Emeralds and Enemies

Chapter Eighty-seven

            Minister Go watched his son with a mix of pride and curiosity. He had always thought San Jin as oddly passive for a champion fencer and maybe a bit lackadaisical. Seeing how his eldest stepped up through the whole ordeal, starting with tuning his affinity stone to set up purification fields, working through the challenges at the estate, and now helping the team refocus their grief and anger, he had to admit it was time to let his son move into the dorm with the others. His wife might not be ready to let him go but he was sure he could bring her around, especially since with the other team members it felt like they were gaining sons, not loosing one. His musings were interrupted by a contingent of guards coming to escort him back to his office. He called San Jin over to let him know he should stay on at the training yard and just send for anything he needed from home.

"Be safe, Papa," San Jin said with a worried tone.

"You too, and if you send for things from home maybe add a note for your mother," he smiled at his son's ready agreement then nodded to the others.

Junseo asked to send a note along for his friend at the palace. "I'm assuming the investigators know to find me here but they might worry Tai Yi," he said before apologizing for the delay. While he was writing, he fiddled with the ring he had put back on a chain around his neck. When Hae-sung gave him a curious look he quickly dropped this talisman for the north court out of sight. It wasn't as if the others had never seen the ring, it is just their recent discussions might raise questions he was not ready for. He handed off the note and waived to Minister Go and made his way over to Knight-Master Lie for their long overdue one-on-one discussion.

It was not easy to find somewhere private to talk. The guards wanted them to stay in sight so they walked together on the far side of the compound. Team members tried to look busy among themselves but glanced over regularly to how things were going.

"Let me start with what I should have said the day you returned. Thank you. What you did for your team members was extraordinary. Not just as a healer but as a leader bringing them through danger. It was well beyond anything a trainee should have faced. I should have checked to make sure you were alright."

"I'm not happy. I put Il-don and San Jin in grave danger over the cadet we could not save. After that I was so out-of-it I didn't realize how many more needed to be treated. I should know better. It was my first real battle and I flubbed it by pouring all my energy into a hopeless case."

"You should be able to accept this lesson without taking all the blame on yourself. You should read the report the Prince's trainees sent over. It outlines how other people created the situation you were in and how some of your seniors pushed you toward the decisions you made. Their recommendation, one we will implement after the selections wrap up, is to train more members on first aid protocols."

"Okay. That makes sense. It's just I expected more from myself." Junseo scuffed his toe in the dirt at the edge of the training court. The Knight-Master patted the young man's back.

"I also need to say you deserved better from me. It was not fair for me to push the medical academy at you like that. We have an agreement that includes you being able to explore your interests and talents in your own way."

"I talked with Captain Shiro about it. He helped me understand more about why I took things the way I did. All you said was I should study at the Academy full-time and I took that to mean you were throwing me out. The other boys will be going to school full-time but are still in the group. I was being greedy about wanting more time in the forge."

"It's not greedy. We will work something out. Your training should settle down after the finals and you can follow a more flexible schedule with your studies. Maybe with a special mentor and by keeping your hand in helping coach the others through their exams."

"Seriously?" Junseo was surprised by the change. He had tried hard to reconcile himself to slogging along at the Medical Academy but had half-decided to move north instead. Now with more flexibility, he was not sure he wanted to walk away from healer training.

"Professor Yip agreed to a modified program for you. Something he feels more suited for your age and talents."

"Just so long as I don't have to be locked up in Healer Yang's lab again. She is far to nosey about crystal disciplines." Junseo shuddered at the memory.

"No. Definitely not. But that does remind me that you are supposed to do cleansing routines with your stone. Let's check we have the right supplies here." He waved over Manager Doak. While his elders conferred, Junseo could see San Jin watching with a worried look so gave him a thumbs up sign. He would stay, but more for the team than anything else.

As he set up the jade pillars, he glanced over at San Jin again. He invited the older boy to join him in the mantras. "I'm guessing some of your energies drained with the number of barriers you had to hold. You might not have gotten the same blow back as Il-don but a cleansing never hurts." Junseo gestured to where another silver plate rested and San Jin slowly removed his ring and bracelet. He tensed up but then settled into a more comfortable position before joining the chant. Their crystals started to glow but the colors were muted. It took running separate harmony lines and coming back together a couple of times before they could feel the energies snapping into alignment.

"No wonder I have been feeling a bit off," San Jin said with a sigh as they finished a standard closing salutation. Junseo nodded in agreement before gathering up his stones. He knew he still needed to work on the alignments and vowed to add to his own jade collection once their protective custody relaxed.