Chapter IV: Late Recruit
Arthur quickly descended the stairs to the kitchen, where he found his mother and younger sister already eating. "Good morning Mother, Jillian," he said as he sat and helped himself to a vine of rainbow grapes, toast, and a small steak.
"A very good morning with you here, my son," his mother began. "How was this year out there?"
"Well enough, I suppose," he replied.
"Have you still your secret love for Manna?" asked his sister.
Arthur hesitated before responding. "It would seem that after twelve years she still grieves for her late husband and only child. I should be considerate of her losses." His sister shot up at this statement, it seeming to be exactly what she was waiting to hear.
"So you deny yourself to protect a supposedly aggrieved woman that you love? Brother, if she grieves she does so only in appearance, for I speak with her often while you're on leave. I can assure you that your affections would only do her good and, moreover, be returned!"
"I couldn't possibly," he began, but he was interrupted.
"When will you ever do something for yourself? Why must you always bother with everyone else?" Her harsh words shocked Arthur as much as the look in her eyes. "Do you really think that she wants to die an old lonely lady? Do you think her husband would want that for her? I think that she knows what she wants, and that's to move on like she's begun to do. Your love and support could only help her to do that!" Her words hit hard and his thoughts turned to things not even considered before.
"What of my family? I won't be in the caravan after this last journey, so how am I to support you and a wife?"
"In case it has eluded you, Mother and I have been doing well in your absence, only dipping into the spoils you left for us in times of dire need. We can get by without it; in fact a good deal of it remains! Just as you can't take for yourself, we can't take from you, Brother." She let out a great sigh, having said what she meant to say and had waited to say since she couldn't remember when. Finally Arthur spoke after a long while.
"I will tell her, in time." Jillian almost started again, but her mother held onto her arm. "I will let her know at my own time. I will do all that I can to make her happy," he paused, "and myself. It must wait until next year, though, for I don't want her to worry while I'm away." He then got up and dashed to the door. "Now I'm off to instruct the next in line." With this, he left his family to themselves and didn't look back, settling to think only for the future caravan at the moment.
At the usual clearing, the new caravanners were hard at work training, trying to improve their skills more than before, driven by Arthur's strong words the night before. While sparring with Johann, Matthew's eye was caught by a bit of movement in the corner of his vision. It was Arthur walking slowly through town, breathing deeply of the cool, springtime morning air. Matthew barely deflected a vertical blow before dashing past Johann to pursue Arthur.
"Hey, where are you going?" shouted Johann, annoyed by a fleeing opponent.
"I don't know, just continue without me for a bit!" replied Matthew. Johann just shook his head and turned to the others.
Matthew dashed after Arthur, although walking would have caught him up easily enough. "Hail, caravanner!" he called, bringing Arthur to turn and come out of his own thoughts.
"Good morning, Matthew. How comes your training?" Arthur sounded distracted, as if he had said the first thing that came to mind.
"Very well! I can almost reliably cast simple spells, with Galen's instruction. Also, you may call me Matt if you want."
"So I shall then, Matt." he said with a forced smile.
"What are you doing today, your first day back home?" Matt asked as casually as he could. Arthur's mood lightened a little, his mind finally torn from thoughts of Manna.
"I'm off to bring the last members of the caravan to the training grounds. They take some... direction to get up in the mornings. Either they are both a bother to rouse, or they are engaged in love play and won't stand for interruption. They are the most obvious examples of mutual infatuation that you'll ever see, in my reckoning." At this, Arthur's mood went withdrawn once more. Matt noted the change carefully.
"I see, so they're perfect for each other then!" As they kept walking, Matthew thought of something curious. "Why have you walked all the way around town to reach a house just down the street from yours?"
"I walked so far to wake up in the morning chill. I also wanted to take in any additions to the town." Arthur explained. Both arrived at a small brick house with plants climbing up the outer walls, the yard having been unkempt for the most fertile beginning of spring. Smoke puffed slowly from the chimney. Arthur walked forward to the door and pounded loudly at it so that Da and Momo were sure to hear him. Following the door pounding, someone could be heard within falling to the floor with a thud. It seemed to be a man judging from the voice that yelled in surprise. Matt stepped up out of concern, but Arthur stayed him with his arm.
"If I know them at all, Momo has kicked Da out of bed to answer the door. Momo always sleeps between him and the wall, claiming that it helps her to feel safer that way, but I think it's so that she can always say that Da is closer to everything else!" Confirming Arthur's theory, Da opened the door still rubbing his head from the fall. Momo could be seen in the back of the one-room house, pulling the covers on the bed ever more tightly around her to counter the cool air coming in from the door.
"Morning, Art. To whom do I own the pleasure of being pushed from my bed by the feet of my fiancée?" Da asked while eyeing Matthew.
"This is Matt, but he only followed me here. I was actually wondering if you and the beauty attached to your hip would care to train with us today. Should I try another day?" Da groaned wearily.
"Well, with all due respect, we would really like to sleep for perhaps a week or two before anything else, as I'm sure the others are doing. Your dedication is respectable, as always, but we will politely decline. Sorry, old man." At this Arthur shook his head.
"No, it is I who needs pardoning. Apologize to Momo Zi for me when she comes around."
"Oh, it's quite alright. I'm sure her reaction was as unconscious as she still seems to be. She was always the harder one to wake."
"That's true," replied Arthur with a laugh. "Well, I apologize again. I'll wait until you come of your own mind. Sleep well in the meantime."
"Thank you," was all that Da Keh said before shutting the door. Arthur turned first to go, with Matthew only noticing after a few seconds.
"He's a right to be grumpy after I wake him from sleep with his fiancée," explained Arthur, since Matthew clearly thought that Da Keh had acted a little rudely. After a while of walking still further into town, Matthew noticed that they weren't returning the way he had come from the training grounds.
