Seven

Sir George:

Ding Dong Ding Dong

The bells tolling woke me. I shot up from my little bed, which was made out of the cheapest stuff money could buy. The metal that was made up the frame creaked as I sat up. My body was sore from sleeping on the mattress stuffed with hay. Still, it was better than being on the streets. I thought as I got up. The stone floor was as cold as ice in the mornings. I ignored the cold as much as I could as I made my bed. We require to make our beds every morning before breakfast. It was one of the rules we had to follow in the orphanage.

If we didn't follow the rules, we would be kicked out sent to live on the streets. I definitely didn't want that to happen. So I made sure to follow the rules. Plus, today was a big day for me. Today was the day I was rumored to be born. It was the tenth anniversary of the day I was found by the priest. If all went well, I would awaken today. I was one of seven babies found ten years ago today. That may seem strange, but the kingdom of Gimora is known for its red-light districts and brothels. So, seven orphans was a light day.

I was said to be the baby of some prostitute. I didn't doubt it, considering they discovered me in one of the trash piles outside a well-known brothel. Considering my darker skin and curly hair, my mother must have been an exotic woman from a faraway land. My story was like many orphans that had grown up in Gimora. That is why I follow the rules rigidly. I didn't want to end up like the kids living in the slums.

"Good morning children!" Father Henry announced, shocking me. I had let myself take too long to fix my bed. I quickly ran to the edge of my bed and slipped on my leather sandals. I made it to the end of my bed just before father Henry started his inspection.

There were more than a dozen kids in the room. All of us lined up at the foot of our beds. The priest passed each child his deacon right behind him, clipboard in hand. Henry's deacon was a glorified slave. He did everything from preparing the priest's meals to washing his underwear. I prayed to Lady Lora that I awaken. I didn't end up like one of them. If my potential was lower than three, I'd have to be an apprentice to some priest.

"Hmmm... As good as always house Henry!" The priest announced. His lily-white robes stood out in the sea of tans the children wore. After Father Henry was done with the morning inspection, He gestured for us to follow. We fell in line behind the priest and his errand boy. Compared to us, Father Henry's assistant looked well fed. Even his clothes lacked any dirt or grim. My own shirt had multiple holes and rips. It was still the best shirt out of the three I owed. I need to look my best for today.

"House Herny, eat fast. We have a special guest coming today. So, keep the chatter to a minimum." The priest said as we walked in the door to the dining hall. The hall was full of children. I'd say the orphanage had around 50 kids, if I had to guess. But the number would fluctuate a lot, thanks to many children being kicked out daily. I was always surprised at how lively the dining hall was in the morning. Everywhere else in the orphanage was deafening quiet, but the dining area. It was the only time the children talked with one another.

I walked in last, getting in line to get my food. Even in the long line, getting food didn't take long. Each kid would get one scoop of slop and move along. The food was a mash-up of grains and a small piece of bread the usual breakfast. I was happy to see that my bread didn't have mold today. I sat down quickly and ate my meal with a small smile. The food wasn't good at all, but I was too happy to let that get me down. If I awakened today, I had a shot at becoming a paladin. Paladins don't have to eat slop like we did. I imagined myself enjoying delicious meats and sweets in my silver armor.

After breakfast, we all went to the training grounds. Compared to the dining hall, the grounds were silent aside from the shuffling of feet. We all waited patiently as the priests started to show up.

"Good morning, children! I'm sure you're all ready to get today started. The head bishop announced. I had hardly ever seen the man, so I'd forgotten his name. The head bishop showed himself only when we had important visitors. The tall, slender bishop gave a long speech about religion and faith before finally getting to the point.

"Now, without further ado, I'd like to introduce our guest. Sir Napoleo of the paladin order! The bishop announced. Moments later, a small man in silver armor stepped up. All the children, including me, cheered when Sir Nepoleo showed himself. The man was smaller than the average man with short brown hair and a handsome face.

