Their week out of class wasn’t a week off for the apprentices. They were back in the arena to fight the Hardened Fist, and that threw the entire week off their regular routine. From sixth to fourteenth bell, the apprentices were fighting, then resting with jerky snacks while discussing their fights, then fighting again. The novices came by after their economics class and stayed to watch until they were finished. When all of them got back to the clan hall, the novices were put through their own physical training while the apprentices watched. They had some magic training before they bathed and had dinner, then collapsed into sleep.
Waking on their last day off, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn didn’t take long to dress. They were excited about leaving the academy for the day and seeing the children again. Clover and Ling looked excited, too, when they met on the stairs.
“Clover, you’ll be leading the Peaceful Fist with the children today,” Yukiko said when they found the pair waiting for them.
Clover cheered and broke into one of her silly dances, earning laughter from her friends. “I’ll do a good job,” she said when she finished hugging Yukiko.
“We know,” Jenn said, patting Clover’s back.
“Are we just training with them?” Ling asked as they started downstairs again.
“We’ll be staying afterward to have dinner and play a few games with them before coming back,” Gregory said. “I’m sure you two can stay, too, if you want.”
Clover was about to reply, but Ling touched her arm and she stayed quiet.
“We wouldn’t wish to impose,” Ling said once she was sure Clover was not going to interject.
“We enjoy spending time with our friends,” Yukiko said, looking back at them. “We’d ask the novices, too, but they have a curfew.” Her lips quirked into a small smirk. “I can invite you, if you’re hesitating because it was Greg who did.”
“No!” Clover blurted. “I mean… no, we want to.”
“It’ll be fun having some downtime together,” Jenn said.
“What?” Daciana asked, coming toward them ahead of Nessa and Victoria.
“After training at Gin’s, when you all head back, we’ll be staying to have dinner and spend some time with the children,” Jenn told her.
Daciana’s face fell a little. “We can’t because of the curfew.”
“Exactly,” Yukiko said.
“We understand,” Nessa said. “It’s sad, but the rules are the rules.”
“It’s been nice,” Victoria said. “This last month has let us all train together so much. The kids will be extra excited today, too.”
“Yeah,” Gregory grinned. “You’ve told us that they’ve been doing well, so I made sure we have a reward for them.”
“Now they’ll be extra excited,” Nessa said. “Who’s leading meditation?”
“Clover,” Yukiko replied with restrained laughter.
“They’ll be able to keep up with her, at least,” Ling snorted as she tried to hold back her laughter.
“Which means they’ll be amazing,” Clover said.
“After meditation, what are we training?” Daciana asked as she grinned at Clover.
“Fighting,” Gregory said. “Baylyss will have training weapons. You’ll be fighting them,” he nodded toward Yukiko, Jenn, Clover, and Ling. “I’ll be working with the kids on unarmed combat.”
“We don’t get to fight you?” Daciana asked, clearly upset, her ears angling back.
“We’ll make sure you each get a single fight against him,” Yukiko said. “We aren’t excluding you.”
Daciana’s tail dropped and she lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Yuki… I didn’t mean it like that.”
Nessa touched her shoulder. “You did, and it’s okay to feel like that.”
“Ness is right,” Gregory said. “I’d rather you be honest about how you feel. And no, we weren’t trying to exclude you. It was going to be a surprise at the end.”
Daciana’s tail curled between her legs. “Sorry…”
Gregory was going to go over to her, but Clover was there first. “Why? We know fighting him is a challenge, and if we challenge ourselves, we grow. We have to grow to stand beside them. I wouldn’t say sorry for wanting to be stronger.”
Daciana’s tail started to rise a little as she glanced at Clover. “I like that. I do want to be stronger and stand beside him-them.” The last word was quickly tacked on, as if she said it, the other would be forgotten.
“And you will in time,” Yukiko said as if the slip never happened.
“Good morning,” Bishop greeted them when they made it to the dining room.
They greeted Bishop in return and shifted to small talk, but the majority of them were lost in their own thoughts.
~*~*~
Gregory thanked Rufous as he climbed down from the driver’s bench and opened the carriage door for the women. “Ladies, we’ve arrived,” he said, making a sweeping motion with his arm.
“Why thank you, sir,” Yukiko giggled.
Gregory helped them down one at a time. Victoria was the last one out of the carriage, but she slipped when she stepped out. She fell into Gregory, who caught her.
“You okay?” Gregory asked, doing his best to ignore how pleasant she felt against him.
