Frederick finished tilling his daily requirement early. He felt energized as he worked. Driven to complete his duty as quickly as possible. He knew he couldn't cut corners with his father watching, and knew deep down that would be the wrong thing to do, so he did the next best thing and simply worked as hard as possible.
At the various moments he lost focus, he turned to look at the castle tower. He focused upon the opening where the tinkerer had fallen with only a glider to trust in, yet a whole world to see. It gave him that extra push he needed to fuel his tilling. When he was just starting to lose focus, but still had some energy, he would lock in on the wind. It was especially helpful when the hill started to dip. The increase in speed would often match up with the wind, and it was nearly exhilarating even when he tripped a few times trying to go even faster.
It had captivated him now. He wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because he set out to do it, and he was the type to stick to his word. Regardless, the constant remotivation pushed him on to finish a high quality tillage in nigh-on record time. When his father saw his work, he nodded in approval. "Good job son, I'm pleased to see you took what I said to heart. If you keep this level of effort up, we'll probably be able to have a month off extra. Go enjoy the rest of the day off. You've earned it son."
Frederick smiled "Thanks Fa"
As he turned his smile morphed into a smirk You have no idea how much I took your words to heart Fa. I truly thank you for that
He went into the pond to wash up. He wouldn't be caught dead in the castle with dirt all over himself. Besides, he needed to think about his next move. In order to get to the point of gliding he would probably have to be accepted somehow. He needed to find Alfred. That would mean going into his house just on the outside of the wall.
So when he finished washing up and put fresh clothes on, he walked down the road.
Alfred's house wasn't hard to spot. His family owned their own hill, and had a fairly tall tower of their own to test gliders and tinker them with. The path to it only included Alfred's house, for it led to no other location.
When Frederick knocked on the door, Alfred's mother answered "Why, hello dear!" She always called him that, and it always brought a little cheer to whatever day he visited. "What brings you by today?"
Smiling, Frederick answered "I'm here to talk to Alfred about hanging out since I finished early on the farm"
Mrs. Tinkworth's warm, rosy smile made him feel welcome even before she said "Well come on in dear, I'll go let him know. Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back." With that, she went up the stairs a little to the right of the door as he entered. His eyes darted straight to their gray couch, which reminded him of his first true hard day's labor. As he sat down on it now, he remembered collapsing upon its soft and inviting surface next to his best friend. He was only there for half an hour then, but the joy of joking with a friend on a comfy couch was something he hoped to never stop enjoying in all of his days
The dark-wood table in front of it reminded him of staying up late to enjoy card games with the Tinkworths. Alfred of course he enjoyed playing with, and his mother and father were each good people in their own right, but it was his adoptive sister, Claire, who added an extra enjoyment to their games. She was something else, and Frederick hadn't worked up the courage yet, but he'd had a crush on her since he first saw her.
And as he thought of her, she walked by. Upon seeing him she smiled and waved, causing him to feel a little red in the face as he smiled and waved back.
Her platinum blonde hair, light blue eyes, and fair complexion were all beautiful, but Frederick could tell there was more to it. It was her gentle laugh preceding an oddly placed gasp for breath before a hen-like caw. It was the way she tenderly looked at anyone out of a job in the street, and gave them what money she had. It was an overall warmth about her, he didn't know what she looked without at least a marginal smile.
She was graceful too, sensing he would need a little encouragement to start speaking "Hey Frederick! It's great to see you, is there something you need help with?"
He shook himself out of his stupor and said "I'm here to talk to Alfred. I actually do need his help"
She cocked her head "What do you need his help with?"
At that moment Alfred appeared, walking down the stairs and said "Sorry I didn't answer, I was helping my Fa. What's this I hear about you needing my help?"
Frederick took a breath and said "I wanna glide off the tower"
Alfred stopped mid-step for a second and shot Claire a glance before looking at Frederick again. "Well now, that's a first coming from you." He looked down for a moment as he said "I don't know if you'd be able to."
Frederick stood up from the couch and felt his brow furrow unconsciously "Why do you say that?"
Alfred replied "they're getting stricter about who they let in. They're worried about the safety of the Prince's family, and his daughter in particular. They say she needs a bodyguard."
Frederick said "I don't get it, I'm not trying to harm the Prince or any of his family. I just want to glide off the tower, like you and your family do. Why would they block me?"
Alfred looked at Frederick dead in the eye and said "They'll block you because The Prince is paranoid about anyone not on his trust list. The only way you'd be able to get on that list is to prove yourself before the Prince himself"
"How would I do that?"
"By entering a monster battle tournament" Claire answered
Frederick was thrown off as he turned to see Claire look confident about this. Alfred looked like he was about to stop her, but let her speak instead.
Claire asked "Are you familiar with monsters at all, Frederick?"
He answered "Well, my fa's farm has a few Miltank I have to milk in the morning, and some Grumpig we raise for meat. Nothing about battling though. I thought that was for knights"
Claire nodded, "you are correct and that is the point of this tournament. It's to seek out one worthy of Knighthood who can protect the Prince's daughter."
Frederick took a step back "Wait, you can actually become a Knight? My Fa always said it was a valley dream. I mean, you have to be born a nobleman, right?"
"Your father's words ring close to the truth. Most Knights are born Noblemen, or the sons of Knights. However every so often, new bloodlines are needed to replace the dying or dead bloodlines."
