by J. B. North
I didn’t reply, thinking back to that day that felt like months ago, but happened to be a little less than a week ago.
“I never got to give you your birthday present,” said Ayon, filling the silence.
“Oh?” I said, grinning at him. “Do you have it with you?”
He lifted a finger and walked into the horse stall that he’d turned into his bedroom. He came back holding a velvet cloth, something we never saw at the orphanage for its expense.
“Velvet?!” I exclaimed. “Where did you get that?”
“I had to save up for it, that’s all,” he said. “But there’s more.” He folded back part of the fabric, exposing a simple, but beautiful ring.
I stepped closer to study it. There was a small, red gem, twinkling in the streams of light that shone through the cracks in the walls.
“Ayon, you don’t mean it,” I said, disbelieving. “That’s too much.”
He shook his head. “No, its not. I wish I had something better, something worthy of you.”
My smile began to fade as I realized what was happening.
He barreled on before his nerves betrayed him. “I want you to have it because...I love you.” He took two long strides forward and grabbed my hand. “Will you accept my gift? Will you marry me?”
I looked down at my feet and slipped my hand out of his. I had known Ayon for a long time. We used to meet in the yard every day to play with each other. To me, Ayon is like a brother. A friend. He’s someone that I’ve never thought of romantically. Plus, after everything that's happened, there was no way that I could think about something like that.
“Ayon…” I started.
His eyes darkened.
“I don’t know how to say this, but…things have happened since I left. Things are not the same, and because my life has gone a new direction, I'm afraid that I can't... I can't marry you.” I felt my face turn bright red at the prospect.
He turned away.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“It’s fine,” he said, perhaps a little too aggressively.
My heart sank as I realized that things would never be the same. I would always feel awkward around him now.
I took a step back, my eyes watering. My best friend, now just an awkward acquaintance.
He glanced at me just before I turned to go. “You can’t feel anything at all? I could love you and make sure you're safe. Always.”
I shook my head. “I just don’t feel that way,” I said.
He looked away again.
I sighed heavily. “I'm afraid I don't have time to go see Elna. Please tell her that I said hello and that I miss her.”
After a while of silence, I said, “And I'll miss you too, Ayon.”
When he didn't reply, I turned and hurried out of the stable. Out of all the things to expect out of today, this was not one of them. I got back into the air as quickly as I could, and circled my old home, memorizing the way it looked before I had to leave. Down below, I saw Ayon watching me. I was almost angry at him for ruining our perfect friendship, but it turned to sadness as quickly as it had come.
I sang a somber farewell, and then started toward the conservatory. My mind was somewhere else as I made my way back. When I was only halfway there, I was starting to feel faint from over-exercise. I needed a rest, and fast, before I fell to the ground. I soared low, searching the rough terrain for a good landing spot. Up on a hill, there was a lone tree surrounded with the wiry yellow grass of winter.
I landed clumsily and stumbled. The insensitive weeds snagged my feathers. I sunk down into them, uncaring, and tried to steady my breathing. Before long, the weeds seemed much more comfortable and warm compared to flying. I told myself to get up, but my body argued stubbornly with my brain. I was soon asleep.
*****
I woke up to the sound of sniffing. The sound of an animal.
I was instantly awake, and before I did anything else, I changed back into first form.
I, like everyone else in my kingdom and the surrounding kingdoms, had heard many tales about the unfortunate people who had been killed in their second form. That’s why people who turn into smaller or hunted animals rarely transform for fear that they’ll die.
The animal was a wolf, it's coat a dusky gray, its yellow eyes staring at me hauntingly. I was surprised that it hadn't already taken a chomp.
The wolf jumped back, and tilted his head, confused by the sudden transformation and bright light. I watched him, trying to pinpoint whether or not he was tame. A wag of his tail put my mind at ease.
I ignored him then, looking around. If he was out here, there was bound to be some sort of homestead out here also. Wild wolves were much skinnier than he was. Sure enough, I caught sight of a small cabin, painted white, farther down the hill. It was far enough away that I was sure no one would see me.
“Go on!” I shouted. “Get!”
He just tilted his head the other way and sniffed the air.
I didn’t have time for this. I knew I needed to get back.
I stopped my thoughts. People knew I was missing already. They would be searching for me, and I might even be put into prison like the girl that had had my bunk previously. Why did it matter how fast I got back anymore? I turned the other way, toward potential freedom.
Which way should I go? Left or right? Captivity or freedom? I was tempted to run away, but my reasoning put an end to the idea. They would search for me until they found me. I would always be running away. I would always have to keep hidden, and that wasn’t a life I wanted for myself.
I started to walk toward the school, hoping that the dog would stay near his home, so that I could transform safely. I was startled when a voice spoke up, stopping me dead in my tracks.
“I was wondering which way you would go,” it said.
I spun around. The wolf was gone, replaced by a middle-aged man. His face was pinched, his hair blond, and his eyes a fading blue. He looked familiar.
“Who are you?” I asked. “And why do you care?”
He gave me a sly smile and started to walk past me, motioning for me to follow. “I believe you’ve met my son, Niko,” he said.
