Young Writers Society

{NOTE: So, it's been too long since I updated this story. A quick recap : The story began with Juliana traveling with her older brother Radi and her grandfather Dyne. They journeyed to the capital city of Melliark (which they finally reached in the last chapter) so that Juliana could study healing magic at the church there and because Radi was drafted into the military (to his delight). Juliana and Radi's father is a war hero, which has caused Radi to become obsessed with becoming a soldier from an early age. While travelling to the Capital, Dyne picked up a quiet young man named Lucian (MC #2) on the road.

Wanting to help him, Juliana learned that Lucian recently lost his mother, and that he wishes to join the military in an attempt to find his older brother Baldren (the last of his family he has left). Juliana learned that Lucian is a dragoon, a human who lives alongside dragons and makes a magical pact with them to "bond" with them and gain enhanced strength and abilities. But Lucian has never made a pact with a dragon because his family (father, eldest brother, and three dragons) was killed by the Marcerian Military and he, his mother, and Baldren were forced into hiding. Lucian bears the mark of the dragoon on his forehead, which he conceals with a red headband at all times. Only Juliana knows about Lucian's past, and she swore to keep it a secret. The story picks up shortly after the last chapter, the first afternoon in the capital. (phew, I think that's gist of it) }

Chapter 9 – Expectation

Lucian sighed as he stared at the church of Tesi from across the busy cobblestone street. I should have gone in with her, he thought. Why didn’t I? Why did I refuse? They brought me all this way and I wouldn't even go inside with her.

He looked up at the steeple as the bells began to ring in unison. The large wooden chapel doors flung open as dozens of school children ran shoulder to shoulder from the entrance. The young students smiled and laughed as they skipped down the smooth stone steps towards their parents below.

Should I go in now? But what if I can’t find them? I wouldn’t even know where to look. Lucian held his gaze on the doors until the last of the children left the church, hoping that Juliana and Dyne would follow.

Radi leaned against the side of the wagon and tapped Lucian on the shoulder. “Are they coming out?” he asked as he wiped his already-clean sword with a lightly stained cloth.

Lucian let out a frustrated sigh. “No. I don't see them.”

“This is ridiculous,” Radi groaned. “How much longer are they going to take? It’s been over an hour!”

Lucian picked up a small bucket full of hay and carried it to the front of the wagon. “Juliana said they might have to wait that long before they see him.” He gathered a handful of the dried fodder for the horses to feed on, and they did not hesitate to eat straight from his hands.

“I thought she was joking! At this rate we’ll be lucky if we even make it to the barracks before sundown.” Radi shook his head as he sheathed his blade and tossed it onto his blanket inside the wagon. "Dammit! How long does it take to say hello and come back out? We don't have time to waste like this!"

I should try to calm him down, Lucian thought. He'll quarrel with Dyne again if he's like this when they return. Lucian tried his best to ignore Radi's irritated ranting as he thought of how he might change the subject. The answer came to him as the horses licked the last of the straw from his palm. “Hey, Radi?”

“What?” Radi snapped.

“You never told me what you thought about Nirune castle.”

Radi turned to Lucian and stared at him in disbelief. “Yes I did. I told you when the fog lifted this morning."

"Oh, right," Lucian said scratching his head. “Well, um, what do you like best about it?”

“What I like best?" What kind of question is that?" Radi rolled his eyes. "I told you already. It’s- I mean, just look at it!

Lucian set the empty bucket between the horses and followed Radi to the backside of the wagon. He brushed his hand against his leg and looked to the west at the immaculate white castle. Lucian held his hand over his brow to shield his eyes from the late afternoon sun, which already began its decent behind the towers surrounding the palace.

Once hidden behind the thick morning fog, the royal fortress was now visible from far beyond Melliark's outer walls. The proud structure sat high atop the massive cliff, with its enormous fortifications dwarfing even the largest buildings in the city below and casting a shadow that nearly blanketed the entire western half of Melliark.

A series of rounded marble steps narrowed towards the palace entrance, surrounded by jewel-encrusted stone pillars supporting a pearl white terrace directly above. The massive steel gates proudly brandished a silver engraving of the Marcerian crest. The enormous symbol, visible to Lucian even at the far side of the city, showed a lone mountain with two sides. The left slope appeared frozen and bare under the sun, while the opposite side depicted a green and flourishing landscape under the stars.

“You expect me to favor one part over another?” Radi asked with a chuckle. “It’s the most magnificent thing I've ever seen. And finally seeing it for myself after all these years is far better than even Father’s descriptions.” Raid pointed to the castle towers. "How high do you think they go?"

