were you listening?”
He took a deep breath. “Long enough to know there’s something wrong with Adrian’s color.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
“Draconus has mentioned Adrian’s color every day in class. And then Tallia said his color was as normal as it could be. What’s going on?” he demanded.
Calista looked thoughtful. “You’re going to miss supper if you don’t hurry. Run along.” Without another word, she left the room. Why did people keep brushing him off?
It did not take long for the boys to get into a regular routine. By September, they were well used to their classes; though Adrian still dreaded going to swimming Friday afternoons.
Dragon fighting was still only lecture, even after a month. Finally, one Thursday afternoon, Kaelen snapped. “This is a waste of time.”
Adrian was desperately trying to pull him down by his arm as Draconus turned his yellow-orange gaze towards them. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re such a joke! You hide behind stupid lectures instead of letting us fight you. If you’re so wonderful and unbeatable, why don’t you prove it?”
“I don’t have time for distractions,” Draconus drawled. “Now as I was saying…”
“You’re afraid,” Kaelen accused. “You’re nothing but an overgrown, ugly lizard.”
The boys gasped as his eyes narrowed. Smoke rose from his nostrils and Vulcan started to say something but Draconus cut him off. “Very well, princeling. If you think you’re ready, we’ll see how long you survive. Come to the pit.”
Kaelen strode down as confident as ever. Vulcan helped him put on his armor and gave him a sword and spear. “We don’t go for death strikes.”
The other boys watched as Kaelen tried to take on Draconus. The dragon was wickedly fast, dodging Kaelen’s blows almost before he’d moved to strike. He shot fireballs at him, which Kaelen avoided with his shield. The temperature in the room was rising and Kaelen was becoming more and more agitated. “Come along, princeling, I’m just toying with you,” Draconus taunted. “Is that the best you can do?” Kaelen rushed at him and Draconus swiped him up off the ground in one paw. His scales were like molten metal and Kaelen felt like he’d been buried in hot coals. “If this was a real fight, boy, I’d have eaten you by now.”
“Why don’t you, Dronecus?” Kaelen spat.
He bared his fangs, steamy saliva dripping from them. “Tempting, but you’re rather puny. And my name is Draconus. Don’t mistake it again.” He set Kaelen down roughly before turning to the rest of the class. “Starting next week you’ll all have your chance to prove yourselves. It’s time for a more practical approach.”
As the boys were leaving class, Adrian said, “Of all the stupid things to do! He could have killed you.”
“But he didn’t,” Kaelen retorted, “and now we’ll actually start learning in there.”
The others shook their heads as they walked to supper. They chatted throughout the meal, comparing their specialty courses. George and Lucian talked about having foreign language Friday afternoon and their extra hour of botany. Kaelen had an extra hour of botany Friday afternoon and double etiquette. “What?” he demanded when the boys smiled.
“Nothing Kaelen,” Jacobi smiled. “At least your extra classes make some sense. I’m in art twice. I also have a weird class about observation. I can’t remember what Arden calls it.”
“I wouldn’t say that all of our classes make sense. I still have no idea how amphibian studies will help me,” Adrian said. “And I can’t believe they’re forcing me to learn to swim.”
“Well, look on the bright side,” Lucian said. “The next time you come to Maltisten you can go swimming with me.”
October came and soon it was time for their first meeting with the princesses for the year. Lucian sincerely hoped that Moira’s relationship with Cinnamon had improved. They were scheduled to go on the traditional ride through the forest.
As the gleaming carriages from Fair Damsels arrived, followed by the girls’ horses, the boys were waiting. Calista and Melantha got the first year students sorted while the other princesses went to their princes. “Hello Moira,” Lucian said. “I hope you enjoyed the rest of your break.”
“It was nice,” she replied.
Lucian had hoped she’d say more but was tackled by Allegra in a tight hug. “Isn’t it terrible?”
“Isn’t what terrible?” he asked.
“Haven’t you heard yet?” When Lucian continued to look at her blankly, she continued, “Oh dear, your letter must have gotten lost in the mail. I’m sure Mother would have told you.”
“Told me what?” Lucian demanded.
