152 Traveling to the Frozen Forest Part One

Annelia was from a family of low ranking knights. In the Alastine Kingdom Knights have certain ranks based on the merits they are able to gain throughout their careers. The higher the rank the higher the status within the noble circles. The highest rank is Elite Knights. Below that are Master Knights, Expert Knights, Intermediate Knights, and Novice Knights. Annelia's family has never passed the Intermediate Knight Rank, but even this rank alone is enough to show pride. The only issue is that these ranks can not be inherited so as soon as the knight who has such rank passes away the family's noble status falls on to the next highest rank within the family. This means each and every knight within a family needs to work hard for the Kingdom in order to gain enough merits to raise their knight ranks. King Augustus's idea when he came up with this system was simple. 'A little bit of rivalry will go a long way to make our knights order stronger.'

Now, of course, these same ranks can be stripped if one is caught abusing the system or using underhanded means to rise through the ranks. Each month a performance test is done to check the actual ability of each knight. If their ability falls below what their actual rank is without a documented injury while out on a mission, then they will be fully investigated and if found to be using said tricks they will be demoted back to novice on the first offense, to squire on the second offense, and then fully expelled on the third offense.

King Augustus's rules may seem strict but it keeps those with ideas in their head inline making it impossible for them to gain fame and glory without actually pulling their own weight. Alicia was no exception to this rule. Although her current merit points at this time already put her at the halfway mark of an Intermediate Knight.

Alicia and her group were following Annelia's lead. Starla and Rose were not very happy about following someone who had no idea what they were doing. Just because she passed the test before Alicia she thinks she is of a different tier than her.

Her poor leadership skills were evident right as they started traveling when Annelia started to walk in the wrong direction not once but five times! The excuse she gave was always her rubbing her nose and saying "I knew that I was just testing you girls!"

Blake, Sue, and Bridget shook their heads and smiled bitterly as they silently watched on. They would not assist the girls unless it was a life or death situation and one of them was about to lose their lives.

"Annelia, are you~ sure~, you are going the right way this time?" Starla mocked. She had been getting annoyed about Annelie's inability to stay on track.

Not able to stand being looked down upon Annelia turned around and glared at Starla and asked: "Are you questioning my leadership?"

"Wow! Rose, look she actually understood what my question meant!" Starla held nothing back as she said her words, her voice was full of sarcasm.

"You! " Annelia became flustered and raised her fist as if she was going to hit Starla but quickly restrained herself. "Listen, you all agreed that I am the leader, so you all have to follow my command until I really screw up. I admit that I have made a few directional errors but we are still on track."

"A few!? You..." Starla wanted to say something back but Alicia held her back.

"Starla, Rose, this is a training exercise, meaning that we are here to train. This goes not just for the two of you and myself but also for Annelia. Having Annelia as squad leader is very good training for her. It will enable her to understand her weaknesses. Like now how she admitted her wrongs. She has already understood she has caused us some trouble and now has admitted to it. This is the first step in understanding what it means to be a leader. So let her learn how slowly what it means to be a leader of a group and have other people's lives in your hands." Alicia gave a smile as she said this. She had noticed that although Annelia speaks roughly she does not mean any harm by it. She had originally thought that Annelia was just trying to bully others but as she talked Alicia noticed that her mouth was just generally rough. This most likely contributed to growing up in a family that was mainly boys. Now that she knew this, Alicia felt a bit bad about her earlier words.

Starla and Rose both let out a sigh and nodded their heads not saying another word. Annelia was surprised to see that Alicia was willing to stand up for her in such a way. Her cheeks blushed as she said: "Pip… Ahem... Alicia thank you."

"I was just stating what I was seeing. I have a habit of observing those around me so I can make a sound judgment about them. Earlier I said some mean things as well. I do apologize." Alicia gave a small apologetic bow. Harmony with your comrades in arms is the first thing that should be settled before they get into a battle. Any discord between your allies can and will eventually get someone seriously hurt.

"I-I am sorry too… I grew up as the only girl in the family besides my mom, so I may be a little rough around the edges please excuse my actions." Annelia also gave a small bow. Seeing how readily Annelia apologized for her own actions made Starla and Rose see her in a new light.

"We are also sorry!" The two also followed suit. With this, all four girls were now able to get off to a fresh start.

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