Thad didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him that being a legendary Warrior of Light would require him to train as a warrior. Seemed obvious, really. He had plenty of time to think about it as he lay on the padded floor of the wide room off of the armory.

The book had been fascinating, a history of piracy along the Aldean coast, with tales of the exploits of the most legendary pirates. Some of the words had been new to him, but most of it was simple enough, and the pictures helped. In hindsight, however, sleep would have been more helpful.

"Again," Orin said from above him. "Concentrate this time."

A boy roughly his own size that Orin had introduced as Matteo helped him to his feet – only fair, as he was the one who had flung Thad to the floor in the first place. Matteo was training to be a guardsman, learning the bare-handed fighting style Orin's people in the northern desert had invented. Orin was not the only monk employed by the castle, it seemed, as he stood off to the side chatting with two others who apparently worked with the guard corps. The three were all dressed the same, in loose pants under open fronted tunics secured by a knotted sash, but Orin seemed by far the oldest, his long black hair peppered with gray.

Thad faced Matteo and tried again. The boy wasn't fast; Thad knew he could counter the move if only he could figure out how it worked, but he couldn't get his arms and legs to work together.

He hit the floor again, growling in frustration.

"Thank you, Matteo. That will be all," Orin said.

Matteo bowed and scampered away. The other monks quietly exchanged words with Orin, following Matteo out the side door to the training yard where several other trainees practiced with wooden weapons. Thad turned and groaned when he found Carmine standing against a wall behind him. "Were you watching?"

The red-headed guard nodded. "Not bad for your first day."

"I've spent half the morning in the floor."

Carmine nodded again. "Typical first day."

"I've asked Kane to instruct you in the use of a sword," Orin explained.

Thad almost asked "Who?" but stopped himself. Kane was Carmine's given name. Thad had heard it often enough at the hearings yesterday. Well, that was going to take getting used to. Then the rest of what Orin had said caught up with him. "Wait, did you say I get to use a sword?"

Kane chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know if there's anything small enough for you in the armory. We don't normally start the boys on sword work until they're a bit taller than you. Come on. Let's see what we can find."

They spent most of an hour searching. Thad tried several different swords, all too long, too heavy, or too large for his grip. Orin and Kane directed him through simple exercises with each one. "Don't think it's the wrong sword for you just because you can't use it now," Kane said. "You'll work up to it."

After some digging, Orin found one that seemed perfect. Thad took it eagerly, and was able to complete the exercises at last. This one wasn't too heavy, not much longer than his arm. The blade was broader than he expected, but he was able to swing it easily with one hand. "Oh, wow! My own sword!" he said.

"More of an over-sized dagger, really," said Kane. "It'll do for now. Let's go out to the training yard and I'll show you what to do with it."

They moved toward the outer door, but Kane stopped so suddenly that Thad ran into him. He peeked out from behind the guardsman and saw the white mage he'd met yesterday.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm looking for Lord Orin. I was told he was here."

Kane backed up, pushing Thad along with him. Orin stepped forward to greet the girl. "Is everything alright, my lady?"

"I'm not a… that is… it's Lena. Just Lena."

"How can I help you, Lena?"

Lena took a deep breath and launched into an explanation. "I was with the princess. But I need to go to the harbor, to the cove near Pike Street, and the guards wouldn't let us out of the gate."

"Oh?" said Orin. He and Kane glanced at each other then turned their attention back to the girl. "Did they say why?"

Lena shook her head. "Just that the king had ordered them not to let us through. The Warriors of Light, I mean. But I need out. It's… I just need out."

The old monk held up a hand to forestall her. "Father Branford explained your habits to me, my lady. I believe I understand."

The girl smiled in relief. "Just Lena," she said again.

"Of course."

"Where is the princess now?" Kane asked.

"She said she was going to talk to her father."

"Excuse me," Kane said, brushing past her and out the door.

Lena gazed after him, a faint smile on her face, as if she'd just heard a joke, but Thad didn't see anything funny about being trapped in the castle.

Orin said, "But she told you to come and see me, did she?"

Lena nodded.

"Surely the king won't object if I escort you on your errand. Come, young master Shipman, I think we could all stand some fresh air."

Lena wasn't able to hold back once they reached the water. She flung off her white robe, revealing the short tunic she wore underneath, and ran headlong into the cove, kicking off her sandals as she went. She swam all the way to the harbor mouth; when she looked back, the boy, Thadius, hadn't even finished removing his boots.

