Winter 4986, 23 Aoimoth 

The fifth bell sounded through the fortress, and Lily rolled over, cracking a single eye open to find the window dark. Strange… they hadn't woken her before... shouldn’t they be able to turn off the bells until everyone was ready to get up? The sun wasn’t even out yet… she drifted back to sleep. 

After having the best day of her life the night before, she'd decided to spend the entire following day with the boys. She was even going to get up early so they could have breakfast together. She wanted to ask Zihler more about cards, and Jawsh and Mika had mentioned something about another game called chess before she'd gotten distracted by going to the library. Lily had never met anyone her own age, and she wanted to know everything she could about the Squires and their life here.

She only had a vague idea of what to expect of life outside her tower, and what she did know came from the few storybooks she'd been allowed to read. But those had all been fiction. Would life at Hamerfoss really be anything like those depicted in fantasy stories?

The sixth bell sounded out its sixth resonating ring, and Lily squinted again, somehow more tired this time than at fifth bell. The sky was a lighter shade of dark blue, but the sun still hadn’t shown itself, so she let her eyes close...

“Miss?” someone shook her with their fingertips. Lily groaned. “You may continue sleeping, but I thought you might want to join us for breakfast.”

Lily grumbled into her pillow, “It’s still dark…”

The Cleric chuckled, “I can set a plate aside for you then. Get as much sleep as you need.”

She felt him walk away and forced her eyes open. The man was fully dressed, as if he'd already been awake for hours, “Breakfast is really this early? Wasn’t that sixth bell?” she asked.

“Yes, Miss, sixth bell is breakfast, noon bell lunch, and sixth evening bell dinner. But you can sleep in if you prefer.”

“No, I… I want to do what the Squires do…” For some reason the Cleric laughed again as she sat up and tried to comb her hair with sleep heavy fingers.

“There's a fresh dress ready for you at the foot of your bed, and I found a comb for you. It's on my desk. Breakfast is available for the full hour, so you can take your time.” he moved for the door, and she called out.

“Lily.” the Cleric turned back to her as she reached for her new -still white- dress, “My name is Lily. I picked it yesterday.”

There was a moment of silence, but eventually, the Cleric answered, “Alright then, Miss Lily. You know the way?”

Lily nodded, standing and removing her sleeping gown before the Cleric opened the door. The man spun quickly away, and for some reason his cheeks and ears turned pink, “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Miss Lily, and look forward to seeing you around the fortress.” he left in a rush as Lily tossed her old gown across the bed and picked up the new one, taking a few moments to find the proper opening before slipping it over her head.

She yawned as she entered the dining hall but stopped with her mouth still open at seeing the tables already full of Paladins and Squires. She hadn’t taken that long… had she?

Lily followed the same procedure for breakfast as Shon had shown her for dinner. Retrieving a plate from the side table and scooping on large helpings of scrambled eggs and undercooked bacon before heading to the Squire’s table. Shon sat at the far end and hadn't looked up when she entered, though Ryuuko did. The little dragon whistled to her, and Lily waved. Shon seemed focused on his breakfast, so Lily moved towards the middle, where Rerves was pushing Thom to scoot over so she could sit with them.

Lily stared at the Squires, then finally managed to ask, “Why are you all sweaty?”

The boys exchanged looks, some running their fingers through damp hair, others surreptitiously lifting their arms and smelling themselves. Baradin was the first to answer her question, “We just finished with our run and drills.”

Lily blinked at him, then at the others, who all nodded, “It’s six in the morning!” she exclaimed, “You do this every day?" She emphasized the last two words, flabbergasted enough to finally be fully alert herself despite the hour.

The Squires exchanged looks again, and Thom explained, “We get up at fifth bell to run and do morning drills.”

“Except during the months we have watch.” one further down chimed in.

“Also the solstice and equinox holidays,” Rerves added.

Lily was dumbfounded. They got up every morning at FIVE? She glared at her plate, picking up her fork and stabbing her eggs, “I’m coming with you tomorrow.” she declared.

“Don’t be silly, Lily, you don’t have to!”

“Yeah, I wish I could sleep in-”

“No,” Lily snapped, shaking a floppy piece of bacon at them, “If you can do it, then so can I.” the Squires could only shrug, returning to their breakfast.

At the first ring of seventh bell, they all hastily placed their utensils on their plates, then waited stiffly until the final ring. Then the Squires stood in unison and, in an orderly line, stepped over the bench and marched to deposit their plates. There was no unorganized rush like dinner, and Lily fumbled to try and keep up and maintain her place with the rest of them. After dropping off her plate, she dashed out of line and watched as the Squires behind her filled in her place, marching in step towards the door.

Shon was last in line, and Lily rushed to keep up with him, grabbing him by the hand. He flinched in surprise but didn’t slow and didn’t pull away. Ryuuko slinked from his shoulder to hers.

Face still forward, he glanced at her and arched an eyebrow to which she whispered, “Where are you going?”

Shon looked towards the large table where the officers still sat and didn’t answer until they were in the hall. “After breakfast, we have prayer and sermon for an hour. After that are lessons for two hours.”

Lily wrinkled her nose. An entire hour for prayer? “Then what?” she hissed, squeezing his fingers and stopping his arm from swinging in time with everyone else.