“Dad’s sick,” Allegra replied. “Very sick. Mom didn’t say too much about it, but I could tell by the way she was writing. Lucian, I think Dad’s dying.”
Time stopped and Lucian felt as though someone had plunged an icy dagger into his heart. When he found his voice he said, “We should go home.”
“No, we can’t, we mustn’t. Mom made me send her a letter promising her that I wouldn’t leave school. You know how important it is to Dad. He wouldn’t want us to go.”
“But we can’t just stay here and do nothing. What are we supposed to do?”
Tears filled Allegra’s eyes. “We have no choice, Lucian.” She threw her arms around him again and Lucian tried to comfort her, but he felt numb all over. He hardly heard Calista announce the activity. He let Adrian take Allegra to her horse, knowing that she’d be taken care of. He then led Moira to Cinnamon and held the horse while Moira mounted.
As he mounted Zephyr, Moira said, “I know what Allegra told you. She told me about the letter as soon as she had received it. If you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”
Lucian felt angry. “Why didn’t anyone tell me about it? I’m being pushed off by everyone. The fairies won’t tell me anything, my own parents won’t tell me anything.”
“I’m sure your mom wrote to you. Allegra’s probably right and your letter was simply lost in the mail.”
They were silent for a while as they rode into the forest. Lucian didn’t feel much like talking and Moira didn’t seem willing to start a conversation. She kept Cinnamon in control, though her riding was not as refined as some of her peers.
The silence continued long enough that Moira finally said, “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”
“What?”
“The forest. It’s beautiful at this time of year; so vibrant.”
Lucian looked about at the fiery leaves. Normally, he would agree with Moira; he loved fall. But his heart was far away. “I guess.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said after another long pause. “It won’t fix anything.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
Moira’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but I’ve been where you are. I know what it feels like. Sometimes I wish I had been far away, so I wouldn’t remember the way he looked when he was sick. I was so young, I have few memories of when he was healthy,” her voice trailed off as though she were trying not to cry.
“Maybe I actually want to be with my father,” he said coldly.
“Do you think I don’t?” she demanded. “Do you think I don’t miss him every minute of every day?”
“You said you hardly remember him. Obviously he wasn’t that important to you,” Lucian spat. As soon as he said it, he wished he could take it back. Moira’s eyes filled with tears and she looked as though he’d slapped her. She spurred Cinnamon and galloped past everyone, including Phillipa and Augusta, who followed after her. Lucian knew he was in trouble and he also knew he deserved it.
It didn’t take the fairies long to send Lucian to Calista’s office. Maeve was called. “Lucian, I can’t say how disappointed I am in you. How could you say something so heartless to Moira?”
“I spoke without thinking,” he said at length.
“That was obvious. I expect much better from you, Lucian. You are one of our bes
t students and normally quite the gentleman. Whatever is going on in your life, there is no excuse for what you have done. Maeve will set your punishment and you will return to the activities. You owe Moira an apology.” Calista left the room, leaving one last look of disappointment on Lucian.
Maeve rose and tottered a bit before clasping the stone on her belt, “To fix the wrong and make it right, In her shoes you’ll walk a fortnight.” A faint green light issued slowly from the stone. “Go on,” Maeve urged, to which it split and shot at Lucian’s heart and feet. “Oh not again.” She sighed and shook her head, muttered something about “the Change” and walked away, leaning heavily on a cane.
Lucian’s feet felt pinched and when he looked down, he was wearing a pair of very feminine, blue slippers. Everyone was going to laugh at him. Tears stung his eyes and his cheeks flushed. One thing he knew, Moira may have been taller than him, but her feet were definitely smaller. How long would he be stuck with these? A fortnight? He was going to be a laughingstock. Miserable tears fell from his cheeks as he walked down the stairs. He desperately tried to pull his pant legs down over the dainty slippers. When that didn’t work, he tried his best to be invisible until he reached the blanket where his friends were sitting. Allegra and Adrian were sitting on either side of Moira, Adrian patting her back while Allegra rocked her back and forth as she cried. When Allegra saw Lucian, she gave him a look of deepest loathing. Adrian stood and grabbed Lucian’s arm before hauling him away back into