chapter Four
It took significantly less time than he would have liked for them to get to Avian’s first class. It wasn’t that he didn’t think her schooling was important, he thought world leaders should be well educated; but he had never been to class or school and the thought of being confined to a room listening to things he didn’t understand didn’t appeal to him. When they got there, the Professor was waiting for them as they entered the library that doubled as a study room. He was a tall, overly thin man with skin the color of cool mocha.
“Avian.” His voice was slow and deep, with a twinge of a foreign accent. “Let us begin. Language Origins.”
“Do we have to start with that? It’s so boring.” She looked at him with big eyes, silently pleading as she dropped into her seat. The same two desk from before were there, one presumably for him.
Smiling slightly, the Professor shook his head. “One hour and fifteen minutes of Language Origins is what we shall start with, as we do every morning. Now, tell me what we learned yesterday.” The man instructed.
Settling more comfortably into her seat beside Mathieu, feet on his desk, she looked lazily at her teacher. “There are five countries on this continent, all of whom speak a different language. However, each language has a common origin. It can be seen throughout the pronunciation, the rhythm of speech and the use of non-enunciated letters.”
The Professor nodded, seeming to have know she would be able to summarize the prior lesion without difficulty. “Correct. Today we are going to learn about the ways that languages evolve from a basic, common language into distinct dialects…”
~*~
It was nauseating how much Professor knew and how long he could talk between breathes. He must have covered five full lessons in the hour and fifteen minutes designated for Language Origins. He didn’t relent and he didn’t hesitate; fact after fact was given and neither he nor Avian seemed to be about to stop.
Everything that the Professor asked or said, she had a quip to accompany it and she never touched the paper that was at her disposal. She had a fast mind and devoured the information, demanding more while maintaining a steady whine about how much she didn’t wish to learn.
Avian and her teacher bantered between verbal sparring sessions and the atmosphere in the room lightened to a comfortable companionship. Mathieu looked absently at the books on the wall, not interested in the slightest about how languages evolved or anything of the sort. Avian drifted towards him over time, and was eventually leaning against him as she took an oral quiz, more often than not predicting the question and answering it.
“I hate this…” She whispered lowly to him, feet dangling off of his
Smiling, he shifted so her weight was resting most comfortably against his side. “What comes after this?” He murmured back.
Avian sat up with a stretch. “Political Theory.”
“…Er.”
“We talk about how Unith and Korinth have grown as countries. ‘Know thy enemy’ and all that crap…” She yawned. The Professor was making notes in a thin ledger while they talked, his pen moving swiftly.
Mathieu bobbed his head in understanding and glazed back out, thinking back onto the dream he’d had last night. It still bothered him. The realness of it startled him and if he hadn’t woken up still beside Avian with a pain in his knee where it had pressed into the chair while he was sleeping, he’d have genuinely believed that he had been somewhere else. Dreams can seem real like that, right? He asked himself, chewing the inside of his cheek.
“So,” The Professor said, “today, we are learning about Korinth. What should we focus on?”
Avian considered the ceiling for a moment, humming to herself, “Let’s learn about their main government structure, shall we?”
“Very well.” The Professor leaned against the window sill. “Tell me what you know so I can continue from there.” He said, arms folded and eyes closed. The veins under his eyelids stood out predominantly.
“They’re lead by a woman named Elise, that I know for sure. I’ve even met her.” She stretched and popped her neck. “She has someone like my ‘Kin’ beside her at all times, a woman named Mina, and I know that they aren’t ruled by a throne like we are.”
The Professor smiled at her. “It is not quite that simple, but it is a start. Korinth is divided into four districts: Western, Eastern, Central and Southern. Each district has its own ruler that makes the decisions for their territory; however, Elise maintains the right to overturn the decisions of the other if she has a suitable reason and can get the two remaining leaders to agree. It must be a three-to-one majority to overturn a law.
“Now, each district has a different ruler, landscape, and type of people. Something that must be kept in mind is that Korinth is not actually a country, or a principality. It is a city. The whole place is walled in and because it is so large, it is divided for the benefit of all.
“In the Southern District, Elise rules over the main collection of people. They call it the capital, but it really is not because a capital is a city unto itself. Elise tends to hold many congregations to hear what the people think and what they feel are true issues. She is a good ruler. Most leaders would do well to follow her example.”
“Elise is always so polite.” Avian added, nodding to what he said.
