FULL SUMMARY:
Two boys in very different and complicated conditions become disciples of a great mage and rivals in their attempt to be chosen as the mage's replacement. As they grow older together, they will grow and change as people and their relationship ends up evolving as well.
Following the boys from their childhood (when Alfred is 10 and Arthur is 12) to their early adulthood (Arthur's 21 years and Alfred's 19), this story will highlight an event per month (aka chapter) of the boys' lives, showing all the tribulations of puberty, maturity and how the presence of a person in your life can make you feel motivated to follow through with it.
PS: In the future, when they are older, there may be smut.
Autor's note:
This is a story written by me and Mayumi Sato!
Hello there, dear future readers!
Thank you so, so much for having an interest for this story! We really hope you will read and enjoy it enough to want more of it! This is a fanfiction made by me and lovely miss Mayumi Sato and it was originally a RP in which I'm Arthur and she's Alfred. This is going to be a pretty long ride, I must warn you, but don't you think a slow development is really interesting to see? Since Mayumi and I write a LOT in our RPs, we thought it would be a good idea to share the results of our efforts and ideas to you guys! English isn't the first language of either of us since I study English at college I guess it's safe to say that this is a pretty good translation of the original work, although there's a slight, undeniable possibility that maybe one or two grammar mistakes or awkward sentences escaped since that's not really our language and this kind of stuff happens. Sorry if that's the case but I hope you will enjoy this story anyway!
If you like it, please, leave a comment and/or fave! We're a bit new on the USUKUS part of the international fandom and we need support to keep doing this job, since it's going to be a hard one! Even if you can't, thank you so much for reading this fic! Have a great time and a lovely day! Cya soon(we hope)!
The changing of the seasons
- Prologue -
Just a little longer, the master said.
A cool breeze ruffled Arthur's hair, and he winced, hugging himself and closing his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them, he looked up to the horizon, and watched indifferently as the sun hid behind some distant hills.
It was cold and dimming, and he turned his attention from the sun to his master, who walked beside him, a little more forward. Arthur wanted to say that he was tired and hungry. He wanted to say that his feet ached, and that he wanted to sleep. But when the master seemed to notice that he was being watched, Arthur sought to look down and pretended interest in the pebbles on the ground.
Just a little longer, the master repeated.
There were more houses, more civilization now. Fewer trees, more open fields with crops and more junctions in the road. They had reached a village. There were few people on the street, but they all looked askance at them. Intimidated, Arthur pulled up and straightened the eye patch that was around his neck like a necklace, and took a few timid steps closer to his master. He did not seem to notice.
Finally, they reached a house with two floors that made master take off his hood and inform that they had arrived. Arthur was so relieved he sighed audibly. They entered, and Arthur tried not to look too intimidated by the people who were inside. They looked at them with curiosity, interest and apprehension, and their conversation paused for a moment, watching, observing, cataloging. Arthur tried not to make eye contact with them.
The master exchanged a few words with the man behind a wooden counter, and he led them to a table in the corner, while people resumed to talk loudly as they moved between them. They sat at the table.
"What do you want to eat, Arthur?" The master asked. The other man was still before them, so Arthur did not dare to speak, cringing in his chair, "It's all right. Two stews, bread, beer for me and water for the boy." He said to the man, who walked away.
They were silent as they waited, and Arthur watched the master rotate the rings on his fingers. Arthur wondered if he ever would have as many rings as well. The eye patch irritated his skin (again), and he tried to tuck it as best he could. He did not want to show his right eye. He did not want. He couldn't. He could not.
Their food arrived. The master started eating at once, but Arthur waited a moment, watching the hot smoke dance through the air, feeling the pleasant smell and letting it fill his senses. He took a long sip of his water, and before he put his spoon on the plate, he thanked quietly. His master smiled, and they ate, once again silent.
For many reasons, no one in the village wanted to approach that old foreigner, said to be a mage looking for an apprentice.
Partly because magic was something strange for a modest village like theirs, focused on jobs that could be done with hands, legs and muscles. Partly because, although they all were aware of who he was and what he wanted there, people felt a bit intimidated by his presence and didn't dare talk to him, but also because, honestly, no one would have something to gain by talking to him, besides rumors about it spreading through the village. The mage was known to be a man who demanded a lot of his possible pupils and now that he was wanting someone to replace him, his selection criteria probably were well above his normal.
Therefore, everyone in the village was fully aware that the mage wasn't really expecting anything there, considering that there were so many cities full of students from great grades in respected academies and higher social level in distant lands.
