A Call to Arms: Book One of the Chronicles of Arden (10 page)

Gib jumped at that as well. The two of them must have looked quite a sight as Nage fumbled on in his delight. “
Gravy?
Actual gravy?”

Upon closer inspection, Gib nodded. “It is! I had some once when I was young. Pa had dipped a roll into it. It was delicious.”

Nage was already on his feet. “I’ve never had any. I have to go get some.”

Gib held out an imploring hand. “Grab a dish for us both. And some bread.”

Nage nodded as he raced off, his back disappearing into the crowd. With no distraction, Gib noticed the utter silence surrounding him. Each of the others trained their eyes on him. His face instantly flushed. “What?”

This only earned him laughter from everyone involved. Gib lowered his head and took up his fork once more. “Shut up.”

Kezra was laughing so hard her face had gone red, and Tarquin gasped for air. “I forget how different life is for both of you,” he managed to choke out between fits. “Gravy has never been so exciting.”

Kezra nodded her head but was still unable to speak. Even Diddy covered his mouth, trying to disguise his merriment.

Gib slunk down in his seat and assured them of how entertaining they all were.

When Nage returned a few moments later, with a bowl full of gravy and three small loaves of bread, he looked around at them all. “What’s so funny? Did I miss something?”

Gib said, “Nothing. Go ahead and sit down.”

They both dug into the gravy with their warm bread and grinned from ear to ear as they ate, oblivious to the stares their friends gave them.

After the commotion died down, they received a pair of unexpected guests. Two older boys dropped their plates on the table loudly, one on either side of Diddy, and plopped down. “Hey there, buddy,” one of them said loudly.

Gib recognized both of them. They were the bullies from the first day of class. Diddy had called them his brothers. Gib swallowed.
More royalty? Perfect
.

Diddy groaned as they deliberately invaded his space. “Oh, for the love of The Two. What are you doing here? There must be someone else for you to bother.”

“But we like you,” the leader from that first day spoke up. He was just as lofty and well-spoken as ever. His dark, almond-shaped eyes shone with smug mischief as he plucked an apple from his plate and took a dainty bite. “Didn’t you miss us?”

“I can’t miss you if you won’t go away.” The prince’s decorum slipped for the first time. His voice hissed through clenched teeth much like any little brother speaking to his irksome elder siblings.

“Now, now, Didier. That’s not very becoming for a prince of Arden,” said the second boy with a voice so loud it carried across the room. He trained his voice to sound formal, like how the Queen might scold her son.

Diddy’s face screamed of his discomfort. He looked as though he wanted to crawl under the table and disappear. “Please go away.”

The boy with the almond-shaped eyes stuck his nose in the air. “You hurt our feelings. You’ll never make a good ambassador like that. And you haven’t even introduced us to your friends.”

The agony in the prince’s eyes made Gib wish he could come to the rescue once more but he’d have no excuse this time. He knew who the two older boys were now and had no permission to speak lightly to them.

Diddy sighed, lifting one hand, and signaled to each of his friends in turn. “Tarquin Aldino, Kezra Malin-Rai, Gibben Nemesio, and Nage Nessuno, this is my brother, Hasain Radek, and cousin, Nawaz Arrio.”

Gib blinked and looked at them both. Diddy’s brother looked nothing like Diddy, but his cousin could have been a mirror double. Nawaz shared the same fair skin, dark hair, and wide, expressive eyes—though his were a shocking blue as opposed to Diddy’s brown. Nawaz also had an odd lock of silver growing over one temple.

Hasain shared the dark hair, but his was thicker than Diddy’s or Nawaz’s. His shrewd eyes and thin mouth made him look calculating. His soft voice carried well even in such a loud space. “So these were the ones who took pity on you and decided to give you a chance at being ‘normal.’”

Gib gritted his teeth but kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Hasain. Nawaz narrowed his eyes, causing a knot to form in Gib’s stomach. Had he said that out loud? He didn’t like the way those intense eyes focused on him.

