First Weekend in Aspell
Jamahl,
What have we gotten ourselves into!? I'd forgotten what a pain you were when you first came over. I'm remembering everything now, in vivid detail. But this... this is that times eight. Literally. We very well may be in over our heads. Please tell me your news is better than mine.
Ben wearily rubbed his bandaged side and winced at the pain that shot up through his spine and into the back of his shoulder blade. It was going to be a long six weeks of healing, and for that stupid little scene in the courtyard last night he was being forced to miss out on the tournament this weekend.
Last night. How had things gotten so out of hand?! And when they had been going so well!
Zagerous (unaffectionately called Z), Roger, Malene and Vivian had all arrived in good time and good shape three days before. Though their looks were sour and uncooperative, Ben was pleased to see the curiosity shining in their eyes. He knew they weren't going to run back home before they had had that blessed sense satiated. They had questions, and this was the perfect place to get answers. Ben just hoped he could give them more than answers. He wanted them to change because of those answers.
Charley and Kassim had been there to greet the villains - oh excuse me, villain's progeny - as well as Beth and Ellie. LoLo had said she'd show but had been called away on some affairs of state with her mother, Jasmine, at the last minute. Ben was glad he'd had his friends around him to welcome the newcomers, and hoped they looked less like two gangs meeting and more like the school chums they were supposed to be.
"We are so very glad to have you here!" Beth had gushed, in all sincerity. She eagerly embraced both Malene and Vivian, each of whom looked at her with pure horror in their expressions. Beth seemed not to notice but instead reached out to take some of their bags, calling out to Ellie to do the same. Ben was impressed by how quickly the two princesses managed to surround the new girls and guide them, firmly but gently, into the dormitory. Ben, Charley and Kassim were left to face Z and Roger on their own.
"Hey!" Charley choked out with what was meant to be a smile but looked more like the expression one has when they're trying really hard to not let any air escape from their posterior at a banquet or fancy ball. He was eying Z with a mixture of respect and terror. Z, on the other hand, was looking around the campus with a fire in his eyes that matched the flames shooting out of the tips of his intensely dark blue hair.
"Where's Jay?" Z finally spat through clenched teeth. He looked at Ben as though it were a threat instead of a question.
"Jamahl will be studying at Charm this year. He sends his regards and regrets that he can't be here to welcome you," Ben replied evenly. Z's eyes flattened to narrow slits before he let out a sharp laugh.
"Regrets indeed," he scoffed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and settled into mopey silence. Ben eyed him for a moment and then turned to Roger with a smile.
"Thank you for coming. Your courage is admirable. We understand it was not an easy choice."
Roger smiled, and it almost seemed genuine, except for the snicker that lingered in the corner of his eye. Ben had seen that look enough times in Jamahl's expression from the beginning of their friendship to know that it didn't bode well.
"Glad to come, mate," Roger said with an accent that Ben guessed came from the varied mixture of people the son of a pirate grows up around.
"Well," Kassim finally chipped in, "wanna see your rooms?"
Once settled into their rooms, the newcomers were shown around the campus and introduced to a few of the teachers, those who hadn't already gone home for the weekend. Ben was gratefully surprised to find the islanders to be attentive and well-behaved, at least more so than he had expected. They weren't exactly gracious, but they kept whatever snarking thoughts they had to themselves, and they seemed to listen as he explained the workings of the school and what their year would be like.
Everything was running as smoothly as he dared hoped. He just hoped it would continue into the weekend.
Kassim and LoLo had volunteered to take Roger home with them. Vivian would go with Ellie, and Z would be with Ben's family. Beth and Charley would take Malene home with them, which wasn't far from Ben's place, so they had planned a combined family dinner for the second night. Fingers crossed, each of the new kids would enjoy their weekend of family time and realize that these mainland people weren't half bad.
And that's what did happen. Sort of. Mostly. Until last night.
I'm afraid I let things get out of control last night. Badly botched. I'm still cursing myself for it. I should have seen it coming, Jamahl! I should have done something to warn him. But I didn't. And now... Well, we're still picking up the pieces and I haven't been able to make a list of all the damages.
