Born Enemies

Celestine was hiding, as usual, in the herb garden. The vast fields were filled with every possible herb one could think of. Every time a clan member went on a mission to different towns, villages, or realms, they always came back with as many herbs as their satchels could carry. Sometimes they would even gather herbs when they went on walks, hikes, or strolls. Herbs were one of the main skills all novices learned upon entering the clan. The second skill was poison. The poison fields were on the other side of the massive clan house. Even though he was hiding, Celestine was also working. He walked down each row, taking inventory of the number of herbs they had left and which herbs needed to be thinned. The well-worn and stained clipboard was held securely in one hand, while he chewed absentmindedly on the end of his quill, his brows drawn together in deep concentration as he counted the number of dragon claws they had left. He paused, his mouth pulling into a frown when the math didn't add up. They were half a bush short of the delicate white dotted flowers. This was the third plant that did not match the input-output records. "Cel", the sound of his name being called, drew him out of his board. He turned around to see a fellow scholar, Lora, running towards him. Squinting his eyes, he could barely make out the shine of where the bright sunlight hit the gleaming coat of her mount. Animals were strictly prohibited from entering the fields. When she reached him, he hunched over, his hands planted on his knees, gasping. Cel waited patiently for her to recover. "Master Leo wanted to see you in his office." She panted once she'd somewhat recovered. "Okay," he followed her as she led the way out of the field towards her mount. He helped her up, then swung up on his horse which he'd left tied in a shaded area with plenty of grass. They urged their horses into a gallop. They rode in silence and soon reached the stables, where they dismounted and gave the reins to the hands who came out to wait for them. The hems of their pale golden robes swished around their feet as they walked with hurried steps towards the entrance of their clan house. "Watch those boots, I just finished cleaning the floor!" Yelped another younger healer with a youthful chubby face as they entered the Entrance Hall. "Sorry," he and Lora apologized as they quickly paused long enough to remove their boots at the thrashhold of the entrance hall. Clutching the clipboard in one hand and his boots in the other, Cel swiftly walked towards the lift at the right side of the hall with Lora following behind him. They stepped onto the polished wooden platform, which began to rise the moment they settled. "So what were you doing in the garden?" Lora asked curiously. Her breathing had returned to its normal rythematic pattern. "Taking inventory," Cel replied. "Why? I thought this month's inventory was already done." "It was." Cel agreed. "Then why are you doing it again?" She asked when he wasn't willingly to immediately supply more information. "I was bored." He glanced down at the pretty girl who wore an expression of astonishment with a faint smile. "I don't understand you." She shook her head as if baffled by his way of thinking. "Sometimes I don't understand myself either." Cel agreed vaguely. The platform stopped upon reaching the sixth floor. They stepped onto the landing and headed towards Master Leo's office. He hung up to allow Lara to move forward and knock lightly on the thick, darkly polished wooden door. "Enter." Lara pushed open the door and stepped in."Master Leo, I've brought Cel," she said respectfully. "Thank you, you can return to your class." "Yes, Master." She bowed her head before retreating from the room. "Good luck," she said as she passed him, leaving the door open for him. Cel nodded his head before entering the spacious office and closing the door behind him. "Celestine," Master Leo greeted her. She sat behind an enormous desk that had stakes of various sizes arranged neatly both on her right and left. Her height wasn't the only thing that intimated people. Her dark brown eyes, as well as her deep voice, also played a huge role. Her rusty brownish red hair was pulled back into a neat knot on top of her head and her large long-fingered hands were stained with ink. A sign that she'd been spending hours trying to shrink the piles of documents on her desk. She chuckled softly when Cel winced at the sound of his full name, but bit back a remark. "I see you're skipping your classes again." She observed in a way that gave nothing away. "Not all of them..." Cel began to defend himself, but she calmly held up her hand to silence him. "I know that you're brilliant and already know what's being taught, but you can not skip any of your classes." She stressed. Cel pressed his lips together to hold back his complaints. There were only two classes he skipped, both of which he still got top marks in. He didn't see the problem. Besides, if they weren't attending the classes, then they wouldn't feel the need to skip them. "Is he still giving you trouble?" She inquired. She knew the reason for his skipping and had done her best to limit their encounter, but Cel knew she couldn't keep interfering. He