Sister Glendra told me tonight I would be meeting her at the temple with the Stell to receive our tomes. The others in our class were still a couple of years from taking the test. The sister told us that we would be doing our tests in private to not upset the others.
After that, I decided I needed to clear my head. So, I headed just outside of the village to my spot on the hill. Sister Glendra's question was still on my mind. Even with the answer spoken, the question made me wonder if I truly understood the answer at all.
While still deep in contemplation, a voice and the sound of running snapped me out of my revelry. As I turned to see who was making so much noise, I was knocked off my feet and clear on the ground. As I hit the ground, I had time to shape an air cushion to soften my fall, but all the air expelled from my lungs. It didn't help that the fiery-haired girl sat on top of my chest.
"I was trying to tell you I was coming, then you turned around and then you fell and then...were here!" chimed the red-haired girl.
This girl was ruby, another one of my friends. At least I assume she was my friend. When she wasn't trying to knock me over like some barely grown sapling that just happened to be in the way of a racing stock wagon.
She had fiery red hair that almost flared with color when in the sun. Ruby was short and petite, but that small frame was there to fool you into thinking she was just some sweet little girl. She always wore some sort of ruffled top with a short skirt. Ruby may not always be classy, but she's not some indecent.
Today Ruby had on a crème ruffle top worn over her shoulders and black boots with far too many buckles to be reasonable. She also wore a lovely knee-length skirt with some sort of embroidery hemmed into the bottom. It looked to be balls of fire rolling along the hem, figures.
"I think you've broken something," I gasped.
"That was amazing. I saw you go to the temple and come out," Ruby said with a cheer and a slight jump. The motion forced more air out, and I gasped, but she continued with no notice. "Your test was pretty fast. How did you get it done so fast? Was it too easy? Maybe there wasn't even a test for you? You have always seemed sisters pet. Maybe..." she was about to continue, but I cut her off.
"She asked me a question, and I answered it," I said while finally drawing in a breath.
She let out a squeak as we both lifted into the air, and I used my will to help raise me. As I became vertical, Ruby became horizontal, and I seized her in my arms before falling. We had known each other for our entire lives, but most of it had been spent running with the other kids.
Over the last 2 years, the way I saw her had begun to change. I can't tell you how it happened, one day I felt that I wanted to chase her for a different reason. That feeling, in turn, made me pursue her less and sometimes made me awkward around her.
"You did that on purpose," she purred up at me through her lashes.
Ruby was a pretty girl, and the purr almost made me drop her. The problem was that I had other things on my mind at the moment, and she was too distracting. So I set her down gently, albeit awkwardly.
"Maybe we can play another time, Ruby. I need some time to think right now, and you are very, very distracting," I said with a sly smile and a wink. She tried to protest, but in the end, she let me go.
"Dak, you're always studying or this or that. You never have time for me or fun," she said as I rolled my eyes, and before I could say another word, she grabbed my hand and squeezed. "Don't forget me when you become a big-time mage Dak."
And without another word, she let go of my hand. As Ruby turned, she gave me a very personal smile that caused my face to heat. That girl, but there was something that pulled at me.
Ever since Sister Glendra had asked me that question earlier, it was like something was in the back of my mind trying to push its way to the surface. Like a thought or an idea, but every time I tried to concentrate on it, it just slipped away like trying to catch air with your hands.
I finally got to the top of the hill and sat down. That was when Stell had come up and sat with me, and the smell of mothers cooking had drawn us home. That's when all the commotion started.
After Gren and Hamak had picked themselves off the ground and produced their equal share of grumbling, we headed into the house. As we walked in, you could smell tubers and other assorted beans and sprouts boiling on the stove. There was another pot more significant than the rest, and we could smell the boiling stew marinating in the pot.
We did not have a lot of money or expensive things. Stell and I did odd jobs around town, helping out farmers. With moving large grain sack onto the carts and help unload them in town.
Behind our house was my favorite spot, the garden. Stell and I loved the garden. Not having a lot of money meant not always being able to buy food. So, Stell and I took it upon ourselves to grow a huge one.
There was a method to our madness. Food is one of the easiest things to trade in our small village. People loved to come by and offer something to trade for our fresh produce. Most of all, we were able to walk out back within reason when we wanted to eat. So we were never starving. As we walked in, my mother looked up from her cooking and gave me a warm smile.
"I heard a lot of rushing noise and then some gentle waves. That must have been you, Stell, in the shed finished?" My mother spoke with a warm but questioning tone.
"I placed it exactly where we had suggested being the best spot for it," Stell replied in that soft rumbling tone of his. My mother could hear others using magic. Only a few gifted shapers can listen to it. I think sometimes that I can detect the faint whisper, but I have decided that it's just me wanting to believe I have that gift.