Now the trainees themselves had been scrubbed clean and bedecked in brand new tunics. Hama had even purchased them new vests, which showed their element by design rather than color.
Now they awaited the arrival of their two guests somewhat patiently, only shifting occasionally from their kneeling position on the floor. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (but was really less than half an hour), a knock sounded at the door. Hama answered it, today dressed in a flowing violet kimono that matched her hair. "Ah, Master Feh! Feizhi! It's so good to see you again!"
She embraced an older man with graying hair and beard, and a girl who couldn't be any older than the trainees. She had the same purple hair as Hama, tied back in a high knot, and seemed extremely curious.
"These are my students," Hama waved one hand and they bowed respectfully before rising. She introduced each of them by name and element.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Feh, Feizhi. Welcome the our home," they chorused, bowing slightly again.
"I will have to see them train," Master Feh eyed them, thoughtfully.
"Please, the journey has made you weary," Hama turned to her students. "Isaac, will you please show Master Feh and Feizhi to their rooms?"
Isaac nodded and began leading them through the twisted corridors. Feizhi had a limitless supply of questions for him. "You know your way around her, don't you? How long have you lived here? Who are your parents? How-"
"Feizhi! Allow the boy to answer," Feh chuckled.
"I know my way around well enough," Isaac took a right hand passage. "I've been here ever since I can remember, and I have no parents."
"Oh, sorry," Feizhi was silent for a moment. "Are the others like you?"
"Garet and Ivan both have parents that are still alive, and Mia has her grandparents," two more rights, up a staircase, a left, and down a hallway.
"I understand that Hama is a hard taskmaster," Feh took Feizhi's role in making conversation.
"She is," Isaac nodded, leading them up yet another staircase. "We train every day with her and on our own. You'll be able to see us, your room is right above our training ground."
"Do you enjoy it here?"
Isaac answered him truthfully. "I do, most of the time. I don't like getting up at dawn and I don't like skipping meals because of training."
Feh chuckled again at his response. Before a reply could be made, they reached the rooms.
"Here you are," Isaac bowed slightly. "I or one of my fellow trainees will come for when it is time for supper."
"Thank you, Isaac," Feh bowed in return. "You are a fine lad, tell Hama that for me."
Isaac flushed at the compliment. "Thank you, sir."
He turned and trotted in the direction from which they had come, his step light. Not even extra chores could have wiped the smile from his face.
Something else, however, did.
Upon reaching the entryway, he heard Hama speaking in a harsh tone. He had never heard her like that, and wondered who the unfortunate on the receiving end was. He didn't have to wait long to find out.
"And you, a member of the Jupiter Clan! I am ashamed to call you my kin."
"Aunt Hama" Ivan said in response, as if trying to defend himself. "There's nothing wrong with that."
"If Feh knew, though."
Isaac decided this would be a good time to leave. He backed up slowly, then ran softly down the corridor, desperately hoping that Hama had been too preoccupied to be casting for nearby minds.
Outside he found Garet and Mia, conversing lightly rather than training. He cut into Mia's chattering to tell them what little he had overheard.
"Why would Hama be ashamed of Ivan?" Mia asked after a moment of thoughtful silence.
"I dunno," Garet admitted, and Isaac shook his head. "Maybe there's something wrong with 'im?"
"He's a bully," Isaac added. "And he's pretty worthless. Sure, he's a strong Adept, but he barely knows how to use a weapon, and he's kind of a coward-"
Mia motioned violently for him to be quiet, but it was too late. Ivan was standing in the door Isaac had left open, his face unreadable. Without a word he turned and went back into the house, shutting the door behind him.
Mia glared lividly at Isaac, who smiled weakly and shrugged. "Well, it's true, isn't it?"
"That doesn't give you any right to say so."
***
Isaac retrieved Feh and his daughter for supper. The entire way to the dining room, which was on the first floor next to the kitchen, they asked Isaac questions about his situation at the school. He answered them politely and honestly, just as Hama had taught him, blushing when Feh complimented him on his training.
"What would you say if you had the chance to leave this school?" Feh asked as they came to the door. Isaac stopped short. "I I'm not sure."
"Well, you think about it," Feh smiled kindly at him before they entered the dining room.
