by Ian Gregoire
“I’m going to class.”
“We are not done here.” Fay wagged a finger at the chair Kayden had vacated. “So take a seat.”
“What else is there to talk about?”
“Sit!” barked Fay. She did not look amused.
Taken aback by the harshness in her master’s voice, Kayden glared at Fay. If it had been anyone else speaking to her in that tone… Nevertheless, she took a couple of slow, deliberate steps towards the mahogany desk between herself and Fay. She placed both hands upon the burnished surface, leaning forwards as she looked pointedly at the seated administrator.
“Fay, I don’t wish to fall out with you,” she intoned, “but that’s what will happen if you keep speaking to me like that without telling me what it is that has upset you.” Her voice rose as she added, “And don’t tell me this is about my breaking curfew to lay with someone I don’t even like.” She lifted her hands from the desk to stand upright. “What is this really about?”
Fay slowly rose to her feet, still holding Kayden’s gaze. In turn, Kayden took a step back from the desk separating them, hoping to defuse the growing tension before someone said or did something to irreparably damage their relationship.
“This is about your lack of respect for me, Kayden,” said Fay in a calm, assured voice. “And your belief that our friendship entitles you to do whatever you want.”
“Fay, what are you talking about?” Kayden was confused by the accusations, especially about the lack of respect. “There is no one in this world I respect more than you,” she said. “You know that.”
“Is that right?” drawled Fay, stepping out from behind her desk. She ambled round to the other side to stand in front of Kayden. “So, would you care to explain to me why it is that after I warned you two years ago about violating the rule prohibiting intimate relations between apprentices and campus staff, you went ahead and did it again?”
“What?” Now Kayden was even more confused. “Fay, what happened with Sister Daria was a one-off. I’ve never crossed that line a second time.”
“Don’t lie to me, Kayden. Your friend, the innkeeper, has already let the cat out of the bag. Your visits to his establishment pre-date your recent escapades with Lazar. He first met you a year and a half ago when you became a frequent visitor, with a Sanatsai companion.”
Oh, that! thought Kayden. How had she forgotten that three-month dalliance? She sat back down in the chair she’d vacated, letting out a resigned sigh. “Fay, in my defence, an argument can be made that I didn’t break the rule a second time. Technically, he wasn’t a member of staff.”
Leaning back, Fay perched on the desk, with her hands gripping its protruding edge, on either side of her hips. “Tell me who it was.”
To answer the question would inevitably get the person into hot water, but Kayden knew Fay would not allow her to refuse to identify him. “It was Dando,” she said reluctantly. He had been stationed at Antaris for several months as part of the contingent of Sanatsai barracked in the vast underground cavern beneath the campus. The drop-dead gorgeous Sanatsai had come to her attention while he was on sentry duty, and the attraction was mutual. On the day he slipped her a note informing her that he’d like to ‘get to know her better’ outside campus, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to be a little naughty. “I mean, Master Dando,” she hurriedly amended.
A frown altered the look on Fay’s face, but she didn’t respond immediately. It looked as though she was thinking—trying to put a face to the name, perhaps? “Dando Sarvantis?” she queried, moments later.
Kayden silently nodded her head then stared down at her booted feet.
“Master Dando is a married man, Kayden.” Fay’s voice was full of reproach. “Did you realise that?”
She peered up at Fay. “He mentioned it,” she replied. “And…?” His marital status was actually a good thing as far as she was concerned. It guaranteed he would keep his mouth shut.
The expression on Fay’s face shifted again, and she rose from her perch on the edge of the desk to stand upright. The look of disappointment in her eyes caused Kayden’s heart to murmur. She really didn’t like the way her master was looking at her. It stabbed at her like a knife.
“Fay, please don’t look at me like that,” she said, sounding meek and pathetic to her own ears. “I can’t bear to have you look at me that way.”
“Kayden, did it ever occur to you that Master Dando’s wife might not appreciate her husband laying down with another woman?”
