The Student

by Darin Niemann

  ~

  Someone was shaking me awake. I tried to shove them away and go back to sleep, but whoever it was clearly wasn’t taking no for an answer. My mind started having more coherent thoughts as I realized it was Erik who was shoving my shoulder in an attempt to wake me up. I groaned, finally sitting up in bed.

  The prince, seeing that I was awake, finally stopped shaking me. He looked as if he was about to burst out laughing any minute.

  “What is it?” I asked brusquely, slightly angry that he had awoken me. “Well, you are about to thank me.” He paused, hand on his chin. “Actually, you are most likely about to scramble in a valiant attempt to arrive on time.”

  As he had not explained any valid reason to prod me awake, frustration took hold of me. I spouted, “And what, Your Highness, is the reason for such a rude awakening.”

  He smiled victoriously as he lifted high a letter. “That would be this.” He tossed it to me as he took a seat at his desk. Intrigued, I looked at the letter. The front simply had my name and a symbol on it. I opened it to reveal the message. It read,

  Kayne,

  I offer my congratulations for receiving one of the highest scores in Herbalism course’s final exam to date. Your scores in other classes have also impressed me. If you would be so inclined as to visit my office at around the ninth hour. I would like to speak with you about your future at the Academy.

  - Headmaster Sol

  I was speechless. A meeting with the headmaster himself? I nearly couldn’t believe it. I quickly read the letter again, stopping on one important detail. The ninth hour. I jumped out of bed, putting some clothes on and attempting to flatten my bed hair. Erik was laughing at this point and did so even harder as I tripped in my haste, falling flat on my backside. As I finished getting prepared, Erik began to calm down a bit.

  “If you hurry, you can probably still make it. I will accept your thanks later.”

  With that said, he let out a chuckle and turned to his desk. I was already halfway out the door and simply ignored him. Knowing him, Erik had probably been awake for quite some time before bothering to wake me. I would have to think of a way to return the ‘favor’.

  Running through the halls earned me more than a few glances, but I ignored them. The headmaster himself wanted to talk about my future. I wonder what he had heard from the teachers. Inwardly, I groaned as nothing that my herbalism teacher had to say about me was good.

  Not paying attention, I ended up running past the hallway leading to the headmaster's office and had to backtrack a bit. Finally arriving at the door, I hesitated. I knew that I was not getting expelled or even remotely punished, but I was still nervous. I knocked twice. It only took a few moments for a response, but those mere seconds seemed to last an eternity. A voice inside the room responded.

  “Enter.”

  I braced myself, physically and mentally. before opening the door. Not knowing what to expect, I cautiously entered the room. The first thing I noticed was the desk. It was clearly an extravagant desk, made by the finest craftsman. I guess that it was likely the school’s own craftmasters had made it long ago. There were two comfortable looking chairs on my side of the desk.

  The man behind the desk, was looking at a piece of paper in front of him. Without looking at me, he gestured to one of the comfortable chairs.

  “Please, have a seat. I will only be a moment,” he said.

  I sat and took the time to study the rest of the room. I felt surprised at what I saw. Pleasantly surprised, in fact. The room looked and felt similar to Enelo’s own personal study. It had the nearly identical scent of herbal remedies that Enelo’s study contained, with only a slight difference. The open window revealed a spectacular view of the gardens. To the right of the main desk was a small personal library with a worktable consisting of all the tools and ingredients necessary to prepare and mix herbs. It was likely the best room available here at the Academy.

  The headmaster coughed politely to grab my attention. I turned to him as he signed a paper and placed it into a pile. He then clasped his hands together and focused his gaze on me.

  “Kayne, I assume?” I nodded. He shuffled through a few other papers before picking a small stack up and handing it to me. It was the test that I had completed in my Herbalism class with that awful teacher. I checked it over as the headmaster spoke.

  “I applaud you for receiving a perfect score.” He spoke softly. Indeed it was a perfect score at that. I had felt confident, especially with the help from the librarian, not to mention Enelo’s teachings.

  The headmaster continued, “There has not been a student in this school to have such a score in quite some time. It is rare because we place certain questions that those taking the class shouldn’t know from the course material.”

  My curiosity wouldn’t be chained. Thinking that maybe Enelo had been the one to get the last perfect score, I asked.

  “Who was the last person to achieve it, if I may ask?”

  He smiled, “Indeed you may, as that person is none other than myself. Now, you may think that it was a simple test, as it contained basic knowledge that all who call themselves ‘Healer’ should know, it is quite difficult to learn, and takes many years to perfect.”

  I nodded. To read or hear knowledge is one thing, to absorb and fully understand it, another.

  “I wanted to meet in person, and to let you know that the Academy expects great things from you.” He spoke, not once taking his eyes off me.

  Just then, there was a quick knock at the door before a man opened the door and bowed slightly to the headmaster.

  He addressed the headmaster, “Pardon the interruption but you are needed elsewhere, Headmaster. I will await you outside.”

  With that, he left the room, leaving the door cracked open slightly. The headmaster turned to me, “I regretfully have other matters to attend to, as you can see. Our meeting will have to be a short one.”

