“Hello,” he said.

He had no idea what else to say. What would Pwurmn have said? He had always known just what to say to make things better. Or Enrakal. She always knew what to do.

It’s okay to be sad. The person you loved most in the world is gone. If you don’t let yourself feel that pain, it will consume you.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“About what?”

“I can’t be an apprentice anymore. I failed. I’m sorry.”

“Ha! You think I’m gonna let you get out of work because you’ve got some scales on your face?”

She rolled over. Just like when he and Aonva had found her, the scales were on her cheek. He thought he saw another cluster growing closer to her eyes.

“What happens when they see my face?” she asked. “I’ll be a monster. I can’t serve anyone. I let everyone down. You. My father. Aonva. Oshal.” Tears trickled down her face. “My mother.”

He wheeled himself closer to her bed. He noticed that she’d gotten thinner. It was as if the life had drained out of her.

“Have you been eating?” he asked.

“They got me to eat some bread and water,” she replied, still staring into space. “They said I should eat something. I haven’t been hungry.”

“I wasn’t hungry for a month after Pwurmn died.”

He stared into space, thinking of Pwurmn. All the times that Grund had wanted to give up on life, to give up on being a master artisan, Pwurmn had been there to help him. To make sure he’d had enough to eat. To remind him that there was something good coming just around the corner. That life was never going to beat them.

“I used to look like my mother,” Roshil said. “I had her eyes before… I didn’t. I wanted to be just like her. Even if I mostly took after my father. Everybody loved them. I wanted…” Tears trickled down her face. “I wanted them to love me too. Even before this, I was different. I was an outcast. It was Oshal that was always there for me, and my parents. The other adults liked me. They taught me all sorts of things. But the children… they’ve always treated me different unless Oshal was around to stand up for me.”

Grund knew the feeling all too well. The questions he’d gotten about his legs, or the questions children had asked as if he couldn’t hear them. “Why don’t his legs work?” “What’s wrong with him?” “How do other parts work?” “Can he use the bathroom?”

“Children can be cruel,” he said. He nodded toward the door. “You’ve got good friends now, though. Aonva’s spent all her free time in the waiting room outside. Brings books with her. Everyone loves the system you two set up in the library. Much easier to find books now.” He grinned at her. “My favorite part is the cabinet. Some beautiful work by a talented apprentice.”

He knew there was no way to cheer her up when she was like this, but he did see a forced half smile from her. It was something, at least. If nothing else, it meant he hadn’t made it worse.

“How’s Oshal doing?” she asked. “And father?”

“They’re surviving. They’ve been better, of course, but they’re surviving. Nourd’s spending more time with your brother to keep him company. And distracted. I’ve been checking in on your father. Rotating with Lady Emgard and Lord Velal.” He stared into those golden eyes of hers. “I tried to kill myself once, so I know it doesn’t happen only because of one bad day. This has been building for months, hasn’t it?”

Roshil averted her eyes, then nodded.

“The scales have been spreading out. I… I knew they’d be visible eventually. I knew once that happened, people would look at me like a freak. More than they already do. I realized I couldn’t do anything with them like that. With my eyes. What happens when they’re everywhere? What happens if I turn into a dragon? I’ll never be anything more than a monster. I want to help people like my mother, but I can’t. I’ll never be like her.”

“In one year, you’re going to start your fifth-year assignment. You, me, Master Kaernin, and Aonva are going to stay at some remote town in the kingdom for a year, and you two are going to construct her staff. That’s going to happen. Then the two of you will become masters, live here, and work directly under me and Lady Emgard. That’s going to happen too. And you are going to be okay. Know how I know that?”

Roshil shook her head. Something in her eyes, some small spark, told him he was getting through to her.

“Because not once this week have Apprentice Nourd nor Grand Master Gorkle said the phrase ‘Maybe she’d be better off dead’. They’ve warmed up to you, and the two of them have more of nature’s sparkling goodness or whatever than anyone else. If they can see past your outside, then anyone can, given enough time. One day, people will accept people like us. Until then, you’ve got some good people looking out for you. And me, I’m looking out for you too.”

More tears ran down her face, but she smiled at him. He’d somehow managed to find the right thing to say.

“Thank you,” she said. “I… I’m glad you’re my master.”

He wiped a tear from her face, which was immediately replaced by another.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better apprentice.”

“I’m… I’m sorry about your husband. He sounds really nice when you talk about him.”

“He was. He would’ve loved you. Probably given that stupid grin of his and said how much he loved your eyes. His memory’s all I’ve got left of him. Just like you and your mother. We’ve got to do them proud, right?”

For the first time since he’d came in, Roshil sat up. She sniffled and wiped away her tears.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Grund smiled at her.

“Good.” He wheeled his chair around and started for the door. “I expect to see you back soon. You’ll have a few weeks of work to make up.”

“I’ll get better,” Roshil said. “I promise.”

“I know. You’ve got a few more visitors. You up for talking to another person?”

Roshil averted her eyes.

“Is… is Aonva still out there?”

“I’ll send her in.”

Grund left her room to a crowded waiting room. Aonva, Oshal, Nourd, a temporarily excused Sirshi and Kurgm, Daylarl, Ekla, Moudren, Kaernin, and the entire council, King Fohra included, watched him silently. For a moment, he was tempted to ignore them and leave, but he figured he should probably say something.

“How is she?” King Fohra asked.

“She’ll be fine.” He pointed to Aonva, then at the room. “You. Apprentice Aonva. She wants to talk to you.”

Aonva jumped in her seat and squeaked.

That’s a little adorable.

“Me?”

“You,” he said, pointing at Daylarl, “are still a mess, not a good idea to send you in. And you,” he pointed at Oshal, “who can’t see me pointing at him, will understand that she needs a friend right now.”

“Of course,” Oshal said, smiling. “If I go in there, I might cry, and I think that would upset her.”

“Glad we’re in agreement.”

“But she is okay, My Lord?” Ekla asked.

He glanced back at Roshil’s room just as Aonva entered it and closed the door.

“Yeah.” He smiled, but kept his face away from them so they wouldn’t see. “She’ll be okay.”

#VolumeFour

What Apprentice Oshal needs right now is hope, Master Gorkle had said, so why not write it about hope?

Nourd liked that word. Hope. It sounded a little funny, but it was still such a big word for one so small. Anej had asked him what it made him think of, and the two of them had worked from there. He was proud of what they’d written, and both Master Gorkle and Anej had insisted that Oshal would like it. Still, he felt like a squirrel trying to gather food, knowing predators were lurking.

“Do you know why Lord Grund asked us all to leave?” Master Gorkle asked.

They were sitting in the gardens. They were going to meet with Apprentice Oshal and Lady Durwey soon. In Nourd’s opinion, it wasn’t soon enough. He wanted to see Oshal more than anything.

“No,” Nourd replied.

“If we’d stayed there, we’d all be worried about Apprentice Roshil. He wanted us to leave so we could get our minds off her. The same thing is happening to you and Apprentice Oshal. We need to find you something to do while we wait for them to be ready.”

Nourd didn’t want to do anything else. He wanted to see Oshal. What was taking them so long? Why had they not contacted Master Gorkle yet?

