Chapter 38 – First Sight

The inn was a quiet, subdued place. Riou's party was clearly the largest group in the building. Fitcher led them over to the largest table, told the waitress to bring them several roasted chickens, and sat down to business.

"There's…one more of you than I was expecting," he stated.

"This is Wakaba," Nanami said. "She joined us in Two River City."

Riou leaned close to Fitcher, speaking softly, "We've told her the goal of this trip, nothing else."

Fitcher raised his eyebrows. "Is that right, Master Reen, Master Bluto?" Flik, understanding what Riou was warning Fitcher about, nodded his head. Fitcher saw the confirmation and continued, "Well then, let me tell you about things on my end." He produced a stack of forms. "These are your enrollment papers for the New Leaf Academy. I've already taken the liberty of filling them out for you. However, there are two concerns. First, you now have one more member than I have forms and second, the papers are all three years out of date. Luckily, the academy is desperate to show that things are running normally, so hopefully they'll overlook the details. Just tell them the war messed everything up."

He passed the papers over to Flik, who took them with a frown. "You know, uh, Fitcher, I'm…not really good at this sort of thing. Couldn't you bluff us past the guards?"

Nervousness broke out all over Fitcher's face, like a rash. "I don't think I can. A lot of people know me in Greenhill, and it would only take one wrong word to attract a lot of unwanted attention. Besides," he looked really worried now, "something bad went down during the siege. I've never seen the people of Greenhill so on edge. Nobody will say what it was, but even my oldest friends are cold to me. I'm having trouble getting anything out of anyone."

"You don't know anything about Lady, uh, what we came here to get?" Flik asked quietly. "What are we supposed to do once we're inside?"

"I'm working on it," Fitcher asserted. "I'll have to call in a lot of old favors, but I will get it done. Hold tight and keep to your cover story until I've got some definitive information. Then I'll get word to you."

The waitress brought over dinner, and that conversation ended. After finishing a drumstick, Fitcher excused himself, saying that he had to get back to Greenhill as quickly as possible. The conversation thereafter was light, with the girls happily discussing which classes they were most interested in.

Once again, Flik did not sleep well. Some time past midnight, a line of storms rolled in and there was a heavy downpour. As swiftly as they had arrived, the rains departed, leaving the night air surprisingly cool for late spring. This change in the weather persisted in the morning as they rode on towards Greenhill. Nanami declared that she liked the cooler temperature, but Flik thought it was just a touch uncomfortable.

It took them the rest of the morning to get to the gates of the city, riding west for a little while and later turning north. Greenhill was built on the southern slope of a heavily forested ridge, full of pines and oaks and maples. The city was walled, and those fortifications did not show any signs of damage from the siege. They were also manned by Highland soldiers.

A squad of blue-and-white clad infantrymen had set up a checkpoint in front of the gates. They were screening everyone who was trying to enter the city. At the moment, they were checking the papers of a group of Duck Clan merchants from the Grasslands. The ducks, with their signature fish shaped halberds, eyed the Highlanders warily, as if they had not expected the war to come this far west.

The ducks were allowed through, their wagons creaking as they passed under the gate. Flik and his charges approached, and he self-consciously worried that the soldiers were all staring at this rose robe. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eilie frowning and Meg making a great show of checking the knife in her hand. He realized that it was quite possible the soldiers didn't even notice him. To forestall any trouble, he dismounted, gave his reins to Riou, and quickly confronted the Highlanders.

"We'd like to enter the city," Flik announced to the sergeant in command.

The sergeant, a weathered man with blond hair, looked him over. "By the commander's orders, those who cannot declare proper business in Greenhill shall not be permitted to enter."

Flik squelched the nervousness building in his stomach. Everything was going well, he told himself. "These children are here to enroll in the New Leaf Academy. Here are their papers." He showed -but did not hand over- the documents.

The sergeant regarded the papers with a critical stare. "You want to enroll now, in the middle of a war? Why don't you wait until things have settled down?"

Flik had thought out many scenarios for how this conversation might go; this was not one of them. Flustered, he cobbled together pieces of the excuses he'd thought about, hoping they formed a coherent sentence. "Uh, we got the papers three years ago, but, uh, there was this war in Toran and, um, we were delayed, but, uh, we've come all the way from Kanakan, and the young master doesn't want to wait any longer."

"Uh-huh. What about you? You look a little old to be a student and not scholarly enough to be a teacher." His eyes widened in disbelief. "Surely you're not…their father?" He chuckled. "You lucky dog! Your wife must be one happy woman, or a busy one."

One of the rankers chimed in. "That's right, sarge. He looks like a fruit, but he can really produce." This was met by chuckles and snorts and guffaws.

