The girl turned and looked him in the face. He had straight, light brown hair, poorly cropped, like it had been hacked at with a knife. A round, almost plump face, and his eyes, his eyes stood out, the deepest shade of blue with black streaks in the iris. She hissed. "You're a doppelganger!"
"What? I am not!"
"Your eyes!"
"What's wrong with my eyes?"
"I've never seen eyes with so much black in them."
Juxta paused. "Same as my father's eyes."
"Still, it's unnatural. Are you finished eating?"
"No."
She waved her finger at him. "Eat. Don't talk."
Juxta finished his turkey leg. He looked into the green eyes of the maiden. "What's your name?"
"Give me the tray."
Juxta slid the tray back through the bars.
*
Over the next week the maiden occasionally brought Juxta food, but usually it was one of the regular guards. Juxta lost all track of days. He simply ate when they brought him food and slept or paced his cell the rest of the time. Today turned out to be different though. The guard actually spoke to Juxta. "The king will see you today."
Juxta closed his eyes and whispered a silent prayer to The One True God.
Afternoon rolled around, and two jailers woke Juxta up. One said, "It's time."
They escorted him into the king's throne room and then stood guard behind him.
People sat on benches in rows throughout the hall. Some were clearly waiting, while others seemed to be attending to the king. The king sat atop a polished wooden throne with his sword leaning up against his chair. He had a purple tunic on over leather armor, and a brilliant crown rested on his head. The queen, heavy with child, sat next to the king in a smaller, cushioned throne.
A scribe spoke first, "State your name."
Juxta figured they meant him, so he said, "Juxta."
"Your parents should have joined us by now," King William said. "Where are they?"
"Dead. There was a fire…"
The queen whispered into the king's ear, "He reminds me of our prince. Show him some mercy…"
The king reached over and patted his wife's knee, without moving his eyes off Juxta. "How many summers have you seen, twelve?"
Juxta nodded.
"Speak when spoken to, Juxta," the scribe said. "Address the king as my lord or my liege."
The king asked, "Are you apprenticed to the thieves' guild?"
"No."
The scribe said, "No, my liege."
Juxta glared at the scribe.
"You steal in hope of having enough silver to buy an apprenticeship, don't you?" King William asked.
"Yes, my liege," Juxta said.
The king leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a few moments. Then he smiled. "Perhaps we could use you, Juxta. Perhaps we could make you a spy, an agent of the crown. We'll have to test you."
Juxta's thoughts bordered on the obscene as he pondered this new development.
The king winked at Rollin. "To test you, we'll have you steal a pearl-like orb from a wizard. Do this, and I'll finance your apprenticeship. Don't tell anyone you're working for the crown, even if you're caught."
Fletch had warned Juxta never to steal from a wizard. They curse everything they own from the shirts on their backs to the silverware in their kitchen. Still though, enough silver for an apprenticeship, and being an agent of the crown had Juxta's thoughts racing.
A scribe escorted Juxta to a servant's room in the castle, and he ate dinner with them. He didn't see the pretty green eyed girl though. He waited until nightfall, wandering the courtyard and the barracks within the castle. The wizard's house sat a good four miles from the castle on the outskirts of the city. Juxta followed the directions Rollin gave him to the house. He identified the farmhouse because of its size. He approached the front door and tried the latch before working on the lock, and the latch clicked open. Of course, who would be stupid or foolhardy enough to steal from a wizard?
Juxta opened the door as slowly as he could. He lit the lantern he carried and waited for his eyes to adjust. Four doors led off from the antechamber, and stairs led up. He recalled the outside of the building, and the door on the right would lead to the larger room. The knob didn't turn, so he went to work on the lock. It opened easily enough, and he stepped inside. Scrolls littered the floor, chests were strewn about, and dust encrusted books rested on bookshelves and pedestals. Juxta hoped he wouldn't have to open every chest. He started by walking the outskirts of the junk piles. In the third corner, he found his prize: a pearl the size of his fist rested on a pedestal. He snatched up the pearl half expecting to turn into a newt on the spot. The soft thump of footsteps carried through the walls from upstairs. He fled the house with his heart pounding in his chest at a pace only matched by a galloping horse.
