James was unconscious before he could cry out.
***
The note was lying on his face when he woke up. James moaned instinctively, despite the lack of pain coming from his back. He grabbed the note in annoyance and read it quickly.
Heard you got beat by Dominic. I left a cake on the table by your bed to cheer you up…but it’s stale. Enjoy. Love, Kyran.
James chuckled for a moment and shook his head. Kyran sure had a weird sense of humor, but given the trauma he’d been through lately, he needed a good laugh or two. Taking a moment to stretch his back, he was amazed by how great it felt.
Maybe it was only a superficial one…but I know I was definitely cut.
James rubbed his back and, after making sure that he wasn’t crippled, he got dressed and strolled down the hallway, feeling like he was dreaming. Forgetting about the stale cake on the table, he went over to the cafeteria hoping to get some fresh ones.
Hearing a sudden girl laugh in the distance, Catherine came back to James’ mind and how she giggled pretty much whenever he spoke. Sighing, James burst through the cafeteria doors, noticing that no one looked up from the fluffy golden cakes that stole their attention. James strolled over to the line where the lady in green waited happily.
“You look chipper today,” she said cheerfully as she began removing the tray of cakes from the counter and replacing them with a pot of oatmeal. James raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed as she put the cakes back.
“Just messing with you. I wouldn’t dare deny you any them since you love them so much.”
“Funny, since I haven’t had any since I got here.”
“I wonder why that is,” she wondered, putting a finger to her chin and looking toward the ceiling. “Maybe it’s all one big conspiracy!”
“With Kyran at the head, no doubt.”
“Probably,” she laughed as she plopped the stalest cake of the bunch onto his plate. James mumbled under his breath and grabbed a cup full of syrup sitting on the side.
“You know, you could ask for a better one,” the woman replied as James was preparing to look for Catherine. He turned around to observe her sincere expression.
“Then why give me a stale one?”
“Mainly to see your character.”
“How is giving me a stale cake going to show you my character?”
She shrugged her shoulders as she handed him a new one.
“It shows me that you’re too timid to stand up for what you want.”
“It’s a cake, not a million shell.”
“Is it? Why does the principle change just because the reward does? What makes a cake any less than a million shell? Give a million shell to someone in the desert on the brink of starvation and they’ll look at you like you’re insane. Throw a cake in front of them and they’ll love you forever.”
“What’s your point?”
Geez. Now I’m getting words of wisdom from the lunch lady.
“Nothing,” she smiled warmly from ear to ear, closing her eyes in unison. “Only making conversation.”
“You’re weird.”
“Says you,” she smiled as she extended a hand. “My name’s Chloe. Nice to meet you—James, right?”
James reluctantly shook her hand. He hoped there wasn’t syrup on them.
“Yep. Nice to meet you too…sorta—catch you later!”
“Later, James!” she sang out as he rolled his eyes. The cafeteria was buzzing with conversation, so much so that he couldn’t even catch a bit of what was being said. Whatever was happening, people were getting excited.
“So what’s all the commotion about?” he asked a random student. She ignored him, deciding to continue talking to her friends at the table. James mouthed an “okay” and walked off with his tray. Seeing a table with only one recruit seated there, he decided to give him a shot. James sat down obnoxiously and eyed the recruit. He responded with barely a nod and continued munching down on his apple. His spiked, dyed red hair nearly matched the fruit itself. He ate quietly but voraciously, as if he were afraid the apple would run away at any given moment. James almost extended a hand of welcome when he realized that, if he did, he’d look a lot like Chloe. Disgusted, he retracted the idea and started bobbing his head for no reason, as if he were agreeing to a comment the recruit said.
“You should get that checked out,” the recruit stated as he loudly crunched into the apple. James stopped bobbing and their eyes met. Embarrassed, James glanced down at the cake that suddenly didn’t appear so appetizing.
“I was trying to think of a way to make conversation.”
“You could say hello. That usually works.”
“Are you going to be snide with me too?” James snapped.
“Not really,” the recruit muttered. “Just joking.”
“Ah.”
They ate in silence for a little while.
“So I’m James, 10th cl– uh, I started a little while back.” It was only then that James realized that it was Dominic who had given him his designation, and not an actual teacher...what was his class? Arimus had said he would know by now…hadn’t he?
“I’m Achan. Infantry, 5th class,” the recruit replied.
“That’s kind of up there. Are you in charge of your own squad?”
“Sometimes. We never went beyond the forest though. Plus, I’ve only been in the Academy a few weeks.”
“And you’re already that high? Wow, the Academy must really have low standards…” James shut his mouth too late. He winced and started apologizing. “That didn’t come out right.”
“It’s okay, 10th class. I know what you’re saying. The Academy has people going up in rank at ridiculous rates. Mainly because people are dying all the time.”
“Seriously? Are we at war?”
