Ch4-5: Sticks and Stones
“Hey, Wescott!”
Oh no… not them… not now!
Chase’s step faltered at the sound of the snide, familiar voice calling his name. With a spilt-second decision, the boy clutched the folded green cloth in his arms and forced himself to keep walking as if he hadn’t heard.
I have to get Ben’s cloak back to him – I know he’s been waiting on it all day!
This only earned him a sharp, painful crack to the head as one of the other pages let a stone fly from his slingshot. Chase’s vision swam in multi-colored waves as he fought to choke down the cry of pain and hot tears that leapt into his eyes.
“Nice shot, Dival!”The sound of the other boys’ cruel laughter was distant even though they were drawing closer. The next voice that sounded was right next to his ear. Chase bit down on his bottom lip.
I won’t cry… it hurts but I can’t let them see me cry!
“That’ll teach him to ignore us!”
“Yeah, you trying to avoid us, Wescott?”
A pair of hands shoved him roughly backwards. He might have been able to catch himself if his mind wasn’t still reeling from the blow he had just taken. Chase ended up sprawled in the dust, arms still wrapped protectively around the cloak.
“Where have you been for the past two days? Hiding?”
Chase’s eyes cracked open slowly, his vision shimmering into wavery focus. After a few trial blinks, the golden sheen narrowed at the three boys that stood jeering over him.
They were pages who lived in his Quarter. All three were a few years older than Chase, which made them a good bit larger. Their age gave them an edge on physical battle since they had been in sword training longer than he had. Loric, the group’s leader, would soon be old enough to move up in status from a Page to a Squire.
Chase wasn’t the only page they picked on. He was just their favorite target.
The rumors about the strange properties of his golden eyes often left Chase a victim of other people’s disdain. He had no real friends since none of the other pages wanted to be caught talking with him. Loric had made it very plain that anyone who associated with the “freak-boy” would be labeled a freak themselves. Since the rest of the pages didn’t want to give Loric’s group any more reason to pick on them than they already did, none of the other boys associated with Chase except for when they were forced to.
Why… now? Why couldn’t you have waited until I got my cleaning done?
“Yeah, where have you been? We missed your daily contributions to our chore list,” Loric’s fair hair slipped down over his eyes as he leaned forward and sneered in Chase’s face.
“You mean you’ve actually had to do your own work for a change?” Chase quipped back. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to get smart with the other boys. But just as suddenly as the words erupted from his mouth, his heart sank straight into his feet in cold realization.
“Yeah, too bad for you!”
Oh no!
Instantly, Chase found himself being dragged up off his feet by a strong yank on the front of his collar. The boy gave a strangled choke as he attempted to squirm his way out of the rough hold.
No! Not the cloak!
In response, one of the other boys grabbed him from behind. The third page began to grab fistfuls of the green cloak that was still clutched to Chase’s chest, jerking on it so hard that it nearly pulled him back to the ground.
“No! Stoppit! Leave Master’s cloak alone!” Chase grappled with all of his meager strength to keep hold of the heavy material.
“Master, eh? So’s that where you’ve been?” Loric prodded, giving Chase a final shove.
The boy landed backward on the ground, still fighting to hold on to the cloak. A second set of hands caught the material and began to pull it from the other side. Snide laughter rose as they watched Chase scrabbling to keep his claim.
“They’ve assigned you a ward?” Dival chortled.
“Yeah, probably because they saw how badly he sucked at sword practice and realized he’s only worth a servant’s salt!”
“So you’re thinking you’re better than the rest of us because you got yourself a ward, is that it?” Loric grabbed a fistful of Chase’s hair, pulling the boy’s head back roughly. “Let go of that thing!”
“No!”
“I said let go!” he gave Chase’s head another sharp jerk backwards.
“No!” Chase snarled through clenched teeth. “You don’t want me to do that…”
“Really? And why not?”
“If you mess up this cloak, you’ll be really sorry!”
“Oh, yeah? And why’s that?”
“My Master will get angry!”
“Aaaannnd?” one of the other boys snorted.
“Yeah, seriously. I’m reaaaally scared!” Loric laughed out loud, “What are you gonna do? Go tell on us? Make your “master” come beat us up?”
“I don’t have to tell him… he already knows,” Chase’s face grew grave with warning.
“Riiiight! Like I believe that!”
“Heh… he’s so full of it!”
“Yeah, now you know how his eyes got to be that color!”
Loric shoved Chase face-first into the dirt as the whole group guffawed at their cleverness. Where the clean cloak met the ground, the other boys began to stomp on it and smear it into the dust.
When Chase finally found the strength to push himself up, his face grew instantly horrified. A terrible fear gripped at his chest as his fingers clutched even more tightly to the cloth. Staring down at the huge black marks that now marred the deep forest green, the page fought to blink back tears.