The food, prepared by Hama herself, was already laid out on the table. Feh and Feizhi took their seats at one end, and Isaac left them for his normal place next to Garet, just across from Mia. Normally meals were quick bites between chores and training, but this dinner was a feast.
Every kind of food he had ever seen was on the table, and some he hadn't. He loaded his plate with a bit of everything, and began to stuff himself. Hama might tell him off later for being a glutton in front of company, but he couldn't care less.
When dinner was finished, Hama shooed the children out, including Feizhi, so she could talk with Feh.
"I wanna listen," Feizhi whispered when Hama re-entered the dining room, tiptoeing back to the ajar door.
"No, we can't!" Mia hissed, grabbing the other girl's arm.
"I never said you had to," Feizhi jerked her arm from Mia's grasp and leaned
in close to the door. Isaac and Garet were quick to join her. Ivan looked
a bit awkward, standing alone in the dark passage way. In the minimal light
he looked pale and scared. Mia hovered worriedly in the background, but
didn't leave herself.
"Delightful children, Hama," they heard Feh saying. "You've raised them
well." "They're delightful most of the time," Hama answered, sounding amused.
"Have you decided on one? Perhaps Ivan, or Garet would be an excellent
choice." Ivan went stark white, and Garet gave Isaac a quizzical look.
The conversation continued.
"Actually, I have made up my mind," Feh said, from the creak of wood that
followed he had settled farther into his chair. "That young boy, Isaac."
Isaac went numb. Garet was looking at him with surprise, and Ivan let out
an ill suppressed sigh of relief.
A tinkle of shattering china. "I-Isaac? W-why?"
"He's a fine lad, and he seems to be a strong Adept," Feh replied.
"Feh, please, anyone but Isaac," Hama sounded strangled, as if she was holding back tears, and a note of panic had entered her voice. "Take Ivan, take Garet, for goodness sakes take Mia but please don't take Isaac."
"Hama, I keep this school running," Feh started to sound angry. "Without me you wouldn't have the financial means to keep this school open. I could, of course, take your debts up with the leaders of this village."
"This school will be sold and you and your trainees will be put into enslavement, and Isaac will be trained to lead my armies anyway," Feh's voice had a note of finality in it, accompanied by the chink of glass being set one wood. "It's your choice."
Hama sounded lost. "Alright, take Isaac. I-I've discovered three more Adepts
in need of shelter I can't deny
them that for one boy."
"Wise choice, Hama. We'll be leaving at dawn"
"You're the Leader!" Feizhi looked up at Isaac with something close to adoration. He felt as if the bottom of his stomach had dropped out.
"Of what?" Mia whispered hoarsely.
"Of our army against Gondowan, of course!"
"Isaac?" Garet was tugging on his sleeve. "Isaac?"
He was at a loss for words.
***
It was nearing dawn.
The full realization of what was about to happen was finally hitting Isaac. No more trying to please Hama, no more avoiding Ivan, no more Mia and Garet.
Ivan, Garet, and Mia stayed with him all night. Garet kept on telling him all of the way in which his life would be better ("Imagine, I bet Feh wouldn't even LET the leader of his armies do chores") and Mia constantly patted his hand and told him it would "be alright", trying to hide her tears.
Ivan didn't said a word until the sky began to turn grey. "It was supposed to be me, Isaac." "Then why aren't you going?" Isaac's voice sounded dead, even to him.
"Because I was afraid," Ivan admitted. "That's what you heard Hama lecturing me about. I wanted to stay here, I didn't want to leave this school, ever. Hama couldn't understand that. Feh made the right choice, Isaac. You're a powerful Adept, but you're also brave and loyal. A lot better than me," he half smiled, but it looked oddly strained in the candlelight. "You should be happy. Not only does Feh want you to lead his armies, but Hama didn't want to give you up. You draw everyone to you, don't you, Isaac."
Isaac could only stare at the younger boy.
"Isaac," Mia choked after a moment. "This this can't be happening."
She sobbed, and hugged him. Isaac was shocked, and felt more than a little awkward. He hadn't been hugged many times in his life. She held on to him for a full minute before pulling away, trying to hold her tear back with her hands. Garet was blinking hard, as if trying to keep his own tears back.
"Isaac," he croaked. "Don't forget us, alright? Don't you dare ever forget us."
