Chapter 6
Maze knocked firmly on the wizened door, sighing with impatience. The Guildmaster clearly wasn't the quickest chap in the world. Finally, however, the old man opened his study door, peering out into the gloomy hallway.
"Oh, it's you, Maze," he exclaimed, "I thought for a moment you might have been another one of those annoying guards complaining about the apprentices again."
"No, I finally cleared up that problem today…at any rate, that's not why I'm here. We have two new students waiting in the map room for you. I thought it best if you saw them before we except them into the Guild."
The Guildmaster raised his eyebrows, but said no more. He silently followed Maze down the broad hallway, until the map room was in view. The two young people standing in it, arms crossed, turn away from each other, were the picture of sadness. They bore looks of loss upon their faces, yet spoke not a word, nor even looked up when the two men entered. Only when Maze cleared his throat to speak did they acknowledge their presence.
"This is the Guildmaster," Maze announced, motioning to the aged man standing beside him. "He will be your guide when I'm not around or unable to help you." He spoke as though Briar and James were already being inducted into the Heroes Guild, yet all he was doing was giving the Guildmaster time to get a good look at the youths and decide if they were worthy or not.
Finally, the Guildmaster gave a surreptitious nod to Maze.
"They both look a little too thin, if you ask me, but I suppose they'll do," he sighed.
Briar's face darkened at his words. She clearly did not like being called too skinny, yet she didn't utter a word. James, on the other hand, looked completely unconcerned. He had known he was to scrawny all his life, yet it he did nothing to fix it. He had simply grown to except that fact.
"Maze, why don't you get these two settled in the dormitories upstairs?" the Guildmaster suggested, "I believe we have two beds left."
"Very well," said Maze, dipping his tattooed head. He turned towards the two youths, "Follow me, and we'll make you two comfortable."
He made his way up a set of graceful, curving stairs, a flight on each side of the massive map. Without hesitating, Briar and James followed, trudging up the steps after him. James looked back just in time to see the Guildmaster disappear down a side hallway, back to his study.
Once at the top, Maze directed them into a side room, set apart from the other dormitories. Two beds were positioned beside the walls; one just inside the door, the other across the room, underneath a fine-looking stained glass window. Huge bookshelves, crammed with heavy volumes, occupied the rest of the empty wall space. Briar's face seemed to lighten a bit at the sight of the books, but it didn't entirely replace her sorrow.
"This is where you will be sleeping," Maze explained, gesturing around the room, "I understand that right now, you two probably don't want to be in close proximity with each other, but you'll get over that." He paused, and then spoke again. "Has either of you had anything to eat lately?"
They both shook their heads. Neither had even given any thought to food, James because of the raid and Briar because of her recent displacement from home.
"Very well, then. Follow me down to the dining hall, and we'll get you something to eat."
They followed Maze back down the stairs, past the topographical map and into the dining hall. Immediately, the smells of warm bread baking and fresh herbs floated up to greet them. Now it was James' turn to feel somewhat better. The scents reminded him so much of home that it almost hurt. Maze strode up to the bar and spoke to a rotund man with a bald head and moustache.
"Alistair, it wouldn't be too much trouble to get these two something to eat, would it?" Maze inquired. "They haven't had anything all evening."
"No, no problem at all!" Alistair beamed, setting down a tankard he had just been cleaning with a rag. "I'll be glad to feed 'em."
"Excellent," Maze sighed, looking grateful, "I have a few things to attend to, but I'll come and check on them in a little while." And with that, he paced away, leaving Briar and James with Alistair.
"So wha' will you kids be wantin' this evenin'?" Alistair asked cheerfully in a thick accent.
They both shrugged, and James spoke up.
"Anything will be fine sir," he said, sounding somewhat weary.
"Could we possibly have something warm to drink?" Briar ventured, sounding equally tired herself.
Alistair nodded, motioning for them to sit down. "Just relax you two. I'll have something ready in a bit."
They each took seats as far away from each other as possible, silent as ever. After a while, James began rapping the ends of his fingers on the rough grained wood of the long table, but ceased when Briar shot him a venomous look. He sighed and contented himself with looking around, noting another odd statue, this one of a woman with both arms extended, as if ready to embrace someone. He came back to his thoughts when Alistair set a plate and mug in front of him.
"Eat up, lad," he said, smiling gently, "You look like you really need it."
James nodded and wordlessly began eating. It tasted delicious; again, just like home. He glanced over at Briar, who had just received her meal as well, yet she wasn't touching it. James wrinkled his brow in worry. Why wasn't she eating? Surely she'd be hungry enough to do so…Yet James shrugged away the thought, and continued with his meal until he was finished. He then picked up the mug and peered inside it. Hot spiced apple cider, which he knew was only made in Oakvale. He wrapped his hands around the mug and sipped some of the warm, spicy liquid, and let it run down his throat. Yet it somehow didn't feel right. Every other time he had had this drink, it was with his father, laughing, having a good time. Now however, he wasn't there…James was once again filled with an empty feeling.
