After a minute more of the parents berating him, Merkell held up a hand and stood up from his seat, he looked each one of us in the eye.
"One season. They have one season to learn all of the fighting skills they will need and then I will return to teach them the rest. I will hear no more about it, this must be the way it is."
"Return? Wait, you're leaving?" I spluttered out and stood up to face him, Emy joining me.
Merkell looked at us and I almost saw a smile, "Yes I am, I have a family and they have been without me for two whole years. It is time I was back with them, I think you understand that."
I nodded slowly and caught Emy doing the same, we did understand after only being away from our parents for nearly a week we had felt horrible. I didn't want to imagine what it would be like to be without them for two years, and in a strange world no less.
Merkell smiled softly and stepped away from the table, "Learn fast and listen to your instructors. The time will go by very quickly and we need every minute of it if we wish to win."
"Wait," Kayle stood up and moved around the table to stand in front of Merkell. "You told me before you sent me to watch over the girls that I had a part to play in all of this, you cannot leave and not tell me what it is, sir."
Merkell smiled wider at Kayle despite his tone and leaned in closer. He whispered something in Kayle's ear and I leaned over to watch Kayle's eyes widen into orbs. He was stood motionless when Merkell moved away from him and gestured to the rest of us.
"You have all trusted me in the past and I ask you to do so again now. I will return in one season so until then, be safe."
Blaike and Kaleb bowed to him, Emy and I waved goodbye but the parents didn't react except to nod simultaneously, which creeped me out a little. Merkell walked out and nobody moved to stop him, instead my dad and Emy's walked over to where Kayle was stood, unmoved.
"Kayle? What did Merkell tell you?" Alacor asked him and Kayle finally snapped out of his daze, he rubbed his chin and walked off back to his seat.
"I can't tell you, sorry," Kayle replied and sipped his juice. He smiled when he placed the glass down, the parents didn't look amused though.
"And why not?" My dad asked and Kayle pursed his lips, the smile had disappeared a little.
"Because you do not need to know until one season from now, apparently," he said it with the strangest tone to his voice. "Oh, and Merkell said if I tell you then it will not happen, so I'm sorry but I can't."
It was bizarre to hear how adamant he was; Emy, Blaike and Kaleb all looked impressed and even more impressive, the parents didn't argue any further with him. Instead, everyone moved to sit down again, it seemed like the weird conversations would just keep on coming. I realised suddenly that now we were expected to learn to fight, I assumed it wasn't just punching and kicking.
I voiced that thought out loud and my dad smiled back at me. "No it is not, you and Emily will learn a variety of fighting styles as well as weapons and water and air strikes. These are skills you would have learned while growing up here, if you had had the chance. You will have personal instructors in every aspect of your training and we will receive a full report at the end of each day."
Neither I, nor Emy seemed to fully understand but we let it slide while Alacor spoke next.
"You will also need to learn more about the ways and history of Nentarli."
"What will that help with?" Emy asked. She watched her dad press his hand to the bronze panel by the door.
"It will help with the important dinner we must attend at the end of the week with the leaders of each of the three Sectors."
I spat out the juice I'd just been sipping and wiped my mouth.
"We have to meet the leaders? Aren't they pretty much the most important people around here?"
My mum passed me a napkin from the table and nodded, "Every person in Nentarli is important but the leaders are the highest officials, yes. There will also be other people of power there, as well as many noble families. We will be travelling to the capital of the Southern Sector, Eribourne. So before then, you need to know what is appropriate as many of them will want to meet the four, or five of you." She gave Kayle a side glance and he smirked widely to himself.
I frowned with that idea fixed in my mind, having to go to a big dinner where loads of dignitaries in strange clothes, doing strange things, would be asking us questions that we were expected to know the answers to.
"So technically, we're going back to school?" I asked finally and saw the horrified expression on Emy's face.
Neither of us had particularly liked school, we definitely didn't want to go back to that.
