Working Hard

Rikkard sat down criss-cross in the open field. The grass tickled his arms and the wind kissed his face as he tried to focus on the amber stone in his right hand. He took a deep breath as all the thoughts that plagued his mind gently faded away. He was one with the world and the world was one with him. Nothing could disturb such a connection…

…Or at least that's what he wanted to say, but it's hard to concentrate when you have someone breathing down his neck. Murlith was close by, notepad in hand, ready to jot down anything noticeably changes. His eyes were like a hawk, watching and jumping at the slightest twitch Rikkard made, deflating once he realized that it was nothing.

Rikkard sighed, took another deep breath, and concentrated on himself. He was told to concentrate on gathering the KR in the air or something. The amber stone he was holding was supposed to work as a focal point and would glow bright orange once there was enough KR stored within.

Right now, it was still dull and lifeless. He closed his eyes and looked deeper at the world, for something that couldn't be seen with the naked eye alone. Something is hidden within another form of energy. Something like the…. Sunlight?

He squinted as he turn his attention towards the sun, which was much higher than it was before. The skies were clear and cloudless as the sunlight came down in hot waves. A single drop of sweat trickled down his face as he sat in the middle of the exposed field.

Using all of his senses, excluding sight, he honed in on the light. It was hot, yes. Bright, without a doubt. But there must be something else to it. Something… like that!

As Rikkard focused on the light, he felt something fuzzy and soft hit his arms. It was like being wrapped in a freshly made blanket, knitted with a material that was not almost unnatural to the touch. And yet, strangely, it felt familiar. Almost on pure instinct, he moved the soft aura around him towards the orange rock.

Behind him, he heard Murlith loudly gasp and scribble away. Once Rikkard opened his eyes, he flinched at the bright light in front of him. Peering through the cracks of his fingers, he saw that the brilliant ray of light was coming from the stone that was in his hand. Before he could say anything, the light was snuffed out like a lit candle.

He stared in awe at the dead stone. It glowed! He was able to use the KR! Excited by this achievement, he turned over to Murlith, who was still jotting into his notepad.

"Murlith, did you see that? I got it on the first try!" Rikkard gloated.

"Yeah…" Murlith faintly responded. His brows furrowed down as his eyes moved up and down the page. With one hand on his mouth and another tapping the page, he softly murmured what he wrote to himself.

"Is something wrong?" Rikkard asked concerned.

"Nothing. It's nothing. It's just…" Murlith heavily inhaled and exhaled, "Have you ever used your PT before? Like unconsciously or anything?"

"No? This is my first time hearing about this stuff. Why? Is something wrong?"

Murlith didn't answer. He briefly fumbled through his pockets for something. Once he found it, he waved Rikkard to pass him the amber stone and gave him 2 different stones. This one was clear and spherical shaped, similar to the oval and cloudy shape of the amber stone. The other was a deep blue and more crystalline-like diamond

"Now, I want you to squeeze those stones a bit," Murlith ordered. The concerned gaze in his eyes had Rikkard on edge, but he complied. He took a small squeeze of the stones and stared at it.

Barely anything happened with the blue crystal. It changed it seemed to get a little lighter but returned to its dark color. Murlith breathed out a sigh of relief and gave subtle nods, almost like he was expecting. They moved on to the second crystal.

Slowly, the clear color was filled with a dark, gray murky cloud. Rikkard looked back at Murlith, whose crimson eyes were wide and full of confusion. He even rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Rikkard." Murlith coldly asked. He placed one hand on his shoulder, forcing Rikkard to look at him. His face was smiling but his eyes burned with a seriousness that made even Rikkard flinch. "Be completely honest with me. No lies. Are you 100% sure that you've never used your PT before? Even on accident?"

Rikkard gulped. "No. I have never used my PT before, accidentally or otherwise." Rikkard responded. Murlith scanned Rikkard, looking for any signs of lying. Once he was sure that he telling the truth, he nodded his head patted Rikkard on the back.

"I believe you but I'm very confused. These stones are used to measure one's level of mastery, or precisely, one's step," He pointed to the blue crystal. "This one says that you're a complete novice, beginner of beginners, at whatever step you at. That was to be expected." He pointed to the other one. "This one reads the highest step you've ever reached. But it's not possible." He covered his mouth in utter disbelief.

"What is? What's not possible?"

"It says here that you've been to the 3rd step of power."

"The 3rd what?"

"It's the-" Murlith broke off, looking behind RIkkard. Following Murlith gaze, Rikkard watched as the captain approached. As she got closer, he saw that she carrying a tray of food. Murlith snatched the stones out of Rikkards hand and quickly tuck them in his pocket. Then, he rose to his feet and saluted the captain.