Maze looked up from his journal and set his quill down, gazing out through the window at the dancing snow and the large, luminous moon. He sighed and decided to go check on Briar and James, hoping the two weren't fighting. Maze got up from his desk, and stowed the journal safely away in one of its drawers. He strode to the door, pulled it open, and continued on towards the dining hall. He was about to step out into the open, but held back, wanting to observe Briar and James for a moment.
He watched the boy, who was clutching his mug in his hands, a grim expression on his face. He shivered as though cold, but Maze knew better than that. It wasn't a physical cold, not even close. It was a spirit numbing cold, one that pierced the soul and was only brought on by the loss of a loved one. Maze had felt it himself, many times before. He wanted to comfort the boy, but couldn't seem to find the words to do so. Maze sighed, turning away from the painful sight.
Instead, he turned to Briar Rose, who was sitting as far away from James as she possibly could. She simply sat there, ignoring her drink and food, staring down at her feet with a look of anger, agony and misery on her face. Briar had barely uttered a word since she had gotten there. Neither of them had, when Maze thought about it. He paused, knowing now was not the time to have any important discussions with them. Probably best just to send them to bed and talk with them when they felt better. He stepped out of the shadows, calling out theirs names to get their attention…
James sat on his comfortable bed beneath the stained glass window, patting the rust red comforter with the palm of his hand. He looked around the dormitory, his eyes finally resting on Briar Rose. She was scanning the book shelves, running her fingers along the spines of the books until her hand fell upon one that appealed to her. She tugged it off the shelf, returning to her bed and sitting down cross legged with the book in her lap, settling down to read under the guttering candle attached to the wall. James took the opportunity to observe his new fellow apprentice properly. Briar had short, black hair and wind burnt skin, tanned from too much exposure to the sun. Her dark blue eyes were somewhat hidden behind a pair of round, wire rimmed glasses. Briar's slim frame was bent over her book, so absorbed was she in it.
"Look, James, or whatever your name is, would you mind keeping your eyes on something other than myself? I really dislike it when people stare at me, you know," Briar said angrily and unexpectedly, without even looking up from her book.
James was taken aback. How did she even know that he was watching her? She had had her nose buried in the book the whole time…
"You know, most girls don't mind getting stared at," James ventured carefully, "They welcome the attention."
"Well, I'm not like most girls, now am I?" she snapped, finally looking up from her book.
"I suppose not," James said, starting to feel a little annoyed. He was trying to be nice, and all she could do was get mad. "Look, I know you've been through a hard time, but so have I, so we should try and get through this together."
Briar looked back up at him, pulling off her glasses and giving him a pitying look.
"You really are as stupid as you look, aren't you?" she inquired, as if they were having a casual conversation. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't feel like talking. I'm almost certain that anything you've been through is nowhere near as bad as what I have, so leave me alone, and go back to staring something, so long as it's not me."
James clenched his fists, furious at her words. She really was just as arrogant as all the other people that came from Bowerstone North.
"I hardly doubt you just had your village destroyed, your father killed in front of you, and then, on top of that, having to get dragged away from your home without any say!" he yelled, not being able to control himself anymore. "You snobs from Bowerstone North just don't get what it's like! It must be so terrible to have to come from a life of luxury to stay with us mortals! What was it, hmm? Daddy dearest didn't feel like wasting precious gold on his child? Or was it that your parents couldn't stand your bad attitude any more?" He took a few deep, furious breaths, trying to steady himself.
"My mother's dead, and my father kicked me out because it was his belief that it was my fault, actually," Briar whispered hoarsely, tears glittering in the corners of her eyes. She blinked them back, slamming her book shut. "But it's obvious that you're not going to believe me, seeing as I'm just a snob from Bowerstone North, and you country folk don't seem to think that we're capable of suffering too."
With that, Briar got up angrily, letting the book drop to the floor with a thud. She disappeared through the doorway at a brisk pace before James could do or say anything. He strode over to the doorway, poking his head through. The other apprentices, woken by their fight, were sitting up in bed, rubbing their eyes and looking around blearily, some demanding in angry voices as to what was going on. Briar was nowhere to be seen. James ran back to the window, figuring that she might have gone outside, but she wasn't there. He sat back down on his bed, feeling worse than ever. He didn't mean any of what he had said. James had let his emotions get the better of him, and had hurt Briar because of it. What would his father say? At the thought of that, James felt even more ashamed. How would he fix this? James walked over to Briar's bed and picked up the book she had been reading, entitled "Rigging and Other Sailor Skills". It seemed an odd choice of book for a fourteen year old girl. James sighed. His first night here and he was already causing trouble…
Briar sat curled at the base of an ancient oak, the branches overhead shadowing her from the rest of the world. She was all alone in the silent forest, not a soul to be seen or heard. Thinking back on the row with James, and how it would have never happened if she had simply not followed Maze, she vowed to never put her trust in someone like that again. It had only caused her trouble thus far. Briar groaned, burying her head in her hands. She needed to think straight. Running away like that, without thinking, was stupid, and unlike her.
