Chapter 4: Order of the Rose
Shortly after entering the Academy, Madeline was invited by one of the seniors to join a group known as the Order of the Rose. It was a secret society of nobles who were either wealthy or politically connected to greater houses. In Madeline's case, she was from a great house, so she was immediately sought after. Each of the members of the Order of the Rose wanted to be associated with her as it meant having a tie to a great house on par with the royalty. Since Duke Aumont had asked her to make acquaintances at the academy, she felt that it might be a good group to join.
Members of the Order of the Rose each wore a small lapel pin of a red rose. The faculty of the school gave certain privileges to the members since they were often politically connected enough to cause problems for the staff. The Order even had its own private dining hall with a secret library entrance. Madeline had no interest in the special privileges, however, she did enjoy having access to the library entrance on days when the main entrance was crowded. She also noticed that Guy the molester wore the pin on his lapel, and since she felt some camaraderie with him, she felt it wouldn't be that bad.
Once she had joined the Order, a few members mentioned that one of the new students had been speaking ill of Madeline. They took it upon themselves to give the girl a hard time. One of the taboos at the school was for someone not affiliated with the Order to defame, attack or malign a member. It was common knowledge at the Academy that members of the Order were untouchable to normal students. In the case of the girl who had been complaining about Madeline, it seemed that she was upset over something that had happened during the entrance examinations. In addition, it seems the two were paired for swordsmanship training and she took offense to how hard Madeline practiced the drills against her, she claimed that Madeline was intentionally trying to damage her looks.
Madeline wasn't interested in the petty dramatics, she only wanted to study and practice the sword. She had her own goal in mind for her stay at the Academy. She put her utmost into becoming the top student. She wanted to win the King's medal, an award that went to the top graduating student. Winning the King's medal was an honor that every house coveted. Most of the great houses chose not to send their children to the Academy as they had no need for the honor, however, it was not something they wouldn't accept should it be offered. Knights who wore the King's medal were looked at as the King's champions. The great houses often chose to hire knights with the King's medal as they were seen as the best of the best. Madeline was trying to prove that she was not a disgrace, that she was someone to be coveted.
After members of the Order started to harass and bully the girl, men would approach Madeline and ask her politely to stop attacking a woman named Alicia. Madeline had no idea who Alicia was, so she didn't think much of it. When the polite requests started to turn to a more brusque tone, Madeline finally broke down and asked Guy the molester who Alicia was and why people were asking her to stop attacking the woman. Guy smiled at Madeline and answered, "The blond girl with blue eyes that you practiced swordsmanship with, you know, the one you made cry who refused to practice as long as you were her partner? Also, would you please stop calling me 'Guy the Molester' M'Lady? My name is Guy de Montfort."
Madeline's brow scrunched up in thought, she could not remember ever causing a problem for the girl. She had only practiced her sword the same way she had at home. Perhaps she needed to make an apology to the girl and help clear the air, she thought. Madeline thanked Guy the Molester and sought out the girl named Alicia. "It's Guy de Montfort, M'lady. Guy de Montfort!" He called out as she walked away.
As Madeline walked through the halls a group of men passed by her and she felt a breeze near her ear and then a tug on her hair. When she looked up to see who had done it, the group all walked off in separate directions. When she turned to continue on, she noticed in the reflection of a window that one of them had cut off the long drill like spiral of hair on one side of her head. She reached up and touched the side of her head in disbelief. That night she stayed with the Duke and Duchess who had a servant even out her hair.
The Duke was ready to take troops to the Academy the next morning, but Madeline refused and wanted to solve the matter with her own hands. She decided to confront the girl named Alicia and put a stop to the girl's nonsense. The Duke demanded that she at least take two armed guards with her until the matter was solved. Of course, the next day when she finally met up with Alicia, the girl misunderstood after seeing the two armed guards.
"You, you! It's not enough that you tried to kill me in swords practice, but now you have armed soldiers too!" Alicia cried out. Several young men formed a protective circle around the girl.
"Listen, that's why I am here.." Madeline started to apologize in an emotionless tone.
Alicia cried out, "Did you hear that! She said she is here to kill me!"
One of the young men stepped forward drawing his sword, "Don't worry lady Alicia, we won't let them touch you!"
The armed guards with Madeline drew their own swords and moved in front of her defensively. The group of young men all drew their own swords seeing the guards step forward with swords drawn. Suddenly off to the side Guy de Montfort started to laugh while facepalming. "Now I understand, it really does look like you are a villain if you look at it from one point of view."
"What do you mean by a villain, Guy the molester?" Asked Madeline in her usual emotionless tone.
"It's Guy de Montfort, you know what, just call me Guy or Lord Montfort if that's too intimate for you." He frowned at her.
The group of young men started to get agitated and made feints toward the guards who raised their blades in response. Madeline rolled her eyes and asked again, "What did you mean by a villain, Lord Molester?"
"You made an apology sound like a death threat. Your guards reacted to these guys making it look like you ordered them to attack." He shook his head and added, "You are so rough during practice, you can't even judge how much strength to use against an amateur."
Everyone soon turned toward Guy realizing that he was saying that these things were all misunderstandings someone called out, "What about all the bullying she has been receiving lately!?"
Guy rubbed his temple and then answered by tapping on the rose at his lapel. "You all know what the rose means, right? She was a nonmember insinuating a member of the Order was a villain, what did you think would happen?" He smirked and then pointed at Alicia, "It can't be that you didn't know Madeline's background or what the Order is, could it?"
Alicia turned to one of the men surrounding her and asked, "What's the Order?"
Madeline stepped forward and had the guards sheath their weapons. She gave a short bow to Alicia and stated flatly, "I have no interest in this conflict. I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused you." She turned and walked away while her guards were backing away keeping their eyes on the young men who still stood with their swords unsheathed in a circle around Alicia.
Alicia paid no more attention to Madeline and instead stared at Guy like she was looking at a celebrity. She walked out from her circle of suitors and said in a coquettish tone, "Excuse me, Lord Montfort, thank you for saving me."
Guy raised an eyebrow and then moaned, "Oh no, don't tell me you just opened my route? Ugh, I am better off chasing after that ice queen."
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