The Professor smiled. “Now, the Central District is run by a man named Nathan. I have never met him, but from what I have heard, he is a militant leader. He is fair to his people and allows them audience if they have need for his help. However, he requires that all males go through some level of military training to ensure combat readiness and that his people are never unprotected.”
Mathieu wrinkled his nose. “What a dictator…”
“To an extent, but he is not vicious like most historical dictators are.” The Professor rebutted.
Avian piped up. “What about the other two districts?”
“The Eastern District is led by a pair of sisters: Zanika and Zerieve. They are…eccentric to say the least, and they are in charge of a primarily agricultural area. Most of the food that supplies Korinth comes from the Eastern District. On top of that, many of the basic units for tradable products are grown or created within their district so that they can be shipped overseas and traded with the surrounding countries, including Unith.
“The last district, the Western District, is perhaps the area with the least amount known about it. We know that it is primarily made of ice and mountains, but little else is known.”
“Hm…” Avian looked at the ceiling for a moment, thinking everything over. “Okay. Tell me about the relationship we have with Korinth as a whole.” She said lazily. It seemed that for everything she learned that interested her, she had to learn something else that was boring.
“Inquisitive today, are you not?” The Professor smiled. “We technically only have a political relationship with Elise and the Southern District. Unith, in its…” his voice took an annoyed tone that Mathieu hadn’t heard before, “infinite wisdom, believes that Korinth should be viewed as a whole instead of as parts that make up a whole. It would be like a foreign country thinking that Korinth and Unith are still one, so only negotiating with Unith, instead of with each individually.”
“That’s stupidity at its highest level.” Avian dropped her feet to the floor, rolling her eyes. “When I’m in charge, I’ll treat Korinth with the same respect that we wish to be treated with and open conversations with each of the districts.” She said in a tone that clearly implied she thought that was what should be being done now.
“That is a worthwhile goal for a future ruler.” The Professor looked at the clock on a bookcase. “Literature time. Pick your poison.”
Avian hopped up immediately and whipped a book with a worn cover off the shelf and curled up in an armchair. The book fell open and she scanned the page. “Mathieu! Want to hear my favorite story from when I was a little kid?”
“Later. You need to study.”
“But…” Avian give him a big pout, which he managed to ignore it.
“Study. You can read to me later.” Mathieu said, folding his arms over his chest.
“Promise?”
He nodded and patted her head, pulling a book off the shelf as well.
~*~
Exactly one hour and fifteen minutes later, Avian set her book down and stretched. She had the air of one who just completed an enjoyable task. Unfortunately, Mathieu hadn’t picked such an interesting book. Instead, he had read for over an hour about the various ways in which the local shrubbery survived. It was the most painful hour of his life.
“Woo, time for fencing!” Avian hopped up and grinned victoriously, tilting her head to the side. “Ready?” Her hands were on her hips and she was grinning, clearly ready to move on to the next part of her day already.
Nodding, he stood, as well. “Sure. Where is it at?” He queried.
She threw open the door and peeked around the door to make sure that no one was watching. It seemed that Avian was rather paranoid about who was around her at all times. Having decided that things were safe, she jumped into the hall. “To the grounds!” She called before taking Mathieu by the hand and dragging him down the hall.
Mathieu was quickly learning that with Avian, it was her way. No excuses. It would have been enough to label her as rude or obnoxious, however, she had a natural magnetism that made people feel as if they had known her all their life and therefore it was somehow acceptable that they were being bossed around. Which was exactly what she did, boss people around. He wondered if it was a princess thing.
Dragging him down stairs and other halls towards the sweeping side lawn, Avian talked non-stop about something or other. Some sort of party seemed to be topic of choice. There was a childish enthusiasm mixed in with a healthy dose of sincerity in her voice. She dragged him out of the palace and onto an area where the grass was cut shorter than the rest in a long rectangle. The long, thin area was lined with racks holding fencing foils and safety gear. A broad, dark haired man was waiting for them. He looked vaguely like a bear coming out of hibernation.
“You’re late.” His voice was a deep grumble from within his chest, projecting loudly.
Avian blinked innocently up at him, facing the monstrosity of a man before him like he was a kitten. “Blame the new kid. He slowed me up.” She spoke as she went to get her whites and started to pull them on. Once she was dressed, her hair was swept into a pony tail.