The other prevailing thought in his mind was Anej’s question. Did he want to be Oshal’s mate? The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He wanted to be around Oshal all the time. To always be close to him. New thoughts had been surfacing, too. Ones he hadn’t had before about anyone.

Master Gorkle frowned at him. Hir nose twitched slightly.

“Don’t bring up what Apprentice Anej said about wanting to be Oshal’s mate. I can smell the question on you, and I know you want to talk to him about it, but now isn’t a good time. We have things to discuss later, some of which might make you uncomfortable. Please don’t say anything to him until we talk about it.”

“Why can’t I say anything? I want to be Oshal’s mate. I want him to be mine.”

“I know, but it’s more complicated than that. His sister’s in the hospital. He probably isn’t thinking straight right now, so it’s best to let him be. Please, Apprentice Nourd, do not say anything about it yet.”

Nourd still didn’t understand. There was so much he couldn’t understand anymore. Why had Roshil tried to kill herself? Why would that affect Oshal so much that Nourd couldn’t tell him how he felt? He’d always been able to tell Oshal anything, even things that other people didn’t understand. What was different about this?

“Think of it this way. If a hunter had tried to kill one of Elder Wolf’s pups, and they’d gotten away, would you be able to think of anything else?”

Nourd closed his eyes and tried to imagine it. One of the pups bleeding on the forest floor, a wound in their side. Elder Wolf wouldn’t have rested until she’d tracked down the hunter and made them pay. Nourd wouldn’t be able to talk to her about anything until she’d exacted justice.

“I think trying to talk to Elder Wolf would be bad idea.”

“Exactly. Well, Apprentice Roshil’s attempted murderer was herself. Until she can be talked down and helped to recover, Apprentice Oshal will think of little else. Asking another person to be your mate is a big deal among humans. You may also have certain expectations we’ll need to discuss later. It’s complicated, as is anything that involves more than one person’s emotions, so please, say nothing about it to Apprentice Oshal until after things have calmed down.”

Nourd didn’t like it, but he had to agree with Master Gorkle. The world didn’t make sense to him, but it made sense to hir, so Nourd had to listen.

“They’re on their way.”

Nourd couldn’t sit still until Oshal arrived. He felt like a squirrel looking out for predators, but the predator wasn’t there to kill him, it was there to help him. Emotions were weird.

The moment Oshal entered their area of the gardens, Nourd could smell the misery on him. Oshal’s usual cheerful demeanor was missing, and it brought Nourd down too.

“Hello, Nourd. Grand Master Gorkle.”

Oshal bowed to Master Gorkle, then sat down next to Nourd.

“How are you feeling?” Master Gorkle asked.

“I’m okay,” Oshal said, smiling. It wasn’t his usual smile; it was too small, and it didn’t last long. “Still… processing, I guess. I’m sorry I’m being so down.”

“I am happy to see you!” Nourd said, hoping something would cheer up Oshal.

“I’m happy to see you too,” Oshal said, although his body was giving off a not-happy smell.

“I wrote something,” Nourd said, taking out the piece of paper he and Anej had worked on. “Apprentice Anej helped.”

“How is she doing? Is she back?” Oshal asked.

“They are,” Master Gorkle said. “Their ceremony to move to master priest is later today.”

“That’s good.”

“May I please read what I wrote?” Nourd asked.

“Okay.”

While Nourd had memorized most of the poem, the paper still didn’t hurt to have. He began to read.

You cannot always see tomorrow’s light Sometimes, it is hidden away from sight Although this journey is your own You do not have to walk in the dark alone We can walk together, and you will see That your fear and uncertainty Are smaller than they seem in the dawn’s sparkling gleam

Oshal stared at him with his sightless face. The silence stretched on, and it started to worry Nourd. Had he done something wrong?

“Apprentice Anej helped me with the words, especially the words that rhyme. Poetry is hard sometimes.”

“I love it,” Oshal said. “You… you wrote all of that for me?”

“I cannot understand how scared you are, or what your sister did, but I do not want you to lose hope. I am certain that she will be okay. Because you are my favorite human, and I never want bad things to happen to you again.”

Tears streamed down Oshal’s face, but he didn’t smell any more sad than he had when he’d arrived. Instead, he smelled full of joy, happier than Nourd had ever smelled or seen him before.

“Thank you so much. Is it okay if I hug you?”

“Yes! Always!”

Nourd leaned in and put his arms around Oshal. He felt like a bird, soaring through the sky. He wanted to stay like that with Oshal forever, but eventually they had to pull apart.

“Can we sit and talk for a while?” Oshal asked.

“Of course! I enjoy talking to you!”

Oshal wiped tears from his face. “Me too.”

Nourd was thrilled. He hadn’t said anything wrong. He’d made things better. He’d made Oshal better. He still wanted to be Oshal’s mate, but Master Gorkle was right. That could wait. In that moment, he was happy enough to be with Oshal, smiling and happy.

#VolumeFour #KnowingWhatToSay

“Welcome back to the Temple of Words, Grand Master Gorkle, Apprentice Nourd,” Master Rindumna greeted them at the door. “May Yvgrengher share His infinite knowledge and wisdom with you.”

Nourd didn’t know why Master Rindumna always said that. He’d asked Master Gorkle about it before, but zie had said it was something called a formality. As far as Nourd understood, it was related to manners.

“I would like to write a poem to make my friend happy again,” Nourd said. “I do not think I can do it alone.”

“Well, if it’s poetry you want, you have come to the right place,” Master Rindumna said. “And I know just who can help you.”

Before he saw her, Nourd smelled Apprentice Anej. She looked older, smelled a little different, but was still much the same as she’d been almost a year ago when he’d seen her last. She hadn’t been at the temple for a while, though, and he didn’t know why.

“Apprentice Anej just returned from her fifth-year assignment,” Master Rindumna said as Apprentice Anej bowed. “I’m sure she would be happy to help.”

“I’m always thrilled to help another with their quest for art,” Apprentice Anej said.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” Master Rindumna bowed to them, then walked away.

“They,” Anej mumbled.

“What?” Nourd said.

“I… um… prefer ‘they’ and ‘them’,” Anej said, a little louder. “I… I learned a lot about myself when I was away.”

“Congratulations,” Master Gorkle said. “It feels freeing to understand yourself better, doesn’t it?”

Anej nodded, while still avoiding eye contact.

“I do not understand,” Nourd said.

“Apprentice Anej is like me,” Master Gorkle said. “They don’t identify as either male or female.”

“Oh. Why do they use different words than you do?”

“That’s their choice,” Master Gorkle said. “I chose ‘zie’ and ‘hir’ because I thought ‘they’ and ‘them’ were confusing at first. I didn’t know anyone else like me at the time, but I found reference to those words as gender-neutral pronouns, so I chose them.” Zie smiled at Apprentice Anej. “After you settle into it, you’ll get better at speaking up about it. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Grand Master. Now, Apprentice Nourd, with what do you require assistance?” They glanced around. “Is Apprentice Oshal here?”

“That’s the problem,” Master Gorkle said. “Apprentice Oshal is having some family trouble, and it’s making him upset. Apprentice Nourd wants to write a poem to help him feel better.”

“May I ask what sort of family trouble?”

“I’m afraid I can’t give specifics. I can only say that a member of his family is sick, and it’s upsetting him.”

