The Apprentice (32 page)

“Have
you seen Erik or Andrew?” Rowan asked, giving the head trainer a quick bow of
courtesy. Darius gave Rowan a nod acknowledging his presence, but did not turn
away from the event that he was observing.

“I’m
quite busy at the moment. What is it that you need?”

A cheer
erupted from the crowd as one boy stepped off the field and the next event
participant stepped on. Darius made a mark on the tablet that he carried.

Rowan
waited for the noise to lessen before repeating his question.

“I am
looking for Erik and Andrew.”

“Your two
friends finished their duels earlier in the day,” Darius said. “They both
performed admirably and will be competing in the tournament tomorrow.”

Darius
then turned his attention to Rowan. When he spoke, his voice was far more
serious than it had been before. “As a judge and trainer, I must remain an
impartial figure in this tournament. But I feel that I ought to tell you that
Byron was also among the day’s victors and will be competing again tomorrow.
You would do well to make sure that Erik hears of this.”

Rowan
nodded. “I understand.” He had already seen the way that Byron fought in this
competition. The boy had no honor and was clearly a threat. Byron bore no love
for Erik, and he despised Rowan.

“Good,”
said Darius, returning his attention to the event still taking place. “Now, I
have many other things that demand my attention. You may take your leave.”

Rowan
bowed again and thanked the trainer before hurrying off to find his friend. He
made his way to the edge of the field to avoid the commotion. The events of the
Revel were still going on, and would continue until nightfall when darkness
covered the fields and everyone turned to feasting.

Rowan
left the fields and began to search for his friends. It did not take him very
long. He found both Erik and Andrew with some of the other boys, all of them
watching an event where boys were throwing weapons at distanced targets. The
rhythmic thud of knives and axes and spears burying themselves in targets and
the groans of the crowd as some weapons missed sounded in the background.

“Erik!”
Rowan called out.

Heads
turned at the sound of Rowan’s call. The rest of the group acknowledged him
with nods, waves, and bows, before they turned back to watch the event. Erik,
however, walked over and greeted Rowan by clasping his wrist and slapping his
arm. Rowan smiled and returned the greeting, though he refrained from touching
his friend’s injured arm.

“Congratulations,
Erik. I heard from Darius that you did well in today’s event and you will
continue to compete in the tournament tomorrow.”

Erik
thanked Rowan. “It was a difficult day and I almost lost several matches, but I
pulled through in the end. I would like to believe that our sparring is what
allowed me to win. You deserve all of the credit for mentoring me.”

“He’s being
modest,” Andrew said, breaking off from the group to join Rowan and Erik. “I
watched several of his later matches. Erik handled himself very well. He
deserves credit for his victories, especially given that he is fighting with a
handicap.” Andrew stared pointedly at Erik’s shoulder as he said this.

“Nonsense!
Rowan’s teachings have been very helpful.”

“I am
not discrediting Rowan. I am only saying that you fought your own fights, and
you fought them well.”

Erik
looked as though he was ready to say something more, but Rowan cut him off. He
knew that Andrew only meant to praise Erik. “Darius told me that you also did
well today, Andrew.”

“I
suppose that I did,” the boy replied. “I did well enough to compete in the
fields tomorrow, where I expect to duel one or both of you.”

“How did
you fare today, Rowan?”

Rowan
turned towards Erik. “I will advance and compete tomorrow.”

“I heard
that you fared
very
well,” Andrew said. “When last I checked, you were
still undefeated and the crowd had taken to chanting your name.”

“Is that
true?” Erik asked.

Rowan’s
face flushed. He was proud of his accomplishment, but he did not want to appear
conceited or arrogant, nor did he want to boast of his accomplishments today.
He could still lose tomorrow.

“Yes. I
did well today. But tomorrow is what will really matter,” Rowan said. Privately
he wondered how and when Andrew had been able to observe his matches. While
Rowan was competing, he had been given very little time to rest in between
matches and the trainer overseeing his group had forbidden the boys from
straying too far from the area.

“Darius
also told me that Byron will be competing with us tomorrow,” Rowan said.

Andrew
had been competing in the same group as Byron, so this was not news to him. He
had watched Byron compete, perhaps even had a chance to fight against him. But
Rowan had been expecting this news to elicit some kind of response from Erik.
Instead, his friend seemed indifferent.