"I suppose you could put it that way but it will be more fun," my dad said with what he must have thought was an encouraging smile. I thought it looked a little bit like gloating.
At that point, people walked in from the direction of what I guessed was the kitchen and began to clear the table. They replaced what had been there seconds before with desserts. I could tell because I could smell the sweetness of some of the dishes, the parents thanked them as they left. I knew I wouldn't get used to having servants but for the moment I couldn't do anything except enjoy the tastes of the desserts we tried.
The conversation turned a little lighter while everyone ate but I could still feel the tension of what had been discussed. There was a lot to process and I noticed Emy, Blaike and Kaleb were much quieter than they had been before. My mind kept going back to whag had happened to Blaike and Kaleb's parents, and I began to realise that that could have so easily been Emy and I, and our parents.
The shudder that went down my spine didn't go unnoticed, Emy nudged my leg and I looked over at her. She was worried and not just about me, I could see it so deeply in her eyes and I wished I could stop it but there was no taking it away this time. I held her hand and squeezed it briefly to reassure her I was okay and then let go. I tried to finish my dessert, which I wasn't enjoying as much by then.
Once we were all done, my mum and Emy's stood up, clasping their hands in front of them when they addressed us.
"You have the rest of the day to relax, do whatever you want, if you wish to go outside then you must take someone with you."
"Tomorrow we will begin your lessons and training, we must speak to some instructors for you all and that includes Blaike and Kaleb."
They looked startled at hearing their names which really didn't suit them, they hadn't been this rattled even when we were facing that Dark monstrosity.
"Why must we be trained? We have trained our whole lives," Blaike responded with a curt nod, as though that should be the end of it.
Colensa and my mum shook their heads. "You have not trained in every aspect of fighting and I'm sure your etiquette could use some refreshing. It will be good for all of you to spend the time learning together."
"I just hope you are not too overwhelmed in such a short time."
I frowned at them both, "I can't really remember a time in all of this when I wasn't overwhelmed by something. When did we get to the part about us choosing to do this?"
Everyone except Emy turned to look at me in astonishment, it wasn't satisfying to see anymore since it meant that they already thought we'd agreed to it. We'd barely had time for it to sink in before we were given a schedule and our lives had been planned out for us.
"We just... well we didn't think there was a decision to be made now that you are both here." Colensa said with a look to Emy, who was looking down at her hands.
"We were told we had a choice if we wanted to do it, I didn't think that just applied to coming here."
"Well it doesn't but we assumed it meant you wanted to do it if you were here," my mum sounded as confused as she looked. "Do you not want to do this, for your home and your family?"
I knew she wasn't trying to guilt us into it but that's exactly how it felt. I moved away from the table and Emy followed without looking at anyone.
"We want to help but we'd be risking our lives, we can't just decide on that in the spur of the moment. You don't even know what it will entail for us to win against this Ril-whatever his name is, it could be a sacrifice or something."
My dad moved then and came around the table to stand by my mum. "Cassie has a point, we do not know what it will take, we could be asking anything of them. It is not fair to pressure them into a decision that none of us know the outcome of."
I was so grateful for my dad's logic, the other parents nodded finally and I linked my arm in Emy's.
"Can we go now? I think we have a lot to talk about."
Each of the parents nodded, Emy's looked more worried that she didn't look up as I led her out of the dining room. The guys were standing aimlessly by the table but I didn't bother to wait to see what they would do next, I led Emy through the hallway and upstairs. I was planning to go to one of our suites but my legs didn't take me there, instead we somehow ended up in the classroom on the second floor. I led Emy to some chairs around the back table and we sat down in silence. Emy still wouldn't look up.
"Emy, look at me because I'm starting to worry, even more than I have been already," I said softly after a few more minutes of silence.
She didn't look up, she just sighed, "I'm fine, in all of that talking I didn't even bother to question if we should do it or not. How can we not, Cass? They're counting on all of us, the four, five, whatever of us."