Apprentice Anej led them through the temple to a smaller room. This one had a table with paper and pens, which, despite their appearance, Nourd had learned were not a type of weapon. If you dipped one in a pool of crushed up plants soaked in water, then spread it over paper, you made words.

“Have you been writing poetry since I’ve been gone?” Apprentice Anej asked.

“Not a lot,” Nourd said. “Human words are complicated.”

“Well, let’s start with the basics, then. How do you want him to feel?”

That was easy. Nourd wanted Oshal to stop being sad, to smile again. He knew the word for that.

“Happy.”

“That’s a good start.” Apprentice Anej started writing something down. Nourd was getting better at reading, but with Anej across from him, he couldn’t tell what they were writing. “Can you describe it a little more? What does happiness mean to you?”

For a long time, happiness had been being in the forest. Nourd had been allowed on the outskirts in the past few years, but hadn’t been allowed to venture back inside yet. Before, happiness had been running with the wolves, or swinging through the trees with the monkeys. But now, happiness was different. Happiness was being with Oshal.

“It means being with Oshal. Smiling and laughing together. I do not know how to make him laugh, but he does when we’re together. And he makes me laugh, but I do not know why. I always want to be with him, to always smile and laugh together. And eat chocolate. I like chocolate.”

Anej stared at him for a moment. He could smell confusion and uncertainty from them. They avoided eye contact, then started mumbling something that even Nourd’s keen ears couldn’t pick up.

“Did you say something?” Nourd asked.

“I said… do you… like Apprentice Oshal?”

“Of course. He is my friend. He is my best friend.”

“Um… no, I mean… I don’t know how to say this so you’ll understand.”

“Say what?”

Nourd didn’t like this. Usually, he could understand Apprentice Anej, unlike most of the other priests at the Temple of Words. He liked it there, but they all used words he’d never heard before, and it confused him.

“I believe what Apprentice Anej is trying to ask is if you want to be Apprentice Oshal’s mate,” Master Gorkle said.

“Yes, that. That’s what I meant.”

Nourd frowned. He hadn’t thought about it before. All he knew was that he liked spending time with Oshal more than anyone else. Oshal said that was what being best friends was like. But Nourd always wanted to spend time with Oshal.

“I do not know.”

“That’s fine,” Master Gorkle said. “You two work on your poem for now. We can talk about that later.”

That was fine with Nourd. He wasn’t sure about it. Was he even allowed to have a male as a mate? He had some recollection of Roshil wanting a female mate, but he hadn’t given it any thought.

As Anej helped him write a poem for Oshal, that same thought danced around his head. He wasn’t sure, but he liked the idea. He would have to ask another time.

#VolumeFour #KnowingWhatToSay

Fear and panic arose from Oshal and Daylarl. Oshal moved closer to his father and held onto him. His whole body trembled as tears fell down his face.

“She wouldn’t,” he muttered. “Not Roshil. She wouldn’t.”

Nourd had a hundred questions, but following Master Gorkle’s orders, he stayed silent. Why did Roshil try to kill herself? Why would anyone do that? The whole purpose of life was to keep living it.

“Why?” Daylarl asked. “But… why wouldn’t she say something?”

“I think she woke up and found them,” Lord Grund said. “But something like this doesn’t happen overnight. She’s been holding onto these feelings for a long time now. Probably actively hiding them from everyone. Me… all of us.”

“I’m… I’m glad you caught it in time,” Daylarl said.

“A while back, an apprentice committed suicide,” Lord Grund said. “We added a feature to the identification orbs that notify an apprentice’s master if that apprentice is in fatal danger. At least we know it works now.”

“She…” Daylarl’s voice trailed off.

“She tried to slit her wrists,” Lord Grund said. He nodded toward Aonva. “Apprentice Aonva was with me when I got the notification. She was worried that Roshil hadn’t met her in the library this morning. We got to her immediately, stopped the bleeding, and brought her here.”

Aonva’s head was buried in her knees. She rocked gently back and forth, reeking of fear.

“She wasn’t at breakfast,” Oshal mumbled, turning his head to Aonva for a moment. “Neither of them were. I should’ve known something was wrong. I should’ve checked their threads. I should’ve been there.”

“Apprentice Oshal,” Lady Durwey said, resting her hand on his shoulder, “your sister’s here now. They’ll keep her safe until she can recover.”

“What… what happens now?” Daylarl asked. “Can I see her?”

Lord Grund shook his head. “Not yet. Until they’ve evaluated her, she’s not allowed any visitors, myself included. There’s no telling what’s going to set her off. She’s not allowed any sharp objects or anything she could use as a rope. She’s safe. Nothing’s going to happen to her.”

Once again, Nourd wanted to ask why she’d do that to herself. He wished he were better at writing so he could make notes of all of his questions. None of this made sense to him.

What about Oshal? Nourd wanted to make him happy again, but he didn’t know how. Oshal was always happy when they were together. Nourd had never had to do anything to make him happy, so he had no idea how to do it now.

Nourd remembered a time he’d found some rabbits ripped apart by humans in the forest. His friends. He’d cried curled up against Elder Wolf for a long time after that. Looking at Oshal now, that’s what he was doing with Daylarl. But it wasn’t helping. How long had Nourd been with Elder Wolf until he’d calmed down? How long until Oshal was happy again?

“There’s nothing we can do now except wait,” Lord Grund said. “When they tell me something, I’ll tell you. Until then, staying here’s not doing us any good.”

“Are you sure?” Daylarl asked. “What if—”

“Positive. Go home. Read a book. Rob a store. Whatever you have to do to get your mind off this. Trust me, dwelling on it will only make it worse.”

Nourd frowned at Lord Grund, then at Daylarl. Why would Daylarl rob a store? Master Gorkle had been clear about not taking things that didn’t belong to him. Did that not apply to everyone? Why were the rules so confusing?

“I don’t want to leave her,” Oshal said. “Maybe—”

“Maybe you make yourself sick thinking about it, then when she gets out and finds out, she feels even worse about herself,” Lord Grund said. “Go. Home.”

“Lord Grund is right,” Lady Durwey said. “Apprentice Oshal, take the day off. I’ll talk with your teachers and let them know you won’t be there.” She placed one hand on Oshal, and another on Daylarl. “I’ll walk you two out.”

Nourd could smell it on both of them that they wanted to stay, but they allowed themselves to be led out of the room.

“Bye, Nourd,” Oshal called before they left.

“Bye.” Nourd wanted to say something else, but what could he say? He hardly knew the language, and what he did know wasn’t enough for this. There was still so much he didn’t understand.

“You too, Apprentice Aonva,” Lord Grund said.

“I’m staying,” she said, her voice muffled by her legs. “I’m not leaving Roshil’s side.”

Lord Grund whispered something into his hand, then blew ashes out of it. The spell made Nourd shudder. Magic still felt wrong to him.

“Fine.” Lord Grund wheeled himself over to rest next to Aonva. He folded his arms. “We’ll wait together.”

“We should go,” Master Gorkle said. “Lord Grund, thank you for notifying us.”

“Yup.”

Nourd bowed to Lord Grund, then followed Master Gorkle out of the room. They passed Lady Emgard on their way out, who insisted she didn’t need help.

