A Student's Dream (Twisted Cogs Book 1) (32 page)

“
Why have you lasted this long?” Ele asked. “I mean, I’m sorry to be blunt, but with only four spaces for students, wouldn’t De Luca want to have as many artists in his studio as he could have?”

“
Partially because a Saggitari is good in a Studio fight,” Niccolo said. “Partly because a Saggitari who can incapacitate instead of mortally wound is even better in a Studio fight. Mostly, I think, because he likes my attitude.”

“
I like your attitude too,” Elena said before she could stop herself. She stared very resolutely at the gate as she tried to explain, “I mean, you’re always so carefree and supportive. Even now when we should all be at each others’ throats for the four spots, you’re here helping me instead of trying to make me fail.”

“
I mostly try to ignore the fact that only four of us are getting through. That kind of thinking makes a person feel like ranking his friends, deciding who he wants to get through, and that doesn’t end well for anyone. I’d much rather be there for my friends, and worry about myself when De Luca lets me go.”

Elena had been trying to ignore the thought, but his words brought it to the forefront of her mind. If she became a full garzona, which of her new-found friends would be sent away to make a space for her? Frederica, who seemed so angry all the time but loved art more passionately than anyone Elena had ever known? Carlo, who struggled desperately for his spot and for his Echo? Vittoria, who had been so kind and gentle to Elena when she needed a friend? Niccolo, who...

Elena wasn’t quite sure how to put her feelings for Niccolo into words. Niccolo, whose smile made her heart feel warm. Niccolo, with his strong arms and a grin that made her weak. Niccolo, who smelled like leather and violets. She suddenly noticed that he was looking at her again, and she stammered a reply.

“
You...you sound so certain that De Luca isn’t going to keep you around.”

“
He doesn’t have much choice in the matter. There are amazing, talented garzoni in his studio that he can’t afford to let slip through his fingers. Like you, for instance.”

Elena froze, still staring at the ground. They were still on the corner of the busy street, Ele and Nicci were still there, but all of a sudden nothing seemed to exist but him and her.

“
What...what’s so special about me?” Elena murmured.

“
Well...” Niccolo paused for long moments, and her heart leapt in her chest, “...for one thing it looks like your Storm is going to be incredibly useful.” Elena looked up to see Niccolo pointing down the street. In front of Studio DaRose, lit by the rays of the setting sun, a cart was unloading large crates, and several strong men were carrying them inside the Studio’s gates.

“
It works! The model works!” Ele crowed. Niccolo clapped Elena on the back, and Nicci clapped her hands as Ele continued. “Do you realize what this means, Elena? Once the other Studio models are done, we can start discerning things like weaknesses, strengths, we can figure out whether they’re attacking on a certain night, or what forces they have...” Elena tuned out Ele’s babbling as the group turned to head back towards De Luca’s Studio, most of it they had already discussed between the two of them.

She was equal parts excited and relieved that she’d finally figured out her Storm, and that she’d have a truly impressive final project to show De Luca, but as she watched Niccolo smiling and talking with Ele, she couldn’t help but wonder what might’ve been said if the cart hadn’t shown up.

“Doesn’t it bother Vittoria, us being in her room when she’s not here?” Elena asked.

“Nah. We wouldn’t disturb her things or mess with her art, and she knows it," Frederica said without looking up. She was seated in front of the block of wood, examining it with a critical eye, although now that it had been almost entirely carved it couldn’t be said to be a “block” anymore. The wooden figure was a young woman, a little bit younger than the Caelator who had carved her. She stood with head bowed, her hands clasped subserviently behind her back. Her nude form in the pale wood was lit by the evening’s light, and even without the Caelator’s spark to make her live Elena though it was a beautiful work of art.

“It’s not supposed to be moving yet, is it?” she asked worriedly.

“Not yet," Fred was standing, walking in a slow revolution around the wooden girl and watching her carefully. “There’s a few more cuts to make on her neck, just below the ear here where it bows out," he pointed.

“Can you come get me when you make the last cut? I’ve never seen a Caelator statue come to life before.”

“No need to come get you, you’ll already be there tomorrow when we make the cut that gives Freja life.”

“You’re doing it tomorrow? In front of De Luca, during the final presentations? But...I thought a Caelator’s Storm wasn’t a sure-fire thing! What if it doesn’t work?”

“If the Storm works and brings Freja to life, then it works and brings Freja to life," Frederica said. She had apparently found her scrutiny satisfactory, because she stood and took a broom that lay in the corner of the room and began to sweep up the copious amount of wood shavings that littered the floor at Freja’s base. “If it doesn’t work, I don’t need an evening of dread in front of me. Tonight, I’ll sleep more soundly not knowing. In the morning, I’ll learn along with everyone else when I make the final cut.”

