Eden

by Janelle Stalder

  “Of course.” She smiled, turning toward Aiden. He stepped forward to the spot she motioned to, as she named everyone in the room. “Aiden, this is the High Priest of Eden, and this is Turk, the Captain of the King’s army, and also my father,” she continued, pointing to the large man. He nodded his head in their directions. “Last, this is the High King, King Jameson, of Capital City. Everyone, this is Aiden.”

  The third man stood up, so Aiden could see him properly. He looked much younger than Aiden had expected. His hair was a light shade of brown, only slightly touched by grey on the sides. He had no beard to hide his face, which still looked young. He had kind eyes, not in the least bit intimidating, which was what Aiden would have expected from a King.

  “We are honoured to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand. Aiden reached out to shake it, but the King grabbed his forearm instead, almost cutting off the circulation with his strength. Aiden could tell this wasn’t the type of King who sat on his throne while others fought his battles. He was clearly a soldier, among other things.

  “You’re quite a tiny thing, aren’t you?” the Captain said, regarding him from head to toe. Aiden wondered if he was expected to actually answer that.

  “Now, Captain, he will need training—we all knew that. No one comes from his world ready to fight our battles right away. As I understand, Diana worked with you a bit before you left?” Alistair asked.

  “A little,” he said in a shaky voice.

  “Excellent,” the King commented. “Anything is better than nothing. Your training will start tomorrow; we don’t want to overwhelm you on your first day here. We are all looking forward, though, to seeing you achieve your greatness.”

  Sweat was building under his collar as they all looked at him. It was obvious how much faith they were placing in him, and he couldn’t help but feel like it was folly. Did they not realize that he was completely unqualified for this job? There has to be a mistake, he thought frantically.

  “He looks like he’s twelve,” the Captain commented again. Aiden felt his cheeks grow red, but he appreciated that someone in the room was actually being honest here. He could tell the Captain doubted his abilities just as much as he did.

  “Turk, that is enough,” the King said harshly. “We are not to discourage the boy. Aiden, my first advice to you is to not listen to the insults this man will throw at you. There will be many, and they don’t mean a thing. He does it to everyone.”

  Looking back at the Captain, he saw the man smile and wondered if he really was just teasing him. Elisa was smiling as well, which helped to calm his nerves.

  “Elisa, bring him back to the dormitory and get him something to eat. We will see you again tomorrow,” the High Priest instructed. He watched her bow again, and both of them turned to leave. As they walked down the hall again, Aiden let out a huge breath of air that he felt like he had been holding the whole time he was in there.

  “Wait,” they heard someone shout. Both turned to see the King running up. “May I have a word alone?” he asked. That took Aiden off guard, having a King ask him permission for something. He instantly nodded his head, and Elisa walked up ahead to leave them alone. “I just wanted a chance to tell you how brave I think you are for coming here and doing this. I can only imagine how strange and frightening this journey has been so far, and there is so much more to come. If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, please do not hesitate to call on me. I have instructed all my guards to let you into the palace should you request entrance.”

  “Thank you,” Aiden mumbled awkwardly.

  “All right then,” the King said, taking a small step backwards. “Off you go.” Aiden bowed his head and turned to leave. “One more thing …” He reached out, grabbing Aiden’s arm. “How is Diana doing?”

  “Um, she is well?” he replied, making it sound more like a question than an answer.

  “Wonderful. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” With that, the King turned back toward the High Priest’s chambers, leaving Aiden confused and alone in the hall.

  “Aiden! Let’s go,” Elisa barked. Jumping at the sound of her voice, he turned and hurried up to reach her, thankful to be leaving the place.

  When they returned to the dormitory, she led the way to the main room, keeping Aiden close so he wouldn’t get lost. Everyone was already there eating lunch. As they entered, all eyes turned in curiosity toward the newcomer. Looking back at Aiden, Elisa grabbed his arm and brought him to an empty table.

  “Don’t let them intimidate you,” she said in a low voice. “No one knows who, or what you are, and we should probably keep it that way.”

