Boy in the Village (III)
Thump. A cloud of white chalk floats into the air as you clap the duster clean. As there are no classes this morning, you are tidying up the classroom as usual. Six months had gone by in a flash. Most of your time had been spent between learning how to take better care of Rain, and furiously absorbing the alphabet and numbers, as well as starting to learn alchemy. Your progress was astoundingly fast – you managed to pick up in only six months what most of the other children in the village needed six years to learn.
“Ah…” You hear Rain and turn around to spot her toddling towards you at high speed. She had begun to walk just a couple weeks ago, and taken to it pretty swiftly. Rain clings to your leg and you pick her up, cradling her in one arm as usual; she still seeks out your presence whenever she can. But just like how your adventurous spirit has been awakened, she has become a rather inquisitive baby in her own right, exploring her surroundings with innocent joy.
“I found her walking up and down the corridor,” says Sophie, entering the classroom. “I thought I’d bring her back here while I return my book.” Her hair is tied up in a ponytail today, and you spot a copy of a Jane Austen book in her hand. It seems like
Mansfield Park today. Sophie had been reading a lot of those lately, borrowing the novels from the small shelf at the back of the class.
***
When it comes to works of fiction, you:
A. Absolutely prefer the work of Charles Dickens. You can identify with the difficulties of a harsh childhood, allowing you to appreciate all the more the social satire and realism in Dickensian tales such as Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.
B. Can’t get enough of H.G. Wells. The fantastical elements of adventure found in stories such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds really speaks to your imagination.
C. Very much appreciate Robert Louis Stevenson. You love how he can write stories as varied as the adventurous Treasure Island to the thrilling yet horrifying Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
D. Can’t recommend anything other than Arthur Conan Doyle. The Stories of Sherlock Holmes is your favourite work of literature and you find yourself enthralled by the master detective’s cerebral adventures.
E. Really love Edgar Allan Poe. In particular, you love his horror stories such as The Masque of the Red Death and The Tell-Tale Heart, and how he deals with the questions of death. It might be a bit morbid, but you enjoy that tingle down your spine.
F. Actually like Jane Austen too. The romance and the very real struggles of the characters in works like Sense and Sensibility or Pride and Prejudice makes you tear up – but only on the inside, of course.
G. Have no interest in them at all, despite your young age. You prefer to be seen reading tracts such as The Prince, or Das Kapital, or The Critique of Pure Reason, or Second Treatise on Civil Government. Granted, you don’t understand the half of it, but you would like to pretend you can someday.
***
Sophie doesn’t say anything else to you as she puts
Mansfield Park back on the shelf. She hasn’t warmed up to you much over the past six months. You are not too sure why yourself.
“Oh, right. Father wants me to get something from the greengrocer, and he asked for your help carrying the groceries,” she says suddenly, while averting her eyes from your face. Although Father McClellan had scolded her a few times for being rude, she still does it from time to time.
“Alright,” you reply.
“Good. Let’s be off before the day’s over, shall we?” Sophie walks out of the classroom without waiting for you. Setting down the duster, you follow after her.
As you leave the school, you spot a large, white thing soaring through the sky. Seeing you stop and gawk at it, Sophie explains what it is.
“That is an Astra airship. Only the Council of Orders are allowed to operate them within the Tower, so there must be knights on board. What are they doing all the way up here on the 20th floor?”
***
You finish getting the groceries without incident. As you are on your way back, walking quietly behind Sophie, someone calls out to her.
“Sophie! Over here!”
Sophie’s face brightens up as she sees who it is. A slight blush on her fair cheeks, she runs to meet the boy. You know him. Tall, blond and dashing for his fourteen years of age, he’s the son of the local landlord, and the undisputed leader of the children. He’s currently holding court with four other kids standing around him.
“Andrew, how has your day been?” asks Sophie animatedly. “And… oh, you are here too, Elizabeth.” Her voice takes a slightly sour tone, as if she were talking to you.
Elizabeth is a short, red-haired girl about your age. You think she is the daughter of a travelling merchant, though you can’t be sure. At least, her clothes usually look better than the other children in the village – or so she claims. Again, you can’t be sure.
Placing her hands on her hips, Elizabeth eyes Sophie, and then you. “Going on a stroll… and is that Wrinkly I see behind you? Oh, I wonder what the two of you were doing?”
Sophie flushes and protests to Andrew. “We weren’t doing anything, Andrew. My father wanted his help with the groceries. You know how my father is… he doesn’t have a bad thing to say about this boy.” That much was true; you got the impression that Father McClellan favoured you. He was always telling Sophie about how hard of a worker you are, and how seriously you take your studies.
