FF Chapter 13

Class continues, as Alex makes impressions.

Chapter 13

      Art class was…interesting. There was no other way Alex could describe it. The teacher, Ms. Kyuu, was nice. She was tall, lanky even, but her short black hair framed her smiling face perfectly as she praised the abomination he’d scribbled. She even had a beast mark, although how such a kind woman had gotten one was beyond him.

      You see…music, dancing, drawing, painting; Alex was terrible at all of it.

      He could listen to music just fine. He’d trained his ears to pick up the faintest of sounds, like if Uncle Bor was still pacing around where the apples were kept. Unfortunately, growing up in a library, playing an instrument and dancing around were frowned upon, and usually resulted in Erald politely asking you to stop or leave.

      Even if he did dance, the music and footwork were so slow he felt like he could fall asleep on his feet! Right, left, right, left, turn slightly, right, left, right, left. BORING! For a boy who could outrun some animals, being forced to shackle his feet to such a lazy pace was arduous.

      He looked over; Eira and Frey seemed to be doing fine, even enjoying their time. As a noblewoman and handmaiden, they could both dance the slow style that was often played at royal occasions perfectly. Frey seemed to be practically flying across the dancefloor. Alex was amazed how just slightly moving your feet could look so good.

      Eventually class was over, and Ms. Kyuu finished up her reports. She then led them outside and revealed that she taught two classes.

 

      After the torture session that was ‘arts’, came archery. Ms. Kyuu took out a longbow that was taller than her, knocked back an arrow the length of her arm, and loosed a shot that traveled one hundred paces and hit a perfect bullseye.

      So THAT’s how she got a beast mark! Alex realized with astonishment. He joined his classmates in gasping and cheering at their teacher, before she demonstrated the proper technique again. She then handed out small bows and blunt training arrows tipped with something like sponge. Alex never asked what it was, he just kept poking it. It was squishy.

      Ms. Kyuu told the kids to pull back the bow string back as hard as they could.

      Eira got near the center, while Frey showed off an expertise that surprised even her mistress. Then it came to Alex. He gripped the curved wooden weapon, pulled back the string and…

      *snap*

      Alex looked down at the pieces of wood in his hands. The bow had snapped in half, the string dangling lazily at his side. He looked at Ms. Kyuu with eyes that pleaded ‘not my fault!’

      The teacher put her head in her hands and admitted “To be honest, I should’ve seen that coming. That one is on me. You have a beast mark right?” Alex nodded. “Do you know how to use energy blasts?”

      “Yep!” Alex smiled and flicked a bolt of energy towards the target, hitting a perfect bullseye.

      She clapped. “Very good!”

      Eira and Frey were also amazed at the casual display of skill, but murmurs of ‘cheater’ spread through the class, as many glared at the ‘teacher’s pet’.

      Alex pretended not to hear them as he smiled “My aunt would throw three discs at me, and not stop until I could get all three. A still target is easy.”

      “That’s…intense training.” Ms. Kyuu whispered, very concerned.

       After a brief class, Ms. Kyuu dismissed the students for noon break so she could write her reports and deliver them to the headmistress.

 

      Lunch time began. Some students left for Sanel and its many restaurants, but Eira and Frey decided to join Alex in the cafeteria. They wanted to talk.

      Alex walked to the buffet. The academy had no shortage of food. The cafeteria was a large room with large doors and many windows, although many students, especially those who brought their own meals, chose to eat outside.

      Alex’s stomach growled furiously as he made his way through the line. All the different species seemed to be grouped with their own kind, most speaking their native tongues. He noticed Jack in a dark corner, playing cards and taking money from some very unhappy people. 

     No one talked to him, though, but many stared. It seemed word about the only beast marked student among the first years had spread quickly. Alex caught the eye of a group watching him, and smiled warmly. They scurried back to their meals. Alex frowned. It seemed it would be harder making friends than he thought.

      He grabbed a tray and examined the food selection. It was magnificent. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and silky mashed potatoes with gravy, but what caught Alex’s interest was the meat. MEAT! Fresh fish and chicken! He’d lived off whatever Uncle Bor could conjure up the past four years, but a growing boy needed something more than apples.

      He loaded his plate with three chicken legs and sat down at an unoccupied table. Before he could start, a group of upperclassmen came in, seemingly to examine the newest students. Alex spotted Gordian and his friends. A girl was with them.

      She was slightly shorted than Gordian or Alex. Her black hair was tied neatly into a ponytail, and she wore a brown, sleeveless shirt that revealed beast marks pulsing on her arms. Gordian nervously pointed out Alex to the girl, but one suspicious look from him sent the boy scurrying off. Alex and the girl locked eyes, before she smiled at him coyly and walked away. Alex smiled back. At least he wasn’t the only one with a beast mark in the whole school.

      With no further distraction, he dug in, picking up the drumstick with his bare hands and gnawing on the meat like a dog. He scarfed down two and was happily on the third when Frey and Eira caught up with him.