However, if there was an important lesson that Alfred Fall Jones learned in his life was that while adults say that good children shouldn't bother the older, sometimes, to pursue opportunities, you should act in a way that would generally be considered "nonsensical", "clueless" or "impolite".
Alfred's village was pretty much a piece of land where people ate what they planted. You could divide the people there in those who planted and those who prepared something with what was planted. It was a very average village, indeed, and probably seen as a place without anything interesting for a well traveled wise man such as the mage. The only reason for him going there was because it was in the middle of his route and no one in the right sense should've raise expectations about that visit.
This was the thought of all the people of the village, except for one. One who was not afraid to do something that did not make any sense for others.
Alfred Fall Jones, after spending some time checking all the faces in the crowded establishment where the mage was said to be at that time, smiled brightly at seeing an unfamiliar old face.
"Hello! You are the mage, right?" Alfred asked, walking away from the entrance with a big smile while going to the location where the strange gentleman was, making his way through the crowd.
That was a walk so much harder than it should be! There was so many people there! Not to mention that Alfred couldn't avoid his slight limping while walking that fast because his mechanical leg worked well enough, but it was still a bit uncomfortable and had some balance issues.
He almost fell over the mage in his haste and distraction.
"I am…! Waa!" oh, damn. He really needed to have better control of that leg! "I-I'm Alfred Fall Jones!" He introduced himself in a smooth recovery, patting his crumpled clothes to show his best appearance the old man "Nice to meet you, sir! I want to be your new student!"
Arthur was almost dozing off, his head hanging forward here and there, leaning on his left hand, when he was suddenly awakened by the voice of a boy.
Sleepy, he turned to the other child and wondered what such a little boy was doing alone at night. Then, he wanted said little boy to get out, because his master already had a student.
"Hello, Alfred Jones Fall," The master said, nodding. He finished his beer and closed his book, "You want to be my student, hm? May I know what motivates you?"
"Well, I like to invent stuff!" Alfred answered excited, shaking his fists up and down with fire in his eyes "Magic is all about it, right? Understanding concepts, theories and seeing the practical applications of it! I like this idea! I have invented several things, sir. I made a machine that helps to grind the wheat, but no one wants to use it because they say it would be dishonorable for them to let an instrument do their job as if they were incapable to do it themselves! Anyway, I also started ta model of an object to examine things closely, which works as the 'glasses' that have recently been invented by someone else, but amplifying things much more than them! Ha, ha! Ah, before I forget to say! My greatest pride is this one here!" He said, holding his prosthetic leg up for a bit while almost jumping to maintain his balance "It's not pretty and it can be a little uncomfortable sometimes, but I can walk using it! Isn't it amazing?"
The master seemed very interested in that. Arthur was very surprised. And slightly angry, because he didn't want to share his master. On the other hand, he knew that his master had been interested in other candidates before, but discarded them all as soon as he realized that they were not good enough, so he was not worried.
"You made it, Alfred?" he asked, indicating the leg and narrowing his eyes to look at it in more detail, "How old are you?"
"I became ten years old in the summer!" He looked to the discreet source of the voice that made this question, only now realizing the presence of the other boy. He got used to him very quickly, though. "No one remembered to celebrate my birthday, but I have a calendar that I made to follow the phases of the moon, so I remembered the date anyway and can answer with confidence that it was my tenth birthday! Yep! Alfred Fall Jones! 10 years old! Are you the mage's son?"
Ugh. Ten years. That explained many things.
Children had an irritating way of talking. That was what his older brothers used to say, and Arthur agreed.
"No." He replied simply. I have no parents.
"Arthur is my apprentice." The master replied, smiling at Arthur, who managed to leave the memory of his parents in the dark corner of his mind where they lived now, "Now, you really like to invent things, right? Can I see more inventions of yours? I'm surprised about your leg, Alfred Jones Fall, but you'll have to surprise me even more if you really want to be my apprentice. You have to convince me that teaching you will be worth it. You think you can do that?"
"Actually, I'm not worried about impressing you at all, sir!" Alfred replied in the same second, maintaining the same spontaneous and brilliant smile on his face, even if the presence of that Arthur boy indicated that the mage probably made his criteria even higher now, since he already obtained his first student and there was only one place left, "If I have what I need to be your student, you will accept me as one! If I don't, I can learn what I'm bad at and improve as an inventor! There's not a loss in any of the routes! Also, being able to show my inventions to people is always good! Nobody pays much attention to them, usually!" His smile finally changed a bit and acquired a small note of discomfort, "They say that machines are made for lazy people who don't know the value and the honor of working hard! You know how it is, right? Ha, ha!"