"I have no idea," Lucian answered as he looked up at the six white towers surrounding the castle. The dome-topped spires stood over twice the height of the surrounding walls, with each of them bearing the dark violet and silver flags of Marceris hanging from every window. But a seventh, central tower stood even taller than its neighbors. With a base more than four times as wide, the citadel seemed to pierce the clouds above, with the largest of the national flags displayed with pride and grandeur at its summit. Lucian found the sight to be both awe-inspiring and intimidating. “But you’re right, Radi. It’s incredible.”

“Seeing that should be enough to make any man willing to take up his sword for Marceris," Radi said. "Well, any man worth his own breath. Don't you agree?”

“I suppose.” An awkward silence came between them as they stared at the castle. Lucian eventually turned to Radi. “Um, what do you think of the house Zaine rented to us?”

“Both bedrooms are very small,” Radi said as he turned and walked back to the wagon. “But I don’t plan on spending much time there anyway. It’s a place to sleep that we can afford, so that’s good enough.”

“I feel the same as you, but Juliana didn’t seem pleased.”

“Ha! Of course not. She’s been pampered her whole life back in Panelsca. Our home is much larger than Zaine's little cottage.”

“I see,” Lucian said as he returned to the horses.

“Give her a few days to get accustomed to it. She can’t complain since the old man gave her the room with the bed.”

“Right, Dyne said the three of us are sleeping in the room with the small window.”

“The three of us? We’ll see about that,” Radi muttered.

“What do you mean? You’re not going to sleep in the dining room are you?”

“No, I mean-- never mind.” Radi chuckled to himself before joining Lucian near the horses. “Come on, Juliana,” he groaned. “We don’t have all damn day!”

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Juliana sat quietly beside Dyne on a pew near the front of the chapel. A few other visitors sat quietly on the benches near them as a young boys’ choir rehearsed behind the podium. But the peaceful sound of the familiar hymn did nothing to raise her spirits.

Why wouldn't he come in with us? Juliana wondered as she stared at the mosaic tile floor. He said he believed. He prayed with me yesterday. So why didn’t he--

“Julie,” Dyne whispered as he nudged her.

“Hmm?”

“Who are those men on the windows?”

Juliana looked to the stained glass windows on the wall to her right. Each piece of art depicted an elderly priest aiding the poor with food, clothing, or prayer. The afternoon sunlight shone through the glass, scattering rays of colored light onto the bench beside them.

“Those are the former leaders of the church,” she said. “Father Alamas is near the door, Father Hieren is behind the chandelier there, Father Ryliem is the one to the right of the choir, and Cima The Prophet is on the large window at the front, behind the podium.”

“Interesting,” Dyne said as he ran his fingers through his long gray beard. “And what about the others?”

“Um, I’m not sure about all of them.” She pointed to a window on the left wall and let out a deep sigh. “I think that one is Father Geren.”

“What’s wrong, Julie? Are you nervous?”

“No, I just… I wanted Lucian to see this too. Why didn’t he come inside with us?”

“You only just met him a few days ago," Dyne said. "He didn't look comfortable when you tried to lead him by his hand.”

“No, that can’t be it. I already touched his ha--” She stopped herself and looked back at Dyne, who covered his wide smile and looked away.

“I see,” Dyne said with a chuckle.

“It’s not what you think, Grandpa.”

“Really? You don’t like him?”

“N-No. I didn’t say that.”

Dyne laughed behind the crescendo of the choir. “I thought so!”

“Oh Grandpa, it isn’t like that.”

“You don’t have to hide it from me, Julie. You know I won’t tell Radi.”

“I’m not hiding anything! I--” Juliana silenced herself as she heard the sound of footsteps against the floor behind her.

“Excuse me, Miss Karis?”

Juliana stood immediately and turned to see the same middle-aged woman who greeted them when they entered. “Yes?”

“Father Halvard will see you now," the cleric said. "Please come with me.”

Juliana nodded as Dyne stood from the bench. They followed the cleric into the east wing of the cathedral.

"Julie," Dyne whispered to her from behind. "This won't take long will it? You know we shouldn't linger any longer than we need to."

"It'll be alright, Grandpa." Juliana whispered over her shoulder. "You said you've never been inside before. I don't think anyone will recog--".

"Do you have any questions?" the woman asked.

"Uh, yes," Juliana replied. "What are these rooms on the right used for?"

"Those are the beginner students’ classes." The white-haired woman continued to guide them, giving brief explanations of the various studies, classrooms, and prayer chambers. The cleric pointed to her left as they entered a narrow hallway. “This is where you will begin next week, Miss Karis. These three classes are for both advanced healing training and Aeda studies.”

Juliana stood on her toes and peered through the window of the classroom's wooden door. “So, I passed the exams?” she asked softly.

