When he woke up, his hand touched something soft and dry. He didn’t dare open his eyes for a while, hoping that sleep would lull him in again and keep him a bit longer from facing reality.

“I won’t hurt you, if that’s why you keep pretending to be asleep,” somebody said. That older, gentle voice again. There was some shuffling and the tap, tap, tap of leather soles on a wooden floor.

A stool creaked, and then there was some rusting, and finally… silence. Kuo could hear some distant chattering and the clacking of hoofs on cobblestones. It was eerily peaceful. He opened his eyes and was met with the fading sunshine of dawn. He was in an actual bed, and the room was clean and warm, although no fireplace was in sight. An old man was sitting on a stool next to his bed. He had a book in his hands and wore a long robe made of thick, dense material - northern fashion. He looked like a scholar.

“Um,” Kuo croaked.

“You’re in Gimma. We found you in the woods after you tore through one of our southern barriers. You ran a high fever, and your left foot had an infected cut you couldn’t heal on your own anymore. You’ve been here for three days.” Aro looked at him quizzically. “Do you understand my language? ĉu komprenas?”

Kuo nodded, dumbfounded. “Yes… ah, I understand.” Tears sprang to his eyes, and he felt dizzy when a coughing fit rattled through his chest. It hurt, and spots danced in his vision. He shouldn’t have headed north. The weather was bound to kill him.

“Here, drink.” The old man lifted his head carefully, and something herbal slid down Kuo’s sore throat. “It’s herbal tea and should help with the coughing until your Spark is strong enough again.”

“Thank you.”

Aro smiled and leaned back. “My name is Aro, and I am the headmaster of the resident Sparks and Pages. I will ask you some questions if you’re comfortable with that. Simple yes or no questions so you can nod or shake your head. If you don’t want to answer, just lift your hand. I won’t be offended.”

Kuo nodded, kneading the blanket in his hands nervously.

“Do you feel better?”

Kuo nodded. That was easy.

Aro smiled. “Good. We were worried on the first day. The next one may be uncomfortable, but I’d rather be straightforward. Were you a slave?”

Kuo trembled and nodded slowly, looking haunted.

What had given him away?

“Your feet,” Aro supplied, waving at the bandaged feet hidden by the blanket. “I’ve only ever seen this kind of grey magic on slaves of the south and the west. Truthfully, it was a bit of a challenge to cease the complex spell crawling back over the scars, but I think we did a good job of stopping it indefinitely. The healers also managed to burn out the visible traces of the spell. There’s no slavery in the North, and we don’t support claims of ownership. You’re not cattle.”

Kuo exhaled slowly. This was good. Kind of. “I’ve been on the run for months. But I am sure they are still looking for me. This could become inconvenient. For you, I mean.”

Aro considered him. “Do you want to tell me who kept you?”

Kuo shook his head vigorously. If this man knew the name, he’d understand what Kuo had to do there. And he really didn’t want to talk about that. He’d rather swallow his tongue.

“Okay, I am not worried about trackers, though. I daresay we have good enough wards to keep those people outside. We will hide you and give you a place to stay until you’ve healed. Truthfully, I would be immensely thrilled to have you here as a residential Spark among the Pages we already have. I understand that your desire to bond may be none, given your nature and the strength of your Spark, but I would love to discuss options with you once you feel better.”

Kuo sat up. “What… what do you mean by my nature?”

Aro placed his book on the tiny nightstand and moved closer. He whispered the next question. “You’re a Kashita, aren’t you?”

Kuo was speechless. People didn’t know of them. They were called ‘the hidden ones’ for that very reason.

“I met one by accident. It was in the middle of the night, and he was likely on his way to their camping site. I was cloaked since I felt reckless and wanted to stroll around in the darkness, so right in the middle of nowhere, we bumped into each other. Both cloaked, both not expecting anybody at that hour. It was a truly odd meeting. Thankfully, he was kind and let me go.” The headmaster chuckled fondly at the memory.

“How old were you?”

