by Victor Kloss
Ben wanted to raise his arm and cheer in exultation. Instead, he settled for a highly suppressed smile. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Krobeg gave a little glance around, noting that other than Charlie and Natalie, who were listening avidly, the rest of the arcane dwarves had their attention on the forest.
“So, tell me, what’s the plan? I hear you’re the man for plans.”
Ben wasn’t sure how long he and Krobeg spoke, but his conversation was so involved that he barely noticed when the forest cleared, revealing an old, seldom-used Dragonway station by the beach. He only vaguely remembered boarding the train or the journey home.
“Give me a week,” Krobeg said, as he stepped out of the carriage upon arriving at the London Dragonway. “There are some things I need to work out with the tavern.”
Ben gave him a smile. “Oh, I think we’ll need more than a week. We still have to find two more pieces of armour, remember?”
— Chapter Thirty-Eight —
A Little Revenge
Ben’s alarm had never sounded so cruel at seven-thirty the following morning, and his initial reaction was to throw the thing onto the floor, with the hope of permanent damage. But something stayed his hand, a vague thought at the back of his head, telling him that he needed to get up.
Guardian? Check, job done. Breastplate? Done.
So why wasn’t he going back to sleep? One late morning wouldn’t kill him at the Institute. Dagmar, of all people, would understand.
Ben’s eyes shot open, his heart attempting to jump out of bed without him.
The Chief Three election.
Ben sat up, suddenly wide awake. The result would have been announced yesterday afternoon. He was supposed to have spent yesterday morning garnering the last few votes. Not only had he missed that, but he’d missed the entire announcement.
Ben flew out of bed, and was out the door in five minutes flat, ringing Charlie on his way to the Dragonway.
“I only needed three more votes,” Ben said, as they boarded the carriage to Taecia.
“I know,” Charlie said. His face was glum, and he held on to the protective bars a little too tightly. “But you weren’t there yesterday morning, which was probably the most important time. I can only imagine how Aaron would have taken advantage of that.”
It was almost too horrible to think about. Aaron would have had open rein on any number of insults and lies as to why Ben hadn’t turned up that morning, and there was nothing his team could have said in response.
But, despite all logic, Ben refused to believe the election had been a forgone conclusion. Those three votes could have gone either way; anything could have happened. William was a very persuasive character – perhaps he had pulled off something incredible.
As he and Charlie climbed the hill to the Institute, Ben realised he needed to come up with a semi-plausible excuse for yesterday’s absence. The best he could think of was illness, but how would that explain Charlie and Natalie’s disappearance? Some freak contagious bug? Ben sighed. It was so pathetic he wasn’t even sure he could bring himself to say it. Part of him wished he could just hide in a hole for a week, until the whole thing blew over. No, that was wrong. He needed to deal with this head on, even if it meant getting pounded for a day or two.
Ben grit his teeth, and kept an eye out for a third-grader. It didn’t matter who; he just needed to find out what happened so he could prepare himself.
They made it all the way to the entrance, before Ben spotted someone who would know the results.
“Uh oh,” Charlie said. “Should we find someone else?”
“No,” Ben said, and increased his pace.
The moment Simon turned and scowled at him, Ben knew that the outcome wasn’t good.
“Oh, you decided to turn up,” Simon said. Ben had never thought he would care about Simon’s opinion, but the disgust in Simon’s voice hurt.
“Yes, I did. I’m so sorry, Simon,” Ben said. “What happened?”
Simon gave a scornful laugh. “What do you think happened? Without you, we had no chance. We were supposed to be electing you, remember? Bit pointless if you’re not even there.”
Ben suddenly felt light-headed, and his voice came out a whisper. “How much did we lose by?”
“Five votes.” Simon shook his head, and even managed a weird laugh. “Aaron is the new Chief Three. And I’ll tell you what, he hates me, but he hates you more, so good luck with that.”
Simon turned and headed up the stairs, before Ben could think of a suitable reply. He turned to a grim-faced Charlie, who was at a loss for words for once.
“Ben!”
Natalie came darting through the entrance. Ben was vaguely aware that somehow she looked close to perfect again, the nasty bruise on her forehead almost gone. But her hair swung wildly, and her gasping breath made it clear she had been running.