On his return to the castle, he used the gate password. Juxta retired to his quarters. He woke in time for the last of the scraps from breakfast. A scribe summoned him to the throne room. When he made it there, he identified Rollin standing next to the king, but standing out from the others in the king's court was an aged man with white unkempt hair adorning a wrinkled face with bright green eyes set back in ancient sockets.
The old man yelled, "You must give me twenty rangers!"
The king seemed to ignore him and looked to Juxta. "Ahhh… The guest of honor…"
With a grin, Rollin asked, "Juxta, did you get it?"
Juxta removed the pearl from his belt pouch and held it up for inspection.
"My sphere! You bastard! Oh, you'll pay!" The old man started to approach the boy, but Rollin held him back.
"He was under my employ at the time," King William said. "I meant it as a practical joke. Please forgive us."
"I have served your fathers for generations and none of them would ever be so low as to send a thief into my house. It wasn't very funny, my lord," the old man said.
Juxta just looked at his feet. A scribe interrupted his thoughts by waving a bag of silver in front of him and holding out one hand, presumably for the pearl. Juxta traded the pearl for the silver.
King William spoke loud enough that his voice filled the hall. "Well, young sir, you now have enough for the apprenticeship of your choice. The ranger trials are in two weeks, and if you work hard, you could be ready for them." The king smiled at Juxta. "You even have enough there to become a magi."
"I thought I was to become an agent of the crown," Juxta said.
"Yes, that's why I suggested the rangers or wizard apprenticeship. You can't join the regular army or guardsmen until you're fourteen."
Hebron hissed. "He can't become a wizard's apprentice until he's fourteen, and you surely can't be expecting me to teach him!"
Juxta looked left and right, and his first thought was flight, but he held his ground. He could feel a tingle of power like something new rush up his spine.
William looked the old man in the eyes. "Yes, I would like you to train him, Hebron. Even though he's a little young and did steal from you."
"The guild would disown me if I didn't expect the boy to produce 100 silver pieces and pass the tests."
"Make it a fair test," Rollin said. "You're four centuries old. Lynken needs a new wizard, and you know it."
"What say you, child? Shall I test you?" Hebron asked. "And do you have my fee?"
Juxta began to think. The wheels turned with design and dream. He held out the bag of coins. "I have the 100 silvers. Conduct your test, Master."
The old man started a low chant and everyone in the room fell silent. After a few moments he reached a crescendo and squinted his eyes a bit. The wizard let out a deep breath.
"What is it Hebron? Is he a servant of Rivek? What of his eyes?" King William asked.
"His eyes aren't that strange," Hebron said. "I've seen such eyes before in the southern badlands. He's not tainted by Rivek, no. He's definitely not evil, but, on the other hand, he's not good either. It's almost like he has
n't chosen sides yet. There's something odd about this boy. I can't quite place it, but he's strange."
Juxta yelled, "I'm good!"
The wizard nodded then slammed his staff on the stone floor and whispered a word of power. A ball of green fire shot at Juxta. He spun to the right dodging the fire and then hurled his dagger at the wizard. The dagger bounced off an invisible barrier and clanked on the floor.
Hebron rolled his eyes at the heavens. "A bit aggressive, but he'll do. You can lodge him in the castle."
"Thank you, Master." Juxta paused. He looked to the king. "I'm to stay in the castle?"
"You were expecting we'd return you to your alleyway?" He stared Juxta hard in the eyes. "Don't forget whom you serve."
Juxta clenched his fist. "I won't, my king."
"Be at my house at dawn each morning," Hebron said. Then he turned and departed.
"Join us at my table tonight, Juxta," the king said. "Steward, introduce him to the prince and ask him to provide our guest with more appropriate attire for dinner at my table."
One of the scribes said, "Yes, my lord," and ushered Juxta out of the throne room.