“Leave me alone,” she said, waving away Master Gorkle’s attempts at helping her. “I’m old, not helpless.”

After they left to the hospital, they returned to the gardens. As per Master Gorkle’s request, they walked in silence. Only when they reached the gardens did zie speak.

“Lord Grund was joking about Daylarl robbing a store,” zie said.

Humor was the one part of human interaction Nourd didn’t think he’d ever understand. He liked it when Oshal laughed, but he didn’t know how to make anyone laugh.

“Why would someone do that?” Nourd asked. “Why would Apprentice Roshil try to kill herself?”

“Sometimes, people feel hopeless. They don’t see a reason to keep living. Perhaps she believes that the scales on her will make her life pointless. I don’t know her that well, so I can’t say for sure. But when that happens, when someone is so depressed, so sad, that life isn’t worth living, they try to end it. They believe that death will be better than living.”

Nourd couldn’t imagine feeling like that. Was he supposed to? He’d been getting better at empathy, but this was a lot to imagine. Maybe if the entire forest burned down, he’d be that sad. But that would never happen.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“You don’t have to. This is something that everyone who has never felt that way has trouble understanding. Right now, it’s important that we be supportive of her friends and family. Apprentice Oshal will be different for some time, but I’m sure the cheerful person we both know will be back before long.”

Nourd already missed the happy Oshal. He wanted to help somehow. What could he do?

“How can I help Oshal?”

“For the next few days, give him some space. Perhaps take that time to think of something to say.”

Nourd never knew what to say, but it had never mattered to Oshal. Was it different now? What if Oshal didn’t like him anymore? What if Oshal was never happy again?

“Why don’t we visit the Temple of Words tomorrow?” Master Gorkle said. “I’m sure it would make Apprentice Oshal happy if you wrote a poem for him.”

Nourd liked that idea. He thought he was getting good at poetry. It still didn’t entirely make sense to him beyond “use words to express your feelings”, but he liked that. Even having been in the court for a few years, it was all still so confusing. Poetry had not only helped him handle it (along with Master Gorkle and Oshal, of course), but it’d been helping him learn the language, even if he still needed someone to write it for him.

“I like that idea.”

“I thought so. I think the rest of the day would be well spent listening to nature. I think we could both use a rest.”

#VolumeFour #KnowingWhatToSay

Nourd sat in the gardens with his eyes closed, listening to Master Gorkle’s voice. He could hear everything, and began to get a sense for how everything fit together. The world was unfolding around him as Master Gorkle spoke.

“Every creature, from humans to the smallest of insects, has a part to play in nature. No matter how trivial, no matter how small, we all have a purpose. Whether it be providing food for something larger, or helping the flowers to grow and blossom, we are all—”

Nourd waited for Master Gorkle to continue, but zie didn’t.

“We have to go,” zie said. “Something’s happened.”

Nourd opened his eyes and saw Master Gorkle offering hir hand to Nourd. He allowed himself to be helped to his feet, then Master Gorkle led the way out of the gardens.

“What happened?” Nourd asked. He could smell something unfamiliar from Master Gorkle. Was zie worried? It smelled a little like concern, but it was hard to tell.

“Just follow me.”

Nourd did as he was told, even as Master Gorkle led them through one of the magic doors in the castle. He hated them. They made his skin feel funny, and his stomach felt like it was trying to escape his body. He groaned as they stepped through into a place Nourd had never been.

People rushed about wearing the same clothes, all holding stacks of paper or books. The air was full of smells. Nearby, people sat on chairs, all of them smelling of fear or worry. Was no one happy in this place? Why had Master Gorkle brought them somewhere like this?

“Where are we?”

“This is the hospital,” Gorkle said, walking up to a large desk with another person in the same sort of clothes as everyone else. “I’m looking for Lord Grund.”

“His Lord High Artisan is in the third floor waiting room,” the person behind the desk said. “You may go up.”

Master Gorkle beckoned to Nourd.

“Stay with me. Do not wander off.”

“Yes, Master Gorkle.”

They climbed a flight of stairs, then another, and another. They walked through a door, then down a corridor. Once again, there were people with the same clothes all walking around.

“Why do they all wear the same clothes?”

“Their uniforms show that they work here. So people know who to ask if they have questions or a problem.”

Nourd watched one of them walk by. Maybe they knew what they were doing at the hospital.

“Do we not have questions?”

“We do, but I know who has the answers, and there’s no need to bother the staff here.”

They reached another room with chairs, but this one only had two occupants.

Lord Grund sat drumming his fingers on his chair, glowering at nothing in particular. Aonva sat next to him, hugging her legs to her chest, her face buried in her knees. She reeked of sadness, pain, and fear, like an animal that was about to die. Was she dying? Was that why they were there?

“Grund.”

“Gorkle.”

“What are we doing here?”

Lord Grund waved his hand at Master Gorkle, and zie followed him away from the two apprentices.

“Hello, Aonva.”

“Hi,” she said without looking up at him.

Before Nourd could start asking, he caught a familiar smell on the air. A grin spread over his face and excitement took hold of him. The wonderful sound of Oshal’s walking stick echoed down the corridor. Not long after, Oshal and Lady Durwey walked in. When Lady Durwey spotted Lord Grund and Master Gorkle, she walked over to them.

“Nourd.” A smile spread over Oshal’s face. “It’s good to be with you.”

“I too enjoy your company.” Nourd looked around. “Is Sirshi coming too? They always gather all of us.”

“Sirshi’s on her fifth-year assignment,” Aonva said, still not looking up. “In order to serve the court, we must know the court, so we spend our fifth years off in another town.” Her voice cracked up. “Mages are supposed to partner up with artisans so we can… so we can… so we can construct a… a staff. And… and…”

Anything else was lost to Aonva’s sobs. Oshal walked over and sat down next to her.

“It’s alright. My sister’s looking forward to hers. She’s always happiest when she’s with you.”

Aonva shook her head, muttering something Nourd couldn’t understand.

Another familiar smell reached him, and Nourd saw Oshal’s father walk into the room in a panic.

“Oshal!” He rushed over and threw his arms around Oshal. “What’s going on? Our Lord High Artisan contacted me, said to come here right away.” He looked around. “Which ward is this?”

Aonva sobbed something none of them understood.

Daylarl crouched in front of Aonva. “Aonva, what’s going on? Where’s Roshil?”

“Room 306,” Lord Grund said as he, Master Gorkle, and Lady Durwey returned to the waiting room. “This is the mental health ward.”

Another round of sobs came from Aonva, drowning out anything she might’ve tried saying.

“Why is my daughter in the mental health ward?” Daylarl stood up and faced Lord Grund. “My Lord, what’s going on?”

Lord Grund folded his arms. He glanced around, then came in closer.

“What I’m about to tell you does not leave this room. Only the council knows about this. You do not tell anyone. If I find out one of you squealed, I will personally have you exiled from the court. Is that understood?”

Nourd didn’t understand the first part of it, but he understood the phrase “You do not tell anyone” perfectly. He could smell how serious Lord Grund was. Exile meant never returning to the forest, never seeing Oshal again. Nourd nodded his understanding.

“The curse is getting worse,” Lord Grund said. “It’s not just her eyes and her hair. Apprentice Roshil has scales growing on her.”

