We didn't need to go to Grand Knight Alcides' class that morning.
André got us excused and allowed us to go to the infirmary to visit Arman.
He was still unconscious when we found him. He had several bruises and abrasions on his body, a cut on his left cheek, and a dislocated right shoulder. They had to ask for a priest to heal it, but he would still need to wear a sling for at least a week.
"I can't believe they did this to Arman!" cried Cat whose tears have been flowing since we saw our friend on the hospital bed.
"There are a lot of unbelievable things happening on campus..." I mumbled. "I'm just glad that we were able to take him back before..."
I frowned, I didn't want to think what could have happened if they brought him to the crown prince's residence.
"Hey, but do you remember what those seniors said?" asked Elliot. "They didn't admit it, but it seems an apprentice escaped from the crown prince's prison."
"That's right!" Cat looked at me, wide-eyed. "Do you think it's that crazy guy you tried to help?"
"Crazy guy?" Elliot looked at us questioningly.
"Remember what I said about that person Darius?" I whispered. "How you found him raving mad in one of the rooms?" Elliot nodded.
"I tried to help him by placing a weakening spell on his chains and on the lock on his door to weaken them. He could have easily broken them by now, so he was probably the apprentice they were searching for."
"Woah... good for him, then, though I hope he's okay and pray that he could successfully leave the campus." Elliot raised his pointer and middle finger to his lips to prayer to the goddess of the Purple Flame.
"Come to think of it, they said they were looking for him in the dorms," Elliot said thoughtfully. "Good thing they didn't enter our room, you even left the door open that morning!"
I suddenly felt a pang of conscience from my careless mistake.
"Sorry... I wasn't thinking. I should have woken you up before I left for the baths..."
"Don't worry, it's all in the past now, let's just be glad that we're all okay..."
He looked down at Arman, still sleeping on the hospital cot. Cat had curled right next to him and is currently sleeping as well.
"You should let the doctor look at your nose while we're here," I told Elliot.
"Nah, I'm fine. I've been through worst, my father is not known to spoil his kids after all," he said with a laugh. "Now, why don't we go to the dining hall and get some late breakfast instead."
"Would it be okay to leave cat?" I asked.
"We'll come back for him, I don't think those seniors would be messing with us anytime soon, particularly here in the infirmary that seems to be under the second prince André's supervision."
"I was really surprised with how you handled this, Elliot," I told him as we left Arman's ward. "I never thought you were one to challenge Wein straight out of the blue."
"Neither did I, to be honest," Elliot gave a deep sigh. "I was planning to just lay low and bend in front of our seniors to keep out of trouble, but seeing Arman like that..." Elliot trailed off.
I know what he means.
Being the center of attention only attracts trouble.
Fighting back only hurts.
Talking back would just bring more punishment.
"But what really surprised me was Cat's swordsmanship!" Elliot added with a grin. "I had no idea that such a small kid could be that good with a sword!"
"You can say that again!" I agreed. "I guess he didn't want to catch unwanted attention either."
"I'm just glad to know that he can at least defend himself," Elliot continued. "It's Arman I'm worried about. He's too hot headed and keeps biting off more than he can chew. I'm worried that we might not be there to help him out, one of these days..."
"Didn't he say that he was trained with the sword as well?"
"Yeah, but, we haven't actually seen him wield one."
"Then, perhaps teaching him some basic self defense can help?"
"Hmm... that's not a bad idea..." he said thoughtfully as we entered the dining hall. "Then let's have a self defense class as soon as Arman gets better.
We took our breakfast at the dining hall.
Elliot asked aunt May for extras which we brought to the infirmary. Arman and Cat were still sleeping, so we simply left some food on the bedside table and went to our second class instead. As it turned out, Grand Knight Alcides' class was cut short since he was called to discipline the seniors who forced and injured Arman.
We went straight to Prof. Novil's lecture hall and were surprised when our classmates greeted us when we arrived. They actually stood up to applaud us!
"To the heroes of the first years!" Gerald praised us. "You really meant it when you said that you were going to fight back!"
"Please, Elliot, can you challenge our mentors too?" some apprentices begged.