“Not exactly,” Achan said, brushing a hand through his spikes. “By their third week, most recruits go in for their infantry exam and they usually don’t come back.”
“Is it that hard?”
“One could say that. You are allowed to quit the Academy even during the exam, but there’s plenty of rumors going on saying that quitters are executed. You know, so sensitive information can’t get leaked. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Why would there be such a ridiculous rule like that? Why would we kill our own people?” James still hadn’t decided if he was going to quit the Academy or not, but this did complicate things.
“I can understand the purpose of the rule, though I may not agree with it. If a man is unable to stick it out with his team and deserts them, he’s nothing but a coward, and there is no room for cowards in Allay. Fear only breeds more fear.”
“That still doesn’t mean a person should be killed for quitting.”
“A child is usually the spitting image of his or her parents. Imagine an individual, able to leave the Academy and start a family. More than likely, those values would be passed on to the children and so on and so on. Eventually, our Kingdom would be full of weak men and then where would we be? The siege of ‘88 all over again.”
Achan took another massive bite of his apple.
“The Kingdom is already full of weak men,” James said. “I was weak…still am on some accounts, but I’ve grown. You can’t give up on someone who can’t take the heat right away.”
“Yes, but you also haven’t quit.”
“Well, in any case, I didn’t know the infantry exam could scare people like that. I thought being an infantryman was like being a watchman in the town square. You know, the fat ones that have the uniform but can’t really chase down anyone when a robbery goes down.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Achan laughed. “When I was younger, me and some of the village children would stand on a roof above him and drop apples onto his head, yelling that he needed more fiber in his diet.”
“What do kids know about fiber?”
Achan stopped laughing and cleared his throat.
“Well, we did. Parents made sure we were healthy.”
“I wish my father would’ve actually taken the time to teach me a few things. Then again, I don’t blame him. He was busy…and it’s not like I went out of my way to learn. Still, looking back over all the things I could’ve accomplished…”
“We all do that,” Achan lamented as he placed his apple core on James’ tray. “We all have regrets. But it’s what we do now that matters. The past is past…so what test are you on now, 10th class?”
“My third.”
“Oh good, then you’ll be taking the infantry test next. You might even end up in my group. I am leading one of the next batches into the forest.”
“That will be fun,” James muttered as Achan studied his face.
“Bummed about the Sage test, huh?”
“Definitely.”
“Don’t worry about it. So what if you can’t become some warrior of grandeur. I’m sure it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I mean, just think about the siege of ‘88. Not one Sage back then survived. Know who did? The infantry. Not many, mind you, but at least they were able to go home to their families. Without the infantry, the village wouldn’t have been rebuilt properly. But because the infantry was around, there was moral support. There was a sense of security and order, even if deep down the villagers all knew we wouldn’t stand a chance in a second attack. But so what? At least we were there to ease the pain. If the infantry were made up of only Sages, we’d all be dead right now. We might as well have just sat back and let the Langorans kill us all.”
“The Langorans?”
“A bunch of lazy fools taking up our air. That’s all they are.”
“Okay,” James trailed off, deciding not to dig any further. He didn’t want to get Achan too stirred up. People were beginning to watch from the other tables.
“We can still make a difference, even if we’re not Sages. You don’t have to be a Sage of Allay to matter in this world.”
“Hey,” James blurted, eager to change the subject. “You know Catherine, the princess, right?”
“Of course,” Achan said cautiously.
“Do you know where she is? I haven’t seen her around.”
“Why do you need to know?”
“That doesn’t matter. Do you know where she is or not?”
“I believe she’s with Arimus preparing for her final test. It’s not the infantry one though. Something else.”
“What is the final test exactly?”
“Not sure. It’s different for everyone and in case you’re wondering, I haven’t even taken my fourth yet. You have to ask to take the last two. I think they’re exams to become a general or teacher. Something like that. They give you all this mumbo jumbo about it being really hard and will cause a lot of stress and quite frankly, I’m not ready for all that yet. I like being where I am.”
“But you’re ready to go into a dark forest full of creatures?”
“It’s practically a party in there.”
“So Catherine won’t be around for a while?”
“What does it matter? You shouldn’t be talking with her anyway. She’s the princess. She doesn’t have time to waste on people like us. As it is, she’s in the Academy to learn how to fight for herself in case of an attack. She doesn’t want to be vulnerable like her mother and father were. It’s best if we leave her to her training.”
James thought of the story she had told in such vivid detail. She had only been four at the time of the siege, but that was still old enough to comprehend that her father and mother weren’t coming back. Across from him, Achan’s eyes suddenly widened in recognition.
“Wait, you’rethatJames. The one the princess was hanging around?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I personally don’t care. I mean, the princess has the right to do whatever she wants, but a lot of people have been saying how you should have known better and that you were a bad influence, especially by taking her outside the walls.”
