Days as Trainee

Now, here comes the long days that spanned my life as an assassin trainee.

Frankly, it was mostly repetitive. I would train my body from the first signs of morning until the sun had fully awoken. In the afternoons, I would study with the other trainees. I would eat a meager meal and live a simple life. Ever since I had agreed to Eva's invitation, we had signed a small contract. I would try it out, and I would even live temporarily inside the Order, but I won't be forced to undergo the inauguration unless I truly wanted to.

"You seem to be keeping at it," Zepherin called out from behind me. I finished my morning training by landing a particularly heavy punch at the combat dummy. It released a puff of dust but didn't break apart.

I panted a little as I turned towards her. It was slow, but she was gradually getting closer to me. She probably still didn't forgive me for my harsh words at that time, but I suppose she could still tolerate my presence. After all, Eva also oversaw my own training.

"How's life as an apprentice?" I asked, wiping at my sweat with a towel.

"... Stupid," she murmured, acting not very much like the energetic girl I had first met in the corridors. Looking away, she spat out, "The others seem to like me, but I could sense their anger. After all, I did steal away the head assassin from her duties."

I have heard about that rumor. It seems that if a trainee would be inaugurated by the head assassin himself, the head would have to step down temporarily in order to train the child seriously. It was a great honor for a trainee to have the head as his mentor, but... It couldn't be helped if there were negative reactions, as well. After all, the empty seat of power would only cause internal chaos.

I stared at the white-haired girl. In the two months I have been training here, the girl had slowly become reclusive. She had contained her messy hair into a neater high bun. Her cheeks lost the few soft touches of youth, and even her body turned more muscular. She was still very much a small child, but all of her original energy had disappeared, and a serious aura had enveloped her.

"... Are you really alright, Zepherin?" I cautiously asked. "I mean, I know you're trying your best to hasten your time as an apprentice so Eva could return as head, but... it's not okay to overdo it, either."

She glared at me. "Are you suggesting I am weak, trainee?"

I flinched at her obvious portrayal of power. I sighed. "No, of course not, apprentice assassin. I only mean that there are right times for certain things, and I believe it would be best if your training wasn't too hastened."

"Ha!" She stomped her foot in anger. "I think that's just the very case!"

I sighed inwardly, thinking, 'What a child... I was only worried for her health.'

"What is this?" I heard a deep, womanly voice call out to us from the hall. Eva soon came into sight, wearing a plain, white dress that she could never be able to wear if she was still the head assassin. With her violet hair held up elegantly, she looked much like a very young woman. She looked at us both in quick succession. "Are my trainee and apprentice having a quibble?"

I bowed. "No, head assassin. It seems like we simply had a misunderstanding."

"What?" Zepherin countered. "To me, it was very clear. Mentor, this child has been belittling me; telling me I was too hasty with my training or whatnot!"

I huffed before slowly straightening up again. Eva looked at us curiously. I muttered, "As I've said, head assassin: a misunderstanding."

Eva hummed a bit, which only succeeded to annoy the only child in the room. Finally, Eva said, "Well, we don't have time for this. Zeph, Assassin Vincentus has requested for your presence in the labs. I believe you might only be 12 minutes late if you start running now."

Zepherin looked pale at her mentor's words, but only nodded slowly. She was soon gone and left only the settling dust in her wake. I wondered when I could start moving like that too...

"You must be envying the strength of that child," Eva observed. Standing together, I realized she was only a few inches taller than me.

I let out a breath. "How could I not? We are both born on the same year, and yet I am considerably weaker than her."

"Well, you're only two months in your training," Eva mumbled.

"I heard Zepherin finished her training in three..." I softly said.

Eva laughed at that. "Well, you aren't that far off as well. In fact, I came here to tell you that you're ready for the next phase in training."

My eyes widened, and I broke into a smile. "Really? Can I really start training as an assassin?"