“I just heard as I was coming off the Dragonway,” she said. “I can’t believe I had completely forgotten about the election. That bump to the head must have affected me worse than I thought.”
Natalie’s energy was a stark contrast to the dull apathy Ben was feeling. “You heard the result, then?”
“Yes, I heard,” Natalie said. She frowned at him. “You can’t beat yourself up over it. There was nothing you could have done.”
“I could have turned up yesterday,” Ben said, feeling slightly sour. “I think I could have made a difference.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Natalie said angrily. The three of them started a slow ascent up the stairs, to the apprentice floor. “We made the right decision. The election was less important, you know that. It was just unfortunate the timing was so horrible.”
Ben knew Natalie was right, but right now it didn’t help much. He could feel the eyes of every third-grader on him as they entered the muster room. He felt like staring at the floor, but he forced himself to meet their gazes, as much as it hurt. He managed to keep his composure, though he almost lost it when Aaron strode into the room, moments before nine o’clock. Ben could see now that one of Aaron’s colourless diamonds had a small glow round it, indicating his new position as Chief Three. Ben wished then that Aaron would give him some provocation he could react to, but Aaron glided serenely to his position as head of the third-graders in the line-up, with nothing more than a faint smile. Ben ground his teeth but kept his cool, though it was probably a good thing that Dagmar came in just moments later.
Ben was eager to get out of muster as soon as possible. He could feel the attention on him, and it wasn’t pleasant. He just wanted to throw himself back into the apprenticeship, and put the painful incident of the Chief Three election behind him. But to his frustration, Dagmar had other ideas.
“Third-graders, remain. The rest of you, dismissed,” Dagmar said, as soon as muster had finished.
Ben cringed. What could Dagmar possibly want to say? Surely it had nothing to do with the Chief Three election? Was she going to publicly dress him down? Ben cursed silently. Surely he had suffered enough – couldn’t they just move on?
Dagmar surveyed the third-graders, tapping her baton on her open hand. Ben managed to catch her eye, but she didn’t respond. Perhaps this had nothing to do with the Chief Three elections after all.
“I want to talk to you about yesterday’s elections,” Dagmar said.
Ben cursed silently, and felt several apprentices glance his way.
“The result, as you know, was a victory by five votes for Aaron,” Dagmar said. “That, of course, stands. However, I do wish to bring up a minor point, which I think you should consider.”
She paused, and Ben became aware that he was holding his breath. He could just about make out Aaron’s polite, quizzical expression in front of him.
“Yesterday morning, Ben Greenwood was called upon by the Spellsword Department for an urgent assignment. This assignment was confidential, and Ben Greenwood was forced away from the Inst
itute for the whole of yesterday. I would like to note that he completed this task successfully, and the Spellsword Department wishes to convey their appreciation.”
Ben was vaguely aware that his mouth was hanging open, and he shut it, before people realised how surprised he was. Dagmar was flat out lying. It was unheard of, but it certainly had the desired effect. He received several forgiving looks, especially from his team. Simon even had the good grace to blush, and William gave an approving nod. Ben felt a tightness around his shoulders disappear, and it felt wonderful. He had to resist the urge to beam gleefully, and instead calmly acknowledged the looks he got. But best of all was Aaron’s expression – it looked as though he’d just swallowed a lemon.
“Apprentices, dismissed,” Dagmar said.
Ben received several claps on the shoulder and more than one apology from an apprentice who had doubted him. The majority of Aaron’s team left in double-quick time; few looked him in the eye as they passed.
“I wish Dagmar would let us re-do the election,” Simon said. He still looked disgruntled, but the anger that had been directed at Ben was now clearly aimed elsewhere.
“So do I,” Ben said. “It was just bad timing.”
Simon gave a shrug and muttered something that Ben suspected was an apology.
“I knew it would all work out,” Natalie said with a smile, as they made their way to the common room.
“How’d you figure that?” Charlie asked.
“Oh, you know, karma,” Natalie said with a shrug.
“Karma?”
Ben left the two of them bickering as he popped upstairs to pick up his spellshooter. He still couldn’t believe Dagmar had lied for him. What if she got caught out? He wondered if she had somehow collaborated with Wren, though he couldn’t see how that was possible, without giving away what they’d been doing.
