Awakenings

by C. D. Espeseth

  Naira sighed but didn’t bother to wipe the wide grin off her face. She took a last glance at the final rays of the sun glittering on the sea then turned to rush up to the mess hall. She was starving, and someone was going to make her meals for her. Naira couldn’t remember the last time she had had someone cook for her, let alone prepare every meal of the day.

  It was a slice of heaven.

  As Naira entered the mess hall, a hand shot up to signal her over. It was Adel, and she smiled at her friend. Adel was adjusting quickly to her new surroundings. Having Fellow Callahan fill the role of fatherly teacher no doubt helped, though Naira was sure Fellow Callahan wasn’t as severe with Adel as Mr Corbin had been. Yet, there had been a love and respect there between Adel and her father, even if it was strange and brutal looking. Although over the past few days, Adel seemed to be avoiding any talk about her father or her time back home. She would have to ask her about it.

  As Naira rounded the table to sit beside Adel, another happy surprise greeted her.

  Matoh Spierling.

  He sat across from them and smiled at her as she sat. Naira couldn’t help but smile back, his smiles were always genuine, and she knew immediately that he was truly happy to see her. It was like being smiled at by the sun.

  It had only been a few weeks since they arrived, but Matoh was easily becoming one of the most popular initiates in their class. A fact which she was not alone in noticing. He was charismatic, funny, (and Naira didn’t mind admitting) broad-shouldered and far too handsome for his own good. Not to mention his high aptitude in just about every training exercise thrown their way, and, despite all of it, he was humble.

  “Glad you could make it.” Matoh winked at her.

  “Me too,” Naira said. “I’m starving.”

  She knew Matoh was flirting with her, but his flirting was different from all the other men who ogled her. Matoh’s was good-natured, and his eyes didn’t linger where they weren’t supposed to. It was more about being cheeky than lustful, a game rather than predation. He looked her in the eyes, met her honestly, expressed an interest but politely and respectfully.

  “Well, don’t stand on ceremony for me. Tuck in. Adel and I can regale you with our tales of sorrow from the training Sir Vyktor put us through today. I’m sure it’s my fault. Sir Vyktor has it in for Wayran and me after ‘the event.’” Matoh looked over his shoulder to see a few Academy guards watching him. “Lady take me, when are they going to let up.”

  “Well, you did pull lightning down from the sky and blast the rest of us with it,” Naira teased. “Not something a regular person can do.”

  “So now I’m not regular?” Matoh grinned stuffing a bit of bread in his mouth.

  “Hardly.” Naira smiled. “You are most certainly highly irregular and warrant further study.”

  “You sound like that irritable old recluse Fellow Attridge.” Matoh rolled his eyes. “Gods above and below, I swear if I have to sit through another one of his lectures on santsi globes my brain will vacate my skull in rebellion. Besides, I already told you, I don’t know how that happened. I don’t think I actually siphoned the lightning. It was more like it went around me. I’d be dead otherwise, right? You’re correct about the further study thing, though. Wayran and I get whisked away for testing and poking or whatever else the Academy researchers, the Singers or the Chroniclers can cook up for us at a moment’s notice.”

  “I know.” Naira winked and put a spoonful of stew into her mouth and groaned with pleasure. Food always tasted so good after an exhausting day. “I just wanted to point it out to you again. In case you had forgotten how irregular you are. To make sure you were grounded.”

  Matoh scoffed, “That’s a bad joke, even for you.”

  Naira didn’t know what had come over her, but it just felt so natural to talk with Matoh. She didn’t have to pretend, didn’t have to play a role, or pretend to like his attention. It was just so normal and easy and relaxed. Like she had known him for years.

  Matoh took another spoonful of stew but winced as he put the spoon to his mouth. He finished his mouthful and rolled his big shoulders as if to work loose a kink. “Remind me never to practice longswords with you again, Adel. You’re a bloody viper with those. I doubt Sir Vyktor was impressed watching me make a fool of myself sparring with you.”

  “You’re far better than you give yourself credit for. You scored a hit on me in one of our sparring matches,” Adel said seriously.