She knew her master was laying a guilt trip on her, and it was working. Kayden could no longer meet Fay’s disapproving gaze. Rising to her feet, she took a few paces from her chair to put some distance between them, and kept her back turned on her questioner.
“Fay, it’s not as though I was trying to steal her husband from her, or wreck their marriage.” After a brief pause she turned round to address Fay directly. “He was stationed here for four months, while his wife was three thousand miles away in Temis Rulan. He, being a man, had needs that she wasn’t here to satisfy so he came to me to have those needs taken care of.” Feeling defensive, she added, “I don’t see what the problem is. If it hadn’t been me it would have been someone else.” Which would have been fine now that she thought about it; Dando had, in general, been a disappointment beneath the sheets.
Sighing audibly, Fay brought her left hand up to her head, closing her eyes as she rubbed her forehead with her fingers.
The gesture warned Kayden that Fay was losing patience with her. “Fay, why are you making more of this than necessary? No harm was done,” she said, nonplussed, “yet you’re acting like I’ve committed a heinous crime.”
“Kayden, what is the matter with you?” Fay’s eyes flashed open, and her hand fell away from her face. “You are not a child any more; when are you going to grow up?” The vehemence of the outburst took Kayden by surprise. In the five years she and her master had known each other, Fay had only raised her voice in anger—or something approaching it—on one occasion. This time was different. Fay was clearly livid. “When are you going to learn that you cannot continue to recklessly do whatever you want, whenever you want, with no regard for the consequences? What you do affects other people, do you understand that?”
Feeling thoroughly abased, Kayden said lamely, “Fay I… I’m sorry.”
“Sorry isn’t good enough,” said Fay brusquely, walking swiftly back round her desk to reclaim her seat. “It’s time you remembered I am still your master, and you are just an apprentice. Our friendship in no way exempts you from adherence to campus rules, so I’m going to discipline you as I would any other apprentice.” She pointed a finger at the two empty chairs in front of her desk. “Sit!” Her tone made clear that non-compliance would not be tolerated.
Doing her best not to take Fay’s conduct personally, Kayden duly walked back to the chair she had vacated, and sat down.
“For the remainder of your apprenticeship I am terminating your monthly stipend, with immediate effect.”
“What? That’s not fair!” Kayden blurted, eyes wide with incredulity. “The reason I receive that allowance is because I don’t have family to send me money. What am I—?”
“Stop talking!”
She fell silent in compliance, but she was finding it increasingly difficult to not take what was happening personally. If Fay’s provocations continued she’d have a hard time keeping a respectful tongue in her mouth.
“For the rest of the week, and the final week of this term, you are confined to campus grounds—even when all your classes are over for the day. If there should be a compelling need for you to leave campus, you are required to seek my permission first. If I choose to grant it, six Sanatsai sentries will be assigned to accompany you wherever you go, to watch over you.
Kayden couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What Fay was proposing was overkill; it didn’t make any sense.
“They will ensure that you return no later than Nineteenth Hour, in time for the e
vening meal. Once you have eaten, you will report to the stables where you will assist the stable-hands with their duties for the rest of the evening. As for the weekends, you are not permitted to leave campus for any reason. From Eighth Hour in the morning until midnight I’ll be placing you at the disposal of Master Briselda, to carry out whatever tasks around campus she sees fit to give you, no matter how menial.”
Though she wanted to take issue with being turned into Master Briselda’s skivvy, Kayden held her tongue; she didn’t trust herself not to say something she shouldn’t. Nonetheless, she was far from amused. Not only did the prickly Sanatsai dislike her, the woman had a huge chip on her shoulder, too. Lording it over an apprentice she had it in for would no doubt give her great pleasure. Kayden could see herself now, down on her hands and knees in the privy, scrubbing away—and that probably wouldn’t be the worst of the tasks the campus instructor had in store for her.
The unpleasant realisation prompted her to voice her misgivings. “Master Briselda hates me,” she moaned.
