After dinner and the lesson on how to care for the dagger, I went to my room. I didn’t have much other than a down-filled bed and a dresser but it was a luxury that most families in the area didn’t have. It wasn’t that my father was wealthy. I had seen the homes of wealthy people in other cities and even remembered a few from my home country. I couldn’t say my father was rich, we were well off at best. Or my father was. I was just above being a pauper. But I made due by helping out around the village to earn a few plates here and there.

My father did give me a monthly stipend to cover necessities when he was off on business but that had to last until he returned. It taught me the value of money quickly when I nearly starved after his first trip when I didn’t manage my money properly.

He found me wasting away after not having eaten for two full days only to tsk and tell me I failed his test. From then on I squirreled away any spare plate I earned. Which wasn’t a whole lot, and the majority of my plates went into preparing for my journey.

I needed food, a bedroll, backpack, sword, shield, and armor. Other than the food and bedroll, everything else was quite expensive. A good travel backpack was designed to last a lifetime, and the price reflected that. Thankfully my father purchased one for me a few years prior when I joined him on one of his business trips.

I already had the sword so now I was left with getting some boiled leather armor and a shield. I took out the box from under my bed and opened the lid. The box held all my worldly wealth, which amounted to less than two hundred plates. I sighed and pulled out my pouch, removing two of my ten plates and adding them to my savings.

I had tried my best but I was going to come up short on being able to afford both a shield and the armor. With only a few more weeks before I set out I would need to make a choice soon. It took time to craft either and I wanted to leave as soon as I could.

The shield would be nice if I was attacked by bandits but that was assuming they fought with a ceramic blade. It wouldn’t do much against a bow or spear, it was just too small. The armor could easily blunt a spear thrust or even slow a sword strike. But it wouldn’t cover my neck which was a very vulnerable area and was one of the main striking points of the fighting style I had learned. There was no need to stab someone in the heart if you sliced open their artery with a glancing blow.

Not that I had ever seen a bandit or wanted to find myself in the situation where I had to fight for my life. But it was inevitable considering my career path. Mentally I had come to terms with killing another human being if I had to but there was convincing yourself you would be fine with the act and the actual act and I knew that. It was the same when I first hunted. I cried for days over killing a rabbit. It was another attempt from my father to show how unprepared I was for becoming a Chosen. The anger over that betrayal had driven away my sadness over killing that rabbit.

I eventually fell asleep as my mind finally stopped bringing up all my insecurities and worries.

***

“Bakus! About time you get here. I believe you are nearly the last to arrive.”

“Sorry, Gan, I had to see my father off.”

Gan had his typical short haircut but he was wearing black cotton pants and a blue silk shirt with the laces at the top undone. I had been with him when he purchased the outfit but this was the first time I had seen him in it. It was a bit ridiculous, made even more so as he stood next to me in my tan pants and white dress shirt.

Gan nodded, “off on another business trip?. Well, that’s fine, come in and greet everyone, this is a party for me as much as it is for you.” My friend clasped me around the shoulder with a wide smile as he led me into his family's courtyard.

I didn’t know why he would say his coming-of-age party was for me as well. I still had a few weeks to go before I turned fifteen. But Gan was a bit excentric so I just went with it.

His family's house was a bit on the garish side. Gan’s father loved a particular shade of green and used it to plaster his company name on everything. To the point that the inner wall of his family's courtyard was painted in the same color.

I didn’t see his parents, which was probably for the best. They never much liked me, which was why we trained at my father’s house even though my father hated me sparring.

Gan walked me around and introduced me to the guests. Despite having lived in the city most of my life, I didn’t really socialize with many people my age anymore. Not that I was anti-social, I found that most people had ulterior motives to get to know me and I didn’t care for that.

“Oh, your father is a merchant… do you think you could introduce me to him?” Was the usual question for the slightly older kids or those who recently passed into adulthood. Those looking to get a head start in their adult lives or just get away from the village.

Gan hadn’t ever been like that, which is why I liked him so much. I first met him when my father came by Gan’s parent’s home to discuss a business arrangement. We just kind of hit it off from there. As for why his parents didn’t like me, I figured it was because of their failed attempt to get him in my pants and get a closer relationship with my father that way. I couldn’t fault him for his parent’s schemes.

“Bakus, have you met the lovely Chian?” I turned to see a smaller girl, she couldn’t have been older than twelve. She was quite pretty, with a darker cream complexion and long brown hair. It was clear to see this young lady had never done manual labor in her life.

“No… I am honored to make your acquaintance,” I replied awkwardly, offering a quick bow and my hand, not really sure how I should introduce myself.

I heard her giggle as she curtsied and accepted my calloused hand with her dainty fingers. I looked sidelong at Gan, unsure of what he was up to. But the twinkling gleam in his eye told me nothing good.

“Gan has told me so much about you and your practice together. He promised us a demonstration tonight and while the thought of bloodshed turns my stomach. I still find myself curious to witness this swordplay he goes on and on about.”

Ah… so he was trying to court the lovely younger woman and needed my help to make him stand out in her eyes.

“Well, I am a middling talent at best, but Gan here,” I slapped him hard on the shoulder, eliciting a muffled grunt as I smiled warmly at the lovely girl, “is a far superior swordsman.”

“You are too kind, Bakus,” Gan replied as he slid away from my grip on his shoulder and sidled in next to Chian. “But let’s leave the demonstration for later, shall we,” the man gave me a thankful nod as he led the girl off to chat.

