Fall of Autumn, Week 5, Day 1

"You don't need to do all that."

At Klein's voice, I froze, realizing how loudly I had been tapping my nails. Narrowing my eyes, I whipped my head to look at the squire seated across the carriage from me. The crimson-haired teenager had a pained expression on his face as if he was the one offended by his words. As if he was not telling me I need to calm down.

"It helps."

My voice was a small thing, treating the tension it was cutting as though it required a deft hand and not a bulldozer. I couldn't say how much was the truth, how much was intentional. My mind was hardly present on the ride over. Dame Arella and Klein had been in the entryway after I'd left breakfast, and I'd felt some of the heaviness in my stomach lift while we shared greetings. But as I'd climbed into the overly ornate carriage that displayed the Dawn crest on each side, my whole body had tensed.

Eunora had exhausted herself.

I was alone in my mind once again. It was unfortunate timing. I was in desperate need of someone who understood —of someone who could see what was going through my mind, who could feel the tightening in my chest. I was halfway worried my breakfast would make a surprise reappearance.

I swallowed thickly, focusing back in on Klein –who was still staring at me with his vibrant green eyes. I had once again gotten in my own head, had forgotten I was a person, living and breathing and having an active conversation.

"Are you going to make it through?" His voice was not kind, it didn't have room for compassion with the weight it placed on my shoulders.

His meaning was clear. You have to make it through.

So, I forced a tight smile.

"What other choice do I have?" I turned my head back to watch the slow-moving scenery rolling by. The edge of the forest was too close, with its gnarled trees resembling bodies. Still, I didn't look back to Klein. "The day will pass either way."

I heard Klein heave a breath, but he remained silent for the rest of the ride. It wasn't until the forest opened around us that he filled the void.

"We're here."

"That didn't take very long," I sighed, bringing my eyes to the door as the carriage came to a gradual stop.

"It's about as far away as Fellan proper, just in the opposite direction."

I hummed in acknowledgment as I stood, reaching for the handle just as it opened on its own, revealing a flat-mouthed Dame Arella.

She wasted no time, holding up a small leather bag that jingled when it moved. "I'm giving the tuition to Klein."

I scrunched my nose, "This again?"

Dame Arella shot me a look that I deciphered as, Nora, please.

"But he's not supposed to interfere," I grumbled, ignoring the smug way Dame Arella tossed the money pouch to Klein before she stepped aside.

"My Lady," the knight sighed with a warmth I'd come to cherish, "There are rules."

I huffed as I hopped out of the carriage, landing with my heels digging into the dirt road. "I can't believe you haven't changed your mind."

"Yes you can," She chirped back, but I didn't turn to look at her face.

Instead, I was too busy staring at the towers building before me. The walls climbed three stories up, with windows in stained glass taking up at least half of the space. The shape of the Fellan Swordsmanship Academy was simple, the base of it a square all angled to a single pointed top. I could see four sets of double doors, two were off by the edges and two were centered underneath the massive windows.

Around the entrance, there were a few other carriages in various stages of settling. Some had their horses tied to posts with no drivers to be found, others were rushing off to get on with their day, and one had a boy my age disembarking. He was accompanied by an older man and dressed in a golden brown outfit. It was noticeably well-made by the way the finishing glittered in the morning light.

He must be one of the high merchant families or even a noble. I mused as his minder began ushering him inside. I couldn't help a snort as Klein began doing the very same to me. He had followed me out of the carriage and was now dangling the money pouch in front of me.

"I feel like you're breaking a rule, Young Lord Ouros," I said, stepping past Klein with my nose in the air in mock superiority.

He didn't snort, but I caught a glimpse of a smile as I peeked back behind me. Dame Arella was already back on the carriage, guiding the horses off to the side where the other carriages were parked.

It was an easy thing, to fall into Klein and Dame Arella's rhythm. To forget myself, even when I was not sure the feelings within me were mine. It was less easy when I realized it was happening, though. My faux furrowed brow turned genuine as we approached the center-right set of doors.

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Klein slipped ahead of me, opening the door and revealing a rainbow-soaked entryway. The rays of light coming in from the stained glass windows painted the room in hues so vibrant it was as if I'd walked into a painting. The further I got into the room, the more the colors popped, reflecting off mounted swords and statues donned in armor. Across the room was a behemoth of a man sitting at a desk, his glasses comically small compared to his hulking frame. His face was tinted blue from one of the panes of glass, and I tried to follow the light to figure out which piece it was casting such a brilliant light.

As I turned back to the entrance, my focus trailed through the air, and I tried to do the mental math of where, exactly, the blue had to be coming from.

[Quick Calculation]

Ah! Those! The petals falling off the Witherbloom!

As I silently cheered myself for finding the answer, a gravelly voice with a thick accent filled the room.

"Aye, little knight and littler miss, this way." His words blended together in a way that scratched my brain just right.

