, I hurried off—ignoring the yells from Iris’s parents. I sat down on the grass and stared out into the sky. The sun was disappearing from beyond the horizon turning the atmosphere into a beautiful mixture of orange yellow and purple colors.

After watching the setting sun for a while I heard Iris’s voice from behind. When I turned to her I could see that she had a concerned look on her face.

She walked up to me and asked, “Did you pass?”

I nodded.

“Yes, just barely.”

“That’s amazing!” Iris jumped up in the air while cheering. “I’m so happy for you Baxter! Now we will be able to accomplish our dream!”

I couldn’t help but smile. I decided to stop hesitating and say the words that were deep in my heart.

“This is only the beginning. I know from here on out I have to work for my future.”

“Huh? Baxter?”

“Because I am a Null, there are going to be way more challenges on my way to being a Holy Knight. It might almost seem impossible.”

“Baxter, are you still concerned about that? I told you a thousand times that you have nothing to worry about! Despite being a Null, you are still one of the strongest people I know!”

“…You don’t know how much I appreciate you, Iris. If you weren’t always by my corner I possibly would have lost all hope in my dreams. You make me feel like I can take on anything. I feel invincible when I am with you! So that is why…”

“Baxter…?”

I clasped Iris’s hands which caused her to look at me with confusion. Her beautiful gaze made me freeze for a second and no words could escape my mouth.

“Baxter, why are you so red? Do you have a fever?”

For some reason, I let out a pathetic squeal. Iris was still confused but laughed due to how funny sounded.

After taking one huge gulp I finally let loose my feelings in a very non-cool way.

“I-I’m not sure what my future will be like but regardless I-I…I want you to a-always be a part of it, Iris!”

It was Iris’s turn to blush as she looked at me with widened eyes.

“W-what are you saying, Baxter?”

“I…I love you, Iris! I’m seriously in love with you!”

“H-huh!?”

“I can’t stop thinking about you! I-I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I always have dreams with the two of us going on adventures…or even just settling down in a happy meadow or…”

Having the courage to raise my head, I saw that Iris’s face was as red as a tomato and she was doing everything in her power not to look me straight in the eye.

“O-of course I’m not trying to force your hand or anything! If you don’t feel the same way just say so! We can completely forget this whole thing ever-“

I was silenced by Iris who put her soft lips on mine. My heartbeat started to quicken and my body froze like a statue.

When our lips parted my eyes were glued on Iris while I stuttered like a fool. She glanced at me with a small smile.

“I’ve never seen you so flustered Baxter…it’s quite a sight to see…”

Iris then started to giggle which irritated me a little.

“W-what’s so funny?!”

She quickly stopped giggling and wrapped her arms around my body. Before I knew it, me and Iris were locked in a hug.

“I-Iris?”

“Baxter…”

When Iris spoke her voice sounded softer than usual which made me almost think that the girl in front of me was some sort of imposter. However, her golden eyes which still continued to shine and put other gems to shame reassured me that it was still the same Iris that I have known for years.

“Do you remember the very first day you and I started playing together?”

“Uhm…sort of?”

“I was in the playground pretending to be a Holy Knight by myself. Then some mean kids came up and started harassing me. They pushed me to the ground and laughed at my face. Even to this day, I still remember their words—‘You’re a weakling! Someone like you will never be a Holy Knight!’ Or words like ‘I bet a goblin would kill you easily!’

“I remember feeling so sad that I started bawling my eyes out…and then you came. You stood in front of me and kept those bullies away from me. You yelled at them and challenged them all to a duel with your wooden sword!”

I snapped my fingers as the memory that Iris was describing returned to me.

“That’s right! Those jerks were messing with you and I wanted to fight them off! However…I vividly remember getting my ass beat in the end…”

Iris giggled again.

“Yes, you did lose. Pretty pathetically actually.”

“Is there a reason for you to bring that up or did you just wanna have a good laugh?”

I grumbled aloud while looking away in embarrassment.

Iris continued.

“I always dreamed of being a hero, being strong like my grandfather. When you saved me that day, you became my very first realistic image of what a hero should be! So I followed you and was inspired to be just like you!”

“Iris…”

“And even when you were declared a Null you never gave up! You will always be the strongest person to me. And because of that…I always dreamed of being by your side.”

Iris held me tighter and I did the same in response.

“I love you, Baxter. Promise me that you will always be by my corner and I promise I will always be by yours.”

“Of course…I swear to always be by you. I love you, Iris…”

The two of us then kissed under the gorgeous full moon accompanied by a million stars in the background. The cold and windy night didn’t even fade us as we continued to keep each other in our warmth. That night was forever the night when my future would begin.

In a way—I was right however I was not physically or mentally prepared for what the future would end up being…