The days that followed that incident were full of hope and enthusiasm.
More challenges were issued to the other senior mentors, and not just neophytes were freed from abusive apprenticeships.
Senior Nigellus didn't accept further challenges, though, stating that he is recuperating from mental exhaustion. We would need to wait for a week before he could be forced to accept challenges again.
Darius started going to class with us the very next day.
He and several other classmates of ours joined Senior André's White Knights Medic Team, together with Eliot, Cat, and the newly restated 4th year senior Lycan, who had just started attending his second year classes which he was forced to drop out of, ever since Senior Nigellus forced him to be his apprentice guard dog.
Of course, Senior André was happy to have them all under his team, much to Grand Knight Alcides' annoyance.
Arman also joined the apothecary with me.
We have been spending most of our free time in the infirmary, trying out different potions and concoctions with the endless supply of herbs and ingredients available in the large infirmary.
"Excelent, Arman!" Senior Triste praised my friend. "Your herbal infusion is of the best quality, the leaves and fruits you used were gathered perfectly, the steps were performed meticulously, and the preparations were made with the greatest precision!"
"Of course! This is child's play for me, after all," Arman haughtily replied, flipping back his long black hair.
"The rest perfected the infusion as well," Senior Triste continued, facing the rest of us in the apothecary class. "I would like each of you to prepare one more batch each for the rest of the period. Tomorrow, we will be gathering herbs in the garden for drying."
Our senior left us in the lecture room to continue our work.
There were about eight of us, including Arman, Elmer, and I. The rest were seniors from other grade levels who were assigned tasks of greater difficulty, yet they would still approached Arman at times to ask about certain herbs and even procedures to prepare their potions.
"Are you done with your second batch, Patrick?" Elmer asked as he prepared more ingredients.
"Almost, I'm starting to get the hang of this potion making," I replied with a smile. "I'm really glad I decided to join the apothecary class."
"And I'm glad you told me to join this class as well!" Arman beamed after instructing one of the seniors about a tincture he was preparing. "This is so my element, and they have all these precious ingredients that even our store find difficult to buy, plus, I could finally pay you back by teaching you skills in potion making!"
"And what wonderful skills they are!" I praised him.
"Hmph! Of course! After all, my family is the empire's top apothecary and our alchemists are famous even outside the continent!"
"And I thank you for all the things you have taught me," I gave him a slight bow.
The things Arman have taught me were invaluable, after all.
As a recluse, there was no one to show me how to properly perform even the most simplest of tasks.
All I ever had were rigid instructions from books I found in the library. The rest were guesswork and experimentation which, thankfully, worked for me so far.
"Oh, you know I'd do anything for you!" Arman tapped his rosy cheeks with his dainty hands.
He no longer uses the 'mask of flesh' spell to replace the scar on his face. He say's it's too much of a bother, when the seniors are no longer a threat to us, anyway.
I just hope that he is right.
"I'm done with my second batch!" said Elmer.
"I'm almost through with mine as well," I replied.
"You neophytes are good at this," our seniors praised us. "Especially you, Arman!"
"We would expect nothing less from the Fentibeau family's young master!"
"Oh, you're making me blush!" Arman replied with a laugh, obviously glad with all the attention."
"Pat! Arman!"
I look up from my long work table and saw a hive-covered boy going my direction.
"C-Cat, don't just enter the room..." Lycan called after him with a slight lisp. "T-the apothecary class is not over yet."
The two have been inseparable ever since they were reunited two days ago.
"W-we shouldn't disturb the class..." Lycan raised a hand over his masked face.
He is still conscious of the burn mark on the left side of his face and the scars over his right eye. Cat insisted he wore a half mask, though, instead of the full mask he was forced to wear as part of Senior Nigellus' guards to hide his hideous scars. The new mask covered most of his scalp and his blind left eye, but not the slightly burnt left side of his lip.
"Pat, aren't you done yet?" Cat asked with a pout. "It's almost time to go to Prof. Novil's class!"
"I'm just about to clean my table," I replied with a smile.
"Where's Darius and Elliot?" asked Arman.