Flik thought he heard Millie tittering lightly. He couldn't possibly look old enough to be their father. Carefully making sure his hand didn't stray towards his sword, he answered, "Are you joking? I'm their bodyguard. Their parents hired me to look after them." He tried to keep the edge out of his voice, speaking as casually as he was able.

"Good thing, because I'd kill myself if you were my father," Luc added.

The sergeant stopped laughing long enough to say, "Everything seems to be in order. You may pass, but don't cause trouble, or we'll throw you right out." He waved them through.

As they advanced, one of the privates turned to Flik and said, "Not their father, eh? You're not too much older than most of them, maybe you've got your eyes on one of the girls? Maybe you've got more than your eyes. I know I would."

Flik worked hard to keep from blushing. He also didn't respond to the comment, instead saying, "Move along children, quickly, quickly!" Eilie, in particular, was throwing that soldier a venomous look.

Then they were through and into the city itself. Greenhill was a large city, if not so populous as Muse, South Window, or Two River. Shops and residences ran alongside cobbled streets. A nearby sign pointed the way to the New Leaf Academy, which sat further up the ridge.

"The first thing we should do is get you all signed up," Flik announced. Meg and Millie were already heading towards a vendor who was selling hard candy. "Let's go, you two. Don't get distracted," he said in a louder voice.

"I'm not going to get distracted," Nanami replied. "I'm not that kind of girl." She smiled brightly down at Flik.

"Come on, let's just get there," Flik said. He remounted and started down the main street.

It didn't take long for him to feel what Fitcher had been talking about. Although the candy vendor had seemed friendly enough, many of the other people were not. There was nothing overt, but he kept seeing people staring at them darkly, watching the group of new arrivals as it made its way up the street. Every so often, Flik had to resist the impulse to draw his sword. Whatever had happened during the fighting had left a deep emotional scar on these people.

There were not a lot of Highland soldiers present. In fact, Flik didn't see any until they were nearly to the school. Even then, he heard the soldier first, yelling loudly in outrage.

"What the hell was that about? Why'd you stomp my foot!"

"That's what you deserve!" a girl's voice shouted back. "You were staring at me with those perverted eyes."

The street that Flik was on opened up onto a large square that stood just before the school. There were a few people in the square, and everybody's attention was on the two people who were arguing. One was a Highland soldier, the other a girl with short, blond hair. Her red blazer and pleated gray skirt suggested that she was a student at the school.

The soldier closed one hand into a fist. "Go away, little girl. You keep this up and I won't be responsible for what happens, even if you are a child."

To Flik's amazement, the girl wasn't cowed. "You think you're such a big man? You think you can just march around like you own the place?" She took a step forward, a movement that was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. The soldier muttered a few incomprehensible words and, more alarmingly, his hand moved for his sword.

Riou's horse broke into a trot. "I'm going to go stop this."

"Wait, Ri-Reen!" Flik shouted. "Don't do anything rash. We need more information before we move."

Nanami laughed. "That's my brother. He wouldn't let anything happen to a lady if he could help it. And I'm not going to let anything happen either!" She trotted on after him.

"I think we should-" Flik began and then noticed that all the rest of the girls were following Nanami. "Hey, wait!"

"I don't think they're listening," Luc observed.

Flik squeezed Nightstar into a trot, approaching the confrontation just in time to hear the soldier yelling at Riou. "Who the hell are you? Get back, punk!"

"Grown men shouldn't harass girls!" Nanami shouted down from her horse. "You can't be forgiven."

"Harass? What are you talking about? She started this by stomping on my foot." The schoolgirl stuck out her tongue behind the soldier's back.

Nanami wasn't mollified. "Excuses. Reen, kick this guy's ass!"

Riou looked aghast at Nanami's language. The soldier looked as though he were about to explode. "What is this? Are you trying to make me mad? You want to fight, kid? Let's go!"

Flik took this moment to interpose Nightstar between Riou and the soldier. He didn't draw his sword, but kept his hand firmly on the hilt, so that the soldier could see he was ready. "Stop! If you want to fight, you should pick on someone your own size."

The soldier was still lathered up. "You think you can make a fool out of a Highland soldier? You'd better be prepared to back up your words."

Flik had Nightstar take a step forward. He knew he couldn't make the mare purposefully trample the soldier, but he could give that impression. It worked. Intimidated, the soldier jumped back. "Prepare myself?" Flik asked icily. He drew his sword, feeling a sort of calmness settle over him. In the back of his mind, he knew that he had "that look," as Viktor so liked to describe it. "You're the one who should be needs to prepare. Are you ready to forfeit your life over this?"