All the training I had been doing was simple combat training, which only changed from my normal routine because this time, I wasn't allowed to use notes. On the other hand, my studies have literally been a breeze to me since it was all about history and geography. Although we did tackle on other countries from across the seas, I didn't have much trouble in learning those new pieces of information. In fact, I could even say that I relished in learning about these new things. Slowly, my knowledge of the world has started to encompass a much wider scope.

"Well, I wouldn't say you will be officially training as an assassin, as that will come when you become an apprentice-"

"If I become an apprentice," I corrected her calmly.

"Yes, yes... If you become an apprentice," she nodded. "But, for now, you will have additional lessons. The basic history of the Order, and also... dark magic."

"... Dark magic?" I repeated. I have heard her say that just before I had fallen unconscious during the ceremony, but I wasn't too sure what it really was.

"Truthfully, most trainees wouldn't be taught about this at all," Eva said, and then looked at me with her slit-like, purple eyes. "Yet, you are a special case. Your constitution seems to be a tad bit more sensitive to dark magic, hence your reaction to our ceremonial practices. Although you aren't that exposed to dark magic in a regular basis, I deemed it wise to have you taught the very basics just so you could get used to it."

I nodded my head, although I still didn't know what dark magic even was.

"Hmm..." Eva muttered as she stared at me. "I do am curious, though. Princess, since you are six right now, I would believe that you have already undergone the Saulian children's ceremony?"

"I have," I affirmed with a nod.

"Then, might I ask what was the results from the Orb of Light?" she asked, a glitter sparkling in her eyes.

"Uh..." I hesitated, knowing my own results weren't normal at all. However, I didn't think it was something to hide from the assassin, especially since this might involve my own health and safety. "I believe they had ranked me as a five-star mage..."

"Oho!" Her mouth widened into a perfectly round shape. "Five stars! And here I was simply a four-star mage at your age."

I laughed a bit before shaking my head. "Well, I doubt I would have been as great as you ever were, head assassin."

"Uhmm..." She rubbed at her bare hands. "Well, now it's clear why you had been so sensitive to dark magic... So! I'll be on my way now. The additional lessons will start tomorrow, and I'll have Eleina give you your new schedule by tonight. Head on off to lunch now, princess."

She disappeared before I could even reply.

~~

I walked straight into the study room, already used to the glares the other trainees were giving me.

Sitting down at my usual spot at the far corner of the room, I placed my book and notes onto the table and allowed the bird to hop out of my shoulder and onto the table as well.

I've been too busy to think of a name for it, so I simply called it-

"Birdy." I glared at it. "Don't eat my parchment."

Birdy seemed to have quite an appetite, contrary to what Eva had once told me upon giving it to me. In fact, it seemed to have a wide scope of edible things. Asides from the usual quill ink and parchment paper, it had even taken a liking to eating stone walls. I had even seen him eyeing my own skin, as though my plump little fingers looked like juicy fruit.

I was grateful that I could leave it alone inside my room whenever I did morning training, but it seems like I had to carry it around wherever else I had to go.

"Hey!" I shouted at it. "Quit that! I already fed you minutes ago!"

I struggled with the parchment, which it firmly clamped on with its short, sharp beak. It ripped into two pieces, and the bird got the much larger part. I could only glare at it as it started nibbling at its portion.

"Oh, look at how that Saulian boy can't even train his own pet."

"Right! Who does he think he is, coming here without a formal recommendation."

"I doubt he can even become inaugurated! I doubt he can even survive that long!"

I ignored them, and chose to keep glaring at Birdy, instead. Soon, the teacher: a bored, stout man, bounced inside the room and onto the tiny platform. He started his lesson without even a greeting and order filled the room once more.

I stared at the other trainees. There were only five of us in total. At first there was only four of us, all "boys", but then two weeks ago, a girl joined us as well. The three boys were particularly vocal about their opinions of me, especially after they had heard about me becoming a trainee so easily. They were probably also jealous that my overseer was the High Monk Eva herself.

But, the girl was especially quiet. She doesn't seem that much, but I could feel a sense of danger coming from her than from the other three boys combined. All of them were a few years older than me, so I wasn't too surprised that I was considered as an outsider, because I'm pretty sure I was.