It made me think of impenetrable Domes, of buildings so tall they melded with the sky itself, of the architects of elsewhere. It was more than just the accent, it was the whole look of the man. With his ripped sleeves and leather gloves, with the metal wiring around his glasses, with the deep tan of his skin. He was a Goliath, whatever that meant here. In elsewhere, it meant the world. Some of the weight in my stomach lifted at the thought —that perhaps this world was not as estranged from my own. Not so disjointed.

I listened, approaching him in time with Klein, who was shifting the bag of coins between his hands as he walked.

"I'm here to register."

The man gave a wide, wicked grin that sank into the lines of his face.

"If ye weren't who ye are, this would be a different story, little light." I twitched at the term but didn't let my steps falter. "It's a silver per 'alf-season, which means you ought to pay three now so ye don't 'afta worry about it again until Spring."

I ripped the money pouch out of Klein's hands, just fast enough so he wouldn't be able to react, and opened it. I scrunched my nose as I peered into the bag, scrutinizing the three silver pieces within.

"My Lady–"

"It's because we're still a week out until Winter?" I asked, more to myself than to the man. Whatever Klein was saying was lost to the wind.

"Aye." He nodded.

I pulled out the coins, tucking the empty pouch into the bag on my hip. I stepped forward and dropped the silver into his open palm. Between one breath and the next, the coins disappeared. I blinked, staring at his hand.

"Now, just a few questions." The monster of a man pulled out a clipboard, and it looked positively dainty in his hands. "All first year's 'afta answer 'em. Yer no exception. Ready?"

I bit my cheek, thinking back to the first time I'd been [Inspected], "As I'll ever be."

"Name and age?"

"Nora —ah," I tilted back at the sharp look the man shot me before looking back down at his paper. "Eunora Dawn. Eight."

"Good. Names 'old meaning, little light, it's good to use 'em proper." He did what for most people would probably be a hum, but it registered as more of a grunt, as he jotted down my answers. "Typa [Class]? Combat, non-combat, or hybrid?"

I paused—a beat too long, as he started tapping his pen on the paper. I answered before he shot me another look, "Hybrid."

"Any melee or weapon Skills?"

Oh. This… I didn't realize there would be… questions like this. Specific. Yeah. It's worse than Adeline. I swallowed thickly and stretched my hands at my side, forcing the muscles taut, "Not–not quite."

The man's writing didn't pause, continuing fluidly across the page, "I'll put that as a no."

My throat was growing tight, but I still nodded in response and ignored the odd glance Klein was shooting my way.

"Current Strength —greater or lesser than fifteen?"

I opened my mouth—

And found I was unable to speak.

My mouth was dry, and the tightness in my stomach was back in full force. I could feel my hands shaking despite the pressure I was putting on them to stretch. To stay still. My mind was hazy, unfocused. I could feel their eyes on me as I stood in silence.

One second. Two. Three.

Nora.

Nora.

Nora!

NORA!

My own internal scream forced me back to attention, and I took a shuddering breath, choking out, "Greater."

The weight of his eyes meeting mine was too much, and I had to look away and focus on his desk. It was a tidy thing, with very few loose papers. Next to a spare pen was a stack of booklets that looked similar to the Monster Manuals that I had stuffed in my bag, and next to those was a single piece of metal. It was a bronze rectangle, nearly as thick as one of the booklets.

As I was focusing on it, tracing the engravings with all the dedication I could muster, the man picked it up.

"It's yers," he huffed, and I dragged my eyes back to his face, "It'll assess yer Strength and sync up with ya. When it comes ta time for weapon practice, it'll tell ya which ones ta use." He paused, running his index finger over the side of the bronze plate. The engraving on the metal came alight with a purple glow before settling back down. The man looked over the plate one last time before holding it out to me. Taking the plate, I had to brace myself. For such a small piece of metal, the thing was dense. I was forced to use a not-insignificant amount of strength to even hold it up.

"The plate'll be yer key into the building. Desk is usually only manned first four days of the month. That's usual registration."

I nodded absentmindedly as I took a closer look at the metal. Beside me, Klein said something to the man, but I wasn't keyed back into the conversation. Not until I was addressed directly.

"Get, little light, ye don't wanna be late." He gestured to the door by his desk.

I swallowed, looking up at Klein. He furrowed his brows, but when he spoke, his tone was softer than I thought was possible. "I'll be in the observer's area, Lady Nora. You'll be okay using the main entrance alone?"

"I'll be okay," I said it more for myself than for Klein. But it was enough to get my feet moving, so I gave the man and Klein a wave and went to the door.

I wrapped my hand around the cold metal of the handle. I took a slow breath and pulled.

Slowly, the door moved on its hinges, sending a high-pitched squeak through the air. I stepped through the threshold, attempting to gently close the door behind me. Instead, I caught sight of… eyes.

So many eyes. And bodies. Bodies leaned forward, whether the person they belonged to was sitting or standing. And faces. Some with sickly sweet smiles, some with flat mouths, some with chubby cheeks.

And they were all looking at me.

Leaning towards me.

The edge of my vision grew black.

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