On the evening of the seventeenth of the month of Taurus (May), after eating dinner at the dining table, Arsen asked his younger brother, Aeneas, to proceed with his training in the backyard of their residence. Although his knights have surveyed the areas surrounding his spot, there's no telling of when another enraged beast would make its way into that place.
Aeneas disagreed. He didn't want to train around the other knights. As the arguments seemed to proceed, most of the knights excused themselves. Crisa and the other girls also began cleaning up. Only Arsen, Aeneas, Eluard and Donos remained sitting. Eluard was still enjoying his dessert while Donos wanted to be there for the two.
"You're still stubborn about this. You know I could help you with your form and movements like I used to do when you were younger," Arsen said.
Aeneas gritted his teeth, "I can do it by myself," he said.
Arsen was a bit confused. It was only a few years ago when his younger brother would pester him to look at his form and train with him. Now, he doesn't even want to be around the other knights when he trains.
What changed him was the voices of strangers chatting about how different the youngest son of Adrian Caspius was compared to his brother. Rumors about him being adopted even circulated. Spoken not only by children but adults alike. For a child so young, Aeneas felt that it might've been true. If not, then he thought that maybe he was always destined to hide behind the enormous shadow his brother's greatness casts.
That thought didn't sit well with Aeneas. He decided to become better on his own and show the people, his brother, and fate itself that he would be the first Zeal-less person who would be knighted through his own hard work.
"I won't allow you to train there alone," Arsen said.
With a click of his tongue, "I'm sure Tiri will come in the morning, I won't be alone," Aeneas replied.
"Tiriara coming adds to the reason why I cannot allow you two children training there without anyone standing guard," Arsen paused for a brief moment before he continued, "Your friend was hurt, and that is still your way of thinking?"
Eluard looked at Arsen, "How about I stood guard for them, lord?" he asked.
Arsen disagreed, he said that Eluard is still a squire himself. He still has a lot to learn and must not be excused from training himself. Observing and asking the other knights for advice was part of it.
"I'll do it," said Donos.
The three of them turned to Donos. His presence alone is assurance that the people he's protecting are safe. Of course, Arsen has no problem with it. Donos used to be his mentor and is now the only person in the manor who could fight toe to toe with the current him.
Donos turned to Aeneas, "What do you say?" he asked.
Aeneas averted his gaze. He stared at the table and muttered, "But, I want to train alone."
With a serious tone, "My words are final. Either you train with everyone, or Uncle Donos watches after you," Arsen said.
Arsen's words were indeed final, for not a single one was spoken after that.
The next morning, the eighteenth of the month of Taurus (May), Aeneas proceeds to his training spot with a few minutes of rest after breakfast. He was accompanied by Donos this time as per Arsen's commands.
Donos could see the dispirited Aeneas as they walked through the woods. He smiled, "You seemed to be disappointed, Aeneas," he said.
"Brother does not seem to trust me."
"He was worried. And for a great reason," Donos told Aeneas that the number of cases of attacks by maddened beasts was on a weird rise from the start of the month.
Aeneas stared at Donos and didn't say anything before returning his gaze forward.
"Why don't you train with your brother and the other knights like Eluard?"
Donos heard a sigh coming from Aeneas who took a few seconds before responding to his question.
"I want to be a knight by my efforts," Aeneas said.
It was an answer that Donos knew. He just wanted to hear it coming from Aeneas's mouth. Donos made clicking noises from his tongue, "I don't think that's possible," he said before chuckling.
Aeneas turned to him, he was confused since he thought Donos would cheer him to his goal, "What? Then, I'll just prove it to you as well, uncle," he said.
"You know that I've taught your brother how to fight, right?"
The kid nods, "But it was only for a little while," he said. Aeneas wanted it to be on an even ground, so after learning a few things from his brother, he wanted to train alone like how he thought his brother did.
"Wrong, he still learns from other people to this day. And there's no shame in that, a knight should be someone who doesn't shy away from good advice or knowledge from other people."
Aeneas remained silent. He understood Donos's words and was an eye-opener for him. But, it didn't remove his stubborn need for self-approval.
"But…"
Donos patted the boy on his head, "I know you wanted to show everyone your greatness through your efforts alone, and in some way, you already are, but, not a single person is capable of achieving everything they wanted on their own. Even I needed multiple teachers to reach the level of fighting prowess I now have."
