As childish as it might sound, Ceo hated it when his teacher was away.

He was perfectly capable of picking up Teacher's slack- he'd been doing all his paperwork for nearly a year, so it wasn't like his teacher's absence changed anything- but it just wasn't the same without the over-protective Storm Knight around. The church felt bigger, emptier, without his teacher standing beside him. Quieter, too, which he should be grateful for- how many times has he complained about his teacher being too noisy while he worked? Serenading the clerics, fussing over Ceo's health, complaining about the trouble-making the other Knight-Captain's got up to. The silence was almost louder than his teacher, and Ceo hated it.

His teacher's vice-captain commented on Ceo's misery once.

"Squire Storm," he said, ignoring Ceo's grimace at the silly title, "You're always so subdued when Captain Storm is away; have you ever considered asking him to take you along?"

Ceo hadn't gotten the chance to reply because Demos had arrived with a request from Grisia, but the suggestion stayed with him. It buzzed around his thoughts like a bug he couldn't swat, distracting him even as he arranged for a certain palace servant to experience some unpleasant surprises. It's completely absurd, he told himself. The Storm Knight is never 'subdued' about anything, especially something silly like his teacher being gone! If anything, I should be happy that he's not around, because now I can . . . uh . . . I can flirt with as many girls as I want!

Ceo paused for a moment.

Then again, what kind of Storm Knight wouldn't jump at the chance to get away from this stuffy old church for a while? Maybe it is time for a little vacation!


The next time Teacher headed out on a mission, looking noble and adventurous upon his trusty steed, Ceo was right next to him.

It had been far easier to convince Teacher than he'd thought it would be. All he'd needed to do was ask; maybe there was a little crying and some heartfelt 'but I'll miss you's involved, but nobody needed to know about that. All that mattered was that Teacher was going away and Ceo was going with him.

He only thought to ask where they were going after they'd left Leaf Bud City.

"Wherever the wind takes us, child!" His teacher grinned, and waved a hand at the scenery. "The Storm Knight lives for this kind of freedom- no rules, no walls. All we need is the God of Light and our own ingenuity!"

Ceo was quiet for a moment. They were riding along a worn dirt path among endless golden fields, stretching along the horizon as far as the eye could see. Wind blew through the grain, brushing against the tall stalks softly, and a few songbirds sailed along just above the grain. Flowers sprang up along the edges of the path, light pink and cheerful, and above them the sky was brighter and more blue than his hair. A few clouds drifted by, lighter than air. The only sounds were the soft clip-clopping of the horses' as they slowly meandered down the trail. It was the most peaceful place Ceo had ever seen.

"Teacher," Ceo said, "You forgot the map, didn't you."

Teacher was silent for a moment, then turned to Ceo with the look of a man who knows he's in trouble and has decided to go out with a bang. Ceo could feel a chill run up his spine.

"Dear child," Teacher grinned, "What are your thoughts on becoming a wandering swordsman? Never having to do paperwork, never needing to follow orders, never having to wink at girls . . ."

. . . Never knowing where I'm going to sleep, never knowing when my next meal will be? Teacher! Take a little more responsibility for your actions!

Thankfully, they didn't have to resort to such drastic actions. Teacher had taken this particular journey before, and knew roughly how to get to the nearest village- they arrived well after night had fallen, but at least they didn't have to sleep outdoors. Teacher even managed to charm the lady of the inn into letting them stay overnight for free. Ceo, struggling through his embarrassment, took it upon himself to charm her into also giving them a map- which she did, cooing over how adorable he was. Yuck.

The next few weeks following the map incident were . . . interesting, to say the least. Ceo had always imagined his teacher's missions as anarchic vacations where his foolish mentor would dash around the country drinking and flirting with abandon. It made him even more mad to think about his teacher having so much fun without Ceo to drag him down. Truthfully, the trip was just as disorganised as he'd imagined, but not quite as extravagant; instead of living it up in every town they stopped in, Teacher liked to spend all their time on the road, telling Ceo all about his previous missions in each area.

He'd come to this river before, with Sir Wen, because they'd run out of food and needed to fish. Honestly, his teacher complained, for a man married to a first-rate cook you'd think he'd treat his food supply a little better!

A few years ago, this specific tree exactly- or what it the next one over? He could never remember- had the hugest beehive you'd ever seen, just hanging out like it wasn't Death-Lord-level Dangerous. (Yes, with a capital 'D' for Dangerous, Ceo, don't you know anything about Death Lords? What do you mean, you wouldn't know, you haven't met one yet? Yet!? Kiddo, you'd better pray you never meet a Death Lord!)

Oh, he remembered this village, all right- the first time he'd come here, they were in the middle of some festival celebrating the time a previous Storm Knight had rescued the village from- was it an evil duke or an undead bear? One of those, anyway- and boy oh boy, you do not want to be the Storm Knight on 'Thunder Day', as they called it. He'd spent the whole time running from the demented village mothers trying to marry their daughters off to him. Don't laugh Ceo, do you know how scary a mother can be when she's chasing after you? I swear, it's like they're bloodhounds for blue hair . . .