“No excuses. Form.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She pulled on her face guard and took up her foil. Moving to face her instructor, she whipped the foil through the air with a whistle. “Let’s do this.” Avian yawned.
“En Garde!“ For a few minutes the pair jabbed and parried, avoiding each other in a comfortable fashion. To Mathieu’s inexperienced eyes, they looked like a lion and a gazelle, dancing and avoiding each other in an almost deadly game.
Soon, the pair started to become more serious. There were touches happening left and right as Avian and her teacher spun and thrust the foils like real swords. The gentle spar was quickly digressing into something like a fistfight with swords. The hilt of the instructor’s foil slammed up into Avian’s stomach. In retaliation, she threw a fist into his sternum, knocking him back.
Watching with good humor, Mathieu sat off to the side. It was entertaining to watch them ‘spar’ and try to kill each other while maintaining the sense of decorum that was known for existing within fencing. Oddly, he wondered if the man was holding back, or if she was really superior to him in ability.
He decided that the man was holding back because whenever the woman’s hits became sloppy, he’d return the hit, showing her how to do it properly. And the hit generally was much more powerful that Avian’s was.
Mathieu found Avian to be an enigma. How did she go from talking about negotiations with Korinth, to childish enthusiasm over a book, and ending on regressing to a near fistfight during a fencing lesson? She was a constant source of surprises, and not just for him it seemed.
“Alright, let’s break.” The instructor dropped her from the hold he had her in and pulled his face guard off. “You’re doing well today. Managing to stay focused.”
Avian pulled her mask off too, yawning again. “Thanks.” She lay down in the grass and closed her eyes. “Damn, I’m tired.”
“You say that every day. Now, who are you?” He turned to Mathieu and gave him an appraising look.
“Mathieu. Why?” The white haired man said, folding his arms over his chest.
The man sat in a chair next to Mathieu. “Just wondering who was hired to protect her royal pain-in-the-ass.”
“Well, that’d be me. I don’t fight like you guys do, but the king felt that I’d be able to defend her in a do or die situation…” He picked at the hem of his shirt.
Nodding, the man picked up his water bottle and took a long swallow. “Ultimately, that’s what matters.”
“What’s your name?”
“Demetri Uliff.”
The name meant nothing to him, but the way it was said indicated that he was supposed to be impressed. “That’s er…cool?”
“You have no idea who I am, do you?” Demetri queried.
“Not the slightest.”
Avian perked up. “He was a top notch fighter until he had to retire because of an elbow injury. So now he just picks on me. I mean teaches. Yes, teaches.”
“You get everything you deserve, child. Don’t complain.” Mathieu took this time to look closer at the man. He couldn’t be that old, maybe thirty or thirty-five, and his had the crooked nose of a fighter. His jaw seemed to be permanently set in a look of displeasure, and Demetri’s nostrils flared whenever he exhaled. The skin that covered him was the color of night.
Indignation filled Avian’s voice. “Excuse me, but you digressed first, okay? I just protected myself!” Huffing, she chucked her face guard at Demetri with every intention to cause harm.
Easily, he knocked it away before it got close. “Your maturity does astound. By the way, your aim sucks and you should learn to throw harder.”
“I’m a woman, not a machine!” Her nose wrinkled in displeasure at him telling her that she wasn’t up to par. “If you think I’m so lame, why don’t you tell Dad so he’ll tell you to force me to go pump iron or something?”
“Never said you needed to be accurate or strong. I was just pointing it out, Avian. You really should lean to handle criticism better.” Demetri stretched his legs out.
“I handle criticism just fine!” She threw her foil too and was nearly in tears by the time Mathieu came to her side. He had the sword thing in one hand, the face guard in the other.
Sitting beside her, he gave her a concerned look. “Are you okay?”
Sighing, she wiped her eyes, avoiding his gaze. “I’m fine. Sorry. I get a bit…on edge when I don’t sleep well. Nothing to worry about.” She smiled, but it didn’t meet her eyes. “Listen, I know that when I have my lunch is some of your only time off, but if you wanted to come eat with me, you’re more than welcome to…no pressure or anything like that. Just wanted to let you know…” With that, she got to her feet and put her face guard back on, ready to go round two with her instructor.
Demetri nodded to him as he passed and patted his shoulder, silently telling him that he diffused the situation well.
