18.

Her brother’s screams haunted her and flames sprung up whenever she closed her eyes. Strangely, she didn’t feel the pain of the flames in her dream but she saw the raw pain in her little brother. The fire spread from his feet up to his waist up to his chest up to his face. His arms pressed against the cords strapping him against the grease covered post until the heat caused them to burst and he tumbled forward into the.

Vivian woke. Her mouth felt drier than when she had been put to the torch. Lord Ivory had told her she was now reborn. Like a phoenix. From nothing, rising from the ashes. Reborn a noble. Reborn a Mystic. Reborn. But she could still remember Vivian. The memories remained so vivid. Not the memories of the noble Vivian Topaz, but the memories of simply Vivian. She begged them to leave her alone.

A quivering hand reached out to prop herself up in bed. Her breathing became heavy and her eyes began watering.

A knock at the door broke her thoughts.

“Come in,” she called as she quickly wiped her eyes.

Owan walked in. He looked uncertain about where he currently stood and glanced around as if the room’s setting made him uncomfortable. In his hand he clutched a rolled up piece of parchment.

“I was told you would be prepared at dawn.”

Vivian looked down at herself, wearing only a nightgown, and yelped. She pulled up her blanket to hide herself from his view. She had expected Ida or maybe another woman like Nyx, to be at the door. What man arrived at a lady’s door before the sun was fully up?

“What are you talking about?”

“I am here as a favor to Rin. He gave me your note and insisted I give you an opportunity, but you obviously aren’t intending to take this seriously. Please do not waste my time in the future.” He turned to leave.

“Wait. What note?” Vivian asked.

In response he dropped it on the floor as he walked away.

Vivian dashed over, closed the door behind him in case any serving boys passed by in the halls, and snatched up the note.

I would much like to learn from you and I am aware it is unusual for one of my sex to learn the ways of war, but I believe you have much you could teach me and I am a willing student. Please come to my chambers tomorrow at dawn and I will be fully prepared to go through even the most difficult training you could possibly offer me. –Vivian Topaz

The run-on sentences were scribbled in a looping handwriting which was most definitely not her own. Her own being stark and ugly. She struggled through the words, sounding them out out loud, her tutors’ literacy lessons paying off. She read through the note several times before actually understanding the meaning behind it.

She threw a dress over her head, splashed water on her face from the bowl at her bedside, and scrambled out the door after him. Owen hadn’t made it far, only around a few corners, and it thankfully wasn’t difficult to locate him.

“Wait!” she called after him causing him to pause and glance over his shoulder at her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t prepared on time. Please give me another chance Owen. I won’t let you down again.”

He grunted a response and continued walking. Vivian hesitated, uncertain what the grunt meant, before following cautiously. He never turned or looked at her as he descended down broken stairs outside the library into the city. Vivian had to keep assuring herself that he knew she was there as she trailed behind him through the broken city’s streets. Eventually they came to the stadium where he stopped and pointed towards a half collapsed tower in the distance.

“Run there and come back.”

Vivian watched as he stood there ignoring her. Then, taking a deep breath, she ran. It only took a minute of weaving through the alleys before a cramp stabbed her in the side of her stomach. She gasped for breath and realized suddenly that this was the first time she had run since burning to death half a year ago. Her exercise since then had been things like dance practice, and never anything strenuous enough to break a sweat during. She considered stopping but shook her head, put pressure on the cramp with her left hand, and leaped down some broken stone steps. Running through the pain, Vivian kept her eyes on the ground for the most part to keep herself from slipping on loose rubble that remained scattered on the streets but occasionally glanced towards the half fallen over tower to make certain she remained on course through the winding streets.

Vivian allowed herself a brief break when she reached it, examining it. Even ruined, it stood tall, a notable landmark. The top half seemed to have toppled over and crushed several smaller buildings nearby. She hadn’t a clue what had caused the tower’s collapse but she hoped the city had been abandoned before it fell. Being crushed by a collapsing stone tower would be a horrible way to die.

Taking a breath, ready to return, Vivian turned from the tower and froze. She had been so focused on reaching her objective, she didn’t have any idea about how to get back to Owen. Panicking, she began sprinting in the direction she had just come from. Uncertainly guessing at every fork in the streets, Vivian spent hours jogging around the city. There were several times when she glanced up at the library perched on top of the hill and considered going back.

Finally, she conceded and began to make her way towards it. Every fiber of her being ached and she longed for the time earlier in the day when just one simple cramp stabbed into her side. Then, almost to where the steps back up the side of the hill, she realized something.

