The Mages of Royas Bay (Mages of Wrystan 1)

Chapter 15: Magic Lessons, Part 2

Feeding Rowan scraps from the lunch table, Arien listened to the chatter of the students around him and dredged up a smile when Hawk appeared. The mage-page was out of breath, his face glowing from the cold outside. He fell on the food with a ravenous growl.

"Busy morning?" Connie, the only second-year girl, asked while pouring him some fruit juice.

Hawk accepted the beaker with a grunt of thanks.

"Manners," Lady Elea tutted. "What do they teach you pages up at the palace?"

"To eat as much as we can, whenever we can," Hawk retorted between mouthfuls.

The well-bred first-year looked scandalised, but the others laughed.

"You're certainly cutting it fine today," Fort said, pushing his empty plate away with a happy sigh. "The bell's going to go at any moment."

Hawk shrugged and handed some cold chicken up to Cyrus. The sparrowhawk was a little more dainty in his habits, but he was clearly hungry too.

"We should have left already," Connie said, fidgeting as several older students exited the hall. "Come on, Hawk, we'll be late. You know what Healer Iris is like if she's left waiting."

Hawk just waved her away, too busy chewing.

"The Healer's Hall isn't that far and it's all downhill," Fort soothed, handing Connie another beaker of juice. "Calm down and let the boy eat."

Hawk stuffed one last piece of bacon into his mouth, grabbed an apple from the bowl and drained his own beaker. "Thanks, Fort. Come on, Con, let's heal."

And with that he was gone.

Arien watched the abandoned wooden beaker spin and settle as though it had been caught in a whirlwind. "Is he always like that?"

"Every other day," Sidony said with a shrug. "When he's got healing lessons he has so much further to go than the rest of us."

"I don't know how he does it," Fort agreed, tossing a glossy red apple from hand to hand before biting off a chunk.

"I thought he was always so calm." Even when fighting Hawk maintained an even speed. This was the first time Arien had seen him rush.

As the bell pealed overhead, summoning the students to their afternoon lessons, Fort laughed and threw the rest of his apple to his wolfhound. "The mage school gets to all of us in the end, my friend. Just wait and see." He sauntered out with the rest of the battle-mages.

Leaving the first-years to watch them leave, four with wistful sighs, one with a frown.

"When do we get to start our magic lessons?" Sidony wanted to know.

"How about tomorrow?"

Eager faces swung in Mara's direction and she laughed. "If you're very good, it just might happen. Now, aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

They scattered like a flock of pigeons until only Arien was left. He stood with a lot less haste, unable to share his fellow students' excitement. What would be the point in having lessons when he already knew his magic was beyond his reach? He'd always worried his magic would make him a freak, but he'd never thought it would make him a failure.

"Not even a smile from you today, Ari?" Mara asked, falling into step as they left the dining room. The echo of the first-years' footsteps was already fading, along with their chatter and the clamour of their mage-beasts. Arien wished he was going with them.

"What's on your mind now?"

Rowan slid down from his shoulders into his arms, instinctively knowing that Arien needed a cuddle. "Magic," he muttered, voice muffled by the thickness of Rowan's fur.

Mara rested a hand on his arm to a stop him. The jackdaw on her shoulder nibbled at her ear and she frowned. "It was your first time, Ari. Plenty of mages take a few tries before they can produce a spark." She tightened her grip, eyes losing focus as she looked inside him. "You've got so much magic. Why would it be there if you weren't meant to use it?"

"Will you be there?" Arien blurted out. "Tomorrow. In our lesson? Will you teach us?"

"They won't start teaching you magic tomorrow, Ari. They save it for the First of Change Month. It's a symbolic and powerful time."

Even though he wasn't entirely familiar with the Wrystani calendar yet, Arien had enough knowledge to know that was only four days away. "But will you be there?" he repeated.

Mara sighed and pushed through the door to the cold outdoors. "Walk with me," she commanded and strode into the gardens.

Arien snuggled Rowan closer, certain he wasn't going to like what Mara was going to say next. Then he ran after her, knowing the curiosity would be worse.

* * *

BY THE TIME lessons finished for the day, Hawk was exhausted. He ended most days in a similar state. It came of getting up before breakfast to jog over to the palace, followed by a morning in the practice arena before snatching lunch and going to work on his magic. Then came dinner, and after that study until bedtime. The life of a mage-page was never dull.

Letting the others go on ahead, he sent Cyrus flapping into the sky and dragged his feet back to the school. Fort was right, the Healer's Hall really wasn't that far, but it felt like it in the gathering evening gloom as he ambled slowly back up the hill. Why was everything always uphill at the end of the day?

He was about halfway home when a lone horse clopped to a halt before him. "Sparrow!"

Hawk looked up in surprise. "Lady Mara." He noticed her saddle bags were bulging. "Are you leaving?"

Flicking the end of her reins against the sides of her horse's neck, the mage sighed. "Back south I go. On the King's business. I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place, you know. I've still got work to do."

Hawk knew what that could be like. Not that he'd ever received orders from the monarch personally, but he'd seen plenty of others brought in and sent away after only a gentle hint from the softly spoken King Aric. No one argued with a royal hint if they knew what was good for them, but in this case... "What about Ari?"

Mara sighed again, heavily. "I've just finished telling him."

Hawk could imagine how well that had gone. "Where is he?"

"He said something about visiting old friends." Still toying with her reins, the mage fixed her powerful eyes on him. "Find him, Hawk. I have a bad feeling about this. It's a rotten time to leave him, but duty calls. Tell him I'll be back as soon as I can. I haven't abandoned him. Make sure he understands that." With a firm nod she turned her horse and trotted off into the gathering night.

Hawk didn't stay to watch her leave – he was already running.