Fable

Chapter 9

Archie finished the last line of his sentence in silence, the scribbling of his feather quill the only break to the silence of the library. Archie lifted his quill, skimming quickly over the draft copy of his essay and nodded approvingly towards the sheet of parchment as though congratulating it. He set aside his pen, and blew gently on the parchment, drying the ink, and then carefully folded the sheet twice before slipping it into the folds of his outfit. Archie proceeded to pack away his other supplies into a brown sack by his seat, and glanced casually out the window.

It had been just over three hours since his talk with Maze, and the sun was now only peeking over the horizon as it slowly fell westward, casting the sky with a brilliant orange. Archie cast his gaze to the guild grounds, where apprentices and tutors alike were excitedly making their way back to the guild for the weekly feast held each Friday. Archie sighed: the feast was there for the apprentices to have some time to socialize with fellow students, something that Archie wasn't fond of doing. Not that he didn't look forward to the weekly notices from guild staff and heroes passing by, or possibly being chosen for the Friday hunt, it was just that the majority of apprentices simply had nothing interesting to say.

Archie shrugged; he had discovered the remedy long ago for boring students. He picked up a book titled "The Will: Achieving a Peaceful State in the Heat of Battle" and tucked it under his armpit to read during the feast. Archie picked up the last book lying on the table, and gazed in awe at the title.

"So extraordinary…" Archie thought aloud, grinning at the book.

"Still, you're just a fairy tale, Jack." Archie finished with a shrug, before pocketing the book into his sack. He heaved his bundle onto his shoulder and deposited it into his quarters before making his way to the mess hall, hoping he'd be able to leave the feast before the weekly beer-guzzling began, followed by said beer guzzling apprentices' antics.

Archie shivered at the thought.

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Archie had learned over the years that it was a good rule of thumb to arrive early to the feast to get a seat at the long table. Unfortunately, Archie had learned the hard way; there weren't enough seats at the long table for everyone to sit, so, naturally, there would be a mad rush for seats by the dozens of apprentices in the guild, otherwise, they would have to stand up for the rest of the night.

Sure enough, the wave of apprentices came, pushing and shoving as they always did to get a seat. Archie lowered his book momentarily to view the carnage as the apprentices grabbed for chairs, pulled them from under those already sitting, and altogether making a large fuss. One apprentice made to pull Archie's seat from under him, but the small student faltered when met with Archie's firm glare.

Eventually, the tavern master took action as he usually did, and the apprentices organized themselves more formally. Archie returned to his book. The apprentices sitting at the table began immediately with excited conversation about work, studies, and from what Archie had learned, gossip. Archie forced himself not to hear the droning buzz of the apprentices' chit chat, and focused intently on the content of his book, reading and digesting the information as he went from page to page.

Archie eventually lost track of time; he could have been reading for hours for all he knew, when he was tapped on the shoulder, rudely interrupting him. Archie managed to hide his rage under a thin mask of indifference, and turned slowly to face an apprentice his age. Archie had to resist from cringing at the younger teen's wavy black hair and excited brown eyes.

Gregory. Perhaps one of the most annoying apprentices Archie had ever met. He had arrived at the guild four weeks before; three weeks more than Archie had expected (or wanted) him to last. Gregory had arrived at the guild with a large, goofy, excited grin on his face, and Archie expected he would leave in the same manner. Unfortunately, Gregory had decided he would be Archie's friend, which included the constant onslaught of questions of "How's that essay doing?" or "what were you graded for that?" with a constantly excited, giddy voice that so irritated Archie. Somehow he had managed to take the seat next to Archie. Predictably, Gregory had something to say.

"Did you hear, Archie?" he asked, seeming to be a little more excited than usual (a thing Archie barely thought possible in Gregory's case). Archie stared blankly at his "friend" in reply. Gregory waited excitedly for a few moments, awaiting Archie's reply. When none came, he continued.

"Word is…" Gregory leaned in closer to Archie, who in turn recoiled.

"…That Sir Theodor is coming tonight." Gregory cupped a palm to one side of his mouth secretively, and spoke in a whisper before leaning back and allowing Archie to sit upright again. Gregory waited expectantly, but as before, Archie only stared back blankly. Gregory turned his head on an angle, peering at Archie out of the corners of his eyes, and grinned slyly.

"You don't know who Sir. Theodor is, do you?" Gregory asked, his grin growing wider. Archie's brows furrowed.

"No." he stated simply. Gregory spluttered into laughter, and Archie felt eyes fall on them, and carefully avoided eye contact with anyone else in the room. He continued to stare blankly at Gregory until the apprentice calmed down to giggles. Eventually Gregory turned to face Archie, wiping a tear from his eye.

"You…" Gregory shook his head, and pointed his finger at Archie, while trying to restrain more laughter.

"…You just crack me up," Gregory finished with a chuckle. Archie rolled his eyes and turned away, but was forced to face Gregory again when he nudged him in the arm.

"Do you want me to tell you who he is?" he asked, grinning. Archie reluctantly nodded.

"Right," Gregory said with a nod before setting himself more comfortably in his seat.

"Alright, you heard of the order of knights, right? You know, they protect the priests of Avo, when they go on pilgrimages, and they also act as a security force, right? Well, Sir Theodor is the head of that order at the moment, and from what I hear, he's mighty good too. It's thanks to him that the balverines in Witchwood haven't overrun Knothole glade. And…" Gregory leaned closer to Archie, who leaned away again.

"He's supposedly a real hit with the ladies," Gregory finished in a whisper, before breaking into a chuckle as he leant back, allowing Archie to sit upright again.

