Interlude: The Cub of Illustria

CAIN

The next few weeks passed, as cliché as it was to say, in a blur.

Cain was subjected to something just short of torture under Solveig's tutelage.

His stamina was a problem. His footwork was a problem. His habit of apologizing to training dummies was, apparently, also a problem. But the biggest hole of all, the one Solveig kept circling back to, was his anger.

It was always there. He just never let anyone see it.

\\

"Come on, keep up…!"

"I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die for real! My heart actually hurts. I'm gonna burst…"

"The physical body is capable of so much more than the mind believes. Push, Cain. Push!"

Unfortunately for Solveig and Cain’s training session, today, they were mere actors for spectators of the show.

"Wow, is that Cain? Going jogging again?!"

"Dude, he's totally being whipped right now…"

Laughter from the river bank. Cain's face burned.

"Ignore them. Look at me. Look at me!"

Cain looked.

"You think they have the right to mock you when you're suffering this much?!" Solveig cried.

"No."

"Then tell me what you really think!"

“What?!”

“You’re keeping it all inside right now. Trust me, it works!”

"I think… this academy… is full of jerks…”

“Come ooonnnn… even I could tell you’re holding it in. Tell me what you REALLY think!”

Cain didn’t respond for a while, just kept jogging. That seemed to spur Solveig even more.

“Please, gimme something to work with here, Cain!”

“This academy… is full of hypocrites."

"Louder!"

"I think… this academy is full of hypocrites… and that THEY SHOULD KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT!"

"That's right! Push… push!!!"

And he did. Somehow his legs found something they hadn't had a lap ago.

"We're gonna be doing this every day, you know." Solveig paused. "Well, rest is important too. That's when the body repairs the damage… Okay, every two days!"

"That's still not enough time to…! Shit…"

\\

But it wasn't all bad, mind.

By the third week, Cain could finish the full circuit around the grounds without stopping. At the prospect of seeing someone who previously was failing at something succeed through hard work and grit, they left like the cowards they were.

But at some point after one of these runs, Solveig had an epiphany. He wasn't sure how she got there, but she had one anyway.

"Harness your anger,” she had said one morning.

Cain was understandably confused. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm being serious. Harness it."

"Solveig. Boss. My dear tutor. I'm the Earl. I do not want, and cannot afford, to go around losing my temper in front of everyone. That’s asking to relinquish my Student Council President role. I thought about it, you know. If this goes on, I will indeed be the first Cunningham to not be Council prez in three centuries.”

"You shouted at people two weeks ago!"

"That was different. That was for you. That’s anger people can understand!"

"You ran your best lap that day you called your classmates hypocrites." She held up a finger. "I timed it, I swear. Every other day you're polite and you swallow everything, you run like a wet sock."

"…Thank you?"

"See, that's what I mean! You're doing it right now." She pointed at him. "You wanted to say something mean to me; just now even! I saw it. And you didn't."

Cain opened his mouth, but he found he had nothing to really say.

"You're hiding it," Solveig said. "Aren't you?"

"I'm not hiding anything."

"You are. There's so much you want to say, but you think you haven't earned the right to say it yet. Like you have to become the perfect Earl first, and only then are you allowed to be angry about how people treat you." She shook her head. "Nah, I don’t believe in that kind of crap. You end up angry at yourself instead of the people who actually deserve it. That’s what Uncle Hrafen told me all the time, and I agree with him!"

Solveig moved around; her newfound energy and enthusiasm having to go somewhere.

"Look at Isolde," Solveig went on. "She's angry all the time. She shows it all the time. And people follow her anyway. You know why?"

"Because she bribed about half the campus with her tea parties?"

"Because she's sure. People don't care about good person, bad person half as much as you think. People prefer people who are sure and don’t bend when things challenge their position." She shrugged. "Isolde points her anger at the wrong things. That's her problem. Yours is that you don't point yours at anything at all."

Solveig patted his shoulder and walked on by.

"Seriously, think about it. For now, let's get to class."

\\

And little did Solveig know just how far Cain would take things sometimes…

\\

"Ah, Cain…" Rick said politely. "What a surprise! Didn't think you'd have the nerve to show up here after this morning." He looked to who was at Cain’s side. “And the missus!”

He got up and gave a kiss on her hand, much to Cain’s annoyance. Not because of the gesture, but because Solveig looked positively thrilled by it.

“Welcome, both of you, to our humble abode. I need to finish up but do have a look around.”

Rick returned to his desk, writing down whatever he needed to on a parchment that didn’t look at all important.

The Finance Club room was, to Cain’s surprise, rather modest for what the Coin represents. It was Rick’s values, he supposes. Rick always valued his values and put pride in that far more than money. Which is fine. But he is a right hypocrite in any case, because he hasn’t a worked so much a serious job in his life, on account being a teenager and all.

…Cain was not deflecting right now!!

"The guards were very thorough, by the way,” Rick said slyly, like the fox he was. “Went through every drawer. Found absolutely nothing, of course, but I appreciated the effort."

Cain set a folded sheet of paper on the desk.

"Then explain this."

