Forming the newest troops

As Tristian was undergoing all his endeavors back into the past where he transmigrated to, King Syron, under the influence of Gregor, had begun the mission of creating a new troop under the disguise of a free academy admission of all persons into the Noble Academy.

Every street within the Cyras Kingdom became lively with this sudden news as it traveled from person to person until it reached the market area where Roga normally goes to sell his hunts.

The busy market streets of these part of the Cyras Kingdom were filled with an energetic atmosphere of these excited murmurings and talebearings from the earlier people who first heard about the information directly from the Royal family, regarding the free admission of all races both commoners and nobles alike, into the famous Noble Academy.

Meanwhile, the infamous rule of the entrance requirements was to undergo a three steps test for endurance, bravery, and strength before admission.

However, rumors had already spread far and beyond about how difficult the test was, to the point, most of the foremost arrivers to take the test were failing miserably, which was a cause for alarm... Nevertheless, since it was a huge opportunity to pave the way to a much wider and honorable status, others who have yet to go for their test had begun private fierce training in the respective requirements to join the second badge of admittance.

Meanwhile, Roga arrived to trade some of his good hunts from the forest along with Lazarus who escorted him after escaping Seeta's watchful eyes to the market.

Suddenly, one of Roga's friends whom he had been close to for the past two years around the kingdom, approached him with the latest news circulating the market which she heard from the gossip mongers a while ago.

Everybody around the market knew how desperately Roga worked to get his brother Lazarus admitted into the Noble Academy along with the nobles of his stature. More so, he was yet to hear the great news of the free academy admission since he normally avoided tales from gossipmongers.

His only mission and aim were to make lots of wealth for the sake of Lazarus, hence, he was living by it conscientiously.

"Hey, freak...what's the latest news reports today?." Roga asked when his friend appeared out of nowhere to meet him along the road.

"I bet this will be the best news you will hear from me so far. And it will make you extremely happy...so you better apologize for calling me a freak before I tell you." Samora replied with a frown.

However, Roga was amused at Samora's sudden request for an apology when he had never called her by her name for the past two years since they have been friends. He thought Samora must have been used to the name by now, but it seemed amusing to Roga how quickly she demanded an apology out of nowhere.

Moreover, he had no idea what news will make him happier than earning lots of money to get Lazarus admitted into the Noble Academy, so he replied matter-of-factly to her demands.

"Well, if that's the case, then I am not interested in the recent ongoing gossip, and sorry, but you are not getting an apology from me..." Roga uttered in mockery as he stuck his tongue out to tease Samora who became angry at his words, frowning.

Therefore, out of fun, in order to stand her ground, Samora decided to make Regan eat his own words, so she made sure he wouldn't hear the ongoing good news from her regarding the free entrance to the Noble Academy or anyone else.

In other to make that possible, Samora stuck to Roga the entire day like glue, the entire time of his trade, and made sure no one comes to report the news to Roga. She drove away all the prospective gossipers who nearly delivered the news to Roga and sent them away. Until Roga sold all his hunts and got ready to return home.

However, Due to his mission to sell all his hunts, Regan barely noticed the strange atmosphere at the marketplace. But after selling and earning all his profits from his trade, he began to notice the strange happenings within the market area.

It seems all the traders within his spot had not reported to the market today, which seemed kind of weird.

It came as a huge surprise to him because the guy next to him never missed a day for his trade whether rain or shine, even if he was sick, it never stopped him from coming to earn.

Regan began to wonder what could have happened to have him miss this booming market day of their Kingdom. So he turned to ask Samora about it, but instead, she scoffed back at him regarding his lack of interest in any recent gossip of the kingdom.

"Just spit it out, Samora... while I am being patient!" Roga asked, annoyed at Samora's sudden change in attitude to hold her tongue. She never used to take his words seriously, and will always say whatever she wanted to say regardless of his interests. She would blabber nonstop about the happenings within the kingdom until he gets irritated about her endless chatters.

However, he wondered what prompted the sudden change in her attitude, especially on this day when he became suddenly curious about something for the first time, or did he simply miss all her mindless chatters today?

Interestingly, that's quite true it seems.

Samora had never withheld any information before, and it was strange how she barely spoke the entire time she was around him. Other than sending away other gossipmongers from approaching or speaking to him, she barely uttered a word to him. Was she still angry about being called a Freak? But why now, why did particular day?

Roga realized his anger had begun to build the more he pondered on these strange happenings. He suddenly became annoyed about Samora's odd behavior which seemed quite odd for his character.