Her emphasis on the last few words made me shudder, the fact that Kayle, Blaike and Kaleb were somehow involved didn't make either of us feel any better.
"I don't know but we do have a choice so we need to think long and hard about it. They risked their lives for us but they knew what they were doing, we don't."
It should have been a straightforward answer, helping an entire world, but nothing in this world seemed to ever be just straightforward.
"I mean, what if we fail at whatever it is, then what?"
Emy looked up in alarm, "Thanks for the confidence boost, Cass... Ugh, I don't know but it's a whole world, it's supposed to be our world, we have to do something."
"I want to but... I'm scared."
"So are we," a voice came from the doorway.
We turned to see Blaike, Kaleb and Kayle standing there with the same sombre expression. They trudged in slowly and sat down on the chairs near ours, Kayle sat on the edge of our table. It was strange to see all three of them so serious and to hear that they were scared, especially after seeing how they handled themselves in times of danger.
"How did you find us?" Emy asked and Kayle smiled down at her.
"We followed you, you didn't exactly move fast."
"So... what do we do?" I asked of nobody in particular and received shrugs from all of them.
"Kaleb and I already chose to go through with this but we cannot do it without you, however we will always fight the evils in our world one way or another."
"And I'm up for whatever you all decide," Kayle added and he was serious again.
I knew he wasn't about to tell any of us what his role was but I was almost glad that he would be around through this.
That's when something else clicked for me but I saved it for a less tense moment, I turned to Emy instead and frowned.
"Looks like it's still in our hands. I do want to help, I guess it's just a matter of controlling my fear."
Emy was looking back down at her hands in her lap, "I'm scared too, not of fighting those things or the big bad guy but of losing anyone. I can handle myself in a fight but I don't think I could handle that."
My frown deepened but Kayle responded before I could attempt to comfort her.
"We won't let anything happen to each other, that's why we are all in this together. Besides, I am not going anywhere just so you can get the limelight, you are stuck with me and I will make sure you are stuck with these guys too."
Emy smiled lightly up at him and I took my opportunity for some lightheartedness.
"That reminds me, if you're related to Emy and she's related to me, are we related?"
Kayle grinned and Emy looked around in shock. "Yes we are, my mother is older sister to your dad and Emy's mum."
"So why doesn't she live here then with the rest of us?" Emy asked after she got over the initial shock of his reply.
She immediately looked as though she wished she hadn't when Kayle winced.
"She has to live in the Western Sector, it's complicated but I'll explain it to you one day."
Emy patted his knee and I realised it must be a painful reason, my thoughts turned to being related to Kayle as well.
"So is that why you didn't want your friends to be interested in Emy or I in our world? And why you acted weird when I asked you about it?"
Kayle smiled again when the conversation diverted back. "Of course, I couldn't tell you that was the reason. You and Emily are noble ladies and my cousins, I could not have guys like that sniffing around you."
Emy and I grimaced at the way he put it and I caught strange looks cross over Blaike and Kaleb's faces. I assumed it was confusion but didn't feel in the mood to explain something that was water under the bridge anyway.
"Okay so, what are we gonna do about this?" I asked Emy and she sighed loudly.
"I don't want to think about it but I know it has to be thought through properly. If we do this then we risk all of our lives for the whole world and if it fails then everyone dies. But if we don't do it then we run away like cowards and everyone dies anyway, I think it's pretty much a no-brainer when we put it like that."
I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth and nodded, it seemed like we'd agreed without really saying it and I wondered if we had always agreed to it subconsciously.
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear," Kayle said out of nowhere and we all stared at him.
"Woah, where did that come from? I didn't realise you had a brain in there," Emy joked with a jab to his leg.
Kayle laughed quietly and shrugged one shoulder, "Read it somewhere. Hey, I did learn something while I was over in that world."
