Picture Perfect
Prologue
"Err... Nino, was it? I'm sorry, but could you please leave me to read?"
"Oh! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt! Forgive me!"
-
"It's a picture book. My teacher gave it to me when I was little."
"Oh, so you weren't very good at reading, either?"
"No, quite the opposite. I only read the most difficult books from an early age."
-
It still surprised Erk, how quickly he had agreed to teach Nino. Thinking about it now, he should have recomended Lord Pent or Lady Louise, as they would have been much better. However, Nino was stuck on him, of all people, as her teacher.
Chapter 1: I Will Improve
Erk idly read the parchment Nino had handed him. This had been her 'homework' assignment. Reading it made Erk feel ill; the writing was so sloppy and poorly done, that he felt it was a crime to call it writing. The only reason Erk knew what the text was about was because he had told Nino what to write about. He was sat on his bed, in his room, in nothing but a dressing gown. Nino had thumped quite violently on the door, and barged in. Erk's hair was still wet from his bath, yet still Nino insisted he read her homework.
"Well?" The young green-haired Mage asked, eyes and voice full of hope.
"It's uh... you're improving." Erk replied. It was true enough. Nino was indeed improving, but not by much. Not as much as Erk had expected, at least.
"Really?" Nino gasped. "You mean you can read it now??" She leaned closer to him, sapphire eyes sparkling.
"Kinda..." Erk said honestly. "I can get a general idea, at least."
"Oh." She sounded disappointed. She had been at Castle Reglais for almost two months now. She learned quickly how to manoeuvre her fingers to move the quill across the parchment with some pattern, but as of yet had failed to make a clear word. She had some skill in drawing, though. This much was clear to Erk, as Nino had scribbled many doodles all over the parchment. "I did try, though." She said, almost sulkily. She stood upright again, though she her frame now slumped.
"I'm sure you did, Nino." Erk said. He hoped to sound reassuring, or believing, but due to his tiredness and slight irritation at being unceremoniously interrupted, it sounded the exact opposite.
"I'm sorry. I'll do better next time." Nino promised, staring at her feet. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
"Nino..." Erk sighed. "Go to your room, and write a sentence for me. I wa-"
"What should I write?" Nino asked, perking up instantly. She was eager for a chance to prove herself.
"Write 'I will improve'." Erk said. "Here." He grabbed a scrap of parchment, and a quill. He dipped the quill in ink, and wrote. "Read that.'
"I... w...w-will... immm...imm...prr... proh...?"
"I will improve. It says I will improve." He sounded like he had lost his patience.
"R-right."
"I want you to write 'I will improve'. You already know the alphabet, so the letters shouldn't be a problem. Write it over and over until it looks something like that, okay?" He pointed to the scrap. "If it looks like that, then I'll be able to read it, and..."
"Will I get something special?" She smiled.
"Sure. Something special."
"Ooh ooh! Like what?"
"I'll think of something. Off you go and practise, Nino."
"Yessir!" With that, Nino dashed from the room. Erk closed the door a moment later, then laid on his bed. He had been through some heavy training with Lord Pent today, and it had been exhausting. Plus, Nino's hyperactivity drained him. Before he knew it, he was asleep.
--
Erk awoke with a fear of dread. He had promised himself he would read at least two more chapters of 'Practical Applications of Anima Magic: Volume VI' before he slept. He had failed. Not a good start to the day. He had a feeling that it wouldn't get any better. Lazily, Erk brushed his long purple hair and dressed himself. He wore what had now become his usual gear: long black jeans, a plain black (sometimes white. Well, usually white) t-shirt, and a black shirt with an image of a dragon on it. He tugged on his boots, the same boots he had worn when he fought alongside Lady Lyndis, Lord Eliwood, and Lord Hector. It seemed a lifetime ago. Opening his wardrobe, Erk stared at the short brown jeans, blue tunic and red cloak. It was such a short time ago, yet a lifetime of memories since then. Erk had enjoyed his time with the Lady and Lords, even though his life was on the line day and night. Now, he found his time at Lord Pent's castle was more pleasant than his previous stay, yet he could not explain why. Erk sighed, closing his wardrobe. He put on the pendant Lady Louise had bought him, the bracelet that Lord Pent had given him, then exited his bedroom.