The eldest had loved to share these kinds of stories or tell them as nightmare-fuelling tales to scare the kids. Kuo remembered them all, and he wished he didn’t. Some still haunted him, making him wary. And there was no one left to share this story with.

Aro smiled. “I was eight and thought I was the bravest man of them all. Of course, I screamed like a goat that was about to be murdered. I wet my pants and had to hobble back in them to confess that I’d been out and got spooked.”

Kuo smiled at that. He could just imagine it, and what were the odds, indeed? His Spark reached out, testing the grounds. A lot of magic floated around here. He hadn’t expected that much crammed into a restricted space. “How many Mages live here?”

Aro leaned back and looked at him quizzically. “How many can you feel?”

The young man arched his brows. “Right now? Um…”

Kuo let his spark stretch to get a better feel of the place. It was a truly vast area, and the web of magic spanned further than he’d ever seen anywhere else. The monastery was also something else. The guard spells were nothing he’d have to worry about, but they kept out the things he had worried about all night when he was on his own. The layout of the wards and the barriers soothed his anxiety, and he relaxed a bit, knowing he’d be safe. For a while.

He almost forgot that he owed the older man an answer. “Nineteen. But currently, there are only eight within the walls.”

“Excellent. That amount of Mages does not faze you?”

“No. The place where I was held captive had more. And also more Sparks and Pages. Twenty-two seems reasonable.”

“Twenty-one.”

Kuo shook his head slowly and blushed. “Um, no. Twenty-two.”

Aro was surprised. “Well… I guess I have to talk with a Page about her plans, and now I am glad we aren’t evenly matched. See, that’s what keeps the work interesting.”

The old man got up and went to the window to gaze into what Kuo assumed was the garden. There were several big trees, some smaller knobby ones, a lot of bushes, and rectangular beds full of… more green things that were likely edible.

Kuo considered everything, his mind reeling. Kindness had been an unknown word in the Lucerna. You had to pay or trade favours to get something. “I’m... My name is Kuo. Thank you for everything.”

He wanted to say more.

I don’t know if I would have survived this.

I forgot how good a bed feels.

I can’t believe I won’t be starving anymore.

“I don’t know how to repay your kindness.”

Aro turned around and smiled. “You’re very welcome. I am glad we found you. If I may be curious, I’d like to learn more about your kind and would love to see what you can do. Can you read?”

Kuo nodded. “Yes. Common language, if the handwriting isn’t too bad.” Kuo thought bitterly about the months he’d been forced to learn it so he could read the customer instructions about their preferences.

“That won’t be an issue. We have a library. You’re free to use it. You’re above the sewing rooms of the Pages, and you’re welcome to venture down and see what they do once you feel better.”

“I’d like to sit in the garden when my feet stop itching.”

The old man nodded. “Of course. You’re not a prisoner.”

Kuo looked at the table on the opposite side of the bed. There was a jug and food. A simple plate with bread, cold meat cuttings and some cheese. A feast for a king, at least to him.

Aro slowly walked to the door. “I will check on the Pages and ensure they don’t stitch pranks into their Mages’ cloaks. If you want to venture outside, please use a glamour and don’t get spooked if somebody joins you.”

“The Ouga who’s already looking inside like a creep?”

Aro laughed. “Yes. Don’t be offended. I asked her to do so, and she was curious. She’s from Lioht.” He waited for a reaction, but Kuo kept calm and blinked like an owl. “I’ll come find you later, Kuo. Enjoy your meal. There will be more for dinner, of course.”

Kuo fell back into the soft sheets and gazed up, tracking the shadows in the plaster. He heard chatter and laughter from downstairs. Spark seeped up through the wooden floor, and the whole building was practically drenched in their power. It reminded him of the Spark and Page quarters in the Lucerna, but without the misery and wrath.

He wiggled his feet experimentally. When he’d fled, they had burned like the skin and flesh wanted to melt right off his bones, and although they still hurt and stung, the worst of the agonising sensation was gone.

He felt like luck was on his side for the first time in forever. Kuo cried in relief while the warm sun kissed his pale cheeks.