Briar sat there for a while, trying to collect her thoughts, when a strange feeling crept over her. She had been here before…or, more truthfully, she had seen herself in this very place, thinking these very thoughts, yet it had been in a dream, conceived so long ago that the reverie had become blurred, reduced now to nothing but obscure wisps of thought lurking in the darkest corners of her mind…and with a cold realization, Briar become conscious of the fact that it had been no dream. It had been a vision, and she had seen something that was to be, and now was occurring. But that meant that she…Briar pushed the thought from her mind. It was nothing but a coincidence, sheer luck that it had happened. Only witches and mages possessed the power to see into the future, and she certainly wasn't either of those. Briar clutched at her hair, panic flooding through her. What would happen if she had more dreams like this, yet they were terrible events? A chill shot through Briar that had nothing to do with the frigid night air. Somewhere nearby, a warbler sang its bubbly song, momentarily distracting Briar from her dark thoughts. She took a deep breath in, calming herself down. She was overreacting, and that was all. Briar had to stop, to control her emotions. Closing her eyes, she leant back against the ancient oak. Slowly, in the gloom of the forest, Briar became drowsy, her head nodding as she drifted asleep. Her thoughts and feelings became cloudy and hazy as her tiredness overtook her, and finally, Briar fell unconscious, slumping to the ground with a soft thud.
Everything was eerily quiet all around, the snow swirling and shimmering, falling gracefully onto the already snow filled landscape. Here and there, patches of dark, glimmering ice dotted the ground and hung from dead trees in the form of elegant icicles. Somewhere in the distance, the steady rhythm of waves lapping up onto the shore could be heard. In the middle of the barren landscape stood Briar Rose. She looked around, taking in the scenery, not knowing where she was. She took a few hesitant steps forward, wary of this strange and alien place. Something wasn't right about the stillness, about the stifling silence. She continued to walk forward slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the land, watching for any dangers. Briar wandered on, until she came to a wide space before the dark mouth of an immense cavern. In the middle of the space was a pile of what appeared to be huge ice crystals. She took another step towards it, and, with a deafening roar, the pile erupted, and a huge ice troll grew up out of the frozen ground. Briar shrieked, stumbling backwards-
Briar abruptly pushed herself off the floor of the forest, suddenly realizing the she was screaming out loud. She stopped, arms wrapped around herself, gasping for air. With eyes shut tight, her mind reeled. That surely had to be another vision…although she hoped dearly that it was just a dream, and nothing else. Then Briar realized that someone was lurking in the bushes behind her, for she heard a faint sound of dry branches rustling. She twisted around, bewildered, and saw James step out from behind the shrubbery. Her face immediately darkened, and Briar opened her mouth to tell him to go away, but before she could, he spoke up.
"I know you probably don't want to talk to me, or even be near me right now, but it just didn't seem right, leaving you out here all alone because of my loud mouth," James said carefully, clearly trying to choose the right words. He paused, and then continued, "I'm really sorry about what I said. I didn't mean any of it; I was just so angry and confused. But that's no excuse though; it hardly gives me the right to vent my emotions on you. I'm not surprised you reacted the way you did." He stopped, waiting for her response.
Briar turned her back to James, silently observing the newly risen moon, its ghostly face staring down at them. She didn't say a word for a long while. Then she spoke, her voice so soft that James could barely hear it.
"How did you know where to find me?" After such a long pause, James had expected a longer answer, but he answered the query nonetheless.
"Maze told me. He hadn't seen you leave the Guild; he just seemed to know." James didn't bother to ask Briar how she knew where to go; he sensed he wouldn't have gotten a response anyway.
"Did he send you?" she asked, still refusing to face him.
"No, I came of my own accord. I just asked him if he knew where you were."
There was an awkward silence following James' response. Then, with a sigh, Briar stood up, turning around to face James full on. She appraised him with her blue eyes, tipping her head slightly, causing the moonlight to glance off her glasses.
"Well, I suppose you can't be all that bad if you came all the way out here just to say sorry. Very few would bother to do so," Briar said, although she still eyed him somewhat distrustfully.
James relaxed a bit. At least this time she had given him a fairly kind response, without a raised voice.
"We should head back," James suggested, trying to find a more comfortable subject, "We need our rest, since we'll have to be up early in the morning to begin our training."
Briar nodded wearily, stepping past him and padding quietly down the narrow, winding trail that led back to the Guild. The trees' shadows cast by the pearly moonlight seemed to claw at the pair like crooked hands, and as they progressed, a light breeze arose, sending dead leaves whispering over their feet.
Soon, Briar and James emerged from the forest, striding across the dark lawns of the Guild, over the stone bridge that spanned the chalk stream, and past the four solemn graves of the brave Heroes that had died long ago. In no time, they were back up in their warm dorm room. The pair collapsed onto their beds, not even bothering to change into the night clothes the Guild had supplied for them. With a heavy sigh, Briar let sleep claim her for a second time that night, drifting into a dreamless slumber, as far above, the stars and moon kept watch over the land, the ethereal sentinels in the infinite, ink black sky.
