Eclipse

Chapter 5

★Elio★

"Keep your eyes forward, Casimir." I spoke calmly. "Keep your feet flat on the ground and don't pay attention to everyone else." I paused before continuing. "Unless they're coming at you."

Casimir charged at me, ducking low at the last second. I jumped out of the way. "Keep going." My voice stayed steady.

He flipped around and came at me once more. This time, though, when I jumped out of the way, he went with me. He made me believe he was going left. He wasn't.

Casimir knocked me to the ground, shocking me. He immediately got off of me before helping me up. My eyes stayed wide, shocked that he had tricked me. Once I snapped out of it, I smiled. "That was awesome, Casimir!" I patted him on the back. "You beat me!"

Casimir only stared at me for a few minutes before smiling wide. "I beat you?"

I nodded. "You di-" I was cut off.

"Elio!" Dayton's voice rang through the courtyard. I turned to look for him. He was walking out of the palace, and into the courtyard.

I smiled at him, waving. "Hey!" I turned back to Casimir, telling him bye, and going to Dayton. 

He watched as Casimir left, waiting for the door to close, before he looked back at me with his arms crossed. "Are you sure about this?"

I took a drink of my water. "About what?"

He tilted his head, frowning harder. "About being Arino."

I sighed and walked back to the benches. I sat down on one and massaged my calf. "I'm sure, Dayton." I switched legs. "I'm not going to give up my dream of being Arino just to marry someone in who knows how long!"

Dayton sat down next to me. "What if you asked for more time?"

I looked at him. "You know that isn't how this works. Either I do it now, or I never do it again."

He covered his face with his hands in frustration. "But it isn't fair!"

I turned toward him more. "Why do you care, Dayton? It's not like you get anything from me marrying."

Dayton paused before looking at me. I could almost read his expression. I knew what he was thinking. He finally answered me after about a minute. "I've always cared about you, Elio. Even when I tried to hate everyone, you were different." He paused. "And you know why. I don't have to say it." He took a deep breath. "If I couldn't have you, I wanted someone amazing to be able to."

I looked at the ground in front of me. "I've thought about it, man. A lot. I really did want to marry." I took a deep breath before looking at him. "But I want this even more. How am I supposed to guide you all to find Moon if I refuse Arino?"

Dayton only stared at me. He didn't have an answer. He knew I was right, as much as it hurt. He looked forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "This sucks."

I nodded. "Yeah."

★★★

There was loud knocking on the door as I got ready. Arino Lidin's voice sounded through the tent. "Ciya Solten, be outside in 10 minutes."

I sighed quietly. Today was my first day of training. There's no one to train me other than Arino Lidin himself. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I had my blonde hair in a very short, low ponytail. My eyes were yellow, almost golden. I took a deep breath. This was going to be hard.

I sat on my bed and began putting my boots on. This would be okay, though. I'll get used to it, just like I got used to the training as a Soro. 

I smiled at the thought of when I became a Sito. And then came Sila, Niochoma, Niochamei, Ciyto, and then a Ciya. It took a lot to get here. There's no way I would say no to being the Arino.

Considering that there is only one Arino at a time, I can only assume that Arino Lidin is planning to retire.

I finished getting ready and stepped outside. Arino Lidin was waiting only a few feet away from the door. He had his hands behind his back and watched as I closed the tent flap behind me. The tents were long. Like, really long. They had been put there many years ago, and on the inside, they put up wooden walls. I didn't understand why they didn't just make us houses instead. I guess the king wanted us to know our place.

Arino Lidin stepped closer to me. His face was calm, a nice expression. It was odd for a man as serious and dark as him. "Are you ready, Elio?"

I nodded, not ignoring the fact that he called me by my first name. He nodded and walked past me. I followed him. I expected him to go straight to physical training, but he passed up every section where we would train. Instead, he went straight to the towns. I stayed silent, following swiftly behind him.

We passed up the north town and went to the lower-class west town. Arino Lidin kept his head high and his hands behind his back. When the civilians saw us, they bowed their heads for Arino Lidin and parted, creating a clear path for him to walk.

Eventually, Arino Lidin stopped in front of a stand run by a married lady. I had seen it a few times before while on patrol.

Arino Lidin faced me. "This lady, Marel Solace, runs a bread and pastry stand. She has arthritis and is losing customers due to them being impatient." He glanced at Marel. "I've spoken to her and for your first day of training, I would like you to assist her in selling her bread and pastries."

My eyes widened. "Community service?"

Arino Lidin nodded. "Yes. Believe it or not, connecting with your people is an important factor in being a leader. How else will I know that you're fit for this role?"

I smiled at him. "Of course, Arino Lidin. I won't let you down."

Arino Lidin nodded. "Good. I will be back at the end of your shift. Enjoy, Ciya Solten."

★★★

"Community service?" Dayton laughed. Marel had decided to take a break a few minutes ago and Dayton found me while on patrol. We both sat against a wall of a bigger shop.

I nodded. "Arino Lidin said that it's an important factor of becoming Arino."

He took a sip of his water. "It sounds to me like he's throwing all the Sila work at you." He snorted. "Oh wait, not even a Sila has to do community service."

I jabbed him in the side. "Hey, I'm not going to question Arino Lidin."

Dayton smirked. "Maybe you should."

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. You saw what he did to Clayton."

Dayton clipped his water bottle back onto his belt. "Yeah, well Boyce deserved that one."

I shrugged. "I don't know, he seemed like he was about to cry."

He smirked at me. "He did cry! I saw him later that day trying to hide behind a tree."

I chuckled. "I don't think Clayton is cut out for being a soldier."

Dayton shook his head. "He sure isn't."

"Ciya Solten?" Marel's voice interrupted the two of us. I looked at her. "It's time to get back to work." She smiled sweetly at me.

I got up, groaning as I did. I said bye to Dayton. I walked back to the stand where Marel worked and got back to cutting and covering bread. The two of us managed to get a lot of money. Of course, I was doing this for free. Marel was getting all the money, and then she would have to give it to her husband. Something about that thought irked me.

I've always wished that women could get the same rights as men. It's one of the reasons that I wanted to marry a woman who knew her worth. I felt a lump forming in the back of my throat at the thought. I'm not going to get that now.