“Yes, she does,” agreed Fay in her matter-of-fact way, surprising Kayden. “Which means I don’t have to worry about her going soft on you, like Master Solen, so you’d be wasting your time batting your lashes at her.”
There was nothing she could say to that. She simply stared at Fay, feeling sullen.
“And be warned, Kayden,” continued Fay. “If there should be any more violations of campus rules between now and the end of term, I will increase your punishment further. You may go to your class now. If Master Pedrano asks about your lateness, tell him to speak to me, and if you should see Lazar Litmanari before I do, be sure to let him know I’ll be having words with him about his recent misconduct.”
Kayden grudgingly rose to her feet, stepping away from her chair to make the short journey to the exit. She had barely taken half a dozen steps before Fay’s voice stopped her in her tracks.
“One more thing, Kayden. If you attempt to leave campus grounds, for any reason, without my permission… I will know.”
Keeping her back to Fay, looking towards the office door ahead, Kayden didn’t resume her exit from the room. She stood her ground pondering her master’s out of character behaviour. Fay had said she would discipline her as she would any other apprentice, but was that true? The punishment just meted out was excessive, and Kayden didn’t believe for a moment that any of her peers would have been treated in the same manner. Certainly, Lazar could expect a more lenient chastisement for his curfew breaking. Fay was obviously trying to make a point, but had gone too far.
Finally, Kayden turned round and paced to Fay’s desk. “You didn’t have to go this far to make your point,” she said, indignant, glaring at the woman she thought of as a friend. “I know I did wrong.”
“Apprentice,” said Fay in a cool monotone. “There’s the door… use it.”
Taken aback, once more, Kayden planted both hands upon the desk, leaning forward. “Yes! Master!” She turned on her heels and stomped out of the administrator’s office, slamming the door behind her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Unresolved Anger Issues
Master Pedrano’s military theory class was beginning to wind down with the imminent arrival of Tenth Hour, but the two-hour lesson had done little to abate Kayden’s simmering anger and resentment at her treatment in Fay’s office. If anything, she was even more indignant now than she had been when she stormed out of the room. The content of the morning’s class hadn’t helped matters either. Whose stupid idea was it to strategise how to repel a full-scale invasion of the Nine Kingdoms by the Zenoshanese Empire? Like that was ever going to happen. And why did Master Pedrano insist on peppering her with questions throughout the lesson? Just because her late mother and absent father were from Zenosha it didn’t mean she had any more insight into the workings of the empire than anyone else; she had been born and raised in the Kingdom of Astana.
Her annoyance was compounded further when it became apparent the lesson had effectively turned her, in the eyes of her classmates at least, into the embodiment of the theoretical invaders from the Nine Kingdoms’ vast northern neighbour. It was another reminder—not that it was needed—that she was the only apprentice of Vaidasovian origin on campus. For that matter, it was entirely possible she was the only person of her ethnicity residing anywhere in the province that gave its name to the campus.
“What’s your opinion, Kayden?”
Master Pedrano’s voice intruded upon her ruminations about events in the administrator’s office, earlier that morning. “What?” she said. Only the mention of her name had registered.
“The consensus today seems to be that in the event of an invasion by Zenosha, both the Kingdoms of Astana and Lirantana would fall very quickly, though the Zenoshanese advance to capture the remaining realms would be slower, and much more costly. However, Rayshio Loris has just raised an interesting point, questioning the very notion that the Zenoshanese would be prepared to endure the kind of losses necessary that moving beyond Astana and Lirantana would entail.”
What’s the damn question? Kayden wondered in irritation.
“If, as he has suggested, the invaders would settle for just the two kingdoms on their border, and decided to consolidate their gains there, this would obviously impact the joint military response of the Nine Kingdoms and the Order.”
Does he even have a damn question? she thought. And why does he keep pacing back and forth like an idiot while speaking?
