It became much harder being at home. The tension was so thick that even the townspeople started to notice. Everyone knew that the young Wilkinson was a bit unruly and had a strained relationship with his stepmother, but it seemed to have gotten even worse. His attitude was outrageous, so to say!
But Henrietta did not lose her head. She knew how to handle the situation. If her stepson's mouth got a bit too nasty, she could put him in his place. Finally she had control of the stallion.
It was so silent by the dinner table that the servants could be heard laughing and talking in the kitchen down the hall. Hazel poked her stew around a bit, not really having taken a bite of it even though the dinner had lasted for a good twenty minutes now. She did not feel like eating. She never did. She just wanted to lie down and close her eyes, and fly, fly far away.
Daniel kept a close eye on his younger sister. She only looked worse every time he came home. He didn't understand why. She said that she felt fine and received medicine. How could she end up in this state? At least there were no seizures. That made him feel better.
Henrietta watched the children closely. The only sound in the dining room was that of cutlery against porcelain.
"So," John suddenly spoke up, grabbing the attention of everyone at the table, "Some fine customers liked the closet Daniel and I had worked hard on these past few days. We sold it at a good price. Isn't that right, Daniel?"
The young man said nothing. He merely looked down at his plate and nodded, taking another bite of his dish.
John looked around at his family. His children stared down at their food, unwilling to say anything. The tension irked him. It should be stopped right now. "But the good Mr. Skinner assured me I could have demanded much more money for it. He said that it is time I raise the prices," he continued. He eyed everyone, waiting for a response. None came.
The master of the house frowned. Everyone sensed that he was starting to become irritated. Only Hazel and Henrietta seemed to care, though, and of those two, Hazel was the only one worried about it. John's voice raised, "I do think he might be right. We sell very well now. I receive many compliments for my work. The quality of it certainly deserves a higher price."
"That is very nice, Father," Hazel peeped.
Henrietta looked at Daniel. He kept his gaze locked on his nearly empty plate.
The middle-aged man stayed silent for a good while. His jaw was tense. Grey eyes flickered between his wife and son. Hazel started trembling.
Suddenly John's large fist slammed against the table. Everything rattled, the glasses, the cutlery, the plates; some of the wine splashed onto the white tablecloth. Everyone looked up. "What does it take to get you people to talk?" John barked, staring at his children, "Have I raised you this horribly? Where have the etiquette and politeness gone? Why must you try so hard to keep our family divided like this?"
Henrietta observed Daniel. He stared at his father with a deep frown and wide eyes. His strong jawline and neck tensed, the knuckles on his fists white.
She turned to the man by her side and placed a hand on his arm, making him look at her. Just by the mere touch, her husband seemed to calm down. "Don't feel bad, my dear," she said and gave him a sweet smile. She looked at Daniel again and smiled at him as well, but it was not sweet. "It is not your fault that your children are so ungrateful."
Daniel glared at her. His fists trembled. Hazel's eyes averted to her lap. She wanted to fly, fly far away.
Finally, Henry got the money that he wanted. He tried to act as if the crown didn't impress him and that it was the least Daniel could have done, but it was obvious that he had never been near that much money before in his life. Hopefully that would keep him away for a while.
But Henry was not the biggest of Daniel's concerns any more. It constantly felt like he was walking around with a large, cold stone in his stomach. He felt horrible. Everything he did was completely animated and automatic. He just tried to live on as if nothing was wrong, but he felt completely dead inside.
The two weeks went by slowly. It was painful being at home. He kept mostly to his room, just burying himself in his books. Once in a while, whenever Hazel was awake, he would read fairy tales to her. The only positive thing about how all this had turned out was that Henrietta wasn't nagging him as much. She knew better than to push him; after all, he knew her secret as well.
Daniel couldn't return to the school soon enough. As soon as he was back in the familiar courtyard in front of the main building with all of his friends, he finally felt some of the tension ease off a bit. The cold rock inside him melted slightly.
In early June everyone received their last grades for the year before starting the preparation for the exams. As per usual, all the boys were completely hyped. The grades were important; they needed to know if their hard work had paid off, since it otherwise would mean a nasty scolding from the parents upon returning home again for the summer holiday.
