Chapter 15 part 1

Time passed quickly and more students began talking about the upcoming exam more and more. Soon half of the training was about to pass and they had to work harder to present the skills acquired throughout the year.

To pass the test, the basics were enough, but Kalena knew that she should not stop there. She needed a few more years of training for her skills to flourish.

No one expected the news that one rainy day reached Yagn-Sho. The Overseas Scribes' Association invited the five best students from Yagn-Sho to their quarters for further training. Everyone reacted to this news with great enthusiasm. The Scribes of At'insha got paid for their work, and their activities were completely public. Therefore, they were very reluctant to accept novices, and the lucky ones knew that dozens of others were waiting to take their place. The trip there was a life chance.

"It's far away," said Umi when everyone met in the evening hall. "But in At'insha they speak a language that is very much like Kagolanian in. Besides, since they earn money, after some time you could bring a family there.

"Isn't it better to start a new family there?" Mizar growled, and after a moment added with a cynical smile: "There is only one problem, even a blind man wouldn't want you. Ever since you started pretending to be a boy you've become awfully ugly..."

"I'm a better boy than you'll ever be," Umi said.

Mizar just snorted and turned ostentatiously. He didn't talk to her anymore.

*

After classes, the students had little free time left, so that they could only use it to study or sleep. No games or entertainment, at least for the next few months before the exam.

Kalena couldn't wait to tell Galaspiael that she was going to do everything to get to the lucky five. The thought of studying in a foreign country consumed her completely. She expected the prince to wholeheartedly support these intentions. His reaction, however, was completely different and hurt her exceptionally.

Galaspiael greeted her with a smile that disappeared from his face, replaced by an expression of complete surprise and disappointment as soon as she shared her idea.

"I don't believe," he said finally, "I thought that you wouldn't believe in this At'insha lie. Must you be so naive?"

All her enthusiasm disappeared immediately. At first, she had no idea how to respond, so she just shrugged.

"I want to keep learning. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Then learn at Yagn-Sho. Do you think that living in a foreign country is easy?"

"Well I realize it will be hard, but if I had to give up just because I would never have started training in the first place," she replied quickly, wanting to defend her decision.

"And even if you'd go to At'insha, then what?" Galaspiael attacked. "Do you have a place to live, the money to spend? You don't think that novices get money straight away, don't you? What if something suddenly happens to you and you won't be able to work for several weeks? Do you even know ANYTHING about this place?"

"I thought you were going to help me..." Kalena realized too late that it was better not to say it. Her master smiled ironically.

"How typical. I could have expected that."

"Expect what? You're acting as I offended you somehow!" She frowned and smirked. "I understand. You're scared by how far I can go. You are afraid that I'll become better than you because you could not go to At'insha  yourself.

Galaspiael laughed and lay down on his bed, propping up on his elbows so that he could see the girl.

"Sorry, but it's just pathetic. If you want to know, I could go, but I gave up. In At'insha you will not share knowledge but store it. You will always be from this worse part of the world. If you want something like that, you can go to Madegald. The Righteous Conspiracy will welcome you with open arms." He turned sideways. "Leave me alone. I have more important things on my mind than dealing with you. It's too much!"

"You are horrible!" She exclaimed with anger and left the room. Tears ran down her cheeks. Galaspiael never behaved in this way towards her.

The girl carefully analyzed all previous week, wondering if she had said or done something that could offend him, but nothing she could remember. It wasn't her fault. He just reacted to her. Suddenly she felt an incredible rage that intensified with each passing moment. She wanted to go back and shout in her face everything she thought about him now. She had already turned back, but Seth interrupted her.

"You seem angry," he began quietly. "What happened?"

"Congratulations on your perceptiveness!" Kalena banged furiously at him but soon realized that she was being busted with an innocent person just like her master. "Sorry"

"That's okay. Can you tell me what happened? Maybe I can help?"

Kalena stopped and clenched her fists tightly.

"If you want, you can try to convince Galaspiael to stop acting like a grumpy prince." She responded calmly, though there was still irritation in her voice.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he just..." She swallowed hard, hoping the tightening in her throat would subside. "He said I shouldn't even try to go to At'insha. He thinks I can't make it, I'll always be worse and I shouldn't try at all. What do you think about that?"

Seth stepped back in confusion and shook his head several times to indicate that he didn't want to get involved. Kalena, however, perceived his reaction quite differently.

"Well, go on! Say it! I have already heard a lot today, it won't make a difference to me!"

"Gods! I don't want to argue with you" Seth assured, "but you should think about whether you are asking your master to express his ideas or to support yours."