Before Nourd could start asking questions, he heard Master Gorkle speaking softly.

“Don’t speak. Don’t ask questions yet. Just listen.”

“But she’s okay,” Oshal said. “They’re not hurting her, are they?”

“Not as far as I know,” Lord Grund said. “But recently, not that she’s said when, they appeared on her face. So far as I can tell, when she realized that…” Concern and uncertainty wafted to him, neither of which Nourd had ever smelled on Lord Grund.

“Apprentice Roshil tried to kill herself.”

#VolumeFour #KnowingWhatToSay

“Oshal, long time no see,” Kurgm said. “Pull up a chair.”

Oshal sat down. He heard another pair of footsteps creeping closer to the table, and a thread he didn’t recognize got closer.

“Back!” Sirshi snapped.

Her outburst was accompanied by the sound of one hand hitting another.

“What was that?” Oshal asked.

“People keep trying to mess with our cards,” Sirshi said. He sensed her glare on the culprit. “It’s my job to get them to leave us alone!” She emphasized the last three words.

“She’s good at it, too,” Kurgm said. “How’re you doing? Still figuring out what you like to do?”

“Yes. I’ll be fine, though. I wanted to spend time with my friends.”

“Where there’s so much for you to do,” Roshil muttered.

“It’s fine,” Aonva said. “Really, Oshal, if you want to stay here, you can.”

“I’m happy for your company,” Kurgm said.

“I’m just here because I can get away with hitting people,” Sirshi said.

The four of them continued their work, while Oshal sat and listened to them mutter to themselves.

“Need more books,” Aonva said. Something slid over the table. “These ones.”

“On it,” Kurgm said. “Oshal, you want to come?”

“Sure.”

Oshal followed Kurgm through the library.

“It’s great having someone else here for this,” Kurgm said. “I’m not gonna make you hold books or anything, but I like the company.”

“I’m glad I can help.”

Kurgm looked through the shelves, then started humming to himself.

Oshal smiled, then started humming with him.

Kurgm stopped.

“You know that song?”

“Whenever we were near Torpn, my father would sneak me and Roshil into the theater. Or even near it, if we could. It was nice to hear the music. Everyone was so happy to be there, it was so warm and inviting.”

Kurgm grabbed the books off the shelf and started walking back to the table.

“Our Lord True Knight has this friend, Yindar. I think they’re in a relationship, but he says it’s complicated. Anyway, she’s a violinist that travels all over the kingdom performing. I go see her play whenever she’s here. You should come next time.”

Oshal smiled. That sounded like fun. He wondered if Nourd would want to go. Nourd loved poetry, and singing was like poems with music.

“I’d like that.”

They sat down at the table.

“I think I found something Oshal likes,” Kurgm said. “Music.”

“Like those boring concerts our father used to drag us to see?” Roshil asked.

Their father enjoyed seeing performers. He said it was like lying, but in a good way. Roshil’s disinterest had not changed.

“I enjoyed them,” Oshal said. “Even that one time we got thrown out.”

“Only because someone tripped and forgot the escape route father told us,” Roshil said, her giggles betraying her.

“But you came back for me,” Oshal said, smiling.

“Yeah, because I’m a pushover.” She playfully shoved him, still giggling.

“There are concerts around here all the time,” Aonva said. “I’ve never been to one, but I’ve read about them. Skwyr Court’s nothing like Torpn, but there are still concerts here.”

“Torpn’s not that great,” Sirshi said.

There was an edge to her voice that betrayed an underlying eruption waiting to happen. Oshal had always liked going to Torpn, but if it was going to set off Sirshi, then he decided that it was best to avoid the topic.

“Master Grund and I worked on the stage during the cold season,” Roshil said. “Because while they won’t make the performers play in the cold, making us build in it’s not a problem.”

“Maybe we could all go together next time they play,” Kurgm said. “All six of us.”

Roshil was the first to react to Kurgm’s suggestion. A gray mote of boredom clouded around her, but some sparks went off too. She had ideas that were good enough that she didn’t mind going to a “boring concert”.

Aonva’s immediate reaction was panic, as usual. It was probably the thought of being around so many people. She closed herself off inside a cave and started pushing a rock in front of it.

“It’s okay if not everyone wants to go,” Oshal said. “I’m fine if it’s just me and Kurgm.”

“That’s a lot of people,” Aonva said.

“Don’t worry,” Roshil said. “If it gets too bad, I’ll make a distraction so you can escape.”

“Just make sure you remember the escape route,” Oshal said. “If you forget it, father and Roshil will never let you live it down.”

Aonva laughed a little.

“I guess I could try it.”

“Well, that’s four,” Kurgm said.

“I’m sure Nourd will want to try it,” Oshal said, hoping it wasn’t just wishful thinking. Nourd was his best friend, after all, and he always hoped that Nourd would be open to the things he liked. Instead of just being “hanging out with friends” (a phrase he’d had to explain did not involve bats), now it could be “listen to music”.

“Sirshi?” Kurgm said. “Care to make it six?”

Sirshi drummed her fingers on the table.

“It’s okay if you don’t,” Oshal said. “I wouldn’t want to make you do something you didn’t want to do.”

“Fine,” she said. “Next time there’s something going on, I’ll go. I mean, if everyone else is. Someone’s got to look out for you. You’re all too nice.”

Oshal smiled. This was what he wanted. To have fun with his friends. He’d forgotten about the concerts, about the music. It wasn’t always easy to remember his old life, especially knowing that it was all gone. But he had a piece of it back. He didn’t need to have a lot of friends. Just five good ones.

“Glad that’s settled,” Roshil said. “As Master Grund would say,” she cleared her throat and grumbled, “Now everyone get back to work.”

Everyone laughed, even Aonva, if a little hesitantly. In that moment, that perfect moment, Oshal knew that this is what he wanted to do.

#VolumeFour #SpendingTimeWithFriends

He had history with Master Rondin that day. She lectured him on the formation of the court. He’d never had a normal school experience, as he had to have notes read to him, but at least he still got to learn. He wasn’t sure what he’d have done otherwise.

“You’re doing well,” she said as they were finishing up. “We’ll meet next week to review. Do you still have study partners?”

Oshal stood up to leave, then thought about the question. He wasn’t sure anymore.

“I think so. I can always ask Apprentice Aonva for help. Or Apprentice Kurgm.”

He sensed Master Rondin smiling.

“I’m sure Apprentice Aonva would be happy to lecture you on all of this. Until next week, Apprentice Oshal.”

He bowed to her.

“Until then.”

He started out of the classroom, then stopped.

“Master Rondin, what do you like to do for fun?”

“At the end of a long day, I like to sit alone and read. Why do you ask?”

Oshal didn’t want to involve her in his search to find out what it was he liked doing when on his own.

“Just wondering.”

He knew she hadn’t bought it, but she wasn’t going to push it either.

“Take care.”

He walked alone to the gardens, hoping to find Nourd. While he did, he sensed his friend in the Druid’s garden, where he wasn’t allowed. A little let down, Oshal turned to leave for the library. Hopefully his sister and Aonva would be there again.

“Oshal?”

Oshal smiled and turned to the voice.

“Hello, Kurgm. How are you?”

“Good. Enjoying this nice, warm season day. What about you? Looking for Nourd?”