“Why did you do that?” he choked. “I tried to tell you—“
“What? That your “master” would come and give us an ass-whoopin?”
“I sure don’t see him anywhere.”
“Hey… look there!” One of the pages pointed, then chortled as the group jerked their heads in the direction indicated. “Oh, wait… that’s just a tree!”
The rest of the boys laughed.
“Corbain, you suck!”
“Yeah man… that wasn’t cool!”
A disparaging look filtered over Chase’s face.
Maybe it’s true…
He coughed, attempting to brush the dirt from his face.
Ben won’t come.
Then he looked at the cloth where it lay crumpled upon the ground.
He is Golbez, after all… I don’t know if he really cares.
Anger and pain began to well up within him.
At least, not until I take the cloak back to him and try to explain what happened.
Anger at Loric and his friends for always picking at him… and for ruining his chance to prove his worth to someone like King Cecil’s brother.
Then I’ll be the one who gets in trouble! I bet Ben will send me away for sure now!
Something about that idea hurt him terribly.
And I didn’t even have a chance to find out why he feels so… familiar…
“Go ahead…” Loric jeered. “Cry, little baby!”
“Cry! Cry! Cry!!” Corbain taunted.
Chase’s eyes narrowed.
I’ll show you cry!
It happened so fast, Chase hardly had a chance to keep up with himself. He was on his feet, more steady in step than he had a right to be, lunging forward at a blinding speed. He had never felt such a strange rush of strength and power. His arm swung forward by instinct.
The sound of a sharp crack echoed off the trees as Chase’s fist slammed straight into Loric’s nose.
The other two boys stared in stunned silence as their leader staggered backward, clutching his nose, streams of crimson seeping out from between his fingers. Chase also stumbled backward, eyes round with shock, his face painted a picture of absolute surprise.
Then he gaped down at his own balled-up fist.
How did I..?
There was no time for questions. As Loric’s eyes shifted in rage, Chase realized his sudden danger.
“You little dog-bastard! You are so dead!”
Chase could feel his breath coming in hoarse rasps of fear. He could hear the other two boys moving in on him from behind.
“When they find you….” Loric took a slow step forward, “You’re gonna be so messed up that they’ll have to send you back to your ‘master’ piece by piece!”
“That won’t be necessary.”
All heads turned at the sound of the cold, raw power. The deep-throated voice resounded into what seemed infinity, causing even Chase’s jaw to drop. The other pages simply stared, frozen.
“B-Ben?!” The choked shock in Chase’s mind faded away as an exhilarated disbelief replaced it.
The big Half-Lunar was leaning casually against the side of the very tree that Corbain had pointed to earlier. Despite the fact that he had discarded his usual attire for a plain set of tunic and slacks, there was still an air of intimidation churning around him. The dapples of sunlight that slipped through the tree’s branches danced in distorted waves as if shying away from falling upon his shoulders. A flicker of disgruntled light illuminated the depths of his green eyes.
“Oh… Shiva!” Dival blinked.
“Who the hell is that?” Loric rasped.
Chase’s head turned in a deliberate manner, a half smile rising to his lips. “My Master.”
As glad as he was to see Ben, the silent anger upon the Lunar’s face troubled the page.
I… wonder what he’s gonna do to them?
Even though Loric’s group was nothing but a bunch bullies, he certainly didn’t want to see Ben get nasty with them. Chase wasn’t sure exactly what sort of things the wizard would do when he really did get nasty.
The page turned a pleading eye upon Ben, his breath coming in shallow gasps.
“Hey there, Chase!” The green eyes flickered to land upon the boy’s face, an almost friendly expression greeting him. There was a deeply knowing look on Ben’s face. So deep that it left Chase taken aback.
The boy bowed his head, his own eyes landing upon the spoiled cloak at his feet.
“Are these children giving you trouble?” Ben’s tone grew mocking in a vague manner.
The Half-Lunar hoisted himself up and slowly made his way towards where the boys were standing. Loric fought unsuccessfully to keep his ground as the other two pages stumbled back. Leaning down, Ben caught the folds of his cloak in one hand and began to fish it out of the dirt.
“What’s becoming of kids these days? They’ve got nothing better to do, I suppose.” A musing expression crossed the wizard’s face as he dropped his gaze upon the three pages, “Maybe I should have a talk with the Headmaster to see that you three are given more things to fill up your time. And to be sure that you are the ones doing your own chores. After all… idle young minds… are such a waste.”
Though the day had been quite still all afternoon, a shifting flower-scented breeze drew past them. With a flick of his wrist, Ben shook out his cloak, dust coloring the air dry. Chase blinked once. Then again. His mouth opened soundlessly. He knew the others behind him had to be doing the same.