Daniel had seated himself in the couch in the common room. Owen and Harvey sat with him, doing the exactly same as him; staring down at the grade papers, afraid to flip it open and see what it said inside. Harvey was the first to pull himself together and check his grades. As predicted, a smile soon formed on his face. "A, another A, and one more..." he said, mostly to himself.
"I don't even know what you were worried about, you never get anything other than excellent grades," Owen groaned and rubbed his forehead.
Daniel forced a strained smile. Hearing about his friend's success only made him feel even more anxious to find out how he had done himself. "Congratulations, Harvey."
"Hey fellers, how did you do?"
They all looked up. Christopher and Everett stood in front of them, they themselves holding their grade papers. Christopher settled down in the couch next to Daniel, while Everett sat down in an armchair. "Harvey did great, no surprise there," Owen chuckled, "Daniel and I haven't gathered the courage to look yet."
Everett brushed his fingers through his golden hair in a casual manner. "I did well enough. My father will be much satisfied."
"I did all right as well," Christopher said with a wry smile and shrugged, "I did get a little lazy near the end, and it shows... But it's not too bad."
Owen bit his bottom lip in anticipation and flipped the paper open. As he read through it, he made a lot of different grimaces. The others laughed at his expressions. "How bad is it?" asked Harvey and fixed his glasses.
"It's actually not that bad," Owen said and offered his papers for the others to see. Daniel grabbed it. "I thought I did a lot worse. My mother will surely grant me some cake for this when I return home!"
"We will have to try some of that cake one day, Owen," Christopher chuckled, "You talk about it so much. We need to see if it's as good as you say it is."
Owen smiled in return. "You are much welcome any time you'd like, pal!"
Daniel looked through Owen's grades. They were actually quite fine. It seemed that all of his friends had done well. It was no wonder they never got kicked out of the school in spite of their pranks; their grades would certainly put them in the school's favour.
"How did you do, Daniel?" Everett said. They all looked at him.
Daniel's cheeks became a bit hotter; it was obvious he couldn't evade it any more. He opened the grade papers and looked through it – only to be pleasantly surprised. "Five A's," he said with wide eyes. For history, among other things. He smiled.
"Wow!" Owen said, looking at the papers over Daniel's shoulder, "Your grades are really good! Almost as good as Harvey's!"
"Can I see it?" Everett said and reached for the papers. Daniel let him have it.
Christopher patted his back, "Well done, Dan. Keep it up, and you'll be sure to get into any university you could possibly want to apply to."
Except that he wasn't supposed to go to a university; he was supposed to take over the family business and become an artisan, just like his father. Daniel's smile faltered slightly as his heart dropped deep down to his stomach, but he didn't say anything.
Everett simply nodded with an unimpressed mien and gave Daniel his papers back. He offered a smile with no warmth in it, "Congratulations, Daniel."
Daniel picked out a book and flipped through the pages. The Rampage of the Vikings – from mere savages to civilised merchants was the title; quite dramatic, admittedly, but interesting nonetheless. It reminded him of Serena and her Nordic ancestry.
"Did you guys hear about Thomas?" Timmy said. The others were not as interested in actually looking through any of the books the shop had to offer.
"You mean the prank, Everett pulled on him?" Harvey said.
Owen picked a random book, looking through it without really registering any of the contents of it. "I honestly thought that it was hilarious," he chuckled, "Everett is such a vile genius."
Daniel had also heard about it. Everett often pulled these harmless practical jokes. After all, he thought the school would be too awfully boring without them. Thomas Webster had innocently come into the classroom, having bothered absolutely no one, and simply wanting to sit down in his seat. But that turned out to go awry, as the chair skidded and he ended up on the floor with a sore bum instead. The whole class laughed about it, even Thomas himself. "No one makes the school laugh as much as Everett," Timmy said, seating himself in a chair in the shop.
Harvey walked up to Daniel, looking over his shoulder. "What are you reading, Daniel?"
