" Mithras…if I have to hear about one more book I swear I'll…!!" Jo yelled,
pointing at the book in his hands, anger glowing in her eyes. Suddenly
Mithras yelped and the book was flung on the floor. The volume was laying
on the floor in flames. Mithras looked open mouthed from the book to Jo and
then back to the burning book once more. Jo's eyes twinkled and a smile
spread across her lips. As the flames died down, Mithras raised his grey
eyes to meet Jo's and he smiled.
" Well…it wasn't a candle…!"
* * * * * * * * *
For the next week, as the sun rose each morning, so did the friends. As the sun traversed the sky, the friends toiled at their studies below. Lina, Puw and Lamim pushing them ever onwards, learning more and more with each passing hour. As the sun set every evening, the friends would return to their suite of rooms before retiring to their beds exhausted. All the friends except Jo.
Guillaume went to her room each morning to wake her, to spend a few moments with her before they were separated for another day. But every morning he would quietly open her door to find her room empty, Jo's study having already begun with Mithras. Then, late into the night Guillaume's dark eyes would look out of his window and to Mithras' tower where Jo would still be studying. Eventually tiredness would take over and he would drift into sleep with dreams where he and Jo would simply sit with each other.
Little did Guillaume know that every night Jo would silently creep into his room, her eyes aching from reading scroll after scroll by candlelight, to bid him goodnight. Jo would sit and watch over him as he slept, usually falling asleep by his side, before kissing his forehead and returning to the tower and her study while the sky was still dark and sprinkled with stars.
And so it was that as the sun rose on the seventh day of their stay in Vaniria, the friends had hardly seen those who were not in their groups for tuition and no one had seen Jo.
" Rosie…please…could you put the dagger down while we're eating?!" Lucy flinched as Rosie twirled the small blade in her fingers, light glinting off the polished metal as it spun faster between her fingers. Rosie grinned at her nervous friend and quickly sheathed the knife.
" Sorry…" Rosie shrugged, " its just habit now I guess!" Lucy rolled her eyes as she glanced at Lina, who had joined them for breakfast as always, absent-mindedly twirling the butter knife through her fingers as Rosie had just been doing.
" And I can't think where you've picked up that habit!" Lucy frowned before returning her attention to the book that lay by her plate.
" Well in that case…" smirked Martin, swiping the book up and closing it. " You can put your book away too!" He grinned as Lucy snatched at the book but he held it just out of her reach.
" Hey! I was reading that…!" Lucy groaned.
" Yes I noticed that…but we're not in our lessons now!" Martin winked, putting the book on the other side of him, out of Lucy's grasp.
" But Madam Puw wants us to…" started Lucy.
" So you can read it later…please…" his smile softened. " Can't we just forget about our studies and just enjoy spending some time with each other? Time without being told the correct way to throw rocks!"
" You mean there's a wrong way to throw rocks?!" giggled Jenny as Lina's head snapped up and her blue eyes blazed at the students sat at the table.
" Yes there's a wrong way! I mean…if you…" Lina started to explain but was drowned out by groans and pieces of bread being thrown at her. She put her hands up to stop the onslaught. " Ok…ok! No tutoring at breakfast!" Laughter filled the air and the friends began to chat amongst themselves. However, one end of the room remained quiet. Guillaume was sat silently at the end of the table, brooding darkly into the glass of water before him.
" You ok Guillaume?" Marius asked gently, sipping at his own water. There was no reply, it didn't seem as if Guillaume had even heard him. " Guillaume?" Marius repeated a little louder. Guillaume's eyes suddenly left the glass and glanced up at the others, all of who were looking at him with concern evident in their eyes. He smiled weakly,
" Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening…" he rolled his dark eyes and sighed.
" That's ok…" Bertrande smiled, " You didn't miss much…"
" Well other than everyone pelting me with bread!" grumbled Lina, who was still picking crumbs out of her thick blonde hair. Guillaume laughed quietly.
" Why ever did they do that?" He raised a dark eyebrow.
" Because I was trying to explain that there is in fact a 'wrong' way to throw rocks…which is…" Lina started and quickly stopped as Guillaume picked up a bread roll and pretended to aim it at her. She groaned, " Oh I give up!" Before Guillaume could retaliate the sound of a horn filled the air. Lina's gaze suddenly became serious as she stood up and walked over to the window. Looking down into the courtyard she waved at someone.