I quietly shook my head as he walked away. I just couldn’t bring myself to understand why anyone would spend three years courting a possible suitor. Sure she was pretty but there were other pretty women in the village. Some even at a marriageable age. Heck, half of them were probably at this party.

I spotted three other men I knew but weren’t really close with. They were cutting across the courtyard toward me. A taller brick of a man waved, but the leader slapped his hand down and glared at the man before turning back toward me with an aloof expression, his dirty blonde ponytail whipping around. His expression looked like he was trying to hold in a particularly dangerous fart. I coughed to hide the chuckle that threatened to slip out at the thought.

“Bakus, how fine of you to join the festivities. I would have figured your father would lock you away while he was off on business.”

“Cordus,” I replied dryly.

This was one of the boys who had tried to weasel his way into my father’s good graces when we were younger. I never really liked him, even before that. He somehow thought he was better than everyone else because his father was a town guard. He also had a perpetual expression of superiority on his pinched face.

“I guess my father just has more faith in my abilities than some fathers.” I watched as the boy bristled at my words. It wasn't my fault his father tanned his hide after he caught Cordus with a girl below the age of adulthood.

It wouldn’t have been such a big deal but Cordus was sixteen at the time and an adult so he was expected to act like one. So to have his father tan his hide like a spoiled child after being caught in the act was the height of embarrassment. Acts that could be overlooked as a curious minor could not be as an adult and Cordus got off lucky. Castration was the normal penalty for an offense like that, even if the other girl was willing.

Cordus’s shadow Fenton, snickered, earning him a slap upside the head from Cordus. I winced at Fenton’s plight. The large tanned man was older than Cordus by about a year but he had the mental capacity of a ten-year-old and Cordus took full advantage of this. “You best watch that sharp tongue of yours, Bakus. You won't be able to hide behind the veil of childhood much longer.”

I wanted to laugh at the threat, partially because the guy was half a head shorter than me and it made it rather amusing but I managed to suppress my desire. It certainly wasn’t because I feared the older boy.

The trio turned and walked away, the last boy just giving me a cold glare. This was the man that gave me pause. I didn’t know much about Domini other than he was a ruffian, everything about him spoke of barely restrained anger. He had the predatory movements of a cat and was wiry. He reminded me of my swordsmanship instructor, only with black hair. Cordus kept him around to deal with issues that he didn’t want to get his hands dirty dealing with. I wouldn’t put it past Domini to stab someone in the back for the fun of it.

Despite that, I didn’t give Cordus’s threat much weight. Sure if his goons caught me in a dark alley, they would beat me black and blue, but even Cordus wasn’t dumb enough to commit grievous injury or worse, murder. Even his guardsman father couldn’t sweep something like that under the rug. Plus I only had a few more weeks of having to deal with this town’s small-minded people before I was free.

I made my way over to a table filled with finger foods and accepted a drink from one of the servers. I wasn’t much interested in dancing and socializing. I found pretending to care and indulging in inane chatter to be a waste of effort. I still made an attempt to be civil though as it never hurt to be nice but I understood that my standoffish behavior could come off as rude.

As I ate my food, I scanned the party for faces I recognized. There were a few I knew. But I quickly realized I wouldn’t miss any of them. Not really. Having decided what course I wanted to take as an adult long ago, I had slowly stopped interacting with my childhood friends. Which was thankfully few. I only maintained my friendship with Gan because… well, there were a few reasons.

I sipped on the drink in my other hand, wincing at the bitterness of the yellow beverage. If only sugar wasn’t so hard to come by around here. A little bit of any sweetener would have made the drink so much better.

As I set my glass down, I noticed Gan coming back empty-handed and raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?”

“She’s a bit young don’t you think?”

“Who, Chian? She’s almost fourteen. But don’t worry, I’m not an idiot like Cordus, I can keep it in my pants.” I was surprised at her age. She had probably been in our school classroom but for the life of me, I couldn’t recall her. I shrugged it off, it wasn’t unheard of for people to move into town.

I just shrugged, silently wishing him the best of luck on that front.

“Why are you over here by yourself anyway? I would think you would like to mingle and maybe find a lovely lady to take home for the night,” he jokingly said as he elbowed me in the rib.

I winced and rubbed at the spot where he poked me with his bony elbow. “As fun as that sounds, I don’t want to get attached to anyone if I’m just going to leave in a few weeks.”

“Hmmm.. probably for the best,” Gan replied over a mouthful of food.

I chuckled, “at least swallow your food before you talk. Oh, you’ll never believe what that idiot Cordus said to me. He threatened to have me beat if I didn’t step into line after my coming of age. Although, he used more flowery language. As if I gave two plates what that pompous fool thinks. Why did you invite that insufferable idiot anyway?”

Gan washed his food down by emptying an entire glass of the bitter beverage before replying. “My parents invited him,” he shrugged, “won’t Cordus be surprised when he learns you’re already gone.”

I nodded, enjoying the company of my friend at his party. I wanted to remember this moment so I made a concentrated effort to take everything in. The smells, the laughter, the joy on my friend's face, even the lute player. It was the one moment that made me second guess my choice to leave. But only for a moment.

The night continued and I watched from the sidelines for most of it. But I still enjoyed the party, especially watching Gan and Chian laugh as they danced. It was a silly impromptu thing but everyone seemed to enjoy the spectacle as most people joined in. As the evening got closer to the end, Gan and I had our duel. I of course lost. I couldn’t make him look bad in front of his love interest. But I did make him work for it. All-in-all it was a wonderful night. One that Gan put his all into because he knew I wouldn’t be celebrating my coming of age day. I couldn’t ask for a more wonderful friend and I would miss him dearly.