"A book about Vikings. They're quite interesting," Daniel said without looking up from the book.
Owen's eyes widened a little bit. "Oh, with the ships and raids and all that? Can I see it?" He put out his hand and Daniel let him have the book, slightly surprised by his friend's sudden interest. Owen started shifting through a few pages, "Do you want to be a historian, Daniel? You always have your nose in these kinds of books."
He shrugged. "Not quite... I'm not sure which path I'll walk yet."
"My father got educated at Oxford," Harvey said and nodded, "That is where I want to go!"
Timmy sat up a bit more straight, looking around at the others with a pair of large, curious teal eyes. "What do you all plan to do when you graduate from King's?"
Owen finally shifted his gaze from the book and shrugged, "I haven't thought that far yet. I'll probably go to some university somewhere. That's what my parents would want." He grinned at the boy with the round glasses, "I might join you at Oxford, Harvey."
"You should be much welcome," Harvey chuckled. Owen gave his shoulder a friendly nudge.
Timmy grimaced, "With the grades I've got now, I doubt I'll be able to manage a university... I think I'm going to settle for the sea life."
The others stared at him. "Sea life?" Harvey said, "But aren't you the one who always gets sea sick, Timmy?"
Timmy scoffed. "It's not that bad! I'll get used to it!" he said with a hint of irritation over his friends not taking him seriously. "I want to be a sailor. I want to travel around the world. I want more than England!"
Daniel smiled. He knew exactly how his friend felt.
"All right, then, it's all up to you," Owen chuckled. He turned to look at Daniel and handed him the book back, "What about you, Daniel? What do you want to do after King's?"
Daniel couldn't help but wonder if he should answer what he wanted to do or had to do. It could turn out to be some quite disparate answers. He accepted the book from Owen and opened it to a random page; there was an illustration of a mad Viking on his way to war. "I... My father wants me to take over the family business," he said quietly.
"That sounds interesting. It's always much easier when you already have a job and future secured," Harvey said and nodded, "What does your father do?"
Daniel didn't know if he should act like he was excited. "He's an artisan."
Owen smiled, "That is right, you told me! You are indeed very good with the materials, I saw that back in Easter. You would make a great artisan, Daniel!"
"You have to do the furniture for my house," Timmy added with great eagerness.
"I thought you were going to be a sailor, Tim? Sailors don't have houses, they live in their ships on the sea!"
"Is that so? Then I want to be a soldier."
"You sure get some creative ideas..."
Daniel put the book about Vikings back on the shelf; he wasn't going to buy it, he would borrow it at the school library instead. He didn't really listen to the others as he became lost in his own thoughts. It seemed that it was all already decided for him; he was going to be an artisan. He was going to build furniture for his friends. He was going to take over the business from his father. How could he go to a university if his father didn't approve? Why was he holding on to the frail hope that he might be able to break free? He wanted to travel around the world. He wanted more than the life of a shopkeeper. He wanted more than England.
But he couldn't tell his friends that he was going to the university, for right now it was but a dream.
It had become July. The boys of King's were completely caught up in their studies. Even though they had received their grades now, they couldn't just relax for now it was the grades of the exams that were at stake. Daniel and his friends spent most of their free time studying; they had to be well prepared, so they went through all of their notes again and read up on the whole curriculum for the past school year.
The library was quiet. They all shared a table, noses stuck in the books. Every now and then one of them looked up to scribble down some notes instead, but not much other movement occurred.
Everett looked at the others. He was bored; he couldn't focus this long on something so dull. He never understood the likes of Harvey, who had the patience and capacity to always put time and effort into his schoolwork. Luckily, Everett would never become that caught up in anything as trivial as school.
He spoke up, "I got an idea a while ago."
The others looked up, slightly surprised. "What is it?" Owen said.
Everett got sparkles in his eyes, those same sparkles that always appeared when he was up to no good. "I was thinking," he started, looking around at his friends. Daniel noticed how he almost purposely looked directly past him, though. "How fun could it be if the horses ran loose on the school ground?"
