The heart sees better than the eyes
«Hey there,» he suddenly heard, «can you fly at all?»
That's right! Fly! It's smooth and not dangerous.
Cal flew upward with ease, and a few seconds later landed softly in the backyard of his dwelling. Unner and the Head were waiting for him in the room. The apprentice had just brought them food and was gazing admiringly at the huge egg in Cal's hands.
«Wow, so big!» he said enviously and was immediately gently bitten by Yolk, «I was kidding, I was kidding,» he reassured his dragon boy.
«What was he like?» Liam asked with interest.
«Well, he was very, very big,» Cal didn't know how to describe the enormity, especially since His Highness could hear everything.
«May I see it?» The Head asked, and Cal froze in indecision.
«Um, see what, exactly?» He asked again.
«Come here, I'll just watch your memories of the dragon that came out of the lake. I won't peek at anything else.»
Cal blinked, then walked over to the Head and leaned in. Liam put his hands on his head and closed his eyes. At first, nothing happened, then his palms trembled slightly and the Head frowned.
He listened incredulously to his sensations and finally let go of Cal.
«Well?» The worried apprentice asked.
«Nothing,» Head frowned, «I couldn't see anything, it was like someone was blocking me. It's not you, is it?»
«No, I'm not familiar with the technique,» Cal said earnestly.
«Then...» The Head looked at the egg, «you didn't happen to experience anything strange while you were carrying it home, did you?»
Right at that very second Cal felt the egg tense up and get... angry? Oh, no! Not that one. He quickly took the egg in his arms and whispered fondly to it:
«That's him, that's the man...he's good, please don't be angry with him!»
The egg thawed little by little and suddenly it seemed to Cal that it wanted the Head to take it in his hands.
«Excuse me Head,» Cal appealed, «would you please hold this egg in your hands for a little while, it seems to want it that way.»
Cal knew how idiotic that sounded, but he handed Liam the egg anyway. The Head, on the other hand, took it very seriously.
He already suspected that the dragon was very special, and watching the apprentice's behavior, he became more and more convinced of that.
He touched the egg and shuddered slightly.
«Hello Mr. Dragon, I am the Head of the Academy, very pleased to meet you, please be lenient if I have taken any liberties in talking to you,» in front of the astonished Unner, the Head spoke in all seriousness and with great reverence... to the shell.
The egg froze. Cal froze, too, and then involuntarily put his hands on the egg and heard:
«I like him! Definitely a good man, what?! A true source?!»
Cal pulled his hands away and exclaimed:
«How did you know!!!»
And everyone heard it.
At the same time, Mentor and Unner stared at Cal, nailing him with a look. Liam was the first to come to his senses and commanded Leon to put his hands on the egg.
«If he talks to you, don't be afraid, it's a sign of his high birth. We don't know what kind of dragon it is yet, but you have to be respectful anyway. So should you,» the Head turned to Unner.
«So what does your dragon say?» Head asked curiously, «or is it a mystery?»
Legion decided to be sociable:
«Your friend is wounded in the left shoulder by an Ancient Spirit, it was Ors, he takes the guise of whoever he wants, so I was testing you. Your friend reminded me of the Light-bearing Lord, my beloved Master... He is the true source, and you love him more than your life, he is by the way...»
«Don't,» Cal interrupted, «don't tell someone else's things.»
«Understood,» Legion replied.
Liam waited with interest to find out what the dragon in the egg was talking about.
«This venerable said of your injury, and that you were wounded by an Ancient Spirit called Ors, who takes the form of anyone. He also said that you reminded him of the Light-bearing Lord, his beloved Lord ...»
«What did you say?!» The Head stammered.
Cal didn't know what it was that had so caught Liam's fancy, and he was confused.
"If his master is the Light-bearing Lord, that's..." Unner pondered aloud.
«Dai-Kun,» said all three of them, dumbfounded. Cal was the first to come out of his stupor.
«Hey,» he snapped his finger at the eggshell, «lizard, why did you tell me to call you Legion?»
The head frightenedly caught his apprentice's hand and moved it away from the eggshell.
«It is his right. A dragon has the right to choose his name. And the more famous he was, the higher name he could wear. Leon, what's wrong with the name Legion?»
Cal put his hands on the egg again.
«Yes, Leon, what don't you like about my new name? Or is it better to call you Cal?»
«Oh,» Cal jerked his hands away, and he thought the egg was dying of laughter. How fortunate he is to have picked up such an amusing animal.
Their connection seemed to grow because now he could hear Legion's thoughts without even touching the shell.
«I'm tired and want to sleep, put me somewhere quiet,» he heard and rushed to comply.
Creating a silent barrier around the egg, Cal sat down on the floor and stretched out his legs.
«He's like a little kid,» said the Head and patted «father» on the back. Cal said nothing and reached over to the table and took a cold chicken leg. Barely had he sank his teeth into the meat when the door opened from his foot and Nood and Rashid appeared on the threshold.
«Holy shit!» Cal felt a nagging headache. He got up and let the guests inside and closed the door behind them.
«My savvy students have exposed you, Leon,» the Head laughed. While no one was looking, he checked the guests with a «expose» and, after making sure everything was all right, returned to his plate of chicken.
«Oh, somebody's got a rich catch,» remarked Nood.
«You won't believe this, but it's...» Unner began to speak.
«Dai-Kun, we already know. More importantly, the whole Academy knows!»
The head sat down on the bed in terrible alarm. If everyone knows, that means the Elders will soon burst into the room. But the two students beat the teacher to it. They applied to him the same invisibility technique Cal had experienced.