We were having a fine dinner with Beth's family, which meant Malene and Z were both with us. They've been pretty quiet all weekend, but Mal seems to be warming up to Beth (just the slightest, mind you, but I call any progress a victory). Z has just been quiet. I've tried to pull him into conversation, to connect with him on some level, but he just fumes. He doesn't scream and yell and throw things like most of the angry people I know (take little Brazen for example. He's a powerful angry little kid. No one wants to be around when he's having a tantrum). Z just fumes. Or rather, flames. There's fire in his hair and in his eyes. It's creepy.
Back to the story.
We had a relatively calm dinner and we had decided to go out into the courtyard to enjoy the meteor shower. Did you get to watch it? It was really something to behold, and I admit that in the thrill of the cool night air and the magic in the heavens above, I may have detached myself slightly from the group in order to secure some time alone with Beth. It's been quite the whirlwind these past few weeks and I haven't had much time with her. I don't mean to excuse myself though. My duty was with my guests and I neglected that. I take full responsibility.
We heard the shouts and then saw the flames from the inner circle of the courtyard. We rushed back into the center, only to find that Z was completely enflamed. Engulfed in flames. And laughing. I'll never get that picture out of my head. It was chilling.
Thor was there. He was in the fire with Z. I should have warned him! I should have known he would show up. It's the weekend, and he and Charley are so close... It was just natural that he would stop in to say hi. But when the son of Hercules and the son of Hades are in the same house together, things don't go well. And they weren't going well at all.
Ben and Beth were seated together, just around the corner of the courtyard. Her arm was linked through his and she leaned her head lightly against his shoulder.
"Moments like these are going to be rare, aren't they, Ben?" Beth whispered. Ben nodded slowly and brushed his thumb across her hand. She sighed but then smiled up at him. "I will simply have to keep a very good journal then, one which I can reference daily, if need be. At least until we can find the time to make more of these moments." Ben laughed. He always loved that Beth could see the bright side of things.
He was about to ask her about her time with Malene, but was interrupted by the first shout from the courtyard. Beth jumped up and Ben was right beside her. Her hand clasped in his larger one, they raced towards the sounds of the chaos.
"Ben, no!" Beth cried as Ben let go of her hand and raced towards the flaming Z. His sword wasn't on him (why should it be at a family dinner?) but he charged ahead regardless. Thor was in Z's grasp, in that hellish fire with the flaming villain, and Ben wasn't about to stand back and watch him burn.
He had almost reached him when Mal stepped in front of him, a lethal dagger held tightly in her hand. Ben dodged and the blade took him in the side instead of the gut. He wrenched it from her grasp, but not before she had managed to pull the blade up his side and across his shoulder blade.
Charley was there the next second to wrestle with the snarling Malene while Ben gasped for air. His side burned with pain but his eyes were fixed on the still laughing Z and the now unconscious Thor.
"Charley, throw me your cloak!" Ben cried out as he stumbled a run towards the flames. Charley was quick to react, tossing off his heavy woolen cloak and throwing it to his older friend. Ben caught it in his grasp and then held it out like a shield, pummeling into both Z and Thor with all of his weight and throwing them back into the water fountain situated just behind them.
The three of them were instantly soaked and Z's fire was snuffed out. The next few minutes were chaos. Ben's guards showed up. Beth's father was now part of the fight. It was a mess but luckily a bloodless one, minus Ben's injury. Soon the two villains were contained and Thor had been rushed off to a room inside, while Merlin was sent for. Fortunately he had been dining with the family, so he was nearby and Thor was in good hands.
"What happened?" Beth's father, Kit, finally asked the group of very downcast teenagers as they gathered by the kitchen fireplace for a cup of cocoa, provided by the ever-loving and ever-serving Madame Potts.
"I don't know," Charley choked out. "One second we were looking up at the stars and the next thing I knew Thor was in a bear hug with Z and they were both on fire!"
"Oh how horrid!" Beth whimpered. "Thank goodness Merlin was here and Thor is all right. But oh how horrid!"
