Noah's first day at school was strange, to say the least. His sister woke him up and informed him that they would be taking him to school — not by their own choice, of course. Ada had told them to do it. More accurately, they had been threatened into it. Noah got up, showered, and changed into a blue dress shirt bearing a logo of two swords and a shield, paired with black sweatpants. The school did not typically provide uniforms to men, but Noah was an exception — he was the only male with a gift. He pulled on a hooded sweater, tied his hair back, put the hood up, and added a tie. He looked oddly put-together.
His older sister looked him up and down. "You are quite handsome, Noah."
"...I — uhm, me?" he said, smiling awkwardly.
"Whatever. Hurry up — your first class starts in half an hour," she said and walked out of his room.
"Wait, where is Ada?"
"Mom? She had something to take care of." She smiled with a wicked grin.
Noah climbed into a limousine and watched the world pass by the window for twenty minutes. It was quiet at first — only birds singing, dogs barking for a few seconds at a time. Then the engines of countless cars drowned out the birds, and the dogs fell silent as their owners told them to settle down, and the human world came fully awake.
Noah glanced over at Leo and noticed his tie was on crooked. He waved him over, took it gently in his hands, and straightened it. "There. Make sure you have a good first day in kindergarten," Noah said with a smile.
"Thank you, big brother Noah." Noah froze for a second — then smiled even wider.
"You're welcome. Tell me how it went when we get home," Noah said, waving goodbye to him at the school entrance before heading toward his own classroom.
Nina had been about to say something to Leo, but stopped herself.
"Noah, let's go — I don't want anyone to see me with you. I'll show you to your class, but don't ask me for anything once we're inside." Noah looked at her and saw that she meant every word.
"It's fine. I don't need you anyway. I'll find it myself," he said, leaving her behind.
"You filthy man," she muttered before storming off.
Noah wandered the halls, scanning classrooms, until he spotted his name on a board outside one of them. "I guess this is room four-oh-two." He walked in and noticed his two other sisters were already seated. He ignored them and walked up to the teacher's desk with a smile. "Um, hello — my name is Noah Steelheart, stepson of Ada Steelheart."
He waited a few seconds and glanced over at his sisters. They were hiding their faces like they were embarrassed about something. Then he heard an oddly familiar voice — "Oh my God, he uses the full name. He is so cute!" — and felt someone grab his cheeks before he could turn around. His feet left the ground.
"Hey! Hey — let go of me! I'm not a toy, you can't just pick me up! Ada!" Noah shouted, and the girls filing into the classroom all turned to stare at the teacher hugging this small boy with full force.
The bell rang. Ada set Noah down and looked out at the class — particularly at one girl who was nearly Noah's age, maybe slightly younger, sitting by the window and gazing outside. Her hair had a faint bluish tint, like a blue flame.
"This is Noah. He will be joining us for the training course, the knighthood track, and the crowning of the new Queen." Ada said it with barely concealed excitement. "Noah, please introduce yourself and tell us one thing you enjoy doing in your free time."
"Oh — well, this is new. Hello. My name is Noah Ironheart. I like re—"
Noah stopped. A girl spoke up.
"Why is a man in this class? I signed up for the Knight's course. Why is a man standing in front of me? My parents pay a great deal for this — this class is not for everyone." The girl was about the same age as Noah's new sisters. His sisters glanced at her. They wanted to say something, but didn't.
"Ma'am, I earned my place here," Noah said, and held out his marked hand.
The girl's eyes went wide. "No — that's a tattoo. There is no way it's real. A man cannot have a mark like that."
Noah smiled. "Well, maybe you're right. But what if I'm not lying? What if I'm the real thing? What would you say if I could use a gift and beat you in a fight?"
Noah had never actually fought a person before. The punch he had thrown at the beginning was pure instinct. It had felt strange — natural and easy at the same time. Maybe he could do the same in a real fight.
"Well, Noah — this is a combat class, so we can certainly arrange that." Ada smiled, and the whole room nodded. She looked at Noah. "I was going to reveal your abilities to the world later, but I suppose now is as good a time as any."
Ada held up something like a slab of glass. "Noah, look at the camera and smile — then say your name and your ability."
Noah looked into it awkwardly. "I — uh, my name is Noah Steelheart, and my power is blood water." He paused. "Is that all?" He heard Ada chuckling from behind the device.
Noah's face went red. "You are so cute, Noah." He was already walking away. He pointed at the challenging girl over his shoulder. "I'll be waiting for you on the training grounds."
One of his sisters smiled. "He's walking the wrong way," she said, and went to collect him.
Later, in the arena, the girl who had started it all stepped out armed with a curved sword, metal armor plating on her shoulders and arms, and ordinary jeans on her legs. Noah came out wearing only a chest plate fitted snugly over the bottom of his uniform. His fighting style relied on speed — extra protection would only slow him down.
He looked around, and his stomach dropped. It wasn't just his class in the arena. It looked like the entire school was there.
