The Apprentice's Path: The Alchemist #1

by Stacey Keystone

  "I wasn't. But don't think doing nothing will let you stay safe." And with that, I stormed off. I certainly did not expect him to be thankful for the information I shared with him (maybe a little), but him scolding me was unexpected. Who did he think he was? Even as my grandpa, he didn't have a right to do that. My parents never scolded me (their worry and disappointment were always worse than any scolding, but they never so much as shouted at me).

  Spending half my time outside classes in the archives, and the other half in the lab, I stopped going out entirely, which was probably the reason Joey came to look for me in the morning, as I was heading out.

  "Hi, Dan," he said, awkwardly. "Nice to see you."

  "Nice to see you too," I replied. "This is quite early for you. Why this early? I haven't even had breakfast yet."

  "Where are you going then?" he asked.

  "For breakfast," I replied.

  "Is it true then?" he asked.

  "What?"

  "That you are having an affair with your supervisor," he spat.

  It was bound to happen. Somebody was going to notice at some point that I was close to grandpa, and, since we decided not to share our familial relationship, it was going to be misinterpreted. It was still annoying. I cared about my reputation; not above other things, but I did care. And it's not like I could punch everybody.

  "No," I said. "He just gives me free food because I get along with his sick son. You know I love free food. Besides, I've got a boyfriend." I just made it up on the spot, but a boyfriend was a good way to quiet the rumors.

  "A boyfriend? Is it that loser you went to the ball with?"

  Joey had been the one who told me about the spying business, so I had to step carefully here.

  "Yes, it's Jack. We got back together after the ball."

  "Are you that desperate for a man? How could you get back with him after he spied on you?" Joey was quite angry.

  "Joey. Tread carefully," I said. Friend or no, I would not let him insult me like that. "That was his job then. But it's not like that this time. I will be careful."

  "Still… Are you in love with him?"

  "No. But it's not your business. Thanks for telling me about the rumors. But you shouldn't have believed in them." I went around him, walking towards grandpa's house. Changing my behavior because of those stupid rumors would be akin to admitting they were true. And denying them would force me to explain why I was eating meals at my supervisor’s home, which I didn't want to do. So, I would parade my boyfriend around, in front of grandpa. Let's hope they don't start saying I am sleeping with my supervisor and cheating on my boyfriend.

  I called Jack that afternoon, using the phone in my office. It's always better not to pay the outrageous phone charges. And it's not like they were paying me much, so I considered everything extra I could get as part of my pay package.

  "Dana?" he asked. "You haven't called since the ball. What is it?"

  "Listen, you were saying you'd like us to get back together. Clean slate, all that. Do you still want to?"

  There was a pause, so long I almost thought the call got cut.

  "Hello?" I said. "Did you hear me? Because I'm not hearing anything."

  "Yes," I suddenly heard. "Yes, I'd like to."

  That was a relief. I didn't have to find some other guy. I just had to convince this one to do what I wanted.

  "Well then, I'm giving you a big forgiveness advance. Interest-free. I'll still call in the weregild, don't think I'll forgive you spying on me so easily, but consider the slate clean right now."

  His voice became cautious.

  "I'm certainly glad you want to get together, but Dana… Are you trying to get something else from me?"

  "Well," I said. "Now that you're my boyfriend, you'll certainly have to pay on our dates. None of that halfsies thing anymore. You're a police Detective, I'm a poor student. In fact, I'd like you to pick me up for lunch after class. Take me somewhere nice."

  "When?" he asked.

  "Monday. I've got this class, after which I don't have any classes for the day. If you want, I can get the day off at work, and we can spend the day together. Have a real date."

  "I'd like that," he said. Then he paused. "So, does that mean you took that job?"

  "I did. Thanks for telling me about the file. And remember, you will not report anything about me without telling me first.”

  "I already promised I won't spy on you again. Don't you trust my word?"

