Chapter 2- Away to Flagon
Ethan woke to someone gently washing his face with a rag. He struggled to open his eyes, but they felt glued shut.
“Our young fighter awakes! Don’t try to open your eyes right now,” said James. “I have some salve on your face. Not to mention that your face is swelled large enough for me to enter you into this year’s pumpkin contest.”
“What happened?” mumbled Ethan. His voice sounded gravelly.
“It seems you picked a fight with a whole pack of wild boys. I commend your bravery, but not your judgement. The next time you want to defend someone’s honor, I hope you will be wiser in your actions. Do you remember much?” asked James as he cleaned the salve from Ethan’s eyes.
“Corbyn was mocking Arvid and I hit him. Then they were kicking me. I heard someone yelling and the sky went dark, but I guess I just passed out.”
“You did pass out, but the sky did also go dark. You didn’t imagine that. I’ve seen it before but not often. Some few with the Gift will actually affect the weather if they get in an extreme situation. Unintentionally, of course. It’s as if nature herself responds to their mood. Sometimes wind. Sometimes thunder. Sometimes clouds block out the sun. When I was a boy not much older than you, I saw someone that would cause the wind to swirl around him in a mild cyclone when he was very angry. They also say that the skies turned black on the day that Fargas did battle with The Nine many years ago.”
“And the earth shook.”
“I see you’ve heard the stories too,” smiled James. “Even so, when I came out of the hall the skies were just beginning to clear and it looked as if a rare storm was in the air. Heavy dark clouds seemed to cover the school, but in the distance there was nothing. I never would have thought that any of the boys that assaulted you had that depth of Gift. I still don’t think so. I think it was because they were all acting in anger together towards you. Their anger created some type of discordant harmony that showed itself in clouds blocking out the sun. But you never know really. There may be the next Fargas in that group.”
“Fargas was a hero, not a bully,” murmured Ethan.
“Well your wits are intact at least,” laughed James as he set aside the rag. “Let’s see if you can open your eyes and look at me. I need to check your pupils.”
Ethan again tried to open his eyes. It was easier now that the salve was gone, but he could still feel the pain of the swelling and couldn’t open them more than a little bit.
“Well that doesn’t help much. I guess I need to wait for the swelling to go down some. I could send for a healer.”
“We have a healer at the school?” asked Ethan in awe. Healers were revered throughout the entire kingdom. They were specially gifted because their Gift helped to restore life to those that were sick and dying.
“We always have a healer or two about, though sometimes they don’t know it yet. I think the young lady that rescued you might be one, but only time will tell.”
“A girl rescued me?” asked Ethan groaning. As if it weren’t enough that he was ungifted, now they would tease him because he needed a girl to save him.
“Yes, Melinda. Do you know her?”
“Meli? Smelly Meli? Are you sure she wasn’t one of the ones kicking me? She hates me!” And it was true, but it had nothing to do with his being ungifted. She had taken a dislike to him almost from the first moment she had seen him. Something to do with being an orphan, he guessed. He had learned quickly to keep his distance from the fiery tomboy.
“I don’t know about hating you, but she definitely came to your rescue this time. Apparently, she saw what the boys were doing to you and chased them off. I heard her screaming for help when I was in the hall. I rushed outside and there she was dragging you up to the main building screaming for help and crying. I think she thought you were dead. You did have quite a lot of blood on your face. She has checked on you twice since you’ve been here.”
Ethan just now realized that he was back in his small room off of the barn, next to Arvid’s room.
“How long have I been back here?” asked Ethan.
“You’ve been sleeping for about six hours.”
“Arvid needs me to…” started Ethan as he tried to pull back the covers and get out of bed.
“Arvid knows you’re here and he is fine,” said James and he pressed Ethan back into the bed. “You need to get some rest and not worry about Arvid for a little while.”
“He needs me to chase down the goats for him. He can’t do it on his own. They are too quick for him. He can’t run like I can.”
“The goats are fine. They came back to the pen on their own. He told me why you were up at the school in the first place, but all the goats are safe and sound in the pen.”
