“Let’s hurry and finish up,” Lane said with a frown. He could not remember when so many visitors from so many different islands were all on Noble at the same time. “Master Kostek may have something else planned for us to do,” he explained.
Gwaynn nodded, very happy to see the Tars return. He hoped it meant that he would begin sparring with Vio again. All that afternoon he worked hard and fast, helping Lane fix the last of the most pressing damage. It was late in the day when Gwaynn noticed several Tars emerging from the hall, Tar Kostek was among them. Gwaynn hoped to catch his attention but Kostek walked off to the south in the direction his group of students usually trained in the early evening. He did not approach close enough to Gwaynn for him to ask about this evening.
When it was time for the students evening meal, Gwaynn conveniently found himself working on a fence, which ran along the south pasture. He was near the path that led to the student’s quarters so he was confident they would pass close by once they finished their training for the day. Lane was working in the same pasture, but nearly a quarter of a mile away.
Gwaynn was shoring up the fence posts with rocks when he could and marking those that would need additional support in the near future, but he was also keeping a very close eye out for Vio and the others. It was nearing sundown and he was actually afraid he would be called into to eat, when finally the group of tired students appeared over a rise, walking briskly home. Gwaynn could hear them talking but they were too far away for him to make out just what they were saying. He scanned the group, finding Vio and Krys, but was disappointed that Master Kostek did not seem to be among them.
As they moved closer, Gwaynn was surprised that it was B’dall who veered away from the others and approached him.
“Won’t be winning anymore races now, will you?” B’dall said with a smirk, and Gwaynn noticed that Vio, Krys, William and Tam, stopped on the road to listen, but not one of them approached closer.
“What do you mean by that?” Gwaynn asked, puzzled.
“Come on B’dall. Leave him be,” Krys said.
“Leave him alone,” Tam agreed, but Vio just stood there with her head down.
B’dall smiled at him. It was not a friendly smile. “Master Kostek just let us know. You’ll be going to Lato to live with the Scholars…hey maybe you can race them,” he added, reveling in the look of shock on Gwaynn’s face.
“You never belonged here anyway,” B’dall added, then turned to join the other students. Gwaynn stood silently as they moved off, his mind in turmoil. At first he thought Vio would pass without even a glance in his direction, but at the last moment she looked up and met his eyes, hers shining with tears unshed. The look on her face was enough to convince him of the truth of B’dall’s claim.
Gwaynn spent a subdued evening with Leek and his family. He sat, not saying much of anything, his mind darting this way and that about his possible future. Mille was concerned, but the rest of the family dealt with his silence without much thought. They were becoming accustomed to Gwaynn’s reserved personality and it was only natural for the youth to have some down times after all the tragedy that had befallen him in his short life. For his part, Gwaynn was not truly aware of the family around him; even Mille was far from his mind. One thing he was sure of however, he did not want to leave Noble Island.
After he picked at the food in front of him for the required length of time, Gwaynn stood and excused himself and went outside, desperately hoping that Master Kostek would arrive and tell him it was all a mistake and he would not be leaving. But as the evening slowly turned into night, Kostek did not appear either to let him know any news or to recommence his sparring sessions with Vio.
Mille however, did appear. Gwaynn, who was sitting on a fence out in front of the house, saw her emerge. He said nothing as she approached and stopped next to him leaning on the fence. They both remained silent for several long moments.
“Are you all right?” the girl finally asked.
Gwaynn shook his head. “No. B’dall says that I’m to be leaving for Lato Island,” he answered bluntly, seeing no point in drawing out what was bothering him. Mille gave him a stricken look.
“Lato…but why?” She finally asked.
Gwaynn just shrugged. “I was hoping Tar Kostek would come by and let me know. It could just be B’dall playing with me,” he added, hoping but not truly believing it. Krys or Vio would have let him know if it were otherwise. Mille moved closer and leaned her head against his chest, but did not say anything, and in the dark Gwaynn could not see the tears slowly sliding down her face. They waited together silently for over two hours more but Kostek still did not appear and so finally they went back inside together.
Gwaynn expected a sleepless night, but surprisingly he dropped right off and was a little disorientated when Lane nudged him awake in the morning.
“It’s time,” the man said so Gwaynn rose and pulled on his pants before he remembered that he would be leaving. He sat back on the bed, considering his options for a moment then making up his mind he stood and moved downstairs. As usual he grabbed a slice of bread, nodded to the two men sitting in the kitchen, and walked out into the early morning air. He stretched, relieved himself from the night then headed down to the beach for his morning run.
Krys, Vio, William and Tam were down on the beach when Gwaynn approached.
“Morn,” Gwaynn said.
“Morn,” both William and Tam said in unison. Vio nodded but said nothing.
“I’m sorry,” Krys added but Gwaynn waved him away.
“We will see,” Gwaynn said more hopeful than he felt and then watched as the other students topped a rise and headed down to join them. B’dall approached, but he said nothing and just smirked at Gwaynn. Tar Kostek was not with them, nor apparently would he be joining them, because they all lined up and began to run.
At the two-mile mark, Vio and Gwaynn began to pull away from the rest of the students. Gwaynn was tucked in behind her, as was his normal position of late, but for some reason just before the turn he moved over, sped up and past her, actually reaching the point ahead of her. Vio had not trailed at the half way point now for more than six months and she smiled despite her heavy heart. Her competitive spirit however, caused her to speed up, but as she did Gwaynn did likewise. They had an enormous lead when they finally passed the students heading the other direction and they were holding to their pace. When the finish finally came into sight, both were near exhaustion, but both continued to run all out. They even increased their speed the last quarter of a mile. Gwaynn was still in the lead and was determined that the girl would not pass him, not today. As they came down to the end Vio managed to run side by side with him and together they flashed toward the finish. But just at the end, Gwaynn with his last ounce of energy, lunged through the finish just ahead of the girl who could not be beaten. They both collapsed on the ground, panting hard and then Gwaynn turned over and threw up his morning bread.
“Very, very impressive,” said a voice to their left. Gwaynn looked over and saw Tar Kostek moving down a dune toward them. It was several moments before either could talk, but Kostek just stood above them, waiting. Finally Gwaynn caught his breath enough to stand, his legs very wobbly. He moved over until he stood above Vio, who was still breathing hard and he extended a hand. She smiled and took it and he helped her to her feet. Together they began walking around, getting their wind back.
Eventually they headed back to where Kostek stood.
“It’s true then,” Gwaynn stated. He had to know. “I am to go to Lato Island?”
Vio stopped where she was, all attention, looking closely at her Master.
“Yes,” Kostek said. “That appears to be the decision.”
“Do I have anything to say about where I go?”
Kostek frowned. “That is not up to me. I am to take you before the Council this afternoon. They will make the ultimate decision. But know that whatever they decide, it will be in your best interests.”
Gwaynn nodded but said nothing, and moved off down the beach with Vio following. He stripped and ran out into the sea. She followed him. They swam about, not speaking, just enjoying the cooling wetness, until finally she swam over to him.
“Will you go?” She asked, only her head above water. They were in very deep.
“I’m not sure I will have a choice,” Gwaynn answered, facing her. They were only a few feet apart, but she would not go closer.
“I hear it is a beautiful island, gardens everywhere,” she added quietly. Gwaynn had no answer for that and began to move toward the beach.