Yawning himself, Mathieu took his seat again and watched Avian. He was worried that something more was bothering the young woman, but not having known her very long made it hard for him to read her. Maybe it was just easy for her to be upset when tired. Women were weird.
Demetri didn’t give an inch this time, unlike before when he’d allowed her to get under his guard, she now had to fight for every touch and every extra hit. Mathieu also saw that Avian had been holding back before, as well. The small speed that she had used the day before was back, keeping her feet constantly moving and her hands blurring through the air, the foil in one, the other a fist.
The only way he could have described it to someone who hadn’t seen her was that it was like seeing a statue in the path of a storm, so sure it was going to be destroyed, and then the statue was sprinting away, not hurt in the slightest. Very deceptive. Dancing was what it also something the duo reminded him of. A well choreographed dance that they performed without a hitch.
What does she need a body guard for? Mathieu was genuinely wondering why he was hired if she could fight like this.
His instinct told him something was going to happen before his eyes told him what it was. And by then, his body was already in motion, as were the others. Thinking back, he figured that it happened something like this: something inside him told him that Avian was in trouble, he jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could to get between her and the stray blow, he realized he wouldn’t make it in time and something welled deep in him, forcing itself out and between the two people sparring.
The ‘something’ was a very solid, very colorful barrier. It was made of energy if the way that it swirled and shifted was any indication.
“What…what is this?” Avian reached her fingertips out to touch it. “It’s warm…did you make this happen?” Her gaze was locked with his, sharp and confused.
Mathieu was shaking slightly. “I d-don’t know…I might have. I just…wanted to protect you…” He said it lamely, still a few feet from her.
Avian lifted her eyebrow. “Can you control it?”
The truth was, he did know what it was and he could control it normally. His panic had just loosened his hold on it. It was energy that both lived inside of him and that he drew from the world around him. Normally, he could focus it down to a small barrier between him and others if a fight got serious, but it took effort and concentration that he generally couldn’t devote while fighting. This explosive, protective nature wasn’t usual for his energy. “Eh…”
Demetri looked between the two of them. “I think we’re done for today, Avian...” The man said. Demetri was smart enough to know when his cue to leave came up.
She nodded in acknowledgement, her gaze not straying from Mathieu. As soon as Demetri walked away, she let her hand drop from where it had been touching the warm energy. “You didn’t answer me, Mathieu.”
He pulled the energy back into himself and closed his eyes. “Yes, I can control it…”
“But you didn’t mean for that to happen.” She asked, looking for clarity.
“I panicked. My control of it isn’t always the best when I get emotional. It could tell you were going to get hurt and reacted appropriately.” He tried to shrug it off, make it no big deal.
Avian was perhaps too smart for her own good, Mathieu decided, if the comprehending look in her eyes was as dangerous as he though.. “Then you need to practice with it. That’s what Professor tells me about my inability to keep my mouth shut. Practice.” She closed the distance between them and touched his shoulder.
Mathieu recoiled. “You d-don’t think I’m a freak?” He’d always held onto his energy tightly, scared that the people who saw it would think he was a freak and try to abandon him, or worse, kill him. But here was Avian, hand on his shoulder after having just seen him stop a man easily three times his size without touching him.
“Of course not! Honestly, I think it’s kind of…pretty.” She flushed and wrinkled her nose, eyes soft. “Everyone has something they’re ashamed of or something that they hide from everyone else. It happens. We’re only humans. Flesh and blood. We make mistakes, we feel ashamed. Don’t worry about it.”
“Avian…” His eyes welled up, his hand reaching up to lay over hers. Now he was the one being emotional; he didn’t feel like an idiot as he might have if she hadn’t just lain to rest one of his biggest fears.
She smiled. “Let’s go get something to eat. Food always makes me feel better.” She patted her tummy and he realized that she was speaking from experience: her weight was something she was ashamed of.
As soon as she was out of her whites, he took her hand and walked beside her.
~*~
After having eaten their hearts’ fill, they still had nearly ten whole minutes to just sit and talk.
“You sure get that stuff. The academic side of it, I mean. The way you absorb information…”
She sipped at her minty, fruity concoction. “Yeah, well. I grew up alone, reading a lot. I have a pretty decent foundation of knowledge to build from, even if what I know is completely useless. Most of what they say isn’t important anyway.” She fixed him with a look. “Mathieu, I know that in the grand scheme of things, I can’t teach you many things, however, I can teach you one thing. Ultimately, the majority of what people say is a load of crap. In order to succeed at life, you need to hear what they aren’t saying. You get it?”