" I have a message…I shouldn't be long…" she smiled before launching herself out of the window.
" I wish I could that…" sighed Amos.
" What? Jump out of a window?" Simon frowned.
" No! Fly…" Amos answered dreamily.
" It certainly would make things more interesting!" laughed Mark quickly followed by the others.
" I wonder what the message was…" Phillipe mumbled but before the friends could discuss it further Lina reappeared in the window and landed lightly on the floor a huge smile on her face.
" Well I'm guessing the message is a good one!" Phillipe smiled.
" I have just been informed that Madam Puw and Madam Lamim believe you need no further instruction…as do I…"
" Does that mean what I think it means…?" Rosie's face grew brighter.
" No more lessons?" Lucy beamed.
" No more lessons!" Lina confirmed, giggling as the room was filled with whoops of joy from the friends.
" At last…we can finally spend a day together…" sighed Marius contentedly, taking Rosie's hand in his for a moment.
" What about Jo? Have her studies ended?" Guillaume's voice was full of sadness as if he already knew the answer.
" Well…Mithras wasn't actually involved in the discussion…and Jo's study is slightly different to yours…" Lina said quietly, wincing as she watched the anger sparkling in Guillaume's dark eyes.
" But she's been studying non-stop!" Guillaume snapped, leaping to his feet and causing his chair to clatter noisily to the floor. " None of us have seen her days!"
" She has been working a lot…" agreed Mark.
" She's been working constantly!" frowned Jenny.
" Don't blame me…!" shouted Lina. " It's nothing to do with me what Mithras decides!"
" Sorry Lina…" Guillaume's voice immediately became softer and apologetic. " It's just…I haven't seen her for so long…" he sighed, picking up his chair and standing it by the table. Suddenly the doors opened to reveal a harassed looking Mithras. Guillaume's apologetic face instantly hardened, his angry eyes boring into the grey ones that had just entered the room.
" Has anyone seen Jo?" Mithras gasped, his chest heaving from obviously running up the stairs.
" Are you having a laugh?!" Guillaume snapped. " None of us have seen her since this whole tutoring business began!" Mithras swallowed nervously as his eyes caught Guillaume's for a second.
" Why? Have you lost her or something…?" grinned Rosie.
" Well not exactly…" Mithras started, trying to avoid Guillaume's blazing eyes.
" What do you mean…not exactly…" Phillipe's voice became darker as he rose slowly to his feet. Followed by the others, all of who looked less than pleased that something might have happened to Jo.
" Oh it's nothing serious…" Mithras tried to smile. " It's just that I promised her that if she could disapparate and apparate successfully then I would consider her tutoring complete. I mean , she can do everything else perfectly…" He smiled in the satisfied way that most teacher's do when their pupil excels.
" I'm guessing that this disappearing business she's not so perfect at…?" Rosie raised an eyebrow.
" Disapparating…" corrected Mithras, " …Is simple enough and Jo has grasped the basics, the problem is she has a habit of…well…" Mithras rolled his eyes. " …Not apparating straight away…" he groaned.
" So…? Surely that means she can do it well?" Mark frowned as he leant on the table.
" Well it wouldn't be so bad but she also has a habit of misbehaving before she apparates too…" Now it was Mithras' turn to frown. The friends exchanged knowing smiles as they sat back down around the table.
" Is that all?!" Lucy grinned. " Come on Mithras…this is Jo we're talking about it here! You didn't seriously expect her to not take an opportunity like this did you?"
" So has Jo's study finally finished then?" Guillaume suddenly asked, the venom in his voice seeming to drain the colour out of Mithras' face.
" It's just that ours has and we wondered if hers had too…" Bertrande tried to clear the air a little as Mithras turned to face her.
" Well…yes…yes I suppose it has…" Mithras smiled weakly at Bertrande as he could almost feel Guillaume's sneer burning into his back.
" I wouldn't worry Mithras…" Jenny smiled warmly, " Jo'll turn up when she's good and ready! She probably just wants a break…"
" You're probably right…" Mithras sighed. " Well, when you do see her…will you let her know…?" He headed for the door, desperate to put something between Guillaume's furious gaze and himself.