Emy and I chuckled, and Kaleb and Blaike looked on questioningly. It appeared as though we had all come to an agreement but none of us wanted to spell it out.
"So, what now?"
"There is nothing left to be done until morning. We could give you a tour of the village?" Blaike stated and I glanced to Emy with a frown.
"I thought we had to be careful of who sees us?" I remembered the way we had arrived, all cloak and dagger, almost literally.
Blaike shook his head, "That was just until we had a better idea of how things were. It is safe for you to go outside now so long as it is not on your own."
It made sense and a walk would distract us from the gloom and doom, I glanced to Emy and she nodded.
"Sounds good, I'm guessing it will take a while though from what we saw of the size of this place."
"It will and you'll probably want to get your cloaks, it will be much colder tonight," Kayle seemed to find that quite funny for some unknown reason.
We quickly separated into different directions as Emy and I went to grab our cloaks. I tried not to linger on what was to come for us in the next few months. I hoped this walk would be distracting, I needed to get out of my own head for a while. I met Emy out in the corridor and we made our way back to the stairs to meet the guys. While we stood there, servants passed us and they were laughing and talking, greeting us as they walked by.
"I need to talk to our parents about this whole servant thing," I said once two of them were out of earshot.
"Do it another day, right now I just want to get out and do something more than just talk!" Emy said in an exasperated tone.
Kaleb, Kayle and Blaike chose that moment to appear, all three had their own cloaks on and smiles on their faces. It seemed like that's exactly what they wanted too. We followed them down the stairs and out into the cool evening air. The day had disappeared pretty quickly and the lights of the streets were coming to life in time with the darkening of the sky. The lights looked like old gas lamps but they came on of their own accord.
It did feel good to be outside, despite the chill in the air, Emy and I linked arms and we followed the guys through the streets. Other people were still milling around, tending to their own business and none of them bothered us on our walk. The guys showed us some of their favourite sights and shops, at one point they wandered off to one stall and came back with five paper cones filled with something unfamiliar. Kayle handed me one and Blaike handed Emy another, inside were small, misshapen balls of something covered in a gloopy liquid.
"What are they?" I asked, sniffing them but all I could smell was a sweet, mouth watering scent.
"Just try one, they will keep you warm throughout the rest of the walk," Blaike replied as he took one out and popped it into his mouth.
I hesitated a moment and then dug in, the second I bit into the first one I felt a trickle of juice and a warmth passing through my body when I swallowed it down. There was a sweet but rough taste to it and I grinned as it made me cough a little, surprised at the realisation.
"Is this alcohol?"
Kaleb, Blaike and Kayle all laughed, "Similar, yes but it's kept inside of a sugary shell so it doesn't ferment too much. It won't get you drunk but it will warm your insides up. Just don't let your parents know that this is the first thing we gave you."
Kayle grinned from ear to ear and both Kaleb and Blaike chuckled. I smiled and peered at Emy, we weren't complaining.
The little alcohol sweets did help with the growing cold when the sky darkened to night. We kept walking and I knew it was much colder that night, however it didn't soak into my body like it had on previous nights. We enjoyed the rest of the tour a lot more with the little buzz we had going, the streets wound this way and that, all of the houses were similarly made but differently sized.
Some of the people lived above the shops and some began packing up their stalls to go home. It gave me a greater insight into how the village worked. I hadn't seen anything that looked like a school or church yet, there was no sign of a hospital or any other notable building. I was noticing that some of the changes in this world were very tiny, it was almost like being home but others were so substantial that I kind of missed them; things like buses and airplanes, and I definitely missed electricity.
As we began to make our way back to the house, the guys told us there were other places they wanted to take us but it would have to wait until daylight. I was okay with that, I was starting to feel tiredness creeping in, whether it was the events of the day or the little alcohol sweets that I'd eaten, I didn't know but I was glad when the house came into view. The next day would be the start of our lessons and training for whatever we had to do to defeat this Riltresik- I would need a good night's sleep.