Chapter 10 part 1

Shortly after Kalena's first additional training, the whole group started learning the Sekanian language, and less than three days later Madegaldian classes began. Despite these difficulties, the girl did not abandon her idea and trained almost every evening. She even made a special exercise plan, which she followed until the end of her studies.

Then the maths lessons began, which were passionately hated by everyone but Zarkin. He quickly surpassed everyone and was proud of it.

Mizar, the fighting prodigy, could not catch up with him at all and it frustrated him immensely. He once tried to solve the task that Mistress Asanala had assigned to Zarkin, but couldn't get its complexity.

Mizar was increasingly worried about his position in the class. Everything seemed to indicate that the liberated slave had more and more chances to outdo him. An unhealthy rivalry arose between them and later evolved into open resentment.

When Mizar made a mistake during math classes, Zarkin maliciously pointed out everything, thus avenging himself for offenses taken in other lessons. Because of this, solving tasks on a large wooden board became very stressful for Mizar. Master Asanala tried to help him, but in most cases to no avail.

"If you can't imagine numbers, imagine something else," she advised. "You have four bowls and a cauldron of soup in the kitchen. One bowl can be filled with three ladles. Master looked at him." So how many soup ladles will enter four bowls?

"Six," he answered without thinking and glanced at his fingers. "No, actually eight... wait, no!"

Zarkin laughed and put the hand over his mouth. Mizar's cheeks turned red.

"I preferred adding," he excused himself.

"So add it. One bowl is three ladles, the other is the same. Six in total. And you have four bowls, which gives you?"

"Which gives me... ten!"

"What an idiot!"

A subdued giggle could be heard in the room. Mizar turned to Zarkin furiously.

"What did you say about me, you slave scum?"

The blond boy stared at him for a while and smirked.

"I said you're an idiot. Emperor of idiots. You can't add such simple numbers. And you can't even guess.

Asanala did not allow this argument to go further, but later during the break, Mizar and Zarkin fought.

Kalena told Galaspiael about it during the afternoon break, when they sat in the courtyard, by the fountain carved in black stone. For some time they were studying in that place, wanting to take advantage of the last warm days of this year.

"Tell me," her master changed the subject after a moment of silence. "What would you do if you found out that I am doing something illegal?"

Kalena filled her Lik with ink and shrugged.

"Depends on what you mean," she said and glanced at the text she was reading. "No, I'm done! I won't remember that. Tessale may even whip me if he wants, but I can't learn it."

"What is this?"

"History of the Association."

"Why is this difficult for you? Wait until he shows you the Era of Warring Dynasties! I couldn't learn it for eight years, even with the help of royal teachers. But answer my question!" He returned to the previous topic. "How would you react to something illegal?"

"I would have to know first what exactly you are doing. What do you mean by illegal? Are you sneaking out of here at night to cut some innocent man's throat?"

Galaspiael shook his head. Mischievous sparks appeared in his dark brown eyes.

"No, but the Association would condemn me for not sharing this knowledge with everyone. To be honest I was going to do it only later… A few weeks before my last trip to Sekania I bought a crate and inside it found instructions on how to prepare dynamite. It is hard for me to understand Old Madegadish, but this is definitely THE recipe. Probably it's an original copy from the imperial treasury. I have no idea how it got to the Sekanian market. Until now, only in Madegald was dynamite produced, and the preparation was a state secret. Now imagine that someone outside the Empire can recreate dynamite. Do you know what would happen?"

"Not really…"

"Kagolania would become twice as powerful as it is now in a few years!" The glare in his eyes became even more visible, then suddenly went out. "The problem is, the parchment is very old. Some fell apart due to my carelessness. To make matters worse, Old Madegaldish is not my strong point." The prince glanced at two identical-looking girls heading towards them. "Some friends are coming to see you."

Kalena got up sluggishly and went out to meet them.

The girls named Mamina and Nemina were twins. Their mistress, a middle-aged woman, was called Bimiala and taught Sekanian. They were the third time in history when one master had two students under their care. Only Nemina was to join the Association, but her sister followed her. She said they wanted to pretend to be one person, but eventually got caught.

