Looking over to the side, Fenrir smiled as Martha walked over, holding up her dress to avoid tripping over the flour-covered linen, "I just got back from the bakery, and Freya told me you visited the stall."
Before Fenrir could get a word out, Martha grabbed his wrist and snatched him from the bench, walking away from the group of boys with haste. After a moment, Martha pulled Fenrir aside and fixed him with a patronizing gaze that he recognized from his own mother's face.
"You're lucky I came along in time. Troy is a hothead, but I don't think I've ever seen him that upset," Martha said sternly, admonishing Fenrir for something completely out of his control.
Fenrir shrugged, "He thought I was flirting with your daughter, are they dating?"
"What?! No, of course not. Freya can't see anyone until she's an adult," Martha sputtered, "But that's beside the point. Why didn't you walk away? Those boys could have seriously hurt a fragile thing like you."
"The only reason why I'm so skinny is because I've been a damn vegan up until yesterday. How am I supposed to grow without meat."Fenrir grumbled, "But thanks for the help. Can we go now? I still want to try some of your bread."
Nodding, Martha turned and led the way back to her stall, "Of course sweetie but remember, keep your hands to yourself around my daughter."
Shaking his head, Fenrir sighed, "Why does everyone think I'm flirting."
---
Sitting behind her family's stall, Freya couldn't help but think about the boy that had completely ruined her reputation. Despite her delicate features, Freya's usual demeanor was the exact opposite.
As an only child, Freya often worked in the fields to harvest and grow wheat for her mother's bakery. It was hard work for most, but Freya enjoyed waking up early to till and plow the ground.
Along with her determined and hardworking mindset, Freya was also crass and stubborn, something she took pride in. When Freya saw other girls her age flirting with boys and stuck inside learning how to sew and cook, all she felt was contempt which she didn't bother hiding. While it had alienated her from most of the kids her age, Freya was more than okay with that.
Then out of nowhere, a boy comes along, turning her into a blushing, stuttering mess. He was skinny and a tad short, the exact opposite of what Freya would have looked for if she was trying to find a partner.
But despite his stature, even Freya had to admit the boy was irritatingly handsome. With dark skin, intense steel gray eyes, and a mane of wild, untamed hair the color of dark rich dirt. But it wasn't his looks that had caught Freya's attention, the boy felt alive in a way that she couldn't explain.
Like nature personified, the boy felt perfectly in tune with his surroundings completely at ease but ready to spring into action in a split moment. Freya felt drawn in like a moth to a flame.
'Why am I even thinking about this? It's not like I'll ever see him again,' letting out a sigh, Freya picked up her head and froze.
"Do you know a boy named Troy?"
Fenrir looked down at Freya from only a few inches away somehow managing to completely invade her personal space without her noticing.
Jumping to her feet, Freya pointed an accusing finger at Fenrir, "You! Why are you here!"
"Because I brought him here," a stern voice answered Freya, and she turned to face her mother, "Now lower that finger, young lady it's rude to point."
Reluctantly Freya lowered her finger but still openly glared at Fenrir, "Fine, but I still don't know why he's here."
Martha frowned at her daughter, "Because Fenrir is a little lost and I thought we could help him until the Tempering Ritual."
"I'm not lost. I just wanted to try some of your bread without waiting in line," Fenrir corrected shamelessly, "I've been trying to buy enough food to last me the trip to the capital but I can't stand waiting in line. I also splurged all my money on breakfast this morning."
"You're trying to go to the capital on foot? That's a week's worth of travel on horse and I doubt you have one of those." Freya criticized, "But you clearly don't have the funds for a portal so I guess it's your only option."
Martha stared at Freya with a harsh glare but Fenrir stood undeterred by the open hostility, "I don't know how I'm getting to the capital, I hope the Examiner can pay for my portal fee or use some type of magic."
Before Martha could respond Freya laughed out loud, "You think you're getting into the Academy, everyone knows that place is only for royalty and nobles."
"Freya enough!" Martha snapped and Freya's laughter eventually died off and she shrugged, "What mom it's better if I burst his bubble now, false hope won't do him any good."
Fenrir stared at Freya, his steel gray eyes sharp like swords, "It's not false I'm going to get in, and I think you have a decent shot as well if my instincts aren't wrong. Which they never are."
"Instincts?" Freya snorted as she crossed her arms, "That's a load of horseshite, beside's I'd rather die than be stuck in a school with a bunch of snobbish noble pricks."
"Has anyone ever told you your cheeks puff up when you're mad," Fenrir said with a sly grin as he watched Freya's stern look crack as she glared at him.
Gritting her teeth in anger Freya was ready to lash out at Fenrir for intentionally confusing her when a bright blue beam shot into the air from the middle of the town square.
"Oh that's the examiner, both of you come on, we want to get there early," Martha exclaimed as she grabbed Freya and Fenrir before pulling them along with a surprising amount of strength.
"What about the bread," Fenrir shouted as Martha pulled them away from the stall.
Letting himself be dragged along, Fenrir stared at the stone pavilion in the middle of the square as a bright blue circle hovered just above the ground. The circle was filled in with absolute darkness that no light pierced through and for a moment Fenrir was entranced by the sight.
But then the surface of the portal rippled like water as a man in a blue officers coat stepped through, the crest of the Heros Academy stitched over his heart. But the most startling thing about the man's appearance were his bright orange eyes framed by a pair of thin glasses.
A woman waiting just outside of the pavilion bowed to the man, "Examiner Mordecai it is a pleasure as always to welcome you to Demit and extend the village's thanks for coming out all this way to perform the tempering ritual. Would you like any refreshments?"
Instead of responding the man reached into his coat and pulled out a pocket watch attached to a silver chain, "The portal took a bit longer than I expected thus we are behind schedule so I'm going to begin the ritual shortly. I need every eligible child to step forward and everyone else to move back. Remember if you are in range of the ritual when your pathways have already been tempered or aren't ready you will be magically crippled for life."
The warning had everyone rushing back like the tide as kids Fenrir and Freya's age stepped forward or stayed where they stood with final words of encouragement from their families.
"Alright you two good luck," Martha whispered encouragingly before stepping back with the rest of the crowd.