"Why hello there, Zabeth," Murlith joked with a smirk as he lowered his hand. "Are you in need of my services?"

Zabeth softly chuckled as she walked past Murlith and sat the tray down in the low grass. "I'm afraid not. I actually came over to talk to our new recruit." The captain chuckled.

"Ah, in that case. I'll give you some alone time. I need to check on something anyway." Murlith said as he began to walk back to the camp. Before he left, he gave patted his red coat's pocket, placed a finger on his lips, and shook his head a little. The serious look briefly returned in his eyes as he glanced between the captain and Rikkard.

Looking down at the tray, he could see that there was a large bowl of soup. Within, thick chunks of steak, potatoes, and green vegetables hovered on the surface. From the smell alone, Rikkard could tell that this was leagues better than what he was given earlier. The hunger must have been plain to see on his face because the captain had to push the bowl into his hands.

"Go on. I know it must be tiring training with Murlith all day. You have my apologies if he's a handful." Zabeth said with a warm smile. Rikkard hesitantly grabbed the soup and lifted the spoon to his mouth, but paused.

"This isn't another test, is it?" Rikkard wearily asked.

Zabeth flinched as if the words physically hurt her. The light in her eyes waned and her smile quickly wavered, but she collected herself and smiled again.

"No, it's not a test. There will be no more test like that for a while, so you can rest easy now." Zabeth reassured and gestured for Rikkard to continue eating. Still afraid, he slowly put the spoon in his mouth, but quickly disregarded his doubt as soon as the flavor hit his tongue. He almost moaned out loud at the first spoonful. Throwing caution to the wind, he quickly scarfed down the soup.

The captain silently watched Rikkard as he ate. Her eyes glided across his face slowly and gently, tracing the light bruises that covered his neck. Then they dropped to the silver chain around his neck. Rikkard took note of this too and lowered his now-empty bowl.

"Is something wrong?" Rikkard asked.

Zabeth opened her mouth but closed it again. She twirled a blade of grass around her finger while avoiding Rikkard's gaze.

"If you wish to transfer to another squad, I can make arrangements so that it happens immediately. I don't wish for you to be in an uncomfortable place," she sadly said. Rikkard tilted his head in confusion and then remembered what Kalim had said the night before.

"Oh, it's not uncomfortable here. I don't hate you for the test. It's mandatory, right? So, at the end of the day, it wasn't your choice." Rikkard said with a strained smile, which the captain took note of.

"I'm serious here. If you don't want to be here, just say the word."

"I'm also being serious," Rikakrd said. He took a deep breath and tried to mimic the stare that Kalim always gave him when lecturing him. "What's in the past is in the past. What matters is how we carry on into the future," he said in a serious tone similar to Kalim.

Zabeth had a blank expression on her face before bursting into a fit of laughter. Rikkard frowned. " What? Hey! I'm not joking! What's happened has happened!" Rikkard repeated in a serious tone.

However, this only made her laugh harder and fall to her side. She placed a hand on her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

"HA… Wait.. Give me a minute… HAHAHAHA!" she managed out in between her giggles. Rikkard frowned and crossed his arms as he watched the captain squirm in the grass. Once she stopped, she slowly got up and wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Ah, Tell me: Did you just try to lecture me? And on top of that, use a quote?" The captain asked grinning ear to ear.

"…Maybe?"

"HAHAHA! Ah, you're way too young to be lecturing me!" the captain laughed while holding her side. "You've been around Kalim for too long, it's rubbed off on you!" Rikkard ears burned as he forced a smile.

Zabeth smiled warmly at Rikkard. "Well, if you want to stay, I won't stop you. But as long as you're here, remember: you can always count me for anything, ok?"

"Yes-" Rikkard stopped as he remember what the other guards did. He placed two fingers on the opposite shoulder and straighten his back. "Yes, captain."

Zabeth quickly shook her head and held out a hand. "Elizabeth von Greymor. Everyone calls me Zabeth and I encourage others to do the same."

Rikkard shook her hand. "Rikkard Ashfield."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Rikkard Ashfield. Well, I have orders to give. I wish you the best in your training. Also, we're packing up camp in an hour so you best hurry up." She stood and stretched her arms. Before she left, she chuckled to herself and gently ruffled her hand through Rikkard's hair. "I think I'm starting to like you, Rikkard," she beamed. Then, she walked away in cheerful stride.

Rikkard ran his hand through his hair, confused by the ghostly feeling. When was the last time someone rubbed his head like that?