"They clearly do not understand the work involved in making machines, right?" The master replied. Arthur noticed a smile on his lips, and this time he was a little uncomfortable about it. It was not possible that the master was interested in that boy just because he said he did not care whether or not he'd be his student! … right? Adults were so silly! "It's late, your parents must be concerned. Go home. Tomorrow, come back here and I'll go with you to see their inventions. What do you say?"
Oh, good! If his only concern was about Alfred's parents…
"Oh, don't worry about it, sir! My parents don't care about me!" Alfred casually informed the man with a careless smile, "By the way, one of the things that I invented was a tent! I like to sleep in the forest sometimes in order to catch fireflies and use them in a lamp! Ah, but it's kind of scary to sleep there after reading horror stories, so I avoid combining these two activities! The point is that my parents don't care if I'm home or not and that's why staying out late is the least of my worries!" He emphasized, putting his hands on his hips, making a pretty confident stance to his words "So, if you want to, we can check my inventions right now!"
Although the master seemed to have understood the situation, Arthur did not. He stared at Alfred with a shocked expression.
"What do you mean, your parents do not care? Parents care about their children. That is what they do. He must be lying, master." Arthur spoke. His parents, for example, never let him go out after sunset. They cared. They took care of him, and of his brothers. That's what parents do. They kissed their children's forehead and pushed them down the trapdoor that led to the basement so they'd be safe, and they would not let anyone evil go inside.
"Arthur… Things are different here. We talked about cultural differences, remember?"
"I remember, master, but…"
"So we talked about this later." He turned to Alfred again "I plan to continue my journey tomorrow morning, so the sooner we solve this, the better."
"Okay!" Alfred agreed, nodding, "Meanwhile, can I go and play with your student? It's the first time I see someone like me!" He pointed to his leg and then to the boy's eye patch (who was now grimacing with distrust), "This makes me so happy! I never have someone to play with because people are so different from me here!"
"I do not "play"." Arthur said about the same time as the master said:
"It's all right. As I check your inventions, Arthur makes you company."
Arthur knew he couldn't disagree with that. He sighed, though he wanted to snort.
"Okay! Actually, I think I will wait for you to finish your drink and later I will bring you to my lab! It is in my house's basement! I spend most of the time there! I'm going to play with your apprentice meanwhile!" after reaching this agreement with the mage, Alfred thought his business with him were temporarily completed and turned 120% of his attention to the other boy. "Hello! I'm Alfred! What is your favorite color?" he asked, offering his hand in a friendly way.
"I already know your name," Arthur replied, staring at Alfred's outstretched hand for a moment, then shrugging his shoulders, hiding his hands in his pockets.
"Don't take it personally, Alfred, he just don't like physical contact." The master said with a slightly amused tone. Arthur was beginning to see a pattern there: beer was equal to a more smiling master. But Arthur had a good reason to dislike to be touched: the last time he held someone's hand, he had to watch his little brother stumble and disappear on the horizon. He swallowed, and even though that color could cause his chest to ache and his eyes to burn with tears he wouldn't allow to go down, he murmured:
"Green." Because it was the sweetest color he had ever seen: his mother's eye color, the color of the lake where they played, and the color of her favorite robe, which she was wearing when he saw her for the last time. Light green, lighter than the grass, darker than the lake water. Light green, with a taste of past and smell of nostalgia; a color that definitely did not go with blood red.
"That's your favorite color? But it seems to make you so sad!" Alfred was astonished with the way that answer was delivered. That's not how people were supposed to talk about their favorite color! "You wanna know mine?" he asked, not even expecting an answer before saying "My favorite color is blue! Do you also like blue, what-is-your-name-anyway?"
"Arthur," Arthur informed, shrugging, and the replied, "… I do not like it very much…"
"You don't like your name? Why? It's such a good name! Ah, but since you don't like it, can I call you 'Artie'?" he asked. 'That's not was not what I was talking about,' he heard Artie saying, but did not pay much attention to it. Not having any notion of personal space, Alfred leaned towards him until he was practically glued on Artie's face "Hey, hey! Can you get up now? Let's go play in the woods! I will show you the tent that I made!"
Arthur flinched and almost fell from his chair by do so.
He did not want to go outside in the middle of the night. It was late, dark, cold, and he was exhausted.
"I do not want. Master…" he tried to say, but the master had asked for a second glass of beer and simply made a sign of "Go ahead, go ahead" with the hand that left Arthur somewhat frustrated. One more detail about beers: they left master kind of irresponsible about his disciple.
