Chapter Five - Practical Examination
I was frozen. She said she wanted to show me something, but what did she need to show me? Maybe...Maybe she knows where that man is?
"D-Do you know where...he is?" I whimpered as she walked swiftly up the stairs, dragging me with her.
She didn't reply. Maybe she didn't hear me. She was too focused on getting there—wherever there was. Seeing she wasn't planning on listening to me, I focused on keeping up with her. Stumbling on a stone-hard surface was way out of my bucket list.
A long time after my silence, I bumped into Kosh's back which urged me to smack her shoulder and ask her why she stopped walking, then I noticed that she was too stunned by what—or rather, who—she saw to hear my words.
Standing in front of us was a fairly old woman who was wearing a long dress, creeping us out with her blank stares. I felt goosebumps on my skin, my nerves instantly on high alert. It was Mitena.
Nobody spoke. She stared at us, and we stared back. I tried to look through her eyes and understand what she was trying to tell us, but I failed.
Then Kosh screamed a long "Oh!" And before I could react, she was already holding my hand tightly and dragging me once again, down the stairs, this time.
As we passed through the stone walls quickly, I stumbled on my own feet, failing to keep up with Kosh. Seriously, what was it with Kosh and her dragging me all the time? I trained my eyes on the stairs that we were running along; I didn't want to trip on my own feet and stumble down the stone-hard stairs to death. That was horrible. And the more I thought about it, the more possible it seemed to be.
This took longer than usual. It was like we were heading to Aethelgard's first floor. But we weren't allowed to cross Aethelgard's perimeter, so why did she seem like she was headed there? Was she planning on escaping this castle-like school? But why? It didn't make sense at all. Why would she do that after our long staring session with Mitena?
My trail of thoughts was interrupted when Kosh spoke. "Safia," she called, "you can breathe now." And that was when I realized that I had stopped breathing, my mind too occupied by what I was thinking of. With my eyes closed, I released my long-held breath with a huff.
"You don't have to drag me all the time, Kosh."
She laughed softly as she rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I walk faster than you," she answered as she opened the large door, like it clearly answered the question in my head. Light seeped through the opening until it touched my feet.
If that was the case, then next time, feel free to carry me, Kosh.
The blinding light forced me to raise my arms up to my face to cover my already closed eyes. It was bright—too bright—for my eyes. I had been staying inside the castle for quite a long time; my eyes weren't used to bright light anymore. After a while, my eyes adjusted to the light and I was able to open them again. I saw Kosh standing outside the castle as soon as I opened my eyes, her feet on well-trimmed grass, her hand stretched out to me, her lips curved upwards.
I smiled. For some reason, my worries were gone. This girl smiling at me, she was Koshka, my best friend, and I didn't need to worry about me as long as she was here. I knew she'd do everything to protect me, and I would do the same for her.
I walked outside the castle and let the light embrace my body. I squinted for a while and felt Kosh's hand hold mine. She hurriedly led me around the castle, making sure we were close to the castle walls.
"Why are we outside?" I asked. As far as I knew, people who lived and studied in Aethelgard weren't allowed here, outside, exposed to normal men.
She didn't answer me. She just kept on walking, like there was a certain place we should arrive at in a blink of an eye. Since it seemed like she wouldn't give me an answer, I kept my mouth shut.
"...to test your skill once more," was the only phrase I caught, but it was enough to make me snap my head towards the long-haired man with a long-sleeved shirt and a dark vest on top. He seemed to be the same age as my father.
I felt Kosh lean in to me as she whispered. "Safi, you're running out of luck, or maybe you don't have any good luck at all, just bad—very bad—luck."
"Why?" I asked.
She sighed and looked at the man talking in front of a lot of people my age, "Apparently, Master Cato wants us to have the practical examination today." By the way she had spoken, I knew the examination would be hard—or worse, impossible—to pass.
"Practical examination? For what?"