“Hey.” Nawaz’s naturally loud voice seemed to boom all around them. “Aren’t you that boy who mouthed off to us on the first day of class?”

Gib’s stomach sank, but Diddy jumped in to save him. “He didn’t know who either of you were. Rather, he didn’t know who
any
of us were.”

Hasain frowned and stuck his nose in the air. “Where are you from? It would seem your schooling is lacking.”

Nawaz laughed and slapped a hand on the tabletop. “Did you shit your pants when you found out the truth?” He cackled openly, and Gib thought he heard Kezra and Tarquin snort.

Taking a slow breath, Gib waited for Nawaz to stop laughing before he responded. “Not quite, but I was startled.” Nawaz laughed some more. Gib turned to look at Hasain. “I’m from Willowdale and you’re right. My schooling is lacking. I was busy raising my brothers on our farm before I was called here.”

Any merriment either of them may have been enjoying up until that point slipped away. Nawaz sneered and shook his head. Hasain went rigid. Gib prepared himself for more poisonous words and accusations of worthlessness. Both of these older boys seemed not so different from Liro Adelwijn.

Hasain’s next words startled Gib. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Nawaz shook his head and leaned back from the table as if put off from his meal. “That damned draft has gotta go.” He was talking to Hasain but gestured toward Gib and Nage. “Look at them. They’re boys. A farmer and a Nessuno. Chhaya’s bane, it’s not fair.”

Hasain nodded. “I’ve heard talk of taking two men from each family, not just one.”

“Horseshit. Arden’s army is well trained and large enough without forcing new recruits. These old laws need to be struck down.”

“The King has been trying to get the drafting age raised for years, but the country is torn in two about it. The High Council is overrun with fools.” When Tarquin balked at that, Hasain conceded slightly. “Forgive me, Aldino. Not your father so much as—” He gave Kezra a narrow look. “—some others.”

Kezra folded her arms over her chest and met his gaze without hesitation. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. My father
is
a fool.”

Gib was thoroughly confused by all of this, but Diddy showed some mercy. “Could we please talk about something more pleasant? After all, my friends don’t need to burden themselves with all of this.”

Both of the older boys shifted back to nitpicking Diddy for his troubles. While this may have been irksome for the young prince, it made for lighter conversation, and an entire mark later, they were all still sitting together. Their plates had long been empty and most of the other students had left the dining hall.

It would soon be time for chores, but Gib didn’t feel like excusing himself. The conversation had remained light since the redirection, but he was itching to ask more about the draft. King Rishi wouldn’t call for two men from each family, would he? If Tayver were drafted as well, who would look after Calisto? Gib’s insides knotted up at the thought, and he stared at the tabletop until he heard his name.

“That’s right. Gib is Joel’s roommate,” the young prince was saying.

Gib glanced up to see both of the older boys looking at him. Shifting in his seat, Gib tried to think of something to say. “Dean Marc thought that Joel would be able to help me learn my way around here and all. He’s been a lot of help.” He fished for something more but could think of nothing, especially under their heavy looks.

“How do the two of you get along?” Hasain asked.

Gib thought it an odd question. “Well. He’s a good roommate.”

Nawaz nodded, tapping his fingers on the table. “How’s he doing? With school and friends?”

Another odd question, and a bit intrusive. Gib felt like he was being interrogated. “Uh, fine I guess? I mean, we’re not really friends. He’s two years older than me, after all. But he doesn’t seem to have a lot of people over.” He thought about it for a minute. “In fact, other than on the first day when Diddy paid him a visit, the only other person I’ve seen Joel speak to was his brother.”

The older boys shared a dark look. Hasain sighed. “Liro visits him?”

“Only earlier today. Or at least, that’s the first I’ve seen of him.”

Nawaz grunted his distaste. “That’s enough.”

Gib nodded. Without thinking, he offered more than he meant to. “Yeah. I didn’t care much for him.” He winced at his own forwardness and immediately tried to correct himself. “I mean, I’m sorry. I suppose Liro is
your
cousin as well.”

