FF Chapter 20

Alex continues to do odd jobs around the school, making friends and enemies.

Chapter 20

      Over the next few weeks, Alex did many odd jobs around the school; they could always find work for someone who could lift three times his own weight.

      He was helping Gale replant some trees when he got talking with Anastazia.

      “So what’s your favourite plant?” She asked, while widening the hole for the tree Alex was holding over his head.

      “I don’t know…Apple trees I guess. I mean you get a big tree, nice blossoms, then food. It’s awesome! You?”

      “I adore dragon-scale lilies.” She smiled brightly from under her hat. The broad rim protected her from the sun, while Alex just positioned the tree to provide shade for himself.

      “Dragon-scale lilies? I’ve never heard of them.”

      Ana’s eyes were filled with wonder as she described them. “They’re large blossomed flowers and each petal can be a different colour, as diverse colours as dragons themselves, and the leaves also have a pattern that resembles scales. They grow in the far north, near The Scaled Isles and the dragons themselves. I hope to be given one someday; even just a single flower.” She smiled wishfully to herself.

      “Well, if you become a warden, you can try to get a post in the north.”

      Ana shook her head. “I’m not studying to be a warden; I’m not much of a fighter. I’m going to be a medic instead. If I get honours in the medical specialization course they’ll take me for a beast mark, and my cousin is a southern warden, so he’s going to try and get me assigned to his outpost.”

      “Oh, which outpost is it?” Alex beamed. He knew almost all of them.

      “Um…Brig.” Ana shuffled nervously. Normally people laughed when she told them she was hoping to be placed in the prestigious Brig outpost, but not Alex.

      “Wow! Really? My parents are there too, I can ask them to help. Even Uncle Bor has a lot of close friends there.”

      A womanly voice cut into the conversation. “Really?” Ms. Gale walked up to them with a few more things to plant before winter set in. “I wonder if they know any of my former students?”

      Ana spoke up “My cousin Neki is on a team with two men named Dran and Gungin.”

      Gale smiled “I know Gungin. He was a nice boy, very quiet. His beast gift allows him to see and speak through birds. He loved ravens, and always got so mad if anyone mistook them for crows.” She chuckled at the memories. “He’s a master scouter, so that must mean your cousin is a hunter.”

      Ana tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

      Alex lowered the tree into the hole and rested his arms before explaining. “Every warden team is made of two hunters and a scout. My dad was a hunter for his team.”

      “Oh, I thought my brother would be the scout. He’s a full-blood Caniko, with a tail, so his smelling and hearing are amazing.”

      Gale smiled, and joined her in packing down the soil around the new tree. “I’m sure they are. He wouldn’t be at Brig if he was anything less than amazing, but others have specialties. No matter how good your eyes are, there’s no beating being able to get a literal ‘birds eye view’ of a situation.”

      “What about the other guy he works with, Dran, he must be a hunter too.” Alex eagerly wanted to know more about the people in Brig.

      “My cousin said that Dran is a half-dragon, with wings and fire breathing and everything. His flames stun dralgs while he or my cousin finishes them off up close with claws, talons, or gauntlets.”

      “You mean even dragon fire can’t get through a dralgs’ hide?” Gale gasped.

      Anastazia shook her head. “I’m afraid not, it can only stun them.”

      Alex remained silent. He’d only ever seen Evil fight using fire, and even then, it was a flaming sword…swords…oh! Alex suddenly remembered something. “Sorry!” He apologized to the pair of gardeners “But I promised to help Jack move some of the heavier equipment out of storage.”

      The two ladies thanked him for his help and waved him off.

 

      The dummies weren’t that heavy, but it gave Jack more time to oversee matches, and bet on them. Right now, Eira was sparring against an unmarked boy from a higher grade. Alex took a moment to watch them fight. The boy was strong, but Eira refused to let him land a hit. She jumped back to dodge a wild swing before dashing in and giving him a short stab to the gut. The wooden weapon touched his leather training gear, and Jack rang the bell. Alex couldn’t help but be proud; he’d taught her that trick. They’d practiced a bit between and after class, and she was getting better.

      Jack went over to a small group and collected his winnings. Eira came up and asked why he’d bet on her.

      “Because you won.”

      “But how did you know I would win?”

      “Because your opponent underestimated you.” With a smile he cryptically explained “I make half my winnings off people underestimating girls.”

 

      Later, he got drafted to be a replacement dance partner in Ms. Kyuu’s class. He’d tried to hide, but the roof was the first place they looked, followed closely by the tallest trees.

      He shuffled his feet to the slow song, wincing whenever his partner stepped on his toes, and smiling encouragingly whenever she hurriedly apologized.

      “Alexander!” Ms. Kyuu rebuked. “Come on, quit dragging your feet. A king should know these things.”

      “And with one sentence you’ve made me never want to be king.” Alex mumbled, getting a snicker from most of the class.

      Ms. Kyuu wasn’t impressed though, and went off on a tangent. “But then how will you be able to woo a woman from across the floor, catching her gaze with your eyes before piercing her heart with your elegance?”

      “Am I dancing with her or killing her?”

      During archery class, they’d learned Ms. Kyuu’s beast gift charges her arrows to explode, and it would seem that the teacher herself was about to do the same. Alex got out of there the first chance he got.