was, however, very grateful for what she had done so far. He plucked his butt down on the chair in front of her desk and rested the clipboard he still carried in his lap. "Why can't I change my name?" He asked for the umpteenth time. "Honey, that and the pendant are the only things your mother left you before she died. Are you sure you want to change it? " Master Leo's voice softened, her eyes clouded with sadness at the mention of his mother and her greatest friend and adviser. She removed her thin-framed glasses to wipe her suddenly misty eyes. He felt like an ass. Of course, he would never change his name, but he did wish that his mother had left him with a name that was less... feminine. The trouble it had brought him. He forced a sigh, his shoulder sulking in defeat. "You know, I'll never change it." He admitted it begrudgingly. "Besides, you can't blame all of your problems on your name. Have you seen yourself? " Gone was the sadness. Her eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint. "Don't" Cel growled, his mood soaring even more at the mention of his other bane, his looks. Like his name, his appearance was far too feminine for his liking. He strongly believed that if the woman whom he had never met had left him with a powerful and manly name, he wouldn't be suffering now. "Look on the bright side," she said, finally taking mercy on him. "You did inherit her brilliant mind. Your mother was years beyond her time. A lot of the books on medicine and poisons that line the shelves of Clan's library were written by her. Let them make fun of you. You can get your revenge when you become the clan leader. " Cel sat up at that, his eyes wide and his heart swelling with excitement. "Really?" He beamed, his sour mood lifting drastically. "Down child, can you tone down the excitement of my death?" She teased him humorously. Cel had the grace to blush at her words. "Relax, I'll probably be too old by the time you die." He sucked it up, making her laugh heartily. He smiled as he watched her laugh. "Anyway, moving back to the topic," she cleared her throat as she recovered. "Besides you, there are four more applicants. Don't tell anyone, but my choice, of course, was you. " She winked. "It will be officially announced tonight, so pretend that you're hearing it for the first time. Also, you should be prepared for the trials. " "I want to thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I promise not to disappoint you. " He said it sincerely. To him, Master Leo was the one thing he never had. She was his rock and had taken him under her wings as one of her own since he was a baby. She'd always been there for him. Their close relationships were probably the main reason her two biological sons despised him and made his life a living hell. "I know you will. Now, what were you doing when you were a spouse in class? " She leaned back in her chair. "I was retaking the inventory of the herb fields," Cel responded honestly as he pushed the clipboard towards her across the disk's surface. "Why wasn't the inventory already done for the month?" She inquired, puzzled, as she replaced her glasses on her face and picked up the clipboard to peer down at what he wrote. "Yes, but I noticed a little discrepancy." "Your version doesn't match the one that was turned in," she said, already catching on. She quickly leafed through one of the piles of documents on her desk, then grunted as she found what she was looking for and flipped it open to begin to compare the numbers. "Exactly," Cel confirmed as he leaned his elbows on the desk, his chin resting on his hands. "I noticed about half of the plants are way less than what we should have. Someone's been skimming. " "When did you notice this discrepancy?" She inquired, not doubting him. "A couple of months ago," he scratched his head at the look she gave him. "I wanted concert evidence before I brought it up to you." He defended himself. "Humm," she returned her gaze to the documents before her. "It can't be the people who took down the inventory because they were changed," she muttered aloud. "No, however, we can't completely put them in the clear," Cel added, to which she agreed. "Great job catching on to this. We would have lost a lot more if this had gone on any longer. " She thanked him. "No problem, I spend enough time in those fields to not notice." He dismissed the credit she gave him. "Humm, I'll put someone on to investigate this. I knew it. If I wanted anyone to take up this position after me, I could rest peacefully when you become the new leader. " She smiled, making him blush once more. "You sound so sure," he raised a brow at the assurance in her voice. "I am. Now get out of my office, I've got work to do unless you want to help me, "sounded hopeful. Cel grinned and shook his head as he rose from his chair. "Na, I need a bath and a change of robes, but thanks for the offer." He laughed as he quickly ducked when she chucked her slipper at his head. "See you," he quickly slipped out the door, his shoulders shaking when he heard a muted thud of her other slipper hitting the door he leaned against. Spirits lifted, he took the left-back down, then made his way to the only home he had known since he was a baby.