Chapter 2: Star-lit Ceiling
Nino and Erk sat quietly in the great dining hall, eating their small meal. Erk could feel Nino glancing up at him throughout the course of the meal, clearly wondering when he was going to tell her what her treat was. She finished her meal, placed her knife and fork on the table, either side of her plate, both facing forward, running parallel to each other. She then sat and stared at Erk while he slowly ate his own meal. Looking at his eyes, Nino could tell that he was thinking. This made her happy. He was trying to think of good treat for her. She felt so proud that she done some work good enough for Erk to want to treat her. She sat patiently, though she fidgeted on occasion, eager to find out what her treat would be. Erk set his fork on the table, arranging it and his knife the same way as Nino's. She stared attentively at hm.
"I've decided." He announced after a few moments.
"You have? Wh-what is it? What's my treat?" She clenched her seat, anticipation building. Erk wiped his mouth with a napkin, put it down, and stared at her.
"Follow me." He stood up, and walked toward the door. Nino leapt to her feet, and followed him.
-
Erk led her to a large staircase spiralling downwards . Nino wondered what was down there. She had never asked, but assumed that it was the dungeon. Why would Erk be taking her there? A sudden panic flared. Maybe he was angry at her, and he was going to lock her up? Because she was no good at writing, and Erk was tired of it? Would she be made to practise all day, every day, without sleep? She opened her mouth to question Erk, but decided against it. She followed him into the dark depths of the castle's basement. She gasped and froze when Erk cast a Fire spell. He held it in his hand, and glanced around the gloomy corridors for a moment, then walked to the right. Nino followed, now more nervous than before. They walked for a few minutes, Nino constantly looking around. She didn't see any dungeons or torture rooms or cages. Just lots and lots of corridor. A very long corridor. Erk stopped suddenly, and Nino, who hadn't noticed, walked into him.
"I-I'm sorry!" She gasped. Erk looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"Just stay there a minute." He said.
"W-why?"
"Just stay." He repeated. "Don't worry, you'll see what your treat is soon." Nino felt fear building. The corridors were pitch-black, and the ball of Fire illuminated Erk's face in a sinister fashion. He started to walk away.
"D-don't leave me!" Nino gasped.
"Relax, I'm not going to." He assured her. "Let's see..." He walked forward five paces. "One, two, three, four, five. And then..." He turned to his right, and started counting bricks. "Seven... eight... twelve... fourte- there." He pushed one of the bricks. Suddenly, the entire wall slid to one side. "In here, Nino." Swallowing nervously, a lump in her throat, Nino walked into the room. It was just as dark as the corridors. Erk followed, and the wall slid back into place. Nino almost shrieked as it shut with a thud. "Now..." Erk looked around the room, then over to a red orb on a pedestal. He touched it with the palm of his hand, and the room lit. It was almost empty, save for a bed, two sofas, a table, and some book shelves. The room itself looked like some sort of underground cave. Crystals hung in brackets on the walls, varying in colour.
"Wh... what is this place?" Nino breathed.
"It's my private place." Erk told her, extinguishing his Fire. "Lord Pent showed me this room a few years ago. It's where I come to be alone, and think. Or relax." He smiled softly at Nino. "Go lay down on the bed." He told her, pointing to the bed in the centre of the room.
"Huh? B-but..." Nino felt her fear rising again.
"Go on. Just lay down. Don't worry about anything." Erk assured her. As he spoke, he was looking around the room again. Nino walked over to, and laid on, the bed. She stared up at the ceiling of the cave-room. "It is..." He sighed. "Purple, of course." He walked over toward the purple crystal.
"What does the purple one do?" Nino asked, sitting up.
"Just lay down, and looked at the ceiling." Erk told her. Nino sighed, but obeyed. A moment later, the room darkened to a purple-ish colour. Then, to Nino's surprise and delight, bright white dots appeared all over the ceiling, shimmering like stars.
"Wow!" She gasped. "It's..." She was lost for words.
"Beautiful?" Erk offered from her side. She looked at him, and he laid down next to her. "I used to come here alot. Like I told you, Lord Pent showed me this room a while ago. He told me that everytime I did well in lessons, I could come here for a few hours. It didn't seem like much, but I still came. Eventually, I fell in love with this room. It has a way of just... soothing your soul." He smiled widely. Nino smiled back. Erk had never smiled like that before.