“But he will need my help with the chores,” said Ethan as he tried to sit up again.
“Don’t worry about Arvid. He has seven eager boys to help with all the chores for the remainder of the year,” said James with a smile in his voice. “We found a good punishment for the gang that beat you up. Each one has a day of the week that they must forego their free time to work with Arvid tending the animals and other chores. Corbyn gets Saturdays. And they have to keep it up until the school year is complete. It’s the only way the head proctor will allow them to stay. Genius isn’t it. The whole thing started with mocking Arvid and now they have to help him work.
“I’m off to find a healer,” said James rising from his chair.
“James?” asked Ethan as James moved to the door.
“Yes, Ethan?”
“If those other boys will be doing my job, what will I do to help?”
James frowned, and his eyes grew dark.
“I’ve found an apprenticeship for you in Flagon. I’ll take you as soon as you are fit to travel.” His words were clipped and as soon as he finished he quickly turned and left the room, while Ethan sat in bed wondering at what the future had in store.
~
He must have been dozing, because when he opened his eyes she looked as if she had been sitting there a while. When he first came to the school he tried to be friendly to everyone, but Meli did not return the sentiment. She told him to leave her alone and if he tried talking to her again she would show him how fast a girl could beat up a boy. She didn’t like him, but she didn’t seem to like anyone. So, he made fun of her like the other kids did. Smelly Meli, they called her. It was a surprise to see her sitting next to his bed with a genuine look of concern on her face.
“I’m glad you’re not dead,” she said seriously.
“Me too.” It sounded stupid as soon as he said it, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“You had blood all over your face, and you were just laying there not moving.”
“Thanks for getting them off of me. I might be dead if you didn’t stop them when you did.”
She didn’t say anything. She just sat there staring at him with a somber look on her face. She looked different to him. She didn’t seem mean or harsh as she normally did. She seemed more real to him right then. It figured that he could only seem to make friends with the people everyone else treated as outcasts. First Arvid, now Meli.
“I’m sorry for all the times I called you names,” he told her truthfully. “I would take it back if I could.”
“It’s okay, I don’t care about that.” She paused for a moment then continued, “I found my father in the street and he looked just like you did when I found you.” Her eyes welled up with tears as she spoke.
“We were travelling. I was in the back of the wagon lying down and he was leading the oxen. He was robbed and beaten. I crawled out the back of the wagon when they started hitting him and hid in the bushes. I was afraid they would hit me too. When they left, I ran to him there in the road. He was covered with blood and not moving. He was dead.”
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“I’m sorry,” he said, but she didn’t seem to hear him.
“When I saw what they were doing to you, I had to do something. I didn’t do anything when my father died.”
“How old were you?” he asked.
“I was seven, and I know that even if I tried, I couldn’t have stopped those men. But I wish I would have tried.”
Ethan didn’t know what to say so he sat quietly and waited on Melinda. She seemed to be reliving the memories of what happened and he didn’t want to interrupt her thoughts. After a few minutes she spoke again.
“You were a second chance for me. I stopped them this time, and here you are in a bed getting better,” she actually smiled at him. “I think you actually helped me more than I helped you.”
“Well next time we can trade places then.”
She laughed at his attempt at a joke.
She stayed a short while after that. It was hard to have a light conversation after what she had shared with him, so after a few awkward attempts she excused herself. Meli promised to visit again and bring him a pastry from the school if he promised never to call her smelly again. He promised. Later he couldn’t figure out if he promised because he wanted the pastry or if he wanted to see her again.
A healer visited him a couple of times over the next few days and he gradually got better. The swelling went down and the bruises turned the ugly green that comes with healing, but then they began to fade. He had some sore ribs that might have been broken, but after a couple of weeks even they began to feel better.
James visited him a couple of times, but he was careful to make no mention of the apprenticeship in Flagon he had spoke about earlier. When Ethan asked him about it, he merely said that they would talk about it when he got better. James also brought him a book to read. Ethan barely knew his letters when he came to the school and spent the majority of his first few months learning how to read. He was still far behind his peers, which was why James pushed him so. It didn’t seem to make much sense now that he wasn’t going to be a part of the school. He said as much to James, but James said everyone should learn to read. There was simply too much to be missed by not reading.