She continued walking to the crowd. "Every two months, Master Cato checks our progress by giving us practical examinations to see what happened after two months of training and practice." We greeted Master Cato, then we sat on the ground around five feet away from the crowd. Still, our classmates moved away from us with looks of disgust. She then continued speaking, ignoring the crowd moving away from us. "To put it simply, you will have to show Master Cato—and the rest of us—what you can do, what makes you special, and how you can contribute to Aethelgard."
"Wait," I said, "you knew that we were having this examination?"
"We were supposed to have it the day after tomorrow, but, sometimes, Master Cato gives us unannounced practical examinations. I told you, you're unlucky. Master rarely gives unannounced examinations." She glanced at me then focused her eyes on Master Cato again. "Is color blindness the only thing that makes you special?" she asked.
Ouch. It wasn't my fault that I didn't get a cool power. I didn't even want to be color blind.
"Sumner goes first," Master Cato impassively said.
The boy, who Master Cato called Sumner, stood up and lazily walked over the trees. He wore a fitted shirt and trousers that firmly hugged his figure, which explained why everyone was so silent, too busy staring at him. The girls gaped at him, and the boys bit their lips in envy—and maybe, jealousy, as well. But he didn't attract me, not just because he appeared too slim for a boy, but because, every time I saw a man, I couldn't help but compare him with the man from the window. As expected, nobody compared to that man; he was wonderful, perhaps beyond perfect.
With Sumner's right hand on his shoulder, he bent his neck to the left and to the right while rolling his eyes. He bent his fingers backwards, his fingers making clicking sounds, then he closed his eyes.
I waited silently, watching his every move like how a predator eyeing its prey.
Then he screamed, "Ahhhh!" Out of nowhere, balls of fire flew from his hands and shot through the air. His hair flew upwards as the wind blew beside the flames. I covered my mouth in awe. It was amazing. He balanced the flames in the sky, his hands stretched out as he 'held' it in place. Then his arms motioned downwards, and down went the flames, creating a loud crash. Thick smoke hid the large crater made by the fireball, but it disappeared after a few seconds, revealing the crater and a number of burnt trees.
His fist balled into fists, and his arms slightly twitched, like he made a mistake and he was trying hard not to show that he was ashamed of himself—but failing. With his head bowed down, he walked back to his seat.
Then I noticed Master Cato's brows were furrowed, and everyone was even more silent, if that was possible. Even Kosh was quiet, so I kept my mouth shut instead of asking.
"You didn't hit the target," Master Cato said. "I told you not to make your fireball too big. Focus on hitting the target, not on making a huge fireball that may hurt your allies in battle." I looked at Sumner, who was still looking at the ground. "You may be famous, but you're not the best student in this class. You can't even hit that large, red circle on the ground!" Master Cato was pointing at the direction of the said circle while Sumner was clenching his fists. Everyone in class was staring at him.
Slowly, I leaned towards Kosh, making sure I'd get nobody's attention other than Kosh's. "Does this happen every practical exam?" I asked. I couldn't hold my tongue anymore; I had to ask.
She stiffly nodded.
The next students went well. Kosh was pretty good with her hearing, too. They weren't as amazing as Sumner's fireballs, but they were fine. However, Master Cato didn't yell at them, which meant there was something special, something different, with Sumner. Kosh told me that Sumner's dad was one of Master Cato's former-students. His dad was the best student in class, and he was Master Cato's favorite student. Because of this, Master Cato was being hard on Sumner.
I wanted to stand up and tell Master Cato not to compare Sumner to his dad, but Kosh held my hand and told me not to.
Then my turn came.
I looked at Kosh. "Kosh, I can't--"
"Stand up, Safia," Master Cato ordered.
"Master--"
I froze. I heard something hiss beside me, the side opposite to where Kosh was. "Ssss..." it hissed. I dumbly turned to look at the thing that was hissing, and then I saw it. It was the thing I saw before.
It was the snake.
"Calm down," it hissed. "I'm not going to hurt you."