  Naira laughed at the look on Matoh’s face.

  “Well,” Matoh said mockingly with a big grin on his face. “I’m glad the ordeal wasn’t completely boring for you. I know I certainly learned a lot, even if they were painful lessons.”

  “Far from it, it was quite enjoyable. I was surprised you were as competent as you were. Father was a relentless trainer, and especially when it came to the longsword. Very few could best me in a longsword dual. Possibly Sir Vyktor, or Sir Gregor of Nordguard from what I’ve heard of him,” Adel replied in complete seriousness, though at the mention of her father she seemed to go a bit distant and looked almost … haunted.

  Naira needed to have a long heart-to-heart talk with her long-time friend. Something was bothering Adel, and it was unlike her not to talk to Naira about it.

  Matoh looked dubious and not quite sure what to make of Adel’s boast.

  “She’s not bragging,” Naira assured Matoh. “Her father taught her everything she knows, and when they practised ...” Naira searched for words “... it was like watching storms collide.”

  Naira’s comment didn’t seem to help, and she was getting worried now. They needed to stop talking about Adel’s father.

  Matoh raised an eyebrow, nodding appreciatively at Adel. “It did feel a bit like battling a storm actually.”

  “Well, you would know,” Naira said, feeling self-satisfied with her jibe.

  Adel scoffed, coming out of her haunted stupor, spitting a bean out in the process, which made them all chortle.

  “I’m so sorry.” Adel covered her mouth in horror, as she tried to stifle a laugh which would have no doubt extradited more beans. “That wasn’t very ladylike.”

  “Well, as far as bean spitting goes, I would guess that was as ladylike as it can get.” Matoh laughed.

  Adel was forced to fully cover her mouth to prevent any more escaping beans. Adel waved at him to stop, and Matoh held up his hands in surrender.

  “Has anything like that happened to you before?” Naira asked. “The lightning I mean.” Her memory of the near escape from the three men in the alley so many years ago crept into her mind. Naira looked at the slight orange glow in the stone bracelet Adel wore, and it felt as if pieces of a puzzle were assembling themselves.

  “Well, yes, actually.” Matoh rubbed the short stubble on his chin. “In the Wastes.” Matoh related his strange adventure of how he and Wayran had happened upon the buried Jendar complex and their narrow escape from the man-eating roc.

  “Who are you, Matoh Spierling?” Naira asked, now completely amazed by the young man who sat across from her. “Those sorts of things just don’t happen to normal people.”

  “Well, I’ll have you know that just today a rather lovely lady dubbed me ‘highly irregular’, a title which not just any idiot can achieve.” Matoh winked.

  Naira studied him closely again. That damned crooked smile of his was not even remotely fair, and somehow he was even pulling off the old tribal hairstyle of the Paleschurians, with the stripe of hair on top, inlaid with feathers, and the small braid on his left side. “Did you get a feather?” Naira asked, pointing at his hair, only now realising how silly the question sounded after such an amazing story. Naira felt her cheeks colour in embarrassment. Who asks about hair accessories after a story like that!? Naira wanted to disappear but instead heard herself say, “From the roc, I mean?”

  “No!” Matoh smacked the table with honest regret. “How amazing would that have been?! Not that I’d wear it, of course. No, that would have to be fo
r something special.” Matoh shook his head and looked up at the ceiling as if imagining the roc feather in his hair. “I did keep the piece of glass I stabbed into the roc’s foot, though.” Matoh pulled out his necklace and showed the piece of glass wrapped in a leather cord.

  “Why?” Naira asked. “A trophy of some sort?”

  Matoh grinned his half-grin, looking at her with those clear brown eyes. “No. It just seemed lucky, somehow. Kept being useful down in that old Jendar ruin, Wayran would call me an idiot, but I swear I threw it and a door opened up to save our lives. So why not keep it?” He narrowed his gaze at her curiously. “Lots of questions tonight, Ms O’Bannon,” Matoh said. “Usually, you keep quiet.”