  He looked up at her questioningly, his face pale again. “Why?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Alistair told me to keep your origin a secret for now. He doesn’t want anyone treating you any differently, whether that be for the better or for the worse. Only we know where you came from, and my father and the King. Other than that, he wants it kept quiet. We’ll tell everyone you’re from a village outside the city walls.”

  “Won’t people know I’m lying? Someone would have seen me by now, no?” he looked around wearily at the other tables. The other men were still watching them, making Aiden’s shoulders drop.

  “We don’t usually take boys from the smaller villages outside the city, so no one here will notice. Most of the men have come from families whose ancestors were in the army before them, or at least from inside the city gates. There are men, like Wolf, who are from the other tribes, which happens only occasionally. We’re a select group.”

  Elisa watched as Aiden’s body straightened as he realized that he was a part of an elite group. She gave herself a little mental pat on the back, knowing it had helped. In all honesty, she felt bad for Aiden. Not only was he in a strange place, and a new world that he never knew existed, but he had no one here, and had more expectations on his shoulders than any other fifteen-year-old boy. The weight of their world was literally riding on him, and that couldn’t be an easy thing to handle. She’d have to try her best to make him as comfortable as possible. Some of the looks she caught were jealousy, and she knew some people would mistake their friendship for something more. He would have enemies right away because of that.

  “I’ll go get us some food,” she said, smiling down comfortingly at him. He smiled back, slowly nodding his head.

  “There he is!” Elisa heard Wolf cry out. She turned to see the two idiots walking over to their table. Great, she thought, rolling her eyes. The intentions behind Wolf’s friendliness were still a mystery to Elisa. She couldn’t help but be suspicious. He wasn’t normally so forthcoming with his companionship like this, especially with new recruits—or at least he hadn’t been with her.

  “I’ll be back,” she said, turning to Aiden again. She walked off just as the other two arrived.

  “Where is she going?” Wolf asked, nodding in Elisa’s direction.

  “She just went to get us some food,” Aiden explained. He felt depressed, and scared. Everyone that morning had looked at him like he was some gift from God, sent to save them all. Now everyone was looking at him like he was the plague. It was one extreme to the other. He couldn’t help but feel lost. There was no way he could live up to the expectations of the leaders, and he would undoubtedly embarrass himself in front of the other men here, making him the laughing stock of the army. No one would want to befriend him. Except, he thought, looking up at the two boys who sat with him, Wolf and Logan seemed to want to befriend him. He wasn’t completely alone, he thought reassuringly, and he also had Elisa.

  Looking over at her, he saw that she was speaking with an extremely obese man, wearing nothing but a white tank top and dirty brown pants, which seemed to have more food on them than the counter in front of him. She held two bowls out, while he filled them with something from the large steel pot. He could tell she was trying her best to keep his mood up, which he appreciated, but he doubted she understood how much stress he was under. It was easier for her—she
was this archer who was naturally good, the best apparently, and he was this lanky boy from another world, who had no skills whatsoever. How could he compete? Looking at the other two, he knew they were probably great at their talents too. He could tell just by how muscular they both were. All the men around him were, except of course for himself. He sighed, wishing he could crawl under a rock and hide.

  “What is the matter there, newbie?” Wolf asked, smirking.

  “Nothing,” Aiden mumbled.

  “Did they make you give blood this morning?” Logan asked, his face a mask of disgust. Aiden nodded his head. “I hate that,” he said, shivering. “I’ve bled many times from cuts, but something about those priests doing it to me on purpose, and then keeping it in a bowl, makes me sick.”

  Wolf laughed. “Stop being such a baby; it wasn’t so bad, was it, newbie?”

  “No, not as bad as I thought it would be,” he answered.

  “So what did they want?” Wolf asked, as both of them leaned in closer.

  Aiden wasn’t sure how to answer. According to Elisa, he was sworn to secrecy. He wasn’t even sure if he was allowed to say who exactly he had met with. Before he was put in an awkward position, Elisa returned, coming to his rescue.