Spellshooter in hand, Ben headed back down to the common room. Most apprentices had already left to study and the corridors were empty. A shadow caught his eye just as he was about to enter the common room.
“Ah, Ben. Just the person I was hoping to meet.”
Ben looked up, and saw Aaron walking towards him. Ben couldn’t help glancing again at Aaron’s diamonds.
“Nice, isn’t it?” Aaron said, looking at his shoulder. “Not flashy, but just enough to remind people that I stand above the other third-graders, including yourself.”
“Very nice,” Ben said. The last person he felt like talking to was Aaron, especially as he had been in such a good mood. But Aaron raised a hand as Ben was about to enter the common room.
“Just a second, if you please,” Aaron said.
Ben paused, as Aaron approached. Despite his perfect poise and perfect dress, Ben couldn’t help thinking Aaron resembled a snake, slithering his way forwards.
“Remember my promise?” Aaron said. His voice was soft, and there was a glint in his eye. “If I won the election, you would suffer. Do you remember that?”
“Vaguely,” Ben admitted. “To be honest, I don’t pay much attention to most of the drivel that comes out of your mouth.”
Aaron gave a little laugh. “A nice riposte, very good.” The laughter faded, replaced by something rather more serious. “I wasn’t joking, Ben. From now on, your time in the third grade is going to be rather less pleasant. I have seen to that. There will be unpleasant chores, lots of them. They all need doing, of course, so you will be putting in valuable work, though perhaps not of your own choosing.”
Aaron chuckled at his own joke, and Ben felt a shiver run down his spine. What sort of jobs was Aaron referring to? He recalled his first-grade days, when he was forced to shovel animal pooh.
“You’ll find out this afternoon,” Aaron said, correctly guessing what was going through Ben’s head. He started walking away, shaking his head and chuckling to himself. But after just a few steps, he turned around. “Oh, and Ben – don’t expect to see too much of Natalie or Charlie. I’ve taken great pains to make sure you three aren’t together all the time.”
Ben had somehow managed to keep a rein on his temper, but the tide finally broke, and he lost it. He raised his spellshooter, took aim, and fired. A swirling, spinning boomerang shot towards Aaron, and pinned him against the wall by the neck, lifting him from his feet. Aaron’s hands scrabbled with the boomerang, his legs kicking. Ben walked up to him, and pointed his spellshooter so that the tip of the barrel was touching Aaron’s nose.
“Listen to me,” Ben said, his voice surprisingly calm. “I don’t care about the chores you give me, but if you try to stop me from seeing my friends, we are going to have a problem. Do I make myself clear?”
Aaron somehow managed to nod his rapidly reddening face. The satisfaction on seeing Aaron struggling was extremely gratifying, and he let the moment linger.
It lingered just that bit too long.
The sound of quick, heavy footsteps sounded, and Ben barely had time to look up, when Dagmar appeared from round the corner. She took in the scene in one smooth glance, and stopped right in front of Ben. She glanced at the struggling Aaron, and then back at Ben. Her impassive expression didn’t change one jot.
“Did you get what you were looking for yesterday?” Dagmar asked.
The question was possibly the last thing Ben expected, and it took him a moment to realise what she was talking about.
“Yes, we got it. Just two left now.”
Dagmar nodded. “Very good.” She gave another appraising look at Aaron. “You may want to release him; I think he’s about to lose consciousness.”
Before Ben could comply, Dagmar marched off, without so much as a backward glance. Ben released the spell, and Aaron gasped for breath, clutching his neck. He tried to speak, but his normally perfect vocal cords wouldn’t comply. He glanced at the direction Dagmar had disappeared to, and promptly decided to head the other way.
Ben grinned, as Aaron skulked off.
Perhaps having Aaron as Chief Three wasn’t going to be as bad as he thought. He headed into the common room, searching out Charlie and Natalie, feeling better than he had in a long time.
A Message From the Author
Thank you for reading Royal Institute of Magic: The Silver Dwarf - I hope you enjoyed it. I am now working on book 5, which I'm aiming to publish in Autumn this year (2016). If you would like to stay in touch, please visit my website at www.royalinstituteofmagic.com.
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Regards,
- Victor