“No.”
She sighed. “It’s like this. If some lady is talking about how much she misses her husband because he works so much and they hardly spend time together anymore, she doesn’t miss him. They fight a lot is why. She’s mad because he always escapes to work before she can win an argument. She hates that she isn’t the most important thing in his life anymore.”
“…I wouldn’t get that at all…”
Grinning, she thumped her glass onto the table. “Always remember, it’s the things they don’t say. It’s what they’re implying. By the way, we better get going, or we’ll be late for lessons.”
“What classes do you have left?” Mathieu said, already forgetting what Avian had just said.
She stood and polished off her drink. “A lovely mixture of learning about government styles and deciding what kind of ruler I’ll be along with goals I aim to accomplish, then free study, and finally more literature.”
“That sounds horribly boring...”
“Learning is important. And fun.” Shrugging, she smiled down at him.
“I’m coming…” Stretching and getting up, he held his arm out. They turned towards the palace and crossed the sweeping lawn. Even in the short time that he’d been at the castle, the excessive number of windows, long hallways, and high ceilings were becoming a comfort to him. They were very beautiful and they cocooned him. Of course he still couldn’t navigate to save his life.
Depositing her in a seat once they were in the library-slash-classroom, he smiled a little shyly and sat beside her. What the teacher said didn’t matter to him, so he watched out the window as their lunch table was quickly collapsed and cleaned away, the lawn fluffed back up.
Rolling his eyes, he wondered how appearances of some grass can mean so much. The Professor wasn’t there. In fact, they were the only thing there wasn’t made of paper and smelled vaguely like pipe tobacco. “Where’s the teacher?”
“She’s probably late. Pregnancy hasn’t been easy on her.”
As if on cue, the woman Mathieu presumed was the teacher busted through the door. “Sorry!” Her hair was aflutter as she came in, coming to rest in long red curls that cascaded down her back. Her face was heart-shaped and she had kind eyes that were well-suited for motherhood. Smoothing her hands down her dress and over her protruding tummy, she swayed to the window. “So Avian, who is your little friend?”
“This,” the brunette said grandly, “isn’t my friend. He’s my new guard. Papa hired him.”
“Oh, a guard! How wonderful!” The pregnant woman smiled. “Well, I’m Mrs. Emers.”
“Hello. I’m Mathieu.” He said in a bored tone. Everyone felt the need to ask who he was today instead of just leaving him to his own. It bothered him to have such attention placed on him.
Taking a reclined position against the windowsill to alleviate the pressure on her back, she cleared her throat. “Avian. Where did we leave off?”
“Difference between a republic and a democracy. Both are stupid.” The princess said, arms folded.
Mrs. Emers tapped her toes lightly, a brow cocked. “What brings you to that conclusion? And where were you yesterday? Hmm?”
Blushing, the brunette pointed accusingly at Mathieu. “It’s his fault! He…he kidnapped me! Yeah, that’s it.” She grinned as he rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I don’t like either because they’re stupid.”
“We covered that,” The redhead teacher said. “But why?”
Huffing, the young woman lifted her nose into the air. “Okay, so with like a democracy, everyone gets a vote, but there’s so many people that it takes forever to get anything done. If it’s a state of emergency, I want a decision made right then and there, not a year later after everyone sits around, talks about it, and pisses me off! I’m going to be a queen with intelligent advisors that will give me a five minute brief on what they think is the best course of action and why. Then, I’ll make a decision. Effective.”
“That’s an interesting theory…”
“And I dislike republics for the same reason because it’s the same crap, just on a smaller level.” Avian nodded factually.
Mrs. Emers smiled. “I’m glad that you’re so opinionated. Being a leader takes resolve and determination.”
As the teacher spoke, Avian got up and went to a group of scrolls, pulling down a slender tube of parchment and opened it, pinning it to the wall.
Mathieu got up and went to see it. “What’s this?” It seemed both him and Avian were tuning the teacher out.
“It’s my goal charter. Until the day I take over, I’m writing down all
of the goals that I desire to accomplish, that I believe will better the nation.” She looked at the long list and sighed. “I’m going to be really busy when I take over…Do you think I can do it?”
