“Where were you all day?” Duncan asked Phevona.
“You aren’t the only one who started training today. I had a great day with Master Boetin.” Pheobe huffed across the table at her daughter’s praise for her new master.
“How was your first day?” Phevona asked in between bites of what Duncan had been told was a tier one variant of wild boar. Apparently, everything he had eaten at the O’Leon estate had been mundane food or tier one. Cinder had told him it could be dangerous to consume food of a significantly higher tier than oneself. The main reason it tasted so good was Cinder’s skills in the kitchen.
“I’d say it went well,” Duncan answered, taking a break from his own meal. “The physical training was pretty straightforward, just longer than my normal exercise sessions.”
Phevona tried and failed to keep her composure as she almost choked on her food. She picked up her cup and then proceeded to drain its contents, all while staring at Duncan in disbelief. Then, her head swiveled to Cinder. “Dad. Did you go easy on him or something? Are you trying to give him a false sense of security to get him to stay or something? He should know what he’s getting into before he makes his decision.”
Cinder couldn’t help but laugh with mirth at the disbelief and admonishment in his daughter’s voice. “No,” he finally said through his laughter, ignoring the annoyed glare Phevona was sending his way. “I most certainly did not go easy on him. I had him out there for five hours straight. You wouldn’t have made it through the first half of it. Everything I asked him to do, he did with no complaint and maximum effort. There were some things beyond him, but they were beyond what any sword user should reasonably be able to do at tier zero. If he’d been able to lift some of those heavier crates and stones, I’d have been concerned he was too focused on strength at the sacrifice of flexibility, endurance, and speed. But, in my opinion, his speed and endurance far surpass even his strength.”
The longer Cinder talked, the more Phevona’s face changed. If Duncan had thought he’d seen disbelief on her face before, now there was absolute incredulity. After a few seconds of her head swiveling from the still-laughing Cinder to the calmly eating Duncan, she finally seemed to accept she wasn’t being fooled. Then, her gaze locked back onto Duncan. “What about all that is a straightforward workout?”
Before he could respond, Neta interrupted from her spot at the head of the table. “It didn’t take long for both Cinder and me to figure out Duncan has been pushing himself like that for years.” The matriarch smiled predatorily at her great-granddaughter. “Maybe if you didn’t slack off in your own exercising, you could have stayed ahead of him in the Choosing.”
The half-elf girl sat there, stunned. She reflected on the hours of training she had gone through every day for years. She had spent countless hours pushing herself, with and without the encouragement of her parents and Neta. “If you call what I do slacking off, I’m more than happy to be called a slacker.”
Across the table, Pheobe frowned. “With that attitude, you’ll never improve. How will you take your revenge against Duncan in the arena then?”
“Mom! You’re the only one that wants revenge. Stop instigating conflict.”
***
Duncan sat, eyes closed, on the roof of the apprentice quarters. He’d found a way up involving a few indents in a stone wall and a couple of jumps between shorter sections of the building. The sister moons of Dintarnum were out, lighting up the night sky together with innumerable stars. Despite the cold, Duncan felt a warmth inside.
He had only been with the O’Leon family for a day, but he couldn’t help but feel at home here. The only place he’d ever felt something similar was around the Tell family dining room table, and even that had taken some time after they’d taken him in. Here, it felt like everything aligned to give him an opportunity at a life he wished he could have always had.
He could learn many things. Become stronger. Make friends. Maybe even have some independence if what he’d been told about Kuno was true.
But he had responsibilities. What about Marie and Wayne? If Corvelin was as divided and ruthless as the O’Leons made it out to be, he would essentially be leaving his loved ones there to fend for themselves in a few years if he didn’t leave Kuno.
Mikael was most likely already there. Was he in the middle of infighting between different factions of Corvelin, or did his noble house provide him with some protection? What if his family could protect him but chose not to because of his friendship with Duncan?
And then there was Duncan’s father. If he didn’t leave, would he ever have the chance to find out why Roger Mayfield had left Rhona on Earth with no word whatsoever?
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None of these questions had answers he could find in Kuno, but he found himself wanting to stay. He wanted to learn from the Matriarch. He wanted to spar with Cinder and eat his delicious food. He wanted to fight alongside Phevona and make some new friends. He even wanted to give Pheobe a chance at her revenge… Well, Phevona’s revenge, but still actually Pheobe’s revenge.
All these thoughts and the weight of his responsibilities twisted together into a knot of uncertainty that was starting to grow out of control. The calm and focus from the day’s training was gone, burned away by a blazing question. Should I stay or should I go?
“Duncan? Where are you?” Phevona’s raised voice reached Duncan from the training yard below. He opened his eyes, finding her just leaving the entrance to the building.
“Up here,” he said, giving her a wave once her eyes found him silhouetted against the roof and night sky above. She smiled, then walked over to the wall underneath where he sat. She pulled her wand, the same one she had used in their match the previous day, then yelled, “Catch.” Less than a second later, a vine shot out from the end of the wand and flew right at Duncan. Still seated, he snatched the vine out of the air. “Pull me up.” Less than 30 seconds later, they sat side by side, backs against the slightly slanted roof.