Alfred didn't understand exactly what happened, but that Artie-boy was following him and that was what mattered!
Artie seemed a little shy. He was always behind Alfred while they walked. Alfred tried to accompany him in the beginning, slowing his pace, but Arthur always made himself slow down even more each time that it happened and got out of Alfred's visual reach in no time. That was seriously weird because, due to the problem with his leg, it wasn't like Alfred could walk that fast!
On the few times that Alfred turned to check at him in their way, he saw Artie glancing back with a rather intensely pensive look on his face as if he was seriously pondering about something he had to do in the place they came from and, yet, Arthur didn't say anything about it.
Alfred still tried repeatedly to find out if Arthur was needing anything or if there was some problem with his eye patch, but all that Arthur asked from him was that Alfred left him alone and all Arthur did was softly and carefully press his eye-patch every time he received these questions, as if he was protecting it. Ahh! Arthur was so shy, really!
They went to an isolated but not too dangerous part of the forest, where Alfred had built his tent with old sheets of his home and some pieces of rope.
"Tchan-ran! Here is my tent! Great, isn't it?" He made a big gesture with his arms to display it "I have many things here that you have to see, Artie! Which kind of games do you like to play?"
Considering a ten years old had built it, it was a great tent. But Arthur didn't actually mention it because he was too preoccupied looking around, watching every corner of the forest. It was dark and quiet, which made him uncomfortable and alert. It was as if something could jump out of the shadows at any time. With his arms around his torso, he shook his head.
"My name is Arthur. And as I have said before, I do not play. I am too old for it"
"Pff. You are too old to play but are still scared of the dark?" Alfred said with a teasing smile while turning to his tent to get something that could serve as toys for them. "How old are you, anyway?" he asked as he rummaged through the mess in his tent. Man, he had accumulated so many trickets!
"I am not afraid of the dark!"Arthur replied. He was just a little uncomfortable with the idea of something coming out of the trees to attack them "I am twelve."
"If you're only two years older than me, you are a kid too, you silly!" Alfred continued to laugh mockingly. Then he finally managed to put his hands on something cool enough to show to Artie and turned around, saying "Hey, check this out!" Then, he pulled of the tent a wooden box carried by wheels, which he had created to carry heavy or multiple objects.
He almost lost his balance while dragging it but, fortunately, he managed to bring it to Artie without any accidents.
"Sit down here! I will carry you!"
"But I am almost a teenager, while you are still just a child." Arthur answered with seemingly indifference, just squeezing a little more arms across his chest. He wanted to get closer to see the thing Alfred had brought, but remained with his feet in the same place. "That does not look very safe," He said.
"What?! Of course it's safe! I made a metal plate supporting the wooden box and I connected the box with the rest of the structure using screws! The friction is not going to reach you! At least, not much! I have transported heavy objects on it before and nothing happened! Come on! It will be fun!"he argued, patting affectionate his own invention to invite Artie to sit in it "And you are not a teenager! Teens are tall, have a gross skin and have boyfriends or girlfriends whom they kiss all the time! You have none of these characteristics, then you are a child like me!" Alfred concluded.
"But I'm almost a teenager." Arthur insisted, but his argument was followed by a yawn and being forced to rub his eye, which probably had made him look pretty childish. He snorted. "… If I let you push me a little in your thingy, will you let me go back to my master in piece?"
"Awww, but we barely started!" Alfred complained in a frustrated voice "I still have loads of things that I want to show you! Are you tired already? You're too weak for someone who claims to be almost a teenager, Artie!" he stated, frowning "How will you get to be a good apprentice if you get tired so easily?"
Arthur frowned and opened his mouth, offended. How dared he! Arthur had walked all day long, there was a cold wind following them, sweeping the leaves away and making his nose reddish and cold, so he was very tired!
"Shut up." Arthur replied, walking angrily to Alfred's cart-thingy and entering it in one swift movement. He was only doing that to prove that he was not weak "You do not know what you are talking about. Only because I was resting when you showed up that does not mean I had been like that all day long, you know!"
Despite Artie seeming so bitter about it, Alfred's smile and satisfaction about that turn of events couldn't be more obvious. Still, he didn't want to piss of that Arthur-boy so much! He had to make a good impression on him or Artie would run away! So he controlled his excitement and waited until Artie adjusted his position in the box to a safer and more comfortable one before starting to push it forward. Very slowly.