I frowned. So that's why he looked so familiar. “Yes, I have.”
“I’m the headmaster.”
I nearly tripped over my feet. I turned and stared at him for a second before asking, “What will happen to me? Will I be put in a prison?”
He gave the notion some thought. “No... You are much too important to us for that. But you will be punished.”
My heart thumped in my chest. What kind of punishment? Was it the kind that left scars like the ones on the side of Kurt's face?
We came upon a road with two horses tied up to a tree branch. One was as white as snow, standing tall and proud, whereas the other was a dingy brown and smaller, it’s ribs showing faintly beneath its coat.
The headmaster climbed up onto his steed, gesturing for me to get up on the lesser one. Luckily, I already knew how to ride a horse. After Ayon had become a stable-hand, he’d taught me how to ride in his free time. It was one of the things we looked forward to on the weekends. However, one thing I did not know how to do was ride side-saddle. I was always in trousers whenever we practiced.
I straddled the horse, blushing furiously when my dress came all the way up to my knees. After rearranging it, I got it to stay down at my ankles. Once I was situated, the headmaster started off at a brisk pace. It took some persuading, but I finally got my reluctant mount to follow behind. It seemed as if they had picked the worst horse to serve me for the journey.
The headmaster didn’t seem to notice that I was shivering. My dress’s sleeves only came to the elbow, and my arms were turning red with the cold. My nose, ears, and cheeks were freezing. The only warmth I got came from the horse, who finally proved useful for something.
When we got to the school, things seemed irregular. A few people wearing leather padding were walking alongside the buildings, keeping an eye on th
ings. I didn’t remember it being like that before.
The headmaster seemed to notice what I was observing. “I put them on duty when we heard that you were missing. We wanted to make sure that no one else got out, but even after they were put into place, someone did get out. A girl named Roselle. My son told me he’d seen you both together.”
It felt like a hand grabbed my throat, choking my breath to a stop. “Yes, I do believe we’ve talked a few times,” I said haltingly.
The headmaster raised his eyebrows. “By what my son said, I’d think you were thick as thieves.”
I shrugged and looked away, my gaze involuntarily flicking to someone moving closer to us. It was Niko. The headmaster slowed his horse, motioning for me to continue toward the stable. I did as he wanted, but before I was out of hearing range, I heard:
“There has been some news…”
“What is it?”
“The girl is back. And we’ve no proof that she left in the first place.”
“Then make some.”
After that last sentence, the words were too quiet for me to hear. I reached the stable and dismounted, trying hard to keep my dress down. I tried not to react to the news. I couldn’t yet, otherwise Niko and his father might know that I had heard. I had to warn Roselle before she was convicted for doing something that she might not have done, or if she did, it was for my sake.
I placed the reigns in the stable girl’s hands, and hurried to get to the arena, where everyone would probably be at this time.
Everything seemed normal. Students were working with their trainers and a challenge was going on inside of the fence. There was nothing different in here, but when I tried to find Roselle, there was no sight of her. I finally found Liana training with a staff. I was surprised at how good she was. Her trainer was big and burly, whereas Liana was tall—at least, taller than me—but skinny. In the end, her trainer had his staff pressed against her throat, but he was out of breath and had almost lost the fight.
They ended the session and went to return the weapons. I fell in step beside Liana, hoping that her trainer wouldn’t care.
“Have you seen Roselle?” I asked.
Her eyes betrayed her worry. She looked at her trainer once, who was watching us out of the corner of his eye without saying anything. “Yes, actually,” she whispered. “She was taken by Niko into his father’s office, which is just past the foyer in the boys' dorms.”
I bit my lip.
Liana’s voice cracked as she asked, “Is she in trouble?”
“She might be,” I said. I looked at her trainer and then back at her. Quietly, I said, “I’ve gotta go. If she is in trouble, I intend to help her.”
Liana nodded. She smiled at her trainer. “Shall we practice with the bow?” she asked. She was a master at pretending that nothing was wrong. I could look at her and think that the world was a perfect place. But things were far from perfect, and I needed to try and fix them. I headed straight for the boys' dormitory, and slipped inside, hoping that the guards stationed around the campus wouldn’t think anything of it.
The boys' dorms looked grubbier and more beat up than the girls'.
The foyer was dimly lit by lanterns, one of which hung crookedly on a wall. A flight of stairs was directly in front of me, the marble chipped and in need of washing.
I went up the stairs, seeing a desk that was placed at the end of a wide corridor. An old man that sat behind it was writing something, and he looked up as I walked in. He had stringy white hair, and a mousy appearance.
“I don’t believe you should be in here, girl,” he said, looking back at the door he was in front of. “You should go back to training before the headmaster knows that you came.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Actually, I’d really like to get in that room,” I said.
“No. I forbid it. There is already someone waiting who has business in there.”
I pursed my lips. I was desperate to get into the room to tell Roselle what I had heard. It might help her get out of trouble if she knew.
I pushed past him, and opened the door.
