Luke’s viewpoint
He never saw that girl here before. Cal must have adopted her; he was going to the orphanage. She seemed sweet, but for some reason her cat didn’t sit well with her. His red eyes felt like they were staring into his soul. They made their way to the knight commander’s office. Luke gulped. “Don’t worry. What I say goes, if she wants you to watch over here you will.” This was reassuring since he felt that the captain didn’t like him very much. The captain turned to look as soon as the door opened. Luke showed respect to him, while Cal casually walked in without a care in the world. This must be what it's like to hold that much power. Before the commander could even speak Cal spoke “This young man will be Alice’s knight.” The commander looked at me annoyed. “Him? He hasn’t been here very long.” “Yes, him. I just wanted to let you know who I chose.” “Yes, sir.” He bowed at Caldrith. Luke stood there scared for his life with the glare he was being shown.
“Come on.” Luke followed him out the door. “What are my first orders?” It was a new experience for him. He was never entrusted so far with such a prestigious position. “Well, it's best if you get acquainted with Alice and her cat. I’m sure you realize he’s a magical creature.” “Yes. I do.” Of course he did, normal cats like that didn’t talk. That cat terrified him, and he couldn’t pinpoint why. “I think it’s best that you get some rest and come by in the morning to see her and Lucky.” He bowed and agreed happily. Cal walked back to the mansion and behind him Luke was almost giddy with joy. He had no idea what would be in store for him in the future.
Alice’s viewpoint
She woke up to Lucky talking to her. “You must’ve been tired. I’m sorry for getting you up, but they need to get you ready to go meet your new knight.” Her new knight? She was so tired she had almost forgotten. “Oh, it’s fine. I don’t want to leave him waiting any longer.” Lucky left the room while she got ready. They always took a long time to get her ready. She finally got the last brush of her hair done. “You have such lovely blonde hair.” She wanted to say it was a dirty blonde but took the compliment. “Thank you.” “Oh, you’re welcome, dear.” It was nice to have her hair brushed by someone. It was so relaxing. She opened the door and out there was her new knight. “Hi, Luke.” He bowed. “Hi, miss Alice. I thought we could discuss your plans for today.” “Oh, yes. I’m excited to meet my magic teacher.” That was an understatement. She was brimming with energy. She couldn’t help but notice Lucky looking up at her with admiration. He must’ve been proud of her. “Don’t worry, I’ll do great.” He said to her, “I know you will. There is no reason for me to worry.” The three of them went down to discuss the plans for the day.
She learned that Luke wasn’t from a well-established noble family. His family barely achieved the status to let him become a knight. She felt it was a terrible idea to waste such talent just because of someone’s birthright. Although most of the nobility were afraid of fighting in the seemingly never-ending war, there were still some hurdles for the lower class to make their way to knighthood. Alice hoped the bloodshed would end soon. Those creatures that were told to be brought about by an evil demon lord were causing so much destruction. No one knows where they came from. The thought of fighting out there sent shivers down her spine. “I hope that this ends soon.” “Me too. It feels like the people are being used as cannon fodder to fight these beasts. I mean…excuse what I just said.” “It’s okay. I understand it must be terrifying.”
Before she knew it the magic teacher was here. Lucky was right by her side as the middle-aged woman walked up to her. She was seemingly studying Alice, looking for something. Maybe determination. She had that. Caldrith walked up from behind. “This is my apprentice, Alice. She has a lot of potential.” “Yes, I would assume you would pick an excellent candidate for the next head mage.”
She looked at Alice “Let’s see what you can do.” She said with a smile. It wasn’t a sweet smile, it was intimidating. “I won’t let you down.” Alice piped up. All she needed to do was to believe in herself. They stepped out in a large grass courtyard in the back of the mansion. This didn’t seem like the place to practice magic. Maybe she would take her to the training grounds next time. “What kind of magic do you know so far? I heard you know a little bit about water magic.” “Yes, I do. I never really studied it before, but I can just feel its pull. I also know how to conjure fire. I didn’t do it that often when I was at the orphanage.” “You know water and fire magic. How interesting to know complete opposites of one another with no training. That is something to be noted.” Before she could bring up an explanation the teacher splashed water at Alice’s feet. In one swift motion the water came up from the ground and formed into a round ball. “Let’s see if you can do this.”
It looked simple enough. She brought up water from the ground and tried to make it into a ball. She knew this was the basics. Alice had to prove herself. After a few tries she managed to form it into a semicircular shape. “Good, now you know water is all around you. You don’t need an obvious source in front of you. But for right now this works.” All she could do is nod in agreement. Once she managed to get a hold of this type of magic, she could proceed on learning so much more. “I’ll show you how to turn the water into ice after we get a little more comfortable with this.” “Okay.” That must mean that she believed in her. At least the teacher seemed to.
This seemed to bring hope to her. They practiced till dinner time. She was excited to tell Caldrith how it went, even though he wasn’t her father. Alice felt that Cal did care for her, at least a little bit. If at the very least he was concerned for her well being as his apprentice. She almost skipped all the way inside. But she caught herself, she didn’t want to look ill mannered. She was now part of a distinguished household. She sighed. “Are you okay?” Lucky said clearly to her showing how concerned he was. “Yes, I’m just trying to have good etiquette. I’m part of a different lifestyle now.” “You’re much more regal than you realize.” She didn’t know how to take that. “Thank you.” Luke trailed behind them.
He was clearly lost in thought. She thought it would be good to invite him to dinner with us. He was her personal knight. She would have to ask Caldrith if that was okay. As soon as the thought came to Alice’s mind, Cal appeared in front of her. “I heard you did a great job.” He spoke warmly. “Oh, I’m glad the teacher thought so. Oh, I was wondering if you could allow Luke to eat with us. He must be tired from watching me all day.” “Of course. You must be tired as well after all that practice.” “Yes, I am.” The truth was she was pumping with adrenaline. Sleep was the last thing on her mind. “It’s okay, you don’t need to invite me. I can eat elsewhere.” “No, Cal said it’s fine.” Alice stopped him from leaving. He stood all day making sure everything was safe for her. “It’s fine. If Alice wants you to stay, I will allow it.” Before Luke could sit down next to Alice, Lucky jumped onto the seat. “You can sit next to me.” He looked at Luke with an annoyed look. “You usually sit on the floor, what’s gotten into you today?” “Oh, I just wanted to change it up.” She looked down at him like she didn’t believe his words. But after all Lucky did for her, she didn’t question it.
In front of them they brought out a roast with scalloped potatoes, along with many other delicious sides. The roast was huge with roasted carrots and celery on the sides of it. Alice started to realize how hungry she truly was. Luke seemed to be excited about the food too. Soon there was a heaping plate in front of her. On the side she had bread slathered with butter. It was the perfect meal, and she could eat as much as her stomach would allow. Luke ate last out of respect.
Comments (1)
See all