  He stood and offered his hand. I rose and shook it. His grip was unusually strong for a healer.

  “It has been a pleasure meeting you, Headmaster Sol.” I said respectfully.

  As we shook hands, his eyes seemed to burrow into mine. Intelligence shone clear in those dark green eyes. Though it only took mere moments, it seemed forever before he let go.

  He nodded at me and replied, “Likewise, Kayne. Likewise.”

  I bowed slightly and left to find the man who had interrupted our meeting in the hall. He seemed to be studying me. Was I that intriguing for getting a perfect score on a test? It seemed unlikely, but maybe the Headmaster was right about not taking it lightly. That was another thing. The Headmaster felt strange, even though his room appeared to be that of a healer similar to Enelo. Different somehow, but I couldn’t name it. My stomach growled then, pulling me away from any thoughts unrelated to breakfast.

  Chapter 12

  Time passed quickly as my new classes started. These being more advanced courses meant I had little free time available. Which of course, meant seeing less of Enelo. If I had more time to think on it, I would have been sad, but I was constantly busy.

  Erik began to teach me how to play a game that the nobles were taught from an early age. He called it War. It was a strategy game, where each player commanded an army of various soldiers and attempted to wipe out the opponent’s army. At first I lost many games to the prince. After a number of losses, however, I finally managed to beat him. I became well versed in the game of War, to the point of winning at least half of the time. Erik said it was amazing that I could play so well against an opponent who had been playing since before he could read.

  I began to enjoy spending what little time I had with Erik. The more time I spent with him, the more I started to trust him. I also continued my nightly training with Dante. Many a time he showed up drunk to our little sessions but, I soon learned that he could fight drunk nearly as well as not.

  I learned a lot from Dante about swordsmanship. He taught me forms, stances, and strategies. He taught me ho
w to gauge your opponents and look for openings. I even learned some unarmed combat for inconvenient situations. Most importantly, though, he taught me when to fight, and when not to. I recalled the words, forever etched in my mind.

  You are but one sword. Albeit, a sharp, deadly sword. One man cannot face an army, and expect to be victorious.

  I took to heart everything that he taught me, save for his drinking habits. Tonight we had planned on sparring but alas, Dante was nowhere to be found. I sighed, knowing what he was up to. He did this occasionally, and he knew that it irked me.

  I left the school grounds and began my search. I checked a few different places before finally arriving at the Traveler’s inn. It was a loud place, even from the street, with all the shouting mixed in with music. I took a breath before I entered and prepared myself for the chaos within.

  As I opened the door, the noise level rose ten-fold. I winced at the abrupt increase in sound. I looked around at the tables until I spotted him in a corner of the room, downing a mug of ale while slapping his leg to the music. I meandered through the crowd, careful not to bump into anyone. Finally arriving at his table, he raised his glass to me and cheered. He was clearly drunk.

  “Why, hello, lad! Care for a pint?” He waved to signal a serving girl. I sighed not bothering to sit down.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” I yelled over the noise.

  Clearly drunk, he looked puzzled as he tried to figure out what he was missing. Just then he looked down and spotted his nearly empty cup. Realization dawned on his face as he motioned to the serving girl for another pint. I just shook my head and held my hand to my face. I reluctantly sat down to talk face to face.

  “We had sparring planned for tonight. You have to actually be there in order for us to spar.” I rolled my eyes as I spoke.

  He shrugged and finished off his drink. “I was simply having a few drinks before your training.” He hiccuped, turning to the musician. You couldn’t blame him really, the musician was a good one.

  “Tomorrow we spar. Will you be there?” I spoke loudly to his face, snapping my fingers to get his attention. He waved at me as if to shoo a fly away.

  “Yes, yes, tomorrow it is.” He replied.

  I sighed again. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. I maneuvered my way back through the crowd before a man dropped his drink in the path of a serving girl. He stood up, as I watched him. He was tall, a bit over six foot tall, with a large beer belly. He was also very drunk.

  “Get me another, girly, and I’ll forget you spilled my drink.” He bellowed.

  The tables nearby quieted as they noticed the commotion. Most eyes were on the giant-like man and the serving girl. I inched closer, just in case. The girl was scared, but stood her ground.

  “I am sorry, sir, but I didn’t spill your drink. You did.”

  She tried to go around him towards the kitchen and he reached for her. Not hesitating, I dashed forward and caught his arm by the wrist. The giant-like man looked to see what had stopped him, and saw me. He grinned, and laughed.

  “You think you can stop me, boy?” As he spoke, his laughter died and he growled. His other fist flew towards my head. He was definitely a large fellow, and I knew I couldn’t take a direct hit from him. Thankfully, he was quite slow.

  I let go of his wrist and stepped outside of his strike. I then immediately grabbed onto his over-extended arm with both hands and pulled hard, using his momentum against him. Already half leaning over from the wild punch, his balance was off and I used all of my strength and his momentum to flip him forward onto the floor. His head hit the ground hard, knocking him out instantly.