-
Erk sat down in the dining hall, along with Pent and Louise, ready for breakfast. Four waiters appeared from the kitchen, bearing trays of food. Three of them set their trays down in front of Erk, Pent and Nino. The fourth waiter, however, stood by the table looking confused.
"Where is Lady Nino?" He asked.
"Hm?" Lady Louise looked at Erk. "Do you know where she is, Erk?"
"She's probably still in her room." Erk replied, picking up a fork. "I gave her some homework last night. She probably stayed up late, trying to get it right. She'll still be asleep."
"Leave the tray in front of her seat." Louise instructed the waiter, who nodded, obeyed, then left. "Well, I suppose we'll have to start without her. It's a shame to let good food go cold."
"Indeed." Lord Pent agreed. "Let's eat." The three did so. "By the way, Erk. What homework did you give Nino, precisely?"
"I had her write down a sentence a few times." Erk said.
"What sentence?" Louise asked.
"I will improve. I thought that writing it might inspire her more."
"Not a bad idea." Pent said approvingly. "How many times did you tell her to write it?"
"Hm?" Erk held a finger up while he finished chewing his food. "How many times? I told her to... oh, SHIT!" His fork fell to the floor with a clatter as he leapt to his feet and dashed from the dining hall.
"I told you today would be a rushed day." Louise said to Pent, continuing her breakfast.
"You did say that, sweetheart." Pent agreed, doing the same.
-
Erk skidded to a halt at Nino's bedroom door, and whacked it twice with his fist.
"Come in..." A feeble voice said from inside. Erk opened the door, and saw Nino at her desk, several pieces of parchment on the floor around her seat. "Oh... hello, Erk..." She said blearily, turning to face him. Her eyes were almost completely red, and she had heavy black lines beneath them.
"Nino, what... did you...?"
"Does this look good?" She held up the parchment she had been writing on. There were no words on it, only lines that could have been letters. Nino was clearly very tired. "I tried. I stayed up all night, and-"
"All night??" Erk gasped.
"Yeah..." Nino yawned. "You told me to write it over and over until it looked like yours..." She dropped a hand on the scrap Erk had written on. "But I can't do it." Tears sparkled in her bloodshot eyes. "I tried so, so hard, but I still can't..." She sobbed.
"Nino, you silly, silly, girl." Erk sighed, closing the door and walking to her. "Of course you can't. Look at you, you're a wreck."
"B-but..."
"No buts. If you're tired, then of course you won't be able to do it." He grabbed her arm, and pulled her to her feet. "Now, get some sleep."
"But, I still haven't..." She feebly waved an arm at her desk.
"Sleep, Nino. You'll never get anywhere if you don't rest properly." He guided Nino to her bed, and laid her down gently. "Get some sleep, and I'll go to the kitchens and ask them to prepare a light meal for this afternoon, okay? I'll come and wake you later."
" 'kay..." Nino mumbled, half-asleep. " 'night."
"Goodnight." Erk replied, leaving her room. He closed the door gently, then sighed. How could he have not seen that one coming? Nino was so desperate to prove herself, to anyone, that she'd stay up all night long in order to get something right. Erk thumped his head against the wall a few times, then walked to the kitchens again. He cursed himself for his stupidity the whole way.
-
"Nino won't be joining us for breakfast." He told Pent and Louise. "She's sleeping in. I asked the chefs to prepare a light meal when I call for it." He sat himself down, picking up a clean fork that had been left on the table by a waiter.
"So, she stayed up late?" Pent asked him.
"Uh... yeah, like that." Erk replied, shovelling food into his mouth. Pent and Louise stared at him for a short while, then grinned to each other.
"Is she anything like you were as a young student?" Pent asked. Erk simply nodded, his mouth too full for him to speak. After a few moments, he swallowed the food, then threw his fork on the table.
"I'm not hungry." He declared with a heavy sigh, and left the dining hall. Pent and Louise stared after him for a moment, then sighed.
"That's unusual." Louise said.
"But not unheard of." Pent told her. "Though, it doesn't bode well. When the last time he didn't eat his breakfast?"