“So, is Rayshio correct? Would Zenosha be willing to endure significant losses to achieve the wholesale conquest of the Nine Kingdoms, or would they consolidate their grip on Astana and Lirantana, making it that much harder to dislodge their occupation?”
With an exaggerated sigh, Kayden replied, “Why do you keep asking me what Zenosha would do? How would I know?”
“You are the one person here with Zenoshanese parentage, so—”
“So what?” she interrupted, making no effort to conceal her irritation. “I was born in Astana. I’ve never even been to the empire. And even if I had, that wouldn’t mean I have a personal relationship with the emperor, you stupid man!”
There were a few shocked gasps, followed by some murmuring, then the room fell silent. Master Pedrano slowly marched from his position at the front of the class while the eyes of sixteen apprentices followed his path to the desk where Kayden was seated. “I don’t know what your problem is this morning, Kayden,” he said calmly, “and I don’t care. You can explain yourself to the administrator after I report your insolence.”
Oh, great. Just great! Now Fay will have an excuse to increase my punishment.
“In the meantime, would you kindly answer the question.”
“Fine!” she replied in a huff. “This is my answer. Today’s class was a complete waste of time. Zenosha would never invade the Nine Kingdoms. If the rulers there had any interest in expanding the empire into another continent, they would have done it generations ago. As it is, Zenosha has almost no dealings with any of the lands of Karlandria―to keep out negative influences.”
The campus clock began to chime with the arrival of Tenth Hour, prompting the other apprentices in attendance to gather up their belongings in preparation to leave for the next class of the morning.
Master Pedrano ambled backwards away from Kayden’s desk, clutching his hands together. “All right, class is dismissed. Hurry along to your next lesson.”
“No! Class is not dismissed,” said Kayden emphatically, rising to her feet. “Everyone remain seated.” She pre-empted the rebuke she saw coming with the shift in Master Pedrano’s expression, saying, “You were adamant that I answer your question, and I haven’t answered it yet.” Before an objection could be raised, she proceeded to school both her instructor and classmates. “In the event of a full-scale invasion by Zenosha there is no strategy the Order could employ to help the Nine Kingdoms successfully repel the attack. Through sheer weight of numbers the empire could achieve its objective in under six
months, easily. A couple of years after that, you would all be speaking fluent Zenoshanese.”
She raised a hand to forestall a possible rebuttal. “Now, before you point out that Zenosha has no wielders of Zarantar to call upon, whereas the Order has over thirty thousand, I will simply point out that all this means is the Zenoshanese military has limited ability to harm members of the Order. However, the same cannot be said of the general populace, and that is how the empire would compel your unconditional surrender. Thirty thousand Sanatsai isn’t sufficient to protect the people from a large occupation force; you cannot be present everywhere. Once an ultimatum is issued, and a demonstration of the consequences of non-compliance is provided—let’s say, by wiping out a major town, putting every last man, woman and child to the sword—the royal families would have no option but to order an end to any and all resistance.
“The bottom line is, when push comes to shove, if people are given a choice between dying a futile death fighting a superior enemy, or living under foreign occupation, most will choose the latter. Does that answer your question, Master?”
Addressing the other apprentices, Master Pedrano instructed them to resume their departure from the classroom, and head to their next lesson. To Kayden he said, “As for you, young lady, you can stay behind.”
Irritated, Kayden remained where she stood, at her desk, while Master Pedrano waited for the last of her fellow apprentices to vacate the room, at which point he strolled over to her.
“Kayden,” Pedrano uttered with sigh, “I understand and accept that people sometimes get out of the wrong side of their bed in the morning, so I can tolerate a certain amount of poor behaviour. However, your attitude today has been unacceptable, and your conduct at the end of the class, especially, was appalling. I have no choice but to inform the administrator.”
“That’s your prerogative, Master,” replied Kayden, barely restraining the urge to yell at the man. “But when you speak to Master Fay, be sure to mention the role you played in my appalling behaviour.”