And just in time. As soon as the teacher disappeared, space erupted, and the room was filled with Mentors.
They were looking around in confusion for the «heavenly gifted apprentice. Everyone wanted this treasure as an apprentice and to raise their authority.
Leon wiped his lips, glistening with meat, with his sleeve and stood up to greet the venerable Masters. Everyone clucked at once and began to hand him plaques with their names and invitations to an apprenticeship.
Leon was humble and respectful without arousing suspicion in anyone. The confident Mentors left the room one by one, and then the jealous voice of the invisible Head rang out:
- Leon I forgot to tell you, I accepted you as an apprentice the day before yesterday.
Everyone burst out laughing. The Head was ahead of the game, as usual. Cal was happy. He looked at Unner, Nood, and Rashid and thought that a very good group had gathered. Cal saw his crystal glow. He stepped outside and created a silent barrier.
«I'm listening to you, Fifth.»
«We have learned that the Fourth Elder is returning to the Academy. Though he is not loved there, certain circles support the Elder. Be careful.»
Cal removed the barrier and returned to the room. Nood and Rashid had finished all their food and were looking guiltily at the teacher.
«Actually,» he said, «that was his food,» he nodded at Cal.
«Brother's sorry! We'll bring you food every day! You go into seclusion to await the appearance of your son," they laughed.
«I'll take you at your word. And bring sweet rolls, with cream!» He sternly ordered the brothers and did not notice the Head's gaze flicker to him as he spoke.
At last, the guests were all gone. It wasn't that Cal didn't like the company of other people, but at the moment he was, one, tired, two, had to look after the egg, and three, needed space to think about how to avoid meeting the Fourth and protect Liam.
Suddenly Nood returned and, tossing the bag at Cal, fled silently. He smelled the amazing scent and sank his teeth into the bun.
«Is it good?» Liam asked in a particularly affectionate way.
«Yeah,» Cal turned to him and saw the treacherous wetness of Liam's eyes.
He rushed to him to ask what was wrong, but Liam put his hand out in front of him, stopping his apprentice's impulse. Then he pulled himself together and smiled through his tears.
«May I have one?» he said, extending an open, soft palm like a child.
A fragrant bun with vanilla cream melted in his mouth, and then Cal finally remembered what event that taste was associated with.
He was embarrassed, and that didn't escape the scrutiny of the Head. But even if he had begun to suspect something, he was in no hurry to voice his thoughts. After enjoying his bun, he expressed a desire to go to the bathroom.
With the help of his apprentice, he got up and made his way to the warm room, where hot water was already running. The apprentice had done his best: delicate plum blossoms were floating on the surface of the water.
Stripped down to his underwear, he lowered himself into the warm water and was finally able to relax. Cal was on duty at the bathroom door, ready to come to the rescue at any moment, but after two hours he began to suspect that Liam was asleep.
Cautiously entering the room, he was convinced he was right. Apparently, he was comfortable, but the wound on his shoulder was not supposed to get wet, so the apprentice puzzled over how to get Liam out of the water. Finally, he decided to let the water out of the tub.
Armed with a huge towel, he waited for the water to drain completely and quickly covered the man's still warm body. Carefully twisting the edges, he was able to get him out of the tub and gently carry him to the bed.
Of course, there was still wet underwear, but... Cal looked closely at Liam, trying to figure out how soundly asleep he was.
If he tried to take it off now... and Liam suddenly woke up... everyone would be very uncomfortable. Cal stepped away from the bed and immediately returned.
«It's very unpleasant to sleep in wet underwear,» he thought and hesitated again.
«I'm not getting into it, of course, but if you want to do something indecent that offends your teacher, you'll regret it,» the egg suddenly came to life in his head.
«Well, you're right on time, as always,» Cal got annoyed and gave up trying to do anything about it. He covered Liam with a soft down blanket and went to the bathroom himself.
After locking the door, he finally took off his fake disguise and was able to enjoy the hot water, rinsing his snow-white hair well.
Using some tricks from various techniques, he learned how to dry his royal mane, without which he couldn't imagine himself as a person, in no time.
After bathing, he carefully disguised himself and went to bed. In the middle of the night, the Head suddenly got up and extremely quietly approached the sleeping apprentice.
***
Liam was exhausted from waiting. First, his apprentice took a long bath, and then tossed and turned without sleep. When there was silence in the room, Liam waited a little longer, then got up quietly.
He leaned over, said a few words with only his lips, and moved his hand through the air. The hand trembled. Then with a happy smile, he looked at his student and blinked to wipe away a quick tear.
After giving himself a few more seconds, the Head pulled himself together, waved his hand again, and repeated the words. Then cautiously he returned to his bed and lay awake for a long time with his eyes wide open.
He did not know whether he should reveal the apprentice or whether there was a hidden agenda in this and it would harm him. Nevertheless, his heart fluttered constantly, like tender leaves in the spring sunshine. He wanted to jump and scream with happiness and could hardly contain himself.
Liam couldn't believe that once again there was a man who meant more to him than the whole world. And he cared so much for him, protected him, and behaved respectfully, hiding his identity and background.
Liam immediately realized that his friends, Twelfth and Seventh, were involved and mentally thanked them.
***
In the morning the Head was surprisingly cooperative and absent-minded. He agreed to drink three cups of tea and ate all the sandwiches that were on the table, though there was a portion for two.
Cal was beginning to worry about Liam's mental well-being when he heard the words that shocked him:
«He found out everything,» the egg said.
«What?!», Cal didn't understand.
«You're completely exposed!» Legion repeated.