"Weeeeeell, that doesn't change the fact that kids here work all day and still have energy to play while you didn't even want to sit in a box and be dragged around on it!" Alfred smirked, rolling his eyes, very pleased with himself.
In response, Arthur only grunted. Arthur was funny!
After a while walking and carrying Arthur around, Alfred asked before he could forget to check:
"Hey, how did you lose your eye? Does it bother you too much?"
That part of the woods was some kind of small clearing, but Arthur wasn't sure if someone had made it that way, or if it was Nature's work. Alfred's tent was more or less in the middle of it, and Arthur noticed two rocks near it with some pebbles near them. The ground where Alfred was walking with the cart had grass on it, and even with the dim light, Arthur could see it had been mowed not too long ago.
Arthur would have retorted if Alfred hadn't made those questions. Some images popped up in his mind, which made him cringe a little, covering his eye patch with one hand.
"I do not want to talk about it." He said quietly.
"Oh, I know how it is. You're afraid of remembering the moment, right?" Alfred could sympathize with him on this matter, "I used to be scared too. I even had nightmares. Fortunately, I am a very brave boy so I'm over it! I think the secret to overcoming this kind of stuff is to try to focus on the fact that the worst is over and that the present is full of possibilities! This leg is still not very good, you know." he said, not only due to the flow of dialogue, but also to explain why he was just going round with Arthur where land was less irregular and why he had to go on such a low speed. "But one day this will be a better leg than normal legs are and it's gonna be super-beautiful and everyone will be amazed with it! You will see!"
Arthur didn't want to talk about himself. And so, he tried to focus the conversation on Alfred:
"How long has it been since… You lost your leg?" Arthur asked, wrapping his arms around his legs. He still had nightmares. Almost every night. He wondered how long it would take for them to stop, or even… if they would actually stop someday.
"Wait, let me calculate that... Hm... Two years and six months!" he replied, pleased with his accuracy at pointing out the date. He was also happy because on that moment they were passing in front of some cute yellow flowers he thought that Artie would like to see! "It was a stupid accident I had when I was playing with other boys of the village. After that, everyone thought I was going to die and I think I should have died too, but somehow, I'm still here! Strange, isn't it?" he told the other boy, still feeling pretty cheerful "What about you? How long has it been since you lost your eye?"
Arthur hesitated, and his hand slided through his eye patch again. If he contradicted what Alfred had said, he'd have to explain. He did not want to explain.
So he only murmured: "... Four months."
Alfred got so shocked with how recent that was, that he stopped the cart abruptly, almost making Artie fall from the cart with that sudden stop.
"What? That's such a small amount of time! Especially considering that you are older than me!" He gasped, wide-eyed, totally ignoring Artie grunting 'Don't do that sort of thing suddenly' and blah-blah-blah. "The mage met you before or after the accident?"
"It was not an accident.", Arthur thought.
"After. He was in a nearby village and Aunt Joan took me there." He briefly clenched his fists "... I would not have gone if I had a choice, but Aunt Joan could not look after me, so…"
"Why wouldn't you want to go with the mage?" Alfred asked confused. He returned to carry Arthur but decided to bring him back to the tent this time. "It's magic! It must be super fun to learn it! Especially with someone who has years of practice with it! If the mage wanted to go with me, man, I wouldn't hesitate to leave this place! Oh! By the way, do you know anything about magic?"
Even being distracted, Arthur noticed that Alfred was heading towards his tent saw one of the rocks, where the grass around it was a bit higher than the rest; he also saw, or thought he saw, a small lizard crawling a twig.
"Because Aunt Joan is the only family I have and I did not want to lose her as well." Arthur murmured, and then wondered why he was telling those things to Alfred. He had just spoken much more in his presence than he had spoken to his great-aunt in the time they spent together, for example. He sniffed, and changed the subject to Alfred's question, "I know. My mother taught me."
– Oh really? Wow! That's amazing! – Alfred commented impressed. He started to slightly shake the cart without even noticing it because of how excited he was! – Can you show me some trick? Please? Please? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?
"If you stop shaking this thing, I can…" Arthur asked, and nearly fell again when Alfred stopped the cart at once. Grumbling, he stepped down from Alfred's invention and took some imaginary dust from his clothes.
He rubbed his hands for a few seconds, brought them to his lips, and them moved them away a little to blow inside them – a low, soft sound leaving his mouth along with the air. After a moment, he raised his hands in the air and opened them, and of them, came a faint, golden light, floating in the air and flashing, losing color and intensity while losing altitude.
