Something Peculiar

2.11

Another long day of training did nothing to improve my mood. My control was getting better, and that was good. Hut it was getting harder not to think of Lisa. I thought time would make it easier, but it didn't. The ache only seemed to grow.

We spent the morning in the throne room, where I'd never been before. It was really an argument, with a domestic skylight stretching high above. The room was circular, the rounded wall behind the throne made entirely of glass. Vines grew over the ornate silver and gold designs etched on the walls, reminding me of the outside of the palace.

Given the height of the ceiling, the room itself didn't seem that large, but it didn't need to be. In-guk offhandedly said it was only used for meeting dignitaries.

A solitary throne sat in center of the room, padded with lush red velvet. Two smaller chairs sat on either side, but they weren't as elegant. Instead of wood, the throne was made of platinum that wore itself into lacy designs. Diamonds and rubies was inlaid into the metal.

I walked over to it, gingerly touching the soft velvet. It felt brandnew, too plush to have ever been used. The heavy metal arms were surprisingly smooth under my fingertips. I ran my hand over it, tracing the swirling patterns of the latticing.

"Unless you plan to move that with your mind, i suggest you be practicing," In-guk said.

"Why are we practicing in here?" I turned to look at him, pulling myslef away from the chair. I don't know why, but something about it captivated me, made this all the more real.

"I like the space." He gestured vaguely at the airiness of the room. "It helps my thoughts. The ballroom is being worked on today, so.we have to move."

Almost reluctantly, I walked away from the throne and went over to In-guk to see what cryptic lesson he had in store for me. Mino stood off to the side of the room for most of the morning, getting a reprieve from being my test subject. In-guk wanted me to work on restraining my thoughts again, this time using tactics that made even less sense to me. I stood facing the wall, and while I counted up to a thousand, I was supposed to picture the garden and use my persuasion. Since I wasn't using it on anyone, I wasn't exactly sure how I'd be able to tell if it was working or not, but In-guk said the point was that I learn to juggle a lot of ideas, some of them conflicting, in order for me to get control over this. While I practice, he sprawled on the floor, lying on the cold marble. Mino eventually tired and went over to the throne, sitting in it with one of his legs draped over the side. I felt a little irritated by that, but I wasn't sure why, so I didn't say anything. I didn't support aristocracy, and I wasn't going to enforce it on Mino.

"How are you doing?" In-guk asked, speaking for the first time in about a half hour. We'd all been silent as I tried to master whatever it was I was supposed to master.

"Fantastic," I muttered.

"Great. Let's add a song," He stared up at the skylight, watchingbthe clouds roll over us.

"What?" I stopped counting and let go of my persuation so I could turn to face hum. "Why?"

"I can still hear you," In-guk said. "It's getting fainter, but it's like the hum you hear from powerlines. You need to quiet the noise in your head,"

"And doing a million things at once will do that?" I asked skeptically.

"Yes. You're getting stronger, which means youre learning to hold things in" He lay down, closing the matter. "Now add a song to it."

"What should I sing?" I sighed, turning to face the wall.

"Not Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Mino grimaced. "I've had that stuck in my head for some reason."