The cleric smiled and nodded. “Oh yes, Miss Karis, you scored very well. We've had your results for several weeks now. But please don’t be complacent. You’re entering the year over three weeks late, so your classmates will already be well ahead of you.”

Juliana surveyed the small class of nearly two dozen young teenagers. The white-haired youths sat in silence, focused on taking notes from their texts as the instructor paced the aisles between their desks. Juliana looked away and followed behind the cleric again. “Thank you, I’ll do my best to catch up with them.”

“I'm sure you will, Miss Karis." The woman continued only a short distance further before she stopped and turned to her right. She pointed to an already opened, small wooden door. "This is Father Halvard’s chamber. Please wait for him to address you before speaking.” The cleric knocked on the side of the door and motioned for Juliana and Dyne to proceed.

“Thank you,” Juliana whispered as she bowed.

“My pleasure, Miss Karis.” The cleric smiled and left them.

Juliana stepped inside and surveyed the room as Dyne ducked under the low doorway and followed slowly behind her. The small, circular study was lined with bookshelves standing nearly as high as the ceiling; each one packed with texts, scrolls, and loose papers so that no space was wasted. A wooden ladder rested against the bookshelf to the left of the doorway, beside additonal texts stacked shoulder high on the floor. My goodness! Juliana thought. How could one person ever read all of these?

Light entered the room from two small windows opposite the doorway, but it was not enough to provide adequate lighting for reading. Juliana noticed two large candles on the desk ahead of her; which cast two thin shadows of an elderly man sitting opposite of the door. She looked down to see puddles of wax on the stone floor dripping from the candles on the table. He's probably had them lit all day, she thought.

The thin, balding man marked the page in his book and slowly stood from behind the large wooden desk in the center of the chamber. “Who is it?” he asked. The man's arm shook against the side of his chair as he gained his balance.

Juliana stepped forward. “Hello, Father Halvard. It's Juliana Karis, and this is my grandfather, Dyne Remker.”

“Oh, Juliana!” the priest exclaimed. “Welcome! I’ve been expecting you. Wait there for just a moment.” Halvard felt around his desk, grasping for something that eluded him. “Where did I leave that cane?”

“It’s on the floor there,” Dyne said as he pointed to the staff.

Halvard smiled. “I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.”

“His vision is failing him,” Juliana whispered to Dyne. “It’s on the floor in front of the desk, Father,” she said.

Halvard gingerly moved around the desk and felt for the cane with his foot. “Ah, there it is. One of the children must've accidentally knocked it over.” He crouched and retrieved the walking stick before limping over to them. The priest smiled as he breathed heavily while leaning with both hands against his cane. “Let me have a look at you, Juliana.”

Juliana straightened her posture as Halvard rested his hand gently on her shoulder. She could feel the priest's weight as he leaned against her with his lightly shaking arm.

Halvard nearly came nose to nose with Juilana in order to see her. “My, my, Juliana!" he exclaimed as he squinted at her. "The little girl from Panelsca certainly has grown in seven years. You look much like your mother."

“Oh, thank you," Juliana giggled. "You flatter me, Father Halvard.”

“Ha ha! There's no need to be so formal, Juliana. Call me Rhogim.” He lifted his hand from her shoulder and extended it to Dyne. “Mister Remker was it? Is that right?”

“Yes,” Dyne replied as he shook Rhogim’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Sir. Juliana always speaks very highly of you.”

Rhogim smiled and turned to Juliana. “Does she? Hmm, but she didn’t mention my handicap until now it seems.”

“You told me those things aren’t important, Fa—uh, Rhogim.”

“Hmm, when did I say that?”

“Wasn't it, um?" She paused for a moment. "In the letter you sent for my twelfth birthday?”

Rhogim laughed. “I knew you would remember! It’s so wonderful to speak with you face to face again, Juliana!

"Um, right," Dyne interjected. "I'll wait for you in the chapel, Juliana. It was a pleasure to meet you, Rhogim."

"Oh, likewise, Mister Remker."

Dyne smiled and nodded as he turned and left the room.

Juliana reached out behind Dyne as he turned, but she reluctantly let him go without a word. Grandpa, Did you only come this far for me? She wondered.

"Did I make him uneasy, Juliana?"

"No. I think he's just uncomfortable here... in the church I mean."

"Oh? He still doesn't not believe then?"

Juliana lowered her head and frowned. "No. He doesn't."

"We will continue to pray for him then. Only the goddess can fully open his heart. We must trust in her." Rhogim gestured for Juliana to follow him to his desk. "Come now, Juliana. Sit with me. We have a few matters to discuss before you rejoin your grandfather."