Chapter 3
The steward led Juxta up countless flights of stairs to the topmost level of the castle where two soldiers in shiny metal armor waited. The guards let Juxta and the steward pass, and they made their way to the prince's quarters and rapped on the door. Prince William promptly answered. He was about the same height as Juxta, and he had a similarly round face. Their eyes were candidly different though. The steward spoke first, "Prince William – Juxta."
The prince smiled. He extended his hand. "Hello, Juxta, nice to meet you."
Juxta shook the offered hand. "Greetings, my lord.”
"The king has invited Juxta to his table tonight and was hoping you could spare some more fitting attire," the steward said.
The prince looked Juxta up and down. He wore a tired and dirty shirt that might have once been brown or tan. He had pants with one knee worn through and frayed, muddy cuffs. William clamped his nose closed and shook his head. "You need a bath first. Come in."
Some of us weren’t born princes, flashed through Juxta’s mind. He entered the prince's room. The steward wandered off.
The prince picked out a blue silk shirt and brown trousers. Juxta bathed and tried on his new clothes. The silk caressed his skin.
William grabbed up Juxta's old clothes. "We'll burn these."
Juxta said, "Wait!"
William glared. "I'll give you two more shirts and two pair of pants. These are going in the fire."
Juxta sighed.
William tossed the old clothes onto a fire and set out two more shirts and two pair of pants. "Which guest quarters are you in? I'll have these clothes sent."
"I'm in the servant's quarters."
William raised one eyebrow. "Who are you?"
"Juxta."
"No, I don't typically give new servants my clothes."
"I'm Hebron's new apprentice."
"Oh!" The prince looked Juxta up and down again. "Sweet."
Juxta nodded.
William rolled his eyes around in a great circle. "Want to give me a hand with something?"
"Certainly, my lord," Juxta said.
Prince William grabbed up a wooden sword in each hand and thrust one hilt first at the other boy. "Help me practice for the ranger trials. I need a sparring partner about your size."
Juxta almost dropped the wooden sword. "I don't know how to swordfight!"
"Perfect! Hopefully my opponent in the trial won't know either!" William laughed, for he knew all of the boys at the trial would know how to swordfight. "I'll teach you as we go."
Juxta looked at the wooden sword in his hand and tested its weight. "How do we start?"
"Take a swing at me…"
From there it became like a game for both of them. The prince forced Juxta to put his all into it, and they repeatedly stopped while William coached. Their sparring carried out into the hallways of the castle. The clank of wooden swords, the prince crying out ‘point', and the boys' laughter could be faintly heard in the throne room.
The king turned to Rollin. "How long has it been since those sounds echoed in these halls?"
Rollin smiled. "Since you and I practiced for the ranger trials, some odd twenty years ago…"
"It warms my heart," the king said.
"Yes… May I have your leave? I want to coach--"
"No, Rollin," the queen said. "You lead the rangers, and we don't want you playing favorites. Master William has been coached enough by the king."
King William said, "She's right."
*
Evening approached. Juxta didn't score any points against the prince. William took the time to suggest a break for dinner, and he commented that he'd been practicing swordplay all his life. The king set a fine table, and Juxta realized on eating that they fed him in the dungeon straight from the king's table. He ate and ate and ate. The prince said, "We'll spar more after dinner."
Juxta's eyes rolled into the back of his head. "I ate too much."
"At dawn then… We'll start anew."
"I have to be at Hebron's house at dawn."
Juxta retired to his quarters while William joined his sister, Princess Rubie, in the library. She and her handmaiden, Teresa, the girl that Juxta met in the dungeon, listened to a scribe read from a history book. The prince figured they would be done soon and proceeded to wait. The scribe assigned the girls a section of the book to copy and dismissed them for the evening.
The princess spoke first, "You're in the library, brother. What's wrong?"
The girls chuckled.
"Dad shows me which history books are important. I don't need to spend my time with my nose buried in books." William looked from one girl to the other. "Have you two met Juxta yet?"
"They let him out of the dungeon?" Teresa asked.
William tilted his head crooked. "He was in the dungeon?"
"He stole the king's great sword."
William's eyes went wide as saucers. "He did what!"
Teresa nodded. "He's a thief."