  I straightened from my fighting crouch to find dead silence as everyone looked at me with jaws hanging. In the corner, I could see my master with a slight smile on his face. I sighed again, knowing he had probably intended for something like this to happen. I turned to the serving girl, who also had her mouth open.

  “See that man in the back, the one with the red hair?” I spoke softly and pointed towards Dante. She followed my arm and nodded, still speechless.

  “He will pay for any damages. He always does.” Just then, a loud voice from the kitchen called out, “Emma, I need you back here now!” The girl jumped and bolted, looking back at me over her shoulder every so often. I made my way to the door, and anyone in my way promptly moved out of it. I hadn’t realized the lack of music until it started up again. I must have made quite the commotion.

  With sparring cancelled, I now had a bit of free time. On my way back to the Academy, I stopped to visit Enelo. I didn’t end up staying long, but we chatted for a short time while simply enjoying each others company. On the way back to the school grounds I stopped by the gardens to pick a starpetal. In one of my classes we were required to make a potion with restrictions on which herbs we could use. I chose an upset stomach tonic made from starpetal as my choice.

  As I was probing about in the dark, I heard the snap of a twig. Normally, I wouldn’t be alarmed, but as I had not stepped on any twigs, I clearly was no longer alone. I froze, careful not to make sound or give away my position. Some might call my reaction a bit too paranoid, but I knew the harsher side of life well enough and erred on the side of caution. I was somewhat backed into a corner. I had not payed attention to where my searching lead me and had wandered in between a patch of thick bushes with a rather large tree to my back. There was not enough room for a person, or even a small child, to squeeze through.

  At first, I thought it might be some sort of thief. But, then again, this was the school gardens, not some wealthy palace. Perhaps it was some other students taking a stroll through the gardens at night. Then I heard some chuckling, and I knew immediately who was following me. Max. Most likely with his two brothers. I couldn’t even remember their names.

  It had been a long time since I had seen them. Always avoiding them, and sneaking around the hallways had become habitual. They must have been outside when they saw me entering the school grounds. This time would be different than last. I had trained hard and I could finally fight instead of running.

  I called out, “I know you are out there, Max. There is no reason to hide any longer.”

  A few moments passed before a figure stepped out of the shadows, followed by two other figures. Sure enough, it was Max and his brothers. I made a point of looking over his shoulder at his two companions.

  I grinned. “I see, three against one. You must be terrified of me.”

  Max was no longer smiling, “I’m not afraid of you, gutterborn.”

  I scoffed, “Prove it then. Face me one on one.”

  He looked at me, unsure of what to make of my newfound confidence. Then he laughed, and his companions followed suite.

  “I don’t need any help against a mere street urchin.” He moved forward alone, attempting to take a fighting stance. I nearly laughed aloud at how clumsy he appeared. His ‘stance’ had so many openings it was going to be hard choosing which ones to exploit. I didn’t even bother taking a stance. I just stood there, staring at him. Angered by my disrespect, he charged with a very wide right punch directed at my face. I easily dodged it, not bothering to counter. I could have ended it there, but decided to have some fun. I was enjoying this, yet there was another reason why I didn’t end it immediately. I was confident in a one on one scenario, but against three opponents, even unskilled ones, I could be in trouble.

  That was the main reason I had called him out, and forced him into a one on one match. If I prolonged the fight by showing my nonchalance and proved I was vastly superior, his companions might think themselves unable to beat me and run.

  Max kept throwing wild punches, and I kept sidestepping them. With every punch, I slowly moved backwards, towards the large tree behind me. He was losing stamina, I could tell by the sweat dripping off his face and the heavier breathing. The time between his punches was getting longer as well. It was about time to end this. The next punch he threw I stepped back, with my back against the tree. M
ax grinned, thinking that I was cornered. I played along, trying my best to look frightened. Knowing this was his chance to end it, he mustered all of his strength into one last punch, and yelled out as he threw it. At the last moment I smiled, and then stepped inside and under his arm and basically walked past him. At the same time, his fist connected with the tree. He cried out and crumpled to the ground, cradling his smashed hand. I stood still, having hardly exerted myself at all. I cracked my knuckles, and took a fighting stance, facing the remaining opponents. They took one look at their brother lying on the ground crying in pain, then at me standing there without a scratch before bolting off into the darkness.

  I grinned victoriously, my plan having worked. I glanced over my shoulder at Max. He was too focused on his smashed hand to notice he was alone now. I walked over to him and crouched beside him. He looked up at me. His eyes no longer held anger or hate. All they contained was fear.

  I glared at him one last time, and spoke softly, “Don’t come near me again.” His head pumped up and down in fast agreement. I stood and left the gardens. As I walked I could only picture the fear in his eyes. That fear, directed solely at me. For my entire life I had been the one on the other end, fearing everything and everyone. And now? It felt good, immensely good, to finally be on the receiving end of that fear.

  When I got to my room and began preparing for bed, Erik asked how my night had been. I smiled to myself as I readied for bed.

  “My night went quite well.” I said. Tonight, I would sleep soundly.

  ~

  “Well, that is unusual.” Iselle pondered aloud. She, Erik, and I were sitting in the lunch area.

  The prince finished chewing, then asked, “What?”