“I was, but he’s busy.”

“Well, I’m free. I’m not doing much, just watching the bees, mostly. My mother used to say…”

Light and dark dueled inside him, both vying for control. There was something else, just beneath the surface, something trying to break free. While weavers couldn’t hear peoples’ thoughts, Oshal could sense something inside Kurgm. He’d asked Master Ekla once, but she’d told him to leave it, so he tried to ignore it.

“What did she say?”

“She’d say that bees always worked together to help one another, and that we should learn from them. They work hard for the hive, never for themselves.”

Kurgm led him to a bench and they both sat down.

Oshal felt the sun on his face and smiled. He missed the days of seeing a bright blue sky overhead. He could still hear the birds chirping and children playing, so he could imagine it. It had to be good enough.

“Your mother sounds like a nice person.”

“She was.”

They sat in silence for a time, while they listened to the bees drone by.

“Once, me and some friends found a bee’s nest,” Oshal said. “One friend dared another to touch it, and it angered them. They went after all of us, and a lot of my friends got stung. But Roshil was there too. She tackled me to the ground and covered me. She got stung all over, but I barely got stung at all.”

Oshal eased into the memory. Despite wanting to run away, he’d felt safe with his sister watching out for him. He’d always imagined returning the favor, but he could only do so much for her.

“As much as your sister gets on my nerves, seeing you two together makes me wish I’d had siblings. All I had growing up was the kitchen staff, and sometimes Master Ekla.”

“She’s a good big sister, too.”

Kurgm laughed. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

Despite his answer, Oshal sensed that Kurgm agreed with him. There was conflict in him once again, between raging fire and distant ice, but there was light there too.

Oshal figured Kurgm wanted a different subject, so he asked Kurgm the question that’d been on his mind all day.

“What do you like to do for fun?”

“With all five minutes of free time I have on a normal day? I’m doing it now. Just sitting and watching the gardens. I would’ve been doing this with Demndun, but… we’re not together anymore.”

A shroud of darkness filled Kurgm’s mind. Oshal felt him curl up inside it. On the outside, Kurgm put on a veil of false happiness, but Oshal could still see through it to the misery underneath.

“I’m sorry,” Oshal said.

“It’s fine. I’ll be fine, it’s just… I thought me and her were going somewhere, but she was different than I thought. I guess people change.”

People did change. What happened when his sister changed? What if she didn’t want to spend time with him anymore? What happened when they were separated, assigned to different cities in the kingdom? What happened when he was moved to a different city and had to make new friends? What would he do?

“I don’t know what I like to do,” Oshal said. “I always do what everyone else does, but it’s not always what I want to do.”

“Then don’t. If I’ve learned anything these past few months, it’s that you shouldn’t do what everyone else wants unless it’s what you want.”

“What if I don’t know what I want?”

“I think you’ll find out eventually. You can get along with anyone. Just keep trying new things until you find something you like to do. I never got to do much of anything growing up. I barely left the castle. Now I can’t wait to leave for my assignment.” He paused for a moment. “You’ll always have Roshil, right?”

He was right. No matter how much Roshil changed, she’d always be his sister. They’d always be family.

“Thank you, Kurgm. I feel a lot better now.”

A burst of warmth erupted in Kurgm’s mind.

“Ha! One day, I’ll get the hang of being a knight!”

Oshal laughed with him.

“I know you will.”

#VolumeFour #SpendingTimeWithFriends

“What are you doing?” Oshal asked. His first guess was studying, but he heard an awful lot of scribbling of pens.

“Aonva had a brilliant idea,” Roshil said. He could hear the grin in her voice. “We started working on it last month. Or maybe the month before. Not sure.”

“It’s not that amazing,” Aonva said. “I just thought that it seems like only the librarian and I know where to find anything in the library. So what if there were a way for people to find books based on author or topic? At first, we tried to devise a spell, something where someone would say a topic, and they’d get a list of the books of that topic and where to find them.”

“The books are already categorized,” Roshil said. “But ‘magic’ or ‘dragons’ are big subjects, apparently. I guess people can’t just say ‘avoid’ for dragons.”

“They can, but that doesn’t explain why you should avoid dragons. But if someone wanted to know about the different dragons we know about, or more about magic, or the history of the court, then they don’t know exactly which books to check. They just know that there are books on the subject. Maybe they want a particular part of the court’s history, or want to know about the War of Torpn.”

“Don’t we learn all of that in class?” Oshal asked. He figured they’d already thought about it, but knowing the two of them, it was entirely possible that they’d overthought the solution.

“Sure, but even Aonva can’t remember everything.”

“I’m not… It’s not like I can remember everything, of course. No one can remember everything. I’m only organized, that’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

Flowers bloomed in Aonva’s mind, filling it with light and color. She rolled among them, smiling.

“But this is! She had a great idea. When we couldn’t figure out a spell, we thought ‘what if we just had cards that said what books covered which topics?’ Master Juoura said she liked the idea, so she gave us a bunch of cards to fill out. I’m working on a cabinet to put them all in. Each drawer will be labeled with the broad topic, like ‘magic’ or ‘history’, then each card will give more specifics.”

“We’re not sure about how to organize the books, though,” Aonva said. “There will probably have to be something more to it, like some sort of system for numbering them. For now, it might be good enough to organize them by author.”

Oshal listened to the sound of both girls scribbling information about every book onto cards. He wondered where the giant stack of completed cards was. Knowing both girls, Roshil’s cards were scattered in an unorganized mess that she’d fix up later, and Aonva’s were stacked neatly beside her, where she’d be terrified she was going to knock them over.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

The scribbling stopped. He felt both girls sidling around something big, something they didn’t want to touch.

“I don’t know if there’s anything you can do,” Aonva said. “You could… well, actually… um…”

“I can keep you company,” Oshal suggested.

“Okay!” Roshil said, in the tone she used to try being nice to Oshal. She was too enthusiastic, and he could sense right through it.

Oshal sat and listened to the girls filling out cards. He had little concept of exactly how big the library was, so he didn’t know how long this project would take them. They must’ve finished planning it out recently, otherwise he would’ve heard about it before this. Although, the more he thought about it, they had been conspiratorial at dinner lately. Maybe they were working on it then. Either way, most of the time they’d spent on it must’ve been planning out how it would work.

“How many cards do you have left?” he asked.

“It’s less about how many cards we have,” Aonva said, “and more about how many books we have. Every time we run into a new topic, we make a new card.”

“But we’re not as worried about the topics as we are about the books,” Roshil said. “I’m working on all the books I know, which is a lot of the engineering books.”

“I’m working on everything else,” Aonva said. “We’ve got books about the temples set aside, though, because Sirshi wanted to work on those. Kurgm’s here sometimes, too.”

“He’s our book fetcher. We tell him to bring us books, and he does. It’s very helpful.”

“That’s good. How much of the library have you filed?”

“Don’t know,” Roshil said, at the same time that Aonva said, “About a third of it.”

“Do you know how much longer it’s going to take?”

“We’re not finishing today,” Roshil said. “If you’re bored—”

“I’m not. I was just asking.”

“Probably another month,” Aonva said. “There are still a lot of books, and it’s slower when we don’t have someone fetching books for us.”