"And he's meant to be coming here tonight!" Gregory exclaimed, flinging his arms above his head. Archie stared blankly for a few moments before answering.

"Did he train at the guild?" Archie asked simply. Gregory lowered his arms and furrowed his brows, before replying with a nod. Archie nodded in return.

"In that case he has my respect," Archie stated before turning away to continue reading. Gregory had other plans.

"Hey, Archie? How's the essay coming? You're doing it on Thunder, right?" Gregory asked with a grin. Archie looked up from his book.

"No, I'm not doing it on Thunder," Archie answered, before returning to his book. Gregory opened his mouth to ask more, but was interrupted by one of the servants. The servant was setting a plate of hot soup before him, as was happening to other apprentices around the table. Apprentices who were standing were given a cloth to prevent burns. Gregory took a long inhale of the soup's aroma before picking up the spoon to his right and taking an enjoyably long taste. Archie had received his bowl, and he spooned the liquid into his mouth at a steady rate, uncaring of the taste, texture, or what the soup had been made from. He was careful not to spill any onto the pages of his book as he read.

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Archie and Gregory both finished with their soup. As others finished their soup, they continued to chat. They were all waiting for the high ranking guild staff to arrive. Gregory took this chance to turn back to speak to Archie before the guild staff arrived with the notices.

"So, you're not doing the essay on Thunder anymore?" he asked under a furrowed brow. Archie didn't even bother looking up from his book, but Gregory wouldn't desist.

"Archie, did you hear me?"

Archie rolled his eyes, uncaring whether or not Gregory noticed. Archie turned away from his book to face Gregory. Gregory showed no sign of having seen Archie's gesture, or didn't show any sign that he was insulted.

"No." Archie answered simply, returning to his book. Gregory scratched his chin, which was rough with stubble.

"Why?" he asked. Archie huffed loudly in exasperation, turning quickly in his seat to stare at Gregory in frustration. Gregory raised his palms before him, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Alright, I can tell when I'm annoying," he said sheepishly through grinning teeth. Archie was seriously considering knocking those teeth from Gregory's gums. Instead, he merely shrugged, and returned to his book. Ten minutes passed, and the guild staff, including the guild master and Maze, still hadn't arrived. The crowd of apprentices was growing impatient, and even Archie couldn't help but notice how late it was becoming. He had pocketed his book, and was glancing around the room at the apprentices. Many apprentices around the table were passing the time with simple games. Archie noticed a small group near the head of the table playing with a deck of cards, another group down the other end was playing a game with players trying to knock a coin through the other player's hands.

Archie felt a slight tug on his sleeve to his right, and turned slowly to see a girl dressed in an apprentice robe gazing at him with a mischievous grin. She had somehow managed to lure someone out of their chair and had taken it. Archie guessed she was perhaps a year younger than he, and her slim frame only took up only three quarters of her seat, most of the male apprentices would have probably found her attractive, but Archie's only thought was to wonder what the girl's business with him was. Once she knew she had Archie's attention, she brushed away a strand of brown hair away from her pale green eyes, for show, Archie thought.

"You're Archie, right?" she asked with a flirtatious grin. Archie nodded, his face unreadable. The girl's smile grew wider.

"And you beat Whisper, in the sparring ring?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. Archie nodded again.

"Well, my name is Clara." The girl, Clara, pointed to herself. Archie made no response, and Clara continued.

"You know, you must be really fit to have beaten Whisper, it's a shame I don't know you that well." Clara shuffled closer to Archie, narrowing the gap between them slightly.

"So, what I was thinking…" Clara leaned closer to Archie until he could see her individual eye lashes. He silently protested against her invading his personal space, but kept his face blank. Clara gazed intently at Archie, trying to muster all the allure within her. When she spoke again, she spoke with a quiet, husky tone.

"… Was that after the feast, we could…" she reached out her right hand, and wrapped her arm around Archie's neck, before planting a long kiss on Archie's lips. Archie blinked in surprise, which disappeared with a wave of anger at Clara's bravado, but he kept his calm. Behind him, Archie heard Gregory's snickering, and Clara finally removed her lips from his, opening her eyes to gaze into his once more.

"… Get to know each other more… intimately." Clara finished with a grin, emphasizing the last word. Archie stared blankly at Clara for a few more moments, before standing, and leaving the table, leaving Clara with a stunned look on her face. She followed Archie with a piercing glare, before shaking her head in disbelief. Archie disappeared in the throng of apprentices.

Gregory continued to snicker, and pounded lightly on the table. Clara turned to him, trying to stare him down with a look to kill. Gregory was unaffected by her glare however, and laughed harder.

"What's so funny?" she hissed. Gregory managed to cough down more giggles, and then turned to address her.

"It's just… you thought that you could get him to go out with you," Gregory replied, pointing after Archie. Clara blinked dazedly for a few moments.

"Uh… yeah," she replied uncertainly. Gregory managed to hold back a snort of laughter with great difficulty.

"Look, there's one thing I've learned about Archie from the time I've been here. He's not interested in dating," Gregory spoke with a smile, but it quickly dropped to a thoughtful frown.

"He's got a goal, you see, and he's not gonna let anything get in his way, or at least, not anything that wouldn't help him," Gregory finished. His smile returned after a moment.

"Anyway, I'm sure you'll find someone to be…" Gregory cleared his throat.

"…intimate with." Gregory finished in laughter.

Clara stared at him with an icy glare in an attempt to pierce his jovial mood. But to no avail.

A/N: another chapter of character development.