by Cox, Craig
"Let me guess, he got stuck in."
"No not really, he spent most of the time listening and talking to the old man."
"Listening and talking, that doesn't really sound like my friend." He laughed.
Ashe wiped away the grime from his face, she had placed her hand under his chin holding it steady, Braden was grateful that she was being gentle, as she rubbed the swollen skin. He clenched his teeth when she placed her hand on his shoulder, to move him to one side.
"Shoulder as well?"
"And ribs."
He smiled at her, as she looked back at him, concern written across her face.
"So what did happen?"
"I made some friends, and well, those friends had people who didn’t like them."
"So you decided to help out?"
"Well..."
He spent the next fifteen minutes explaining what had happened throughout his day. Half way through the conversation Ashe convinced him to remove his top so she could see the rest of the damage. Although his shoulder was purple, his ribs red and sore, the damage had been minimal. She continued to wash away the grime and left-over blood, most of which had been from his opponents and not himself. When she was done the bowl was almost with dirt, he dried himself off with his own shirt before shifting back onto the couch. The cold water had woken him up a little, Magnus was fast asleep next to him as Ashe laid down on the couch opposite him.
"So how was your day then, as eventful as mine?"
"To be honest not really, but, I met this man, he somehow knew I was an Arcane." Braden sat up straight.
"What happened?"
"Nothing really, me and Alex played dumb but he gave me this book?"
"A book? What was it about?"
"About fire, more specifically Arcane fire. It is definitely written by an Arcane or someone with their knowledge, majority of it is in Old Imperial and it even describes how it feels when you summon the fire."
"How does it feel?"
"Hot."
She smiled over at him, Braden rolled his eyes.
"It feels the same as when hot water runs across your skin after a long day. That same combination of pain and ecstasy, but instead it’s running through your veins and at the moment of release, its unexplainable."
Braden could hear the passion in her voice, as she tried to explain it. Ever since he had met Ashe he had wondered what it was like to use magic, to summon fire and bend light.
"What else does the book say?"
"I'm not sure, it’s taking me time to read it, as I have to keep translating backwards and forwards between languages."
Ashe got up from the couch and walked over to the table where they had first sat down with Page. She picked up the small leather-bound book before walking back to the couch. This time she sat next to Braden. She flicked her fingers next to the candle lighting it instantly. He gave her a quick look as she opened the book and skipped a few pages, before running her fingers under a couple of lines.
"You see, the first half is in the Common tongue and the second in Old Imperial."
"Why would they do that?"
"I don’t know, maybe to stop non-Arcanes reading it? Or maybe just because you need to use Old Imperial for the magic to work."
They both traced their fingers over the lettering of the book, Braden could feel the letters under his finger-tips. He could only read the Common tongued parts skipping over the Old Imperial.
"What's Arceair? I keep seeing it pop up."
"It means fire, it’s the Imperial word that an Arcane needs to use, to summon it. This passage is about different ways of using the word. It changes the way the fire reacts."
"I guess that's where I heard you use it before but how does it change?"
Ashe's finger ran back across the words on the page again.
"Some of it I already know, if you cup your hands like this and say it quietly... Arceair"
A small flame appeared in the palm of her hand, it was only an inch high flickering from side to side. She separated her fingers and the flame disappeared.
"Now, if I do this."
She stepped up and away from Braden and Magnus. As she moved her arms further apart she called out in Arceair, slightly louder than before. A string of fire erupted from her right hand, it passed in a straight line finishing in the palm of her left before doubling back. Ashe stretched her arms out making the gap wider, the flame flickered for a second, as the length of the fire increased. Braden could feel the heat radiating from the flames. Magnus's head had popped up and he was staring into the flame.
"Maybe you should put that out before we set the castle alight."
The flame disappeared as quickly as it came, he watched Ashe's hands fall to the side, he could see in her eyes that it had taken a toll on her body. She looked down at him and smiled.
"Maybe I shouldn’t try this indoors." She said.
"That would probably be best."
She sat back down next to him, he placed his hand on her wrist. Her pulse was racing, her skin was hot to touch, it felt like fire but it didn’t burn him.
"I’m guessing that’s how it feels?"
"What?"
She looked down at his hand, her face was slightly red, he assumed from the living fire running through her veins.
"Your skin, it feels like fire."
He could feel her skin begin to cool down, under his finger-tips. They sat there for a while, his thoughts were of what could be done with the magic of an Arcane, from simple living to ruling the country. The power of having an Arcane in your court, made you the envy and a powerhouse of Arda, but to be an Arcane and a Lord, would mean you a King in all but name. He smiled inwardly and from the look on Ashe's face outwardly as well.
"What are you thinking about?"
She pulled her hand away as she said it. He looked down disappointed at the lack of contact, but deep down he wasn’t sure if it was because of her, or the power she possessed. He felt guilty as he looked back up at her, she had a confused look on her face.
"Just wondering what it’s like to feel the power you possess all the time?"
She tilted her head to one side, squinting her eyes at him.
"I told you, it feels amazing. What were you really thinking about?"