Ada seemed to read the room — and Noah's expression — and lifted her voice to address the crowd. "Ladies and ladies, welcome to the start of the year here at the Royal Academy! We are live and streaming this fight, because we believe it will go down in history. A few weeks ago, we found this boy — such a sweet boy — washed up on the shore at Port Maria, unconscious in the sand. The only thing he could tell us was that the island he came from had been attacked by the Skin of Cain. But today, ladies and ladies, he is here to show the world that a man has, at last, received the gift of God — the power of the Lord — and that he is ready to use it. Today we cement Noah as a Knight. As a man who can and will fight FOR HIS FREEDOM!" She paused. "…Remember, no swords, and whoever knocks the other out wins. Okay — bye for now!"
The crowd went silent.
Even Noah was stunned — specifically because he had just noticed something.
"Oh, hell — she meant the whole world literally," Noah said, and the bell rang and a punch sent him crashing into the wall.
A commentator's voice boomed across the coliseum: "And the match is underway! Mrs. Crimsonflame — second daughter of the Crimsonflame family — lands the opening blow, but Noah managed to partially cover at the last second. Remarkable reflexes for a man — I'll give him that, Luna."
"Well, of course, Stacy, but he is a man — the fight is probably already over. Oh, and it looks like a betting pool has appeared. How did that get there? Incredible. Anyway — the odds are not in Noah's favor. Everyone seems to be betting against him. Isn't that right, Luna?"
"That's right — with only four votes going toward Noah. That may well be Mrs. Steelheart herself, as she appears to be the only one in his corner."
Then a boy's voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd of women. "You've got this, big brother Noah — don't lose!"
The three sisters looked over at their little brother. A smile appeared on all three of their faces at once.
The dust cleared. The girl was smiling. "I won. There's no chance you survived that punch. You're weak — you're a man, after all."
Noah smiled back, reached for a container of water nearby, took a long sip, and watched his wounds close. "I'm starting to think you might be a little bit biased. I can feel it in my bones."
"Just go down already. A boy can't possibly—" She stopped. "Wait — did you just—"
Noah vanished and reappeared directly in front of her, smiling, and drove a punch into her with his fist frozen solid. On impact, she went flying. He exhaled, and white mist poured from his lips. His eyes were glowing. When the girl got up, she looked at where she had been hit. Crimson ice. She coughed up blood — and smiled. "This is fun," she said, and her fist erupted in crimson flames.
"Oh my God, ladies — this is it! The Flaming Nova has entered the arena! A daughter of the Crimsonflame family, using the inherited crimson flames rumored to burn as hot as the core of the earth — flames capable of disintegrating icebergs in seconds. What do you think, Stacy?"
Stacy seized the microphone and slammed her free hand on the desk. "She goes for rapid successive punches — I think Noah is marginally faster, but she is connecting! He raises red ice over his face to absorb the damage — then his palm opens and he fires a blast of superheated water that vaporizes on contact with her flames, the steam countering her shots and sending Mrs. Crimsonflame to the ground! This match is tearing apart the coliseum — but who cares when we have two powerhouses going at it, live and streaming to the entire world?!"
"That's right, Stacy — Noah follows with an elbow to the cheek! But his ice does seem to be taking a toll on him — he looks stiff, almost frozen. We were told that Noah's side effect prevents him from using his ice for too long. Now Mrs. Flare ignites her flames and connects with a direct hit — and Noah is not dodging. He is standing in it. A perfect, clean hit. Is the match over?…"
The crowd went silent. Fire spread across Noah's body. Steam poured from his pores like water hitting a hot pan.
Then water flooded across his skin and extinguished the flames.
Noah smiled. His shirt and sweater were burnt to rags. The chest plate cracked and fell away, leaving him exposed. "That's it. I can go all out again." His smile was unsettling — like he was enjoying every second of this. She was scared. She was no longer fighting a boy. She was fighting a monster.
"What a match, Stacy. It appears Noah used her own flames to warm his body and stop it from freezing over."
"That's right — he is sharp and powerful. A true force in a combat arena, Luna."
Noah launched himself toward her. She stood frozen — forgot to cover — she was afraid. His trajectory angled downward and he drove a punch into her toward the ground, knocking her out the moment she hit it.
"And the winner — Noah Steelheart. The first male Knight."
The crowd held its breath — then erupted, screaming at the top of their lungs.
But the loudest voices of all belonged to his little brother and his sisters, who had apparently forgotten, somewhere in the last few minutes, that they didn't particularly like men. Noah smiled toward the loudest voice he could make out. He looked at Ada. He looked at Leo.
A few hours later, at home, Nina was staring at her phone with a grin that could light a room. "We are absolutely filthy rich — HAHAHAHA!"
Noah shook his head with a smile. "So it was you four who bet on me," he said, as Ada carefully wound bandages around his burnt hand. The three sisters all looked away at once.
Leo was pressed against Noah's side, arms wrapped around him. Noah rested a hand on his head and patted it gently.
"Thanks for believing in me," Noah chuckled, looking at the girls.
Ada looked at Noah. "You're welcome, Tiny Ice Cube."
Noah looked at her. "Still not original."
They all laughed. It was a feeling both new and familiar — like belonging to a family again. Was it right to feel happy with a new family? Was this how his life was meant to go? Those thoughts faded when he remembered something his mother once told him.
"Wherever you go, whatever you do — even if we are not there — we will always be watching over you. We will always love you, no matter what you decide to become."
Noah knew what he had to do.
"Thanks, Mom," he said quietly, looking at Ada.