Erik
shrugged, an awkward gesture when done with only one shoulder.

“Why
should that matter?”

Rowan
was caught off guard and didn’t know what to say.

“To be
honest, I was expecting this. Byron may be dishonorable and full of himself,
but he is no fool. He would not have entered into this competition if he knew
he would only end up humiliated.”

“That is
why I wanted you to know that he was competing,” Rowan said. “I am not going to
tell you that you should bow out of the tournament, even if you are wounded.
You have the right to choose your own path. But I do think that you—,” Rowan
caught himself and rephrased his statement. “I think that we all should be wary
of Byron’s presence in the competition. He may not be as skilled with a blade,
but he will be determined to win. And his version of victory does not require
honor.”

“You
have no need to warn me,” Erik snapped. “I know how Byron fights. I know of his
honor
.” Erik practically spat the word out.

“Rowan
only speaks the truth,” Andrew said. “I watched Byron compete today, and I have
seen him practicing these past weeks. What Byron lacks in skill and experience,
he makes up for in tenacity. He fights like a wild beast. Many of his matches
ended with injuries, much like yours.”

“I do
not fear Byron,” Erik said.

“Nor do
I. And I doubt that Rowan fears him. Never-the-less, Byron is still a threat in
this competition, and Rowan is merely making sure that you are aware of that
threat.”

“I only
wanted you to know what you would be facing tomorrow,” Rowan said. “I did not
mean to offend you.”

“It is
fine,” Erik said. “I know that you mean no offense. Now let us forget Byron and
continue watching the Revel and cheering for our friends.”

Rowan
voiced his agreement, glad to be rid of such a meaningless squabble. In truth,
he was worried about Erik, but he would refrain from saying so. Erik would see
Rowan’s worry as pity.

So he
silenced his thoughts of tomorrow and joined the other boys on the edge of the
field.

Chapter 28
                     
 

The festivities that evening were
every bit as lush and extravagant as they had been the night before. The day’s
victors were honored on the field by King Alden and Princess Eliza and all
throughout the city was the clamor of celebration. Tales were told and songs
were sung and many praises and words of honor were sent back and forth, all of
them well deserved. There was dancing and drinking and more than one of the
boys found themselves being eyed by pretty serving girls and young ladies. A
particularly attractive girl kept asking Erik to dance, but unlike many of the
other boys, he seemed to have no interest.

Rowan
found himself the center of much attention as well. He had become one of the
favorites to win the swordsmanship competition, and many people congratulated
him and wished him luck in tomorrow’s competition. He would thank them for
their well-wishes and perhaps talk with them for a moment or two. The attention
was flattering, but Rowan grew weary of talking with strangers. He would have
talked with Erik, but his friend had been quiet and distant. So Rowan
eventually found himself sitting by himself at the edge of the festivities.

“How are
you, Rowan?”

The soft
voice came from behind him.

“Princess.
I didn’t think that I would be graced with your presence tonight.” Rowan turned
to face Eliza and found that the princess was not alone. Baird was with her.

“You may
address me by name,” Eliza said, taking an empty seat directly across from him.
Rowan nodded dumbly. His attention was held by his master.

Baird
looked different. He seemed tired and he no longer had the same powerful
presence. His usual energy was gone, and now he simply looked worn and, if it
was possible, weary.

“Master—,”
Rowan faltered. “I was not expecting to see you either, though your presence is
welcome.”

“I
suppose it has been quite a while since I last had the opportunity to visit
you,” Baird mused. The big man positioned himself at the head of the table
between Rowan and Eliza, but did not take a seat. “I've been kept very busy,
and I am sure that the Revel has kept you occupied as well. It would seem that
you have been busy practicing your blade-work, and given your performance
today, I would say that your practice has paid off.”

“You
were watching?”

“Of
course. You did very well today and I can tell that you will do well tomorrow.”

“Baird
speaks for himself,” Eliza said. “I was busy watching Erik compete. He’s my
favorite for the competition tomorrow.”

Rowan
laughed. For a princess, Eliza was a free spirit and she had no trouble
speaking her mind. Rowan pitied the woman who was Eliza’s caretaker, for she
was a stubborn girl.

“I would
not be upset if I lost to Erik. We spar together often and I have been bested
by him on several occasions. He is growing to be a good swordsman and a better
friend.”