“I couldn’t ever be as carefree about it," Elena shuddered at the thought, “I’d go crazy not knowing.” She set down the model of Studio De Luca and surveyed the set she’d made so far, each of the eight studios in rough detail. They were a little shoddy, the pieces a tad haphazard, but as she kept reminding herself, they were only tools, not the art itself. In the future, after the Showing tomorrow, she could give the designs to the shop owner who had built knives from her designs, Tellem, and have him make her cleaner and nicer models.

I’m getting ahead of myself,
Elena chided herself,
I should focus on keeping my place in De Luca’s studio first.

“Maybe that’s the difference between Faberi and Caelator," Frederica said, stuffing her hands in her pockets and staring down at the pile of wood scraps. “We can’t put so much pressure on ourselves to get it right every time. It’s just not possible.”

“You seem very introspective today.”

“Aren’t we all?” Frederica flashed her a very out-of-character smile, and nodded at the models on the floor. “Maybe Faberi and Caelator aren’t so different after all, from the look of those you’re not worried about being perfect either.”

“Well, they’re just tools, really. What I’m showing off to De Luca tomorrow is more how I use them...” Elena blinked, “wait, did you just make a joke?”

“Deprecating humor is as close as she comes to actual humor," Fred said with a smile, “so yeah.”

“What? That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re friendly with other garzoni, isn’t it?” Frederica shifted uncomfortably, “Niccolo gives you a hard time like that all the time, am I not allowed to?”

“You’re definitely allowed to," Elena smiled, “I just...didn’t expect it.”

“If we’re going to be fellow garzona for the next year, we might as well be friends as well.”

“Stop, you’re going to jinx it," Ele groaned. “Saying things like that is tempting fate.”

“Fate has already made up her mind how tomorrow will go," Frederica said with a shrug. “Nothing us mortals say or do is going to change her mind.” She rolled her knives up in their small pouch slung it over her shoulder. “Fred and I have a tradition for the night before Showing Day. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you Frederica," Elena said.

Even in the silence that followed Frederica and Fred’s departure, Vittoria’s room seemed comfortable and friendly. Elena leaned back and surveyed the models again.

“
I think we’re done,” she noted.

“
Done for what we’ll show off tomorrow, at least,” Ele replied. “There are some changes I’d like to make later on. Should we test it out? Or should we go to bed early so we’re well-rested for tomorrow?”

“
It’s only eight o’ clock.”

“
Alright then,” Ele stood and began pacing in the room, “De Luca will probably ask how it works.”

“
The model is a tool used to supplement my Storm,” Elena began, officially. “By not having to hold a mental image of the studios in my mind, I can let my Storm tell me details about them.”

“
And did you take my advice and figure out your Storm?” Ele said, doing an impression of their elderly master.

“
I
did
take your advice, Master Ele Luca,” Elena smiled, “I’ve discovered that specifically, my Storm allows me to build ‘things’ that already exist, whether those ‘things’ are physical or theoretical.”

“
Except you don’t actually know that’s what it is,” Ele dropped the act and gave her a reproachful look.

“
Ele will you stop?” Elena rolled her eyes, “I know you want it to be something more exciting or intriguing, but I’m happy we’ve finally figured it out. It’s a really powerful Storm, and once we start getting the hang of it there are some amazing implications of what it can do!”

“
Hmmm, very well. So Miss Lucciano, tell us what this project helps you to do.” Ele looked unsatisfied with her answer, but continued on.

“
The studios have plans and schedules, all things that already exist. Since they exist, my Storm lets me build those same schedules and plans in my head.”

“
Can you please give me an example?”

Elena focused on her model studios, deciding which one to use for an example. She had arranged them on large pieces of paper in the same rough position as they were in the city, so she could see at a glance where in her paper Milia her studios sat. She pointed at her Studio Malatesta, on her Street of Purple Artisans. The buzz in her temples was as instant as it was gratifying, and the fingertip that pointed crackled as if energy was arcing between the model and her hand.

“
Malatesta’s garzoni have a Showing Day as well,” she said triumphantly, “but she’s waiting until the day after tomorrow.”

“
Why?”

“
I...I don’t know exactly. But I know it’s the truth.”

“
De Luca might want more than your word on it.”

“
De Luca is smart enough to come up with some question he can ask for proof,” Elena sighed, “Ele I love you to death, but you’ve really got to work on being such a buzz-kill.”

“
I think it’s an Echo thing,” Niccolo said from the doorway, “Nicci is just as bad, she laughs at every word out of my mouth.”

“
Maybe you should try saying something that doesn’t sound like a joke,” Nicci said.

“
I didn’t think I’d see you before tomorrow,” Elena rose to her feet and brushed small wood chips from her lap, “didn’t you say you needed to buy something this evening?”

“
Just got back,” Niccolo held up a metal cylinder about a half-foot long that sloshed when he gave it a shake. He slid the bow and quiver from his back and the knife from his belt and set them all on the desk, giving her a sidelong glance as he did so. “Listen, Elena, are you busy at all? I have something I’d like to show you.”