"Yes, horrid indeed," Kit said with a grim face. He reached out to give a reassuring pat to both of his children and then gestured to Ben and walked out of the kitchen with him.
"What do you intend to do, Ben?" Kit asked with a sharp look in his eye. Ben appreciated that Kit was placing the decision in his hands, as it was his responsibility, but he wished for a moment that he could hand the whole problem over to the more experienced man and tell him to fix it.
"Z and Malene must endure the consequences of their actions," he finally said in a level voice. "Z will be stripped of his fire for the remainder of his stay in Aspell. Malene as well will be unable to study or perform any magic while at school, at least until we are certain we can trust them. I will instruct Merlin to perform the necessary spells." He ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. "It pains me to so restrict them though! If only they had not acted thus! I wanted them to have full freedom here!"
"And so they did," Kit reassured him. "You gave them all you could, but none of us can stay truly free unless we live according to law. That is something they must learn." He placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. "And you are courageous enough to try and teach them. That is all you can offer though, Ben. You teach them correct principles, but they must govern themselves."
Ben nodded, reassured but still heartbroken.
Z is furious. As always. But he's flameless now. Merlin assured us of that. And Malene will not be up to any of her dagger-hiding tricks. She'll be missing out on the magic classes she would most have enjoyed. Consequences.
Thor is fine. You'll be seeing him again at school soon. Hercules and Megara have not been told the full story... Use your discretion, but Kit and I have deemed it wise to keep as much of this story under wraps as possible. People are already wary enough of these islander kids. We don't need to give them reason to worry even more.
And that, my friend, is where we now stand. School starts tomorrow. I've not yet heard how Vivian and Roger did over the weekend, but it can't have been any worse than what happened with Z and Mal. So we'll keep plugging along and pray that no one dies. Or gets stabbed in the side. This dang wound stings. Merlin tried to fix it up, but the dagger was laced with something. The best he could do was keep the poison from killing me. Now it's just a regular dagger wound that doesn't want to heal up. Oh well.
Please tell me better things are happening on your end. School's not even started and I'm already wondering if we're going to make it to Christmas. Give me some hope.
Ben
What have we gotten ourselves into!? I'd forgotten what a pain you were when you first came over. I'm remembering everything now, in vivid detail. But this... this is that times eight. Literally. We very well may be in over our heads. Please tell me your news is better than mine.
Ben wearily rubbed his bandaged side and winced at the pain that shot up through his spine and into the back of his shoulder blade. It was going to be a long six weeks of healing, and for that stupid little scene in the courtyard last night he was being forced to miss out on the tournament this weekend.
Last night. How had things gotten so out of hand?! And when they had been going so well!
Zagerous (unaffectionately called Z), Roger, Malene and Vivian had all arrived in good time and good shape three days before. Though their looks were sour and uncooperative, Ben was pleased to see the curiosity shining in their eyes. He knew they weren't going to run back home before they had had that blessed sense satiated. They had questions, and this was the perfect place to get answers. Ben just hoped he could give them more than answers. He wanted them to change because of those answers.
Charley and Kassim had been there to greet the villains - oh excuse me, villain's progeny - as well as Beth and Ellie. LoLo had said she'd show but had been called away on some affairs of state with her mother, Jasmine, at the last minute. Ben was glad he'd had his friends around him to welcome the newcomers, and hoped they looked less like two gangs meeting and more like the school chums they were supposed to be.
"We are so very glad to have you here!" Beth had gushed, in all sincerity. She eagerly embraced both Malene and Vivian, each of whom looked at her with pure horror in their expressions. Beth seemed not to notice but instead reached out to take some of their bags, calling out to Ellie to do the same. Ben was impressed by how quickly the two princesses managed to surround the new girls and guide them, firmly but gently, into the dormitory. Ben, Charley and Kassim were left to face Z and Roger on their own.
"Hey!" Charley choked out with what was meant to be a smile but looked more like the expression one has when they're trying really hard to not let any air escape from their posterior at a banquet or fancy ball. He was eying Z with a mixture of respect and terror. Z, on the other hand, was looking around the campus with a fire in his eyes that matched the flames shooting out of the tips of his intensely dark blue hair.