" Don't worry we'll tell her!" Amos grinned as Mithras let himself out the door. Guillaume sat down heavily in the chair and his brow knitted together.
'If Jo's finished her study, why hasn't she come to see me?' he thought to himself.
" Well where else did you think I'd go!" a voice came from behind his chair. Guillaume shrieked and leapt to his feet. Spinning around Guillaume saw two familiar green eyes looking at him from over the chair.
" Jo…" Guillaume's broke into a wide smile, " It feels like I haven't seen you for weeks…" The rest of the friends smiled and averted their eyes as Jo and Guillaume moved the chair between them and embraced each other.
" Oh I have missed you, you know…" Jo whispered in his ear as she hugged him to her.
" Not half as much as I've missed you…" he looked down into her face, a cheeky grin and mischievous glint in his eyes. He leant down and kissed her gently.
" Sorry to interrupt you two…" Lina coughed after a few moments, she waited as Jo and Guillaume separated and sat down, their hands entwined. " But I didn't get to finish my message!" She smiled and her eyes twinkled with excitement. Lina took a deep breath and " King Marduk has declared that as your training is complete, the quest will start the day after the next full moon…"
" Which is…?" Simon asked.
" A weeks time…" Jo answered quickly, wanting to hear what else Lina had to say.
" Thank you…on the night of the full moon his majesty as announced that there is to a be a grand ball in honour of those partaking in the quest!" Lina finished happily.
" So basically we're having a party before we go and get ourselves killed…" Amos giggled before Jenny elbowed him in the ribs. " Hey!" he groaned, rubbing his side.
" That's not funny!" Jenny frowned.
" A ball? As in dancing?" Rosie beamed.
" A ball as in…ball gowns?" Jo swallowed nervously. Having finally left an age of long dresses behind Jo was in no hurry to get back into another one.
" It is a state function so proper attire will be required…" Lina's tone was final as if she expected Jo to put up and argument.
" Oh great…" Jo mumbled under her breath.
" But…between now and the day of the ball…you can do whatever you like…!" Lina beamed, watching as the friends' faces grew even brighter. They all exchanged excited looks and broad smiles. " Well…what on earth are you sitting here for? Go…relax!!" laughed Lina as the friends scrambled out of their seats and hurried out of the door.
" Well…it wasn't a candle…!"
* * * * * * * * *
For the next week, as the sun rose each morning, so did the friends. As the sun traversed the sky, the friends toiled at their studies below. Lina, Puw and Lamim pushing them ever onwards, learning more and more with each passing hour. As the sun set every evening, the friends would return to their suite of rooms before retiring to their beds exhausted. All the friends except Jo.
Guillaume went to her room each morning to wake her, to spend a few moments with her before they were separated for another day. But every morning he would quietly open her door to find her room empty, Jo's study having already begun with Mithras. Then, late into the night Guillaume's dark eyes would look out of his window and to Mithras' tower where Jo would still be studying. Eventually tiredness would take over and he would drift into sleep with dreams where he and Jo would simply sit with each other.
Little did Guillaume know that every night Jo would silently creep into his room, her eyes aching from reading scroll after scroll by candlelight, to bid him goodnight. Jo would sit and watch over him as he slept, usually falling asleep by his side, before kissing his forehead and returning to the tower and her study while the sky was still dark and sprinkled with stars.
And so it was that as the sun rose on the seventh day of their stay in Vaniria, the friends had hardly seen those who were not in their groups for tuition and no one had seen Jo.
" Rosie…please…could you put the dagger down while we're eating?!" Lucy flinched as Rosie twirled the small blade in her fingers, light glinting off the polished metal as it spun faster between her fingers. Rosie grinned at her nervous friend and quickly sheathed the knife.
" Sorry…" Rosie shrugged, " its just habit now I guess!" Lucy rolled her eyes as she glanced at Lina, who had joined them for breakfast as always, absent-mindedly twirling the butter knife through her fingers as Rosie had just been doing.
" And I can't think where you've picked up that habit!" Lucy frowned before returning her attention to the book that lay by her plate.
" Well in that case…" smirked Martin, swiping the book up and closing it. " You can put your book away too!" He grinned as Lucy snatched at the book but he held it just out of her reach.