The others dropped their jaws, unable to believe the boldness of Everett's new scheme. "Are you serious, Everett?" Timmy said with eyes as wide and round as teacups, though a hint of excitement had started to reveal itself.
Daniel mentally shook his head and looked down at his book again.
"Hear me out, now!" Everett said and waved his hands, "I've thought about it for a while, and there is no way the horses could get hurt! There are no dangerous fences or cobbles that they could trip over. And I think it is the perfect way to live up things a bit around here! It should be at night when everyone is in their pyjamas and completely disoriented." A devilish grin formed on his lips as he couldn't contain a chuckle, "Mr. Martins will explode!"
Christopher looked at the others. "To be honest, it sounds like it could be really hilarious," he laughed.
"My brother actually did something along those lines when he went to school," Timmy said, nodding with great enthusiasm, "He said it was a great success, and even the teachers thought it to be funny!"
"It's genius! You should do it, Everett!" Owen said.
Daniel couldn't ignore this any more. "Wait," he said. All the other boys turned their heads and looked at him. "I don't think it's a very good idea. What if the horses suddenly ran away and we wouldn't be able to catch them again?"
"I am a monitor, so I can make sure that all the gates around the school are locked firmly," Harvey said, "It is no problem whatsoever. I don't see what could go wrong, as long as the plan is followed carefully!" Daniel frowned. He could feel that he was losing this battle.
"Please, Everett, do it!" Timmy pleaded.
Everett shook his head, laughing. "Everyone will expect that," he said, "If anyone finds me lurking around the school grounds at night, they will suspect it at once. We should have someone a bit more popular with the teachers do it."
"Like Harvey?" Christopher said.
Harvey shook his head, "It would never do! I am way too clumsy, and you all know that I'm not very comfortable around horses..."
"No, it should be Daniel!" Timmy said, "He's perfect! He's great with horses and the teachers would never suspect him!"
They all agreed and encouraged the idea. Daniel looked up, feeling very alerted. He was not about to do something that foolish. He still remembered clearly how it all went down the last time – and it did not work out in his favour, to say the least. "No!" he said, "I won't!"
"Please, Daniel!" Timmy said.
Christopher continued, "Timmy's right, you're perfect! You are the only one who will be able to pull this off. The teachers all know that we are infamous for pulling these pranks, but they won't expect you to do it!"
"You are perfect, Dan," Everett said and smiled. He seemed to put a certain stress on the word perfect.
Daniel felt uncertain. He shook his head rapidly, "Have you all forgotten about the Advent ceremony? I was caught back then! I got suspended!"
"Only because Everett told the Headmaster that you did it," Harvey said.
"Which was not all right." Christopher gave Everett a look. The blond shook his head in regret. Daniel couldn't help but feel that the young Hammond didn't regret anything at all.
Timmy looked even more eager now. "But if it wasn't for Everett, you would have gotten away with it! They would never think you could do anything like that again, Daniel, they think you're too good and perfect!" Daniel looked at him perplexed. He didn't know if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.
"Hey," Owen said with a surprisingly stern voice. The others looked at him with raised eyebrows, never having expected the gentle boy to be able to assert himself like that. "If Daniel doesn't want to do it, we shouldn't pressure him." Then the well-known smile returned to his face, "I can do it."
Daniel's eyes widened. The others suddenly looked very guilt-ridden. "Yes, you're right, Owen," Christopher said, "He's our friend, we shouldn't force it upon him."
"He is just so perfect…" Timmy mumbled. Harvey nodded; Everett said nothing.
Daniel couldn't let him do that. He didn't want Owen to be suspended, or perhaps even kicked out of the school. His grades were not as good as Daniel's. Doing something that outrageous might be the last straw for him. "No, Owen," he said, "It's dangerous!"
Owen laughed, "That might be overdramatising it a bit, don't you think?" But soon he stopped and offered his friend a reassuring smile, "It's all right, Daniel. If you don't want to do it, that's fine. But I think it's a genius idea, and you can't keep me from wanting to realise it!"
Daniel bit his lip. This was not what he wanted. Owen was his best friend. He couldn't deal with if he was to be kicked out of the school.