He glanced over his shoulder, and Lily followed the look. The officers had exited the dining area and were walking much more casually behind the marching Squires. He snapped his gaze forward again and whispered, “We aren’t supposed to talk in line.”

“I don’t think anyone is supposed to get up at five in the morning, and yet you all do it every day apparently.” Lily hissed. Ryuuko chittered its agreement.

Shon’s lip twitched as if he were trying to resist smiling. He answered her, still whispering, “After lessons is armor and heavy weapons practice, then lunch, then more lessons, then light weapons practice,” They reached the chapel doors, and Lily hesitated, pulling his hand just a bit before dropping it so he could continue in. Shon stopped, and, after looking at the officers, stepped beside the door to continue whispering to her, “After weapons practice, we get an hour of free time, then dinner, then study time, then one more hour of free time before bed.”

Lily swallowed, feeling overwhelmed by the schedule. How could anyone’s day be so full? “Every day?” she finally managed to squeak out. She'd been lucky if she could leave her room for samples once a week. Or go outside once a month. The pseudodragon on her shoulder let out a slow sympathetic whistle as if it could feel her confusion.

Shon nodded, looking to the chapel doors, “Except during watch month, which isn’t for another few weeks.”

“Fall in, Squire!” Major General Selibra called to Shon as he passed, not even waiting to see Shon snap to attention and salute before rushing in after him. Ryuuko licked Lily's cheek then flew in behind its human, landing on his shoulder as he took his seat with the other Squires.

Lily stood beside the door as the adult Paladins meandered in, chit-chatting with one another and taking their seats behind the Squires, who all sat at attention in the front two rows.

“You don’t have to follow the boys, you know,” a deep voice said behind her. Lily jumped, spinning to face Weaponmaster Daunas. He continued, “They're here to train, so their days aren't meant to be fun.” He gestured towards the chapel, indicating she should proceed ahead of him. Lily shook her head, walking across the hall and leaning against the wall opposite the chapel doors. To her surprise, Daunas smiled and joined her. He waved to the last Paladin, and he closed the doors, leaving Lily alone with the Weaponmaster while the others prayed.

Silence stretched for a time until Lily asked, “So it’s only this busy because they’re in training?”

Daunas noded, “They’re going to be Paladins someday. It’s a huge responsibility, and it’s here that we drill into them the skills they'll need. Often by brute force.” he grinned as though the brute force way was his preferred method.

“Skills like the ability to walk quietly in a straight line,” Lily rolled her eyes at the Weaponmaster, but instead of being offended, he laughed.

“It’s about discipline. And the ability to follow orders even when they’re inconvenient.”

“Sounds stupid.” she'd read enough histories to know that the discipline of a soldier was something to be celebrated by most. The greatest armies were always described as having the most strictly trained troops, and the kingdom often held that such organization was what allowed them to win over the wild barbarian tribes. To Lily, discipline and structure like that had always been an abstract concept. Now that she'd caught a glimpse of it in practice, she wasn’t impressed. It seemed stifling, and more importantly, it kept her from doing what she wanted with the boys.

Daunas laughed again, his voice booming down the empty hall and possibly even disrupting the prayers, "They don't really expect you to understand. Hells, even I think they take it too far most of the time." He grinned down at her scowling face, "But it works. They've been training officers like this since the Temple was founded."

Lily let the silence linger again, thinking, then asked, "But you're not a Paladin, are you?" she tilted her head up at him, "Did you have to do this stuff to? Study for hours and march in formation and all the other… stuff?"

"Nope." Daunas leaned back on the wall and crossed his arms, "There was no way they could make me do any of this when I was these boys’ age. And I can’t channel divine energy, so it didn’t matter even if they could’ve beat it into me."

Lily puffed out her cheeks, demanding, "Then why do they have to do it? You turned out fine." The boys had been so lively at dinner, and the way they joked with each other made her feel warm and calm. Like even she could be accepted. Talking to them had given her something to focus on in the moment. Forgetting the past for a time.

Daunas let loose a single barking laugh, “Fine is good enough for me. But for them? They have to emulate Hengist as closely as possible, and he’s a god. ‘Fine’ isn’t anywhere near enough for them.”

Scoffing, Lily let herself slide down the wall to sit on the ground, glaring at the closed doors to the chapel. Finally, she muttered, “Gods are useless. All they do is fight each other and try and force mortals to be just like them.” Like the world really needed a thousand little Hengists running around. Stupid, and more importantly, boring.

Daunas hummed then eventually said, “I’m probably the least equipped here to talk theology,” he crouched down, resting his arms on his knees, “But I remember the Druids of Cathbad teaching the need for movement and balance. Hengist and Horsa fight each other with their opposing ideals of perfection while Soleil and Lune dance around each other in mutual respect-”

Lily stopped the Weaponmaster with a withering look, “What’s that for?” he asked, taken aback and possibly offended. Lily was too annoyed to feel bad.

“Ever since I learned to read, I’ve been reading books on history and divine theory. Hengist and Horsa represent the balance between civilized humans. One represents justice and mercy, and the other power and punishment. Soleil and Lune are literally the Sun and Moon and represent the balance found in the heavens between light and dark, life and death. Cathbad is the fulcrum between them, representing balance in nature from a central point. Inryuu and Yoryuu-”

“Who?” Daunas interrupted Lily’s rant, and she fumbled.