Neither of them said anything for a time. They simply sat, Duncan with his eyes closed and Phevona staring up at the night sky.
“What do you think I should do?” Duncan asked, slightly surprised to find himself voicing the question. He was usually reserved and introspective in times like these. After his mother had disappeared, he’d taken months to really open up with his family. But he wasn’t the same as he was back then. Now, he was an actual person, not the emotionless monster he’d been turned into.
Phevona sat for a while, thinking about her answer. “Well, I guess that depends. I don’t know your reasons for wanting to leave.”
Duncan sighed. “My family. Specifically my little sister and brother. They aren’t in Dintarnum; they are still at the Academy on Earth. If my sister Marie makes it into her shift class, and she will, then she will be here in three years. My brother Wayne is just starting at the Academy, so it will still be six years until he would make the shift. I’m afraid if I don’t go to Corvelin, I’ll be leaving them to deal with everything your family has warned me about.”
After a second, Duncan continued. “My best friend Mikael is over there too, as long as the shift didn’t mess up for the rest of my class like it did for me. He’s a member of a noble house from Earth, so he might be all right, but he and his family weren’t on the best of terms when we left.” He left out anything about his father. Not even Mikael knew something like that.
He looked over at Phevona, finding her staring down at the roof, thinking. Minutes passed, and Duncan once again closed his eyes, taking some time to focus on the cold roof tiles to distract him from the decision he had to make.
He’d been given a few weeks to decide, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else until he’d made up his mind. The distraction of the day’s training had provided a short respite, but he had to make a decision tonight.
“It sounds to me like the question you should be asking yourself is whether you’d make it better or worse for them if you were there,” Phevona was done thinking, it seemed. Duncan had only known her for a day, and even then, they’d had little chance to interact with one another. Despite this, he had learned some things about her. She was curious, always wanting to ask questions, even when she was patient enough to hold them back. She was honest. She loved her family, and they loved her.
Now, as he listened to her, he learned something new about her. She was smart.
“Let’s say you leave. You get on a ship, sail to Corvelin, and you make it back to your classmates. What happens then? I asked my parents some questions last night, and according to them, you would likely be picked up by one of the Corvelin noble houses. You’re too good not to be noticed early, so the nobles and other powerful people in the military will fight over you. If you believe what my parents have told you, then you will more than likely end up in a faction that sees you as nothing more than a tool.”
Duncan cut in almost without thinking. “I believe them. I had suspicions of my own back on Earth. Plus, from a pragmatic perspective, what would your family gain by lying to me? Your parents are more than powerful enough to force me to do anything they want, let alone Neta. Plus, if I stay, I’ll find the truth about Corvelin myself. I’ll be delving into those temporary realms with openings around Dintarnum eventually.”
Phevona smiled at Duncan's words. “Well, I’m glad. But, to continue, whomever you end up serving under will see your potential and ability. That will only grow more apparent when you get your Subject. You seem like someone who doesn’t settle for anything less than your best. I can tell because I’m the same way, and you beat me.” For one of the first times, Duncan saw a bit of frustration on Phevona’s face. “I still have no idea how you did that. You said something about overloading the enchantment back in the arena?”
Duncan now also knew Phevona could get distracted quite easily.
“Ahh. Sorry.” She apologized when she saw Duncan’s amused expression. “My point is that you will probably end up under some power-hungry noble who would have no problem finding out who you care about, then taking them in to ‘ensure your loyalty.’ You could go to Corvelin only to put your sister and brother in a worse situation than they would get into on their own.”
It made sense. Duncan could see it play out in his mind. He imagined himself forced to fight for one of the selfish nobles back on Earth, and he had no trouble seeing them using his family against him.
“On the other hand, I bet my parents could talk to those family friends in Corvelin. Maybe they can make sure you end up with them or one of the other more tolerable factions over there.” Phevona stood, then offered Duncan a hand up. He took it, and they soon stood face to face. “If you decide to stay and end up having to go on a rescue mission to Corvelin, you can count on my help. You’d be an honorary O’Leon, after all. O’Leons look after each other.”
She nodded at him, then jumped off the roof, landing with a roll to break her fall. Not to be outdone, Duncan went to follow… and proceeded to trip off the roof. He fell face first toward the ground but was abruptly caught by something tied around his ankle. He looked up at his foot and saw a vine tied around his ankle, much like the one he’d use to pull Phevona up to the roof.
An eruption of laughter burst from Phevona, who had walked up to Duncan as he dangled from the roof. “O’Leons also love to prank each other. We all get it from great-grandmother.”
Despite his orientation, Duncan couldn’t help but laugh along with Phevona. “She didn’t mess with me at all when I met her… I think.”
Phevona just looked at him with pity. “Just wait until she gets bored… or angry.”
Then she was gone, running away without even helping Duncan out of her trap. He sighed, letting himself hang for a while longer. As the blood rushed to his head and he tried to figure out how to get down safely, he finally chose. He chose to believe in what he wanted to happen rather than what he feared would happen.
Being an honorary O’Leon sounded pretty good to him. Plus, after only a day, Duncan was reasonably certain he was addicted to Cinder’s cooking.