“Stepped wrong, but I’m fine,” Victoria said, not moving to right herself for a second. When she did, she brushed at her outfit. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but be careful,” Gregory told her. Shutting the door, he looked back at Rufous, who was wearing a carefully blank expression. “See you later.”
“Have a good day, sir,” Rufous said before he got the carriage rolling.
The others were all watching him and Victoria when the door opened, revealing Elsa and Enzo.
“Good morning, magi. Welcome to the Watashi residence. Please, come in,” Enzo said, stepping aside, but staying by the door.
“Thank you,” Yukiko said, giving him her attention. “We’ll change and then head to the garden, if you can gather the others for us.”
“We will make sure it is done,” Enzo said, shutting the door once Gregory had entered.
“Go ahead, Enzo. I will guide them,” Elsa said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Enzo said, striding off in a dignified manner.
“It’s good to see you again, Elsa,” Gregory said.
A real smile took the place of her professional one. “I’m glad you’re here, too. I assisted Baylyss in making sure everything is in place. The sparring rooms are waiting for you. I ask that you train with me before the other children so I can bathe and help with dinner.”
“I was planning on it. I was going to have you assist me in teaching them,” Gregory said, “but that’s fine. I’ll have Enzo help me train them.”
Elsa curtsied. “Thank you. If you’ll follow me, please.”
~*~*~
Gregory was the first one changed and to the garden. Enzo was just in front of him, having changed into a gi after gathering the children.
The children all bowed to him. “Good morning, Sensei.”
“Good morning,” Gregory replied with a grin as he bowed back. “The others will be here shortly. We’ve been hearing how you’ve been doing, and we’re proud of you, even with the minor setbacks.” He looked at the two youngest boys, who looked down, embarrassed. “Being alive means you’ll make mistakes, but learning from those mistakes is what makes us better. Fighting with friends will happen at times, too, but making up with them and not fighting over the same thing is another lesson to learn.”
“If you can do those two things, you will be better than you are now,” Yukiko added, leading the procession into the garden. “And now that we’re all here, we can hand out the small gift we brought for you.”
Those words had all the children looking at her eagerly.
“I don’t have your reward,” Yukiko smiled. “The one leading our exercise today has it.”
Clover grinned as she went over to the kids. “Hands out,” she said.
The kids held their hands out, nearly buzzing with excitement. Clover moved down the line, giving each of them the reward Gregory, Jenn, and Yukiko had arranged. Each child ended up holding a waxed paper item.
When Clover stepped back, having given Elsa hers last, she grinned, holding up a single one for herself. “Sweets aren’t common, and this is a rare sweet that comes from Buldoun. It’s called butterscotch. It’s a hard candy, so don’t chew it. Just place it in your cheek and let it slowly dissolve.” She showed them by unwrapping hers and placing the yellow candy on her tongue.
The kids all did the same. Their expressions went wide as the sweet began to dissolve slowly, giving them a jolt of sugar. They saw all the magi putting small pieces of waxed paper away, too.
“Now, everyone, first stance,” Clover said as she moved to the middle of the garden.
Once everyone was set, she led them through the Peaceful Fist.
~*~*~
Gregory had Elsa and Enzo facing off to demonstrate what he’d been showing them. The children had had trouble with the Peaceful Fist, and they were still fidgety as they watched the demonstration.
Note to self: give them the candy when we leave next time, Gregory thought as he watched Elsa reverse Enzo’s grapple, then flip him. “Break.”
Elsa backed up, and bowed. Enzo grunted as he got to his feet, adjusted his gi, and bowed back.
“Elsa, what happened?” Gregory asked.
“I reacted, Sensei. Sorry,” Elsa said, her cheeks pink. “When his balance broke, I moved on reflex.”
“Enzo?” Gregory asked.
“I didn’t set before attempting the move, Sensei. She reversed and threw me before I was aware of it.”
“Which would be fine, if not for the fact we are demonstrating a move for them. Elsa did the right thing if this had been a match or a real fight. Do you see why we drill the basics into you?” His question was directed at the children.
“Yes, sir,” they replied.
“Okay, let’s try it again. Enzo, you’re still the attacker.”
After a few more rounds, Gregory stepped in. “Elsa, it’s time. Thank you for helping.” He bowed slightly to her.
Elsa’s face lit up and she bowed back formally. “It is my pleasure, Sensei.”
Once she was gone, Gregory looked at Enzo. “One at a time, you’ll be letting them practice those moves on you, except for our youngest.” Gregory turned to the two youngest— one boy and one girl. “I’m going to have you work on what you’ve already been working on.” He saw their disappointment and he shook his head. “No, it’s not bad. I’m going to have you two lightly spar with each other, and I will adjudicate the matches.”