Flik knew he was being provocative, but he wanted to scare his opponent out of anything drastic. Still, should the soldier go for his blade, he was ready to cut him down. Luckily, the Highland soldier didn't draw his sword. His anger broke like a fever, and he glanced at the crowd. There wasn't another soldier in sight, just unfriendly faces all around. He shrugged sheepishly and said, "Fine. I let my temper cloud my good judgement." He glanced back at the schoolgirl. "I'll forget this little incident, but just this once." Maintaining a brave front, the soldier jogged quickly from the square.

Flik spared one moment to ascertain that the girl was unharmed. She had a sort of dazed look on her face, but appeared fine. Then he turned back to Riou and Nanami. "Reen, Nymalia, I'm very disappointed in you two. Did you stop to think what might have happened if you'd forced a fight?"

"You're the one who threatened to kill him," Nanami pointed out.

"Don't talk back!" Flik snapped. "I had to do that because you ordered Reen to attack in the first place. The last thing we need to do is start a riot. Think about what that would've meant for our plans."

"I'm sorry," Riou said. "I guess we got carried away."

Flik's temper subsided. "I understand. I just want you all to be careful. We can't go around taking too many unnecessary risks. We can't count on Shu or Viktor to come rescue us if we get in over our heads." He blew out his anger in a big breath. "Okay. Let's go, Riou, er, Reen, Nymalia. I want to get all of you signed up before dinner."

In a few moments, the group was underway again, riding their horses across the square and towards the school. "Why do all the Highland soldiers have one track minds?" Nanami asked bitterly.

Flik sighed. It wouldn't do to tell her that men, in general, tend to have one track minds. Instead, he answered, "We were unlucky today, that's all. Don't go provoking things with them and you'll be fine."

At the end of the square, the road continued, lined by pear trees, until it came to the metal lattice gates that were the entrance to the school. Beyond those gates, Flik could see several white stone buildings rising in the distance and the deeper forest beyond that.

A pair of guards- university officials, not Highlanders- stood at the gate. One of them strolled forward a little to meet the new arrivals. "You are here to enroll?"

Flik handed down the papers, hoping the man wouldn't notice that there were more students than forms. He didn't seem to. He returned the papers to Flik and said, "You will find stabling for your horses just inside and to the right of the main gates. Stable fees are fifty potch per horse per day. I think you will find that very reasonable. Afterwards, you should proceed to the administration building, the big one all the way in the back, and register the new students. More information will be provided there."

The gates were opened. Flik led the group through. Inside, the atmosphere was very different from that of the city. The buildings of the campus were surrounded by tree-lined walks, stone benches, and sparkling fountains. Students and teachers alike were out, strolling or gathered in small groups under the trees.

Millie smiled happily. "I like this place already!"

Eilie nodded. "It is very nice."

"Whatever," Luc commented.

The stables were spacious and well staffed. The stable hands swooped down, almost like birds of prey, to help the newcomers with their mounts. Even so, Flik delayed long enough to see that the horses were taken care of. Fifteen minutes later, he led the children back out of the stables, a small numbered chit in his left hand telling him where to locate Nightstar when she was needed.

As they walked back along the path, a deep bell sounded from somewhere on the campus. There seemed to be a movement among the students. Some got up and headed towards various buildings, and new students came from those buildings to lounge by the trees. Eventually Flik and the others got back to the main road through the school, which lead directly to the administration building in the back. It was a two-story building of white stone that extended back from the street towards the woods.

Inside, there was the distant hum of activity, but the foyer was quiet. There was a desk at the back wall of the room where two hallways started and a woman at it. She looked up from the book she was reading, adjusted her glasses, and smiled. "Welcome, children. Are you here for something?" Her manner was easygoing and friendly. Flik had to pause a moment to remember the cover story.

"Yeah, we're, uh, here to register. The children, that is, not me." He tried to keep his composure as he approached the desk. Someone, possibly Luc, sniggered.

The receptionist smiled. Her brown hair was up in a bun. She was wearing a light-blue jacket, and her tight, long skirt was a darker blue. "It's rather unusual to have students enrolling at the start of summer. Never mind, let's see your papers."

Flik handed them over. The woman studied them and frowned. "These forms are somewhat out of date, and, unless I've miscounted, you have one more child than form." She looked disapprovingly at him.

Despite the cool air, he started sweating. "Well, there was a war in Toran, and we were delayed in coming here, and we got an unexpected new companion."

She nodded, her frown waning, to Flik's relief. "I suppose that isn't unexpected, what with everything that's happened here recently. Except for the fact that you're missing one form, everything seems to be in order. Which one of you children is the one without papers?"