  “Well, there is a possibility I might actually find you interesting, Matoh Spierling.” Naira realised just how forward that sounded as the words rolled out, yet part of her didn’t seem to care as she realised she truly enjoyed the fact he was interesting. Matoh had a story, he had already been on adventures and was full of life. She tried to save some face and turn it back to more playful flirting. “I already told you that further study was required, didn’t I?”

  The last had made Matoh smile in a way Naira hadn’t seen before. It was as if the self-assured facade had slipped for a moment before rising again, and in that glimpse, she had seen something almost vulnerable, almost hopeful.

  “All right, stop eating.” Matoh tapped the table with a note of command. “You two are coming with me. It’s Esansday night, which means we have time off until drills tomorrow morning.”

  Naira saw a mischievous glint creep into Matoh’s eye.

  “I know a place that will make this food taste like slop,” Matoh said as he stood. He waved at them to get up, and his half-crooked grin returned. “You two like to dance?”

  “Who doesn’t like to dance?” Naira said.

  “I don’t,” Adel said with a shrug.

  “Adel! Come on, you’ll have fun. I promise.” Matoh’s grin was nearly irresistible. He reached out and dragged Adel up from the bench, or rather Adel let him as she could have broken his hand, fingers and forearm in the process, but Matoh was laughing as he did. “Oh!” Matoh said excitedly. “I know just the person you need to see. Glev Marskow. I bet you can beat him at knucklebone.”

  “What in the world is knucklebone?” Adel asked, looking slightly concerned.

  “It’s easy! Don’t worry. I’ll bet ten silver you can beat Glev,” Matoh said, practically buzzing at the prospect.

  His excitement was infectious, and Naira couldn’t help but smile. “What’s gotten into you?” she asked.

  Matoh tucked his braid over his ear and winked at her. “You asked me who I am, so I’m going to try and answer that question.” He took her hand in his and pulled her out of her chair to stand beside Adel. His smile was positively radiant. “But I’m not gonna tell you. I’m gonna show you.”

  Naira and, a somewhat reluctant, Adel followed Matoh out into the nightlife of New Toeron. A near perfect day now seemed to be transitioning into a perfect night. Naira thought it had everything to do with the amazing young man pulling her out the door of the mess hall.

  She knew she didn’t have time for romance, that the silly fairy tales of meeting someone and having that instant spark with them were just that: fairy tales, yet somehow it was all still happening. As if there were an unstoppable force pulling her in.

  And part of her didn’t care.

  She had had so little to be happy about for so long, so she let herself have this moment. Let herself be a young woman for one night, instead of an unappreciated carer, or a destitute and starving girl, or a young woman who had to work harder than everyone else to get half as much.

  She let herself enjoy this moment, and the smile she wore was the purest she had ever worn in her life. Yet, the best part was that the night had only just begun.

  * * *

  Naira couldn’t believe how many people they stopped to talk to. Everyone in the whole damn city seemed to know Matoh on sight. It was incredible.

  They started at a street-vendor, Mrs Poppinjay, who sold a type of hard sugar sweet which started out so sour it made your mouth want to retreat all the way into your throat but then became so deliciously fruity and refreshing that it boggled the mind. Then it was off to see the priest, Mr Waterman, who was holding a late night choir session at a small church on the outskirts of the Paleschurian district. They sang a few of the more lively hymns, then it was off to a tavern owner, Mr Yuristikov, who gave them all a pint of amazing cider made from some sort of fruit called a peach.

  It was Naira’s first adventure with a boy or man who genuinely wanted to show her a good time and make her happy. Matoh wasn’t trying to put his hands all over her body, wasn’t trying to look down her top, or crudely suggest what they should go do privately. She felt safe and incredibly comfortable around him. She knew Matoh wasn’t going to try to hurt her, or take advantage of her if she became drunk. He wanted them to have fun, to share his city with them, and it was amazing.

  Naira sipped again from her pint of the peach cider and smiled as she watched Matoh guffawing at another table with three men nearly as big as he was, all with their hair cut in the same manner as his; traditional Paleschurian. Matoh pointed back towards Naira and Adel. The somewhat scarier looking of the three men scoffed at whatever Matoh had said in guttural Paleschurian. Matoh slammed his hand down on the table, and Naira saw he had left a pile of silver coins behind.

