Vicar

“Where are you going Sir … Vicar?” The boy asks me desperately.

“To Zaif ofcourse.” I reply him while heading towards the library to find Zaif. I can’t wait to see my clueless friend train him.

“But… but… didn’t you just told Queen… I mean Abigail that he went to town.” The boy says to me stutteringly. He seems to be getting cold feet but I will not let him back down. Afterall he is my new source of entertainment.

And did he just call Abigail ‘queen’. The boy has hardly been here for 7 days and met Abigail only two times yet he is calling her queen. He must have really fallen for my daughter. Or. Abigail might have made him say it. Should I do something about it?

Bah! Whichevers the case, the boy will learn his lesson.

“He must be back by now.” I lie to the boy.

“How can he be back so soon? Hardly any time has passed.” The boy mutters in confusion. He has so much to learn yet. So naïve.

Zaif never left. I just told my daughter that Zaif left for town so that she stays away from him. She has gotten awfully fond of Zaif. No matter what I do, she somehow finds a way to get close to him. From what Zaif tells me she has even met him twice and Zaif has even told her the truth. So why has she grown fond of him. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

So much time I have spent on this earth, travelled to every place, seen everything and have met every kind of people. So I cannot stress this enough when I say I have never seen someone like my daughter and I have to admit that sometimes even I am afraid of her.

“He must be resting. Maybe we should not disturb him. He was sleeping when I last saw him through the window.” The boy says to me sounding desperate.

“Not possible boy. Zaif does not sleep like that.” I reply him while opening the library door.

“Zaif. I have got some good news for you my friend.” I say to Zaif who is in the process of selecting a book to read.

Zaif turns his head towards me showing no signs of excitement or happiness that I brought him good news. He really has a really boring personality. I wonder if I would have ever hung out with him if his life weren’t so exciting and troubles weren’t drawn to him.

Who am I kidding? Ofcourse I would. Where can I find a friend who is true and honest? Moreover he balances me out.

Zaif does not say anything. He just looks at my face then he looks at his apprentice’s face and then he goes back to selecting a book.

“See I told you he might be busy. Let go.” The boy makes excuses while trying to pull me away by my arm with his puny strength.

“You never said that boy.” I reply the boy and move towards Zaif while involuntarily dragging the boy with me.

“Why are you not happy my friend? I came bearing good news.” I say to Zaif.

“Because your good news mostly means trouble for someone else.” Zaif replies indifferently.

He is right.

“It is different this time.” I lie, “This good news is related to your apprentice.” Who will be getting into some serious troubles soon.

“What about him?” Zaif asks.

“Well… Dan here says that he have rested enough and is eager to learn.” I say to Zaif who show surprise.

“Oh! So he wants to learn and this soon. I did not expect that. Are you sure?” Zaif asks me.

“Ofcourse I am sure Zaif. Would I have otherwise come to you bearing this good news? You should have heard him how eager he sounded to begin learning.” I reply.

Before the boy makes an excuse, I put him on the spot, “You can ask the boy yourself. When I told him that I will talk to you about this, he was so excited that he came along with me. See how he is sticking with me for support.” I say while gesturing towards the boy who was frozen on my arm.

“Did you say that Dan?” Zaif asks the boy gently.

“Yes.” The boy replies in a low voice.

“And did you mean it?” Zaif confirms

“Yes.” He replies more confidently this time.

“That is good. I thought that we would have to wait a year or 2 for you to clear your head and replenish your body. But you say that you are willing now than your word is good enough for me.” Zaif replies the boy gently.

I cannot wait for it to begin.

* * * * *

Dan

I learned one more thing today. The father and daughter pair don’t walk at a normal pace. I have to run to keep up with them.

Once I mentioned to Vicar that I wanted to learn, there was no stopping him. He made his way to Zaif who turns out was still in the library. So why did Vicar lie to Abigail?

Vicar told master that I wanted to train. He said everything I wanted to say yet somehow I felt that something was wrong. However I ignored it and when master asked if wanted to train, at first I was doubtful but then I realized that it was what I wanted and replied confidently.

“Do you think we can start now? It is still early in the day. I think we can begin now.” Vicar says to Master excitedly. He sounds more eager about my training than I am. Maybe he just wants to see how good I am.

Well I will show him how good I am. I will give it my best.

“Master. What will I be taught?” I ask my master curiously.

He looks at me with a slight smile on his face and replies in his gentle tone, “You will be taught magic.”