"Then that's settled," Everett said and leaned back in the chair, "All right, it's time to start planning..."
"Wait!" Daniel said. They all looked at him. Everett raised an eyebrow. He moistened his lips and looked around at them; he couldn't believe he was about to say this. "I'll do it."
Owen stared at him. "Really, Daniel? But I'm fine with it."
Daniel shook his head, "No, you are all right. I'm perfect. They won't ever suspect me. It's best that I do it."
They all looked around at each other confused. Everett smiled. "Perfect, Daniel."
It was quiet. Daniel had waited till the sun had finally set, and at this time of the year, that didn't happen until very late. He didn't like that he had to go through with the plan in the dark, but that was how Everett had said it had to be done. When it finally became dark outside, he grabbed the lantern and ventured out. Owen kept guard in the hallways while he went on his way.
He stopped when he reached the courtyard and waited. It didn't take long till he saw the light in the distance. Over by the stables, a light flickered brighter and became dimmer, three times in a row. Harvey had checked and locked all the gates around the school now. Daniel sighed and made a circle movement with his arm, so the lantern formed a curve with its light. Then he continued towards the stables.
He didn't meet Harvey on the way. He had probably already sneaked back to his room. Daniel wanted to go back as well and just forget about the plan. At least he only had to let all the horses out, then he could go back to his room and act as if he was asleep.
He could hear some of the horses snort when he neared the stables. As soon as he went inside, he saw Pride's elegant head looking out from his stall near the end of the hallway. He chuckled and whispered, "Hello Pride." The colt nodded its head, neighing softly.
Daniel looked around. All the horses were calm. It might not turn out to be the disaster he imagined it would, with panicked horses running around on the school grounds; maybe they would just calmly walk about minding their own businesses, eating grass here and there. That would actually be very funny.
He began opening the stall doors one after the other, but soon realised that the horses weren't budging. They just stood still inside their stalls, looking at him with their ears pointing forward in curiosity. Some of them nipped at his sleeve, hoping for a treat.
Daniel scratched the back of his head. This wasn't the plan. Everett wanted them to walk out of the stables so that everyone would notice them. He had to lure the horses out somehow.
He opened the last of the stalls. Only some of the horses reacted. A few of them walked out onto the stable hallway. Some even ventured into one of the other horses' stall and started eating their hay. Pride went up to Daniel and nudged his shoulder. He patted the colt's neck. It stood still in front of him, just waiting for its rider to lead it wherever he wanted it to go.
Daniel walked around Pride and went down to the stall furthest down the hallway. An old mare stood there. She offered him nothing but an uninterested glance, then continued eating, not letting Daniel disturb her peace. He groaned; he had to get these horses out. Why weren't they just walking out of the stable by themselves?
Daniel put the lantern on the half-wall and went into the stall. He grabbed the mare's halter and tried leading her out, but she did not move; she was a stubborn one. Daniel frowned and started tugging on the halter a bit harder, and suddenly she moved. He fell backwards in surprise. The mare bumped into him and shoved him against the wall, causing the whole stall to shake.
The lantern fell off the half-wall and shattered. Burning oil spilled out onto the hay. A spark ignited.
The mare walked calmly out into the hallway, her tail basking back and forth in annoyance. The other horses became slightly uneasy by the smell of burning dry grass. They neighed louder and lurched their heads, stamping their hooves on the concrete ground.
Daniel was a bit disoriented following the impact against the stable wall. He had heard something shatter. He looked around, noticing that the light no longer came from where he had placed the lantern on the half-wall. A strange, atrocious smell reached his nostrils. Then he saw it – it had already spread throughout most of the stall, and it was about to consume the next one as well. A fire had started, and the flames were spreading faster and faster.
The horses were panicking. They walked out of their stalls and stamped their hooves violently, some of them trotting out of the stable. Daniel's mind went blank as he stared at the dangerous dance of heat making its way through the building, his whole being numb and completely paralysed. He slowly backed away from the fire and back down the hallway without taking his eyes off it, too shocked to sense any of the chaos going on around him. He couldn't feel the sweat running down his forehead or the tremble in his hands, but suddenly there was a sharp pain in his ribs. He fell sidewards, right into the saddle room – and the door locked behind him.