  “It looks like Matoh’s found this Glev Marskow. Get prepared to play knuckle bone, Adel. Whatever that is,” Naira said as she looked over to Adel and shook her head sympathetically before reaching out to touch Adel’s hand. “Oh Adel, it’s all right. You don’t have to worry.”

  Adel was looking decidedly uncomfortable with the pint of cider in front of her. Part of the Corbins’ house rules had been no alcohol or spirits of any kind. Naira remembered the one time Adel had defied her father’s rule, coming home with alcohol on her breath. Adel had been switched with a willow stick across the legs until welts crisscrossed her skin. Naira had felt so guilty she had cried all night. She, of course, had been the one who convinced Adel to try the ale.

  Adel had politely taken a sip of the cider and smiled to satisfy Mr Yuristikov, but Naira knew the drink hadn’t been touched since.

  Naira did love Mr Corbin for all the things he had done for her, but he had been so hard on Adel. Not mean, just always hard, always holding Adel up to his monumental standards. Naira knew Mr Corbin loved Adel. He would demonstrate that love from time to time, in quiet moments, but he was a severe man. He had probably made Adel one of the most skilled fighters in all of Salucia, but the process had left its own set of scars.

  “It’s all right, Naira. I’m glad you’re having a good time. It’s probably a good idea to see how things are away from the Academy.” Adel glanced down at the stone bracelet on her wrist. “Fellow Callahan said I would be fine as long as I wear this, but, I guess I’m just a bit nervous being so far from him and his garden and his stones. These attacks. They scare me.”

  Naira didn’t know what to say, Adel was always so brave. For Adel to admit she was scared meant her small friend was truly terrified of what was happening. So Naira just pulled Adel tight and kissed her forehead. “You’ll be all right, Adel. There is no one in the world tougher than you. You’ll get past this. Have you had an attack recently?”

  “No, not a full-out attack for days now. But I can still feel it. Feel the wrongness of it all.” Adel’s eyes were distant as she spoke. “And there’s …” Adel trailed off, and she looked away.

  Naira had seen that look before. Adel was trying to sort through something, something big. But Naira also knew that if she pried, Adel would just clamp down tighter on her secrets. “Fellow Callahan will figure this out. You’ll see.” Naira squeezed Adel’s hand reassuringly. The best thing she could do was to try and take Adel’s mind off it, she would share her troubles when she was ready.

&nbs
p; Matoh had finished talking with his friends and was making his way back over to them. He gave Naira a wink and a cheeky grin, and involuntarily Naira smiled back at him before she knew what she was doing. She couldn’t help it, that damn smile was contagious.

  “Now come on,” she said to Adel. “Try to not worry about things. I can see you’re mind is chewing on something painful. The best thing you can do is take a break from it for a while. I’ll tell Matoh to make sure we can get back to the Academy quickly if we need to.”

  Adel gave a quick smile and looked somewhat less uncomfortable, but not before Naira saw she had guessed right. Something in those sessions with Fellow Callahan had weighed heavily on her friend, and Naira would find out what it was, but tonight was not the right time.

  Matoh put his elbows on their table and leaned in close. He pointed back at the group of three. “Right. Glev, the cocky looking one, is cocky for a reason. He’s fast, and a damn good gambler, but that’s gonna come back to bite him tonight. He put ludicrous odds on how bad he can beat you.” Matoh grinned. “But he doesn’t know what I know.” He patted Adel on the shoulder.

  “It would be nice to know how to play,” Adel said bluntly.

  “Go sit down across from Glev and I’ll explain,” Matoh said.

  “What if I lose?” Adel asked, looking a bit irritated at Matoh.

  “You won’t,” Matoh said, shaking his head with a smile. “But, if, for some reason, you do, it’s my own stupid fault and money. Not yours. You’d just be doing me a favour if you wipe that smug grin off Glev’s face.”

  They all looked over at Glev who laughed and gave them all a dismissive sneer.