“Geez, it’s not like I made her betray Allay.”
“Still, you have no clue how fragile our Kingdom is at the moment. Although she has all authority here, she’s still young. She wants to go out and play and have friends and everything, but she just can’t do that. She has to prepare for the day she becomes Queen.”
“So why would I be a bad influence?”
“Because she has to realize that you’re only a subject. She can’t be friends with you. I know what you’re thinking. What’s the big deal? But it is. When we’re out in the battlefield, she has to stay objective. Imagine if she had to make a choice between the mission and you—she might have to let you go for the greater good but because the two of you are close, now you’ve just caused her pain over your loss. By staying away, you’re actually helping her.”
“Don’t you worry,” James scowled. “I won’t get in her way anymore. The only reason I hung around her was because I didn’t know who she was.”
“Good,” Achan said immediately, pushing his tray to the side. “At the same time, we can’t completely detach ourselves either. She needs people to rely on. Be her support but keep your distance.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you sound a little protective.”
“I’m not.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Maybe you should talk to Arimus about when your next exam is,” Achan snapped.
James could tell that Achan didn’t want him around anymore. What was his problem? James had only made a statement. It was like Achan was her big brother and James was asking her out on a date or something. He hoped it wouldn’t become a trend. People assuming he was going to keep Catherine occupied and away from her duties. That had never been his intention. Now that he knew the truth of who she was, he was glad to leave her alone. All he wanted now was to apologize for how he had treated her earlier, and then he’d be out of her life for good, except for keeping Dominic from marrying her, of course.
And it wasn’t like he was going to be a Sage now anyway.
The thought pierced through his mind like a drill. It was tough, and messy, too messy to really sort through the embodiment of what it meant. All he knew was that he needed to keep busy. Once he sat down and thought about it, it was going to hurt, and the pain might just keep growing.
James reluctantly got up from the table and began walking towards the courtyard. Achan had made some good points. Maybe James could be an excellent infantryman. Not a Sage, but someone that could still make a difference. It would be hard at first though.
Every time he thought of an infantryman, a drone came to mind. Someone that just mindlessly followed orders no matter what they believed. Expendable soldiers that were easily replaced. No one cared about who you were or the fact that you were a living breathing human being. To them you were just another statistic, another number.
Sages, on the other hand, were invaluable, and needed to maintain the very security of the entire Kingdom. How prestigious could an infantryman get? It seemed to James that no one would really care if he died as one. They would look at the village paper, or hear about it in passing, and maybe say how sad it all was, how young he had been, how pointless such and such a war was, yet they’d go about their daily lives as if nothing had happened.
If a Sage died, tears would be shed by more than just his relatives and friends. He would be missed. He would be avenged. His life would mean something to people, and wasn’t that what people really wanted in life? To matter to others? What was the point of joining the Academy if you couldn’t make a difference in the lives of others? As an infantryman, maybe he still could, maybe, but knowing his own lazy demeanor and habit of putting little effort into anything he found no interest in, James knew he’d only be a hindrance. He didn’t want to be seen as a quitter either though, and there was that whole quitting-death rumor…so, maybe he’d give it a shot, and see how he would fare in the third test. That would at least determine just how dedicated he w
as to the cause…whatever that was.
James was surprised to find Arimus hanging out in the courtyard, talking to a small number of recruits. Instantly, they stopped talking and stared back at him like he had a rash in the middle of his forehead. Arimus nodded at James’ arrival and gestured to him, signaling for him to line up with the crowd.
“Nice of you to join us, James, and so soon,” Arimus greeted him warmly. “I hope you’re feeling better.”
James looked around the group as they waited for his response. No doubt Dominic had already bragged about how badly he had beaten him.
“I don’t feel a thing,” James announced boldly and Arimus nodded in response.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it. I was actually sending this group out to the forest for their third test. However, I think it would best if you stayed behind.”
James looked over at the recruits, wondering what was going through their minds as they began to depart. Arimus waited until they went out through the courtyard doors to speak.
“The reason you don’t feel any pain is because Dominic made his blade dull at the last second. Because he can control it at will, he can determine how blunt or sharp it is at any time—his mind being his only limit. Even so, I know it had to be painful. You were out for a day.”
“I guess that’s why I don’t feel a scar on my back.”
“Are you okay, James?”
“I’m not a child. I’m not going to get upset about it.”
“Then you are vastly superior to all of us in temperament.”
James mulled over the words for a moment.
“Does it go away? The disappointment?”
“It fades like all painful memories do, but every once in a while there’s still a twinge.”
“Do you think about that test often?”
“Not particularly. There’s simply no point in dwelling on something I can’t change. I can only improve and hope to pass in the next test life gives me.”
“Like the infantry?”
The Works of Julius St. Clair - 2017 Edition (Includes 3 full novels and more) Page 15