  "I do," I said. "Which is why I'm giving you this opportunity. Don't forget, Monday, at 11:00, in the Interpersonal Department, wait for me. And take me somewhere nice. But don't book any hotels. We're taking it slow this time."

  "You'd like us to spend the whole day together just… talking?" I could hear the surprise in his voice.

  "Well," I said "last time, because we took it so fast, by the time I learned you were spying on me, I was attached to you… but I didn't know anything about you. I still don't know you. This time, I'd like to know you as a person. Take this seriously."

  "We'll discuss that on Monday," he said. "I'm not sure I like this too much."

  "Tough," I said. "Because I'm not changing my mind. See you on Monday."

  When Jack came to pick me up after grandpa's lecture, he had a huge bouquet of pink roses. At least they weren't red (which is the color of death in Caerland). I'd left the classroom quickly and made sure everybody saw us hugging. I then turned towards the door, holding his hand. When grandpa exited the classroom, with quite a few onlookers left, I dragged Jack towards him.

  "Professor Bedwen," I said, "I've already introduced you to my boyfriend, Detective Jack Taylor. He's taking me for lunch now, but it would be nice if we could have dinner together one of these days. I'm sure Billie would like it."

  He raised his eyebrows slightly, giving me a piercing look, but smiled and extended his hand towards Jack.

  "Jack," I said. "This is my supervisor, Professor Bedwen, whom you've already met. I've become friends with his son Billie, so I have meals at his home quite frequently."

  Jack also gave me a knowing look and a crooked smile. He shook grandpa's hand, though.

  "Glad to meet you, Professor Bedwen. I would love to further our acquaintance, but we've got a lunch reservation at the Treehouse. So, if you forgive me, I'd like to take Miss Dana there."

  "Absolutely," grandpa said. "It's so nice to see such a handsome couple. Enjoy your date."

  And he left, confidently wading through the crowd. The onlookers, who had been avidly absorbing the conversation, also scattered.

  "So that's what it's all about," Jack said, offering me his elbow, and I placed my hand in it.

  "What?" I asked.

  "You inviting me for a date. It's all about dispersing some rumors, isn't it? Which is why you made me go through this really awkward and public show right now."

  "Well, yes. Consider it interest on the advance."

  "Look," he started saying, but paused, opening the door and holding it for me. It's not like I couldn't open the door myself, but it did feel nice to be courted. "I know I haven't repaid you yet, but I don't want our relationship to become you using my guilt over that for the whole time."

  "That was it," I said. "Until I call on the debt, I will not ask you anything. At least, nothing I wouldn't expect from a boyfriend. Aren't you glad about this, anyway? You'll never know when that debt will be called, and I could have found somebody else before that. Which won't happen now." I said, putting on my gloves and placing an arm at his elbow.

  He patted my hand with his own.

  "If you look at it like that…" he said, as we headed towards the cab stop.

  15

  After helping me get into the carriage, and giving the cabbie instructions, he climbed into the carriage, taking off his tricorn hat and gloves. He carried a tricorn hat even when he was out of uniform. I also took off my favorite fedora, scarf, and gloves. It wasn't warm enough to take off my coat, but it wasn't freezing either.


  "So," he said, sitting in front of me, backward to the horses, even though there was a seat beside me. "Now that you've used me to quell some stupid rumors about you, do you intend to parade me around the university?"

  "Of course," I said. "Why shouldn't I show off what a great boyfriend you are?"

  He leaned towards me, taking my hands into his.

  "And what is this about taking things slowly? Slow, you aren't. Three years ago, you were the pushy one."

  "I know," I said. "But this time, I want to do things properly. I'm really busy right now, and I don't have the desire to waste my time on a non-serious relationship, fun as it may be. I don't want to do that anymore. So, we'll meet a couple of times on campus, go on several dates, and we'll see how it goes after that."

  "What about dinner with your supervisor?"

  "I said that for the busybodies," I said. "Do you want to do it?"

  He looked at me, caressing my hands in his, thinking about the questions.

  "Yes. Yes, I'd like to have dinner with your supervisor. See what he’s like," he decided.

