When Mac awoke the wagon had stopped moving and the sun was beginning to move lower in the sky.
"You slept forever," a boy's voice told her, "I'm Jarvin." The boy was blond with blue eyes that danced in the light, he was small like her, she wondered if he'd be mean like Maybeth. "That's Tarquin--he likes to be called Tarq; she's Kathrine; Lindy, Joshua, Fabian, Rosh, Leon, Dewayne, Walter, Brayden and Philip." he indicated each youth in turn.
Most were little, Mac realized, like she was. Rosh looked to be the oldest: he was covered from head to toe in cloth, whether his clothes or bandages, she wondered what was wrong with him. Tarq was darker than most of the others and he didn't have any hair. She wondered if they'd all come from orphanages until she saw the colors of Philip's clothes. Mistress Sheleigh had told them that you could always tell a man's wealth by their clothes: deep reds, purples and yellows were the most costly, while cotton without dye was the cheapest. Mistress had taught them to take coins from anyone who had them: especially those with the most money. Philip was dressed in a deep red tunic over a yellow-gold shirt and dark brown hose with tall leather boots. Self-conscious Mac tucked her feet under the hem of her too big skirt.
The other girls jabbered together, ignoring everyone else, "cousins," Jarvin had told her they barely spoke to anyone else. The boys were all watching the Hushai set up the tents: all except Tarq, he was staring at her.
"You're too little to be a Hushai," he sneered at her, "girls are too weak." Mac didn't think Tarq was much older than she was.
Mac decided that Tarq was probably mean, like Maybeth. Eventually Master Kurt came over and lifted the children out of the wagon, urging them to go sit by the fire. Mac waited until the others had found seats before she went over and sat away from where Tarq was, the older boy sneered at her over the fire.
Master Evans joined them after placing a large kettle pot over the fire, "It will take us a week to return to the Hushai fortress," he told them, "You can all ride in the wagon while we travel, but you will each get chores to help with, regardless of age." He looked around the group, "Hushai do not wait for others to do for them what they can do for themselves."
"Some of you have been traveling with us for some time, while some have joined us in the last few days." Evans said, "Being a Hushai has nothing to do with age or where you are from. It is a way of life: it doesn't matter what you do after this, being a Hushai is a lifestyle."
Master Kurt joined them, "We will start your training tonight. You need to put your mind in order and learn to control your body. Your body and mind will become your best weapons."
"You will study mediation and different types of fighting," Garvin began to hand out bowls of stew, "you will study the body, poisons and healing. You will learn diplomacy and reading, writing and other things. It will be a study of years."
"Decades for some," Mac didn't know what that meant but Master Kurt made it sound like a long time, "and if any of you show signs of having magic abilities, you will be trained to use it as I have."
"What about those who already know those things?" Philip asked aloof. "I trained in many of this things already." Mac wondered if he would be mean like Tarq but she liked his hair, it reminded her of the sun.
Evans shrugged, "You may advance faster than others or you may spend much time unlearning bad habits." Philip frowned but didn't say anything.
They ate the rest of the meal in silence. True to their promise: after dinner was cleared and stowed Kurt had them find a spot to sit crross legged. "Just relax your body, close your eyes and begin to take deep breaths through your nose."
Mac tried to do what the Master said, but her mind kept going back to the things they would learn. She wondered if she could learn to heal bruises and stop people from hitting little kids.
"Take a slow breath, feel it fill up your belly until your belly feels fat like you had just eaten an entire pie yourself, when it can't hold anymore let it out very slowly again."
Mac heard someone giggle and someone else shift. She crunched her eyes shut tight and tried again. She was only little but she had to try, anything was better than being with Mistress. She fidgeting: she had to move rocks and twigs that kept poking her; after what felt like forever Master Kurt told them they could stop. Only Tarq, who had been traveling with them for the longest was able to sit still and quiet.
"Master," Lindy asked shyly as they laid out bedrolls: some under the wagon, some under the carriage, the rest near the fire, "We've never seen Hushai before you came to our home; are the stories true: do you fight dragons and monsters and rescue missing princesses?"
The Hushai Healer smiled at the girl, "into bed, all of you and I'll tell you."
Mac found herself between Katherine and Jarvin near the fire and settled to listen.
"The Hushai have three levels: those in training are known as Junior Hushai, once you've completed training you will be declared a Hushai Elite and the highest rank are the Hushai Legends." Kurt instructed them.
"Most Hushai fall under the Elite category, there are only five living Legends: mostly the Legends travel and are not at the compound where you will train. The Legends have all completed a great quest: one fought three ogres to rescue a town, another sought a treasure of great import and returned it to the Council of the Realms, another healed 100 soldiers who had been ambushed by pirates, and yes: the other two fought and defeated a dragon."
A collective sound of awe came from around the fire. All except Tarq who scoffed but Master Kurt ignored him, "the Elite have other missions: we are hired out for specific quests, we offer protective services, and we also teach combat skills."
"You have all been chosen." Evans said, "each day you will learn, and if you study hard you could earn a place among the Legends."
Whispering excitedly about facing daemons and dragons the children slept.