The group started to get closer, and that's when I noticed something curious: Aline didn't seem to like talking to the shopkeepers' children. I could see it in her distant, almost disdainful gaze. For some reason, she preferred to stay away from them. So I chose to ignore them too. I didn't want to give her the wrong impression. Aline seemed different, something about her presence attracted me and, somehow, I wanted her to see me differently. I'd never talked to a girl before, and I wasn't sure how to get her attention or, perhaps, make her like me.
My mind was drifting when suddenly a middle-aged man approached our group. Something about him seemed strange. I sensed a disturbance, an abnormality in his presence. My body immediately went on alert. There was something wrong, something that made me suspicious of him. And then I realized the most disturbing thing: I couldn't detect the Light of Life in him. And that was something I could see even in stones! All the living beings around me radiated this light, but that man was empty, as if he had no soul.
"Fundamental? Come to my room. I'll teach you what you want. You can leave the school whenever you want." he said, in a voice that sounded more like an order than an invitation.
I followed the class into the hall, but my mind was still focused on that man. The language lesson was simple. I quickly learned the writing system and the words of the Dawn Empire. They were concepts I already knew somehow, so I spent the time observing Aline. She sat in front of me, and I couldn't look away from her face. There was something enchanting about her, something that made me forget everything around me. Her scent enveloped me, and I felt inexplicably satisfied just to be there, close.
But when math class started, something changed. I had never heard of concepts like that before. It was all so... new. The way numbers could be used to understand the world around us fascinated me in a way I hadn't expected. I silently wondered how my family had never registered the existence of numbers in this way. How had it never been part of the castle's lore? No wonder I couldn't understand the carpentry book, with its calculations that seemed like an alien language.
I was completely immersed in the math lessons. Each concept, each formula, attracted me in a way that I couldn't explain. Mathematics could somehow be an incredible tool. If I learned it, I could use this knowledge to improve the castle's accounting, making life easier for the people who lived there. I saw how useful it could be, how it could help organize life in that place.
The lesson passed quickly, and I hardly noticed the time passing. When I finally finished, I knew I couldn't waste any more time on the fencing lessons. It was better to cut it out now, before it was too late. Before I left, I looked at Aline one last time.
"Do you already have my answer?" I asked, looking straight into her eyes.
Aline looked away, as she always did when she didn't want to face something. Her fingers played with the edge of the notebook, as if that could distract her from the question.
"I haven't thought about it yet..." she said, almost in a whisper.
I felt a pang of frustration in my chest. I'd been asking for days and she kept running away. How hard could it be to give me an answer?
"All right." I said, taking a deep breath. "I'll ask again tomorrow."
I turned my back and took two steps towards the door. I was just about to leave the room when I heard his voice, firmer this time:
"You answered all the math teacher's questions today... would you mind doing my homework too?"
I turned around slowly. She was looking at me with a slight, almost mischievous smile, and there was a curious glint in her eyes. It looked like a challenge, a test... or perhaps a flirtation in disguise.
I smiled back, feeling my heart race for no reason.
Maybe she was just playing with me. Or maybe... maybe she really liked me, and this was her way of showing it. Even if it was crooked, it was something.
"Sure. I'll do it right now." I replied, returning to my chair next to hers.
Each student received a different assignment that day. The teacher just watched as we exchanged notebooks. His gaze passed briefly over us, but he didn't say anything. There was something melancholy in his expression, as if he was remembering another time - or other people.
The next few days followed an almost rehearsed rhythm: I woke up early, attended all my classes in the morning, trained in the field in the afternoon, studied until nightfall. And in between all this, I found time - or excuses - to talk to Aline, help her with her homework, listen to her complain about school, and even carry her books without her asking.
I wasn't sure what I was trying to win first - his affection or his approval. Maybe both.
She never said "yes" to me, but she never said "no" either. She always left answers half-answered, as if she were testing how far I would go. And I did. Always with patience. Always with hope.
My father, on the other hand, thought it was all a joke. When he overheard two guards commenting that I was after a girl from school, he laughed out loud, slapped me twice on the head and said something about "youth being wasted".
But I didn't care. At first, I was content to do everything for her. Solving language exercises, revising algebra formulas, helping her memorize poems... anything that would bring me a little closer. Walking her home was always my favorite part of the day.
However, as the months passed, I began to feel something else growing inside me. It wasn't love. It was a kind of anger, which at the same time was turning into frustration.
Six months had passed. And nothing had changed.
I still had no idea how to become a master fighter. My body was stronger, it's true - the daily training, the bow hunts, the constant effort. But progress was slow.
And to make matters worse, most of my time was being eaten up by my studies. For her.
The school in New Moon City was divided into three levels: Elementary, Middle and Senior. Most people graduated at the age of eighteen, but there was the option of taking an exam to skip stages. Many students tried it. I, for the time being, wasn't even thinking about it. I was stuck there - between numbers, confused feelings and a girl who never gave complete answers.
And yet, every day, I asked again.