Hasain smirked darkly. “No need for apologies. None of us like him.”

“He’s damned miserable,” Nawaz added.

A couple of young girls came into the dining hall from the kitchen and began wiping down the tables. Gib sighed, readying himself for the inevitability of his own chores. “Yeah, I would agree with you. It seems odd that two brothers can be so different as Joel and Liro.”

The girl who had been wiping down the table next to theirs turned to look at them. “Joel and Liro. Speaking of the Adelwijns, are you?”

Nawaz instantly groaned as though he knew the girl. “Damn it, Annwyne, go away.”

She frowned curtly at him and stuck her nose in the air. “Some of us have responsibilities. We can’t all have rich stepfathers now, can we?”

Nawaz drew back in disgust. “What do you want?”

A smug smile formed on her lips. “I was merely doing my job when I heard the mention of Liro and Joel Adelwijn. Naturally, the discussion drew my interest. Tell me, has Joel dishonored his family yet again? Though I can hardly imagine how he could top his last offense.”

Gib looked at her narrowly. More of this? What were they on about? What could Joel have possibly done that was so shameful?

Hasain was already leveling her with a glare. “That will be enough from you. Go make yourself useful somewhere.”

Annwyne laughed and touched her bosom as though his words delighted her. “And what will
you
do if I don’t, Radek? Your father may be a king but you’re a bastard with no authority.”

Diddy gasped, but Hasain merely clenched his jaw. “Leave. Now.”

She waved him off flippantly and went back to washing the table. “I have a job to do.”

Gib felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see Kezra giving Annwyne a dirty look. “Let’s go. We’ll have chores soon enough.” Gib rose with the rest of his friends.

As they climbed off the bench, the foul girl waved her rag in the air and called to them. “Oh, don’t let me break up the little party. If you’re going to go on about the queer, then by all means continue. I enjoy a joke as much as anyone else.”

Gib wasn’t familiar with the word and Nage looked equally confused, but the reaction from everyone else was instant and fierce.

Nawaz’s voice rose above the others and his face had turned an angry red. “You keep your filthy mouth shut! Joel Adelwijn is no concern of yours.”

Annwyne laughed, clapping her hands like a giddy child. “Oh, what
fun!
I forgot that you were one of the ones to try to protect him. There’s nothing any of you can do. He deserves to be ostracized, lest his perversion infect the rest of us.”

Hasain stepped forward and pointed savagely at her. “Joel is far braver than most men I know and you’ll not speak so lightly of him. He has committed no crime and has never been anything but a decent person, something you would know nothing about.”

She cackled and went back to scrubbing the table. “He’s queer. He’d rather lie with a man, be his whore, than have a normal, respectable relationship with a woman.”

Gib’s head was spinning. The entire world seemed to tilt on its side, and he grabbed the table for support. He barely grasped what was going on here, but her words hit him like a kick in the gut. He was vaguely aware of a commotion. Kezra was shouting some sort of profanity and leaping over the table. He managed to look up, wanting to see where she’d gone, and was shocked to realize that Nawaz had taken Annwyne by the front of her frock and lifted her clean off the floor. She was shrieking at him to put her down and he was yelling at her to shut her mouth. Kezra, Tarquin, and Diddy were all pulling on his arms, trying to get him to put her down as Hasain paced back and forth behind them.

This wasn’t good. Someone was bound to hear. Just as Gib thought to run and look for an adult, for anyone who could bring sense to this nonsensical situation, the shrieking stopped. Nawaz had set Annwyne down, and she was flailing backward, spewing all sorts of horrid names at him.

Hasain came forward at that point and she cringed back. He glared down at her, his voice so low Gib could barely hear it. “If I ever hear such foul things from you again, I’ll have you removed from Academy. You may think I hold no sway, but I assure you, I know my father well and I’ll make this happen. Snakes such as you need to be weeded out of the general population.”