“It… Never mind.” of course he wouldn’t know of the twin gods of destruction and creation… such books had been banned in the kingdom. Lily rushed to continue displaying her knowledge. Perhaps if she made it clear she wasn’t as ignorant as they thought, they would drop the subject of gods in all future conversations, “The new gods are just ascended humans, so they represent the lives of humans. Tzibus is only concerned with money and merchants, Domhnall with history, music, and parties, Bjarki with physical sports and fighting.” her voice dropped as she reached the end of the list, “Bede only cares about knowledge and magic, and Giorgos…” the slayer, “... he only cares about the law and forcing people to fit into his perfect little box ‘for their own good’ as if people can’t decide for themselves what's right for them.”

Daunas stared at her, jaw hanging slightly open. Lily sighed, looking back towards the closed doors and her Squires within, “I don’t like the gods.” she stated.

“And yet it was representatives of Hengist who saved-” Daunas tried to argue.

Lily slapped her hands on the ground and glared at him, “Hengist didn’t save me. I saved me. If the gods really cared about me, or anyone, they would've come sooner, they would've saved my treasures.” would've stopped her from losing control, from burning everyone she'd ever known. She shook the thought away, forcing it back, “But they don’t, and they didn’t. I’m not disciplined enough for Hengist or Horsa, not compassionate enough for Soleil or Lune, and too destructive for Cathbad.” the human gods didn’t even warrant mentioning.

Ninth bell began sounding and Lily stood. Looking down at the Weaponmaster -who could only stare- she stated, “I don’t need the gods. I can take care of myself.” 

The door to the chapel opened, and Daunas snapped his mouth shut, standing as the Paladins filtered out, followed by the marching line of Squires, this time with Shon in front. Lily rushed to keep up with them, walking at the back of the line but purposefully out of step. Daunas was soon joined in the hall by Selibra and the Cleric, and none of them tried to stop her as she followed the boys to their classroom.

Their orderly line dissolved as they entered the class, with each boy going to their own seat, though not necessarily in the same order they'd entered in as they had in the chapel. Lily hovered around the back until all the boys were seated, then took an empty chair next to Shon as a Paladin entered and began writing on the blackboard.

Ryuuko moved from Shon's shoulder to the back of Lily's chair as she shoved the conversation with Daunas to the back of her mind, forgetting it in an instant as she tried to focus on the lesson. More history of Gasha province. The scraping of pencils on paper and the monotonous drone of the instructor's lecture made it hard for her to stay focused. She folded her arms on the table, resting her chin on them. Didn’t they already read all about this the night before? She felt her eyes grow heavy. What did history even have to do with being a Paladin anyway… 

*** 

“I wish I could sleep through lecture like that…” Rerves commented, poking Lily with the blunt end of his pencil. Ryuuko waved its scorpion tail up at him, its point dripping sleeping venom that could put the Squire out for an entire day. Rerves chuckled nervously, "Not like that, but thank you." 

The Squires filtered out of the classroom, forming an orderly line in the hall to march back to their rooms and retrieve their armor. Rerves, Thom, Shon, and Zihler lingered at the back of the queue as Lily slept, drool puddling between her arms.

“Should we wake her?” Thom asked.

Rerves tried again to gently poke Lily awake. She groaned, twisting her head to face the other way.

“Maybe Shon should touch the back of her neck. I bet she jumps to the ceiling.” Zihler teased. Shon rolled his eyes, but Zihler just laughed, “I can’t believe you gave her our entire schedule. If it'd been any of us, you would’ve just glared.”

“You already know the schedule,” Shon muttered, then leaned down to shake Lily, “Lily, we’re going outside to prac-”

Her head shot up, and Shon fell back, Ryuuko hissing in surprise, “Outside?!” she looked around, momentarily confused at the empty room before turning in her seat to blink at the boys, “I can come with you, can’t I?” she grabbed Shon’s hand with both of hers and held it tight, her eyes wide and full of longing he couldn’t begin to understand.

“Well, yeah,” Rerves said with a shrug as Thom and Zihler moved for their turn out the door, “Can’t stay inside all the time.”

Lily jumped to her feet, knocking her chair over. Shon sighed, slipping his hand out of hers to pick it up. Ryuuko flew down to stand on it, but the added weight was negligible. “You can go outside even without us,” he told her.

Lily looked from the door to him and back again, “Really?” she asked. Shon nodded, and she narrowed her eyes at the door. Shon couldn't tell if she didn't believe him or was debating spending more time outside while they were in lessons.

“I want to stay with you guys…” She left Shon in the classroom, squeezing past Rerves to exit before him.

She waited in the hall with Ryuuko while the Squires changed into their armor. The oldest wore plate, while those in their third year wore chainmail and half-plate. Shon and his fellows wore banded mail, and the youngest Squires had hardened leather. She followed along beside them as they marched out to the courtyard and stood in formation.

They stood at attention, backs straight and eyes forward. Lily circled Narvin, the smallest of the youngest Squires. She waved her hand in the boy's face, clearly confused by his stiffness. Shon was impressed that the boy managed to maintain staying at attention.