***

“
What did Nicci want to talk to Ele about?” Elena asked as she followed Niccolo through the dark hallways.

“
Um..I’m not sure,” Niccolo said, “Echo stuff, probably.”

Getting rid of Ele so we can be alone, perhaps?
Elena’s heart beat faster as she followed Niccolo into the lantern-lit workshop.
Is he planning on picking up where we left off yesterday? Could this be the night that-

“
Hullo, Elena, Niccolo,” Lorenzo said from his workstation. Elena almost groaned with frustration, but Niccolo didn’t seem perturbed in the slightest.

“
Hello, Lorenzo. Big day tomorrow, eh?” Niccolo crossed the room to the window, “if you wouldn’t mind holding this, Elena?” He passed her the metal cylinder, then unlatched the window and threw it open. Elena was surprised to find that the metal was warm to the touch, almost hot.

“
Hmm? Big day? Why, what’s happening tomorrow?” Lorenzo asked. Niccolo turned and gaped.

“
It’s the...do you have a big project to show off?”

“
Oh, yeah, thanks to Elena! It probably won’t be finished for another hour or so though,” Lorenzo grinned, “you might be interested in it actually, it essentially operates on the principle of resonated lodestones-”

“
I’ll be very interested in the details, Lorenzo,” Niccolo interrupted, “but we’ll wait until tomorrow so that everyone in the studio can hear about it.”

“
Ah, yes that makes sense,” Lore nodded from Lorenzo’s side, “we should finish this up anyway.”

“
Just to the side of the window there’s a ladder, Elena,” Niccolo said quietly, taking the cylinder back from her. “I’m right behind you.”

Elena’s heart was beating fast again, and she tried to ignore Niccolo’s gaze as she poked her head out the window. Sure enough, there was a ladder that led up to the roof, starting just outside the second floor window. Elena carefully grabbed onto the rungs and climbed.

The roof itself was bright with reflected moonlight, so bright it was as if the stone itself was alight. Niccolo casually pulled himself over the edge with one hand, the other clasping the metal cylinder.

“There are always so many worries and questions in my head the evening before Showing Day," he said, moving to join her, “I like hanging around up here on a lot of nights, but this night seems the most serene of all. I come up here every Showing-Day-Eve.” After her encounter with Cross, Elena didn’t feel comfortable too close to the edge of the roof, but Niccolo stood so close that his toes hung out over the lip.

“How many Showing Days have you had in De Luca’s studio?” She asked, moving a little closer, but still far enough away from the edge to feel safe. After a moment’s pause he stepped back to stand next to her.

“This will be my fourth. If De Luca decides to keep me this one last time, next year I’ll be a Journeyman Saggitari from De Luca’s Studio...I could get work anywhere in Italoza with credentials like that.”

“And if you don’t make it?”

“Then...I’ll have to find some other studio for my last year, same as anyone else. It won’t be as prestigious, but with three years as a De Luca garzoni under my belt, I’m sure I could find a place with one of the better studios.” As he talked, Niccolo unscrewed one end of the cylinder and pulled two cups from the pouch at his side. The night was a little cold, and Elena hugged herself and shivered, watching him and musing on his words.

“What was it you wanted to show me?” she asked.

“First, I want you to taste this," Niccolo poured something that steamed into both cups and offered her one, “and then I want to show you those.” He made a wide gesture towards the stars. Elena gave the cup a skeptical look.

Drinking with a cute boy under the stars,
she thought to herself,
sounds familiar. Ele would probably be warning me to be careful right about now.

“What is it about men and wanting to show me the stars?” she asked. Niccolo grinned sheepishly.

“Alright, so it’s a little cliched," he admitted, “but it’s so effective! Sharing the stars on a silent moonlit night is a secret shortcut to making a girl’s heart all fluttery.”

It was so sudden and straightforward that it caught Elena off guard. She opened her mouth, then closed it wordlessly. After a few moments of her heartbeat pounding in her ears, she tried again.

“Your...your goal is to make my heart all fluttery? Are you always this...upfront about things like this?”

“Never. This is the first time I’m trying it.” Niccolo’s grin was infectious, and Elena smiled in spite of herself. “I like you, Elena. You make a day brighter just by being around, and I want to be around you more often, no matter what happens tomorrow. I don’t see much point in hiding that.”

“I...I like you too," Elena stammered, “you sort of already make my heart all fluttery, even without the stars.”

“Well that’s no fair, you didn’t even give me the chance to sweep you off your feet with all of the smooth little tricks I know. You’re depriving yourself.”

“You, being smooth?” Elena teased, “I don’t know, I can’t quite picture it.”

“Oh I can be quite smooth," Niccolo nodded sagely, “trust me, if you didn’t like me already, you would’ve fallen for me tonight.”