"Hello, children! It is nice to be back. As you all may know, I, too, was an orphan just like you all. Napoleo said, looking out into the crowd. I gazed up at the man with amazement. Sir Napoleo was my hero and not because he was the man who found me and brought me to the orphanage. I looked up to Napoleon because of his strength. The man was initially just a squire before moving up in the ranks. A squire was the lowest of the paladin ranks, and not many of them ever live to become full-fledged paladins. Sir Napoleo had trained hard and worked his way up using his strength.

"Ten years have passed since I last set foot in Gimora. Seven orphans were brought here on that day, some by my own hand! Would those seven please step forward! Sir Napoleon said, gesturing for the crowd to make room. Me and three other kids step up next to the paladin. Out of the seven brought here, only four remained. All eyes were on us now. My palms started to sweat as I grew nervous. Napoleo walked down the line looking over every child. He stopped when he got to another orphan and me.

"It's nice to see you Six and Seven. I have high hopes for you two. The paladin stated, referring to the other child and me. Before I was sir George, I was Seven. Most orphans don't last, so we didn't get real names. I knew even knew one child named Boy. Boy didn't last long before he was kicked out.

Me and Six bow deeply to the paladin as he walks away. I took this time to get to know Six. The kid was a head taller than me and had long unkempt black hair. He wore the same tan shirt and pants that I did. His sharp eyes seemed to be examining me as well. We were in different houses, so this was the first time we had ever been this close. I didn't even know Sir Nepoleo had brought someone other than me.

"You few have a chance to awaken today. Although not all of you. In fact, none of you might awaken. But by Lora's grace. One of you will awaken to a new world. Napoleo said, raising his fist. The crowd behind us began to mumble to themselves. No one dared to raise their voice, however.

"But do not fret. The church will still except those who don't have potental to awaken. However, you have prove your worthy to serve our Lady." The paladin announced while signaling the head bishop. The Deacons came out to clear the crowd further back. The four of us were then given weapons and broken off into two groups. Me and Six now faced each other. He got a wooden spear while I got a wooden sword.

"Now, show us what you have learned these past years," Napoleo shouted. The crowd of children cheered while the four of us looked around awkwardly. (I guessed they want us to fight) I thought as I moved my weapon in my hand. Six had already gotten in position, reading his spear at me.

"Begin!" Shouted the head bishop. Six came at me without hesitation. I had to roll to dodge his thrust. I got back up, preparing to strike, but Six was already there. I retreated out of range of the spear. Not without receiving a few blows. The pain was nothing. I had been hurt before. ( I can't quiet. Not while he's here.) I thought as I glanced at Napoleo. The man didn't seem impressed. Ever since I could walk, I was honing my boy and training. My dream was to become a paladin, and I would do anything to accomplish it.

I decided not to charge recklessly. I circled Six, trying to find an opening but the boy's form was very good. ( So, he's no pushover.) I thought as I came up with a plan of attack. I had to cut my planning short as Six attacked me first. The boy thrust his spear over and over again. I dodged most of the blows but had to parry many of them. Still, I received a vicious blow to the abdomen, causing me to spit up some of my breakfast.

I was sent stumbling to my knees, but I quickly got up. As I struggled to my feet, Six hesitated for the first time since we started. It didn't last long as the boy was instructed to continue. He charged at me again. ( I need to close the distance.) I thought as I sat there unmoving, I didn't even raise my sword.

Whoosh!

I twisted my head at the last minute as the spear sailed inches away from my nose. I had timed it just right a second later, and I would have taken the attack to the face. I followed up my dodge with an awkward thrust to my opponent's stomach. Six stumbles back grunting in pain, but I could tell he wasn't in to hurt. I use this chance to go on the offensive.

I slash diagonally from his right, left shoulder to his right hip. Six recovered quickly to my surprise and was already launching another thurst my way. A smile crawled on my face as I continued my swing. I had already closed the distance. A spear was most effective with space.