Oshal opened his mouth to volunteer, but realized he didn’t know where any of the books were. They couldn’t easily direct him to find them, and even then, it’d probably be faster if one of them did it.

“If you want to leave, you can,” Roshil said. “Don’t feel you need to keep us company.”

“I like being with friends.”

“What happened to your other friends?” Roshil asked.

The truth was, it’d been getting to Oshal that his other friends were so mean to his sister and Nourd. After Demndun’s group had upset Kurgm so much, he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend time with them anymore. He liked it when everyone got along, and his sister was never mean to anyone (unless they actively went after he or Aonva). Aonva was never mean to anyone, Sirshi only snapped when people annoyed her (which was often, but she didn’t hold grudges for long), and Kurgm tried to be nice to everyone.

“I decided it was more important to have good friends than a lot of friends.”

For a moment, he was sure his sister knew he didn’t entirely believe that. It was hard getting over not having a lot of friends anymore.

His sister stopped scribbling. He could sense her frowning, the frown that always accompanied a problem she was trying to solve.

“Oshal, what do you like to do?”

That was the second time that day someone had asked that, so Oshal was prepared with an answer.

“I like spending time with friends.”

“Then what? Just sitting around and talking? I’ve known you your whole life, and I don’t know what you like to do other than talk to people.”

Oshal didn’t have an answer to that. He liked doing what other people wanted to do, even when he couldn’t always participate. But then, what did he like to do? He wasn’t sure anyone had even asked him that before.

“I don’t know,” he said, as much to himself as to his sister.

“Something to think about while I get more books,” Roshil said, getting out of her seat.

He thought about that the rest of the time in the library. He really didn’t know.

#VolumeFour #SpendingTimeWithFriends

Oshal reveled in the chance to talk about the old days. Neither his sister nor his father would talk about it, and it had all built up inside him. He couldn’t remember what Nourd’s question had been, but he wasn’t complaining about Oshal’s tangent, so Oshal wasn’t going to question it.

“I miss my family sometimes,” Nourd said. “Do you miss yours?”

“All the time. I had so many friends back then, before… everything changed.”

Emotion drained out of him, leaving him empty. The worst part about not being able to see anymore was having those moments be his last memories. The last thing he ever saw was fire and death, and it’d always be like that.

Oshal forced himself to smile. If Roshil had done that, he would’ve called her out on it, but he wanted to assure his friend he was okay.

“But I’m making new friends now. Like you.”

He knew Nourd could see through him (or smell through him, rather), but Nourd was learning not to bother him about it. He liked how much Nourd had grown over the past few years. His friend was changing into someone Oshal liked being around more than anyone. Someone with whom he could be honest. Usually.

“Why do you not talk about it?” Nourd asked.

“I… It’s too painful to talk about. I lost everyone except my father and sister that day.” Oshal shook his head. “I don’t like thinking about it.”

“I understand. I would not like it if the forest were burned down either.”

Oshal smiled and nudged his friend. “You’re getting good at that.”

Nourd laughed his loud, barking laugh, which always made Oshal start laughing with him.

“I am glad. It has not been easy to learn, but I am happy that you are happy.”

Grand Master Gorkle cleared hir throat.

“I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but Apprentice Nourd and I have things to do.”

Oshal stood up and sensed for Master Durwey. Sure enough, she wasn’t far. It’d taken time, but she’d gotten into the habit of allowing just enough of her thread to be felt for him to find her.

“I enjoyed spending time with you.”

“Me too.”

Oshal bowed to Grand Master Gorkle, then he and Lady Durwey left the gardens. He was thrilled to have spent time with Nourd, and felt better about having spoken about his life before the court. He liked Nourd a lot, and wondered to himself when they’d get to spend time together again.

“Where are we going?”

“Only back to the castle. We have nothing else we need to do today. You’ve been progressing well, Apprentice Oshal. I think you’ve earned a day to yourself. I’ll bring you wherever you’d like to go.”

Oshal ran down the list of his friends. He decided he’d try the Temple of the Rising Sun first. Kurgm hung out there sometimes, and it’d be nice to see him before he left for his fifth-year assignment in a few days. If he wasn’t there, maybe Sirshi could spend some time with him.

“I’d like to go to the Temple of the Rising Sun. I think I can get there on my own.”

“I can take you, it’s not a problem.”

Oshal made sure she could tell it was a problem for him.

“Apprentice Oshal, I understand you don’t like people helping you get around, but wouldn’t it be faster if I helped you?”

Oshal scowled. It was hard to express himself when he couldn’t see how his face looked and when he didn’t have eyes anymore.

“I guess.”

“And then you’d have more time to spend with your friends, right?”

It was like trying to argue with Aonva. She could lay out a flawless argument as to why she was right, leaving Oshal unable to find anything to say. It was worse when Roshil was there, because Roshil immediately accepted everything Aonva said as fact, and therefore argued in her favor.

“You’re right.”

“Thank you for not arguing with me.”

With Master Durwey’s help, Oshal made his way to the Temple of the Rising Sun.

“I know you don’t need my help,” Master Durwey said on the way. “I’m only offering it because you can get there better with my help. Do you understand?”

Oshal nodded. He’d gotten so used to people seeing him as helpless that it was hard to remember that not everyone did. Roshil didn’t; she’d always been protective of him. Aonva always asked in a panic, as she did with everyone and everything else, Sirshi treated him like everyone else, Nourd assumed he could get around just fine, and Kurgm always forgot to ask if he needed help. He liked his friends.

They arrived at the Temple of the Rising Sun, but Kurgm wasn’t there. Oshal only reached out to find the threads around him, not to follow his friends’ threads. The temptation was still there, dangling just within reach, but he forced himself to let them be.

“Hello, Oshal,” Sirshi said on her way past. “I really don’t have time to—” She froze. “Hello, My Lady.”

“Hello, Apprentice Sirshi.”

“How may the Temple of the Rising Sun assist you?”

“Do you know where Apprentice Kurgm is?”

“Why would I know?”

“That’s okay. I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thanks. I have every chore here, but I’m almost finished. So close. Only a few days left on my sentence.”

“Apprentice Sirshi, you sound as if Master Moudren has imprisoned you here.”

“No. Not really. I get to leave for food and class. And sleep. I get to sleep still. Sometimes.”

“We’ll leave you to it. Have a good day, Apprentice Sirshi.”

“You too, My Lady. See you at dinner, Oshal.”

“Bye!”

The two of them left. Oshal realized he’d forgotten to ask where his sister was. Although, there were only three places she would be. He decided to try the library next.

“Are you sure? I don’t think there’s much there for you.”

“My sister will probably be there, and I’d like to see her.”

“Okay. Although, isn’t there something you’d like to do on your own?”

Oshal shook his head. He’d never thought much about doing anything alone. He wanted to be around people. Being on his own felt empty, like the world had all gone away.

They walked through the corridors, making their way to the library.

“Apprentice Oshal, I’ve known you for a few years now, and I don’t know what you like to do outside of being with other people.”

Oshal gave that some thought. What did he like to do? He liked spending time with his friends. Wasn’t that enough?

“I just like spending time with friends.”

“Okay.”

Despite not being able to sense her emotions, Oshal got the sense that she wanted to say more about it. Even if she didn’t, the question was digging into his mind. What did he like to do?

