Indenuel lingered in the High Elder’s meditation room that Sabbath. He was actually meditating this time. It was strange to think that a week ago he had met Garen for the first time. He wished there were more opportunities to speak to him. He wished he could speak to Garen now, but spirits didn’t speak while he was awake. They hummed instead, with a more musical quality to it. If only he had something of Garen’s to guide him back to the dream world to talk with him. That would prove his existence as real, and also assure him it wasn’t a demon.

Indenuel was lost in the meditation, stretching his powers, every so often reminding himself that his opinion of the five other members in this room had taken a dip. Some more than others. He had spent the entire week training hard. He was exhausted, not ready to start training tomorrow, but he needed all the help he could get.

The meditation was done. Martin stood, smiling at Indenuel. “Shall I see you at the palace?”

Right. The Sabbath social. Indenuel tried to smile but it came out forced. “Of course.”

Martin’s smile never wavered as he patted his shoulder and left the meditation room. Indenuel waited a few moments before following. He should stay close to Martin, but he might be better off on his own, surviving this party as long as possible before excusing himself to return home.

Tolomon and Indenuel got out of the carriage by the palace, and Indenuel rubbed his upper arm. His Sabbath day outfit was different than the one last week, which still baffled him.

“I shall be off to the side,” Tolomon said. “These elites are usually harmless.”

“That’s not comforting,” Indenuel said.

Tolomon smirked as they walked into the banquet hall. As easily as Tolomon was able to sneak up on him, he just as easily disappeared, and Indenuel felt painfully alone in a large crowd.

A table full of food drew his attention. It was, after all, the end of Sabbath worship and meditation, so his fasting was done. He started to approach a table when a servant approached him, bowing.

“Would you like anything off the table, Warrior Indenuel?” the servant asked.

It was jarring to have someone who he had never met before already know his name. “Um, yes. I’d love some.”

“Here are the options, sir, simply take your pick of whatever is on the list,” the servant said, giving Indenuel a large list of foods. He only knew a quarter of what they were. Indenuel chose some bread and an apple. “Is that all, sir?”

“Yes, thank you,” Indenuel said.

The servant bowed. Indenuel bowed back before he studied the crowd of elites as they mingled with themselves, doing his best not to sneak to the side and stand toward the wall where the other servants stood.

“Indenuel!” He turned, feeling his face relax as he saw Adosina with a huge smile, as always.

“Hello Adosina.”

“I’m so glad you could make it to this gathering!”

“Yes, I am too,” Indenuel said while figuring out how best to ask Adosina how long he could stay before it was socially acceptable for him to leave. She had a plate of food herself that she held. This wasn’t a sit down and eat kind of a party. Everyone had little plates of food to eat while they chatted and laughed. Some even had servants near them to hold their plates.

“Wonderful service, was it not?” Adosina asked.

“Yes. I never imagined Dalius to have a sense of humor, but it was nice,” Indenuel said.

“Adosina! Indenuel! It is so good to see you two together!” Sara said.

“Hello Sara,” he said. The servant came over to him, bowing again before handing him a small plate with his bread and apple slices.

“Thank you,” Indenuel said before taking a huge bite of the bread. It was so soft. It was almost insane how soft the bread was.

“Is that all you’re eating?” Sara asked.

It was then that Indenuel noticed how little there was on his plate compared to Sara and Adosina’s.

“Ami,” Adosina said.

“I don’t need much,” Indenuel said at the same time.

“Nonsense. You have been training hard with the King’s Militia all week. You need to keep up your strength,” Sara said.

Adosina gave Indenuel an apologetic smile.

“I will go back for more if I’m hungry.” Sara gave him a look. He gave a sheepish smile. “I shall go back for more once I’m done.”

Sara patted his cheek. “There’s a dear. Now, don’t let me interrupt you two.” She had a sparkle in her eye. Once Sara had left, there was a silence between him and Adosina that, for the first time since he’d known Adosina, was becoming awkward.

“Forgive her, Indenuel. She has been a mother so long, she doesn’t know how to stop nurturing,” Adosina said.

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“It is kind of her.”

“At times it is too much. You are allowed to say no to her if you so wish,” Adosina said.

Indenuel couldn’t help but smile. Adosina smiled and waved at someone before touching his elbow. “It was so good to see you.”

“Good to see you too.”

Adosina slipped away, leaving Indenuel alone again. He finished his bread and apple before a servant was there, taking his empty plate. “Would you like some wine, sir?” the man asked.

“Um, no. No thanks,” Indenuel said.

“Very well.”

He should have gotten more to eat. He was still hungry. Sara was right. He’d been working hard with the King’s Militia this past week. Once some bread and a piece of fruit could fill him on a Sabbath day, but not anymore. The only problem was it required him to talk to a servant, to have them bring it to him, and he didn’t want to inconvenience them.

Indenuel turned and froze when he saw a woman standing before him. Indenuel took a few steps back before forcing himself to remember his manners and bowing.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Warrior Indenuel,” she said.

Indenuel forced himself not to wince. He was afraid this would happen. He had been introduced to so many people of the nobility last week that none of their names stuck. He hated this feeling.

“Forgive me, but I seem to have forgotten your name,” Indenuel said.

This woman, a few years younger than him, was beautiful and staring right at him. And despite practicing a month with Adosina, he still fell back into an old habit of being absolutely terrified of being near her.

“That’s quite alright, Warrior Indenuel.”

“You… you may just call me Indenuel.”