Meli also visited a few times though none of the visits held the import of the first. She would sit with him and gossip about all that was happening at the school like they had been friends for years. She also brought him sweets from the kitchen each time she came. He told her he was going to live in Flagon. She said that would be good. It would give her a reason to get away from the school on her day off from studies. She said she would visit every week and would always bring him sweets.
Arvid visited every day. He would come and sit. He always brought something with him. A knife and sharpening stone, a piece of wood he whittled at, a broken harness that needed stitching, something. He would work at whatever project he had in his hands for a few minutes, then he would look up at Ethan as if checking on him. Then he would pat Ethan gently on the leg and go back to his project. He would do the same every evening for about an hour. Ethan would read during the visits. It was good just to be able to sit in silence with Arvid not worrying about anything.
Arvid would seem to know when Ethan would get tired. He would get up from his chair, take his project and go. But not before giving Ethan one last pat on the leg and a warm smile to go with it.
The days past and he got better until one day James came into the room looking grim.
“We’re heading over to Flagon today. It’s time to get your things together and say goodbye to your friends.”
“I don’t want to go to Flagon, James,” protested Ethan.
“I know.” He paused for a minute then continued, “I’ve been thinking about that fight you got into. If you stay, I don’t think it would be the last. They almost killed you this time. Who is to say it wouldn’t happen next time or the time after that. People either seem to like you or hate you, boy. There doesn’t seem to be much in between. Some of those boys have it in their mind that they hate you. And boys can be cruel. This school is no place for you. Besides, you need to learn a good trade.”
“What will I do in Flagon?” asked Ethan.
“I’ve found an apprenticeship for you with a carpenter. A good man by the name of Jarod. He hasn’t been in Flagon long, only a few months, but his trade is doing well, and he needs help. Have you done anything of the type?”
“Only what I’ve done with Arvid. Mending gates and fences and such. Mostly I just held the tools for him while he worked. I’d run get whatever he needed from the shed if he forgot something.”
“Never mind that. You’ll probably do the same in Flagon. I imagine Jarod will have you doing a lot of fetch and carry while you learn the trade. You’ll also be responsible for keeping the studio clean.”
“I can do that. I kept things clean for Elsme back home. I would sweep and pick up everyday, sometimes twice a day if she wanted me to.” Ethan felt better about his apprenticeship than he had since he found out about it. It seemed so much of what happened to him recently ended in failure. He had been worried that he would fail in Flagon at whatever trade James had found for him, but this sounded like something he could easily do. Even so, he was still a bit uneasy about leaving the school.
“Will I see you any more?” asked Ethan as he placed the last of his things in a bag. He tried to sound casual in his question, but he wasn’t sure he had successfully done so. In the six months that he had known James he had come to look up to him. He didn’t know his father, but he hoped he was something like James.
“Yes. Quite often actually,” responded James. “I make it in to Flagon about once a month when I am at the school teaching. Otherwise it all depends on my travels.”
“You don’t teach at the school all the time?” asked Ethan.
“No. I am only at the school during the winter months. Most of the year I am elsewhere in Esterria.”
Ethan’s mind turned as he considered why the proctor didn’t spend more time at the school. His eyes grew large as he made the realization.
“You’re a Watcher!” exclaimed Ethan.
“Yes, I am,” answered James. “One of several, but please keep that bit of information to yourself. My duties take me all over the kingdom, but I come through Flagon often. And every time I come through I will stop by to see you.”
Ethan was in awe that James was a Watcher. The Watchers were famous throughout the Kingdom of Esterria. They traveled the land as the eyes and the ears of the king. They kept watch over the people, always alert for any threat that might come against the kingdom. Only those with the strongest Gifts and the most control were chosen to be a Watcher. Watchers were answerable only to the king, and only he knew the identities of all his Watchers. No one else knew who they all were or how many of them there were at one time. They traveled very discreetly, trying to draw little attention to themselves so that they might see all that was truly going on around them. If a situation arose that could be easily dealt with, they could address it immediately. When they spoke, they spoke with the voice of the king. If a situation was more serious, then they would alert the king so that action could be quickly taken.