      “You look like a mess!” Eira cried out. “Others are watching. Clean yourself up.”

      Alex looked around, and noticed that he had drawn attention from many of the nobles around him. Whispers of ‘animal’ and ‘savage’ reached his trained ears. He begrudgingly set the meal down and began to wipe his mouth on the back of his hands, but Frey took out a napkin and forcefully cleaned off his mouth for him.

      Alex then turned his attention to his greasy hands, and activated his beast mark. Energy poured towards his fingers, and he used the power to burn the gunk off his hands. Small trails of smoke began to rise, as he purified his paws with the intense heat.

      Eira watched the display, and noticed that many of the other nobles had too. This was the power they all were here to attain; a beast mark. “Convenient.” She commented.

      Alex smiled. “It really is. My Aunt Lo taught me how to do it.”

      “You often talk about your Uncles and Aunt, and your training. Would you please tell me more?” Frey asked politely.

      “Sure.” Alex smiled and leaned back, his stomach full.

      Frey and Eira ate, with perfect manners of course, while Alex spoke.

      “I live in the library with Uncle Winchester, Uncle Erald, Uncle Bor, and Aunt Lo. They’re not my actual relatives, but we are a family. Winchester’s like a grandpa, Erald is like a dad, Lo can be very mom like, and, while I call him ‘Uncle Bor’, Future acts more like a brother.”

      Frey spoke up “pardon me, but your ‘Uncle Erald’, I wonder if he was named after the legendary ‘Erald of Murshur’; The Sentry of Marsh Hill?”

      Alex laughed “He is my Uncle. Future made him ageless.”

      “You were trained by the legendary Erald!” Frey gasped. “He saved my home decades ago! We have this old statue of him in the town square.”

      Alex chuckled. No one ever talked to him about his family before. “Yeah, he’s pretty amazing.” He laughed “I remember once, when I was little, I told him I thought there was something under my bed, so he lifted the whole thing up to show me. Then he offered to train me to fight if anything ever did crawl under my bed.” Frey joined him in laughing, but Eira had something else on her mind.

      The princess of The Capital was hesitant to ask “and, um, what about … your real parents?”

      Alex couldn’t fake a smile. He fidgeted in his chair as he admitted. “I don’t really know. Uncle Bor sent them to the Brig outpost in the southwest, where they’ve helped stop Luck from sending Dan’darun from her base out there…but I know they’re alive!” he took the deck out of his back pocket. “They had this when they left, and men from Brig sent it back to me. It means they got there safely…but I’ve been training hard for when I see them again!” Alex tried to remain positive.

      “Yes, your training.” Eira was just as eager to change the subject, and even more eager to learn how Alex got to be such a good fighter. “What did you do to become so strong?”

      “Usual stuff; sparring, push-ups, running…” Alex thought for a moment before exclaiming “Five second rule! We play a game called ‘five second rule’ where we toss a bunch of weapons around the room and you have to switch every five seconds, and while you’re searching for a weapon, Uncle Erald and Aunt Lo take turns attacking with melee and ranged attacks. It forces you to become familiar with many different types of weapons and fighting styles. I can use longswords, flails, scythes…although I still like daggers, or at least short swords.”

      “Why would you just carry one dagger when you’re obviously very good with two swords?” Eira asked, remembering how Alex fought against Mr. Forester.

      Alex shrugged. “I’ve used knives since I was little, they’re light, and dralgs don’t block. My usual style is designed to take on packs of enemies. My ‘rush in and attack from behind’ strategy would’ve worked perfectly against a dralg, but people usually block or dodge. That’s why I created a sword technique, for when I fight with strong opponents like Erald or Lo.”

      Frey was shocked “You fight with the Master Erald?”

      Alex chuckled, and rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I know they hold back, they don’t want to hurt me. I’ve seen them spar; it’s on another level from what I can do. I hope to be as good as them when I see my parents again. Then maybe my dad will take me away on another camping trip.” He quickly held up his hands defensively “Don’t get me wrong! I like the library, and appreciate everything they’ve done for me, but there are so many rules, and half the time I’m not allowed to be myself. I admit things were easy. Wake up, morning exercises and training, work, eat, and work some more, then finally some training and studies before bed. That was my life for four years, but the whole time I work I’m stuck being this ‘page boy’ who has to smile, answer questions, and shelve books. No climbing, no playing, NO FUN! I agreed to come here because I hoped this place would be different.”

      “And is it?” Eira asked, finishing her lunch.

      Alex looked around and shrugged. “Meh, not really. I mean, you got to have all the fun when we first got here, fighting that Gordian guy, but after that it’s just been ‘how many ways can people be surprised I have a beast mark’. Hopefully the next class is more interesting.”

      It wasn’t. The first class after lunch was botany; the study of how to make your thumbs green and your knees brown.