"Where's Jay?" Z finally spat through clenched teeth. He looked at Ben as though it were a threat instead of a question.
"Jamahl will be studying at Charm this year. He sends his regards and regrets that he can't be here to welcome you," Ben replied evenly. Z's eyes flattened to narrow slits before he let out a sharp laugh.
"Regrets indeed," he scoffed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and settled into mopey silence. Ben eyed him for a moment and then turned to Roger with a smile.
"Thank you for coming. Your courage is admirable. We understand it was not an easy choice."
Roger smiled, and it almost seemed genuine, except for the snicker that lingered in the corner of his eye. Ben had seen that look enough times in Jamahl's expression from the beginning of their friendship to know that it didn't bode well.
"Glad to come, mate," Roger said with an accent that Ben guessed came from the varied mixture of people the son of a pirate grows up around.
"Well," Kassim finally chipped in, "wanna see your rooms?"
Once settled into their rooms, the newcomers were shown around the campus and introduced to a few of the teachers, those who hadn't already gone home for the weekend. Ben was gratefully surprised to find the islanders to be attentive and well-behaved, at least more so than he had expected. They weren't exactly gracious, but they kept whatever snarking thoughts they had to themselves, and they seemed to listen as he explained the workings of the school and what their year would be like.
Everything was running as smoothly as he dared hoped. He just hoped it would continue into the weekend.
Kassim and LoLo had volunteered to take Roger home with them. Vivian would go with Ellie, and Z would be with Ben's family. Beth and Charley would take Malene home with them, which wasn't far from Ben's place, so they had planned a combined family dinner for the second night. Fingers crossed, each of the new kids would enjoy their weekend of family time and realize that these mainland people weren't half bad.
And that's what did happen. Sort of. Mostly. Until last night.
I'm afraid I let things get out of control last night. Badly botched. I'm still cursing myself for it. I should have seen it coming, Jamahl! I should have done something to warn him. But I didn't. And now... Well, we're still picking up the pieces and I haven't been able to make a list of all the damages.
We were having a fine dinner with Beth's family, which meant Malene and Z were both with us. They've been pretty quiet all weekend, but Mal seems to be warming up to Beth (just the slightest, mind you, but I call any progress a victory). Z has just been quiet. I've tried to pull him into conversation, to connect with him on some level, but he just fumes. He doesn't scream and yell and throw things like most of the angry people I know (take little Brazen for example. He's a powerful angry little kid. No one wants to be around when he's having a tantrum). Z just fumes. Or rather, flames. There's fire in his hair and in his eyes. It's creepy.
Back to the story.
We had a relatively calm dinner and we had decided to go out into the courtyard to enjoy the meteor shower. Did you get to watch it? It was really something to behold, and I admit that in the thrill of the cool night air and the magic in the heavens above, I may have detached myself slightly from the group in order to secure some time alone with Beth. It's been quite the whirlwind these past few weeks and I haven't had much time with her. I don't mean to excuse myself though. My duty was with my guests and I neglected that. I take full responsibility.
We heard the shouts and then saw the flames from the inner circle of the courtyard. We rushed back into the center, only to find that Z was completely enflamed. Engulfed in flames. And laughing. I'll never get that picture out of my head. It was chilling.
Thor was there. He was in the fire with Z. I should have warned him! I should have known he would show up. It's the weekend, and he and Charley are so close... It was just natural that he would stop in to say hi. But when the son of Hercules and the son of Hades are in the same house together, things don't go well. And they weren't going well at all.
Ben and Beth were seated together, just around the corner of the courtyard. Her arm was linked through his and she leaned her head lightly against his shoulder.
"Moments like these are going to be rare, aren't they, Ben?" Beth whispered. Ben nodded slowly and brushed his thumb across her hand. She sighed but then smiled up at him. "I will simply have to keep a very good journal then, one which I can reference daily, if need be. At least until we can find the time to make more of these moments." Ben laughed. He always loved that Beth could see the bright side of things.
