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It took a moment for the students to comprehend the instruction but as soon as they did, the sounds of chairs being pushed off and students getting up filled the library. A low murmur accompanied the sounds of moving boys and girls.
Master Leo allowed me to leave his side with a gesture of his hand as the others started turning in their work. I turned around to go back to my table to gather my things.
“The queen needs her lapdog again.”
It was Hogan. I knew it even before I turned to my right to see his black eyes and the feint strings of black hair coming off his chin, the thing he proudly referred to as his beard, even though he was too young for that sort of thing. His crooked smile was as mean as always.
He was not alone. I wasn’t sure if that gave him the courage to taunt me since he did that pretty much whenever we ran across each other.
“Why don’t you tell that to her the next time you see her?” I replied, anger brewing in me as I did my best to contain it.
“You talk now,” Hogan said, lowering his voice to ensure Master Leo did not hear him. “But at night, you cry in your sleep, don’t you?”
My cheeks burned at once. Hogan’s lips were curled in a joyful smile as he watched my reaction. I could not deny what he was saying.
He would know.
We all slept in a large dorm on the lower floors of the West wing, far from the queen’s quarters and just below the rooms where the masters slept. Hogan’s bed was two rows to my left, and the sounds carried in the silence of the night.
I was having bad dreams ever since I started living in the palace. I did not remember most of it, but I knew he was not lying to taunt me. Often I woke up at midnight with a chest tightened with fear and my lips pursed in a whimper.
His friends laughed.
The tall boy, with brown hair and pink wings he never wanted to unleash unless Hogan ordered him to, forced himself to show teeth as he giggled. Laisren’s blue eyes were locked on Master Leo to make sure he did not witness the exchange between Hogan and me, but his lips curled with a smile.
“And once we’re alone,” Hogan continued, his gaze deadly as he cocked his head and showed teeth, “you will not be so brave.”
There were three of them, one of me. They could easily take me in a fight, and I guessed that was where we were heading. But Hogan was wrong.
My courage was not dependent on my ability to win a fight against him.
“I don’t fear you, Hogan,” I replied as I caught a whiff of her flowery scent. Aislinn had got up from her table. I had watched her from the corner of my eye. First, she had gone to the back of the room to put away her working tools. And now, she was walking toward us. “You should try to threaten me again without your friends to guard you, and then, we’ll see what happens.”
Aislinn was behind Hogan now. We were blocking her path, and she had no choice but to look up as she waited. She looked up, and I saw disapproval all over her beautiful face.
“Yeah?” Hogan took a step forward to stand closer to me. “I can arrange that. Will you run to the queen if I give you a bloody mouth?”
Aislinn was listening. It did not help. I could not back away from this fight with her standing there even if I knew I couldn't win a fight against Hogan. He was much stronger than me.
“I will not,” I replied.
Hogan looked up. Master Leo was long gone from the room, but there were still a lot of witnesses.
“Good,” he said. “You should acquire an extra pair of pants in case you soil yours.”
The boys laughed as Laisren pushed me off their path. They would leave me alone for now. Aislinn’s brow raised as the boys snickered and moved past me, but she did not meet my gaze as she followed them outside.
I did not bother a response to Hogan’s taunting. The queen was waiting for me, and although my ego was bruised, I hoped Aislinn didn’t think me weak for not fighting Hogan in the middle of the library.
My table was the last one to be cleared of pens and papers. Most of the other students had left. I packed my things and went out after them.
The hallways were slightly chillier than the library, so I hugged my robe against my chest and stuck my bag underneath my arm as I turned toward the palace's eastern wing, where the queen’s quarters were.
I was still angry. I did my best to push down the cursing thoughts toward Hogan away from my mind. But it was a hard thing to do. His taunting and threats were becoming increasingly annoying. I would have to find a way to deal with him, soon.
Not now, though... The queen awaited my visit. Hogan did not deserve a space in my mind when I was about to be in her presence.
It had been a while since breakfast, and as I walked the hallways, my stomach grumbled to reflect the passing of time. First, I would go to the queen, and then, I would try to catch supper before the best of the food was gone. I hoped she would not keep me in her chamber for longer than necessary, and I immediately felt guilty about that thought.