Vivian stopped in place for a moment, examining her surroundings. Twice, she had passed through the alley she stood in, the first being weeks ago when she had followed Owen after being given him as her mentor. The second had been when she had come with him earlier that day. She wasn’t completely certain, but she thought she might be able to remember the back to the stadium from here. Her clothing and hair plastered to her body and face from the sweat dripping from her, enough to fill a bucket, she turned her back from the library and dashed back into the city.

The sun had begun falling in the sky but at long last, she turned under an arch and saw Owen at the bottom of the stadium chopping a battle axe into a wooden dummy repetitively.

Vivian collapsed in the stands, the sound of her panting causing Owen to glance up at her. He watched her for a few seconds before setting down his axe and coming up the stairs to her. Owen remained shirtless, coarse black hair covering his chest, but he pulled out a water skin from off his belt and offered it to her. Gulping it gratefully, it soothed her parched throat. Before she realized it, the waterskin became as dry as her throat had been. She attempted to pass it back to him, a little sheepish about the amount she had just taken from him, but he didn’t raise a hand to take the skin back.

“Tomorrow bring your own water,” Owen said.

“Of-of course.” Vivian hesitated. “Did you know I would get lost?”

He grunted, it seemed to be his primary form of communication, and turned away from her. He went back to his axe had fallen in the dirt, hoisting it up with one hand.

Vivian stood, shaking off sudden dizziness, and stepped down into the stadium. “Will you teach me how to fight Owen?”

“Why didn’t you keep going back to the library?”

“What?”

He wheeled around, axe over his shoulder, and examined her. “You came back from the side of the library, not the side you left from, toward the tower. Why did you not finish giving up? I’m going to put you through a lot more physical pain then you’ve gone through just from your short run. Why not just study the Mystic Arte you were gifted?”

Uncertain what to say Vivian stood in place for a minute.

“It wasn’t a gift,” she said. Her words began spilling out in a stream of consciousness. “I had to pay for it. And I never asked for it. I mean, I love being a noble and everything I’ve been given and the kindness people keep showing me but…I don’t want these powers. I want to earn something and not pay for it. Not like I did, anyway. Not pay with everything. Does that make sense? Maybe. I think I turned around because I wanted to earn a skill. I also want to help my friend achieve a goal of his, and the skills you’re able to teach me might be valuable to him.”

Owen grunted and nodded slowly. “You’ll commit?”

Vivian hesitated at the word as a jolt of fright went down her spine but she nodded.

“We’ll see. Be here tomorrow at dawn. Leave.” With that he stopped acknowledging her completely and returned to his routine of hacking with the axe.

Instead of leaving Vivian sat back down in the stands, memorized by the patterns of his slashes into the dummy. The sun finished setting before he set his weapon back into a chest and disassembled the wooden dummy which appeared even worse off than ever. Owen gave her a slight glance as he left but other than that walked past without showing any sign of care for her presence. She kept sitting in the stone seat as the stars rose above her head and stared up at them.

The moon had risen high before she finally made her way back to the library. The only thing keeping the building from appearing as dead as the rest of the city were the flickering torches that lit each of the hallways throughout the library’s first floor. Vivian opened her room and almost fell over as Ida learched up out of bed.

“Lady Vivian. I haven’t seen you all day. I went out this morning to eat breakfast, before making certain yours was properly prepared, but I returned to find you missing. I spent my entire time frightened that you had decided to wander off with the Jet and his companion. Where were you? I can’t believe you were out as late as you were. Why did you not inform me before departing? You’re covered in filth and need a bath immediately.”

“I-I’m sorry Ida. I went out with my tutor Owen. He had me run across the city below the library as some sort of test and I got a bit lost. And…I also lost track of time.” Vivian paused, feeling guilty. “But…that bath does sound nice….”

“I’ll have it drawn up immediately. Lady Vivian, I need to be aware of where you are at all times or else I cannot properly serve. I would greatly appreciate it if you informed me of your plans before you engaged in them.”

“Of course. I’m sorry Ida. I’m still not used to having a servant. I spent years while being raised without one. I’m going out again with Owen at dawn for more training.”

Ida looked disapproving at the last comment. “I will have breakfast prepared accordingly. And remember, you are Lady Topaz and have spent your entire life in the nobility. That other girl is not who you are so please do not act like her.”

With that she slipped out of the room for several minutes before returning with a platter of small sandwiches in hand.

“The water has been drawn,” she said. “And I spoke to some of the night chefs about food and they prepared this quickly for you. I will escort you.”

Vivian went with Ida to a steam filled room where Ida assisted her in discarding her clothing before she dipped into the wonderfully warm water. She nibbled on a sandwich, starved while not the slightest bit hungry at the same time. Her eyelids became heavier and her eyes seemed to stick together a bit longer with every blink. Smiling as she set her head back she felt happy and ready to face tomorrow.