Knowing Blade

Chapter 2

After that first brief encounter Noras kept seeing Daynar over and again. That was only natural: all the trainees spent most of their days on the training grounds, and of course Daynar would catch his eye for the simple reason that he now recognized the boy. They would nod to each other in a greeting, but that was all. Noras still felt no need to seek such a lad out for talking, nor did said lad seem inclined to engage in fawning on those above him in the castle's pecking order.

Or at least that was Noras' impression, insofar as he sacrificed any thought to such matters, until the evening when he spotted Daynar in the Great Hall of the castle.

The Great Hall was not a place where ordinary soldiers could just walk in and out at will. It was even less so for the trainees, and least of all for the youngest and freshest of them. However, on certain days the doors were opened even for the lowliest newcomers, giving them the chance to glimpse how the Lord and his court lived.

Not nearly everyone ever took the offered chance. Most of the soldiers had begun their lives on farms or villages where they had to work ever since they were old enough to be of some use, and more recently they'd got used to hard training and sharing quarters in the Soldiers' House. For them the large, imposing Great Hall with its large fireplaces and tapestries and innumerous candles would've been an intimidating place even without all those sumptuously dressed people vying for the attention and favor of the Lord and his family. It was a place to make many soldiers feel so uncomfortable that they rather stayed away altogether.

Noras had first ventured here in order to win a bet he'd made with his friends, realized that he hadn't been eaten alive, and had made it a habit to do it again whenever permitted. He didn't feel particularly at ease but didn't let that disturb him too much. The point was that he had the right to be here, there were lots of delicious things on the tables only waiting to be sampled, and on these nights even people of his rank got to taste the better ales and beers that were usually kept carefully out of their reach. He knew how to stay out of the way and yet make the most of these evenings.

On that particular evening, though, he spotted something that made his eyes grow wide.

It was a tallish, slim shadow, standing at a respectful distance from the group of people gathered around the Lord and yet very clearly doing its best to stay close enough to watch them, possibly also to catch bits and pieces of the conversation. Not only that, but the handsome youngster had obviously gone into some trouble to look presentable enough to be there, or at least not to draw any unpleasant attention. His clothes were freshly cleaned, the boots had definitely been greased and polished very recently, and his thick dark hair had been groomed into order.

Noras smiled to himself and sidled closer, skirting around the densest crowd, until he was standing next to Daynar.

"What're you doing here, kid, eavesdropping?" he murmured.

Daynar glanced at him, the corner of his mouth quirking.

"The same as you, I think," he said.

"I wasn't hanging around the Lord's party," Noras pointed out. "You were. Are you hoping one of the ladies would notice you, or what?"

Daynar snorted a little. "Of course not."

"Then what?" Noras pushed, for some reason amused.

The boy gave him a slanted, assessing look. "I'm learning."

"Learning, huh?"

"Yes. I want to know how to behave in such company." He nodded minutely towards the group.

Noras' first impulse was to burst into laughter, which right there and then was completely out of the question. Instead he just gaped at the lad.

"You mean to get in that company someday?"

"I do."

"Oh boy," Noras said, even more amused, and shook his head. "You are a curious piece of work, spouting the most outrageous things!"

"I'm not spouting," Daynar said.

"This is only the second time we talk, and the second time when you say something like that," Noras countered.

"You asked me," Daynar reminded him. "Don't you then have dreams, ever?"

Noras looked at Daynar more closely and opened his mouth to reply, then forgot what he'd been going to say when something occurred to him, making him stop and think. He hadn't been paying any real attention to when and where he'd been seeing Daynar, but suddenly he realized that all those sightings followed a clear pattern.

On the training grounds the boy was always either hard at work or closely watching the tuition. Outside the grounds it was the same thing: he was always seen where something was going on though rarely in the center of things. He kept himself a few steps aside, alert and watchful, not mingling with the noisy crowd but instead concentrating on seeing it all. And yet Noras could not detect any hint of shyness about his demeanor. No one shy or fearful or unsure of himself could say such ludicrous things and sound so cool about it. The only explanation was that Daynar had much more confidence in himself and his abilities than anyone in his position had right to.

Perhaps he should give the kid a lesson and grind his face into some gravel to teach him some respect, but he didn't feel the least inclined to do that. Daynar was far too fascinating.

Noras blinked. What was he thinking – fascinating? Well, that was a first! And a boy, too!

"You are a cocky lad," he said to cover the momentary embarrassment. "And my dreams are nothing to concern you."

"I didn't mean to sound cocky," Daynar replied calmly. "What I meant is just that I intend to work very hard and do my best to get as far as I can. Doesn't everybody?"

The crowd surrounding the Lord and Lady of Oberrell shuffled around a little as a few more people joined it, forcing the two young soldiers to retreat further away to the shadows. Quite accidentally that meant moving closer to one end of the long tables, where Noras took the opportunity to pick up a large meat pie from one of the serving plates. Daynar followed suit, and for a while they savored the delicacies in reverent silence.

"So, kid," Noras mused as he remembered again their earlier conversation, "you have plans, huh?"

"You sound like it was something stupid," Daynar said, surreptitiously licking his greasy fingers.

"Not stupid," Noras corrected. "Just – well, pointless, or something. I mean, what's the use of planning beyond tonight or tomorrow? You never know what's going to happen anyway!"

"Is that any reason not to have plans?" Daynar tilted his head in question. "Of course it's impossible to know what'll happen later tonight, or tomorrow, or next month. But if we just sit and wait, nothing will ever happen for sure."

"How would making plans change any of that?" Noras inquired.

"It changes everything," Daynar said earnestly. "If you're not going anywhere, you won't get anywhere. But if you have a plan, if you know where you want to go, you can at least do something and start getting there."

For a while Noras just looked at the lad, digesting what he'd just heard. It made a lot of sense, which was frankly somewhat irritating as it came from a youngster several years his junior. But he couldn't deny that it made sense, and it also made something stir inside him. Noras decided that it had to be ambition, the same thing that glinted in Daynar's eyes.

He chuckled. "Let me play the prophet, kid: you'll be in trouble yet."

"Why?"

"Sounds like you think too much, that's why. Soldiers should leave thinking to their captains."

"Oh, that..." An expression that could only be described as a smirk crept onto Daynar's face. "Don't worry for me. I know I still have a lot to learn before I can start thinking on my own."

At that moment Noras promised himself that he'd stick around Daynar, come what may. The lad just might have what it took to stand out of the crowd one day. And even if fate eventually decided to squash him, well, Noras was sure that before that there'd at least be some interesting times ahead.