"Yeah, it does." Nino agreed. The 'stars' shone on Erk's face, making him appear more gentle than he had seemed before. Sighing happily, Nino looked back up at the ceiling. She snuggled up to Erk, who awkwardly put his arm under her, and gripped her shoulder gently. "Thank you, Erk."
"You're welcome. Of course, you can come here again if you want."
"Really?"
"Of course. If you do well in lessons." He grinned to himself. He knew that this would be more than enough incentive.
"Aww..." Nino groaned. "Okay."
"You need a bracelet to get in here." He told her. He held up his left hand, which was adorned with a pretty bracelet. "I have two; Lord Pent gave me his, saying he'd never use it. When you do well in lessons, I'll give you the other bracelet. You'll have to give it back the next day, though. And don't neglect your homework."
"I won't." Nino assured him, then giggled. Even in this room, where he came to relax, Erk still sounded stern and serious. "I promise to do better."
"I'm sure you will." And this time, Erk actually sounded reassuring and believing. Nino smiled wider, and closed her eyes.
--
A while later, Nino was jolted awake by Erk tugging his arm out from underneath her. She looked at her teacher, who was now stood beside the bed, smoothing down his clothes. The ceiling was still star-lit.
"We fell asleep." He told her. "I've been sleeping more lately, which is annoying. C'mon, let's go back upstairs and get on with your next lesson." He walked over to, and touched, the red orb.
"Awww..." Nino moaned. The night-sky faded, and was replaced with dull rocks. "Fine, fine." She grumbled, hauling herself from the bed. Erk walked to the wall, and waited for her to trudge over.
"It's this brick right here." He pointed. "Opens it from either side. Fourteen up, twelve in from the line." He pointed to a white chalk line. "Of course, it only opens with the bracelet." He thought for a moment. "Oh yeah. Each of the crystals make a different... aura, shall we say? For lack of a better word. Next time you come here, try them out."
"I will." She agreed.
"They're all beautiful in their own way. Each one seems to match a certain mood."
"Why're there two blues? There's a light one and a dark one." She pointed to the two blue crystals.
"You'll find out next time you come here."
"I have to wait that long?"
"It might not be a long time, Nino. It all depends on how well you do."
-
"Where were you two?" Pent asked as they crossed the main hall to Erk's room.
"We were, uh..." Erk paused, and looked out the window.
"You missed two lessons, Erk. That's not like you."
"I... I'm so sorry, Lord Pent. I was... I showed Nino my favourite place, and-"
"Oh? No doubt you fell asleep. You always do in there." Pent grinned, and Erk blushed. "Well, I'll let it slide. You and Nino have your writing lesson now, right?"
"Yup. Nino already knows the alphabet, so she's just learning how to spell and write properly."
"Alright, then. I'll bring the plans for the two lessons you missed to your room later. Make sure you go through them, and do what they say."
"Yes, Sir." Erk said, feeling miserable. He hadn't missed a single lesson in-
"Y'know, it's been six years since the last time you missed a lesson." Pent said, grinning again. "And when you did then, it was because-"
"Shut up!" Erk snapped, then gasped. "I-I'm sorry, Lord Pent... I, uh... I..."
"It's... alright. I shouldn't have brought it up. Sorry."
"We should... go to our lesson now. Good evening, Lord Pent." He quickly walked to his room, and Nino followed him a moment later.
--
That evening, Nino was still in Erk's room. He had allowed her to stay in his room until he came back. He had gone to give himself the lessons he had missed with Lord Pent. Nino was sure her handwriting was improving, as some parts were closer to Erk's writing than before. She knew it was still nothing like it, but closer. She felt a surge of pride, and carried on writing with renewed enthusiasm.
-
Later on, Erk still hadn't returned, and Nino was bored of working, and bored of Erk not being around. So, she decided to look around Erk's room for something to do. Though his desk and room floor were clean and neat, the cupboard she opened was a different story. Two of the books tumbled from the middle shelf, and the rest were strewn about the shelves like someone had shaken the cupboard, pushed it over, picked it up, then flipped it over in the air. One book caught her attention. It was by far the largest of them all, and had a rather ornate cover. She removed the book from atop the pile it was on, and carried it over to the bed. She opened it, and was surprised at what she saw.