Master Daunas exited the fortress, scanning the boys before settling on Lily, who was slowly reaching forward to poke poor Narvin on the nose. The Weaponmaster cleared his throat, and Lily at least had the decency to look embarrassed for trying to distract the Squire. She rushed to the side of the formation and faced the Weaponmaster with the rest of them, Ryuuko holding onto her hair for balance. Master Daunas just shook his head.

“Stretches. Start!” he barked. As one, the boys began their stretches while Lily copied them to the side. She was very flexible, folding herself entirely in half as they reached for their toes and falling into a full backbend when they leaned back. Master Daunas had to shout at them to focus, as too many were busy staring at Lily and had missed the cue to move on to the next stretch.

“Hammers,” Daunas ordered and the Squires walked quickly, in line, to retrieve their weapons from the waiting crates before returning to formation, heavy weapons gripped in both hands. Shon didn’t take his place with the others and avoided looking at them as he carried his hammer well away from the formation.

They started their drills with the hammers, and Lily walked around them, tilting her head back and forth until she came to stand near Shon. She stood just out of reach of the long weapon, so Shon continued as if she weren’t there. He focused on his form and the power he could feel rising in his blood to cool his skin. Which was already growing sweaty from the armor and exercise.

“Do people really fight with these?” Lily asked. Shon nodded without losing step. “They look heavy.” she commented. Shon could only nod again, swinging the top-heavy weapon down and stopping it just before it hit the ground.

“Alright, partner up,” Daunas called, and the other Squires moved towards the practice rings. Shon stayed where he was and started his form again.

Looking from him to the others, Lily hummed but then followed the larger group, stroking the pseudodragon absently. The others started their sparring practice, and Shon ignored them until Lily called out, “You got him, Zihler!” cheering the older Squire on. Zihler -who had been winning in his match against Baradin- stumbled, his hammer flailing a good six inches from its target and clanging to the ground.

Lily flinched, and Daunas yelled, “Focus, a pretty face isn’t any reason to turn stupid.” he said something more quietly to Lily, and her shoulders slumped. Ryuuko hissed at the Weaponmaster, but he was already focused on the Squires again. Turning away from the sparring boys and catching sight of Shon, she moved his way once more.

“Why aren’t you sparring with the others?” she asked, stopping just short of his swing so the wind rustled her hair as she tilted her head. Shon growled, bringing his hammer down in the final move of the form.

His power surged with his frustration and, though he managed to stop the weapon, ice exploded from the hammer's head, hitting the ground and spreading out in a circle of sharp spikes. Some reached for Lily, and Shon choked out a yell, dropping the hammer and reaching for her in horror.

Steam hissed and billowed into the air, and Shon fell back, covering his face from the boiling liquid. It tingled on his skin...

Beyond the cloud, Lily called, “Wow, this is really heavy…” As the steam faded, Shon saw Lily trying to lift the fallen hammer, straining to hold it just off the ground. Ryuuko flew around her head, twittering what he thought might be encouragement. The sparring had stopped, and all the Squires plus Master Daunas stared as Lily dropped the hammer and planted her fists on her hips, “Why would anyone want to swing around something like this?”

“Everything alright, Squire?” Master Daunas called.

Shon tried to answer, but his voice cracked. Swallowing, he finally called back, “Yes sir!” to Lily, he spoke quietly, “What did you do? The ice...”

Lily gave him a look of amused confusion, as though he had asked why water was wet, “I melted it.” she answered, then hummed again, “Though I suppose if you'd been directing the spikes, it would've been harder. You didn’t do that on purpose?” she asked, but then continued, “It would have been really effective if you had.”

Shon’s fists clenched at his side, and he looked away, “I can’t control it.”

“Of course you can.” Lily said with a shrug, “You just need practice. Maybe you should focus on that instead of a silly hammer.”

Practice... but Sorcerer magic wasn't like fighting; it seemed to have a mind of its own. Shon clenched his jaw and reached for the hammer, wrenching it up with more force than was necessary. The move sent another, though smaller, wave of ice out from where it had been. A moment later, it was no more than a puddle as Lily melted it without even moving. Ryuuko resumed its spot on her shoulder with a whistle at Shon's second loss of control.

“Unless you actually like the hammer…” Lily continued.

Shon sighed, looking towards the others, who had resumed their sparring, then down to the hammer, “I don’t.” he answered, reaching up to pull at the neck of his armor. It didn’t help that they always practiced the heavy weapons in armor. He might actually enjoy the hammer without it.

“Then why fight with it?”

“Because I’m a fighter,” Shon answered, rather sharper than he intended. Lily just tilted her head at him, so he sighed, “We train with the basics of all weapons. That way, we'll know how to use them if it's the only thing available, and we know how to fight against an enemy who wields it.”

“But you have magic,” Lily said curiously. Innocently.

He didn’t want magic. Not this kind anyway. He moved to start his hammer form again without commenting. How could she possibly understand his frustration? He had spent his entire life wanting this, working for it, and now the damn magic was just getting in the way. She didn’t even have to think to use her power.