Wakaba jumped forward. "That would be me, ma'am! I'm very sorry."

The receptionist laughed. "Don't worry, all you'll need to do is fill out the proper forms, and we'll have you accommodated." She pulled out a pen and a couple of papers. After she handed them to Wakaba, the receptionist looked back at Flik. "She's very polite. These children, are they yours?"

Did she really think he looked old enough to be their father? "You can't be serious!" he shouted hastily. The blush was back on his face in full force, he could feel it. Trying to moderate his tone a little, Flik continued, "I'm their bodyguard, their escort."

"That makes sense. As you may or may not be aware, all students live in the dormitories on the west end of the campus. During the first two weeks of orientation, you, their bodyguard, may reside at the lodging house east of the administration building. If you wish to remain in the city after the two-week period, you will have to find a residence off-campus."

"I understand." Flik sincerely hoped that they wouldn't be here that long.

Once Wakaba was done with the form, the receptionist called in an aide, handed the forms over to her, and turned back to address the new students. "Allow me to offer you a formal welcome to the New Leaf Academy. You are now in your two-week orientation period. During this time, you will be expected to diligently study the classes so that you can make a choice on you course of study. We will also schedule meetings with counselors who will help you refine your choices. Remember, students who prove to be problematic or who can't meet their financial commitments will be expelled."

Riou nodded somberly. "I understand."

Wakaba and Meg both eagerly said, "Yes ma'am!"

Millie smiled brightly. "Okay!"

Eilie looked a little less enthusiastic. "I'm not going to cause any problems."

Pilika didn't say anything, but she did nod.

And finally, Luc muttered, "Yeah, whatever."

The receptionist stood up. "Those are excellent replies. If you should have any troubles during your stay here, do not hesitate to see me or one of the other counselors. My name is Emilia, by the way. If I'm not here, you can find me at the library, or in room two-thirty one. Now then, why don't you come with me, and I'll give you a little tour of this building."

As they started down one of the corridors that led deeper into the building, Nanami tugged on Flik's wide, rose sleeve to get his attention. "I'm a little nervous," she said softly. "What happens if I mess up?"

Flik tried to smile reassuringly, though he was having similar thoughts. "Don't worry. Just keep your eyes peeled, and we'll see what Fitcher comes up with. Hopefully, we'll get our chance to meet…the person we're here to meet."

Nanami shook her head. "I wasn't worried about that, silly. This is my first time at a real school. I don't want to look stupid in front of everyone."

Flik glanced down the hallway; the others were well ahead of them. "Come on, we don't want to fall behind."

As stealthily as they could, he and Nanami rejoined the others. Emilia was speaking. "Here you will see the offices for the various department heads. These two closest are for the head of the runemasters and the head of the department of fine arts. Let's see, maybe you'd like to meet some of them?" She knocked on the first door, but there was no answer. "Hmm, I guess she's not in at the moment. That's odd, it says the rune mistress has office hours now."

Emilia walked down to the next office, knocked on the door, and asked, "Hey, Jude, are you in?" The answer came back in the affirmative, so they went in. The head of the department of fine arts was a tall man in a black smock, blue shirt, and white pants. He had a long white cloth wrapped around the top of his head, so that it covered his hair. In the middle of his office sat the unfinished sculpture of a man.

"Still having no luck with that sculpture of Alec Wisemail?" Emilia asked.

"My muse has fled right out the window," Jude answered.

"Perhaps we could assign some of your classes to other teachers?"

"Oh no, I couldn't do that. It wouldn't be right to burden the faculty because of a little problem like this."

Emilia smiled. "Well, as long as you don't feel overloaded. Would you like to say a few words about your department to the new students?"

Jude seemed to see the newcomers for the first time. "Ah, yes. If any of you youngsters wishes to explore your creative side, then let me be the first to welcome you into my department. We cover many disciplines, not the least of which is sculpture, but also painting, music, dance, item appraisal, and, for the first time ever, blacksmith studies."

After the meeting with Jude, the tour continued. The hall opened up onto a long, open area with stairs leading up at one end and several intersecting passages. Emilia was about to speak when a tall, lean man in a sleeveless orange shirt and orange pants emerged from one of the side halls. He had a yellow turban wrapped around his head, and both the back of his shirt and the crosspiece of his blade had spider motifs.

Emilia was rattled by his arrival. "Oh, Lord Shin, has something happened?"

Shin paused, suspiciously scrutinizing the children and then appraising Flik. Flik nervously kept his hands off his sword, not wanting to draw too much attention. He could see that Shin had the demeanor of a skilled professional.