Once the dust cleared, Ben cast the cloak over one shoulder. The cloth didn’t so much as have a single speck of dirt on it. In fact, it looked cleaner now than it had been when Chase had fetched it from the laundry.
“Eh…?” Ben arched one eyebrow, running an eye of disapproval over the three pages.
Chase turned to look at them, too. Then he gave a squeaking little choke.
It was as if all the stains and grime that had been inflicted upon Ben’s green cloak had somehow transferred themselves to the three pages’ clothes. It looked like Loric’s group had trudged straight through a mud pit ten times over, and then rolled around in the road-dust that gathered on the streets of Baron.
“That is truly a shame… you boys can’t be seen that way in public!” The big Half-Lunar crossed his arms in front of his chest in a commanding way. Ben ignored the fact that one of the boys looked as if he was about to pass out right there.
Chase couldn’t help the hint of laughter that rose in his throat.
At the sound, Ben turned his own slight smirk on the page. Then gave him a sly wink.
“Take them off,” the wizard’s hand reached out in a demanding manner, pointing out the three pages’ clothes.
“Wha…..?” Loric breathed, face growing pale under the mud splotches.
“You heard me. The royal pages of Baron can’t be seen in such a mortifying state,” Ben’s smirk grew larger. “Take those clothes off! It’s terribly offending!”
The other two boys were gaping.
“And I have to tell you one thing,” the Half-Lunar leaned forward, green eyes glowing slightly in the reflection of sunlight. “You don’t want to offend me.”
Chase bit his lip. He couldn’t decide whether to laugh out loud or feel sorry for the other boys. But it was the funniest thing ever to watch Loric’s group strip down to nothing more than underwear.
“Now fold them up nice and neat…”
The boys did so quickly, shivering as the strange breeze drew about them, brushing past their bare skin.
“I want you to pick them up and carry them all the way back to your quarters.”
Chase’s mouth fell open, thinking about how many people – including all the pages in the Quarters – who would see them. One of the boys began to cry in mortification.
Yeah… it’s your turn!
The Half-Lunar’s smirk grew even wider. “Once you’ve cleaned up, I’ll arrange it so that the Headmaster will have a good many tasks to keep you company for the rest of the night.”
Loric’s face was brilliant crimson. His hands were shaking where they gripped his clothes to his chest.
“Okay, then,” Ben clapped his hands together in a cheerful way. “You’re dismissed!”
Just as the boys turned to dart away, the wizard’s voice rose again, deep with warning.
“Oh, and just in case you’re thinking of doing anything other than what I told you to do…” Ben wrinkled his nose. “I wouldn’t try it. Because I’ll know. Believe me… there are worse things that can happen… much worse…”
Chase watched the mostly-bare backsides of the boys as they retreated into the bushes, running at top speed. Once they were far out of range, one hand flew up to cover his face, laughter finally escaping him.
“I never seen anything soooo funny! That was great..! That was–”
A strange, warm sound shifted at his side, causing Chase to stop with a quick breath. Looking up, he realized that it was the sound of Ben’s laughter. He had never heard Ben laugh before – not so freely.
“Yeah… did you see their faces when I told them to carry their clothes all the way to their rooms?” The wizard’s face was animated with mirth. The Half-Lunar looked like a totally different person when he laughed.
Seeing that Chase had stopped laughing, the Half-Lunar’s expression grew concerned. “What’s… wrong? Did I do something I shouldn’t have?”
“Uh?” the boy shook his head. “N-no… it was just…”
He’s even more familiar when he’s smiling… Why do I keep getting the feeling that I’ve known him before? I wish I could remember…
“They didn’t hurt you did they?” Ben asked.
“No… not really.”
There was a long silence as the breeze flapped through the loose cloth of the green cloak.
Finally Chase lifted his gaze. “Thank you for coming.”
“You didn’t think I would?”
“No one ever has before.”
Ben gave a deep grunt, “You think that I’m gonna let it get around that ‘Master Golbez’ allows his ‘servants’ to get beat up on?”
A quirky smile rose to Chase’s face. “I suppose not?”
Ben’s face broke out in a large lop-sided grin.
With a short pause, the page glanced down, looking at his hand. It was still throbbing from where he had struck Loric earlier. Curiosity tickled the back of his mind.
“Say… Ben?”
“Hun?”
“Was that… you?”
“Was what me?”
Chase lifted his hand to show the Half-Lunar. “You know… when I punched Loric? I’ve never done anything like that before!”
“Is that so? You have good punching form,” the wizard replied drolly.
“But was that something you… er… you know… helped me to do?” the boy’s eyebrows lifted way up.
“Eh?” Ben blinked with a blank, dumb expression on his face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”