“I think you can.” Mrs. Emers was standing beside them, looking at the chart. She laid her hand on Avian’s shoulder. “These are all selfless goals, therefore accomplishing them will be important. Although important things can be difficult to accomplish, the fact that they will make things better for the majority is enough to help you through the difficulties and the trials.”
“I’m with the teacher. I think it’s admirable that you decided to do this. It’s good. It’s really good. And it’ll help you keep your head when you’re on the throne, know where you’re going.” Mathieu smiled at her and she blushed, writing her newest declaration to open conversations with all four districts of Korinth to the list.
“There.” She added the date to the left of it and rolled the scroll back up, stowing it away for safe-keeping.
“So what now?” Mathieu watched his charge curiously.
Avian turned to him, stretching. “Mrs. Emers lectures more about government.” She ran her tongue over her teeth.
The teacher put her hand on her stomach, wincing slightly. “If it’s all the same to you two, I’m going to sit down. We can move into free study if you’d like.” She said, waddling in a pregnant fashion over to the wingback chair.
“Sweet!” Avian went to one of the bay window and curled up on the seat. “Tell me about what it’s like.” She said expectantly, peering over his her glasses.
“What what’s like?” Mathieu said, confused.
“Out there.” She shrugged towards the outdoors. “I’ve only ever been up to Fallon and even then, it’s in an armored carriage. I hate those things. They’re so loud.” In an poor imitation of the engine in a motor she pretended to drive.
Mathieu flopped into a chair, kicking his feet over the edge. It was an old habit. “Out there is…kind of like in here. I guess. People work to make a living, take care of their families, that kind of stuff. I’ve always lived in an orphanage, which is kind of like here too…kinda.”
Laughing, she looked down at the grounds. “You’re funny. Really funny. This place is like a cage, trapped here by rules that can’t be seen to navigate. I hate it here, you know.” Avian’s eyes were now looking past the walls of the castle, at the city outside.
Mrs. Emers looked at the clock and looked at Avian. “…Jeez. Like lazy rays of sunshine. Get out of here. It’s a nice day. Read some before you go to bed. Behave.” She tilted head towards the door, one hand on her tummy. “Go.”
“Are you serious?” The princess asked, excited. Her face lit up and she was on the edge of her seat.
The teacher fixed her with a look before grinning. “Yeah. I’m tired, you want to get out. We’ll reconvene tomorrow.”
“Thank you!” Avian gave her teacher a bear hug, before she sprinted out of the room, Mathieu right behind her. “This is great! She never lets me out early. Normally, she makes me stay late.” She came to an abrupt halt. “What to do, what to do?”
“Why don’t we go into town? It’s a really nice place, the little I’ve seen of it, anyway.” Mathieu suggested with a shrug.
Avian bobbed her head in agreement. “Okay. We can go to this store that sells all sorts of crap. It’s pretty cool.”
“Crap is my kind of thing.” Mathieu joked.
She pointed towards the door. “Good, we’ll take the carriage.”
“Wait a minutes…I thought you’d only ever gone to Fallon…” He raised an eyebrow.
Avian wrinkled her nose slyly. “Sometimes I sneak out to go to this store, but it’s the only place in the city I’ve gone.”
Mathieu laughed.
The carriage turned out to be an armored, Energy Jewel ran machine that seated four people. Hopping into the front seat, Avian fired up the contraption and pulled out of the garage it was housed it. The engine roared as she drove through the city, passed the people crowded the streets and into the more industrial area. People didn’t seem to notice them mixing into the general populace, ignoring yet another carriage on the road. “You’re my protector, right? So you’ll like protect me even if I go to places like parties, right?”
“Er…yeah, I suppose.” He said with a small frown.
“Well, there’s this…thing. It’s a congregation of Elise and her officials along with our ‘important’ people. I want to go. It‘s in three weeks.”
“Um, ‘important people’?” Mathieu tilted his head, “And why would you want to go to that?”
“There are always tensions between groups of people, or countries, and stuff. We aren’t any different. Just because we haven’t gone to war doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. I have no idea what the true political situation is like and I’m supposed to take over some day. I need to know. I need to know.” She pleaded slightly and pouted as she drove.
“I’ve never done anything like that. I doubt I’d be suitable to go. Take Narrie, she’d probably like that.” He tried to deter her.
Laughing, Avian parked the carriage. “Narrie hates going to gatherings. She can’t help from being her normal…charming self.” Getting out, she waited for him before going into the building.