"Where are we going now? asked Matthew. "Aren't we going to head back to the training ground?"
"There's still one more person in our caravan," Arthur replied with a smile on his face. "A late recruit, you could say, but with just as much skill as anyone."
"Who is it? I've not heard of this until now." Just as he said this, Matthew passed his own house. His little brother ran to the window when he saw his bigger brother.
"Coming home early today, are you? Did the seniors show you anything amazing?" yelled Ivan.
"No, we're not finished yet. I'll tell you later, though!" he yelled in reply. Suddenly, Arthur led Matthew down a road just past Matthew's home, a road that he had gazed down longingly so many times before. "Are we going to see Mr. Fletcher? He's not going with us, is he? He couldn't leave his daughter alone back at home. She'd miss him so." Arthur began to stifle a chuckle when he turned to Matthew.
"Actually, it's his daughter who is to come with us!" The news hit him like a ton of bricks. He hadn't imagined Nora coming with them. Just the mere thought of her made him blush.
"When did she decide this? Why? Are you sure she's really up to the task?" Matthew rattled off questions as if he were worried sick for a lost puppy.
"I've mind to accept her because she was actually swayed to come by the words spoken last night. She has said that she felt compelled to join for the sake of those she cares for. As for her being capable, you will see for yourself." Arthur patted Matthew on the head before circling around the edge of the fence surrounding the Fletcher residence. After rounding the corner, Matthew caught a glimpse of someone in the window, next to the door, before he or she quickly let drop the curtains. As soon as they arrived at the door, it opened wide and out Nora came with her gear already prepared and slung on her shoulder.
She was not what some would consider ravishing, without the seductive form of a Selkie, but Matthew looked upon her with eyes that also knew who she was on the inside. She was quite pretty as far as Clavat women go. She was still a maiden of seventeen years, being one year older than Matthew and with a face unmarred by adolescent acne. Her dark brown hair was longer that it seemed; being curly as it was, it only reached down to her shoulders. She was taller than most girls, about 5'8". She wore a mythril hauberk beneath her white Clavatian long shirt that went all the way to the knuckles in the arms, and down to her knees at the bottom. The hauberk could only be seen overlapping the collar of her long shirt and hanging down over her chest and shoulders. Otherwise it could be softly heard clinking underneath her clothes. She wore thick black stockings covering her legs. She wore the usual armguards over her elbows, but the sleeve on her left arm was hemmed back to accommodate a bracer. Over her shoulder she carried a quiver with a polished wooden bow unstrung and around fifteen arrows.
"Good morning Arthur, and thank you for this opportunity," Nora said, sounding very grateful. "And a good morning to you Matt. What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I came along with Arthur when I saw him walking through town. Just on a whim, really. How are you?" Matthew was very nervous, but he had plenty of practice hiding it from her.
"I feel good today. Perhaps it's the renewed crystal to credit for the good morning. Anyway, we should get along with our training. I'll need to catch up, I'm sure." Nora turned and closed the door behind her.
"Yes, we probably should," Matthew said, no longer feeling that having Nora there was such a bad idea.
They began to make their way back through town with Nora behind them. Matthew felt as though Nora were staring a hole in the back of his head, but she was really just sifting through her things looking for something she needed. After passing Matthew's house she found what she sought and handed a ring to Arthur.
"What can you tell me about this ring, Arthur?" Nora asked. "My father put it with my things, but doesn't know what it does." After turning it over in his hands, Arthur gave it back to her.
"Put it on," he said. "It is a magic ring, liken to my own. Its color of stone and the runes on the face tell that it holds the powers of clarity. It can be used to cure many ills. We shall need it before our journey is through." Nora looked over the ring, noticing the pure white of the magicite, before putting it on her right hand. It was too big for any usual fingers of hers, so she wore it on her thumb.
"Might I look at your ring?" she asked, wanting to compare the condition of hers to his.
"Of course you may," Arthur said as he slipped it from his right hand and gave it to her to see.
"Your ring appears to be less tarnished," she openly observed.
"I've cleaned it up and touched up the engraving," he explained. "It strengthens the ring to clarify the runes. Dio helped me since I had no prior knowledge of ancient Yukish runes." After noting the color of Arthur's ring, she returned it and resumed rummaging carefully through her small bag. She pulled forth a small box with a padded interior. Inside laid a pair of eyeglasses that she took out and put over her eyes.
"I didn't know that you wore glasses!" remarked Matthew. He had just turned around to see her putting them on. Nora's face turned away from is, showing her disapproval for the glasses.
"I don't really like them. They probably make me look like an old lady!" she said with disdain. Matthew playfully turned around and looked at her face, his own being awkwardly close to hers. She wanted to pull away by reflex, but she held still allowing him to judge her; somehow she felt as though his opinion could change her own. His gaze made her nervous in her stomach, but she just stared back at him with a wide-eyed anxious expression.
Really Matthew didn't care how she looked in the glasses. As far as he could see, they only made her look cuter with her nervous expression and drew attention to her beautiful blue eyes. He just gazed at her eyes for what seemed like a suitable amount of time, and then said, "I think you look... alright," with a suddenly timid tone in his voice. He was taken off guard actually looking at her so closely. He had intended to tease her, but found that he couldn't when it came to it. What he found himself doing was very bold for him. Arthur simply stood by and admired Matthew's courage, smiling to himself.
What surprised Matthew even more than his own behavior was seeing Nora's eyes drop downward from his face and her cheeks turn red just before she said, "Thank you, Matt."
"Sure," Matt replied. Sensing the tension in the air, Arthur interrupted.
"You both know that time won't wait for you! Let's go."
"Right!" Nora and Matt replied simultaneously. Hearing each other say the same, they both laughed before resuming their trek.