"They're still with Senior André, he said something about a special training class for this evening," said Cat who was busy looking at the bottled concoctions on my table. "He's been real busy since all the seniors keep asking him to teach them how to wrestle. They keep asking us for duels, too, but senior said Lycan and me don't need extra training to learn the imperial sword, since we already have our own special style."
Cat's hive covered face broke out in a proud grin. He decided to keep using the 'mask of flesh' just to play it safe.
'I'm only good when I have a sword,' Cat had told me. 'I'm actually a scaredy cat when I'm not armed.'
"Let's get going then," I looked at Elmer who was still wiping his table. "Would you like to go back with us?"
"You go on ahead, I'm still waiting for Norman from the medical corps," he said with a shy smile. "Senior Triste has his eye on him, you know," he added proudly, "says he's a really talented healer. He even helps prepare Senior André's favorite health drink!"
"I guess that's why they seem even more busy every day," I replied, thinking how the healers' class always stay later than the apothecary and medic classes.
"Okay, then, we'll see you later in class!" Cat said merrily as he led the way out of the room.
"Hey, Cat, you going back now?" some of the senior medics in the main hall called out to him.
"Yep, we've got a class with Prof. Novil next!"
"We'll see you around, then!"
"Show us more of your sword tricks tomorrow, Senior Lycan!"
The two have become quite famous, as well as Darius and his outstanding swordsmanship, and Elliot whom senior André had taken a shining to.
"Hey, by the way, did you guys hear the news?" Arman suddenly said. "They said that thegrand masters would be introduced to us before the month is through!"
"Grand masters? As in real, professional, master craftsmen that can take us in as proper apprentices?" asked Cat, wide-eyed.
"Yup, one of the seniors in the apothecary class told me about it," Arman exclaimed. "They said they decided to invite them earlier since there are a lot of promising neophytes this year."
"That's good to hear," I said with a smile, "I hope you find a good master to mentor you."
"I sure hope so, too!" Arman replied excitedly. "I want a good master designer to apprentice to. Then I would open my own clothes saloon with the latest fashion next to our family's apothecary shop!"
"A clothes salon?" I raised my brown at the news, "I thought you wanted to be an apothecary?"
"Oh, my father's still young, I plan to branch out as a beauty salon and offer fashionable clothes as well as beauty products for both men and women!"
"Oh, oh, I want to apprentice to a master chef, just like Elliot!" said Cat with his hand raised. "I wanna make lots and lots of yummy dessert for Lycan!"
"A chef? Wouldn't you like to learn more about swordsmanship?" Arman asked him.
"Nope," Cat shook his head. "Like Senior André said, our sword style is already good, we just need to perfect it more. That's why Lycan and me keep practicing our techniques during classes!"
"Y-you're already perfect as is, Cathian..." Lycan mumbled, the uncovered parts of his face turning as red as his stubby hair.
"What about you, senior Lycan?" I asked him. "Have you chosen an apprenticeship before when you were a neophyte?"
"I-I took up wood craftsmanship..." he replied shyly.
"Lycan's real good with his hands, you know!" Cat said proudly while raising his best friend's large, scarred hands. "He used to carve wooden soldiers and animals for me to play with!"
"Oh, I would love to see your works!" Arman's eyes gleamed.
"I-I'm afraid... S-Senior Nigellus b-burned them all... w-when he took me as his g-guard..."
"How dare he!" Arman gasped.
"I know, right?" Cat frowned. "I really should have beat him up when I had the chance!"
"Only, he never gave you a chance," I said with a sigh. "But I'm sure he'll get his just deserts, soon enough..."
"What? He even gets dessert after all he's done?!" Cat's frown deepened, his jaw dropping.
"No, I mean..."
"H-he'll get what he deserved, soon enough," Lycan said in my stead. "B-but please keep away from his group," he added. "Y-you don't know how h-horrible he can be..."
"Ugh... you don't have to warn me, no way I'd want to be near him or any of his henchmen. They so disgust me!"
Arman shivered, not noticing Lycan wince slightly.
He was, after all, part of Senior Nigellus' men just recently, and he had been doing the second prince's bidding for about two years.