After a moment, Emilia saw what Shin was looking at. "These are just a bunch of new students and their bodyguard."

Shin nodded, never taking his eyes off of Flik. "I see. Excuse me, but I have business to attend to in town." His guard never slipping, he crossed the room and ducked down the hallway leading back to the entrance.

When Emilia didn't begin talking right away, Flik asked, "Who was that? He seems pretty important."

"Oh, him? He's a member of the academy security team, nothing more," she answered uneasily.

Flik didn't believe that for a moment, but he decided not to press Emilia on the matter. If this "Lord" Shin had anything to do with Lady Teresa, then showing too much interest would only make trouble. He would do his investigating at a latter hour.

Meanwhile, Emilia recovered some of her composure. "I'm afraid we'll have to cut the tour a bit short. You'll want to check into your dorms before it gets too late. Also, you may wear your civilian clothes during the orientation period, but thereafter, school uniforms are mandatory. You may buy them at the school store. I hope you will all make fine students at our academy!" She bowed and quickly walked down the hall after Shin.

Flik looked over at Riou. "Let's get you checked into your dorms." As they walked back past the entrance, he noted that Emilia was not at her desk. Outside, the sun was in the west, the sky filling up with red light. They strolled on, heading towards a fountain that sat in the middle of an intersection of paths. Approaching this, Flik saw two schoolgirls walking towards them, apparently in the middle of an intense conversation.

"You should've seen him, he was so totally cool!" the blond girl raved. Flik concentrated on her for a moment. Had he met her before? "There he was, fighting just for my sake," she continued. "He was like some Prince Charming that you read about in a fantasy novel. It is so true what they say about love at first sight. If only you could've been there!"

Her friend sounded skeptical. "How's this guy different from that Harmonian that you were after? Besides, I thought you were drooling over Lord Shin." Flik's ears perked. There was that name again.

Flik and his charges were passing close to the two girls. The blonde's response was perfectly clear. "This is completely different from that Harmonian. You should've seen the passion in those eyes as he looked at me, prepared to defend my honor against the occupier." She sighed dreamily. "He is the very flower of chivalry in full bloom." Then she gave such a shriek of startled surprise that Flik began glancing around for an attacker.

"I used to use that ear," Luc griped, though no one was listening to him.

The blond girl rushed to Flik's side. For one long moment, he thought she was going to try and jump into his arms, but she seemed to decide that this might be a bit too forward. "This is like a dream! It's fate that we meet again! Here you are at my own school. Did you come just to see me?"

"Who are you?" Flik asked. "Have we met?"

The girl was not put off in the slightest by Flik's faulty memory, but pressed closer to him, looking up at his face through blinking eyes. "My noble knight must forgive me. My name is Nina. I beg to ask, may my lord tell his fair lady…his name?"

Flik was busy working over the implications of all those possessives. "Huh? Hey, wait just a second."

But the girl had already scooted back over to her friend and was pointing at Flik excitedly. "See? Here he is! Isn't he the most handsome guy in the whole world?"

Nina's friend, a brunette, did not share her enthusiasm. "Your guy's all right, I guess. But he's got nothing on that Georg Prime. If only he'd stayed around, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I can't believe how you're into fossils," Nina replied incredulously. "Sure Georg Prime might've been good looking twenty years ago, maybe, but he's all withered up now."

"Hey, Bluto, let's get moving," Nanami complained.

That was a mistake, for Nina was right back into Flik in an instant. "My lord's name is Bluto," she murmured. "Such a lordly, powerful name for my lord of a man."

That was enough for Meg, who simply began laughing out loud.

But Nina did not stop. "If you may permit your lady to ask, whatever is my lord doing at this school? Surely you haven't come simply to gaze at me?"

Flik tried to keep his voice even. "We're looking around the school."

First one, then the other of Nina's hands clamped around his right wrist, and she started pulling him away from Riou and the others. "Oh please, let me guide you! I know everything there is to see around here. Shall we get going, Sir Bluto?"

Nina's friend commented, "Just humor her. She'll get bored with you in a couple of days."

Flik might've stopped it right then, but he wasn't going to resort to force to get himself out of this. He also didn't want to get into a shouting match, so he let himself be pulled along.

Nanami shouted after him. "Hey Bluto! Where do you want to meet us tomorrow?"

"Outside the boys' dorm. I'll meet you all there. We can discuss things then."

Wakaba waved her arm. "Good luck, Bluto!"

"I would never be that brazen," Eilie observed, glancing at Riou.

Meg was still laughing, but managed to yell, "Try to enjoy yourself."

And, as Flik was pulled out of hearing range, Luc added, "Better him than me."