Braden didn’t want to scare her away with his thoughts of using Arcane magic for power and position. He was saved however, by a knock at the door. He took the opportunity to change the subject. Magnus followed him across to the door. Just as he reached the handle they knocked again. Braden took a deep breath in composing himself into the formal retainer he is supposed to be before opening the door. Standing on the other side was a group of six women and one man, who was dressed lavishly from head to toe in bright blues, greens and purples. His dark hair was pushed back from his face flattened against his head, he was a few inches shorter than Braden. The six women behind him, wore much plainer clothes in combinations of beige, browns and whites. Each had their hair tied back in a ponytail and each carried bolts of cloth, balls of thread and boxes of fasteners in all shapes and sizes. "I am assuming that you are the tailor Mr Page spoke about."
"Mr Panorin Upperbeach, at your service."
The man bowed deeply and extravagantly and as he did the six women curtsied.
"I believe it is not my service, but Mr Page's, Mr Upperbeach."
The man smiled at him and gave him a wink, before walking past him and into the room. Braden watched him as he walked into the centre of the room before spinning around, his eyes darting from one light source to another before finally alighting on Ashe.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"No."
They both replied at the same time, Panorin just tapped the side of his nose and smiled at the pair. The women entered the room on by one. They moved with grace and speed as each one lined up next to Panorin, depositing their loads in equal piles around him.
"Ladies, if we could make some space please. That sofa will need to be moved, Lydia can you b
ring those two sets of candles over for some extra light, it’s getting dark. Lydia please set them up here and here, Zena, refreshments for everyone please."
The man clapped his hands together twice and the women around him burst into action. Ashe moved out of the way, as three women pushed the couch they were just sitting on to one side. The women moved round with quick efficiency, Braden was not sure how much Page had told Panorin about him but he was wary none the less. He shooed Magnus into the other room, if Panorin was not fully in the loop, a lion cub the size of a large dog would probably raise questions. As he watched the cub's tail disappear round the bedroom door, Panorin called him over. Lydia had set up two small tables in the middle of the space Panorin had made for himself. The tailor took him by the arm and guided him onto the first table. As he stepped on it, it spun underneath his weight throwing him backwards in Panorin's arms. The little tailor was stronger than he looked and from his positioning behind him, Braden assumed he was waiting for it to happen. On his second attempt he spun in space a couple of times, before Panorin grabbed his arm again to stop him in motion.
"Arms out, like this now stay still." Braden did as the smaller man said, before he slowly began to spin him around. Panorin stood with his arms crossed, his fingers running through his trimmed and well-kept goatee.
"Your core physique is good, so we don’t need to hide any lumps and bumps. Arms and legs, well defined."
The man grabbed different parts of Braden's body as he spoke, he carried a piece of white string in one hand using it to measure his body. Braden tried to make sure he didn’t fall off the stand again as he spun backwards and forwards, but luckily Panorin kept changing the direction of the spin so he could keep some semblance of balance.
"We can keep the trousers tight against the muscles and the chest and arms the same. We need some flare though, perhaps at the waist. What colours are we working with?"
He glanced over at Lydia who was obviously in awe of the man.
"White and Purple are the main colours, we can also use gold and black thread for the trim, Master Upperbeach."
"Fine, let’s try black trousers, use a white strip on the side to break it up, gold thread as well. Tunic, white, gold trim, black fasteners. Remember tight arms and legs."
Panorin spun him around again and clapped his hands.
Chapter XXXIV
Alexander
Panorin grabbed Alex balancing him on the pedestal, it was the fourth time since he had got on that he had almost fallen off. The first, second and third time, they had all laughed but the fourth time seemed to annoy the tailor.
"You need to have balance, unlike your friend here. I had to catch him once, now I can spin him like a bottle and not worry."
Alex looked over at Braden who stood smugly, he was half dressed in the clothes Panorin had designed for him. The majority of the clothing, was being pinned and re-pinned by the tailor’s assistants. It seemed to be getting tighter and tighter around Braden's body, Alex wondered what would happen if Braden pigged out on food for the next few days would he still fit into the clothes again. Luckily, his own clothes were less defined, although he was dressed in a similar manner to Braden. The same primary colours of white and black were evident but no gold or purple was being used, he was currently dressed in off-white trousers with a black stripe down his right leg, his top half partially covered by a black tunic, which Panorin was trying to pin round his sides, when he had fallen off the pedestal.
"We will use a white and purple trim for the tunic, I think."
Ashe had been taken into the other room with Miral and Lydia just after Alex had returned to the room. Panorin had poked his head into the room a few times, whilst the women were pinning up Alex and Braden. They stood on the pedestals for another thirty minutes before Panorin finally let them down, the women with him packed up his things, as he explained to Alex and Braden that he would be back tomorrow, to make some final adjustments before he finished and delivered the clothes. Ashe returned from the other room just in time to say goodbye to Panorin before he left. Her black hair was sticking up in different directions and she was struggling to get it back down into it’s usual flat state as she walked over and took a seat opposite the pair.
"Have fun?" Braden said gesturing to her hair.