"The day he had to take Serra to Ostia."
"Ah, yes. And before that, it was when he was moving into a new room. He seems to lose his appetite when he's nervous, upset, or worried."
"So, which is it?" Louise pondered.
"Considering the sigh, I'd say he's worried."
"About Nino?" Louise giggled. "He's so cute sometimes."
--
That afternoon, at around 3pm, Erk knocked on Nino's door. She didn't invite him in, so Erk assumed she was still asleep. Quietly, he opened the door a little, and peered inside. Nino was still asleep, snoozing softly. Erk sighed, and walked in, closing the door behind him. He sat on the edge of the bed, and brushed Nino's hair from her face. Erk then discovered that Nino was a light sleeper, as even that gentle touch woke her up.
"Mmm...?" She stretched, yawned, then rubbed her eyes. "Yes?" She looked at Erk, her eyes only half-open.
"It's time to wake up, Nino." Erk told her. "You need to eat."
"Unhh..." She yawned again. " 'kay." She said sleepily, slowly pulling herself to an upright position.
"D'you want me to wait outside while you get changed?"
"Please."
"Alright. See you in a minute."
"Mm." Nino yawned widely. Erk walked out of her room, and waited. A few moments later, a soft thump alerted him, and he peeked inside again. Nino had collapsed onto the floor, asleep again. Erk sighed.
"Still a child." He muttered. "Needs a proper sleep pattern." He walked inside, firmly closing the door behind him. He picked up Nino, who was in her underwear, and carried to her bed. He then laid her down, and tucked her in. He sat himself at her desk, picking up the parchments that lay scattered around the chair. He leafed through them, surprised at how much she had written. Even more surprising, some of it was almost legible. "She really did try her best..." Erk breathed. "Now I've got to think of something special for her." He sat in the chair, wondering what treat he could give her.
-
A few hours later, Erk found himself being gently shaken by the shoulder. Opening his eyes, Erk realised he had fallen asleep. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Nino, fully dressed, smiling gently at him.
"You fell asleep." She murmured.
"It would seem so." Erk replied, stretching and yawning mutely. "Sorry. I shouldn't have stayed in your room. That was rude of me."
"No, it's okay. Were you looking at my writing?"
"Yeah. Some o-"
"Is it good?" She squeaked, eyes filling with hope.
"Well, I'll be honest. It's not very close to mine." Erk said, glancing at the parchment. Behind him, he felt Nino's mood dampen. "But it's better than I thought it'd be."
"Really?" Her voice soared. "D-do I get a treat?"
"As soon as I think of one." Erk told her, smiling.
"Oh! YAY!" She hugged him from behind, crushing her face against his. "So, what's it gonna be?" She asked, still with her cheek embedded in Erk's.
"Like I said, I need to think about it. I haven't been able to come up with anything good, yet." He moved Nino's arms, and stood up. "But first, we need to eat." He walked over to the door.
"Yeah, food." Nino agreed. "I'm hungry." She followed him out of the door, and the pair walked toward the dining hall. "Say, Erk?" She asked as they started walking
"Yeah?"
"There's lots of people in the castle, right?"
"Yeah."
"We always eat in that big room with the big table, but where does everyone else eat?"
"There's another dining hall. The servants, teachers and students eat there. Lord Pent, Lady Louise, and any one else they invite eat in the other hall."
"Oh, wow. So we're, like, special?"
"You could say that."
"Wow..." Nino said softly. Erk heard a sniff. He stopped, and looked back at her. She was crying lightly.
"I-is something wrong?"
"I... I never thought I'd be... sp-special. I mean... only me and y-you can eat in the b-big hall, right?"
"Uh... yeah. We're Lord Pent and Lady Louise's honoured students."
"Ho-honoured??" Nino gasped, the tears flowing faster. "I-I'm... honoured?"
"Well, yeah. Haven't I already told you what a great Mage you are?"
"Y-yes, but..." She sobbed again, rubbing her eyes on her sleeve.
"You didn't believe me?" Erk asked, tired of Nino's pessimism.
"N-no!" She snapped. "I-I mean yes. I, uh... I mean." Erk sighed.
"Relax, it's okay. Come on, let's eat."