" Hey! I was reading that…!" Lucy groaned.
" Yes I noticed that…but we're not in our lessons now!" Martin winked, putting the book on the other side of him, out of Lucy's grasp.
" But Madam Puw wants us to…" started Lucy.
" So you can read it later…please…" his smile softened. " Can't we just forget about our studies and just enjoy spending some time with each other? Time without being told the correct way to throw rocks!"
" You mean there's a wrong way to throw rocks?!" giggled Jenny as Lina's head snapped up and her blue eyes blazed at the students sat at the table.
" Yes there's a wrong way! I mean…if you…" Lina started to explain but was drowned out by groans and pieces of bread being thrown at her. She put her hands up to stop the onslaught. " Ok…ok! No tutoring at breakfast!" Laughter filled the air and the friends began to chat amongst themselves. However, one end of the room remained quiet. Guillaume was sat silently at the end of the table, brooding darkly into the glass of water before him.
" You ok Guillaume?" Marius asked gently, sipping at his own water. There was no reply, it didn't seem as if Guillaume had even heard him. " Guillaume?" Marius repeated a little louder. Guillaume's eyes suddenly left the glass and glanced up at the others, all of who were looking at him with concern evident in their eyes. He smiled weakly,
" Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening…" he rolled his dark eyes and sighed.
" That's ok…" Bertrande smiled, " You didn't miss much…"
" Well other than everyone pelting me with bread!" grumbled Lina, who was still picking crumbs out of her thick blonde hair. Guillaume laughed quietly.
" Why ever did they do that?" He raised a dark eyebrow.
" Because I was trying to explain that there is in fact a 'wrong' way to throw rocks…which is…" Lina started and quickly stopped as Guillaume picked up a bread roll and pretended to aim it at her. She groaned, " Oh I give up!" Before Guillaume could retaliate the sound of a horn filled the air. Lina's gaze suddenly became serious as she stood up and walked over to the window. Looking down into the courtyard she waved at someone.
" I have a message…I shouldn't be long…" she smiled before launching herself out of the window.
" I wish I could that…" sighed Amos.
" What? Jump out of a window?" Simon frowned.
" No! Fly…" Amos answered dreamily.
" It certainly would make things more interesting!" laughed Mark quickly followed by the others.
" I wonder what the message was…" Phillipe mumbled but before the friends could discuss it further Lina reappeared in the window and landed lightly on the floor a huge smile on her face.
" Well I'm guessing the message is a good one!" Phillipe smiled.
" I have just been informed that Madam Puw and Madam Lamim believe you need no further instruction…as do I…"
" Does that mean what I think it means…?" Rosie's face grew brighter.
" No more lessons?" Lucy beamed.
" No more lessons!" Lina confirmed, giggling as the room was filled with whoops of joy from the friends.
" At last…we can finally spend a day together…" sighed Marius contentedly, taking Rosie's hand in his for a moment.
" What about Jo? Have her studies ended?" Guillaume's voice was full of sadness as if he already knew the answer.
" Well…Mithras wasn't actually involved in the discussion…and Jo's study is slightly different to yours…" Lina said quietly, wincing as she watched the anger sparkling in Guillaume's dark eyes.
" But she's been studying non-stop!" Guillaume snapped, leaping to his feet and causing his chair to clatter noisily to the floor. " None of us have seen her days!"
" She has been working a lot…" agreed Mark.
" She's been working constantly!" frowned Jenny.
" Don't blame me…!" shouted Lina. " It's nothing to do with me what Mithras decides!"
" Sorry Lina…" Guillaume's voice immediately became softer and apologetic. " It's just…I haven't seen her for so long…" he sighed, picking up his chair and standing it by the table. Suddenly the doors opened to reveal a harassed looking Mithras. Guillaume's apologetic face instantly hardened, his angry eyes boring into the grey ones that had just entered the room.
" Has anyone seen Jo?" Mithras gasped, his chest heaving from obviously running up the stairs.
" Are you having a laugh?!" Guillaume snapped. " None of us have seen her since this whole tutoring business began!" Mithras swallowed nervously as his eyes caught Guillaume's for a second.