Soon, the teacher had announced for us to write a two-page essay about this week's topic: The Fallen Kingdom of Aerim. It was a nameless kingdom that has once been one of the greatest countries not only in the Aerim Continent, but in the whole world. However, it is now only a vast land of ruins and cursed, black sand. It laid at the East of the Continent and its barren lands encompassed a large quarter of the entire continental area. No one could really survive there, and as for the few adventurers who dared to venture out on its inky black sands... Their short lives have been of use as a warning to all those who would think of trying the feat again.

I could definitely write an excellent essay about it, however...

"You stupid bird," I flicked at the bird's beak softly. "Now I don't even have paper to write on."

It only quacked in denial, staring at me with its dark, beady eyes. I secretly wished I had gotten one of those tame eagles, like the very one one of the boy trainees has as a companion animal. At least it looked regal and actually followed its master's orders...

"Ummm..." a melodious voice called out to me. "You can have these. I have brought some in excess."

I stared at the pieces of clean parchment being handed to me. I gladly took them, and smiled at the generous person. The girl, with her straight black hair and smoothly dark skin much like coffee, blinked her gray eyes at my face and quickly looked bashfully away.

I couldn't really help it, and I muttered under my breath, "So pretty..."

And it seemed like her cheeks might have become a shade bit darker. She pouted and started writing her essay, which reminded me of the mission at hand. I sighed and quickly started to write as well.

About an hour later, the stout teacher had dismissed us and we started to pass our papers one by one. When I stood up to pass mine, one of the boys bumped at my shoulder harshly enough to make a normal child fall. I didn't.

Instead, I walked on as though a fly had just passed by me. I smiled at the teacher, "Here's my essay, teacher."

He only grunted as he accepted my parchment.

"You have neat handwriting," the girl said softly, her words having a certain, intoxicating accent that even made me, a girl, blush.

"Th-Thank you," I muttered. "And, uh, thanks for the paper as well. They seem really well-made and couldn't have been cheap."

The dark skinned girl smiled at me with her wondrously full lips. "Don't worry about it. I have many more back in my room."

"Yeah, in your room..." I uttered incoherently. "I mean, I am still incredibly grateful either way! I-I'm Therion, by the way. That's short for Eleftherion."

"Mmm..." she hummed, and then passed her own papers to the teacher. Even the teacher couldn't escape her charms because he grunted his acknowledgment a little bit louder than normal. She then said to me, "That means 'freedom' where I come from. It suits you."

"Oh!" I exclaimed, shocked that my own name might have a greater meaning and that I hadn't even been aware of it. "Then, might I know what I may call you?"

She smiled, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. She whispered to me quietly after we had walked further away from the others, "I am Leila of Toska."

"Toska?" I whispered back, not knowing if it meant a name of a family or a country.

She smiled mysteriously. "That's all you need to know."

"Ah, right!" The teacher arranged the pieces of parchment into a neat roll. "Starting from now on, both Leila and Eleftherion will be having a different set of schedules from the rest of you. So, don't be surprised if they won't be joining us from time to time."

The boys started to glare at us in shock, to which I only smiled back serenely.

But, as I was enjoying my small moment of victory, I sensed danger coming from right beside me. I flinched back and looked at the slight girl named Leila, and I immediately saw what had made me nervous.

A snake had slithered and coiled around her bare arm, softly hissing at the wind, and then it saw me and started to approach my face as it hung easily in the air. We looked at each other, and its serpentine eyes goaded me forward...

"Asmodeus," Leila called down at it, and it quickly went back to slither underneath her dress. She smiled at me apologetically, "I'm sorry about that. Asmodeus can be a bit too friendly."

"... Friendly, of course," I murmured.

"Well, then it seems we might have a different schedule from tomorrow on," she said in her deeply accented words. "I do hope we get to talk together more."

I nodded my head and made to smile at her. When she offered that we walk together to our rooms, I had reluctantly said yes, but then we had to cancel since Birdy made a fuss whenever we got too close to the girl.

Birds never did like snakes, or maybe it was something else.