“I wish
I was allowed to learn such things.” Eliza pouted. “I am a princess and yet I
am forbidden from doing anything interesting or fun. Father is such a bore.”

“Eliza,
you have plenty of interesting areas of study, yet you choose to ignore them,”
Baird said. “Swordsmanship is a demanding practice that requires time, effort,
strength, and dedication. The path of the sword is not meant for young
princesses. It would break many customs for you to do such things. They are not
attractive in a lady.”

“You are
even worse.” Eliza said, rounding on Baird. “You could convince father to let
me learn the male arts, but you choose not to. And what is worse, you have been
making my days even more dull and boring with your constant supervision and
your
protective measures
.”

“All of
which are necessary.”

Eliza’s
expression soured. “I think I will take my leave now.” The princess stood and
stormed off before Baird or Rowan could speak another word. As Eliza walked
away, two trainers rose from nearby tables and moved to follow her.

“I think
you have upset her.”

“Yes, I
have. I will surely pay for this later, but it is not my duty to make her
happy. My duty is to protect her, something that she makes very difficult
sometimes.”

“Come.
Let us go for a walk,” Baird said after a pause, rising from his seat. Rowan
followed as his master led the way through the crowds and away from the
festivities and the company of others. The two wandered together in silence for
a short while, making their way further and further from the revelry. Rowan
couldn’t tell where his master was leading him.

It was
Baird who finally broke the silence.

“Rowan,”
Baird began, “I want to apologize for not being around as often as I ought to
be. I know that it must seem as though I simply abandoned you once we came here
to Estoria. In a sense, I did. I left you to be trained with the other boys and
as of late, I have not been visiting you to train or to spar.” Baird paused for
a moment. “It was not my intention to abandon you. I agreed to take you on as
an apprentice, taking you away from your family and your home. I do not take
that lightly, yet…there are things happening, changes in motion and threats
that are looming, impending, which demand my attention.”

Baird
sighed and Rowan could tell that he was sincerely sorry for his absence. Rowan
wanted to assure his master that it was okay, but he could not lie. He
understood his master’s actions, but he was still upset that Baird had left him
on his own. It was what he had feared from the moment that Baird agreed to take
him along when he left Corrinth. Rowan felt abandoned, as though the connection
between him and his master had begun to fade. But his time in the barracks with
the other boys had allowed him to grow. He had made new connections with the
other boys, boys whom he had grown close to. He had found a place among them,
even though it was not one that could be a substitute for his place at Baird’s
side as his apprentice.

“There
have been many things keeping me occupied these past weeks,” his master
continued. “To be honest, there have been more pressing issues of late than the
preparations for the Revel.”

This
caught Rowan’s attention. Baird hinted at many things, but Rowan had given up
trying to force answers from him long ago. He wondered if the things that had
been keeping his master busy were related to what he had been doing in the far
North.

“The
tournament has kept everyone busy,” Baird continued, “but there are other
things that trouble me. Whispers of a growing threat have reached my ears, a
threat that I cannot ignore. It worries me.”

“Does it
have to do with your work in the far North?”

“Yes. I
went to Terratreos to forge alliances, but I discovered a traitor.”

Rowan
stopped walking, forcing Baird to halt as well. They had made their way across
the fields and had begun to walk among the grove of trees at the far edge of
the forest. By this time, they were far from the festivities and the sounds of
merriment and jubilation had quieted, the noise dulled by the forest around
them.

A
traitor. Baird’s words brought to mind the conversation that Rowan had heard
the previous evening. Gannon’s conversation.

Do I
tell Baird and admit to sneaking?
Rowan hesitated. He decided to proceed cautiously.

“Why do
you tell me such things? Why now? I have asked you for answers before and you
have never given them,” Rowan asked. Something must have changed to cause Baird
to talk. While he welcomed answers, this change worried Rowan. He had never
before seen his master upset or unsettled.

“It is
complicated,” Baird responded. His master seated himself on a stump. “I want
you to know that I am not abandoning you with the trainers. You are my
apprentice and you deserve to know why I must remain absent. But more
importantly, I fear that I do not have many people that I can trust with such
secrets. I have spoken to the king about my fears, but I do not believe that he
has truly heard me. Alden is not a man of caution and he does not see the evil
that can reside within the hearts of some men. He tries to find peace without
understanding that there are those who do not want it.”

