The Others

Chapter Sixteen

The next three days, I do not hear, nor see Jonathan. In the morning I wait for him to appear at my tent, but nothing happens. Noon of the third day, I walk up to Mart’s black tent. I open it up without asking anything, and waltz over to his desk.

‘Where is he?’ I ask the man, who’s sitting with his legs crossed. He finishes the sentence he was writing down, puts down the pen, and then looks up to me.

‘Good morning, Maya’, he says. ‘How’s the dragon?’

I look back, and see that Lilly has not followed me. Then I turn my attention back on Mart. ‘Where’s Jonathan? It’s been three days since I have seen him, and I need to train. I have tried to do it alone, but I can not learn anything new like this.’

‘He told me your dragon started communicating’, Mart changes subject. ‘How is that going? Is she saying a lot yet, or just a couple of sentences.’

‘Just sentences’, I say before I change the subject back to the important matter. ‘Where is he?’

Mart gets up from his chair, and for the first time, I see Feather move on his stick. ‘He’s out’, Mart says. ‘He’s on a quest, given to him by King Storm himself. He will be gone for a couple of weeks.’

My jaw drops. ‘And he could not tell me?’ I say aggravated. ‘I have been waiting for him.’

Mart observes me, from head to toe and back. It makes me feel a bit awkward. ‘Be careful around him, Maya’, the man tells me. I shake my head.

‘There’s nothing between Jonathan and me, other than professional … stuff.’ Mart smiles.

‘Stuff?’

I shake my head. ‘What do I do now, if he’s gone for weeks?’

‘Is there no one else you can train with? Have you made no friends?’

I bite my lip. Should I go ask Isla? I know she’s good with a sword… but it feels so strange how Jonathan has left. Does he hate me? Is he embarrassed by me? Have I done something wrong?

‘Figure it out’, Mart says. ‘Or use this time to bond with your dragon. Speaking of which, has she told you her name yet?’

I look at him surprised. ‘Her name is Lilly’, I say. He nods.

‘And her dragon name?’

How does he know she has a different name? Did Emeraugh have the same? ‘Faetur’, I tell him. Mart walks back to his desk, picks up the pen and I see him write her name down.

‘Now leave me, I have work to do’, he says, and I leave him alone.

The next month and a half go by incredibly slow. In the mornings I train with Isla, and in the afternoon and evenings I walk around trying to find people to help me. A lot of people accept the challenge, but no one has the strength and confidence that Jonathan made me used to.

Where I see Lilly grow to the size of a bull, I feel like I am not growing at all. Yes, Isla is helping me a lot with sword-fighting. If that’s what you can call our sticks slamming together every now and then. She hands me tips and tricks that help me more than any trick Jonathan has taught me so far. But I can not help this sense of abandonment, and it hates me to say it out loud, but I miss him. I miss his presence, and his jokes.

I wish I never tried to kiss him. I regret it with every fibre of my being. After the first two weeks of visiting Mart and asking when Jonathan would return, I stopped asking. I felt ashamed for trying to claim him, and I wanted to show Mart that I was no helpless little girl, in need of him.

When the first month had come and gone, I gave up on waiting in the morning. I started making my own routine, together with Isla, and Faetur. That’s why it surprised me even more when I stepped out of my tent and noticed him.

The sun was coming up, even if it had not been for long. The gentle orange glow on the horizon lit his face, and his scar seemed luminescent.

‘Come’, he said simply, and he walked away. Thalia was nowhere to be found.

A part of me wanted to be angry with him, and retaliate. I wanted to do my own thing, and ignore his command, but I was too curious what he was going to say, so I followed him.

We walked to the field where I saw him last, and I notice Thalia. She’s laying down, with her head resting on her front-paws.

He throws one of the wooden swords at me, and I catch it with my left hand. Then, I grab the grip with my right, and I take position. Without saying a word, Jonathan runs up to me. He raises his own stick, and I block his attack with ease. Like Isla taught me, I watch my footsteps as I attack back.

The sound of wood hitting wood fills the sky, and after an hour passes by, Jonathan raises his free hand to show me he’s done. I drop on the floor, and pant like crazy. Yes, I was able to keep up, but it cost me all focus I had.

‘Isla?’ he asks me. I nod. ‘Good. Let’s keep that going. She’s a better teacher at this than I am.’

While still panting, I observe him. He walks up to Thalia, but I notice a strange twist in his right leg. It’s like he’s hurt. Is this why I could keep up with him?

‘What happened to your leg?’ I ask him, as I watch him sit down next to Thalia, who raises her head.

That’s when I see that Jonathan is not the only one hurt. The panther has one eye closed, and I notice that her eyelid is thick, and swollen. I gasp.

‘What happened to her?’ I change my question. Jonathan shakes his head.

‘Not important’, he says.

I frown. ‘Yes it is important. You can not just up and appear, thinking that you can come back whenever it pleases you without an explanation. I might not be anything to you, but you can at least show me a little bit of respect.’

I see Jonathan chuckle. ‘You spent too much time with Isla’, he says.

‘Don’t talk to me about Isla’, I defend the girl that’s always been there for me.

The smile instantly leaves his face. ‘Definitely too much time’, he says, showing me that he knows that I know of their past. I turn my face away from him.

There’s a silence between us, until Jonathan finally breaks it. ‘I was doing something for the King. Mart told me that he told you. I did not know it was such a big thing. Next time I will say goodbye, alright?’

I look back at him, with my eyebrows still frowning. ‘What did you do?’ I ask him to clarify. He shrugs, and does not answer. ‘Or is it a secret?’ I guess.

‘It’s not a secret’, Jonathan says. ‘It’s just none of your goddamn business. I’m not your boyfriend.’

I jump up. ‘No, you’re not.’ I say. ‘And you know what? I don’t want you being anything to me. Just leave me alone, I was doing fine without you. I do not need you to teach me anymore.’ I turn around angry, and get away from him with big steps. Who does he think he is?