  “Why don’t you just mind your own business?” she answered Wolf’s question, placing a bowl in front of Aiden. Whatever it was looked horrible, but it didn’t smell half-bad. His stomach rumbled in response. He picked up the spoon she got him and started shoving mouthfuls down his throat. It didn’t taste that bad, he thought.

  Elisa and Wolf began to exchange sarcastic, snarky digs at each other, while Aiden took the opportunity to look around. The area was one large room, with high ceilings and ten long wooden tables. There were huge wooden beams running along the width of the ceiling, and multiple candlelit chandeliers hanging from it. The floor was old, worn wood, as were the tables and benches. A fireplace sat along the north wall, and beside it was the cook’s station. The obese man must have been the cook, Aiden concluded. He wore a small white hat over his greasy black hair. His face was covered in black stubble, and his eyebrows were like two huge skunks sitting on his face. He wore a permanent scowl, which was directed toward him when he noticed Aiden looking his way. Turning his head quickly, Aiden looked back down at the bowl and continued to eat.

  All the tables were full of huge men, clearly fighters. They each wore leather or a plain riding suit like Logan wore. Wolf still didn’t wear a shirt, however, Aiden noted.

  “All I’m saying is that the boy can speak for himself,” Wolf was saying.

  “Yes, well, all I’m saying is that if you were supposed to be in the know, you would have been. Since you were kept out of the situation, maybe you should just stay that way.” Wolf looked suspiciously from Elisa to Aiden, his eyes narrowing. Logan looked too, but kept his face neutral. Clearly, they both realized something weird was going on, but Elisa put the kibosh on any further discussions regarding the matter.

  “You training today?” Logan asked, probably trying to change the mood. Wolf’s face remained the same.

  “No, I start tomorrow,” Aiden replied, thankful that their arguing was over.

  “I hope you’re ready!” Logan laughed. “They kill you.” Aiden moaned, making Elisa and Logan laugh.

  “Don’t worry,” Elisa said, placing her hand on Aiden’s arm. “You’ll do fine, and I’m sure my father will take it easy on you for the first couple of days.”

  Wolf abruptly stood up, causing the bench to scrape loudly across the floor. A few heads looked up to see what the noise was about.

  “I have to go … do … laundry,” he explained weakly. Nodding his head at each of them, he turned and left the room.

  Logan started to chuckle. “Do laundry.” He laughed, shaking his head. “That wasn’t even a good one,” he snorted. Aiden couldn’t help but smile at Logan’s amusement. They probably didn’t even do their own laundry, Aiden thought. “He’s probably going to meet up with Louisa,” Logan offered, raising and lowering his eyebrows. “She was the feistiest of the three blondes you met the other night.”

  “I need to go too,” Elisa said, standing up. “Can you find your way back all right?” she asked, looking down at Aiden.

  “I think so,” he replied, shrugging.

  “Don’t worry. If he gets lost, I’ll help.” Logan smiled.

  “Great, thanks. I’ll see you later then.” She walked off in a hurry, her hips swinging from side to side as she strode. Aiden watched her retreating form in a daze, appreciating every curve of it.

  “Every guy here does that,” Logan said, interrupting his thoughts. Feeling his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment, he turned back to Logan with a look like he had no idea what he was talking about. He laughed at Aiden. “Don’t be ashamed. She’s a beautiful girl. You’re not the only one who thinks so.”

  Aiden looked around, and realized he wasn’t the only one who had been watching her. It didn’t surprise him that so many guys would like her, but it definitely made him feel a little more depressed. With that many options, why would she ever go for someone as weak and plain as him? She could probably have anyone she wanted.

  “What is wrong with her and Wolf?” Aiden asked curiously.

  Logan just laughed. “What isn’t wrong with those two? You want to leave here?” he asked, standing up. Aiden had finished his stew, so he nodded his head and the two of them left the room, with numerous eyes on their backs as they did.