They both looked identical. Oval faces, brown hair cut to the shoulders and large dark brown eyes, but not as large and as dark as Galaspiael's.

When Kalena came closer, they smiled almost simultaneously.

"Hi!" one of them greeted her cheerfully. "Oh dear, look what a pretty dress she has!"

Her sister touched Kalena's sleeve with the finger.

"Silk," she said. "When we become mistresses, we'll also wear silk... the prince is right there, right?"

"It must be him! I am Mamina, and this is Nemina," the girl said to Kalena in an undertone. "But I won't be offended if you say otherwise. Many people confuse us."

"It's a pleasure"

"Yeah, we know. I mean… for us too." Mamina chuckled. "You did beat up Zarkin, right? You must be strong."

"Stupid, of course, she is. Otherwise, he wouldn't train her... Wow, he's so handsome! Shall we come closer?"

"You're crazy! You can't just approach him! What would you say? 'Hi, prince, can I look at you?' This is not a circus animal!"

Hearing it, Galaspiael laughed. Both girls blushed, and Nemina pulled Kalena a little further.

"We just wanted to tell you that we don't believe these rumors that Mizar is telling about you. We know what he is like. Until you beat him up solidly, he will not leave you alone."

Kalena winced at the mention of Mizar.

"I'm glad," she finally answered. "It's good to know that there is someone who wants to hang out with me."

"It's a pity these rumors about you are not true," Nemina said. "You know in the history of the Association, you can find some stories about the affairs of students and masters. It's really romantic!"

"Exactly," Mamina eagerly agreed.

"But I have no affair with the prince," Kalena cut off sharply. "Mizar is talking nonsense."

"Don't worry about, he can't even lie convincingly. But we didn't come here to talk about Mizar. Have you seen the list?"

"Sure she didn't! Today, master Rikken hung a wooden frame in the hall in which our names are ordered from who fights best to the worst."

"And by the worst you mean me?" Kalena did not have to see this list to know that she was last. "I heard he planned to do it. Apparently, this is to motivate us."

"Thanks to this we will know who to fight at the next training. Get ready for the princess's tears!"

"Exactly. If you don't beat her, she'll cry because no one takes her seriously here and she doesn't need a reduced fare at all, and if you win, she'll say you cheated. And that you have to give her a reduced fare sometimes. If it goes on like this, Mizar will start to bully her instead of you. I don't think anyone likes her at all, except for this weirdo Seth. But I don't feel sorry for her. I cried at first lessons too, but I finally got myself together. Even you seem tougher. And she is even worse dumpling than she was!"

Kalena smiled a little hearing the word.

"Who's the dumpling? Galaspiael approached them unnoticed. The sisters looked at him in embarrassment."

"We didn't say that... you had to hear something wrong, master."

"You are hopeless. Come on now!" Mamina pulled her hand and waved goodbye to Kalena. "See you soon!"

"You scare everyone away from me, that's why I don't have friends." She whispered jokingly to Galaspiael, but he didn't answer. Someone she had never seen before was coming towards them. The man certainly wasn't from Yagn-Sho, but he seemed to belong to the Association because he was allowed inside.

"Do you know him?" She asked, noticing the prince's expression changed. "Who is this?"

"A messenger," he replied through gritted teeth. "Looks like my fiancee has arrived."

The stranger came to them and knelt before Galaspiael.

"Good afternoon my lord." His voice was clear but he didn't speak loudly. "Her Highness princess Lin-Si has arrived and is waiting for you in the palace."

"Stand up," Galaspiael replied. "is it serious or just an ordinary visit?"

"My lady told me that she wants to discuss with you my lord something extremely urgent. You set the date of the meeting for today as it was the most appropriate time for you."

It was only then that Kalena noticed how stupid it sounds to repeat "my lord" all the time. She remembered well that she had once put this word into everything she said.

