A Blaze in the Dark (A New Dawn #1)

Chapter 24 - Nick (Part 2)

He suddenly didn't seem too sure about his decision to join the army. As a lazy and quiet lad, he would never fit in among these men.

"It's not common to join the Academy in the middle of the year, but a patrol picked up this gifted lad, and it would have been a shame to let him wait another eight moons," Lieutenant Stephen explained.

Thank the Gods! It was neither a lie nor the full truth, and if these men were going to ask questions, he would just say he was from Doe Hill. He didn't want to be associated with Seb. In the army, he could just be Nick, not Lord Sebastian's friend.

"Is he even eleven?" The beefy Serjeant asked. He too had a strange haircut, with braids like rows of corn that had been woven close to the scalp.

"He is, Serjeant Jasper. We haven't completely lost our senses, despite what you may accuse us of." The Lieutenant glanced at Nick and smiled widely. "I guess he's just small for his age. You lads seemed like the most decent of all the scum, so we selected you to teach him the tricks of the trade. Make me proud, patrol seventeen. I know you have it in you to give him a warm welcome."

"We will. It'll be good to have another Cadet in the patrol, Lieutenant." The patrol leader bumped his elbow into a young teen with short strawlike hair. "Won't it?"

"I won't be the youngest anymore." After raising his fist in victory, the Cadet took a step forward, breaking the line. "And I'll have someone to go to the Academy with. I'm Victor, by the way, but you can call me Vic." He stretched out his hand, which Nick accepted.

"Introductions... right..." The patrol leader guffawed. He pointed at the beefy Serjeant with the cornrow hair. "That grumpy face over there is Jasper. He has his good moments too, though they are sparse." His finger wiggled as he moved to the long man with black hair, and the two younger soldiers who were so glued to each other that the concept of personal space must be foreign to them. "Then we have our lethal forces: Sam, Eric, and Dan. Vic's a Cadet too. Oh, and I'm Bart."

"He's the brain. We're the brawn." The slick-haired soldier named Eric flexed his arm.

"Chicken breasts, loser." Jasper crossed his arms, showing off his broad arms through his uniform. Not even King Thomas had muscles this big.

"Nice to meet you all." The God of Diligence kept Nick from staring at the ground. "I'm Nicolas, but Nick is fine. I guess I'll be part of the brain team too."

"Can we call you Nicky?" Dan asked. "There's another Nick in our training group, and it'll get confusing otherwise. And you're smaller than him so..." He shrugged.

"I g-guess." That name had been reserved to Mother in the past, and though he didn't look forward to getting reminded of her every single day, sacrifices would have to be made to forge new friendships.

"That's settled then." Lieutenant Stephen gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Now scram, lads! Your duties, classes, and training sessions are waiting."

Nick didn't get the chance to see where the others were heading to. Vic was very quick to grab his bag and boss him around. "Follow me, Nicky. I know the way. It's a shame the afternoon sessions are cancelled because normally we train together as a patrol. But I guess an announcement from His Majesty is exciting too. What do you think he'll announce? Bart and Sam don't wanna say anything, but they were guarding the eastern gate a few days ago, and apparently, they were the ones who found Lord Sebastian and saved him. Since then, the city has been buzzing with rumours. It's huge news, Nicky! People were worried that there was no heir. But now there is, and..."

Even if Nick wanted, he couldn't manage a word in between Vic's jabbering. He just nodded in understanding and feigned surprise if needed. Fox's yammering about wanting to be the best warrior in the world suddenly seemed heavenly. At least he was being ambitious about something, instead of sounding like a travelling merchant.