It was dark inside with random knickknacks pressed tightly together: on shelves, on the floor, on counters, everywhere. It was an interesting sight, everything from obscure weaponry to soft clothing and cuddly objects. Some things squeaked with life while others lay there, waiting to be lifted and given purpose.
“I used to come here as a kid whenever I was healthy enough. The owner is a nice older man with a son he never hears from. We all just call him Grandpa.” She edged around a rack of weird, slimy looking things.
Mathieu lightly touched a ball of bright purple light that sat on a shelf as he passed. It made an ‘eep’ sound before skittering away, floating a few yard back. Staring at it, he waiting, keeping his hand where it was.
Slowly, it cautiously floated forward until it had passed his hand and was a hairsbreadth from his face. It looked fluffy, yet also seemed to be made out of some sort of swirling, ethereal mist. He knew this was a façade for he had touched it a mere moment ago and it had been very solid.
“How odd.” Mathieu smiled as it brushed against his cheek warmly in an affectionate gesture, making a soft ‘murr’ sound.
“Well, little fella, you finally got your glow back.” A wizen old man came out from behind a shelf and smiled. He held himself up with a cane and really did seem like the grandfather type. One of his eyes was blank with blindness.
Avian squeaked with delight. “Hi, Grandpa! How are you today?” She hugged the man around the shoulders.
“Good, good. Haven’t seen the likes of you around here lately. Not in a good while, that’s for sure. But who’s this? And where is that lovely Narrie?” Grandpa said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“Narrie stayed at the house. This is Mathieu. He’s my friend.”
The man gave Mathieu a once over before nodding in approval. “The shop seems to like him. Tesla has been out of glow for a while now, but perked right up when your friend entered. As did Nikola.” Pointing with his free hand, a red ball of light that looked identical to the other floated around a nearby corner. “They’re a set you know. Shadowriders.”
“Huh?” Mathieu said lamely. He would swear this man was speaking in one of the languages the Professor had been talking about earlier.
Smiling, the man allowed the red ball to rest in his palm. “These creatures have many forms. This is their most useless. All they do is float around and sleep. They have a bigger form, like a cat, yet not; more skeletal but kind of fluffy. Shadowriders have two other forms, a medium form about the size of a large dog and finally, an armored beast body that stands taller than you or I. They’re pretty amazing. They can even communicate telepathically with those gifted enough to hear them. I personally can’t, but I’ve heard of times when their species have saved those that were listening.”
“Shadowriders, huh…” His eyes were full of wonder at the small creature now resting in the crook of his elbow.
Releasing the one that he held, Grandpa patted him on the back. “Tell you what, for bringing Avian to see me again, I’ll let you have them. They don’t do me any good anyway.”
He left out that we can teleport, too. The purple ball seemed to be pulsing as the deep voice filled his head.
Of course he did. He doesn’t know our secrets. This voice was softer, feminine.
The first voice snorted. It’s not our fault that they are so ignorant. Useless, I swear.
“That was rude.” Mathieu said aloud.
Avian gave him a quizzical look. “Uh?”
“Can’t you hear it? It said we’re ignorant.”
Grandpa laughed. “That’s wonderful. You can hear them, can’t you?”
“Hear who?” Avian asked, feeling left out.
The man rolled his eyes and smacked her in the shin with his cane. “You don’t listen, do you? He can hear them, the Shadowriders.”
Mathieu laughed, severely doubting the man’s words. “I really don’t think that I’m capable of doing that.”
Wow, said the feminine voice, he sure has long hair. The red ball nuzzled against his hair.
“Quit that.” He swatted at the light.
It made a squeaking sound before hiding behind a nearby shelf.
Not a moment later, a catlike thing stepped out from behind the unit. It made a ‘murr’ and wound around his ankles. Hello, mister. I’m Nikola. That’s Tesla. Is it true that you can hear us?
Mathieu pondered the cat. Pushing out painfully with his mind, he felt slight warmth wrap around his consciousness, pulling him in. Hello? His voice echoed in his head oddly, reverberating into another space.
Hello. The feminine voice replied. So you can hear us. This is
progress.
Hush, Nikola. We don’t talk to humans.
Well I don’t talk to you. With a ‘humph’ Mathieu knocked the ball of light off his shoulder.
The purple ball changed halfway through the fall, landing beside the other catlike thing. It was a bit taller and slightly bulkier, a jet black in opposition to the other’s dark reddish color. Rude.