  “What weapon are you trained in?” Logan asked as they entered the training camp. He said no one was using it right now, so he thought they could practice a little bit before Aiden’s official training started the following day. At first Aiden didn’t want to, too embarrassed to show someone else how terrible he was, but then he thought maybe it would be better this way. At least it would just be Logan, and not the whole army. He might even be able to give him some advice.

  “Um, nothing, actually,” Aiden replied sheepishly.

  “Nothing?” Logan turned in surprise. “You’re not proficient in anything?”

  “I’m all right with the double-headed axe.” Aiden shrugged.

  Logan looked at him curiously. Slowly turning, he walked over to a wooden wall that lined the open arena, and picked up the axe from one of the pegs. The training camp reminded Aiden of the Coliseum. It was huge, round, and looked like a place where people would come to fight and die. There weren’t any seats around it, but the sand on the floor was darker in some places, and he knew it was probably dried blood. He felt a little sick. Along one of the walls were all the weapons they kept here for training, but he was sure most of the men had their own weapons to practice with.

  “Here,” Logan said, handing him the axe. Aiden’s arms dropped a bit when he took it, forgetting how heavy the damn things were. Logan’s eyebrows rose questioningly. “Tell me, how does a small boy from out of nowhere, get accepted into the elite King’s army and not have any expertise in a specific weapon?”

  Aiden’s cheeks heated. He shrugged his shoulders. “Luck?”

  “Luck,” Logan repeated. His eyes narrowed as he looked Aiden up and down. “Well, how about we see just how lucky you are then.” Gesturing toward the middle of the area, Aiden walked slowly holding the axe feebly in his hands. He watched as Logan pulled out an axe as well from the leather pack he wore on his back. Walking back over to the side, he grabbed two shields and carried them over to Aiden.

  “You … You use the axe too?” Aiden gulped.

  “You’re looking at the best in the city.” Logan smiled confidently. “Let’s see how good you are.” He handed Aiden a shield, and walked back so there was a bit of room between the two. Aiden couldn’t believe how heavy the shield was. There would be no energy left in him to fight, after having to carry around these things. “Ready?” Logan yelled. Aiden gulped. No, he thought.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Where have you been?” Wolf asked as Logan entered their room.

  Smiling
, Logan threw down his pack and flopped onto his bed. “Training with Aiden,” he said, laughing.

  “Who?”

  Sighing, he replied, “Newbie.”

  “Oh! How was he?” Wolf sat up, interested.

  Turning onto his side, Logan held his head up on his hand and looked at Wolf. “He wasn’t too bad, but he wasn’t very good either. His talents are raw, and clearly untrained,” he replied, replaying the last hour in his head.

  “Surprising. Why is he in the King’s army then?” Wolf said, voicing what they were both clearly thinking.

  “I’m not sure,” Logan answered honestly. “I was suspicious as well, but who are we to question the Captain’s decisions? I gave him a nice black eye, though. He snickered. Wolf laughed. “You should have seen him,” he cackled. “He was flailing all over the place—no control at all. He’ll get better, though. I can tell.”

  “The Captain doesn’t normally take in boys that need that much work. You don’t think he brought him here for Elisa, do you?”

  Logan sat up and looked at his best friend. “Would that bother you?” he asked.

  Wolf laughed, shrugging off the implications as usual. “Not at all; it would be a relief to me. He can have that woman. She is too difficult for me.” Logan looked at him, unconvinced, but he didn’t respond. He was used to Wolf’s constant denials. “I can’t wait to see his welcoming present.” Wolf chuckled about Aiden’s black eye. Logan smiled too, remembering the look on Aiden’s face when his elbow smashed into his eye.

  “It’s a good one.”

  The meat was only slightly salted, and the potato was boiled, with nothing else on it. Aiden looked down at his plate and sighed. The meat looked like something that you would find on the side of the road. The food in this world definitely wasn’t anything like back home, he thought sadly. What he wouldn’t give for some Taco Bell, or Wendy’s right then. The other piece of meat he held to his eye was frozen, and from the black freezer burn on it, he guessed that it was from five years ago. It did the job, though.