The two younger kids beamed and got to their feet.
“Far side of the room,” Gregory said. “Come on.”
~*~*~
Gregory exhaled as he took a seat between Yukiko and Jenn. “How was training?”
“Good. Clover and Ling are coming along,” Jenn said, giving the other apprentices a smile.
“We’re doing our best,” Ling said. “The novices beat us repeatedly time and again.”
“You both won your fair share,” Yukiko said. “They trained harder and longer than you have, but you’re coming along quickly. If we get another week of group fighting again, I’m thinking we might give you both crossbows to use. It’ll keep you farther back from the others. Maybe that will help.”
“Anything we can do to help would be good,” Clover nodded.
“What about the children?” Yukiko asked.
Gregory gave them a synopsis of how the kids had done. By the time he’d finished, Baylyss and Elsa were coming into the room with a cart.
“Dinner,” Baylyss announced. “Chicken and dumpling soup. I also have some bane fowl that I grilled on the side for you, magi. It’s not as much aether as you’re used to, but every little bit is good.”
“We also have a loaf of fresh, buttered garlic bread,” Elsa added. “There’s enough for everyone to have a single slice.” She was looking at the other children when she said it.
A few looked away from her, clearly having been chastised about taking more bread before.
“We hope you enjoy,” Baylyss finished, ladling soup from the pot into bowls and passing them out.
While Baylyss did that, Elsa served the magi the side dishes of bane fowl, then made sure everyone had a single thick slice of garlic bread. She took her seat once Baylyss had.
The food was good— it was simple in design, but tasty and filling. Elsa beamed when they praised her work, and Baylyss wore a small smile as she watched Elsa. When the meal was over, Elsa got up and helped Baylyss with collecting the dishes.
“That meal was entirely Elsa’s” Baylyss told the magi as she cleared the table. “I only assisted lightly. So, while I do thank you for the kind words earlier, they all belonged to Elsa.”
Elsa’s face heated when they praised her work again. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“And I will do the cleaning myself,” Baylyss told Elsa. “They are only here for another hour or two, so enjoy the time together.” Turning to the magi, she nodded toward the door. “The game room is ready for you.”
“Thank you, Baylyss,” Yukiko said as she rose to her feet. “Come on, let’s go see what we’ll be playing tonight.”
The children cheered and left the room with her.
Gregory stayed behind so it was just him and Baylyss left in the room. “How’re they doing?”
“Besides the single incident, they’ve been very good. They are still just as focused, and I found someone who can help sharpen Enzo’s talent. She just started coming over in the last month, but she tells me that he is gifted with his art. She thinks she’ll only be able to help him refine his gift, as he is already far past her normal students.”
“Good. Maybe he’ll find that’s his calling. Did he get the copies shipped off?”
“I sent them out a while ago. I didn’t know you wanted to be informed about it. I apologize.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t ask before, and I only just thought about it now. Does he still draw outside of his time being tutored?”
“Yes, he does. He’s done one of each of the children, as they wanted one after you all asked for one,” Baylyss smiled.
“Even Elsa?” Gregory asked.
“Yes, but she asked for one where she was with you and your wives, serving you in a garden.”
Gregory exhaled slowly. “Yeah. She does seem fixated on that goal.”
“But that isn’t a bad thing,” Baylyss said, the dishes finally all collected. She turned to face Gregory. “She truly cares for all of you, and she’d be safe and cared for as a maid to your growing family. If she doesn’t end up as a magi, it gives her a second goal to aim for… Or did you three not wish her to be there with you?”
Gregory frowned as he gave her words thought. “It’s not that. I just worry she’ll blind herself to better opt—”
Baylyss snorted, cutting him off. “What could be better for her?”
“I… don’t know. I just want her to keep her eyes wide open.”
“Gregory, she is, but she’s seen the worst of life. Now, she’s seen what she thinks is the best of life. Unless you three force her away, I believe you’ll be stuck with her.”
“Not stuck with,” Gregory said softly. “She’s a joy. Stuck with sounds like a chore.”
Baylyss smiled. “Well, then, I’d say your roads will come back together when your service to the empire is done.”
“Maybe. Time will tell.”
“It always does,” Baylyss exhaled. “Listen to me prattling on while the children wait for you. Go on. Spend the time you have in joy.”
“I will, but before I do…” Gregory stopped a few feet from her. “Our deepest thanks, Baylyss.” He bowed deeply to her. “For us and them, thank you.”
“You are all welcome. I have found joy this year, and it gives me hope for many more years of exactly this kind of joy. Now, go.”
