The next few weeks passed by fast. The mornings started at 9 a.m., filled with delicious breakfasts and some rest before the 11 o’clock training session. That lasted for about two hours, which was followed by lunch and more rest until about 3 p.m. when they went back to training. The afternoon training session was much more strenuous, as it lasted for four hours before they had dinner and some relaxation before a final hour of training from 9 to 10. At 10 p.m. they finally went inside, showered, and relaxed before bed, only to wake up and repeat the process again in the morning. This training lasted for one month, and Bart had nearly forgotten his anger, but he hadn’t forgotten his mother. His goal to get back to his mother was still weighing heavy on his mind, and it gave him the strength to keep pushing. He was getting better at wielding, and that was helping him stay sane. Finally, after such a long time, the decision was made that Bart and Charlotte were skilled enough to survive and make it to Zathya. They had started with the elements and moved from air, to water, to earth but they never moved to fire. Victoria and Jonah had agreed that fire was too unpredictable and that they weren’t ready to handle it. Bart was happy to hear that they were finally ready to go, but he was also a little nervous. According to Victoria, Demetrius was working under the assumption that Mafortian and his men would think Bart was already at the Kingdom by now, but that was only an assumption. If Demetrius were proved to be wrong, they would be lying in wait for Bart to show his face.
“You can never be too careful,” Jonah said when they gathered the night before their planned departure. “If they are waiting for us we need to have a plan.” Victoria nodded in agreement.
“The plan is simple,” she said. “We stick together no matter what and in the case we must fight, we protect the two children.” Bart shook his head against the plan.
“I don’t like the idea of everyone trying to protect us,” he said. “That’s how people get killed. Worry about yourselves and we will handle ourselves. You won’t be as effective if you are worrying about us the whole time.” Charlotte didn’t like the sound of what Bart was saying but she seemed to agree with him. Victoria and Jonah on the other hand did not.
“He’s right,” Charlotte said. “As much as I hate to admit it, if you don’t focus all your energy into defending yourselves and you worry about Bart and I the whole time, you can get caught off guard. This is not the type of situation where getting caught off guard is a small mistake. It’s a fatal one. Besides, what about my dad?” she asked turning to look at him. “He isn’t trained either. He needs protection.” However Charlotte phrased it, it must’ve gotten through to Jonah who seemed to change his tone.
“That is true,” he said softly.
“Regardless,” Victoria said, interrupting Jonah. “Our goal is still to protect Bart and Charlotte. If we must die doing so then we will. Besides, Jonah and I have been training for a much greater amount of time then you two, I’m sure we can handle ourselves better than you think. Your father will be taken care of too. He just is not a priority.” Charlotte looked pissed off. Bart understood why. That was her father and in the end if he didn’t make it and she did, she would never forgive herself for not protecting him.
“Then I’ll protect him myself,” Charlotte said. Before Victoria could interject, Charlotte continued. “He’s my dad. You can’t change my mind.” Victoria looked at her for a few seconds, and then let out a sigh.
“Fine. I understand. Now let’s all get some good rest because tomorrow morning we leave.” Everyone agreed and started to head out except Bart and Victoria. Victoria didn’t notice that Bart had stayed and when the room had cleared, she turned and took a seat near the giant picture.
“Did you know my father?” Bart asked, startling Victoria. “I mean well. Did you know him well?” Victoria looked at the large photo and smiled.
“Yes of course,” she said finally. “He was a great man. He didn’t deserve to be betrayed the way he was.” Bart sat down on the floor next to her.
“Why do you think Angelo did it?” he asked. Her smile faded just as quickly as it had originally appeared. Apparently Angelo was a sore subject around here. Bart hadn’t had a lot of time to talk to Victoria and Jonah since the training had begun which made him feel bad. He did want to get to know them better, but he was so focused on his training that talking and being friendly was the last thing on his mind. “I’m sorry, if you don’t want to talk about it,” but Victoria raised her hand to stop him.
“No it’s fine,” she said. “The thing is, I don’t believe Angelo did this to your father.” Her words caught Bart off guard. Jonah was so positive that Angelo did it. Bart always assumed it was the same way with everyone. “Angelo was your father’s teacher, you see, so it just doesn’t add up. Why would he turn against his favorite student?” Bart was surprised. Bart had never known Angelo taught his father and to learn this information now made Bart understand where Victoria was coming from. “On the other hand, he was the only one who was there who ran,” she continued. “No matter what the crime and no matter what the verdict, running never looks good. And because he ran, the entire Kingdom wants his head, especially the queen.” Bart again was confused.
“Why does the queen want him dead so bad?” Bart asked.
“Well Alexander was her cousin, of course. Not to mention they were as close as brother and sister because Alexander was close with the queen’s brother before he died. Of course when the queen’s brother died it weighed heavy on all of us. Alexander comforted the queen the most because they were family. So to her, this isn’t just a simple matter of treason. This is much bigger than that. This is revenge.” Bart had never heard any of this. He didn’t know the queen had a brother, he didn’t know that the queen was his father’s cousin; he hadn’t heard of any of it. He could totally see why she wanted Angelo dead and he couldn’t blame her. Family is the most important thing in life, and losing family is never easy. To have the person responsible for your family’s death roaming free couldn’t be an easy burden to bear.