Rowan
did not know what to say. This was the first time that Baird had spoken to him
of his duties. He felt trusted and honored to receive such information.

“How can
I help you?”

Baird
smiled. “I do not doubt your abilities, Rowan. You are proving your worth as a
blade in this tournament. You have a sharp, cunning mind and you are perseverant
to a fault. It was the reason that eventually I agreed to take you with me. But
I cannot involve you in this matter.”

“But—”

“I will
not reconsider,” Baird said, silencing Rowan’s protestations. “This matter is
sensitive and I must tread carefully. I will speak no more of it, and I trust
you not to make me regret this discussion.”

“I will
keep my silence.”

“And you
will ask no questions,” Baird said. “I trust you completely, Rowan, but this
matter must remain secret. There are men who have eyes and ears everywhere,
watching and listening. You must not pry into this affair.”

“I
understand,” Rowan said truthfully. He would not speak of this to anyone. Not
even to Erik.

“Good.
Now let us continue our walk. I believe it is time we head back. Our presence
may be missed.”

Silence.

“Let us
now speak of lighter things,” Baird said as they walked across the deserted
fields. “Did I ever tell you what it was that made you stand out and why I was
willing to accept you as an apprentice?”

“No. At
least, not in so many words,” Rowan said unsurely. He had often wondered why
Baird had offered to take him away and mentor him to become a knight. He had
all but forced the man to allow him to accompany him when leaving Corrinth.
Then he had begun teaching Rowan and suddenly they were master and apprentice.

“I trust
that by now you know my reputation as the solitary knight.” Rowan nodded. He
had heard the tales of how many boys had sought to apprentice themselves to
Baird. His master had turned away all who came to him, and yet somehow Rowan
had been chosen without even having to ask.

“I have
always been of a solitary nature.” Baird said. “I was not raised as a lordling,
so I had to earn my honor. I have worked very hard to become the man that I am
today. I was fortunate enough to gain the friendship of King Alden, back before
he inherited the throne. When he did, he gave me the honor of serving as the
head of the king’s guard.

“Once I
had been recognized, many sought to make me their master or have me take on
their boys as apprentices. Back then I refused outright because only the lords
were able to approach me and they were all pompous, arrogant fools. Their boys
were no better. The ones who were experienced were cocky and arrogant. The ones
who were unskilled tended to be…” Baird paused as he searched for the right
words. “Gluttonous or craven. Most had never worked a day in their lives and
they never would. I remember one lord who brought his boy to me in armor that
was custom made. The boy was so well rounded that no thrust would have ever
been able to land. There was not a surface on him that was flat; any blow would
have been deflected by his belly.”

Rowan’s
master smiled at the memory. “Eventually, the king’s council began to pressure
me to take on an apprentice. Even Alden thought I should do so. He told me that
as a great knight and as the head of the king’s guard, I should groom someone
who could grow to fill the void that I will one day leave.”

“You are
still the head of the king’s guard?” Rowan interrupted.

“Yes. I
have official command over the castle guard, though it is a small force and
there are no other knights. My position as the head of the king’s guard was one
of the reasons that I was allowed to continue without an apprentice. I have a
high status and there are many who find my power intimidating.

“In
truth, however, it was never my intention to remain without an apprentice. But
the circumstances were always wrong and I am very particular. There were many
boys who could have served well enough, had I been forced to choose someone.
But all of them lacked something.

“You
were different from all the others. Where they wanted my tutelage so that they
could become great swordsman, earning honors and titles, you simply wanted to
learn and experience the life that the world has to offer. That which made you
different made you attractive. Anyone can be taught how to wield a blade. There
are many masters who can do that, and many of them are better teachers than I
am. But in you I found someone who wanted more, someone who was not focused on
status or rank. You displayed a desire to learn for the sake of learning. You
wanted to see the world and you left your home to do so.”

“You and
I remember our meeting very differently.”

“There
was another reason that I took you on as an apprentice,” Baird said. “You were
one of the few people in all of the country who had never heard of me, and I
cannot even begin to describe how annoying it would have been to have an
apprentice who was always bowing and trying to please me. With you I get free
labor and a practice dummy without all of the hassle.”