“I prefer weapons.” he finally said as he moved through the form, “Magic can be countered, and I want to perfect myself, my art, through training,” Shon paraphrased Master Veon-Zih’s goals and added his own, “To fight evil and protect the innocent through my own strength.”

Lily didn’t say anything more about the hammer or his magic. Instead, she watched Shon go through his form two more times before she said, “You look absolutely miserable in that.” she waved her arm as if to take in his entire body, or more accurately, the armor encasing and limiting it. Ryuuko's twittered its dragon laugh.

He was miserable, but instead of confirming, he said, “It keeps us safe in case we’re hit.”

The lunch bell started ringing, but Shon continued his form, preferring not to stop halfway. Master Daunas dismissed the others, who returned their hammers as Shon was finishing up. After, instead of heading back to the barracks, the usual group wandered toward Shon and Lily.

Lily’s face had twisted in thought until finally, just after Shon's last move, she asked, “Couldn’t you just… not get hit?”

Zihler laughed loudly, closing the last few steps to stand beside Lily, “Yeah, Shon, why don’t you just not get hit?” Shon glared at him.

“Shon only gets hit because he wants to.” Kefir argued. Then, as if he realized how bad that sounded, he added quickly, “He can totally dodge when necessary.”

“Better than either of you can,” Rehlien teased.

Lily looked between all of them, obviously so much more comfortable in their armor than Shon, and asked, “So you can use weapons without armor?”

“Well, yeah…” Baradin shrugged, “But one missed dodge, and you’re done for.”

Lily looked towards the weapon racks and crates, then nodded, stating “I want to learn.”

The Squires all gaped, “W-what?” Rerves managed to stammer out.

“I want to learn how to fight with weapons. My magic is strong, but Shon’s right; it can be countered,” she rubbed her neck, her face clouding over. Was she speaking from experience? “Can you teach me?” she focused again and looked to the Squires as a whole. The gathered group exchanged nervous glances.

Baradin managed to force a smile, “You don’t have to worry about that, Lily. We're training so we can protect you.”

“Yeah, Lily, it’s the Paladin’s job to keep the citizens safe, so you don’t need to fight,” Zihler added.

Lily squinted at them, “I don’t need you to protect me.”

“But Lily-” Rerves started,

“I want to learn to fight on my own, with weapons.”

“Just let us do the fighting,” Rehlien tried, “We can keep you safe from-”

Lily swept her arm to the side and flicked her wrist like the tip of a whip. Ryuuko took flight with a squawk of surprise and, from Lily's fingertips, shot a small glowing ball that sped across the courtyard. Flying in a straight line past Squires and Paladins heading to lunch, it slammed into one of the archery targets, dead center, and exploded. Black smoke curled into the sky, and Squires and knights covered their heads in surprise while Lily glared at them, “I don’t need your protection.” she stated.

“Miss!” Daunas shouted, stomping towards Lily and her surrounding Squires.

Lily’s eyes snapped to him, “My name is Lily.” she declared clearly, defiantly raising her chin.

Though some of the Squires stepped back from her glare, Master Daunas just returned the look, “Well, Lily, that is my target you’re currently immolating.”

Lily looked as if she'd been slapped in the face. Her eyes went wide, and she looked to the burning target then quickly twisted her wrist, rolling her fingers in towards her palm. The fire went out in a blink, even the smoke thinning, the embers fully extinguished.

“I’m sorry! I… I didn’t know it was yours.” for some reason, she held her hand to her throat again.

Master Daunas huffed, turning to the Squires, “What are you lot doing? It’s lunch. Go get that armor cleaned and get to the mess hall!”

The Squires jumped to attention, saluting Master Daunas before scrambling for the fortress, shooting nervous glances over their shoulders at Lily. She hadn’t moved and merely stood looking at the ground. Ryuuko landed on his shoulder, and Shon stopped. 

“Lily?” she looked up, then quickly away. Master Daunas passed him, walking towards the fortress without looking back. Shon returned to Lily’s side. She wasn’t looking at him. Shon took a calming breath, then reached for her hand, “Let’s get some lunch…”

Lily squeezed his fingers and managed a forced smile, “Yeah. I’m hungry.”

She didn’t follow the Squires up to their rooms -where they were busy removing and cleaning their armor- instead, she went directly to the mess hall alone. Shon watched her go, torn. Ryuuko whistled, and Shon tilted his head in Lily's direction. Reading his intention, the pseudodragon climbed down his chest before pushing off his armor and flying after Lily to keep her company while he changed. He went to his room and removed his armor in a daze, seeing again the flash of red in Lily's eyes as she shot fire in an unwavering line to the target. He wiped his armor down without really seeing it, his body moving on its own, the routine and habit firmly implanted even before reaching Hamerfoss.

In the hall, Squires whispered to each other of Lily’s display as they moved towards lunch, all going silent when they entered the mess hall. Lily sat at the far edge of the Squire's table, across from Shon’s usual spot. She ripped apart cold cuts unenthusiastically, stuffing the resulting strips in her mouth without bread and occasionally lifting a piece for Ryuuko to take. She either didn’t bother to put them in a sandwich, or she didn’t know how.

Shon took his seat across from her, and she said, “I didn’t know the targets were Daunas’s.”