“You may not remember,” continued James, “but I was travelling the kingdom when I found you. I had traveled far that day when I came into your village and was only planning to stay the night. I was in the tavern when I heard a couple of men talking about you. When I asked about you it seemed they had plenty of stories to tell.”
“Some of them didn’t like me much, but I didn’t know they told stories about me.”
“Unusual stories they were too. You fell off a barn but merely floated to the ground. You were the only person that ever caught any fish from the stream and you always caught several. There were others.”
“I told you those stories weren’t true, at least not the way they tell them,” said Ethan.
“Still, it made me think that you had the Gift.” James paused for a moment before he continued, “I’m sorry I took you from you home on bad judgement.”
“Don’t be sorry for that. Elsme was the only one that cared for me. I didn’t have any friends there. Since I have been here this year, I already have more friends then I did my whole life there. You, Arvid, Meli. Back home, they treated me different. I guess because I am an orphan and they didn’t know who my parents were. They used to make up lies about my parents or why they didn’t want me.”
“I think they treated you differently because they did know who your parents were. At least some of them seem to act as if they knew your parents. When I was there before they wouldn’t tell me what they thought of your parents or why you were abandoned, and at the time I didn’t see that it mattered much, but one day we will go back and ask them again.”
Ethan shrugged, “I don’t care if I ever go back there, though I would like to see Elsme again.”
“I’ll take you in a couple of years when you are older, but for now we head to Flagon.” James gathered up Ethan’s pack and led the way out of the small room.
Ethan didn’t have many people to say goodbye to. Head proctor Merrin briefly came by and wished Ethan well in his future endeavors before he handed a pouch to James. Meli also came down to the barn to see him off, though she stayed a bit longer than Merrin. She promised to visit on her day off the following week. She brought a small bundle with her when she came and even though it only contained a few sweet rolls, she seemed very shy about giving it to him. She gave him a quick hug and then rushed off back to the main school buildings. Ethan had never been hugged by a girl before. It was awkward. He had squirmed when she held him and felt uncomfortable, but as he watched her hurry back towards the school, he wondered when he might get another hug.
Arvid came out of the barn after Melinda left. It seemed he had waited to give them a moment alone without him. Arvid knew how some of the students viewed him and he didn’t want to make Meli uncomfortable with his presence while she said her good-byes. He lumbered up to Ethan and gently put his hand on Ethan’s shoulder. He looked openly into Ethan’s face and Ethan could read the expression in his eyes. Even if he could have spoken, no words would have been necessary.
After a quick squeeze on the shoulder, Arvid reached into his pocket and took out a small item wrapped carefully in a rag. Arvid gingerly opened the handkerchief to reveal a small figure carved out of wood. He smiled broadly as he held out a perfectly detailed goat and put it into Ethan’s hand. It seemed all of that whittling that Arvid had been doing at the foot of his bed had been for a purpose. Arvid had made a small goat as a reminder and a thank you to Ethan.
Ethan closed his hand over the gift and knew that there was little in life he would ever cherish as much as this simple present. He looked up at Arvid and said his goodbye in the same manner. No words. Just an easy, open look, with maybe a little bit of water in his eyes. Arvid held the look a moment, then smiled, nodded and then turned to walk slowly back to the barn.
James didn’t say anything to spoil the silence of the moment. He patiently waited until Arvid disappeared into the darkness of the barn, then he bent over and picked up the pack and began walking up the path to the road that would lead them to Flagon. Ethan hesitated a moment to look at the barn and to remember the good feeling he had about the place, then he looked up towards the school and wished that things could have been different. If he knew this was the last time he would see the school before it would be destroyed he would have tried to remember every detail. But not knowing what the future held, he simply turned and followed James up to the road.