He felt dazed; his left side hurt incredibly. He pulled up his shirt and saw the horseshoe-shaped bruise. Beautiful. You got yourself kicked by a horse.
Daniel groaned and pushed himself up on his elbows with great effort while trying to look around the room. Everything was completely dark. The only bit of light was what came in from under the door – from the fire. There was a lot of noise coming from the other side of the door. All the horses shrieked loudly and their hooves thundered out of the stable.
He bit back the pain and crawled towards the door. He mustered strength in his left fist and hammered on it while holding on to his ribs with the right; it wouldn't open. He couldn't determine how much the fire had spread any more, but he could feel the heat, and it was becoming unbearable. The smoke was dense now, dense and black coming from under the door. He began to feel trouble breathing as fluid formed in his throat and cold sweat trickled down the side of his face. It went fast, too fast.
Daniel sat down again, leaned against the door and stared into the dark surrounding him. He felt it come back; his eyes widened, his heart went at an unusual speed and he was a mere child again. This was it. He was going to die. Consumed by the darkness, and this time also flames. It wouldn't let him out. He was locked inside, forever imprisoned, never to escape.
No escape.
The flames flickered. Shadows formed in the little bit of light there was. Monstrous faces were laughing at him, pointing at him, getting closer.
His ribs hurt. His head was heavier than he had ever felt it before; his temples thundered at an alarming rate, causing him to feel nauseous all the while the fluid continued to collect in his airway. His eyes became moist, and he closed them. He gasped for air; nothing but smoke filled his lungs. His chest began to burn. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't move. It was his own fault, he had been too incautious with the lantern.
"What in heavens is going on?"
"How did this fire start?!"
Far voices in the distance. If only they would reach him. Daniel struggled to stay conscious.
He let out a quiet yelp as he felt a burning sensation against his back and he was flung away from his seat; the fire broke in and broke down the wooden door behind him, instead blocking the exit itself. Wild flames licked the walls and floor. The heat became even more intense, causing the world around him to seem to move in slow waves. The shadows became even darker and bigger, dancing their devil dance and reaching out for Daniel to join them. He couldn't escape; he either had to go to the fire or the darkness.
No escape.
The walls collapsed. The saddles and brushes and bridles were all consumed. Daniel fell onto the floor, his body too heavy. He looked up to glance at the blurred world around him. He was no longer surrounded by dark, but a few shadows in the distance lingered on the other side of the flames. He realised they weren't shadows – they were figures. The distant voices.
"Hurry! Over here!"
"This fire is rapid!"
He tried calling out to them, but his voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper over his dry lips – and with it came up some of the liquid that had accumulated in his lungs. His whole body was weak, he felt a numb pain in his veins as the blood cells continued to decrease with the lack of oxygen. The flames were coming, and the shadow creatures retreated. They had always feared the light, but this time that light wasn't there to protect him.
Daniel blinked. His vision was sailing. He couldn't stay awake any more.
"Oh my God! Someone, help! One of the boys is trapped in here!"
The voices came closer, yet they faded.
"BRING MORE WATER! HE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION!"
Maybe it was time to go to the light.
"Daniel? Are you all right?"
Light blinded him.
Daniel opened his eyes. At first he couldn't see anything clearly. Everything was so bright. He wondered if this was Heaven. He felt very ill, though; he had a major headache and felt like he could vomit at any time. At least there were no shadows here.
But then everything became a bit clearer. The light wasn't so bright any more.
"Please answer, Daniel!"
Daniel turned his head, searching for the source of the familiar voices. He cringed when he tried to move; his left ribs hurt. For a moment he didn't remember what had happened.
"I can't believe that it went like this. It was the worst idea!"
Finally his vision cleared. He was in a white room with a lot of beds with white sheets. He recognised the place; it was the hospital ward of the school.
