Four Hearts

Chapter 10 Part 2

Zain

He was still in the training room even though the other students have been long gone. Zain was cleaning his sword; a task he promised himself to do once a week. His coaches told him that he should name his weapon as well. They said it would help his sword seem like a loyal partner that he could always count on. So he did. Last night he chose the perfect name. Camnor, after the person who wielded the sword before him. Camnor seemed to agree with Zain on the matter.

"You were pretty dirty," Zain says while examining the cloth he used to wipe his sword down.

"What did you expect?" Camnor asks. "You drag me around everywhere. Humans need to wash themselves after a day or two. With how often you drag me out it isn't that much different."

"Hmmm, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am, my boy."

"Uncle Alex!" Zain exclaims after looking up to see his uncle entering the room.

"I've been looking for you, my boy," his uncle replies. "I wanted to ask about how your training is going."

"It's good! Coach said I was doing better than most of the class!"

"That's fantastic. Keep up the good work."

"He still is having me doing mostly basic exercises to help me build up muscle. He says if I do that then Camnor won't be so heavy and I'll be able to move faster."

"Camnor?"

"That's what I named my sword."

"I see," Uncle Alex says with a grim look on his face.

"Ask about Allegra. He should know what happened to her," Camnor says. "That's if you care to know anyway."

"Oh yes," Zain replies. "Uncle Alex, what happened to Allegra?"

"The girl who pulled the practical joke during lunch?"

Zain nods energetically.

"Well, she was punished of course. I gave all the kitchen staff the night off, and now it's her job to make dinner for the school tonight. That will teach her how much work it takes to feed this school."

There's a beeping sound, and Uncle Alex pulls out a small notepad that can fit in the palm of his hand. He sighs, "I'm afraid I must be going. You'll have to tell me more about school some other time."

Zain isn't able to say another word before his uncle leaves. Once he is alone again, Zain just stares into his lap.

"It seems like a lot of work for a harmless prank," Camnor says. "You've seen how crowded these hallways can get. There's a lot of students here. That's too much work for one girl to do on her own."

"What should I do? I can't just let her struggle. She's my friend."

"Then go help her."

"But Uncle Alex..."

"Is not here," Camnor finishes. "You want to experience the world, right? Part of that is making your own choices and not just blindly accepting what everyone else says. So, here's your options. Allegra is attempting to make dinner for everyone in Ravenwood Academy. You can help her, or you can ignore it."

"I want to help her!"

"Then get going!"

Zain grabs Camnor with one hand as he gets up and runs out the room toward the dining hall.