She giggled. Then other girls giggled. Indenuel turned his head to see he had already drawn quite the crowd. There were at least five girls circling around him, with more coming every moment.

“Can we all call you Indenuel?” one of the girls asked.

“Yes, yes of course,” Indenuel said, his chest tightening as they seemed to flock closer to him.

The girls again giggled. Indenuel’s smile was pained. They all had the beauty and alure of the upper class. Well taken care of, their dresses a swirl of color and works of art. They were healthy, happy, and so pretty, and Indenuel wanted to run away as fast as he could. He had been beaten by one-to-many fathers, brothers, or husbands to not recall exactly what that felt like.

The circle closed, and Indenuel stood straight up, giving a tight smile.

“Do you like my dress, Indenuel?” one of them spoke.

“Yes, yes, it’s beautiful,” Indenuel said.

Again, a wave of giggles hit his ears, and he started to sweat. One of them touched his elbow, which surprised him, and he moved it away.

They’re not going to hurt you. They won’t slap you. Their fathers, brothers, husbands will not beat you. You are fine. You are not in danger. Everything is fine.

His mind continually played that, or a variation of it, on repeat as he tried to smile. Even though he was brought up in one of the poorest of towns, Lucia tried to teach him how to be a gentleman. Unfortunately, a gentleman in the lowest social class was different than a gentleman in the highest social class. He was taught to remain silent, kept his eyes to the ground, and let the upper-class woman do whatever they wanted with him to a point. When in doubt, bow a lot. He didn’t know what to do in this situation, now that he was supposed to be an upper-class gentleman.

“Do you enjoy training with the King’s Militia?” one of the girls asked.

“I do, yes,” Indenuel said.

Someone touched his elbow again and he gave an apologetic smile. They were doing this on purpose, he just knew it. It was too late to think of an escape. The circle was surrounding him, and he could not leave without touching them.

“I bet you get all hot and sweaty when you train, don’t you?” a girl asked.

Indenuel was so incredibly confused by the question. “Um, yes?”

Giggles again. Another touch to his elbow. He folded his arms, purposefully placing his palms over his elbows to keep them from being touched, accident or not.

“I bet you have superhuman strength, too.”

“No, no. Just average. Average strength,” Indenuel said. Slightly below, the more cynical part of him said to himself.

More giggles, and more attempts at touching his elbows. He kept moving his folded arms just out of reach, but the women kept reaching. They finally stopped when his folded arms were well over his head, making him feel ridiculous, but at least they stopped touching his elbows.

“What’s it like having all four powers?” a girl asked.

“Oh, well, it’s, um.” That was a complete sentence, right?

“Does having all four powers enhance other aspects of you?”

“I… don’t understand,” Indenuel said, still keeping his arms as high as he could.

It was at this point that Indenuel looked for an escape. Someone familiar he could go talk to, give an excuse to leave. Martin? Adosina? Sara? Tolomon?

Tolomon! Indenuel’s eyes landed on him. He was leaning against the table of refreshments, staring right at Indenuel, a plate of food in his hand. He had just finished eating a tiny meatball with a toothpick when Indenuel’s eyes landed on him. Tolomon was watching him like this was some sort of comedic play. He looked like he was quite enjoying himself.

Indenuel should have been angry, but he found he couldn’t. He saw himself like Tolomon would have seen him, surrounded by every marriageable woman in the nobility, with his arms folded over his head to keep them from touching his elbows. And seeing Tolomon relaxing against a table, watching, reminded him of a very important thing. He was in no actual danger here. Instead, he realized the ridiculous situation he’d found himself in. He would laugh later, but right now he glared in Tolomon’s direction. Tolomon skewered another meatball, watching in amusement.

“Oh!” a girl said as she slipped and caught her fall right on Indenuel’s chest. He moved ever so slightly, and multiple hands grabbed his back to keep him steady. He was in no danger of falling over, but they helped him all the same. “I am so sorry, Indenuel. I slipped.”

Right, he thought as her hands lingered on his stomach. He continued to stare Tolomon down. Tolomon didn’t move, acting like this truly was a play and he wasn’t supposed to interrupt at all.

“Save me!” Indenuel mouthed.

Tolomon stopped chewing, pursing his lips as he looked toward the ceiling debating whether to end his entertainment. Indenuel gave him another glare, and he gave a shrug as he stood.

The girls continued to giggle as Tolomon made his way over. They seemed to part for him as he smiled at the women. “Forgive me, ladies. I need to talk with Indenuel about important, Warrior business.”

The women all enjoyed that way too much. Indenuel closed his eyes, giving a slight shake of his head.

“Will he be back?” one of them asked.

“Oh, I guarantee it,” Tolomon said.

They all giggled again as Tolomon took his wrist and led him out of the banquet hall and out the door. Indenuel didn’t feel like he could breathe easily until they were a few steps into the garden.

“You are useless as a bodyguard,” Indenuel mumbled, rubbing his arms to get the blood flowing after holding them over his head too much.

“You have the social graces of a rock,” Tolomon said. “It’s a joy to watch.”

“Aren’t you supposed to protect me?” Indenuel asked.

“None of them were dangerous,” Tolomon said.

“Oh yes, they were. They’re terrifying,” Indenuel said.

Tolomon laughed loud, patting Indenuel on the back. To spite him, Indenuel skewered a few meatballs from Tolomon’s plate and stuffed them in his mouth as he walked away. He was still hungry, but he didn’t want to bother the servants. He could bother Tolomon, though.