 

      Of course, walking around the academy, he ran into Malent a few times.

      “Look, the good doggie’s chasing his tail for his masters.” She chided.

      Alex shrugged her off. “I enjoy working; beats sitting around doing nothing.” He locked eyes with her and smiled. She and her followers were just sitting on benches or leaning against things.

      Malent glared back. “For a marked kid to become a slave like you have brings all of us down. Have some pride!”

      “If pride would make me like you, I don’t want it. I like helping people, and have a lot of friends because of it.”

      Malent chuckled in a way that confused Alex. “Your ‘friends’ only want you because of your help. Mark my words, they’ll turn on you the instant it suits them…I’ve seen it before.” Her voice trailed off, and she turned her head away.

      Alex was done talking too; it was almost lunchtime.

 

      Alex took his lunch with Indol while Eira and Frey studied their homework. He politely refused an offer of grey sludge, and instead took advantage of the academy buffet.

      The two student workers spent the rest of their break skipping stones off the coast near her workshop. Indol picked up a flat stone and tossed it expertly with a flick of her wrist. It jumped five times before sinking.

      “Wow!” Alex exclaimed. He chucked a stone of his own, but it went straight down with a splash.

      Indol smiled slightly. “It’s not just how hard you throw it, but how you throw it.” She tried to demonstrate by flicking her wrist and making a stone jump four times, but Alex just couldn’t get the hang of it. Indol couldn’t help but chuckle to herself as another one of his rocks splashed into the sea gracelessly. She unfurled her extra Octasect arms, and skipped four stones at once, each on them bouncing at least three times.

      Indol reminisced. “You know, I used to do this with my brothers back home. They couldn’t skip rocks either.” She smiled slightly as Alex threw another rock into the water. “I’ve always been good at throwing things though. I could always peg by brothers’ head at a hundred paces.” She threw another barrage of stones.

      “You have brothers?” Alex asked while trying to ignore that Indol’s stone skipped five times.

      “Yeah, I have an older and younger brother back home. They stayed with my parents while I came to Yanus.” Her face fell. “I haven’t seen them in years.”

      “Have you sent them any letters?”

      “…no.”

      “Why not?” Alex was distraught.

      Indol started to shut down; she didn’t want to start crying. “For the same reason I can’t go back. I don’t want them to know how much I failed.” She gritted her teeth. “I couldn’t bear to see the look in their eyes. It took almost everything they had to afford sending me here. I send them what I earn from working at the academy, but I…I can’t face them.” She imagined her parents with the same disappointed look she got from everyone else, and her heart sank. To actually see that would be too much.

      Alex put an arm around her and smiled. “I’m far from my parents too, but I sent them a letter, and found more family at the library. You’re welcome to join us.”

      “Thanks.” Indol wiped her eyes. “I might just do that someday.”

      Before they could talk more, the bell rang, and Alex had to leave. Indol returned to her workshop apartment, and opened the windows. She looked around at the filthy place and decided to clean up, starting with her worktable. She whistled happily while she worked, for what seemed like the first time in years.

      After the final bell, Alex joined Eira and Frey in crossing the bridge toward Sanel. They discussed what the girls had learned in class, and Alex helped them with their assignments when he could.

      Frey and Eira admitted to thinking there was only one type of Dan’darun, dralgs, but Alex told them about their aquatic cousin, the ‘SawJaw’.

      Alex then spotted Anastazia walking alone across the bridge. She joined the trio, explaining that she lived alone in Sanel, along with many other students, and walked the bridge from the town every day to school.

      He introduced her to Future, who was waiting at the horseless carriage with Erald and Lo, before asking the Hand. “Uncle Bor, have you heard of a flower called ‘dragon-scale lilies’?”

      The old man, still in his young body, thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes, I remember them from a trip north; beautiful flowers. I saw a field of them, and it looked like a rainbow had shattered; its pieces covering the ground.” He reminisced happily. “Why do you ask?”

      “Well Ana really likes them, and I was wondering if you’d make one for her.”

      Future looked around and thought for a moment. If he started doing things like this the requests would never stop; not just from Alex, but everyone who passed him might start begging for favors. He whispered to Alex. “Sure, but it has to be a secret.”

      Alex nodded, and Future grabbed a handful of dirt and summoned a small wooden jar to put it in. Channeling his power, a green speck poked out of the topsoil and grew. The tiny bud blossomed into a small rainbow of pedals. He handed the tiny sprout to Alex and said “Give this to her, quietly, and tell her that if she replants it into a bigger container, it will grow to match.”

      Alex nodded and rushed over to Ana. Upon seeing the secret gift, she beamed with joy. First hugging her present, and then, swept up in her happiness, excitedly hugging Alex.

      Future was watching them, smiling like a proud parent, when Erald bent down to whisper in his ear. “My lord, aren’t dragon-scale lilies given out as engagement gifts or wedding presents in the northern islands?”

      “Yes…yes they are.” He smirked. 

      “Then why did you let Alex give-”

      “Ignorance, and innocence, is bliss. Those children have both, and I plan to keep it that way as long as possible.”

      Alex returned, beet red. After some kind-hearted teasing from his family and friends, the group made their way back to the Library. Another day at Yanus had concluded.