"Pat, our mentors are academics too, please help us challenge them!" they even begged me.
"I guess we can help, but aren't there any other neophytes who know how to fight?" asked Elliot.
"I-I've been learning the spear since I was ten," a slender classmate raised his hand.
"Good, may I know what your name is?" Elliot asked him.
"My name is Roo," he replied shyly.
"I'm pretty good with the long sword," said a tall classmate with a hooked nose. "My name's Kanda, and I come from a family of knights," he said proudly.
"I can help as well," said Gerald, "but I would need to be freed from my mentor, Wein, first."
"Then we can help the rest of our classmates from being apprenticed against their will," said Elliot with a big grin.
Several others raised their hands after this. Soon, we had divided our class into three groups; the apprenticed students, the students who can take a challenge, and the rest who can act as look outs.
It was all organized by Elliot who acted as the leader of the neophytes. He seems to be used to talking to people and taking charge of the situation.
I guess it comes to being a merchant's son.
I couldn't help but notice, though, that Hank didn't attend our class. I was still looking for him at the back of the room when Prof. Novil arrived.
"I had no idea that there was another lecturer in my class," he called from the doorway. He was looking at Elliot with an amused look on his face.
"Please pardon us, Prof. Novil," Elliot said with a curt bow, "we were just thinking of plans to help our fellow neophytes."
"I commend you, then, but that can wait `till later. We shall have our class now on Imperial History."
Thus, the class was told to settle down and the lecture lasted until the tower clock chimed the hour.
"Your next class is in Imperial Languages, please proceed to the class next door."
We were about to leave with the rest of the class when Prof. Novil called me.
"Patrick, are you forgetting something?"
"Yes, professor?"
"The Magic Mask you promised yesterday."
"Ah... our friend Arman is currently in the infirmary, so..."
"Yet I have a feeling that you have the ready-to-use mask with you," he said with a devious smile on his face.
"Sir, I'm afraid–" started Elliot, but the professor raised a hand to cut him short.
"I am talking with Patrick right now, Elliot. You may leave the room."
I was left with no choice but to comply.
I took the small compact from my jacket's inner pocket and handed it to the professor.
"Hmm... this is pretty high grade..." he said after applying some on his arm which was quickly covered with red sweltering blisters. "You say Arman's family was selling this in their apothecary?"
"That is what he told us, professor," I replied.
"Then I guess I can order a hundred batches of this from their store?" he smiled again, his eyes seem to be taunting me.
"I do not know, professor, I am not part of their family, nor am I familiar with their business. From what I remember him say, though, it was secretly being marketed," which was what Elliot told as a lie last night. "Perhaps it was only a special, limited item?"
"And who better to know but you, right?" His smile got wider.
"I do not know, professor, I am only repeating what I heard." Which was basically, the truth.
Prof. Novil stared at me some more with the same devious smile.
"Okay, then, I guess this is enough evidence to give the seniors and other faculty members. They were accusing you of using illegal spells, you see," he told me. "I suggest you lay low for now and keep your little tricks to yourself. Who knows, they might even blame the sudden appearance of the red rashes on you and your friends."
I tried not to react to his words, but I think my eyeballs throbbed a little.
The smile on Prof. Novil's face slowly turned to a grin, his eyes, full of interest as they stared at me.
"You are dismissed," he suddenly said. "Go to the class next door."
I finally released the breath I've been holding in and wiped the perspiration from my brows.
Elliot was right outside when I left the room.
"What happened? Are you okay? Is everything fine?" he quickly asked in a whisper.
"Everything's okay," I told him with a weak smile. "Everything's fine now."
Elliot leaned on the wall and gave a big sigh.
"That professor... he's something else. It's obvious that he's into us, but he's keeping our secret for some reason. I dare think that he's even covering for us."
"I know," I said thoughtfully. "He's someone who's definitely hard to fathom, though I have a feeling that we can trust him... somewhat..."
"Let's just be glad that he's letting us off, and hope that he's on our side, then," Elliot added. "Now, let's get to our next classes and pick Cat up later for lunch."