" Why? Have you lost her or something…?" grinned Rosie.
" Well not exactly…" Mithras started, trying to avoid Guillaume's blazing eyes.
" What do you mean…not exactly…" Phillipe's voice became darker as he rose slowly to his feet. Followed by the others, all of who looked less than pleased that something might have happened to Jo.
" Oh it's nothing serious…" Mithras tried to smile. " It's just that I promised her that if she could disapparate and apparate successfully then I would consider her tutoring complete. I mean , she can do everything else perfectly…" He smiled in the satisfied way that most teacher's do when their pupil excels.
" I'm guessing that this disappearing business she's not so perfect at…?" Rosie raised an eyebrow.
" Disapparating…" corrected Mithras, " …Is simple enough and Jo has grasped the basics, the problem is she has a habit of…well…" Mithras rolled his eyes. " …Not apparating straight away…" he groaned.
" So…? Surely that means she can do it well?" Mark frowned as he leant on the table.
" Well it wouldn't be so bad but she also has a habit of misbehaving before she apparates too…" Now it was Mithras' turn to frown. The friends exchanged knowing smiles as they sat back down around the table.
" Is that all?!" Lucy grinned. " Come on Mithras…this is Jo we're talking about it here! You didn't seriously expect her to not take an opportunity like this did you?"
" So has Jo's study finally finished then?" Guillaume suddenly asked, the venom in his voice seeming to drain the colour out of Mithras' face.
" It's just that ours has and we wondered if hers had too…" Bertrande tried to clear the air a little as Mithras turned to face her.
" Well…yes…yes I suppose it has…" Mithras smiled weakly at Bertrande as he could almost feel Guillaume's sneer burning into his back.
" I wouldn't worry Mithras…" Jenny smiled warmly, " Jo'll turn up when she's good and ready! She probably just wants a break…"
" You're probably right…" Mithras sighed. " Well, when you do see her…will you let her know…?" He headed for the door, desperate to put something between Guillaume's furious gaze and himself.
" Don't worry we'll tell her!" Amos grinned as Mithras let himself out the door. Guillaume sat down heavily in the chair and his brow knitted together.
'If Jo's finished her study, why hasn't she come to see me?' he thought to himself.
" Well where else did you think I'd go!" a voice came from behind his chair. Guillaume shrieked and leapt to his feet. Spinning around Guillaume saw two familiar green eyes looking at him from over the chair.
" Jo…" Guillaume's broke into a wide smile, " It feels like I haven't seen you for weeks…" The rest of the friends smiled and averted their eyes as Jo and Guillaume moved the chair between them and embraced each other.
" Oh I have missed you, you know…" Jo whispered in his ear as she hugged him to her.
" Not half as much as I've missed you…" he looked down into her face, a cheeky grin and mischievous glint in his eyes. He leant down and kissed her gently.
" Sorry to interrupt you two…" Lina coughed after a few moments, she waited as Jo and Guillaume separated and sat down, their hands entwined. " But I didn't get to finish my message!" She smiled and her eyes twinkled with excitement. Lina took a deep breath and " King Marduk has declared that as your training is complete, the quest will start the day after the next full moon…"
" Which is…?" Simon asked.
" A weeks time…" Jo answered quickly, wanting to hear what else Lina had to say.
" Thank you…on the night of the full moon his majesty as announced that there is to a be a grand ball in honour of those partaking in the quest!" Lina finished happily.
" So basically we're having a party before we go and get ourselves killed…" Amos giggled before Jenny elbowed him in the ribs. " Hey!" he groaned, rubbing his side.
" That's not funny!" Jenny frowned.
" A ball? As in dancing?" Rosie beamed.
" A ball as in…ball gowns?" Jo swallowed nervously. Having finally left an age of long dresses behind Jo was in no hurry to get back into another one.
" It is a state function so proper attire will be required…" Lina's tone was final as if she expected Jo to put up and argument.
" Oh great…" Jo mumbled under her breath.
" But…between now and the day of the ball…you can do whatever you like…!" Lina beamed, watching as the friends' faces grew even brighter. They all exchanged excited looks and broad smiles. " Well…what on earth are you sitting here for? Go…relax!!" laughed Lina as the friends scrambled out of their seats and hurried out of the door.