Rick looked up finally. He glanced at it without unfolding it. "Is that a love letter? Cain! I didn’t know you double dipped!"

Cain unfolded it himself. He'd spent four nights on this. Four nights in the records hall, cross-checking club dues against loan notes against the name of every student who owed Rick so much as a copper.

It was a lot of names.

"You hold debt on a third of the student body," Cain said. "A third. Half of Isolde's retinue. Two of the Arena officials' sons…”

“Are you making a point, or are you just listing out my accomplishments?”

“I’m doing neither. I’m starting off this conversation by asking you why you prefer to deal with Isolde and her cronies over either the Crown or D’Igoll’s Demihuman Indepedence Liberation Front?”

“The DILF is viewed as a terrorist organization in all but three countries. Need I say more? And I find the Crown to be… erm… suffocating, to put it lightly.” Rick shook his head. “Besides, I provide a service. People pay for services. That's how money works, Cain. I'd have thought an Earl would know that."

"And this one?" Cain tapped the bottom line. "Eight hundred crowns. Paid out to an unnamed courier. What was it for that it was eight hundred crowns' worth?"

For a moment, something flickered across Rick's face.

Then it was gone, and the smile was back.

"Business."

"What business?"

"Mine." Rick finally sat up. "But I admit, it was good of you to sniff something like this out. Solveig sure is raising a tiger. A month ago you just looked at me funny and called it a day. Now you're calling guards on people and storming into their clubrooms. Solveig's really been working on you, hasn't she?"

"Leave her out of this, Rick."

"I hear you've started barking at people in corridors now, you know. Toward bullies, assuredly. I even heard some people are starting to warm up to you. Miriam... Bobby... Now, Bobby, I'm impressed with. I thought he was going to be by Isolde's side forever. He really has a mind for finances; pity I couldn't capitalize and get him to join our ranks."

"He would not have liked the Club," Solveig said.

"You don't know that..."

"Sorry. Rephrase. He is NOT GOING TO like the Club."

"HAH! Gods... I see how you have these people under your thumb..." Cain shook his head. "Also heard that you were shielding some Companions of certain problem students. Dreamwalker thanked Cain personally, didn’t she? Is that part of the lessons, Cain? Does Solveig give you a treat afterward?"

"Stop screwing us around,” Cain growled.

"Look, you came in here with half a page and a lot of feelings, and you want me to hand you a confession so you can go home and feel like a hero. Shit, I guess I will play along then…"

"You smug, spineless…"

"Both of you, enough!"

On command, both of them turned.

Solveig was crossing her arms... and giving them The Look.

Gods... no...!

The Look often gave people like them no small amount of terror in their hearts.

"Y-Yes, darling?" Rick said, which gave Cain no amount of awful feelings in his heart for some reason.

"Cain called the guards on you,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Indeed. They must have had some agenda because they were very rude about it. Made me a fool in front of all my club members.”

"And did they find anything?"

"No. Obviously."

Solveig nodded slowly, then turned toward Cain. "Perhaps Rick’s pissy at you because you called in the guards on him, Cain. You don’t escalate like that when you don’t need to. I'd be pissy too!"

Rick smirked.

Solveig turned to him. "And you, Rick. You're not helping either."

The smirk paused.

"You saw Cain was angry and you poked it rather than taking him seriously.”

“What am I supposed to do? Look, I’m sorry I’m not an infallible human being who doesn’t feel or think for himself, but if you’re looking for a man who is above pettiness you’re looking at the wrong place, honey.”

“But this is a step too far,” she said. “He shouldn't have called the guards. You shouldn't be an ass about a serious accusation we have evidence for."

Silence.

"Well?" Solveig said. "Cain. You first."

Cain stared at her. Then at the floor.

"I'm sorry for calling the guards," he said stiffly. "That was… excessive. I should have come to you directly."

For the first time since Cain walked in, Rick looked caught off guard.

"Rick," Solveig said.

Rick sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry for the dog jokes. They were beneath me."

"And?"

"And for enjoying it so much."

"Good boy."

Rick laughed.

"You know, most people who walk into this room either grovel at me or threaten me. You did neither."

"I don't have enough money to grovel, and I'm not allowed to threaten people anymore. I'm on notice. Alright, we’ll be out of your hair. Come on, Cain. We're late."

Cain followed her out, folding the page and slipping it back into his coat.

At the bottom of the stairs, Solveig spoke without turning around.

"Eight hundred coin, huh?"

"Eight hundred coin."

She had glanced back at him. "Keep digging."

\\

Cain and Solveig were a well oiled machine at times, the past few weeks.

Most days training, some days conspiracy busting, some days saving some folks. Especially the Companions of some rich brats, of which there were countless of them in this academy.

All in all… life was looking up as the days went by.

But that was on the surface, really.

Cain was starting to worry about his tutor.

If there were signs of lethargy, perhaps the make-up covered it up. But Cain knew, deep down somehow… Solveig was nearing some measure of breaking point.

And he wasn’t sure why. Solveig was not a normal person, this couldn’t be just her running out of gas.

Something was up. And in the coming days, he'd find out exactly what shape it would take.