Six had also launched his attack off-balance. The move was clumsy and easy to parry. I slashed the spear, sending it to the dirt and with my sword still on my attacker's weapon. I cut upward, using the staff as a ramp to my opponent's face.

Crack!

My wooden sword broke after connecting to the child's face. Blood sprayed for his nose and mouth as Six dropped his spear, falling to the ground unmoving. A part of me was happy to have won, but a little piece of me felt terrible for Six. I shook off those feeling as I bowed to the priest. The deacons gathered around Six before carrying him out of the training grounds. The good thing about the orphanage was that there was always a healer around, so minor injuries weren't a big deal.

"Ugh," I groaned as I fell to my knees. With the battle over, I could now feel all the pain I had been ignoring. I had taken dozens of hits from the blunted spear, so my body was throbbing. If the fight had going on for a moment longer, I might have been the one being carried off right now. Lucky for me the pain was already starting to disappear; not only that, but I began to feel warm. It was as if someone was wrapping me in a warm blanket. Slowly a dome of light surrounded me, obscuring my view of everything. (I'm awaking.) I thought with glee.

Tears fell from my face as I thanked Lady Lora profusely ( I really did it?) I wonder in disbelief. I could already imagine my new life, The places I would visit, the foods I would eat. I was pretty confident that I had the healing art, meaning I was a shoo-in for the paladin order.

Moments later, the light dome vanished, and I could now see the crowd again. The entire training yard was silent. Many of the children stared at me with their mouths open in shock. All the House priests had smiles on their faces. I could be careless about any of them. The only person I wanted to see now was Sir Napoleo. I examined the pale-faced man noticing he was the only one not smiling. In fact, if I wasn't mistaken, I could swear he was frowning a little The paladin stood up, slowly staring me down. My heart began to race as I waited for the man to speak.

"Allow me to be the first to welcome you to your new family. The paladin Order!" Napoleo shouted, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.

Seven!

Seven!

Seven!

The crowd began to chant my name as they rushed me. Soon I was surrounded by 40 to 50 children all chanting my name. I couldn't remember a time I was this happy. I scanned the crowd looking for Sir Nepoleo. I spotted him far away from the group talking to a guard of the city ( Oh, thats right, today's the day the barrier goes down. Soon, the world will hear the news of the demon invasion.) I thought as It all came back to me.

"This is all a dream." I said as my heart sunk. Today was not a happy day by any means. Today was the beginning of the end for the paladin order. Soon every paladin would become enslaved, and the life I dreamed for myself would be crushed. My hopes to find a family within the order would be lost forever.

Seven!

Seven!

Seven!

I listened to the crowd as I watched Sir Napoleo and his entourage leave the grounds. I dropped my head as the people continued their chant.

"Enough! That's not my name! My name is Gora Hydra!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I wanted this dream to be over. The crowd began to quiet down as one lone child stepped up to me. It was a little girl with brown hair and green eyes. I had the feeling I had seen the girl before, but I couldn't remember where.

"I know who you are, Master." The girl said. The girl's words echoed through my mind as my world went dark.

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Lady Lora: Goddess of Order.

Seven: Sir George before he earned his name.

House of Henry: The orphanage was split into different groups called houses. The house was named after the priest in charge of said house.

Deacon: Assistant to the priest. Decons were the lowest rank among the clergy.

Squire: Reference to the weakest branch of the paladin order. Squires are soldiers attached to a paladin Knight.

The Paladin Order: originally, paladin knights were only made up of the noble class, with some peasants being accepted for their outstanding service. Before the first demon raid, the number of paladin kights was less than a hundred. After the demon attack, even the squires were given the silver armor reserved for paladin knights.

Sir Nepoleo: A paladin knight that found Seven/Sir George as a child.

Gimora: Also known as the city of pleasure. Gimora is a state of the Lorian kingdom known for its pleasure districts.