The person that sat in the chair had bruises lining the side of their face. Their sleeve was ripped, suggesting that there was a struggle. Their hair was caked with blood. That person, however, was not Roselle.
It was Kurt.
CHAPTER NINE
I gasped in surprise and horror. “Kurt? What happened to you?”
He turned his head stiffly to look at me.
“Ivy? You shouldn’t be here. Go run laps around the arena,” he said, grimacing in pain.
I held my hand over my mouth in disbelief. “No...no, I can’t. Not until I found out why this happened to you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t it obvious? I let you get away. I let you slip out of my grasp—” He cut off his words to reposition himself in his chair. I wondered if he did it on purpose. If he was going to say something he’d regret or if he already had.
I jumped around when I heard someone clearing their throat. The headmaster stood there, a look of derision cast over his features. “I wondered where you had gone off to. Perhaps I should have put a guard in charge of you.”
I glared at him. “Why is has Kurt been treated like this?”
He smiled coldly, a look his son had also perfected. “He let you get away. He was supposed to keep a close watch on you.”
“It wasn’t his fault that I left!” I protested.
The headmaster studied me with a smirk on his face. “Oh, we know. The girl was already turned in. We’ve taken care of her already.”
“Roselle?” I asked, my confidence dripping away.
“Yes.”
“What did you do to her?” I growled, even though I felt like crying. What could I do? Especially to the headmaster.
“Oh, no worries. She’ll be happy with her new life. She’s successfully reached a Level Ten. We’ve stationed her far away. Quite far.”
I dug my nails into my hands, trying not to show emotion. My eyes welled up anyway. “Then…am I never to see her again?” I asked.
The headmaster walked around to his desk and sat. “I don’t think so. And what a shame it was to see her go, seeing as she and her father were so close.”
He seemed to remember that Kurt was in the room. “And your training will no longer be with Kurt,” he gestured to my wounded trainer. “You will be training with Niko instead. I suppose that’ll be punishment enough.”
He looked behind me, and motioned for someone to come in. Niko came around the corner and stood behind his father’s chair. A spark of triumph was unmistakable in his eyes.
“Thank you, Father,” Niko said, keeping a serious look on his face. “I will make sure that she gets trained properly.”
I glanced down at Kurt, who I once thought big and powerful. He was defeated now…and so was I.
“Take her to the arena, Niko. And Kurt, I’m suspending your trainer’s status. You'll spend the next year as a guard.”
Niko pushed me out the door.
Before it closed, I heard Kurt's voice answer, “Yes, Father.”
*****
My mind was racing as we walked into the training arena. Kurt was the headmaster’s son? Niko’s brother? I found it hard to believe. He was so different from them, failing to resemble them in any way.
Niko led me to an obstacle course instead of a weapon station like I was used to. He had a whip out, but I knew that his whip would be harder and harsher than Kurt’s. I jumped over hurdles, balanced on beams, and swung from bar to bar with Niko’s commanding bark and merciless whip at my back. My muscles trembled with exhaustion, and red welts were raised on my back and on the backs of my arms and legs. I fought not to crash to the ground. He hadn’t even let me stop for food at break time. My stomach rolled with hunger and my throat felt like a parched desert.
“Go to bed early,” Niko said as he walked away from me when the day was done. “We have a full day tomorrow.”
I went into the
dining hall right when the weekly announcements started. I sat down with Liana, Abby, and Natalia, who had finally chosen to sit with them that time. Mrs. Scarls stated each victor from the challenges this week, including my name, and then said, “Headmaster Drake will now give the upgrades.”
She stepped off the platform, and let the headmaster take her place. He paced the stage as he read off a list of names in his hands and what their level was.
“Gregory Mifton, Level Six. Fiona Leelum, Level Seven. Abby Vaughn, Level Four.” He continued on for a few more minutes before my name came up. “Ivy Oliver, Level Four.”
Several gasps sounded throughout the room, including Liana's. She looked at me. “You skipped three levels,” she whispered in awe. “That’s never happened before.”
Headmaster Drake didn’t even pause before reading the next name. I received several glares from other tables, and even Abby seemed cold, her usually bright gaze dull and sulking, her mouth turned down into a frown.
I wasn’t sure whether I should be angry or pleased. It meant that I was closer to getting out of the school, but it also meant that I might have the hardest of tasks to complete.
The announcements ended, and platters of fruit and glasses of water were set on each table. I was ravenous, but I didn’t want to be unfair to the others at the table. I took only my portion, which was gone in a second. Liana gave me a sympathetic look, and scraped some of hers closer to me with a fork. “You can have my share. I had a huge breakfast.”
I thanked her, and ate her portion, but slower this time. Abby was completely turned away from the entire time. We had never talked, but we had been friendly acquaintances, and it made me sad that she was responding this way.
The platter of food was whisked away from us, some of it still uneaten, although I knew that Liana’s and my portion were gone. The covered, silver platter was set in front of us. The lid was lifted and the number 81 wavered into place.
Silence was met at the table. I'd had this number already last week, and had failed to get anything. The caves were merciless to hunger.