"He's Hebron's new apprentice!"
"Thief or no thief," Rubie said as she dipped a feather into ink and started writing on parchment, "that's good news since we need a new wizard. Hebron's ancient."
"I've been showing him how to spar. He's helping me practice for the ranger trials," William said.
"That's all you think about is those ranger trials," Teresa said.
No, he thought about women constantly, but that was better left unsaid. William placed his hands on his hips and pushed out his chest. "I'm duty bound to join the rangers. I must pass the trials on my first attempt."
"Heard it all before. You're also duty bound to study history, language, and numbers," Rubie said. "Do you? No…"
"After the trials, little sister…"
Rubie glared. "You were only born five minutes before me!"
The prince left the girls to their library.
Rubie asked, "Is he cute?"
"Who?" Teresa asked.
"This wizard's apprentice."
"The thief?"
Rubie shook her head back and forth. "Yes, the boy, the wizard's apprentice, is he cute?"
"Juxta? He kind of resembles your brother, only dirtier."
Rubie grinned wide. "Is that a yes or a no?"
"Is your brother cute?"
"I see your point…"
Teresa winked. "I thought you might."
*
Juxta set out from the castle just before dawn for Hebron's house. He walked with a long stride swinging his arms back and forth as he chewed through the city blocks. He knocked on the wizard's door this time, and it opened, but no-one answered.
"Come in, Juxta, join me in the study," the voice came from the left, so that's where Juxta went.
Hebron sat at a desk, one of two in the room. "For starters... Can you read?"
"No."
"Well, I
guess we'll start with the alphabet," Hebron said. Juxta nodded. Hebron took out an ink quill and drew the letters of the alphabet on a sheet of parchment. He motioned towards the other desk and told Juxta to copy the letters until he memorized the symbols. After a few hours of this, Juxta's hand started cramping. Hebron noticed him taking more and more frequent breaks. Hebron went over to his desk and explained to him that for each symbol a sound could be attached to it. Hebron told him to write ‘J-U-K-S-T-A' and explained that he wrote his name.
Juxta shook his head and wrote out ‘J-U-X-T-A' on the parchment. "That's my name."
Then the old wizard made Juxta spell out ‘H-E-B-R-O-N' and ‘K-I-N-G W-I-L-L-I-A-M'. Juxta learned the sounds for each symbol quickly. Within the first week he could read and write, at least in the common tongue. During that time he practiced swordplay at night with Prince William. By the second week Juxta could read with some proficiency. While he couldn't score points against the prince, his swordplay got better each day.
Prince William couldn't fall asleep the night before the ranger trials. He started pacing the halls. Rollin approached him. "My prince."
"Hello."
"I didn't sleep before my ranger trials," Rollin said. "If it's any consolation."
William stood there and then tapped his foot a few times.
"You should try though, you know. The rest will do you good," Rollin said.
"Spring trials are always the hardest. I've watched. The boys are all thirsty in the spring."
"The boys who come to the trials are always ready. You can't be thinking of waiting another season."
"Tomorrow I join the rangers."
"Try and get some rest."
At dawn family and friends of the candidates filled the spectator stands, as well as a good helping of rangers, Hebron, Juxta, the king, and the queen. It filled Juxta with pride; he belonged. He had a place that was his own. Rollin took to the field with his captains. The spectators all took their places. The candidates all arrived. The boys lined up in two rows from tallest to shortest, so that the larger, older boys would spar each other and younger, smaller boys would likewise be matched.
Prince William hefted the wooden sword: its weight like an old friend. William looked at the boy he faced. He had the look of a farmer with his sun tanned skin, light brown almost blonde hair in a pony tail, and strong but slightly coarse clothes. His left boot had a hole in it, and William could see his pinky toe. The simplest of thoughts crossed into his mind that he shouldn't be expecting a challenge. His opponent took a few practice swings in the air as if unfamiliar with the object's weight or balance. A veteran ranger stood watch over each pair of boys. King William motioned with his hand, and two trumpeters sounded off. In unison, the adults with each set of boys said, "Begin."
Juxta, Magi Page 2