Chapter 58
Alistar didn’t end up fishing with the others. Instead, he’d gone off to Mr. Herst’s to ask the man some questions concerning some of the content that he’d been studying as of late. After spending most of the evening in his company, he’d gone home to fill out the assignment sheets that Mrs. Dawn had given him in advance for the following week’s homework.
Though Alistar’s days were busy and full of endless toil, it was a great distraction from the darker thoughts that constantly threatened the budding sense of normalcy that was beginning to settle in on his new life in Distan.
Despite his heavy schedule, he still set time aside to play with Anice whenever it didn’t conflict with his productivity. He could tell that she had grown suspicious over him leaving the manor house so often without first coming to fetch her, which culminated with her asking after the reason for his secrecy one day during breakfast. He’d simply told her that he was reading at the collegia where there were books that the library at home lacked, which she seemed to have believed. Whatever the case, he had been quite surprised that she had let the topic dissipate so easily. Only after thinking on it for a while did he remember her words about doing her best not to bother him.
Still, he couldn’t mention anything about his agreement with Zech because he knew that she would insist on accompanying him if she were aware that one of her other friends would be there. The amount of times she could leave the estate each week was limited, so there was no doubt in his mind that his cousin would jump at any chance to see her friends. In her eyes, Alistar was surely her golden ticket away from the property’s guarded gates.
As it happened, he and Zech turned out to be very much alike. Both were highly competitive and boyishly rough around the edges, in the sense that they weren’t afraid of getting dirty and bruised. At times, one of them would instigate a sudden race against the other out of an unspoken sense of competition. One would call out a boundary, such as a rock, wagon or tree, and the two would race to that point with every bit of their energy for the prize of earning temporary bragging rights over the other.
There were times when the summer heat was so persistent that they would set down their wooden swords in the middle of their training and retreat into the cool waters of the Greyline, where the two tended to horse around rather than relax. Playing with his uncle Raidon in the cold waters of that beautiful river by Crystellum had been one of the most enjoyable times of Alistar’s life, and he was reminded of this every time he and Zech decided to goof off rather than rest between bouts of sparring. They skipped rocks, splashed water, wrestled, and tried their hands at fishing from the riverbank with some of the homemade fishing rods that were lying around the Dozen’s little meeting spot, which they tended to borrow from time to time.
Today was just like any other day. After sharing a generous breakfast with Caedmon and Anice, Alistar retrieved the latest book to catch his interest and eagerly read through its final Chapters. Following that, he rushed to his morning lessons with Tramon—who was, yet again, still sleeping by the time he arrived—following which he dedicated a couple of hours to studying philosophy with Mr. Herst by the Hanging Hill. Once finished, he went home, where he was guilted by Anice into playing tag with her for a time, after which they shared a light dinner together in Caedmon’s absence.
Once he was finished with his food, he hurried over to the river to meet with Zech for their daily training. It wasn’t long before the sharp knocks of polished wood against polished wood tickled the air around their practice area alongside the Greyline, a region only visited by a sparse selection of fishermen that were occasionally visible here and there along its vast length.
Twenty minutes into the sparring session, both of them sported nasty-looking welts on their arms and legs as well as newborn bruises of lighter shades that were visible on their torsos. Both had struck a respective stance, Alistar poised to strike while Zech was on the defensive. Their breathing was slightly heightened, their bare chests revealing traces of perspiration. Meeting one another’s gaze with focused eyes, small grins spread across their faces as they prepared for the next round.