"I-I won't," he realized he was close to tears himself. "Hey, Ivan?"
"Yeah?" the Jupiter Adept looked surprised.
"Don't beat on Garet and Mia too bad, okay?" he blinked furiously, but the tears were escaping anyway, sliding down his cheeks. "Promise me."
"O-okay," Ivan nodded, trying to smile. "I promise."
They sat in silence, only Mia's sniffles breaking it. There was nothing to disguise the sound of footsteps down the hall, or the soft knock on the door. The portal opened, and Hama looked in. "Isaac oh, I see you've heard," she smiled sadly at the other three Adepts. "Alright, then, come with me."
Isaac, feeling strangely empty, got up and turned to the other three. "Well, bye, then."
"Good bye, Isaac," Garet wiped a hand across his eyes. "Remember don't forget."
"I won't," Isaac promised. He followed Hama down the hall.
The school was silent, still dark in the early morning hours. The familiar corridors became eerie and haunted. Hama led Isaac towards the front doors. His heart became heavier and heavier with each step he took.
Feh was standing at the entrance. He put a fatherly hand on Isaac's shoulder and led him outside. A carriage drawn by two horses was just on the other side of the stream, on the road. Feizhi waved at him from the driver's seat, where she had been conversing with the driver, a rather fat brunette man that Isaac had never seen before.
"Hsu!" Feh waved merrily. "Glad you could make it!"
"Glad I could be here, sir!" Hsu waved back. "Is this him? Our Leader?"
"He is, this is Isaac, a Venus Adept," the grip on Isaac's shoulder tightened, putting off all vague ideas of simple running for it. He couldn't have, anyway. What would happen to the school, Hama, and the others if he did? "He's a fine lad, and a strong Adept. He will serve Angora well.
"Isaac," Hama said softly from behind him. Feh released him, and he turned slowly. Hama kneeled down, and did something she had only done once. She gathered Isaac into her arms, held him close, and whispered into his hair. "Don't forget who you are, Isaac. Don't forget what life is like without war, please don't become someone who only knows war and bloodshed. And don't forget about the people who love you."
She continued to hold him, rocking back and forth, shaking. It took a moment for Isaac to realize she was crying. He wished she wouldn't, he was having problems controlling his own emotions.
Hama." Feh cut in after a few minutes, sounding slightly annoyed. "We must get going. It's a long journey back to Xian."
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry," Hama let Isaac go, but kept her hands on his shoulders. She looked into his eyes, her own filled with tears.
"Remember, Isaac. Never forget who you are."
She kissed him on the cheek, something she had never done with anyone, stood, and walked into the house without looking back.
***
Isaac had watched the only home he had known disappear amidst the trees before falling into an uneasy sleep full of nightmares.
When he woke up, it was only because Feizhi had brought him a tray of food. He wasn't hungry, and when he was awake the faces of the people he had left behind came back faster and clearer than they had in the dream world. He stared out the window at the passing scenery for a time until they left forest and scrub lands behind, entering a desert. The endless sand and rocks quickly bored him, and he turned his attention inward.
The interior of the carriage was comfortable enough. It was colored in dark browns, the walls slitted by windows. Oversized cushions spilled over the benches lining the sides. Feh sat across from him, slumped down in his seat and snoring softly. Feizhi was gazing out of one of the thin windows.
"How far away is Xian from Kalay?" he asked. Feizhi jumped at the sound of his voice, then turned to face him, eyes wide.
"Isaac, don't do that!" she scolded him. He waited patiently for an answer to his question. "Well, once we're on the other side of the Lamakan desert we'll probably go through the Altin pass and end up in Xian. It shouldn't take more than a few hours."
"Oh. Thank you," Isaac thanked her, then settled further in his seat, preparing to fall back into ignorant sleep.
Feizhi, however, had taken his question as an invitation for conversation. "Isaac, are you afraid? To lead the armies of Angora against Gondowan?"
"Who wouldn't be?" the full weight of the direction his life was going to take was beginning to sink in. With it, came an overwhelming fear. "It's a big job, and I'm not ready for it."
Ignoring all further questions from the violet haired girl, he settled back into his cushion and once again sought after blissful ignorance. Sleep, however, chose to elude him.