"I didn't ask him for an opinion." Kalena knew that this statement was not entirely true, so she added: "I wanted support, not evaluation. What master behaves like this towards a student anyway?!"

"The master should not applaud everything that the student wants to do. Maybe he has a reason to act like that?"

"He kept telling me before, that I am free and I could do what I like. And when I made my own decision for the first time, it turns out that freedom is not about it."

Kalena turned and walked quickly, but after a while, she realized that Seth was following her.

"What do you want?"

"I can help you feel better," he said with a mysterious smile. "Come with me. I have an idea, but we need to gather a few more people to succeed."

*

In the evening a group consisting of Seth, Kalena, Zarkin, Mizar, and Jin-Si discussed the plan to visit the Forbidden Zone on their own.

Seth came up with this idea as soon as they returned from training. He couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious ghost, and the temptation to return to the abandoned city grew stronger day by day. In his dreams, he saw the creature walking in front of him and turning away from time to time as if to check if the boy would follow.

Finally, he began to persuade others to come back with him.

"In such a large group nothing will happen to us" he assured "if I wanted to go alone, it is different. Maybe we will find something valuable. Don't you think that would be fascinating?"

Some students disagreed with him, but a few agreed with this idea. Those willing to go on the trip appeared at midnight, in front of the training room, which was a meeting place.

"Did somebody see you?" Zarkin looked at everyone and, without waiting for an answer, handed them over the lantern. "We don't want more trouble than it's all worth."

"Masters have been sleeping for a long time, nobody noticed us. I can't see your pet anywhere, won't she come with us?" Mizar asked.

"I didn't know you have any pet," Kalena asked. "What?"

"You don't know? Zarkin has a slave named Mei." After these words, Mizar turned his face towards the blonde boy. "I am not surprised that you did not tell her, I heard that His Highness is about to completely ban slavery."

Kalena froze. One word buzzed in her ears all the time.

"This new girl is your slave? Don't tell me you..."

"What?" He picked up. "Almost everyone has a slave. The law does not prohibit it, at least for now. And by the time it is introduced, I will be able to move to Sekania, or even further."

"You probably forgot that you were a slave recently! You condemn her to such a fate…"Kalena felt a desire to hit him. "You are heartless!"

"If you want to know, she decided to stay with me. Actually, her presence is distracting, but if she wants, I can't help it."

"Do you think I'll believe you?"

"Believe what you want, you asked me and I answered you."

"Okay! We don't have much time, it's better not to waste it for brief talking." Seth waved a hand at them. "you can discuss it on the way."

"Really?" She shook her head incredulously. "You don't care about this girl's fate?"

"Gods, am I to judge someone's behavior? I saw Mei several times and she looked fine. Don't worry, I bet Master Rikken is watching over everything."

"I'm surprised he doesn't see anything wrong with holding a slave."

"Because there is nothing wrong with that," Zarkin said, letting him know he was still present. "Only your prince is looking for problems where they are not."

"Galaspiael does not care about slaves, but about problems they may cause," said Mizar. "I heard that everyone at home liked the new law very much. We don't kill people, even useless ones, and yet they behave as if he saved them from something."

"And what about it?" asked Zarkin.

"Think a little! They are the most problematic subjects. There are a lot of them, and they see him as their savior than if they were to consider him as another lord... and where you all going? The exits are on the other side!"

"We'll go down the stairs and then I'll show you the path I found." Zarkin smiled. "It leads straight to the Forbidden Zone. This path is shorter than the one that the masters led us."

"Of course!" Jin-Si snorted angrily. "They do everything to make us tired. Why didn't they lead us this way?"

"Let us not be tempted to go back there." Zarkin smiled. "This trail is much more… dangerous. A lot of things can approach us."

"Don't scare her," Kalena reminded him.

"But it's true. Further, it gets steep and is not far from the heart of the Forbidden Zone."

"You didn't tell me we're going to the HEARTH! I thought we were going to only mess in the woods." The princess stepped back. "I do not want to go!"

"Stop it! Nothing will happen to us, calm down," Seth growled.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you're crazy. You lead them to death! I don't want to take part in it!" after these words, Jin-Si turned back. Seth wanted to chase her, but Kalena grabbed his arm.

"Stop. If she doesn't want to go, it's fine."

"She agreed earlier," he drawled. "If she comes back, she's going to tell on us and come back here with her master!

"Jin is not like that. She'll be afraid to say a word about it. You have nothing to worry about." The moment Kalena said that she also felt the urge to turn back, but she did not openly admit it. "We were supposed to have fun, remember?"

Seth stepped back and looked at Zarkin and Mizar. They stood in absolute silence. The atmosphere was thickening.

"Let's go quickly," he said finally. "We don't have much time."