Rerves plopped down next to Shon and spoke before he could, “Is that why you’re upset?”

Lily gaped, “Of course! How would you like it if someone came into your room and just started destroying your stuff.”

“It's been almost two years since they did that,” Thom said, taking the spot beside Lily. Only a few days for Shon, though he chose not to comment, still miffed at the fact.

Lily choked on her food, “Someone did that to you?” her eyes went wide in disbelief, then suddenly narrowed as she scanned the room, “Who did it?”

Shon saw again the burning target, and Rerves must have sensed the danger too because he explained quickly, “They didn’t break anything. It was just to teach us to clean our rooms properly.”

“Yeah, and it's been over a year since then,” Thom reiterated, realizing his mistake but not understanding it any more than the rest of them.

Lily’s lips formed a tight line, not a hint of a smile twinkling behind her eyes. Shon reached out a foot under the table and tapped her leg, “We can make Master Daunas a new target, Lily.”

Distracted, she leaned forward eagerly and, under the table, stretched her legs out, wrapping them both around Shon’s boot, “Really? Do you really think that'll make up for it?”

“Of course it will,” Rerves assured her as Shon struggled to feel anything except her legs around his, “We have to replace them after heavy use anyway. They're meant to be destroyed.” Ryuuko whistled in confirmation, and Rerves held out a slice of ham to it.

“Though I don’t think I’ve ever seen one destroyed so spectacularly,” Zihler interjected with a grin.

Others chimed in, pulling Lily’s attention away and slowly drawing a genuine smile from her again. She unwrapped her legs from around Shon’s, freeing him but leaving a single slippered foot to rub against his calf. No one brought up weapons or fighting.

Lily stayed with them for afternoon lessons and even managed to stay awake. Shon could hardly concentrate. His mind jumped from one display of power to another and he doodled in his notebook. Lily melting his unintentional ice spikes. Lily igniting the target from all the way across the courtyard. Lily putting out her own fire with a flick of the wrist. Lily standing in a melting tower…

Shon glanced over in time to see Lily yawn at the lecture, culture-specific etiquette in Gasha. She scratched absently at the crimson scales on her upper arm with one hand and Ryuuko's chin with the other. ‘I don’t need your protection.’ Shon shuddered at the memory. She'd sounded like a different person, and he couldn’t help but see her statement as accurate. Lily wasn’t some damsel in distress that needed the knights to keep her safe. 

They moved from their final lessons back to the courtyard, and again Lily followed them. Once outside, she stretched with them again, but when the Squires went to retrieve their daggers, she instead walked away from them, towards the woodpile outside Nangran’s smithy.

After the boys resumed formation, Shon standing well away again, she returned holding a short stick. She whispered something to Ryuuko, who flew away to sun on the weapons shade.

From the corner of his eye, Shon watched Lily take up a stance... uh... similar too, the Squires and tried to follow along with their drills. She swung too hard, and her footwork was awful. It was painful to watch.

When the other Squires were called away to spar, Shon approached Lily, who was trying to swing her makeshift ‘dagger’ again. She nearly hit him, overextending her arm in the swing. Shon leaned back, dodging easily, but she still squeaked and dropped the stick.

“What're you doing?” he asked as she scrambled to retrieve her 'weapon'.

“Practicing,” she answered, her jaw jutting out stubbornly, “I want to learn weapon fighting too.”

Shon ran his hand through his hair, “You-”

Lily interrupted him sharply, “I don’t want you to protect me.”

Shon narrowed his eyes at her, “You have magic.” did she really think he was going to try and coddle her after the display she'd shown?

“So do you.” Lily countered.

“I…” Shon stuttered,

“I want to learn a weapon,” Lily stated again, “Do I really have to have a reason to learn new things?”

Shon didn’t have an answer to that either and Lily lifted her stick again, trying to mimic their form from before, swinging her arms fast and not bothering to move her feet as she did. “Stop, Lily. Please.”

Lily growled, “I want…”

“Then do it right.” Shon snapped, grabbing her stick and pulling it from limp fingers, “Start with your feet. You need to learn proper stances and footwork first.” he dropped her stick and sheathed his dagger in his belt, then took up the first basic stance, “Like this. You’re right-handed, so put your right foot forward…”

He walked her through the stances then circled her as she tried them on her own, occasionally reaching out to push her over. She would stumble, but then fix her feet, widening her stance and sinking down properly, so when he tried to push her again, she held firm. Shon lost track of time as he showed her the required steps for the dagger form, working her through just the footwork again and again until she could do it on her own.

Lily didn’t argue or complain. She set her jaw and followed along to the best of her ability, growing more determined as they worked. The bell for break rang out just as he was about to hand her his dagger.

Shon froze. He was supposed to be practicing. Turning sharply, he stood at attention and waited for Master Daunas to start yelling.

“Fall out boys, good work today,” Daunas called. The other Squires went to drop off their daggers, but Shon stayed at attention, braced for whatever punishment would fall. Master Daunas started for the fortress then stopped, turning for Shon and Lily. Lily watched him approach, looking from the Weaponmaster to Shon and tilting her head in confusion. Ryuuko flew down and landed on Daunas's shoulder as he waved Shon down, “At ease, Squire.” he then focused on Lily, “I already told you, you don’t have to do everything the boys are doing…”

“I want to,” Lily answered, and Shon swallowed, ready for the Weaponmaster to try his hand at explaining to her that she didn't have to fight.