But it wasn't really his fault that he caught Nigellus' eye.
Lycan has a lovely baby face in a tall bulking body. I bet the seniors wanted to dominate him as soon as the mentor-apprentice relationships were proposed.
Cat slipped his arms around Lycan's thick left forearm.
"Don't worry, Lycan, I'll never let anyone bully you again!" he reassured his friend. "You never should have agreed to be his guard in the first place!" he said with a pout. "You know pretty well that I can take care of myself!"
"How did Nigellus capture you, anyway?" Arman asked. "You're really good with a sword. You can easily fight for yourself!"
"H-he made his guards ambush me one evening," he mumbled, "I just got back from a t-tiring exercise from Grand Knight Alcides' class... he has 5th and 6th year senior vassals who could use magic, and I wasn't a-armed back then..."
"But did they really have to do that to you?" Arman looked at Lycan's covered face, making the bulky senior blush even darker.
"H-he kept punishing me, whenever I refused him... until... h-he found a picture I painted of Cat and..." Lycan trailed off.
"The bastard saw my picture and told him that they would wait for me instead!" Cat finished for him. "He used me to get what they wanted from my Lycan." Cat's voice wavered. There were tears pooling in his eyes.
"T-that's okay... They never got what they wanted! I promise!" Lycan looked flustered.
"But look what they did to your cute face instead!" Cat's tears fell down his cheeks. The four of us walked in silence after that.
"I guess they got turned off after doing that to your face, huh?" Arman said after a while.
"H-his highness prefer p-pretty men..." said Lycan. "he just wanted me as a guard... he h-hated that my body got this big... T-that's why I kept lifting weights to look even bulkier..."
"Good thing those stupid seniors really hate ugly people," said Cat with a harrumph.
"Lucky me, huh?" I said as a joke to lighten the mood.
"What are you talking about?" Arman frowned at me. "Don't underestimate my hard work! Your lovely hair is starting to grow properly now, and you're beginning to gain weight as well!"
"That's right, Pat," said Cat, "you're not as frightening as you used to be!"
"I-is that so?" I tried to laugh. I suppose that was meant to be a complement.
"Yeah, I used to be afraid that you might fall sick anytime, or just simply die from being too thin and sickly!" Cat explained.
"T-that's a bit too much for you to say, Cat," mumbled Lycan.
"Anyway, you should stop thinking that you're ugly!" said Arman who came close to give me a hug. "You're getting more beautiful every day, and I'll make sure everyone acknowledges that before half a year is through!"
"Yeah, me too!" Cat said enthusiastically.
And somehow, I felt really glad that I have such friends, though I can't help but feel worried as well.
My worries were momentarily forgotten when we arrived back in the dormitory and received letters from our family.
Well, at least my friends received them.
Elliot got a huge package containing several delicacies from his hometown. Cat got a thick letter from his family asking about his health and his friend Lycan. Darius also got a curt letter from his father, while Arman got a package of cosmetics from his friend back home.
"Didn't you receive a letter, Patrick?" Cat asked me wide eyed after reading his letter out loud for all of us to hear.
"I'm afraid not," I replied, "though I'm glad that you got news from your families."
"Don't worry, Pat, I'll write you a letter myself!" Cat declared, pulling out a sheet of paper from his study table. "Lycan, can you draw pictures on it?" he asked his friend who sat beside him on bed. "And don't forget to write back home to let them know that you're with me now!"
"O-of course..." Lycan mumbled shyly.
"Patrick, I'm going to introduce you to my younger brother," Darius told me, "I'm sure you will have a lot of things to talk about since you both have a lot in common."
"Oh, and I'm telling my Gramps that I entered the apothecary class with you!" said Arman. "I'll ask him to visit us at the end of the term so I can introduce you to him!"
"I'd love to introduce you guys to my sisters as well!" said Elliot with a beam. "You see these preserved meat and fruits? My sisters made them themselves! They're sure to fatten you up, Patrick!"
I couldn't help by smile brightly at my friends.
I may not have people back home who worry about me, but here, in the Royal Mauve Academy, I have found friends who treat me better than family.
Truly, the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, and I have my new friends to prove that.