“So what do you think will happen if they catch him?” asked Bart.
“I think that if Angelo is caught, the queen will have him put to death for sure,” she said without a moment’s hesitation. Bart looked at her and could tell she wasn’t entirely okay with the possibility of Angelo being put to death.
“You don’t seem too happy about the idea,” he said. She continued to look at the picture without smiling for a few seconds then she stood up and turned to Bart.
“I’ve known Angelo Yessiah for nearly my entire life,” she said. “His father was my first teacher and Angelo is one of the best people I know. We sort of grew up together even though he is a little older. To even fathom the thought of him being killed makes me want to take up arms and fight alongside him. If the situation was reversed I know he would do the same for me. I trust the man with my life. I don’t believe he did this for a second. But, regardless, my hands are tied. So if the queen orders his death, I will have no choice but to stand by and watch a great friend perish. So excuse me if I don’t sound too happy about the idea.” Bart’s feelings were conflicted. This Angelo guy had supposedly caused the death of his father. That bothered Bart to some degree, but the truth is he didn’t know his father. He didn’t grow up with him, and he never really got to enjoy those father son activities that most sons have. So to hear Victoria upset about it didn’t sit well with Bart. He had grown to like her and respect her over the past month and to see her so visibly torn about the situation almost made him hope for Angelo’s safety and innocence.
“What about Demetrius?” Bart asked. “Is there anything he can do to help?” Victoria just shook her head.
“Most likely not,” she said sadly. “Although his word means a lot, his extremely close friendship with Angelo may jeopardize his view in the eyes of the queen, even if it shouldn’t.”
“Wait Demetrius and Angelo are friends?” he asked. He knew that Demetrius was this all powerful wielder guy, but he never really thought about his personal life before. Demetrius and Angelo being friends shouldn’t have been such a surprise but nonetheless it was.
“Of course,” said Victoria. “They were both apart of The Five.” Bart looked at her like she was crazy. Did she expect him to know exactly who the five was?
“And just who are ‘The Five’? Some weird music group they formed?” he said trying to be funny. Victoria let out a chuckle and then turned to face Bart.
“The Five were a group of five extremely powerful wielders that were the best of friends. Demetrius and Angelo were obviously two of them along with Orion Yessiah, Natasha Thyasis, and Castien Thrack.” Bart recognized some of the names immediately. He knew that Thyasis was the last name of his father and Yessiah was Angelo’s last name. Yessiah was also the name of the guy Tovram who Victoria said was born self-aware. Castien Thrack was one of the other two who was born self-aware also. He assumed that Orion was related to Angelo, since his last name was the same, and he figured Natasha was related to his father, which meant she was related to him.
“So is this Natasha lady like my aunt or something?” he asked casually.
“I believe she would be your great aunt because she was your father’s aunt. I actually never understood how that works. In any case, yes you two are related.” Bart smiled. To find out he was related to some powerful wielder who was also a part of some amazing group of warriors gave him a huge confidence boost. Maybe he would inherit some of her natural talents.
“Is she still around? Will she be there when I get to Zathya? I’m guessing she isn’t as strong as Demetrius since he became the master of wielding right?” Victoria’s smile slowly faded as she looked into Bart’s eyes. Bart could tell something was wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was since he didn’t think he said anything wrong.
“I’m sorry to say this, but Natasha died a long time ago,” she said softly. “The only ones left from The Five are Demetrius and Angelo.” Of course this was a sad thing to hear, but Bart didn’t understand why he felt so sad. He had never met any of them, and just because his great aunt wasn’t around anymore didn’t really matter. Bart had no idea who she was or how she was as a person, yet there was still something bothering him. Maybe it was the fact that he was finally learning so much about his family history, but he would never get a chance to meet any of them. All of Bart’s life he has only known his mother, his Aunt Agnes on her side and his uncle Caleb. Now he was finding out that his family was much larger on his father’s side but they all seemed to be dead. It was kind of frustrating. To think that all these people were once around and Bart missed an opportunity to be with them, live with them, learn from them, was just so disheartening.
“What happened to them?” he asked trying to control what he was feeling.
“That’s a long story for another day,” Victoria said, suddenly seeming sadder than she did before. “Maybe Demetrius will explain everything to you when you see him.” With that she walked out of the room before Bart could even open his mouth to respond.
Victoria left Bart there with a lot to think about. The Five was an intriguing topic that he definitely wanted to know more about. How could a group of such powerful wielders die off? It reminded him of the Knights he heard about during his first training day. All this time he spent here and not once did he really ask questions or learn more about the place that he would soon be calling home, at least until his mother was better. He was too angry to focus on learning anything other than wielding. Nonetheless, he wanted to know more about Zathya and he missed a good opportunity while being here. Then there was the whole Angelo situation. Victoria had made very good points on why Angelo might be innocent but it still confused Bart as to why others blamed him. That was something he was anxious to get to the bottom of and the only way to do that was to make it to Zathya in the morning.
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