Instead, he nodded, “Well, you picked a good teacher. Squire Shon,” Shon snapped back to attention, “I expect you to keep her lessons to your own time. I’ll allow you afternoon practice because you’re already top with daggers, but I want you focusing on your armor work during morning drills.”

“Yes, sir,” Shon shouted, and Lily beamed at the Weaponmaster.

Daunas nodded at Shon but looked back to Lily and hummed, “I’m not sure if daggers are best for this one. Have her pick from the rack. Probably something with better reach, but not too heavy.” he walked away, Ryuuko dropping from his shoulder to fly back to Shon, who let out a breath he hadn't realized he’d been holding.

Lily bounced in place and clapped her hands, “You mean I get to pick my own weapon?” she asked excitedly. Shon had barely nodded before she was running for the weapons rack, weaving through the Squires heading for the fortress.

Shon followed at a walk, and the usual boys split from the main group to join Lily.

“Master Daunas really said you could use the weapons?” Rerves asked incredulously.

“Yep!” Lily answered, bouncing on the balls of her feet again, and not looking away from her scan of the weapons.

Zihler stepped forward, smiling broadly, “Well, if he said it’s okay, I can teach you.”

For some reason, the others all glared at him. Zihler ignored them and continued to grin. Lily, however, just shook her head, “Shon’s going to teach me.” Zihler’s smile faded, and he looked at Shon as he joined them, somehow looking both annoyed and nervous simultaneously.

Shon just shrugged but spoke to Lily, “Depending on the weapon you want, one of the others might be better teachers.” the boys' jaws dropped.

Lily hummed, nodding to herself, and began to pace the weapons rack, studying each weapon on display and tapping her lips. Ryuuko landed on the top of her head to join her.

“What gives, Shon?” Rehlien hissed under his breath.

Kefir nodded in agreement, “Don’t you like her?” Shon arched a confused eyebrow at his fellows.

“This is the perfect way to spend some alone time with her,” Zihler whispered, watching Lily as she examined the polearms.

They were behaving very strangely. Shon looked at each incredulous face, but when no one elaborated, he said, “Shouldn’t the one with the most skill teach her?”

“You mean if she chooses greatsword…?” Thom started, letting the question trail off. Shon nodded. Despite his size, Thom was the best of them with the greatsword.

At the far end of the rack, Lily started laughing. The boy’s heads shot up, and she picked up a quarterstaff, “This is just a stick!” she called to them, still giggling, “Beware evildoers! For I wield a mighty stick!” Rerves and Zelher laughed, but Thom, Rehlien, and Kefir glanced at Shon. He motioned for the staff.

Lily handed it over, and Shon stepped back, working the weapon through a few of its more complex spins, explaining, “This is a quarterstaff. It’s used mostly by Mages and some Monks, but it’s fairly versatile.” He spun the staff over his hand then down the back of his arms and over his shoulders catching it in his other hand and tossing it in the air.

Zihler caught it, “And it’s great for showing off.” he glared at Shon, then handed the weapon back to Lily, who stared at it in awe.

“Yeah, Lily,” Rerves interjected, “Those moves aren't for fighting.”

“They’re for building familiarity,” Kefir explained, reaching for the weapon.

Lily clutched the staff tight to her chest, and Ryuuko trilled, “But it won’t cut my hand off, and I can pick one up right off the ground!” Lily shouted, “It’s a stick. No one can take a stick away from me as long as there are other sticks around.”

The other boys all exchanged looks, first of confusion, then of defeat. Thom was the one to say it out loud, “Shon is the best with the quarterstaff.”

Shon rolled his eyes at their continued behavior, and addressed Lily, “We start with the stances.” She nodded eagerly, and the others groaned, heading for the fortress, dragging their feet. 

***

Shon and Lily worked on stances until the dinner bell. In the mess hall, the other Squires pointedly ignored him, but their annoyance was quickly overshadowed when Lily grabbed her plate and sat in the middle with them again. She spoke quickly and excitedly about all she'd learned. Shon shook his head, taking his usual place on the end. Lily talked about wanting to spar with each of them and grilled them endlessly on their favorite weapons. Why was it their favorite? How good was it against the staff? Was it true that spell casters liked to use it? Could she use her magic with it? 

Each answered as best they could, and dinner was as much a bustle as the previous night. Shon ate in silence, going through his past lessons and planning out the best way to teach Lily while absently passing bits of food up to Ryuuko. She didn’t have any of the foundations they'd had before starting with the quarterstaff, so he would probably have to take a few steps back to get her properly acquainted with melee in general…

“Hey, Shon,” Rerves hissed, picking up his plate and bringing it over to sit across from him, “You do like her, don’t you?”

Shon looked at Lily, who was listening raptly to something Baradin was saying. She hadn’t stopped smiling since coming to dinner. To Rerves, Shon answered, “Why wouldn’t I?” but Rerves wasn’t looking at him. He was staring at Lily again too.