***
The newest Adepts arrived over the next three weeks
There were three of them, a brother and sister from Vale named Felix and Jenna whose parents had recently died, and an orphaned boy from Imil named Alex.
Hama had been keeping the other three Adepts busy, if only to keep their minds on something other than their best friend's recent departure. The new Adepts were a blessing.
"Jenna, Felix, I want you to train with Garet," Hama instructed the siblings. They both had brown hair and big brown eyes. Felix was the elder, and often very protective of his little sister. "He's a Mars Adept like Jenna, and his abilities are very similar to that of a Venus Adept like yourself, Felix. Alex, I want you to train with Mia, she's a Mercury Adept like you."
"Okay," the blue-haired boy, who seemed to be having little trouble adjusting grinned faintly.
"Good," Hama turned and entered the house.
"C'mon," Mia smiled warmly at Alex. "We can practice Frost in the stream. Do you want to come, Ivan?"
She looked at the Jupiter Adept, who was the only one without a partner. Ivan, however, only smiled. "No, I'm going to work on getting that ball out of the tree Garet kicked it into last week. There's nothing to do without it during free time, 'specially for the new kids."
"There are PLENTY of things to do besides roll that dumb ball around," Garet defended himself as he passed by, leading Felix and Jenna to the back of the house. "It's just most of them involve a stick and using it on Ivan."
"Precisely," Ivan said, dryly. Mia glared at Garet, Alex laughed, and the siblings smiled weakly. "I'm going to get the ball down."
"fine, fine, have it your way," Garet ignored Mia's scowl and continued on his way. "Now, there's a technique called 'move', and it works really, really well on big, heavy objects like Ivan's head"
This time, Jenna and Felix joined Alex in his laughter.
"Garet!" Mia protested, looking dangerously close to laughing herself. "That's not funny!"
"Yes it is," Garet looked over his shoulder, grinning obnoxiously.
"Oh, yes, a riot," Ivan agreed sarcastically, but even he couldn't hide his smile. "You're an idiot, y'know that, Garet?"
***
Hama closed the door to her personal study softly behind her. The room normally had a calming effect on her, but not today.
*I'm happy the new Adepts are here,* she thought ruefully. *This house felt so empty without Isaac and it will give the other children something else to keep their minds on. This has been hard on us all.*
She sank to her knees, sobbing softly. *Feh you monster.*
***
Xian was a completely different world for Isaac.
Homespun tunics and worn leather breeches were replaced with silk shirts,
loose pants, and flowing kimonos. Boots had no place here, all of the citizens
were wearing soft slippers. Men and women alike wore
their hair long, tied back in high knots
and buns. The houses looked more like the school than the stone and wood
dwelling in Kalay that Isaac was used to. The paths weren't paved, merely
hard packed dirt, and plants were allowed to grow freely.
Despite himself, Isaac found himself liking it.
Feh led him through the gates, and many people stopped what they were doing immediately.
"Welcome back, Master Feh," an older man bowed slightly.
The people cheered. Isaac had the sudden urge to hide behind Hsu, who was
holding him back from doing just that, presenting him to the crowd like
an expensive souvenir.
"Come, Isaac," Feh
said to him. "Let's get you clothed and fed. You'll need plenty of rest,
your training begins tomorrow."
Isaac was taken through town to a house much larger than the others, set up on a ridge near the wall surrounding Xian. It was so reminiscent of the school that his heart ached dully. He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that the inside was completely different. Instead of the twisting corridors and staircases it was a sunny, open room, a single door off to the side. Within the room several children were sitting on cushions or the floor, conversing quietly. The moment Feh entered they jumped to their feet.
"As you were," Feh commanded. The children instantly sat back down, and Feh lead Isaac to the side door.
On the other side was a small, cozy room that was obviously a parlor. It had a wooden floor, graced by an indigo and emerald rug. Large porcelain vases lined the walls.
"Welcome to your new home, Isaac," Feh used one arm to indicate the entire
room. "Feizhi will show you to your room. I am going to get the tailor."
Isaac sat heavily in one of the cushions near the grate that held only
cold ashes.
*I want to go home,* he thought, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead on them. *Oh, I really want to go home.*
Isaac didn't realize he was crying until the tears soaked through the knees of his breeches.
Chapter 2