“Bite me.” A sharp pain shot up his leg from where the black cat bit him on the ankle. “Ow!” Growling, he picked the thing up by the scruff of its neck, staring into its eyes. “Don’t do that again.” He dropped the cat back to the floor.
Avian was watching him intently, one hand covering her mouth to contain her giggles. “You’re just so nice, Mathieu.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He said, mimicking her.
Grandpa wound past the pair of them and deeper into the shop, going into the back room, “You two coming?”
Following Avian, Mathieu peeked into the room, the cats hot on his heels. The room was cramped like the rest of the store and had a warm feeling of a home. An old wooden table sat in the center of the room, covered with old fashioned books and scraps of paper. Some of the books where thick and leather bound like the ones back at the orphanage, clearly holding many secrets.
Mathieu picked one up, flicking through it. A faint scent of candles filtered into his nose, the pages were crisp beneath his fingers.
Grandpa made tea while Avian cleared the table, humming as she worked. “So tell me, Avian, what brings you here? You never come without a request.” The wizen man said.
Mathieu somewhat tuned them out, looking around. The closer he looked the more he saw. The floor and the walls had symbols carved into them, twining their way around the room; the ceiling held small cages that sat perfectly still, but Mathieu could tell things lived in them; the counter was stained with dark spots he didn’t wish to examine too closely.
Grinning, Avian sat at the now cleared table. “You’re right. I want to know about the Western District of Korinth.”
“The Western District?” He paused as he poured the drinks, adding mint. “Why would you possibly want to know about that? And why would you assume I know?”
“Simple. You came from Korinth. And I want to know who runs the joint.” She said, elbows resting on the table.
He passed out the tea before sitting. “Hm…” Grandpa blew the steam off the top of his cup. “The Western District…when I was a child, my parents and I lived in the Eastern District as farmers. No one went to the neighboring area for at the time it was a lawless area. No one controlled or ran it.”
“But now?” Avian encouraged.
They sat in silence while he stared into his cup.
“Grandpa…”
He sighed and fixed her with a look. “You don’t go telling people what I’m about to tell you, okay?” She nodded. “Good. The people of Korinth are saying that they have a god on their side. If the rumors are true, they’d have put it in the Western District. Do you know what the Spire of the Dead is?”
“No.”
“Yes.” Mathieu sat petting Nikola, who was curled up in his lap. “The Stairway to the Clouds, the Sky Pillar, the Everlasting Tower. It’s said that a long time ago when Unith was still one with Korinth, the western sea boarder was a desolate area, non-cultivatable.” Nikola shifted in his lap. “But then a few years before the split, a great tower of ice started to form, climbing to the sky. It reaches above the clouds and is said to be nearly a full mile around. The area around it also changed. Mountains and ice spread out from it and the land down the rest of the coast became habitable.”
Avian’s mouth was slightly agape. “Wow, Mathieu. Where did you learn that? I doubt that even Professor knows that.”
He just shrugged, not wanting to talk about it.
Grandpa nodded. “Yes, yes. So if I were going to hide away a god and protect it, that would be where I’d put it: a tower of impenetrable ice surrounded by mountains and water. Pretty good defensive positive, don’t you think? That‘s who would be running the Western District.” Tapping his cane on the floor, he looked away and at a bookcase. “Why did you want to know, anyway?”
She smiled around her cup. “My teachers can’t answer every question, despite what my father thinks. I appreciate your time.”
“Stay a while.” Grandpa ordered.
~*~
A few hours passed before they returned to the castle, just in time for dinner. Mathieu made his way to the servants’ kitchen and was early enough to help set up and dish out the food, unlike the night before. He found the rest of the staff pleasant to be around, if a little distant. But he couldn’t blame them; he was just as hesitant with the mass of them.
He smiled at Narrie as she entered the room and he waved to her, a plate still in his hand.
“Hey, kid. I heard you took Avian to go see the old man. Did she coax you into going to that stupid party, as well?” Narrie helped the other girls dish up the food as they talked.
Mathieu handed the plates to her. “She asked, but I don’t think I’m going to go. I have no idea how to act around distinguished people or anything. I come from bum-hell in the middle of nowhere.”
Narrie swiped her finger through the mashed potatoes. “Well damn, if manners are all that you need, I can teach you those.” She popped her finger into her mouth with a delighted, yet sadistic look.