Arthur was honestly surprised. Had not tried to do that after… after what had happened, and part of him thought he wouldn't ever be able to do it again. It felt good to be wrong.
"Waaa! That is so cool!" Alfred spoke, delightedly following the light with his eyes. It was so beautiful to see that little light flying like a butterfly in the purple sky of the sunset.
That was one of the most amazing things he had ever seen! Magic challenged even the laws of matter!
– Why are you even afraid of the dark if you can do this? – he asked still in amazement with what he was seeing – If you can create your own light, you don't depend on the sun! In my case, I have my lamps fireflies to solve the problem, but, man, I'd much rather create lights with my hands!
"I told you, I am not afraid of the dark... I... I- I just do not like to be in the dark..." he muttered, and then shook his head from side to side, not wanting to talk about that, "It is easy to do it. You just need to recite two verses in thought and focus." He said, then recited the verses to Alfred. They spoke of the Sun and of Hope. He made a second small light arose before them to show how it was done, adding: "Now, you."
Alfred tried to repeat the words like Artie was saying them, but …
01. His pronunciation was super-weird.
02. For some reason, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Though, to be fair, he did felt a mystical energy running through his body and that was better than nothing, probably.
Artie, on the other hand, with his unusual accent, seemed to have a relatively ease in pronouncing certain sounds that were awkward in Alfred's tongue. During their practice, his lights balls became increasingly stronger, larger and more lasting while Alfred didn't even come close to creating a lame bright dot.
He had to give up when he noticed that it was getting pretty dark and he had no progress on his tries.
So disappointing!
"I have lived with magic ever since I was born. You have not. And I am not a teacher. That is why you do not learn." Arthur said, trying to be friendly, because Alfred seemed pretty upset about not being able to do anything.
He didn't notice that this was the first reference he made to his past that didn't make him upset.
– Ha, ha! Indeed! I guess this leaves me at a disadvantage compared to you! – Alfred Fall Jones said content enough with that explanation – Ah, but when I have more practice, you will see! I'm going to be able to do many amazing tricks mine and I'll be even better than you! – Alfred challenged him with a teasing smile, giving a light pat on Artie's shoulder. Soon after that, he hurriedly removed his hand from Arthur's shoulder, realizing… – Oh, sorry! You don't like when people touch you, right? My bad!
Despite having automatically covered the region where Alfred touched, Arthur muttered that it was okay.
"I doubt you will get better than me. Master says I am a prodigy."He replied, slightly arrogant.
– Awwwww! No one ever said that to me! – Alfred lamented, making a sulky pout. That was so unfair! He thought of himself as someone with great potential as well but no one ever said those nice things to him! – People just consider me kind of useless here. They don't like my inventions. I think they are pretty good but I'm usually told that they are just crutches for people too lazy to do their job with their own hands! Still….! – Alfred pointed to Arthur's face with his index finger, while showing a very determined countenance. - I consider myself an intelligent person and I learn fast! I bet I would beat you in two years if I had access to magic studies!
"Huh, I doubt it. I am also intelligent. I would not be left behind. Especially considering that I already know a little something about magic," Arthur shrugged, crossing his arms, "... I could make a bet with you, but you do not even know if Master is going to accept you as his disciple."
"That's why I said 'if'!" Alfred said with a teasing smile, "Do you want to see a game I invented? Oh, but you play this quietly and seated so I hope you won't get bored with it!" he said, stopping the cart when they reached his tent.
He left Arthur waiting while he grabbed what they needed inside of it.
Being back at their starting point, Arthur immediately looked at the path they had took from the village to that clearing. It was much darker now. The sky had a blackish blue color, and the stars were mostly covered by clouds.
"... What kind of game is it?" He asked, voicing his curiosity, and then yawning and voicing his sleepiness, "As long as it does not take too long…"
Since Alfred was more relaxed now and attentive to the person who was with him rather than just focused on the fact that he had a companion to play with, he noticed that Arthur was yawning and seemed very tired.
"It's your bedtime already? I can take you home if that's the case!", he offered, trying to be considerate in front of his new playmate "We can play tomorrow, after all! Just wait a bit! I'll get my lamp to light our way back, okay?"
Home.
Arthur would like to go home. He'd like so, so much to go home.
Again hugging himself, he waited for Alfred. Arthur was surprised with his firefly-lamp, and rolled his eyes when Alfred laughed because he asked to touch the glass.
This time, they walked almost hand in hand (mainly because Arthur didn't know the way and because he wanted to see the fireflies), and Alfred explained how he had captured them, and spoke of some other of his inventions.
