The Bruiser Girl

“So, how exactly am I supposed to spend the winter with a sleeping gown, the Duke’s coat, a letter and…” Ui slowed down and looked at Cro “You…”. Ui and Cro’s carriage pushed through the dry northward roads, still unaffected by snow or ice. The roads were getting bumpier the farther away they were from Novestr.

“They sent someone to get some things for you since you were asleep.” Ui looked at Cro, confused. Cro then pointed outside of their window. Ui pulled the curtains open, only to find a recognizable, flying girl in a Royal Mage cloak, casually carrying a large crate.

“Prishu…”

◆

When Ui didn’t grow taller compared to her Uman classmates, they started whispering behind her back.

But Ui didn’t care one bit. She had heard, and silenced, voices far stronger and more hateful than her classmates. In a way, she even found it curious. And while she didn’t have many friends because of it, she still enjoyed herself, humming along the riverside park next to her school.

The words of hatred sent her way would dissolve into the river, and her humming would disappear everything else. The river that crossed through that part of Novestr gently trickled past her, and the Umans, fortunately, had kept it just as beautiful as when they first found it. The river and its soothing sounds and reflections, combined with Ui’s voice, kept her heart and mind safe. It didn’t really matter to Ui what some hateful children said. But one girl cared.

Ui was just finishing a song when two girls fell unconscious next to her, with their faces full of dirt. She scrambled on the grass, alarmed by her classmates suddenly passing out unconscious next to her. Once the surprise passed, she tried to make sure they were fine.

“They won’t bother you anymore.” A girl stood proudly beside her. She was a Uman of about the same age, with wavy, medium-length hair. Something about her confidence felt comforting, but also unsettling at the same time. Ui was too worried about the unconscious classmates to think too much about it.

“Are they going to be alright?!” Ui was now desperately trying to wake up her classmates. They were alive, but they were definitely not responding.

The strange girl laughed uncontrollably. “You’re worrying about the wellbeing of your bullies?”

Ui looked at her, confused. Of course she would worry about unconscious classmates.

“No wonder they keep coming here, trying to get a reaction from you.”

“They do?” asked Ui. Every word that strange girl said added to her confusion. The girl exploded into laughter, which only made it worse. “What’s… your name?”

“Prishu.” The strange girl stood proud.

“Thanks, Prishu… but I don’t really care what they say—”

“I have vowed to be a knight that will protect the weak. Your knight.”

Ui smiled awkwardly. She didn’t really understand what she was being protected from, and she was definitely not weak, but the girl standing in front of her seemed really proud of what she had done. Ui didn’t really want to get in the way of that. “Thanks, my knight.”

“No problem!” Ui’s alleged knight turned around heroically and walked away, leaving an extremely bewildered Ui, who scrambled once she realized it would’ve been a bad idea to get caught next to unconscious classmates. She grabbed her things and ran away from the scene.

The next few days in her usual spot next to the river were extremely quiet. Maybe she even missed her classmates’ poor attempts at attention as they walked past her. Instead it was just her, and that quiet, beautiful river. But as soon as she started thinking about her classmates somewhat kindly, they showed up, in far larger numbers. In fact, Ui had no idea she had that many classmates, and wondered where they all came from. Noticing how angry they were, Ui started wondering what she had done wrong, since she never talked to them in the first place.

“Now you don’t have that monster to protect you.”

Ui was confused by their comments. What monster? Ui was starting to believe she’d never understand Umans of her same age.

“A lower noble looking down on us? Or maybe even worse, a commoner?”

They’re nobles?

“Or maybe she’s an Udie…”

That was the first time Ui paid attention to their words. But instead of feeling sad or hurt in any way, she worried about the kinds of things other noble children thought about. She wondered if she should run away, or swim, while holding back her strength to not seem suspicious. But she didn’t have to plan her escape for long.

“Your knight is here!” A girl with a different voice broke their chain of insults. It was Prishu once more, standing proud and unafraid in front of the larger group of classmates. “I will protect the innocent.”

Ui saw Prishu charge up with basic strengthening magic and started walking aggressively towards the pack of bullies. Ui had no idea who would win.

“You can’t take all of us, monster!” The kids tried to stop Prishu.

Yet Prishu still tried to bulldoze her way through, managing to take down about four or five before finally getting surrounded. Ui sat there, confused at why the scene was even necessary in the first place. She hoped the commotion attracted sensible adults, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Fists kept flying as the kids tried to pummel Prishu into submission once they managed to overwhelm her.

But Ui decided it was enough. She calmly took off her gloves and shoes, and when nobody else was looking, landed a kick on one of Prishu’s aggressors, which sent a girl flying and resulted in a whole pack of them tumbling down.

“That’s my knight. Leave her alone.” Ui smiled menacingly. A sense of panic spread among the group of bullies, trapped by Ui on one side, and an angry Prishu rising on the other.

The group of kids struggled to get off the ground, and when they did, they saw two girls, in a combat pose, far stronger than any one of them was.

“She knows strengthening magic too! Another monster!” The kids scrambled and tried to run away, tripping and dropping some of their belongings as they fled.

Ui and her alleged knight Prishu were both disciplined, causing Ui’s parents to apologize. Ui apologized too, maybe a bit insincerely, but she was mostly just confused and wanted to move on. The school tried to keep Ui and Prishu apart ever since, but it was never enough to break the girls’ friendship.

◆

A flying Prishu managed to spot Ui through the carriage window and waved at her enthusiastically. Apparently, one hand was enough to carry a giant crate while flying.

Ui closed the curtains of the carriage once more. “How long can she stay flying like that?”

Cro chuckled. “She’s obnoxiously strong. She could fly all the way there and back if she needed to. She’s… famous for that.”

“Let her stay like that for a little longer, then.“ Ui rolled her eyes. “She’s terrible at picking clothes.”