Training continued. Luke could run up a hill in less than five minutes now, and he could do the rest of his exercises almost easily. Madeline noticed and, one day, showed up with heavier armor and more intense exercises.
It was the first day of training all over again.
Every day after training, Luke would immediately take off his armor to stretch. More often than not, he'd strip to his pants so that the breeze would help him cool off. Elora, who still brought him drinks during and after his training sessions, often cursed him for his shamelessness. But Luke noticed the way her gaze lingered on his growing muscles. He'd catch her eye and make her blush.
Even after such a strenuous workout, Luke decided to do a bit more on his own. After dinner, he took his sword and swung it against a straw opponent until his arms turned sore.
System: You have trained twice in one day. Reward: 50XP.
Luke only needed 20 more XP to reach level ten. He knew he would get a new skill once he reached it, but he couldn't fathom what it could be. He was excited, though.
"Now, Luke," said Madeline the next day, "you can't work your body the way you have been every day and expect it to keep functioning. Today, we'll take it easy and learn some spells."
She led Luke into the royal library and, with a wave of her hands, cast a spell of some sort on Luke. "That was a hastening spell," she explained. "You'll be able to learn much faster now." She pointed to a pile of books on a table. "Get to work."
Luke sat down and was surprised to see that he could comprehend every word of the book. Not only that, but he also finished the entire tome in less than ten minutes and immediately reached for another book.
He couldn't believe it. He was reading, and he was enjoying it.
When Elora came in with drinks, Luke didn't even look up from the sixth book of the hour. But he could still hear.
"How's he doing?" Elora asked Madeline.
"Extremely well for his first time," said the old woman. "The hastening spell didn't work nearly so well on me the first time I used it. I've never seen his sort before. I think this boy might well be our savior."
Luke kept reading until his mind shut down like an overheated circuit. When he woke up, he was covered with a blanket, and Madeline was sitting across from him enjoying a bit of light reading herself. She glanced up at him with a smile. "You read twenty-eight books in four hours," she said. "That's quite extraordinary. Do you remember what you've read?"
"Yes. The first book was a history of the Crimson Kingdom—"
"Rest your mind," said Madeline. "You read right through lunch. Go steal some food from the scullery maids like a normal boy. Spend the afternoon doing something you enjoy. We'll pick up on our training tomorrow."
Obediently, Luke stole some cold ham sandwiches from the kitchen and ate it in the garden where he'd first come into this world. From the recently-replaced tea table, he could see Illana and Elora playing badminton. Their sleeves flowed like mountain streams every time they extended an arm to swing a racquet. When Luke finished his sandwich, he approached them.
"Good game, Your Highnesses," he said, distracting Elora enough to miss the birdie. She smiled when she saw Luke.
"Care to join us?" she asked. "Madeline said you were getting the day off."
“I say we take him to town,” said Illana.
"Illana, I doubt he'll enjoy shopping."
"Don't be ridiculous," sniffed Illana. "We'll take him to the bar."
Luke was about to interject and say that he was too young to drink, but then he remembered where he was. Fantasy worlds didn't have drinking ages. So he readily agreed, and a quick horseback ride brought them to a lively establishment filled with humans, Elves, and creatures Luke had never seen before.
"Welcome to the Zero Bar," said a cute catgirl behind the counter, "where we treat our customers like family." The catgirl had spoken automatically. “I'm Felicia. What can I get for you?"
Luke, unfamiliar with the drinks of the Crimson Kingdom, ordered a mead. Elora asked for a glass of red wine, and Illana ordered something with an Elf-sounding name. All three of them ordered the bar's famous roast wild boar. Felicia brought their drinks out almost immediately, then a rough voice called her away.
Illana was glancing between Luke and Elora with a sly look on her face.
“So, Luke,” she said, “tell us more about yourself. Do you have a girlfriend back home?”
Luke turned red. “Uh—no—not really.”
“Got feelings for anyone?”
Luke turned redder. “I—no.”
“Perennially single, huh?” Illana chuckled. “Elora’s the same.”
At the mention of her name, Elora fumbled and dropped her goblet. Wine spilled over her clothes and on the floor. Luke reached over to help, spilling his mead in the process.
“I’m so sorry!” Elora said, using her mug to try to catch the mead that dripped steadily off the table. As she did so, she slipped on the wet floor. Luke lunged forward to catch her, and slipped too.
Before either of them knew what was happening, they collided with one another, and their lips met.
By now, Illana was laughing nearly too hard to get up. “There you go,” she said between gasps of air as she helped them up. “I think that was your first kiss for both of you!”
Felicia hurried over with more drinks and a few rags, and everyone got cleaned up.
A few minutes later, their food arrived. Between bites of roast ham and sips of drink, the trio talked. Mostly about training, but also about their favorite hobbies. It turned out, Elora liked needlepoint while Illana preferred hunting.
In the middle of their conversation, the doors burst open. The entire bar grew silent when a man, well-dressed and well-groomed, entered.
Comments (0)
See all