“I'm starting to think you don't understand what I mean…” Rerves answered. Shon arched an eyebrow, and Rerves sighed, stabbing his steak harder than necessary, “You are so dense sometimes. I mean, like her, like her.”

Oh... “It doesn’t matter,” Shon said, taking a bite of his dinner.

Rerves spluttered, “What do you mean ‘it doesn’t matter,’ of course it matters!”

“No. It doesn’t.” Shon stated definitively. Lily giggled down the table, her smile lighting up the room as she laughed. 

“But-” Rerves tried to argue.

"She isn't going to stay here forever." Shon stabbed some more meat and held it up for Ryuuko, hoping Rerves couldn't hear the disappointment he felt in saying the facts out loud.

He wanted to leave it at that, hoping that Rerves would understand, but as the other Squire opened his mouth to argue yet again, Shon spoke over him, "It doesn't matter if any or all of us like her, Rerves. We're Squires. That's the only thing that matters." As Squires, they couldn't court until they took their Oaths. And even then, they didn’t know where the Temple would station them. Did Rerves really think the Temple would let Lily follow them around forever?

Rerves' jaw snapped shut and Shon looked back at his plate, continuing, “She's going to leave eventually. But for now, she wants to learn how to fight." and why shouldn’t she? Shouldn’t anyone who wanted to learn be allowed to? They were supposed to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, but shouldn't that include teaching those who wanted to learn? 

Rerves didn’t have a counter, so Shon continued his meal in silence. He usually only spoke this much when helping the other boys catch up on training. When he finished, he went to the library while everyone else continued talking until the bell. Lily didn’t join them for study time, and Shon sat alone by the window, unable to focus on his reading.

He wondered how long Lily would be allowed to stay at Hamerfoss. Would anything he taught her really matter after she inevitably left? Where would she go? Where would he go?

Shon looked out the window as the hour bells rang, and saw fires burning in the courtyard. A figure stood in the middle, the flickering light reflecting off of golden hair.

He left for the courtyard while the others gathered for their usual games. Ryuuko slipped off its bookshelf as he passed and no one tried to stop him, though a few lamented that Lily wasn’t with them tonight. He exited the fortress to find dozens of small torch-like fireballs floating six feet off the ground, illuminating the practice area. In the middle, Lily was trying to spin the staff across her back as Shon had. It clattered to the ground and she cursed, scooping it up to try again.

“You have pants.” Shon blurted stupidly.

She spun on him, clenching the staff close with both hands. At the sight of him, she smiled, then twisted her wrist, summoning another little ball of fire in her palm, “How do I look?” she asked, “I’ve never worn pants before, but I thought they would be easier to move in.”

Shon could only stare as she lifted the simple under-tunic she wore up to her belly, revealing pale skin and a thick stripe of scarlet scales that looped around the top of her belly button and disappeared below the waistband of the pants in question. They were cut for a boy and thus hung off her hips instead of her waist.  Shon tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry.

“It, um…” he sputtered, finally managing a swallow, “It looks good. And you're right, it should be easier to move” he recovered.

Lily grinned, tossing her new fire into the air where it floated with the rest. Shon tore his eyes away from her to follow the fire, “How do you do that?”

She shrugged, “Practice. I used to burn things on accident all the time, but it’s not that hard once you get used to it.”

Get used to it… Shon shook his head and, for some reason, held out his hand and tried to form a ball of ice in it. Nothing happened. Ryuuko crawled down his arm to tilt its head at his palm with a chitter and Shon dropped the arm in frustration. The pseudodragon hissed, clawing its way backward back up to his shoulder. And, as if to spite his efforts, frost crystallized on the ground and up his legs. 

“When did you get your powers?” Shon asked.

Lily tilted her head at him, moving closer and melting the frost, “I’ve always had them.”

“Always?” it shouldn’t be possible. Sorcerers awoke around puberty, some younger and some older but never before ten.

She tilted her head to the other side, answering with another question, “You haven’t always had your powers?”

“I’ve always been cold…” Shon tried to explain, “But I didn’t make ice until a week ago.” he looked away, still ashamed.

Something hot touched his cheek, and Shon felt his power flood to the spot, cooling it and leaving only a pleasant warmth below the tingle of magic. Lily pulled his face back to look at her, still smiling, “You’ll get it,” she assured him, “It's just like this, isn’t it?” she dropped her hand, lifting her staff. Shon missed the touch. “It just takes practice. We can work on it together.” she finished.

He searched her smiling face, and when he spoke, it came out as a whisper, “I don’t want magic.”

“But you have it.” Lily shrugged.

She didn’t understand. How could she? She had perfect control of her magic, had melted his ice with a thought. He just had to wait for the sealing item Ivelm was making… Lily interrupted his thoughts, “You said you want to perfect yourself through training, right? Well, this is part of you, even more than a weapon can ever be.” she laughed, “And definitely more than armor is!”

Shon groaned, "Don’t you start too. I’d like to see you lumber around in an extra fifty pounds of chafing misery."

Lily laughed again, spinning the staff over her hand, “I would rather not.” she winked at him, “I just won’t get hit.”

Shon sighed and snatched the staff from Lily’s hand, “Show me your stances.”

Lily giggled, doing as she was told without argument or further talk of magic.