The village was asleep when they arrived at the inn: all the house's lights were off, except for some from the inn's windows.
The master had an object in his hand that Arthur could not identify, and he waved when he saw the two boys approaching.
"Alfred Jones Fall!" He said with a faint smile "I hope you don't mind, but I went to your basement-lab. I'd like to talk to you about what I found there." He gave Alfred the object, who seemed to know what it was, and turned to Arthur, who was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible in yawning "But first, I must guide my apprentice to a room. Wait here, please."
Alfred got a little surprised but mostly confused about how to feel now that the mage had seen his lab and Arthur was going away and he would have to have a talk with the old man all by himself.
Before Arthur got into his room, however, Alfred remembered to say a nice goodbye to him and to remind him of their plans:
"Bye, Artie! Remember to talk to me again tomorrow so we can play that game I invented!" he waved enthusiastically to Artie, until Arthur stopped staring at him with an embarrassed look and showed his back to him, walking deeper on the hallway.
Alfred ended up feeling a slight melancholy covering his expression and messing up his smile at the vision of Artie's back becoming gradually smaller in the hallway.
This was the first time in a long time that Alfred had the opportunity to play with anyone. It was a little painful to know that that person might not even be there anymore in the next day.
Not to mention that now that Artie wasn't with him anymore, he was feeling less like a child and more like a person who would try to take an important position in a job and that was a great weight for a ten years old child to carry, without being affected by some level of anxiety.
Urgh... Despite everything, there was nothing he could do now. He could only wait and hope.
Arthur followed his master down the hall, and then up the stairs. He seemed to have spoken to the innkeeper because he took a key from his pocket and used it to open a door. It was a simple room with two beds and a small writing-table. The master's bag was there.
Now that there was no one else there but himself and his master, Arthur took off his eye patch and rubbed his tearing eye, blinking it several times for it to get used to the room's dim light. Even with the eye bothering him a bit, Arthur sat in bed his master indicated as his, and started taking off his boots.
"What did you think of Fall Alfred Jones, Arthur?" The Master asked, for Arthur's surprise. He didn't use to ask Arthur's opinion on other candidates for apprentices.
Arthur hesitated, but was honest in his reply:
"He is smart and he created things that are interesting... But he did not know anything about magic." He left his boots beside the bed, took off his worn cape and his woolen blouse, leaving them at the foot of the bed.
"Hm. And did you two get along well?"
Arthur shrugged.
"He is not unbearable or anything… even though he is a child…" he saw the expression on his master's face and blushed, "... so younger than me!"
"I understood. I'll talk to him and make some tests. We will leave early tomorrow, then rest."
"Good night, master." Arthur replied, tucking himself under the covers. They tingled a little, but he had slept in worse places to care.
He realized that the master had left a candle burning when he left, which made Arthur feel relieved. It was projecting strange shadows in the room, but at least Arthur could see that there was nothing there that could hurt him. It would be easy to sleep that way.
When Alfred saw the wizard walking down the hall, back to the bench where he was sitting, Alfred almost jumped out of it, standing as quickly as he could. As a consequence of his badly calculated speed, he almost fell forward, but he was so used to lose his balance, he immediately corrected his stance and slightly patted his messy clothes, trying to look confident and professional.
– Hello, Mr. Mage! – he smiled, putting his hands casually in the pockets of the old coat he was wearing – What would you like to talk to me?
Arthur dreamed he was running with his aunt again. The nightmares were usually about it: they ran away from the village houses, away from his brother, away from everything and into the darkness... but the more they ran, the higher were the sounds. The flames, the screams, the sobs, the swords. He woke in the middle of the night and since he couldn't see anything, he had to cover his mouth to stifle a scream.
He'd wake up his master almost every night because of those nightmares, and it made him feel ashamed. Fortunately, he managed to avoid it this time. He could hear the master snoring in bed next to his, which was reassuring, and he stared in that direction until he got used to the dark and managed see the contours of his master's figure.
Arthur remembered how used to sleep with his parents or with his younger brother when he had nightmares, and for a brief moment... he wondered what the master would do if he asked to sleep in his bed. But, of course, he didn't have an answer, because he remembered his aunt's advices about not bothering the mage too much, and then he pulled his pillow closer and held it against his chest.
It took a long while, but he managed to get back to sleep.
In the next morning, he woke up with his master poking his shoulder. He said:
"Come on, Arthur. Go wash yourself and let's eat breakfast. Alfred is already waiting for us."
Arthur sat on the bed, still disoriented by sleep. His hair pricked everywhere.
