Ascendant sneak peeks

Best Friends

Glory was beginning to wish that he'd stayed home after all. When Papa had offered to take him with him he'd thought they'd be doing something exciting. Instead, they're standing around talking. If he'd wanted to stand around and listen to grown-ups talk he could go anywhere.

Instead, he's in the healing ward which is even worse than the normal places grown-ups stand around and talk in because he has to be quiet in the healing ward. He tugs on Papa's hand, hoping that he'll take the hint and quit talking. He doesn't, he just lets go of Glory's hand and pats him on the head.

Glory scowls at her and sighs. Papa keeps talking. He sighs louder. The healer he's talking to notices and smiles at him. "Why don't you go see if Clemency is done with Honor's lesson for today?"

Glory doesn't know who Honor's supposed to be but anything would be better than standing here. The healer points him down the hall and to an open doorway. The room is filled with strings of drying herbs and jars of medicine. Glory wrinkles his nose at the smell.

To his surprise, there's another boy in the room around his age. He's following another healer around as she shows him the difference between two leaves that look pretty much the same to Glory. The healer looks up when Glory steps into the room, "hello," she says, sounding a little bit confused. "Can I help you?"

Glory hesitates for a second, "one of the healers told me to see if Honor was done with his lesson for today?"

The healer's face clears. "You must be Unity's boy, is your father still talking to Peace isn't he?"

Glory nods, scowling a little.

The healer smiles softly, "well if Honor would like to go play then he's welcome to." She looks down at the boy and he smiles brightly up at her.

"Can I?" he asks, voice eager.

"Run along," the healer says, "but quietly."

"We will," Honor and Glory reply in unison, grinning eagerly at each other.

They dart out of the herb room and down the hall. Glory sneezes as the smell leaves his nose. "I don't know how you can stand that stuff."

"You get used to it," Honor replies with a shrug. "What are you doing in the healing ward?" He takes a step back, "you're not sick are you?"

Glory shakes his head. "No, my Papa is talking to someone."

"Oh," Honor says, a little quieter. "My Papa is sick." He brightens quickly, "I'm learning to be a healer though and so I'll be able to make him better. I've read a ton of books." He puffs his chest out proudly, wings flaring a bit.

"Being a healer is boring." Glory tells him. "My Papa is a soldier and I'm gonna be one too. He protects the queen. And before her, he protected the king."

Honor scowls at him. "My Papa is a soldier too, but he says that Healers are the ones who fight the real battles. Soldiers only fight White-Wings but Healers fight tons of different stuff."

Glory frowns at him but he can't really think of an argument and he doesn't want to fight with Honor because if he does then he'll have to go stand with Papa while he talks and he'll be bored all over again. "Do you want to play something?" He asks instead.

Honor thinks for a moment, eyeing Glory suspiciously. "Are you a tattletale?"

Glory's wings bristle. "No, I'm not."

Honor looks at him for a minute more, eyes squinted. "Are you sure?"

"I haven't tattled once." Glory insists.