She hadn't known what to expect when the elderly monk led them to the palace kitchens. After a quick word from Orin, the cook had packed them a lunch of bread, fruit, and cheese, then led them through the larders and out into a courtyard. The guards on the outer gate there did nothing to stop them – apparently, the orders regarding the Warriors of Light had not been passed on to the service entrance, something the princess must have suspected when she'd sent Lena to find Orin.

Lena swam to the harbor mouth and back three times before her head finally began to feel clear, the pressures of the city falling away, the buildup of others' emotions fading at last. Swimming back now, she regarded her companions with her full attention for the first time. On shore, Orin conducted a series of graceful exercises, flowing slowly from one stance to another in the bare-handed fighting style of his people. Thadius floated leisurely near the beach. She'd noticed the boy paddling in the shallows as she passed by, too poor of a swimmer to follow her. It was only a mildly warm day, not really hot enough for swimming, but he hadn't passed up the chance to play in the water.

He was a playful child. She had seen that when she bumped into him in the street. Children's souls stood out more; it was no effort at all to read him. She could read him from here: pent up energy, worry – at being named a Warrior of Light, perhaps? – and again that same playful nature she'd seen before. Very well, then.

She managed to swim up beside him without drawing his attention, and splashed him thoroughly. He yelped in surprise, getting his feet under him, grinning as he hurried to return the favor. She ducked under at the last second, swimming up behind him and splashing him again before he realized where she'd gone. She didn't duck this time when he turned to face her, the two of them beating the water to froth as they splashed one another, on and on until they were both out of breath from laughing. His happiness in that moment warmed her heart.

Orin called them in for lunch, so the two of them walked back to dry land. "You swim so fast!" Thadius said, as Orin divided the food.

"I could teach you," she said. "It's all about your technique. I used to swim every day back home, so I had lots of practice."

The boy smiled, pleased at her offer. "I'd like that," he said.

The three of them ate in silence. Orin, who ate very little, walked farther up the beach when he finished his meal and settled himself cross-legged, facing the water, but with his eyes closed. Lena had heard of the northern monks' meditation exercises but had never seen them before. She could sense the change in his emotions immediately, a calmness she envied. Perhaps she would ask Orin about the exercises later. Now, however, she detected a strong wave of curiosity from the boy beside her. She smiled, anticipating a barrage of questions, and turned to him.

He grinned up at her, charming as only a child can be. "Where are you from?"

"A fishing village far away from here. Have you ever heard of Onlac?"

He shook his head.

"Most people haven't. It's very small. What about you? Where are you from?"

"Pravoka. It's east of here."

"I know where that is," said Lena. "I've never been there, but I've seen it on maps."

The boy seemed pleased that she knew the place. He kept smiling, but she could sense the turmoil inside him as he fought against his curiosity and the urge to ask a question which he thought might possibly be rude. She waited, expecting what came next when the curiosity won out. "What's a soul reader?" he asked.

She smiled, to put him at ease. "It means I can look inside a person and see everything that makes them who they are."

"You did that to the black mage yesterday?"

There was an undercurrent of fear there that saddened her. No one else could see the bright soul she had seen. She hoped her smile didn't falter as she considered how best to respond. She kept it simple. "His name is Jack. You don't need to be afraid of him. He won't hurt you."

She could sense his doubt, but already the curiosity was building again. "Can you read me?"

"I already have."

And here the curiosity crested like a wave, and Lena laughed aloud as the boy eagerly asked, "What did you see?"

"Lots of things," she said, looking deep within him as she spoke. "I know that you like to run fast," she said, because the little green flame inside him curled up at the edges. "You're uncomfortable in dark spaces," and she felt his jolt of surprise at that – perhaps he'd never told anyone he was afraid of the dark. "And you've never had a pet." That sort of thing left a permanent mark on someone's soul, and the boy had none. "How am I doing so far?"

"You can really see all that?" He said, radiating awe.

"I can." But there was also the matter of two streaks of sorrow, like long cracks in a glass windowpane. She paused long enough to eat a handful of the berries the cook had packed for them, then she said. "I can also see how much you miss your grandparents. Do you want to talk about them?"

The boy dropped the berry he'd just picked up and stared at where it landed in the sand. He shook his head. He did want to talk about them, she could tell, but apparently he couldn't.