He looked around. His friends leaned over him. Owen, Timmy and Harvey; Christopher and Everett; all staring at Daniel with wide, fearful eyes. Suddenly he remembered, though it felt like a distant dream – or nightmare, rather. He frowned with squinted eyes. "It seems … I failed the mission?"
The others let out a half-hearted laugh. Timmy looked like he was on the verge of tears. "The teachers said you could have died, Daniel!" he blurted, immediately nudged hard in his side by Owen.
"Timmy, he's not dead now, is he!" Harvey scolded.
Christopher bit his lip, "Daniel, we never thought it would go so wrong... We just figured you would let out the horses and come back… Then we heard all the shouts, and at first we just thought that people had discovered the horses, but then there was a lot of panic, and everyone saw the fire by the stables…"
"It was my fault," Everett said. All the colour in his face was gone. "It was my idea. I brought you and all the horses in danger. Duchess is..."
He paused, biting his lip. Daniel frowned. Had something happened?
Owen sighed, continuing on behalf of his friend, "Daniel, Duchess was injured quite a lot. She didn't make it."
It was like a splash of ice cold water. He felt completely numb.
"Luckily she was the only one hurt that bad," Harvey said, sending looks of pity in Everett's direction; Christopher rubbed his friend's shoulder. "I think Pride is completely fine. Just a bit disturbed, is all."
Daniel stared out into blue air. He couldn't believe he had been this foolish. Just because he absolutely had to bring that damned lantern. Because of that, the plan failed. And now Everett's Duchess was gone, and he nearly got himself killed. Because of his idiotic, irrational fear of the dark. He should never have done it. He should have just let Owen do it instead. He would never have been so stupid.
His head hurt so much; he closed his eyes. "How long have I been out?" he said quietly.
"Just a few days." It was Christopher who answered.
Daniel sighed and averted his gaze to the window by his bed. "I guess there is no doubt about me being kicked out of the school now," he said.
The others looked at each other. "Actually…" Owen started. Daniel looked at them again with confusion.
"We have all explained the circumstances to the Headmaster," Christopher continued, "We... We said that we were the ones who forced you to do it, and it wasn't your intention to start a fire."
"I told Wallace that it was my idea, and mine alone," Everett said, "I'll be suspended from the exams."
"You won't be kicked out of the school, Daniel," Timmy said with a small smile.
Daniel merely stared at them. He really didn't feel good at all.
Harvey spoke up, "But that doesn't mean you won't be punished, unfortunately... You'll be suspended, just like Everett." He fixed his glasses, "You... You will both leave in a few days."
"And the rest of us have church duty," Owen said. He averted his gaze to his feet and continued, "Daniel, I was so scared... They said you might have inhaled too much smoke..."
Timmy added, "We have been visiting you every day to see if you would wake up, Dan."
"Your parents have been here to try and take you home, but the school wouldn't allow them till you woke up," Christopher said. He was unable to keep a knowing smile from forming on his lips as he added, "With perhaps a bit of influence from some of our parents. We have all been very worried."
Daniel was amazed. They had all fought his case. They had defended him. They had been here each and every day, going out of their mind of worry for him. Never had he ever experienced such support – and never had he deserved it less.
"You are ..." he started. They all fell completely silent. Despite his uncomfortable state and the overwhelming nausea, he managed to force a smile. "You are all ... incredible. I'm so sorry about all the trouble I caused..."
They all smiled back at him. "We are just glad that you're all right, my friend," Harvey said, "I guess we all really learned a valuable lesson, huh?"
Everyone nodded. "No more pranks," Everett said and sighed, "No more."
Just then, they were interrupted by a stern, high-pitched voice. "Mr. Wilkinson is awake! Why have you boys not said anything? Get out of here, you're suffocating him!"
It was the school's physician, Mr. Bolton. He rushed all the boys out of the room in order for Daniel to get some rest. Daniel couldn't help but be glad that he didn't have to face them any more, even though he was thankful. These boys were his friends; despite all his past doubts about them and their earlier dubious actions, they stood by his side when it really had mattered. But the guilt ate at him, and so he could do nothing but regret that they wasted their loyalty on such a fool as himself.