  "OK. I'll tell him then, and we'll arrange a date."

  "I'm glad," he said. "That you're letting me into your life. For real this time. Last time, I only ever met your friend Joey when he came to confront me after our breakup."

  "Wait," I said. "Joey came to confront you after we broke up? Did you fight?" Joey was quite a good fighter, but he wasn't a professional. It would be stupid of him to pick a fight with a cop. Stupid, but brave.

  "We did. He even managed to beat me properly. Of course, he ended up way worse than I did."

  "I hope you didn't make any trouble for him." That would lower my opinion of him as a man.

  "I didn't," he said, offended. "That was a man-to-man conversation, and reporting him for that would be wrong. No, we just sorted it out on our own."

  I smiled. It's nice to know Joey's a good friend. I was going to have to buy him a beer and forgive him for his suspicions.

  "That's sweet of him," I said. "To defend my honor."

  "You don't seem like the kind of girl who needs her honor defended," he observed. "And I thought you didn't like that. You never let me defend your honor. I had to take you to the hospital instead."

  "Of course not. If I wanted you beaten up, I could have done it myself. I'm quite good in a fight. You've seen me."

  "That's because you fight dirty," he said. "But if you had to fight clean, I wouldn't be so sure about it. I'm pretty good, too. And you don't tend to fight one-on-one."

  He had a point there. Despite dark arall girls being as strong as ordinary boys our age, we were still weaker than the boys of our kind. So there was only one thing you could do against annoying boys who liked to fight, which was gang up on them and fight dirty. Although there's no such thing as fighting dirty in a street fight.

  Antisocial as I was, I quickly learned to join a group of girls like me, making sure to protect each other from the most annoying boys. Fighting a boy of our kind one-to-one would be stupid, and magical girls didn't tend to fight with non-magical boys. The taboo against fighting with girls was too strong in non-magical boys. And, since they didn't tend to pick on us, we left them alone. There were plenty of boys of our kind that brought us trouble anyway.

  As an adult woman, I never get challenged into a fight. All the fights I was ever involved with were group affairs, with plenty of people on each side. Partly because nobody would fight me alone. In Ashford, women of my kind are rare, so the men here don't even think of fighting me, as they think of me as a woman, to be protected. And the dark arall men I encounter, they have enough with the power plays and fights among them. They leave me alone, and I leave them alone.

  One-on-one fights, in the open, without weapons, or tricks, like a sport, is not something I do. I don't play when I fight, I fight to win, to maim, and don't tussle. Except for my brothers, who love a good tussle.

  "Do you want to see?" I asked. "You invited me to your training gym at the ball. I could take you up on the offer." It'd been a while since I fought with anybody, not having the time to go out for drinks anymore. And the area surrounding the campus was just so safe. And all the pubs had strict bouncers; the owners didn't want their places destroyed each night.

  "Not today," he said. "I've got a proper date set for today. Even bought tickets for the theater. Ever been to the theater?"

  I shook my head.

  "Well then. You'll see the theater. I can take you for some training on Wednesday. There's this place I train at. I'll pick you up after I finish work, and we can go there. Bring comfortable clothes."

  The play was quite funny. A story about a marriage between a dark woman and a light man, it was the most unrealistic thing I'd ever heard of. The opposite combination, I can imagine. But this? I had to hold my giggles for most of it.

  "It's supposed to be a tragedy, you know," Jack told me during the intermission. "You're not supposed to laugh. Glad you're enjoying it, though. Would you like to go for a drink?"

  "Oh, yes, let's go for a drink. I never thought people imagined us like this." If it weren't funny, the man playing the woman (without shaving his beard, at that; couldn't he put some effort into this?) would have been pretty offensive. I mean, women like me may be strong, and not the prettiest, but we do look feminine. I sometimes even wear makeup. And a dress.

  "So, I guess you liked theater," he said, hugging me by the waist, as he gave me a glass of wine. I put a hand on his waist, too, enjoying the warmth beneath the shirt. "I don't think I've ever seen you laugh this much."