She looked away from him, gazing out to sea to give him space. Beside her, the boy was all confusion and regret. Perhaps he didn't know how to start. To give him a potential opening, she said, "I was the same age as you when I lost my parents. A big wave washed half the village away. I know how it feels."

She looked over at him. He was staring out at the water. He ate some of the berries, finished off his bread and cheese. He drew shapes in the sand. When he looked up again, found her watching him, he shrugged. "Pappy was a ship's captain. He used to bring treasure from places you've never heard of."

Lena nodded, smiling encouragingly.

He patted the orb on its chain around his neck and went on, "He found this on one of his trips. He never sold it off because he liked it so much. He said it was lucky. He said it made the winds blow fair." His eyes filled with wonder. "Do you think he was right? Could this be the orb of the wind?"

"It's possible," Lena said. "I've often suspected my own was connected to water somehow."

"Well, anyway, one day, he says to me, 'Thad, I've got a bad feeling about those clouds up yonder. You keep my lucky charm here with your gram until I get back.' But he never came back."

Lena patted his arm sympathetically. "And you came to the city when your grandmother passed away?"

Thadius nodded. "I thought I could learn what happened to Pappy. I don't expect to find him; he would have come back if he was alive. But I'd like to know what happened."

"And did you ask at the docks? No one's seen his ship?"

Thadius blushed furiously, dismay filling the air between them like a thick cloud. He looked toward Orin, who was still out of earshot, then said, "He… um… he wouldn't have gone through the docks. He didn't run that kind of ship."

"Ah," said Lena. A smuggler, perhaps? "I see."

They ate in silence again. The boy's embarrassment was so complete it chafed against the back of Lena's neck. She reached across the sand between them and squeezed his hand, trying to get his mind off of it. "At home," she said, "there's a shrine near the beach. Whenever something is lost at sea, people stand before the shrine and ask out loud about what they've lost. The villagers say the mermaids that live in the ocean are listening. If you throw them an offering and ask your question, sometimes, when you come back later, the mermaids will have left something for you, usually a shell or a bit of sea glass."

That did the trick. The embarrassment faded, replaced by curiosity again. "Do they ever find the lost things?"

"Maybe. It depends on what you believe. Sea shells are open to interpretation."

Thadius sighed, disappointed. "It's too bad mermaids aren't real."

"Aren't they? My whole village believes in mermaids. No one ever told me they weren't real until I came to the city," Lena said.

"Pappy used to talk about mermaids – there was even a picture of them in Gram's storybook – but he talked about all sorts of things he said he saw on his journeys that couldn't be real."

"Like what?" Lena asked.

"Oh," Thadius said, looking skyward as he thought. "Like sea serpents… and fish that could fly. Crazy things."

"But there are fish like that!" Lena said quickly.

He laughed, sure she was joking. "No, there aren't!"

"It's true! You get them out in the deep water, far from shore. I saw them several times on my journey to Cornelia."

"Really?"

"I'm a white mage! I can't lie!" She called to Orin, who even then was walking back toward them. "Orin, when you journeyed here from the northern desert, did you see any of those flying fish?"

Orin nodded. "Very strange things in this world. It was a sight I'll never forget."

Thadius opened and closed his mouth, but all that came out was "Huh…"

Many strange things in this world, Lena thought. Little boys and white mages became Warriors of Light. There were flying fish. Perhaps there were mermaids. Perhaps everything the boy's Pappy ever told him was true. And perhaps, given enough time, she would examine his soul again and find the cracks formed by grief were a little smaller than they had been before.

Author's Note: More about names: Thadius was probably the hardest character to name. Originally, I was going to call him Joshua (Josh for short), but I had already settled on Jack for my black mage at that point and by the time I was five chapters in, I knew having two J names wasn't going to work. So I needed something that started with a letter other than J, K, R, L, or O, something that didn't have an N in it (look at all times I've already used that letter!), something only 4 letters long, but preferably something that was a nickname for a longer, formal name. It took days to find the right one. It. Was. Exhausting.

And can we talk about the city/kingdom/castle for a minute? I've been pronouncing it "Coneria" instead of "Cornelia" for a long time. Yes, I recognize that the "official" translation these days is "Cornelia," and that's what I've called it in my story, but in my head… The first time I played Final Fantasy 1 was when it came out, and at the time I was younger than Thad's character is. The original bad translation of "Coneria" was seared into my brain during a formative age, and I can't seem to drive it out.