The day after the pixie incident is a Saturday, and we have a longer sword practise. Unlike my slightly annoying partner I don't feel like talking, but instead push all my frustration from not being able to help the girl with the pixie into training harder that usually. And I can tell he noticed it too, already in the beginning. Or at least he soon gave up trying to chat after getting hit one too many times and starts to concentrate on blocking my blows.
"Ookay," professor Greysmith calls to the pairs training around the yard, "You can wrap it up, that's all for today."
"You were really good today," Oz says as we walk to hand back the practise swords. I shrug.
"Yeah, well, if you don't try, what's the point of training at all?" I say and place my sword in the carriage. He starts to answer, but is cut off by a voice from some way away.
"Knute!"
It's Tauria, heading towards us and waving. I turn to face her as she stops next to me.
"Hey, there's a traders' caravan going through the town, you want to go see if they got something interesting that you usually can't get in town? That we can afford," she adds after a short break.
"Sure," I say, "There's actually some stuff that I need to do in town anyway. I just need to go wash up a bit and change into something that isn't soaked in sweat."
"Ok, I'll see you back here in a half an hour?"
"Ok," I say, and turn to Oz, "I'll see you next time."
He nods and I walk away. I head back to my room, wash and change and then loop by the dining hall to grab something to eat on my way to the courtyard. Tauria is waiting for me already. We start towards the town near the academia campus, not hurrying, since we have almost afternoon. We enjoy the sunshine, the flowers, the butterflies flapping around.
Even so, we're soon in town. I take off at first for my own business, getting some ink and paper and a new shirt, since the ones I have have started to get a little too broken. Then I get back to the town square to find Tauria from the mass of people that have come to see the traders' caravan.
It takes me a while to find her, there really are a lot of people around there. Like caravans were a sight to come see. Then again, I guess for these people it is. Caravans weren't that common even before, but nowadays you're lucky if someone come through your town twice a year. And that does get people moving, with the exotic spices, weird artifacts and southern potions available for once.
I do finally find Tauria, at a carriage selling some jewellery. She's looking at them with wide eyes.
"Look," she says to me as I reach her and points at a necklace on the table.
"It's nice," I say, looking at it. It really is nice. A bright green gem in the middle.
"But I can't afford it," she says, sighing, "You know, sometimes I wish I had enough money to buy something pretty."
"Well, join the club," I say. She turns her strange purple eyes from the necklace to me.
"You'd want something pretty too?" she grins.
"Well, maybe not pretty. But for example to buy a proper pair of shoes without having to carefully count my money," I say.
"But you'd look so good with something pretty!" Tauria decides, turns her gaze to the necklace once again and sighs. Then she turns away and starts into the crowd, me after her. "But I do know what I want today."
"What?"
"Chocolate."
"You... want chocolate?"
"Yes. I saw a guy back there selling some. And yes, I know, it's so expensive. But since a caravan was here the last time I've been saving."
"Just to buy chocolate?"
"Just to buy chocolate," she drags me after her through the crowd and to a carriage that does in fact sell chocolate, along with some expensive looking spices and probably the better kind of tea, plus somewhat surprisingly some fruits that are rarer in these parts.
"I'd like some chocolate," she says to the man standing at the carriage.
"And how much?" asks the man, smiling at Tauria. When he turns to look at me while Tauria digs her money out, something happens in his eyes. Like a hint of recognition. Which is weird, because I'm sure I've never seen the an before. I wave it off. I'm probably imagining.
"As much as this can get," Tauria says and places a bunch of coins on the table.
"You're from the academia?" the man asks while counting the money.
"Yeah. Thought we'd come by the town now there's something different going on," Tauria smiles at the man.
"My nephew goes to the academia too. It's his fifth term now, I think," he turns, takes out a small bag and slides a piece of chocolate almost as big as my palm into it.
"Anyone we know?" Tauria asks.
"I wouldn't know. Possibly," the man says and hands the chocolate to Tauria, "Now, one more thing."
The man digs something out from behind the table. It's a small cup, with five fat strawberries sitting in it.
"Here. On the house. Greetings from my nephew. To go with the chocolate," the man says and hands the strawberries to Tauria.
"Oh, thank you!" she is excited like a little girl. Chocolate and strawberries in one day really is something to be excited about, though.
I turn to the man to ask who exactly the nephew is and why does he want us to have strawberries, but he's already talking to some other customer. So instead we simply start heading back to the academia campus.
Tauria is jumping up and down, almost running, but all the time careful not to drop the berries from the cup. And I almost want to be that happy too, with the weather and the summer and the school. And of course the magic and the sword trainings. I'm really getting better at both. The thoughts of the previous' day's pixie incident and my feeling of helplessness in the situation.
"You know what?" Tauria says about half way through the walk back, "I'm going to eat one of the strawberries now. I was going to save them for later, but who cares. Just one, and then I'll still have four for later. That's more than I planned to have!"
"And how many did you plan to have?" I say, smiling at her.
"Don't be stupid," she says and picks the topmost berry from the cup. She bites into it with a huge grin on her face.
"Oh, this is good," she says with her mouth half full of berry, "You know, I remember when we were little and we used to have two strawberrydays a year, first when the first berries started to get good, and a second one right before none were available any more, before they were all sold out for the summer." She stuffs the rest of the berry into her mouth. "These must've come from pretty far south, being ripe already. This north they don't have them for what, another month at least?"
She throws the leaves left in her hand onto the grass on the side of the road.
"Those were always the best days of summer, the strawberry days," she goes on.
Suddenly she stops walking. I turn to look back at her. Her face is going white. She blinks, and stares into nothingness.
"Tauria?" I say. She starts to fall and I have to jump ahead to catch her.
"Tauria! Can you hear me?" I lay her on the grass next to the road. She's gone limp, unconscious. There's no one else on the road. How is there no one else on the road, the freaking caravan is in town?!
I turn back to Tauria, confused. The red of the strawberries she dropped are dotting the grass next to us. The berries. There was something in the berry.
"Oh crap," I mutter to my self "Tauria!"
I try her breathing. Nothing. Her lips are turning blue. I start to get into panic. I lay my hands on her chest. I wish, I wish I could do something. I wish I could heal her.
There is a warm wash over my hands. I concentrate on that. This must work. It has to. I try so hard, harder than I've tried anything in my life. If only I can save her.
Her chest moves under my hands. I open my eyes I didn't realise were closed. I look at her. She's still unconscious, but she's visibly breathing. I have to get her to the academy medics. Now. I lift her up from the ground, over my shoulder. Not a way to carry a lady, my dad would say, but right now I doubt Tauria will mind. I make sure I'm not holding her in a way that would make her stop breathing again.
Before I start my hurried way back to the academy I realise to squish the rest of the berries and pick up the chocolate. Tauria would never forgive me if I saved her life but left the chocolate by the side of a road.
And then I run, summoning all my strength, drawing more from the ground with every step.
_______________________________________________________
Ok.
Your topic for what ever the next day is that is Friday is Card(s).
~matu
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