Aeneas took a deep breath, "Then, could you teach me as well, Uncle Donos?" he asked.
With a smile on his face, "Need you ask? Of course," Donos said.
The two of them heard a loud voice behind them. It was from a girl, who kept yelling, "Aenie!", prolonging the last syllable of his nickname. Donos and Aeneas looked at each other and started chuckling.
"I guess the young lady has come," Donos said.
Aeneas replied with a nod. Then, from behind, they saw the girl running towards them with a big smile on her face. They stopped and waited for her to reach them.
"Why didn't you wait for me in your manor?" Tiriara asked. Her breathing was normal even after running fast and from a decent distance. She turned to Donos, pinched her leather pants with her left hand, placed her left foot behind the other, her right hand on her chest, and bent her knee a little then bowed.
Donos returned the gesture. He placed his right hand on his chest and bowed.
"You didn't come with sir Konon?" Donos asked.
Tiriara said that Konon came with her but she didn't allow him to go to the training area. When he learned from Arsen that Donos was with Aeneas, he felt assured and didn't continue to persuade Tiriara to let him go with her.
"Are you going to watch over us, Uncle Donos?" Tiriara asked.
Aeneas raised an eyebrow, "He's not your uncle," he said.
"You call him uncle, so he's now my uncle too," Tiriara turned to Donos, "Is it okay, uncle?" she asked.
Donos found her cute. It reminded him of how Issa behaved when she was much younger. He started laughing and agreed with her by nodding his head.
"That's not how it works. You shouldn't agree to her, uncle," Aeneas said.
"Too late, he already did!"
"Your argument doesn't even make any sense."
Tiriara's smile almost reached her ears, "Then why is he your uncle, he's not even a Caspius," she said.
Donos nodded, "What a fine argument, young lady," he said.
"Please call me Tiri, uncle."
Tiriara's response returned Donos's laughter, "Okay, Tiri," he said.
Aeneas told her that Donos was his father's best friend and that they had been together ever since their teenage years. He said that they were even better brothers than some blood-related ones.
"Then, you're not related but he's still your uncle. So, we're the same."
The boy scratched his head. Their pointless argument continued as they proceeded to the training area. Donos's smile stayed the entire time. It was his first time after a long time to see the young Aeneas having such childish conversations and acting his age together with someone who wasn't from the manor and the same person being around his age.
"Don't you have school?" Aeneas asked.
Tiriara looked up, she was trying to figure out what day of the week it was.
Aeneas noticed her, "Today's a Sunday," he said.
"Wow, so smart. How did you know?" Tiriara replied.
Aeneas pondered whether Tiriara was joking with him. After a few seconds of observing her innocent, dumbfounded face, he concluded that she wasn't, "Because the eighteenth of every month is a Sunday," he said.
Tiriara laughed, "This jester, you think you could fool me?" she said.
"Woah…" Aeneas said.
Tiriara looked proud, "See?" she replied.
Aeneas explained that his reaction wasn't because he was fooling her, but for the reason that he couldn't believe Tiriara knew the word, 'jester'. She responded with a weak punch towards Aeneas's shoulder which he dodged.
"I'm still telling the truth. Every eighteenth is a Sunday like every first of the month is a Moonday, the second is an Earthday…" Aeneas continued each of the days of the month and got tired when he reached the tenth.
Tiriara turned to Donos who was walking a few steps behind them. He smiled and nodded at the girl.
"Really?" she said with a loud voice.
Aeneas snickered, "That's why you should go to school."
This time, Tiriara put a bit more weight on her punch. It landed and made Aeneas groan in pain.
"I don't like school, it's boring. How about you, why're you not in school?"
Aeneas said that he used to go when he was seven but stopped after a month. When Tiriara asked why, he said that it wasn't her business and that he was quite intelligent anyway.
As they arrived at the training area, Aeneas began hitting the blackwood like he always does. Tiriara followed him and did the same. While they train, Donos watches them. He was quite impressed not only by Tiriara but also by Aeneas's progress.
Donos thought that it was a great shame that he didn't bear the Lion's Zeal.
After a while, Donos approached the two, "How about training against me?" He asked.