#VolumeFour #SpendingTimeWithFriends

It didn’t look that special. They walked down a corridor with doors on it, just like the corridors on the first floor. But she still felt a creeping sense of dread, made worse by the eerie silence.

“Remember,” Master Moudren said in a low voice, “do not speak unless spoken to. Be respectful to everyone. Keep your voice down. Deep breaths. Do whatever you have to do to remain calm.”

“Yes, Master Moudren.”

Despite her fury toward Master Indyur, the weight of the situation was getting to her. She hoped her friends would be there, which itself was a strange feeling. Yet, thinking of them made Sirshi feel a little better about it.

When they rounded a corner, Sirshi saw Master Indyur and Lady Runslo waiting for them. The slightest hint of a smirk from Master Indyur made her blood boil, but she forced herself to stay calm.

Lady Runslo’s eyes were half open, as they were every time Sirshi had seen her. Her hair was cut close on one side, but fell almost to her shoulders on the other, a style which Sirshi liked, if only because it annoyed her parents. Her tan skin stuck out, but being from Alforn never seemed to bother her. In fact, nothing ever seemed to bother her.

“Master Moudren,” Lady Runslo said in a voice that sounded half asleep. “And Apprentice Sirshi. I hope all is well in your worlds today.”

The two of them bowed to her.

“This is wonderful,” Lady Runslo said, “everyone’s here. Let’s all go inside and work this out.”

Lady Runslo opened the door and led them inside. A single podium stood at the opposite end, which Lady Runslo took. Sirshi took her place in front of the podium, with Master Moudren on her immediate left and Master Indyur farther to her right.

Sirshi tried to push down her disappointment at her friends not being there. Oshal’s blind optimism and Kurgm’s faith that it would be alright would’ve made her feel a lot better about this.

“Master Moudren’s ability to be Apprentice Sirshi’s master has been called into question,” Lady Runslo said, still sounding like she would fall asleep at any minute. “After reviewing the information provided by her and others, I have concluded that there is a real concern here. The big concern is that Apprentice Sirshi is resistant to learning respect for servants of the court. Several small instances were seen by Master Daktra during her first year, but the other priests at the Temple of the Rising Sun say she’s way chilled out. But the big ones are her yelling at Master Ekla, and now Master Indyur. That’s not okay for someone a few months away from starting her fifth-year assignment. I’ve spoken with Master Ekla, Master Daktra, and the other priests at the temple. There were a bunch of people that were witness to both incidents.” She put her focus right on Sirshi. “Apprentice Sirshi, Master Ekla tells me that your relationship isn’t the greatest. Would you say that’s correct?”

“Yes, My Lady.”

“Your friends say you’re both different people when you’re together, and Master Moudren said she’s taken steps to avoid the two of you starting an argument. This sounds to me like a master that recognizes her apprentice’s shortcomings. Apprentice Sirshi, did Master Moudren give you instructions for Master Indyur’s visit?”

“Yes, My Lady.”

“What were they?”

Sirshi wracked her brain for what Master Moudren had told her.

“If I needed to take a break, I was allowed to excuse myself.”

Lady Runslo turned her half open gaze to Master Moudren.

“Master Moudren, why did you tell her that?”

“Because Master Indyur can be difficult to work with at times, and I know Apprentice Sirshi has trouble getting along with people such as Master Indyur.”

“So once again, it sounds like Master Moudren knows Apprentice Sirshi super well. But Apprentice Sirshi still didn’t respect Master Indyur as a servant of the court, isn’t that correct, Master Indyur?”

“Completely so,” Master Indyur said. The sound of her voice grated on Sirshi’s nerves. “She raised her voice far beyond anything I’ve ever heard from an apprentice, much less from one addressing a servant of the court. It might be the most disrespectful thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

Probably because everyone does it to your back.

You’re going to have to apologize to Master Indyur.

Her sister’s words echoed in her head. How could she apologize to this woman? Sirshi hadn’t done anything wrong! It was all Master Indyur’s fault!

Lady Runslo leaned over her podium and stared into Sirshi’s eyes. Sirshi didn’t know what she was doing, but she had trouble returning her gaze.

“Apprentice Sirshi,” Lady Runslo said without breaking her creepy stare, “what would you do if I insulted Apprentice Roshil right now?”

Sirshi didn’t know how to respond to that. That was not among the questions for which she’d been preparing over the past few days.

“I’m not sure, My Lady.”

“Apprentice Roshil was a rare case among apprentices. Most of them are decided entirely by their officer, with the others making a routine vote for them. But I don’t really like her vibes, so I voted against her. I don’t really like her being here.”

Thoughts raced through Sirshi’s mind. What was she talking about? Why wouldn’t she want Roshil at the court? She was different, that was all. Like Aonva, and Kurgm, and Oshal, and Nourd. Like Sirshi. There was nothing wrong with Roshil, and Sirshi was tired of people treating her like there was.

She met Master Moudren’s gaze for a second. Master Moudren didn’t think that. She liked Sirshi and her friends. Not many people did, but she’d always liked her. This wasn’t about Sirshi or her friends, this was about the nicest person Sirshi had ever met.

“With all due respect, My Lady,” Sirshi said, struggling to keep her voice calm, “Apprentice Roshil is different. But so am I. So are our friends. And… she has done a lot for the Temple of the Rising Sun. And for me, by being my friend. I’m… sorry that I disrespected servants of the court. Master Moudren warned me, but I didn’t listen. It was my fault, not hers.”

A lazy smile spread across Lady Runslo’s face. She motioned to Master Indyur.

“I’m not the one to whom you need to apologize.”

Sirshi turned to Master Indyur. She fought the urge to punch her stupid face as she bowed.

“I’m sorry that I showed you disrespect.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you did.” Master Indyur glared at Sirshi, then turned back to Lady Runslo. “My Lady, this wasn’t an isolated incident.”

“What I’ve seen here today suggests otherwise,” Lady Runslo said. “Apprentice Sirshi is chill, and so willing to acknowledge her mistakes. If she keeps being all that, I’m sure she’ll be giving off good vibes in no time. Everything’s great here. Hearing over.”

She stepped down from the podium, then walked out of the room. With one last glare at them, Master Indyur followed her. Master Moudren and Sirshi were the last to leave.

“I’m so proud of you,” Master Moudren said as they left.

Sirshi felt a strange warmth. What was that feeling? She wasn’t sure, but she liked it.

“Thank you.”

Sirshi was excited to have everything done with. She’d done it. Her skin was still crawling from having to apologize to Master Indyur, but she’d done it.

“I’m glad that’s over,” she said.

“For now, it is,” Master Moudren said. “We’ll need to keep an eye out for Master Indyur in the future. I’m not sure she’s going to let this go.”

“Why does she have ‘good vibes’ and not Roshil?” Sirshi thought for a moment. “What are vibes?”

“I’ve been here for many years, and I still have no idea,” Master Moudren said.

Despite everything, Sirshi started laughing. Master Moudren joined her for a moment, then shushed her.

“We’re still on the second floor. We’ve got to be quiet.”

Sirshi stifled her laughter. She’d done it. They’d survived another complication. They were still together. It was like Olmgra taught them: All will be well.

#VolumeFour #AssigningBlame