Samora was a girl who dressed and always appeared like a boy... always in a male turban clothing with her hair tied in a knot, inside a weird-looking red cap which she wore every day. He had never seen her in female clothes before, and neither has he seen the color or length of her hair since he knew her.

Roga and Samora became friends on a rainy day on his way back from trade. He found her crying under a tree with the downpour of rain sprinkling on her as she hugged herself tightly and shivered. Surprised at her situation, Roga approached her thinking she was a boy due to the way she dressed.

"Why are you sitting here in the rain? where do you stay?" Roga scouted to ask the shivering girl.

"Just leave me alone...I can't return home so there is no need to tell you." Then she burst into tears.

"That's okay! If you don't want to go home ten don't. But would you mind telling me why? You will catch a severe cold in the rain." Roga reached to soothe her worries but she drew away from his reach.

Roga realized she was the same age as Maridine.. his sister, or maybe a year or two younger than her.

Samoa later related her entire story after she calm down from her cries. He found out she was a girl, something he found hard to believe since she didn't look like a girl at all, but when he found out her stepfather was a cruel man who always beats her mother, Roga scouted over to console her regardless and this time around she gave in...

"It's okay little girl...show me who that stepfather of yours is, and I am going to teach him a good lesson..." Roga consoled after she concluded her story, and she smiled at his words, quite an innocent smile amidst her misty eyes.

"But I am not a little girl...I am Thirteen. You look young too but you can't punish my stepfather... called me Samora." She introduced herself and they got acquainted before Roga escorted her to his home to freshen out of her wet state in Maridine's room.

After she was done, Samora insisted on wearing her clothes even though Maridine offered to lend her some of her clothes. But Samora complained it was girly and she doesn't wear girls' stuff. She and Maridine became friends and she hang out at their place most of the time since then, and it's been two years now.

"But why do you dress like a boy if you said you were indeed a girl." Roga curiously asked when their friendship started to get deep.

"That's how my mother dressed me since I turned ten...she said a diamond must always hide its beauty before greedy men snatch its innocence away... At first, I didn't understand what she meant. But now that I am grown I understood exactly why she said that. That was why I accepted her way of dressing to this day. My stepfather was the greedy man she was talking about, very bad and ill-mannered. Mother suspects he is into shady dirty business." Samora explained and Roga shook his head in understanding.

Even though Samora hid the other fact about her mother's suspicions in her stepfather's handiwork in the recent kidnapping cases of young girls circulating the kingdom recently. She was afraid to get in trouble since her mother told her not to mention it to anyone else or her stepfather would sell her too. Even though they have no strong evidence to confirm their suspicions.

Since then, Roga took pity on poor Samora and allowed her to hang around him most of the time, and he had been calling her Freak instead of her name since she doesn't suit her appearance.

Back to the present...

Meanwhile, Roga wondered about this sudden change out of nowhere...first demanding an apology then second, a parrot like her was quiet the entire time.

Samora sensed Roga's anger in his question for the first time. And that was when she confessed to him about what she had been hiding all this while.

"They all went to get an admission into the Noble Academy...almost all the people absent at the market today went there..." Samora replied, suddenly feeling guilty for hiding this news the entire time, when she knew it was the most awaited and happiest news for Roga.

"What?? But how!... Did they all get rich overnight or what? going for admission?...How absurd! you surely don't know how to lie Samora. Don't tell me if you don't want to.." Roga replied amusingly.

"No! News spread since dawn that the Royal family was opening up the Noble Academy for all persons, and it is free, including all commoners of the Kingdom so everybody went there eager for that opportunity..." Samora replied and the look of horror and disappointment on Roga's face scared her out of her wits when the information she uttered sunk deeper in understanding of the situation. She didn't know why, but she began to suddenly fear for their friendship.

"So, that was the news you withheld from me all this time and wouldn't even allow others to tell me?" Roga looked disappointed and shocked at the same time from the revelation...

"Despite you knowing all the efforts I have been making to get my Brother Lazarus admitted there at all cost?? How could you do this Samora?... I wasted an entire day. I should have been the first to know, not the last." Roga moved to hold Lazarus's hand and began to walk away from the guilty-looking Samora.

Finally, Samora realized the cruelty in her actions and the tears in her eyes began to flow endlessly from Roga's anguish accusations.

"I don't want someone like you as a friend...we are done! I thought being friends meant happiness for each other's success, I didn't realize it was the opposite for you." The last words Roga uttered before he dragged Lazarus along with him made Samora stumbled to the ground in her spot when her knees gave out.

"Either way, thank you for keeping it from me all this time and telling me when it was almost too late." The sarcasm added another blow to Samora's emotional guilt as Roga's footsteps away from her began to fade into nothingness.