The Oreans

Chapter 13

Chapter 13
Alen Proves Himself

The culprit had been captured then and there. Rafim had easily spotted him among the crowd and pointed him out to the Oreans. Alen was told the next day that he had been brought to the Santille Penitentiary for interrogation though no information could be drawn from him. He had a suspicion that Troydes might have had something to do with it; for who else was keeping a grudge on them? But since there was no evidence at all, none could implicate the suspended junior master in the case.

Alen had been knighted when the commotion was over and with a reduced audience: the nobility, threatened by the incident, had left the temple right away. Alen himself had no longer felt thrilled to finish the ceremony. He kept on seeing the arrows in his mind's eyes, imagining how they had nearly taken their mark into his spine if Rafim had not shielded him in time. But he had gone on with the ceremony all the same, trying to put up a brave front.

It was not that Alen was afraid to die, and he did not think anyone would care if he did. But surviving the first attempt on his life relieved him enormously. There were still a lot of things he wished to accomplish.

For the second time, Rafim had saved his life, and it made him feel all the more grateful to him. However, deep inside, Alen could not help feeling some self-deprecation for this. Though he had never come to know his parents, there had always been someone willing to give him protection: the elders, Divan, Adrien. Would Rafim be the one next in line? When would he be able to stand on his own and fight his own battle? He could not wait for that moment to come.

Apparently, the path towards this goal was not as easy as he had imagined when he had agreed to join the Oreans; and Rafim had made him realize that as soon as he had started his apprenticeship. He might have oriented him on the kind of training he was to undergo and his expectations of him, but he had still been confused when he had made him do odd things like standing on tiptoes or hanging from a branch upside down or staring at a pebble for hours on end. Of course, he had obeyed: Rafim might have been the newest and youngest master ever, but he had a knack for making people, even the older ones, stand in awe of him. It might have been the seriousness in his manner. Besides, Rafim had given him the rationale behind these exercises; he had not just listened to him hard enough to understand it.

Adrien had returned a fortnight after the knighting ceremony, and he had apparently been updated with the developments while he was gone. He looked happy about it, congratulating Alen for being able to make it on his own for the past two weeks.

Adrien and Rafim became instant friends. Alen did not know how this came about. They had so many differences...like Adrien's warmth and Rafim's coldness for instance. But then, they might not be so different after all. Now that Alen came to think of it, he knew so little about Adrien either. The latter was as guarded with his secrets. Nothing in his house would reveal who he really was and how he came to be an Orean, and he never talked about it. All Alen knew about him was that the commander had admitted him five years ago and had been the first trainee for whom the rule was bent as he had progressed much faster than originally expected-this Alen had learned from Miel.

Rafim's reserve, which had been obvious from the start, remained. It kept all the other Oreans at a distance. He was all business in his dealings. It was only with him and Adrien that he showed any feeling at all, for which he was thankful: He did not think he could bear his exercises if Rafim were distant with him.

Now, a month since he had been knighted, Alen felt that there were still a lot of things he had to get used to. Besides his training with Rafim, he also had to go on guard duty in the ReinrosePalace overnight on the fifth day of each week. He would not have minded if Adrien or Rafim were with him to help him bear the cold weather and the loneliness. Sometimes, he thought the task was too much for him. After all, he had just turned twelve.