I gripped the general’s hand and stepped down.
We walked to the main office where we were heartily greeted by the staff members working there. An errand man, a tall, lean gentleman with spectacles and dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, informed us that the director was overseeing a class somewhere on the grounds. He escorted us out of the building, across the square, and to a coliseum built around a sand pit. It was small as far as coliseums went; it seated two hundred, perhaps three hundred people. Two students were currently in a grappling match while the director and the rest of the class watched.
General Halvar didn’t need to wait for anyone, it seemed. The errand man walked right up to the director and announced the general’s presence.
“All right, enough!” the director shouted.
The two fighting stepped away from each other and looked up, chests heaving. A sea of rust-colored eyes turned to the director. I cringed.
“Warriors, we have a special visitor.” The director held a hand out to us newcomers, and smiled. “General Halvar, Defender of the Rock.”
The coliseum echoed with cheers and applause. The general walked out from the shelter of the entranceway, smiling at the young men around him. He was their hero. It made my stomach turn.
The general raised a hand for quiet and the shouts faded. “While conducting negotiations across the sea, I came across a miracle; an outsider with Dotharr’s mark. The people of Kenshore didn’t know whom they had ostracized. They considered copper eyes to be a curse from evil spirits. I couldn’t stand idly by and allow a potential warrior to live a life of poverty and banishment. So I took a respite from the mainland to deliver this new warrior myself.” He gave my guards a look over his shoulder.
I was shoved forward, beside General Halvar. The director took a step back in surprise. A new kind of silence took hold of the men in the coliseum.
One of them rose and pointed accusingly. “Blasphemy! Dotharr would never choose a woman.”
“Three lashings for your disrespect,” the director shouted back. “Sit down before I make it five, Viggo.”
One of the young man’s peers gripped his elbow and yanked him back down to his seat.
“This is not a woman, gentlemen,” the general said. “This is a fellow warrior, blessed by Dotharr, possessing the same talents as any of you.”
The statement was met with silence.
I found Viggo’s face among the masses. He was olive skinned, no doubt from the many hours he spent training in the sun. His brown hair was cropped short. His copper eyes were narrowed at me. When standing, he had been tall and burly. Even while slouching now, he seemed taller than the young man sitting next to him. The friend who had pulled him back down to his seat was speaking urgently, but Viggo didn’t seem to be listening. Already, he hated me. As I looked into the faces of these warriors-in-training, I saw many more frowns of disgust. Viggo had just been the only one brave enough to speak his mind.
The general turned to the director. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to give Dotharr’s Miracle a tour of your fine establishment before I go, Endre.”
The director bowed his head. “Do as you wish, sir.”
The general smiled in thanks and led me out of the coliseum. Turning his head slightly, he said, “Errand man.”
“Bode, sir,” the man said, hurrying to keep up with us.
“Would you be so kind as to prepare a room for Asta, produce a beginner’s weekly schedule, and procure the necessary feminine products she will need during her stay?”
Bode shot me an uncomfortable glance. “Yes, sir. I’ll fetch a room key and meet you in the living quarters.”
“Good man,” the general said before Bode left us. “That over there is the Feasting Hall, Asta. Breakfast is served at five, lunch at twelve, and dinner at six. You will wake up on time or you won’t eat.”
My head bobbed without needing permission from my brain.
“You will be in your designated classes by the appropriate times or you will face the whipping post.” The general gestured to the post located before the fountain.
My eyes were drawn to it. Where I came from it was an instrument of torture, a punishment reserved only for the worst offenders. Apparently, it was not so here.
“As you know, Dotharr’s anointed heal quicker than the average man.”
I grimaced despite myself.
He glanced at me, fighting a smirk. “But that doesn’t mean we are incapable of feeling pain. The whipping post, although barbaric, guarantees the lesson is learned and the wrongdoer is permanently discouraged from committing the same crime again. They won’t spare you because you are a woman, Asta. Nor should they. You need to learn, same as the rest. But I expect you’ll never have to be so punished.”
Goosebumps spread across my skin. I rubbed my arms in a useless attempt to get rid of the residual pain I felt.
The general ran a hand through his close-cropped black hair and continued. “Director Endre is very strict about the bedtime here. All lights must be out by eight sharp. By now I’m sure you’ve noticed there is a security team patrolling the grounds.”
I found three of these men marching across the square. I refrained from glancing at the only exit. “Yes, sir.”
“They, like your guards, are strictly here for your protection. They are some of the best graduates to have left this academy. No one and nothing can escape their notice.”
In other words, “Don’t bother trying to run away, Asta.”
We rounded a two-story building and entered through glass doors.
“These are the living quarters,” the general continued. “You’ll find nothing but the essentials here. The academy prides itself on rejecting luxury and teaching its students to live a simple, structured life that is free of unnecessary attachments. If you can’t contain your hair during your classes, consult the barber in the next building. I’m sure he’ll be happy to help rid you of it.”
I defensively clutched my braid.
We walked up several flights of stairs and found Bode waiting beside Room 310. He unlocked the door and pushed it open to reveal a small room. There was a single bed, a chest of two drawers, and a writing desk. There was also a window overlooking the square and whipping post. Three sets of folded clothes sat on the edge of the bed along with two pairs of shoes.
Bode waved a hand at the bed. “We have provided you with training clothes, lounging clothes, and a nightshirt. The jerkin, trousers, and boots are to be worn during training. I trust you can figure out what to do with the rest. Laundry is done every night after dinner. Your training clothes are to be dropped through the chutes located in the washrooms. They will be washed, folded, and left outside your room in the morning.” He turned to my guards. “The room beside this one will be shared by the two of you. I imagine there will only ever be one person sleeping at a time. The same rules apply.”
The guards nodded.
“And here is your weekly schedule along with a map of the grounds.” He handed me several folded pieces of parchment. “You are expected to memorize them. We can’t afford to babysit you.”
I accepted the pages with a murmured “Thank you.” He frowned down his nose at me and excused himself to attend to other matters. I glumly cast my eyes about the room. Catching my reflection in the window, I shuddered at the copper eyes that stared back at me.
“Come, gentlemen,” General Halvar said, watching me intently. “Give the girl a moment of privacy to absorb all that has happened.”
My guards shuffled down the hall and out of sight without complaint.