"I arranged the meeting for today?" The boy hit himself in the forehead. "Great ancestors, I did! I completely forgot! You're coming with me!" It sounded more like an order than a request. She was surprised that he was speaking to her in such a tone. "You haven't been in the inner circle yet."

"Well, I haven't…"

"Thank you for the information," Galaspiael said back to the messenger. "You can leave. We will arrive soon, we have to saddle the horses. But it won't take long," he added, seeing that this man did not like the idea of passing on unsatisfactory messages to the princess.

*

Since Kalena had never ridden a horse in her life, Galaspiael advised that they would both ride on one.

She was sitting back, embracing him with her arms. Deep down, she didn't want to go to the palace. She didn't know how Galaspiael had justified her absence from class, but apparently, he was convincing enough that Rikken agreed to her departure.

"Is the palace is very big?" the girl asked, moving closer. "I don't want to get lost."

"Well, it's bigger than Yagn-Sho, but even if you get lost, you can quickly come across someone and ask for directions. When we stay there, you'll forget what the world looks like."

"I don't understand..."

"Kagolania was rebuilt after the war. The whole kingdom was involved in this process. You can easily discover cities built after the war because they have circles. Higher circle, for the ruler and aristocrats and lower for... well for the rest of the people. This was to prevent the spread of disease and fulfilled its function quite well, but this solution also has drawbacks. You are closed all the time. The walls block your view, and when you cannot see the lower circles, you can forget that poverty exists at all."

"What is this serious matter she wants to talk to you about?"

"Probably about a list of dishes for a wedding. Or she will start complaining that the ballroom is too small. But maybe she told her father about my plan..."

Unfortunately, Kalena did not find out what plan, because Galaspiael bucked the horse and they headed towards the city.

The lower circle, intended for ordinary people, was exactly as Kalena remembered. Some houses were owned by wealthier people. Like Galaspiael's house. He was rich, yet he lived in the lower circle.

It was only when the gates of the main circle were opened to them that Kalena realized that she had never really seen real wealth in her life.

The palace, located in the middle of the circle, was visible from almost anywhere. Six floors high, and so wide that it was impossible to see its end. Each floor had its decorative roof covered with ceramics. The light reflected off the white walls, forcing the girl to close her eyes. She suddenly felt very small and null. Radiating dignity and majesty of this place intimidated her.

The guards opened a huge gate in which even five riders at once could fit. When they entered the courtyard, the prince jumped off his horse and glanced at Kalena briefly.

"Quite impressive, right?"

The girl just nodded for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

"I've never seen a building so big! An amazingly beautiful place."

"That's why it's so dangerous to stay here for a long time. You get the impression that the whole world is clean and beautiful, and all roads are paved with marble... Now listen carefully. Samin is a Scribe, so we don't have to hide from him that you are my student. But don't mention it to anyone else, do you understand?!"

"I do." The sudden sharp tone, for the second time, surprised her. "I can hold my tongue."

Samin was waiting outside. He smiled, but his eyes were strict and serious. He looked very young, but as it turned out later, he was ten years older than Galaspiael. Tall blond with light blue eyes, at which even the prince looked average, impressed Kalena.

"Do I have to tell you how late you are?" He asked, shaking his head in disapproval.

"I know," Galaspiael replied, helping Kalena get off the horse. "I was supposed to arrive in the morning. I forgot. Where's Lin?"

"In the guest-chamber," he replied. "She's waiting for an hour. I don't ask you to fall in love with her, but with this behavior, you show her explicit disregard. She is your bride and future queen! This could be treated as an international scandal!"

"But it won't be" The prince pulled Kalena slightly to his side. "Get to know each other. Samin, this is the talented apprentice of mine I wrote to you about, Kalena. Kalena, this handsome man is Samin, our great regent. He replaces my father in governing the country and raising me."

"At least in the first case I manage to succeed because if I ruled the same way as I am raising you, we would have been under the Sekanian occupation for a long time. On all your ancestors, you're already nineteen, behave like a grown man!"