"Those women were brutal, they must have had me in and out of fifty different types of clothes before they finally decided on a set."
"What did it look like?" Alex asked.
"Panorin told me not to tell, he wanted it to be a shock, according to Miral he likes to have a big reveal when he is finished. He has a flair for the dramatic."
"Really, I would never would have guessed."
The three of them sat down by the fire, Alex took the single seat as Ashe and Braden dropped themselves down onto the sofa. They were all tired from the long day’s events and it was almost midnight by the time they had finished with Panorin. Alex looked over at Braden's face, the swelling had seemed to reach it’s peak. They had discussed the day, whilst they were getting fitted. Braden's day seemed to be much more eventful than his and Ashe's, but he still was thinking back to Cecile's workshop. Some of the techniques the old man had shown him in that short hour were amazing. His father had been an excellent smith, he had made a few chainmail vests as well, but his main cliental had always been from the villages. Horseshoes, nails and axe blades were his usual work but Cecile was a master armourer, he couldn’t wait to get back down there again tomorrow. Cecile was starting work on a breastplate for a Knight in the King’s direct service and Alex was keen to see it from the start to finish. He saw Magnus out of corner of his eye as he slowly walked across the room, he stopped a number of times to stretch his legs and back before curling up at the feet of Braden in front of the fire. Braden was drifting off to sleep and Alex felt like following him, when the door swung open. He quickly darted up followed by Ashe, Magnus and finally Braden rubbing his eyes. Page walked through the door followed by a pile of walking books and two men. Alex watched as Braden placed his hand on Magnus' back pushing him down to the ground and out of sight, he wondered how long they would have to keep Magnus hidden. He was growing so quickly that in a couple of weeks it would be impossible to pass him off as an oversized dog.
"Braden, please come here."
Alex watched his friend walk around the sofa and Alex followed a few steps behind. He looked at Ashe and then to Magnus, she got the idea and sat back down, her hand on Magnus to keep him still. As they got closer to Page and his group, Braden realised the walking stack of books was Troy. The two men standing in front of him were well-dressed but had no gold or silver to mark them as anything more than prosperous men. The older of the two had dark hair greying at the sides, his face was tanned from spending hours in the sun, he was shorter than Alex but a little taller than Braden, the second man was almost a spitting image of him without the grey hair.
"Braden, I have some people I would like you to meet. This is Sir Mace Hearth and his son Jorge."
Mace was the first to drop to his knee bowing his head, his son quickly followed. Alex watched his friend take a step back shock was written over his bruised face.
"My Lord, I served your father before he passed away. He was a good man and a strong leader, the Kingdom and its people are worse off without him to guide them."
"Get up, please." Braden lent forward and lifted him up by the shoulders.
"I am no Lord, at least not yet. My father may have been a great man but I never knew him so there is no need to praise him in front of me."
"I am sorry my L..."
"Braden, please." He replied quickly.
"I am sorry Braden, but I owe much to your father including my knighthood and everything that followed, even Jorge here. I only met his mother through your father’s service."
"Why are you here then Sir Mace?" Alex interjected.
"He is here to serve as Braden's first guard, from the moment we walk into the great hall in two days time, he will be a ta
rget both from the common criminal and from the Lords he stands beside. Because of this he will need swords to stand beside him, and loyal ones at that." Page answered.
"And loyal I am, as I said your father gave me everything and made me the man I am today."
"Page, do you trust this man?" Braden asked.
"Yes, we have kept in contact over the years and I have no reason to doubt his loyalty. He is a good man both in character and with a sword and will do well to serve as your guard."
"I have trained my son since he was ten, to hold a blade, he is strong and skilled and I would put my life in his hands."
"Well maybe one day I will have to challenge you myself."
The young man smiled at Braden's challenge, before nodding to him.
"Now we should probably leave this for the night, Mace we need to get you back out of here before anyone notices. You still have strong connections to the late Lord Drake, and we don’t want anyone spoiling our surprise." Page said.
Mace and Jorge shook both Braden and his own hand before departing, Page walked them out of the room and began ushering them down the corridor before closing the door behind them. Both Alex and Braden were watching the door close when they heard a massive crash behind them, they spun around to see books strewn across the floor and Troy collapsed beside them. Braden was the first to reach the boy, he put his hand against his face before turning him over to one side.
"Don’t worry he's just fallen asleep."
"Let me."
Alex moved Braden to one side as he picked up the boy, before moving him across and laying him down on the sofa opposite the fire. He stifled a yawn himself before announcing that he needed to go to bed as well. He followed Braden into one of the adjacent room which the two of them shared with Page, Ashe bid them goodnight, as she went to her own room opposite. Alex stripped off quickly before dropping onto the makeshift bed they had made the night before. It had killed his back the first night he had slept on it and he wasn't looking forward to the pain again in the morning. It was only for a few nights however, as he knew as soon as Braden was made a Lord they would be put up in their own suite of rooms. Braden was having far more trouble getting his clothes off, Alex could see he was getting stiff from the bruises he had received earlier in the day.
