Chapter 38: Knight School
Irene's impression of studying was toiling away while Lord Thomas hawked over her with a scrutinizing eye. He constantly breathed down her neck and noticed each wrong curve of her letters. The result was beautiful handwriting but it didn't feel worth the cost.
In the life she had seen, she grew up well-educated but wasn't able to do anything with it. It didn't seem that practical to her life other than the history of Chemois. The girls she spent her time with were dull and they wanted to talk about things she didn't find relevant to herself.
She stepped forward gingerly as she walked into the library of the Duke's Tower on the second floor of the northeast wing. A room full of boys wasn't the place to show her dread so she managed to suck it up and keep her head lifted high.
There were all of the apprentices who had just gone to the central township with her as well as a few apprentices she had never met properly before.
When she sat between Leif and a squire she was unsure his name, she remained silent until they saw their teacher walk into the room. Her posture straightened and she leaned into the table, suddenly eager to start learning.
Sir Gunnar walked into the room with surprising half glasses sitting low on his nose as he thumbed through a book.
She never viewed him as someone scholarly, but he was always the one overseeing apprentices, so it shouldn't have been such a surprise.
"Now that you're all subjected to indoor duties this week," the knight began, "you will each be tasked with researching a monster or beast using materials in this library. The requirements are a brief overview, how you would track one in its natural habitat, and what you must do to defeat such a being. Any questions?"
"No, sir," the students responded mostly in unison.