The Rise Of A Porter

Nina wanted to greet Nathan, for the old times' sake. But then she changed her mind. Even she didn't want to ruin the mood for tonight's celebration like everyone else. Arnold remained as emotionless as ever, but he got a bad vibe from Nathan, almost as if he was planning something. Unlike before Arnold, didn't trust him anymore. He had learned to follow his gut because lately, his hunches have been spot on. 

'Better be safe than sorry, I guess.' He thought while wheeling Nina inside. 

As soon as the duo went inside, Allen rushed to greet the two of them. He too was wearing a black tuxedo like most of them. His eyes were beaming with admiration for Arnold. After all, if it hadn't been for Arnold's recommendation, Allen would've never achieved his dream. This was also the reason why Arnold was made the guest of honour for the ceremony. 

"Brother, you're finally here! And so is sweet my cousin. You two look fabulous, as usual." Allen exclaimed, requesting the waiters to serve them some drinks.

"Do you even realise how bad you sounded right now?" Arnold shook his head in disappointment while Nina couldn't help but giggle.

"What... What did I say?" Allen was genuinely confused which made Arnold and Nina laugh even harder. 

"Your brother," Arnold pointed at himself before pointing at Nina, "Your cousin. In a relationship... Do you realise now?"

"I-I didn't mean it that way! I swear! Dang, it!" Allen's face turned reddish, "Maybe I should call you brother-in-law from now on."

"Just call me by my name..."

"Right, you're not married yet."

The three of them were chatting merrily, when a man whom Arnold didn't recognise, approached them. He was clearly drunker than his body could handle, yet he had another bottle of liquor in his hands. 

"Seriously... Allen. It's your first day... And you're already... An embarrassment. I don't know how your father could replace the competent son with an... Incompetent one." The man growled covering them in a stench of alcohol. 

The man then pulled back his Chestnut, dreadlocks to reveal an awful, time-worn face. The man's woeful brown eyes were weirdly sunken within their sockets. Discreetly watching over the people around him. Several moles were spread around his nose. Despite his aged appearance, he stood out from the rest because of his muscled frame. This is the face of Bruno Black, somewhat of a warden for the family and a hardcore supporter of Nathan. So it was obvious that this man was here to cause trouble if nothing else. 

Arnold didn't like the way this man was talking to Allen. However, he wasn't going to intervene in the matter. After all, everyone's eyes were on them. It was the perfect opportunity for Allen to shut down all the criticisms once and for all. People might not admit it freely, but most of them had their doubts regarding Allen's leadership skills. Especially after the scenario regarding the church of chaos. 

"At least I'm not the fool who goes around wearing his ego on his sleeve and cause a mess. Am I?" Allen turned to face Bruno, before smiling, "Nor I am the guy who has to call father to sort out the smallest of problems. But don't worry, I know my words won't convince you or anyone else here. So I'll prove it to you by my actions. Until then, please be careful with drinking. I wouldn't want you to pass out before the moment I make you shut your mouths."

Total silence. Arnold had expected Allen to lash out, but damn, he was just downright savage. For a second he thought Allen might go a bit overboard, but he didn't need to. His words were precisely what was needed to shut down all of the criticisms. 

The old man couldn't believe his ears. He felt humiliated but hey, play stupid games, win stupid prizes! If you're trying to humiliate someone, you should be prepared to get humiliated as well. But it looked like the old man wasn't taking it too well. 

"I'm disappointed in you, Allen. Don't you have even the basic manners on how you should talk with an elder?" Nathan pushed through the crowd before standing face to face with Allen.

"I think you're misunderstanding something-" Arnold thought it was the time to step up but was quickly shot down by Nathan. 

"Outsiders don't have the authority to speak within family matters. So, please stay out of it." Nathan smiled.

It was true that outsiders were allowed to speak within the family matters. And since Arnold had left the family, he had lost the privilege to publicly interfere in the family matters. Seeing the commotion Nathaniel, Johnny, Nicole and the rest of the members came rushing to the main hall. 

"I demand you to apologize to Bruno, Allen," Nathan smirked once again, this time he was staring at Arnold as he said those words. It was clearly visible, even to the blindest person, that Nathan was trying to provoke Arnold. 

"I don't think you're in any position to demand anything from the head of the family, Nathan." Allen snarled. 

"What kind of family is this? Can't the family members even object or question the leadership?" Someone yelled among the crowd. 

"I don't even know what Nathaniel was thinking before appointing such an immature man as the head of the family." Yet another voice popped up. 

Soon the crowd began murmuring nonsensical things about Nathaniel and Allen. Some even going as far as say Nathaniel had gone mad. Johnny and the others tried to calm the situation but in vain. However, once their ring leader, Nathan raised his hand all of them went quiet.

Arnold was pissed off inside, but he knew better than to cause a scene. It wasn't his battle to fight, as not once was his name mentioned while slandering Allen and even Nathaniel. Nathan had been careful not to give Arnold any ammo to lash out at him.

'Fine, you wanna play the game then let's play.' Arnold thought, his eyes were with rage. 

"Ahem. I know I shouldn't speak in family matters but as the guest of honour, I have to help you resolve the issue that has been raised during the celebrations." Arnold smiled as Nathan's face turned colourless. Arnold might not have been a family member but he was still the guest of honour so even Nathan couldn't ignore him completely, "I have already thought of a solution. A duel. If Nathan won, Allen will step down as the head of the family. But in case Allen won, Nathan, will have to leave the family for good. How's that?"