  "That's because we usually just went for drinks. It's the first time you've taken me to a nice place."

  "I didn't think you'd want to," he said. "But didn't we go to that ball? I would say it was quite nice. You even wore a dress."

  "Well, now you know. And you didn't take me to the ball, I took you to the ball. It's different."

  "So you really intend to make this hard on me, do you? Was the advance you offered just a mirage, so you could solve the issue with the rumors?"

  "This isn't some elaborate revenge," I said. "I've changed. I'm not the child I was at eighteen — I'm an adult woman now. And I don't play mind games, whatever you think. So take it or leave it. We agreed on how we'll settle this, and that's how we'll settle this."

  "I just feel uneasy, with this issue left between us," Jack said.

  "Do you want to wait for the time when it gets solved? Because I don't know when I'll need a favor big enough to repay for what you did. It may take years."

  "I'll deal with it then," he grumbled. The bell announced the end of the break, and he gently directed me towards the hall. "But try not to laugh too hard when the tragedy ends. People will misunderstand you."

  When he came to pick me up for the training, Jack became insufferable. He bombarded me with instructions about what I could and couldn't do. Who knew there were so many rules in a fight.

  That's why I don't fight as a sport. Being bound by rules, diminishing one's effectiveness on purpose — what's the point in that? I never liked physical pain — and a fair fight seems to increase the chance of being hurt. After all, when you punch somebody in the face, you may break their jaw, but your knuckles will also get hurt. With a knuckleduster though… Or my favorite, steel-reinforced gloves, which were warm and practical enough to walk in them in winter.

  As I came into the training hall, I understood Jack's insistence more. The place was full of cops. Nobody was in uniform, but I'd seen enough of the streets to recognize a cop from a mile away. And everybody here was a cop. I even recognized the cop who detained me once after a bar fight. Of course, the people I fought with agreed not to report, and he left, but not before reprimanding me.

  "Why did you bring me here?" I hissed at him, politely smiling at the guy, who spotted us and started coming towards us.

  "Well, you say you are a different person now. That you want to be serious. So I thought I'd introduce you to my colleagues," he whispered, al
so smiling at the sergeant. "Sergeant Moore, I'd like to officially introduce you to my girlfriend. Miss Dana Bedwen — you may remember her."

  The sergeant smiled, extending his hand towards me. I grabbed it and shook, firmly.

  "Ah, Miss Bedwen. Sure, I remember. So you've become serious now — no more bar fights, right? Seeing how you’re back with the Detective now."

  "I can still fight, Sergeant. I'm just too busy now. But Jack wanted to train with me so much — I just had to come." I said.

  "It's great that you support your boyfriend this much, Miss Bedwen. Maybe, on another occasion, you could also train with me? I'm sure it would be instructive for both of us." The sergeant said.

  "Sure, sergeant. But for now, I'm going to train with Jack. That's what I came for, after all." I said, heading towards the changing room.

  "Wait," Jack said. "You remember the rules, right?"

  I rolled my eyes.

  "Of course. No biting, tripping, eye-gouging, strangling, attacks to the genitals, or reinforced gloves."

  The sergeant, who'd been listening, laughed.

  "A tough girl you have there, Detective. You sure you won't regret this?"

  Jack just ignored him.

  "Right. Don't use your reinforced steel gloves."

  "But I'll hurt my knuckles otherwise! Look at my pretty hands," I said, extending the hands I'd just manicured yesterday. "I don't want to break my nails. Just painted them yesterday."

  He took the hand and examined the purple-colored manicure. As an alchemist, I rarely ever paint my nails, but yesterday I was feeling girlish.

  "We can't have my girl's beautiful hands ruined," he agreed, kissing my hand, which had been the whole point of this. "So wear padded gloves."

  "I don't have padded gloves. And yours would be too big. Whereas look," I took my favorite steel-reinforced leather gloves. "These are just my size!"