This river- yes, this is a different river from the last one, don't interrupt- is actually an old friend of ours, kiddo! It runs behind the church grounds, just outside the wall. You already know that? You saw it? Ceo! You know you're not supposed to climb the wall! What would you have done if you'd fallen in, huh? You might've floated all the way to Kissinger! Yes, Kissinger, you reckless child; 'all rivers run to Kissinger', haven't you ever heard of that before? Don't you give me that look, young man . . .

Teacher showed him how to navigate without a compass, pointing out the way the shadows fell or the moss grew. Storm Knights had to know their way around a forest, he said, because most rebellions of Forgotten Sound take place at least partly in a forest. You'd ruin the Storm Knight's reputation if you got yourself lost while trying to do reconnaissance on the enemy. Teacher claimed that this skill was why the whole continent knew that "the Storm Knight never gets lost," which Ceo was now 100% certain wasn't true. At night, the only real way to navigate was to follow the stars- not, Teacher laughed, that he'd ever gotten the hang of it.

"Teacher, do you think you could teach me if I found some books on star navigation?"

"I think you'll end up teaching me, kiddo, but sure! Why not? It's gotta be better than staring at moss by the light of the moon."

Ceo also learned how to set up a tent with proper Storm Knight™ speed. The trick, Teacher explained, was packing the tent yourself, in such a way that it only took a few movements to open it up and get it situated. Usually, adventurers just stuff the tent in their bags so they can cut down on travel time, but the Storm Knight should have the luxury of folding it properly because he can cover more distance than the average wanderer. What do you mean, you don't think we've been traveling very fast? The Storm Knight does everything fast, Ceo, get your head on straight! Do you think the Earth Knight could've made it all the way out here this quickly? If he had a map, sure? No! Ceo, kiddo, can't you forget about that already? We all make mistakes!


When they finally reached their destination, Ceo felt like he'd been camping in the woods for years. He was sore from riding the horse, he was tired of eating food so carefully protected against expiration that it wasn't really food anymore, and he was really starting to worry about the piles of paperwork waiting for him back home. He said as much to his teacher, who laughed at him.

"You worry too much, Ceo! Just wait, I bet the sight around this next turn will take your mind right off all that mess back home."

Ceo opened his mouth to reply that forgetting about it wouldn't make it go away, but his breath had caught in his throat. They'd finally broken through the last stretch of woods, and suddenly all he could see was water, all the way out past the horizon, as far as he could see. It looked as though the sky had eaten away at the border of the continent, letting the ground fall away into a nothingness that went on forever. The ocean. It was the first time he'd seen it, and Ceo felt a sudden urge to break into a run and swim as far out as he could, just to try and reach the edge of it all.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Teacher spoke quietly, but Ceo still jumped as a warm hand settled onto his shoulder. "That's what freedom looks like, Ceo. Endless. There's nothing else like it, no matter how far you travel."

Ceo was quiet for a moment. Before him lay the ocean- freedom, according to his teacher- and soft waves lapping against sandy beaches. A village sat hidden in the cove, little white buildings with cheerful red roofs, and colorful boats bobbed up and down in the harbor. It looked peaceful, and for a moment Ceo was reminded of the fields they'd first traveled through, when he didn't have to worry about anything but staying upright on his horse. I feel like I haven't gone away at all, Ceo realized. I feel like I've come back.

"Amazing," he agreed. It's even more blue than our hair!


They were welcomed back to the church by almost all the others- even Lesus, who kind of made Ceo more nervous than Sir Chasel did- only missing the Hell Knight, who probably didn't exist anyway. His teacher had to leave pretty quickly to report to the Pope, but the other teachers stuck around to help unload the horses. Sir Fahr fussed over him, joined by Chikus, who was a little more like his teacher than either of them realized. Elmairy and Ecilan had both brought food, which he ended up sharing with Grisia. He also ended up telling them all about his adventure, despite his exhaustion; they'd been called by the very old mayor of Cypress Port to help fight off a bunch of pirates that had been preventing trade in their area. They'd even needed to go on boats and duel the leader of the pirates, a man who lit his own beard on fire, way out at sea. Teacher had gotten really seasick, but Ceo had felt right at home on the constantly shifting deck.

The other boys were fascinated by his accounts of the hideous pirates and the vastness of the sea, and they made him retell the story over and over, only stopping when their own teachers had to drag them away to their own lessons. Ceo walked back to his room alone but glowing with happiness; it had felt nice having everyone's attention on him. Maybe if he could get over his shyness around girls and became a proper Storm Knight, he'd get even more attention? It didn't sound half-bad, actually . . .

The sight of paperwork spilling out of his overflowing room made every single one of his life's regrets hit him at once.

"Good luck with all this, Ceo," his teacher yawned on his way to his own room. "See you in the morning!"

Ceo snapped around to look at him, but his teacher had already shut the door and left him alone with his worst nightmare. You're not going to help me? Teacher! I change my mind about the wandering-swordsman thing! I don't want to be the Storm Knight anymore!


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