Since there weren’t any apprentices left having to do night watch duties, they were all in the practice yard in the morning and the dining hall for breakfast each day.
Irene was agonizing over when Sir Gunnar would tell the others about his decision. Whenever she spoke to Leif about why she had to do so many tasks for the knight, she never said specifically why. Even though he didn’t ask, she still felt like a liar. Since Felix was insistent on not talking to her, she didn’t want to lose her other friend.
For an entire two weeks, Irene had been following Sir Gunnar through most of his tasks each day. She would do everything he asked of her to the best of her abilities. However, oftentimes, he sent her back to her regular duties with the others. They were beginning outdoor duties soon and her help out there would be best used.
Except, just as everyone was finishing their bowls of porridge and dried fruits, Sir Gunnar stood in the dining hall next to the thick wooden door that kept all the heat in the large room.
He wasn’t letting anyone leave just yet.
"Iro," he called to the girl. "Come over here."
She felt unbelievably scrutinized as she was called on by the knight and she had a feeling she knew what it was about. Regardless, she walked forward confidently, nothing decipherable from her expression. She bowed her head to the knight and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
He then directed her to look out towards the others and she continued with a confident facade, hoping that no one could see through her outward armor.
"I have chosen Iro Litharion as my apprentice," he stated. "It is time we get the knighthood more organized. By the time the snow thaws, I feel we will have quite a few tests ahead of us. I have also implored the other knights in the order to choose apprentices for themselves as well. The goal is by the end of next spring, to have a knighthood where there isn’t an apprentice or knight without someone constantly guarding their back. We will succeed if we further unify ourselves."
She had been warned previously that he had told Sir Sven and Sir Phillip about his decision. He must have also told him about his expectations of the knighthood going forward as well.
The most surprising thing to happen was that the others around began giving cheers of support. Even Felix decided to push differences aside for the time being and offer her a few claps—although she didn’t try to look at him for more than a moment.
The nerves that were once eating her alive dissipated in an instant and she smiled for the dining hall to see.
"Back to usual duties," he instructed the apprentices. "I have to meet with His Grace in the meantime."
A chorus of "Yes, sir!" rang through the dining hall and everyone who was finished with their breakfast were quick to the of their day. Irene even received a few congratulations as others passed her.
"I see you were holding out on us," Leif realized as he approached his friend.
"I wasn’t meaning to," she admitted a bit guiltily. "I just didn’t want to do something or reveal anything I wasn’t supposed to."
"Water under the bridge," Leif responded with a grin.
Despite it being winter, the two apprentices seemed to have pep in their step as they went out the back entrance of the tower and headed in the direction of the stables.
Luckily, Felix didn’t have to work directly with them because he had been asked to help the maids restock the wood piles in each of the barracks rooms for those who remained in the Duke’s Tower over the winter.
It just so happened that the maid Felix was required to help that day was Agnes.
While Irene had been away, there was tension between the two. Having never dealt with the situation they were in before, they were ill-equipped to handle such a thing.
Normally quite flirtatious and uninhibited around one another, it was a surprise when Felix appeared with a stack of wood while Agnes cleaned the linens in one of the rooms and they barely said anything to one another. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0velFire.ɴet
"Pardon me," Felix said as if they had no familiarity between them.
Agnes stepped to the side and allowed him access to the room.
There was a clattering as the wood was dropped into the bin by the fire. Then the apprentice turned and wiped a bit of sweat off of his forehead. Even though it was winter, hauling wood was sure to make him break a sweat.
The maid’s eyes had drifted to him, but the moment he turned around, she was sure to busy herself again.
While she had known him for a few years by that point, he was starting to be more intimidating and far more confusing. Yet the most confusing thing he had been doing lately was acting angry with her for seemingly no reason.
The idea that he hadn’t taken her words seriously wasn’t a thought she could even fathom at the moment. She thought they had enough between them that he would simply trust her, not knowing a teenager’s jealousy no matter how unreasonable it might seem.
She was the youngest maid and felt she couldn’t exactly tell the others what she was going through because they all seemed so uninterested and unaffected by the knights. They were all married off. Since she had turned sixteen, she was finally able to stay in the Duke’s Tower over winter and earn a bit more money.
Except this strange weight wasn’t something she wanted to have to deal with all winter long. It bubbled over before she could stop it.
Felix tried to sneak out of the room again, but she turned around all of a sudden. While she was smaller than him and much less imposing, it only took a mere glare for him to stop cold in his tracks.
"Is this how you’re going to be towards me from now on?" she asked. "I could request another apprentice to work with me if it’s so unbearable for you."