She approached very close to him and made him go extra red in the face as she took his hands and looked at him in the eyes "Our Princedom needs knights of with values of honesty and hardwork that you've been raised with. I've seen your actions, and I think you're Knight worthy"
She said "Won't you enter the tournament? You'll get to glide if you do well enough, and you'll get to do so much more if you win"
He wasn't sure what was causing him to shut down more. Was it the fact that she was so close and her soft caring hands were holding his own? Or was it that she called him Knight-worthy?
Frederick cleared his throat and with only a moment's thought nodded "Well, when you put it like that, how can I not compete?"
She gasped and wrapped her arms around him in a very sudden embrace, whispering in his ear "thank you". He awkwardly returned the hug, unfamiliar with such close interactions with girls.
Frederick smiled for a moment before his brain got to thinking again "But wait, I've never done this sort of thing before. I know I can give it a good old spearman's try, but I want to win this thing. So how do I prepare? How much time do I have to prepare?"
Alfred now chimed in "One week." He turned to Claire "I'd like to see him do good as well Claire, but you can't prepare someone to win, let alone do well in, something like this in a week. It takes a lot of skill, as well as a bond with a monster. Not to mention the fact we have to find him one, how will he do it Claire?"
Claire's smile flattened a little, but she said "You aren't entirely wrong. Normally It'd take at least a year to prepare for something like this. But the Prince wanted it on such short notice to test his people as they are, not as they could be. If there was a little more forewarning, I would have suggested you train as soon as possible. As for the monster question, don't worry. I know a breeder who'd be willing to help us out. I also know a veteran monster battle instructor nearby who gives free lessons before tournaments like this. He's fought under the Prince before, and wants to help the Princedom be as prepared as possible"
Alfred nodded, "Well in that case, he might be able to stand in the colosseum."
He looked back at Frederick "But will he survive his battles?"
Frederick was starting to get angry
Why is he being like this? He's always encouraged me, and if he gave any criticism it was good natured and helped me to improve. This feels different though. Ever since I stated my goal, he's tried to dissuade me.
He forced a smile as he looked dead on at Alfred "We'll I'll have to give it my all now won't I?"
Alfred turned to look away from his gaze. Claire could sense the tension and brought the conversation back into focus "Frederick, let's go talk to breeder and get you a monster of your own for the tournament"
He nodded and Claire walked with him out the door. Alfred stayed. He stood there with his eyes closed, looking down. It was so strange. It made no sense.
His anger softened.
Maybe he's had a bad day. Perhaps he's jealous. Either way, I can't let him stop me from working towards my goal
Besides, he could be alone with Claire now. Which appealed to him greatly.
"So where is this Breeder you spoke of?" Frederick asked.
Not too far from here. He lives two hills down. They walked back on the path to the main road, then went two hills away from the Castle walls. When they followed the path to this hill Frederick was struck by it. Both by how low and flat it was compared to most hills, that it only had a small shack and a barn.
It was also the fact that in a giant grid of fencing there was the largest assortment of monsters he'd ever seen. As they walked up the path to the barn's front door he was amazed with what he saw. Giant horned gray monsters were penned right next to small black and orange turtles. Metal gears with eyes next to long necked dragons with leaves for wings. Fowl type monsters were the most numerous and a huge variety of four legged monsters were everywhere too. There were even some in a huge pond that swam around care free.
He realized he was staring when Claire poked him on the shoulder "Hey, you coming future knight?"
"Yeah, I've just never seen this many in one place. I'm surprised I never passed by this place to take a look"
Claire waved "Come on, Alfred was right about our time constraint. There isn't a time quite like the present."
Frederick hurried up his pace and it was now Claire who was slower. She had to jog a little to keep up with him and at the pace they went they reached the door in quick time.
Frederick began to knock on the barn door when a voice akin to a creaky door said "Hold it right there sonny! If you're thinking the breeder is in there, he's not"
He turned to see a short, old, gray haired man with a white beard that went halfway down his torso, who leaned on a cane as he sat up from his rocking chair. His green eyes were marvelous to look at. He was probably royalty from the highland country
He looked at Claire and smiled "Why hello young Claire! I see you've come by with a guest."
Claire smiled back "Yes Mr. Briodair. This is Frederick. He's trying to enter into the monster battle tournament and needs a monster to fight with. He doesn't have any experience, but I think he's got what it takes"
Mr. Briodair looked at Claire, then at Frederick, then back at Claire and raised an eyebrow "are you sure about that lass? I'd hate to get his hopes up. I've heard there is some mean competition"
Claire nodded vigorously "You'll see, just give him an opportunity. I promise you he'll beat your expectations."
Mr. Briodair said "we shall see." He looked at Frederick square in the eye "We shall see. Now young man, before I give you a monster, I need to know at least a little about you besides what Claire has just said. What do you do?"
"I'm a farmer sir, like my father before me"
Mr. Briodair chuckled at that "Ah yes. I can see it. You do have the look of a farmer to you. In that case you're probably strong enough to match with one of my tougher monsters. But he needs to have a gentleness too" He began muttering as he slowly paced back and forth, then his eyes widened and he looked Frederick up and down. His green eyes seemed to light up.
"Yes. Yes indeed sonny! I know just the right Monster for you"
He moved a little more spritely now, heading for a pen to the left of the barn, and behind the immediate row there. He then looked at a few pens before spotting it. "There he is! That be your Monster young Frederick" He pointed and looked with such life that Frederick was surprised to see the Monster he pointed at was rather small. About a foot tall, and with a gray coloring all around except for its sky blue eyes and black dents. It had the appearance of iron ore, except it had an iron ridge sticking out its tiny body.
Mr. Briodair smiled wildly as he turned to look at Frederick "He's an Aron, and he is one of the finest types of Monsters I breed here.