Proud

Last weekend at The Place, Fate had mumbled something about fighting an assassin two Stages higher than he was. He had brushed it off when she asked about it, but now it made sense.

At the same time, she knew why Venden had wanted to come, and why Fate didn't want him to. Fate always hated getting help from others, something she had experience dealing with.

Many times as a child she had practically forced him to accept her help, starting without asking and reprimanding him when he refused.

The only time she had ever seen that go out the window was during the imp raids, when everyone in town was expected to assist and be assisted. Those were the only times she and Fate ever felt like they belonged in Brergan as well, but that was beside the point.

She had suspected that reason when Venden showed up that afternoon, which was why she allowed him to join them in the first place, yet another time she had to force Fate to accept help.

She could almost promise that he had left others behind when he fought each one. And she would be right.

When Venden was poisoned by the Black Dragon assassin, Fate could've asked Principal Alessandra for help, as he knew her to be kind yet strict and decisive when necessary.

She had ended up helping them synthesize an antidote for Venden anyway, but Fate hadn't asked for her help when he set out.

The same was true of when he went to rescue Venden from his mother. He could've made his life easier with a distraction or the like, such as Kathrin occupying her mother or Kravoss being as obnoxious during the night as a rooster could, but he didn't.

Kravoss was left outside for 'reconnaissance' when he could only see an eight of the Grendeven estate from his perch, less useful than even Fate's aura.

His water form might've come in handy to wash away their trail of blood, he could've flown around the estate for better views, but Fate had told him to sit still and let him do most of the work.

Kathrin was left at the Academy to worry on her own, only joining later because her anxiety and pride wouldn't let her stand by idly and wait for someone else to rescue her brother.

Then there was Fate turning down the Febenochi siblings' offer to deal with the Hedraples for him in exchange for an interview, only accepting the compensation of coin, and his continued neglect to get sword training from Freyn Grevenich.

All of this stemmed from his extreme dislike of getting help from others.

Benedict viewed it as independence, Fate's father as one less mouth to feed, but to Samantha?

It was a glaring flaw.

Everyone in this world, regardless of who they were, would need help at some point in their lives, help that could make or break their futures.

Her father hadn't started from zero, he had a fistful of coins and his parents' land to build his first factory. He didn't handle all of his factories and mines by himself, he had task coordinators and managers to help ease the load.

No Mage could get as far as they do without the Empress' free education in the form of the Royal Mage Academy. Even the Empress herself, the most powerful woman on Ziobrun, delegated many tasks to councilors and governors.

But Fate was too full of himself to accept that he needed help. He'd often do things the hard way just to appease his misplaced pride, bringing suffering and pain to him and those around him.

That was the reason she had left him four years ago.

How could she tie herself to someone like him? If a husband couldn't let his wife share the load, what was the point of marriage?

She was certain that if they were married, Fate would help her if and when she asked. But it wasn't an equal partnership if she couldn't reciprocate.

Which, in the end, was what marriage was about for her. Two people that could lean on each other in both the hard times and the good.

She disdained the idea of being some cheap trophy wife and having all of her problems solved for her. Would Fate let her fight alongside him when the two became Guards, or would he demand she stay home for her safety?

Would he let her cook for him? Clean? More importantly, would she be allowed to help raise her own child? Or would Fate just throw the task onto his shoulders, leaving her behind?

All of those thoughts and more had flooded Samantha's mind after Fate's fateful punishment four years ago. Though she was young, her father raised her to think critically about important decisions.

And the only conclusion she could come to was that Fate wasn't the man for her.

Truthfully, it had broken her heart. Like all children her age, her imagination ran wild with what the future might bring, a daydream soured by Fate's very public lashing, a result of being too prideful to ask her for a few Lights.

While Benedict struggled to catch his breath and old thoughts stormed through Samantha's head, Fate stewed in his thoughts, stunned silent.

His anger had evaporated completely, replaced by a foreign feeling within himself he couldn't pin down.

He had never been praised by a stranger before. What's more, he had never been praised for the things he had done as a child. He was called bad, rude, criminal, demonic, and freak, but never had all of that been painted in a positive light.

And since it came from Benedict Sedronol, a man who obviously wasn't afraid to speak his mind, a man that acted and spoke unreservedly, a man willing to hire a deadly assassin just to learn of an 18-year-old boy's capabilities, Fate couldn't find it within himself to call the man's words a lie.

It left him feeling somewhat embarrassed. Normally he didn't care what others thought about him, whether because they didn't know his entire story or because it was bound to be negative due to his eyes, but now he felt…

Proud?