"What?" He murmured.
"Alfred's waiting downstairs. I'll join him. Don't keep us waiting for too long, ok?"
The master left, and Arthur stood there, blinking at the closed door.
Alfred was…
ALFRED WAS WAITING DOWNSTAIRS?
ALFRED WAS GOING WITH THEM?
Apparently, Artie was not a morning person judging by the terrible grumpy face he did when he came downstairs in the morning and saw Alfred waiting for him for breakfast in the place where they first met. U
nlike him, Alfred was an extremely morning kind of boy. He and his brand new teacher were very well sit on a nice wooden table. The place was the same as it was yesterday but much more calm. There was way less people around them, which was pretty good.
That day seemed to be going very well as a whole!
– Hello again, Artie! – he greeted him cheerfully – Do you like milk? I already drink milk before becoming here! I didn't know I was going to have breakfast with you guys, so I ate in my house! By the way, it's not kind of dumb to eat in a place like this? Here you have to pay for food you could easily get by yourself! You should have pick fruits in the woods or something! What is your favorite fruit, Artie?
Arthur muttered a "good morning" because it would be impolite not to, but he didn't answer any other questions.
At least, compared to last night, the ambient was much… quieter. And much more bright. The sunlight entered the room by the windows' glass, and in some points, Arthur could see really small rainbows on them. He wished he had paid more attention to them, but he had more important things to deal with at the moment. Then, he sat down at the table and thanked for the cup of milk, for the bread and apples that the master had offered him, so it kind of answered Alfred's question.
"Master... Why is he here?" Arthur asked.
"Well, why else? Alfred Fall Jones, like you, is now one of my apprentices." Arthur turned to Alfred and almost felt his eyes being dazzled by his ridiculously huge grin.
"But... But he knows nothing of magic..."
"We did some tests yesterday. He doesn't know anything because he never had contact with magic before, but he will certainly learn it very fast. As you said, Arthur, he's very smart, and will easily learn what I have to teach." The master replied with a nod "Also, you told me you liked him, which overcame any extra barriers to adopt him as my apprentice."
Arthur blinked, surprised and confused. B-but... he did not... agh.
Alfred wasn't a terrible company, but Arthur didn't want to share his master…
Alfred Fall Jones didn't know how that bunch of weird dance moves he did with the master yersteday to see "the flow of his magical energy" worked or whatever but he was extremely happy with the results of it because hey! Whatever he did, it got him the position of second apprentice of the mage! Wow!
"Now that I also got selected as a student of the great mage, nothing will stop me! You'll see, Artie! In a few years, I'll leave you awestruck with my abilities!" He said with a challenging smile. "You know that only one of us will be the master's replacement, right? This means that you are my rival now! Let's have fun together!" Alfred's entire face was lit with enthusiasm. For the first time in many years, he had a vision for his future and even someone who could be considered as an equal and a worthy rival to him without a doubt!
He extended his hand for Arthur to shake, not remembering the personal space limitations he had.
"Humph. Well... at least now I can bet: You will not defeat me. You might learn fast, but I am pretty smart too, and so I bet I am not going to lose to you." He said, and in a gesture that surprised his master, Alfred and himself, he held Alfred's hand.
It was fast, no more than about four seconds, smooth and kinda clumsy, but it was still a touch made purely of his own will. he master seemed to smile about it, but Arthur understood why: now he had to deal with Alfred chattering nonstop and occasionally reaching out to Arthur to "high five" his hand, which he said that was a sign of complicity and friendship. Arthur did not return the gesture at all during that day, policing himself.
After breakfast, they drove on, leaving Alfred's village behind long before noon. Arthur was wondering what would Alfred's relationship with his parents be like, and how this relationship could even exist considering... well, considering that Alfred was a ten year old boy who was leaving his house with strangers, while his parents hadn't even showed up to say goodbye. This made no sense to Arthur.
Cultural differences so... well, different, left him confused.
They still had to pass some villages before reaching the city that their master called home, but this period of time past quickly: they stayed a few days in each village, but none of the people who approached the master asking to be his apprentice had gained much attention. No matter the place, however, Alfred always had something to say and what point or ask and to show Arthur. He managed to convince Arthur to play some of his games, and in one or two occasions, even the master played with them.
It was winter when they arrived "home." The Mage Tower stood out in the city, even being in a more distant point, and when they saw it, both boys' eyes shone expectantly. There, they knew, they were going to learn, grow and get stronger. That place was going to be their school, their home, and there they were going to have study, a warm place to sleep, knowledge and... the company of each other.