He was about to ask her about her time with Malene, but was interrupted by the first shout from the courtyard. Beth jumped up and Ben was right beside her. Her hand clasped in his larger one, they raced towards the sounds of the chaos.
"Ben, no!" Beth cried as Ben let go of her hand and raced towards the flaming Z. His sword wasn't on him (why should it be at a family dinner?) but he charged ahead regardless. Thor was in Z's grasp, in that hellish fire with the flaming villain, and Ben wasn't about to stand back and watch him burn.
He had almost reached him when Mal stepped in front of him, a lethal dagger held tightly in her hand. Ben dodged and the blade took him in the side instead of the gut. He wrenched it from her grasp, but not before she had managed to pull the blade up his side and across his shoulder blade.
Charley was there the next second to wrestle with the snarling Malene while Ben gasped for air. His side burned with pain but his eyes were fixed on the still laughing Z and the now unconscious Thor.
"Charley, throw me your cloak!" Ben cried out as he stumbled a run towards the flames. Charley was quick to react, tossing off his heavy woolen cloak and throwing it to his older friend. Ben caught it in his grasp and then held it out like a shield, pummeling into both Z and Thor with all of his weight and throwing them back into the water fountain situated just behind them.
The three of them were instantly soaked and Z's fire was snuffed out. The next few minutes were chaos. Ben's guards showed up. Beth's father was now part of the fight. It was a mess but luckily a bloodless one, minus Ben's injury. Soon the two villains were contained and Thor had been rushed off to a room inside, while Merlin was sent for. Fortunately he had been dining with the family, so he was nearby and Thor was in good hands.
"What happened?" Beth's father, Kit, finally asked the group of very downcast teenagers as they gathered by the kitchen fireplace for a cup of cocoa, provided by the ever-loving and ever-serving Madame Potts.
"I don't know," Charley choked out. "One second we were looking up at the stars and the next thing I knew Thor was in a bear hug with Z and they were both on fire!"
"Oh how horrid!" Beth whimpered. "Thank goodness Merlin was here and Thor is all right. But oh how horrid!"
"Yes, horrid indeed," Kit said with a grim face. He reached out to give a reassuring pat to both of his children and then gestured to Ben and walked out of the kitchen with him.
"What do you intend to do, Ben?" Kit asked with a sharp look in his eye. Ben appreciated that Kit was placing the decision in his hands, as it was his responsibility, but he wished for a moment that he could hand the whole problem over to the more experienced man and tell him to fix it.
"Z and Malene must endure the consequences of their actions," he finally said in a level voice. "Z will be stripped of his fire for the remainder of his stay in Aspell. Malene as well will be unable to study or perform any magic while at school, at least until we are certain we can trust them. I will instruct Merlin to perform the necessary spells." He ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. "It pains me to so restrict them though! If only they had not acted thus! I wanted them to have full freedom here!"
"And so they did," Kit reassured him. "You gave them all you could, but none of us can stay truly free unless we live according to law. That is something they must learn." He placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. "And you are courageous enough to try and teach them. That is all you can offer though, Ben. You teach them correct principles, but they must govern themselves."
Ben nodded, reassured but still heartbroken.
Z is furious. As always. But he's flameless now. Merlin assured us of that. And Malene will not be up to any of her dagger-hiding tricks. She'll be missing out on the magic classes she would most have enjoyed. Consequences.
Thor is fine. You'll be seeing him again at school soon. Hercules and Megara have not been told the full story... Use your discretion, but Kit and I have deemed it wise to keep as much of this story under wraps as possible. People are already wary enough of these islander kids. We don't need to give them reason to worry even more.
And that, my friend, is where we now stand. School starts tomorrow. I've not yet heard how Vivian and Roger did over the weekend, but it can't have been any worse than what happened with Z and Mal. So we'll keep plugging along and pray that no one dies. Or gets stabbed in the side. This dang wound stings. Merlin tried to fix it up, but the dagger was laced with something. The best he could do was keep the poison from killing me. Now it's just a regular dagger wound that doesn't want to heal up. Oh well.
Please tell me better things are happening on your end. School's not even started and I'm already wondering if we're going to make it to Christmas. Give me some hope.
Ben
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