Andrew laughs, brushing off Sophie’s protests. “No need to be so worried, Sophie. Come here. You too, Wrinkly,” he grins. “I have some fun news to share. It might interest even you.”
Staying as reticent as usual, you move closer to the circle of children, though you stand a bit further away from them. You glance at Sophie, who is looking raptly at Andrew with a silly smile on her face. Rain chooses that moment to smack you on the head with her hands, babbling her baby language. She seems displeased about something.
“Still lugging that baby around, aye?” chuckles a portly, bespectacled boy. “You’re almost a town legend, Wrinkly. The burnt boy with a baby slung over his back.”
“Don’t tease him, Scotty,” interjects Andrew calmly. “Now’s not the time for that. No, we have grander things in mind. You’ve seen the airship passing above our village earlier, haven’t you? Well, Scotty knows what they’re here for.”
“Aye. Me dad’s found some ruins, you see,” grins Scotty, adjusting his spectacles. If you remember correctly, his father is an explorer based out of the village. A Mister Nathaniel Howell, all tall and bearded with a jovial glint in his eye and a constant smile on his lips. “Well, I know where those ruins are,” Scotty continues, “and I know how to get us in without being noticed.”
“Fun, isn’t it?” adds Andrew. “We might be able to find an Astra or two on our own… we might even become knights!”
You believe that he is talking about the tradition where those who track down an Astra on their own and demonstrate the proficiency to wield it can be accepted into one of the Orders. A tall order, to be sure.
“But don’tcha already have an Astra of your own?” ventures John, and his twin, Jane, agrees. The dark-haired duo nod and point to the short sword hanging from Andrew’s belt. You know about Andrew's Astra - he is considered to be rather talented even compared to the adults in the village. There are perhaps all of three Astra in this entire village of hundreds, and Andrew is considered good enough to be granted one of them. The boy gives a self-depreciating laugh, and says, “Well, I didn’t find this one after all. My father gave it to me. Besides, none of you have one, do you? This could be your big break!”
“Isn’t it dangerous?” asks Sophie nervously.
“Not at all.” Andrew’s reply is confident. “According to Scotty, Mr. Howell found nothing particularly dangerous in those ruins. We would just have to watch our step, but it would be as easy as talking a walk through the forest. If anything
does go wrong, I have my Astra. Don’t worry, Sophie. I’ll protect you.”
Sophie’s blush deepens as Elizabeth jumps in. “And me too, right? You’ll protect me, right?”
“I’ll protect all of you,” grins Andrew, full of surety. “I’ve handled wolves and the like with my Astra, you know that. Why, I dare say that I shall take to the ruins like the heroic Theseus took to the labyrinth! And we don’t have to worry about getting caught, not with Scotty around.”
“Yeah,” Scotty drawls lazily. “If the knights find us, I’ll just use me dad’s name and get us out of it. We’ll say we were lost or something. Nothing to worry about, it’s not too far. We’ll be back by dinner.”
The excited children swiftly agree to go together. As if realizing that he forgot about you, Andrew turns to face you. “You’re coming too, right, Wrinkly?”
“Why would we need him around?” mutters Elizabeth.
“Well, I’ve heard that he’s actually spent some time in the woods by himself,” Andrew explains. “I was talking with Old MacDonald and he mentioned something along those lines.”
Old MacDonald was the alchemist who had taught you a thing or two. During those lessons, he had figured out you already knew a bit of the forest and the herbs which can be found there.
“Wrinkly here might be helpful,” continues Andrew. “I don’t see why he can’t come along.”
“He’s got to take care of Rain,” says Sophie flatly. “You can take the groceries back home, Wrinkly. Tell Father that I will be home before dinner.”
***
A. Their company doesn’t excite you, but the ruins do interest you. You decide to accept the invitation and go with them, though of course, the groceries still need to be brought to Father McClellan's home.
1. You bring Rain along with you. She might be able to tolerate being apart for you for a while, but she can’t do so for long. You’ll just have to be careful.
2. You leave Rain in the care of Madam Daviana, the old nursemaid who taught you all you needed to know about looking after a child. Rain will just have to bear with it until you come back.
B. You would love to go along, but alas, you do not have the time. You need to go home, drop off the groceries, get some more studying done, clean the room, and feed Rain. There is still a lot of chores you have to get done.
1. You don't mention anything about their expedition to Father McClellan. It's not exactly your business to get Sophie into trouble.
2. You tell Father McClellan about Andrew's plans. You know yourself how risky a trip into seemingly innocuous woods can be.
C. You let them go ahead, and after making some preparations of your own, you follow behind them at a distance, without their knowledge. You don't trust them enough to go with them. It would be more prudent to travel separately.
1. You bring Rain along.
2. You leave Rain with Madam Daviana.
