Achilles, “What did you do?”
“I…I, um, I didn’t do anything,” Achilles stammered. “He, he…”
“It was my fault, Tallia. I was playing Poison Ivy with the other boys. But I promise I didn’t use my left arm at all.”
“And you just let him do that I suppose,” she directed at Achilles as she ushered both of them into the room. She started taking the sling off Lucian’s arm.
“Now see here, I’ve got a whole room full of boys. I didn’t see him until I caught him jumping up after throwing a ball,” Achilles argued, sounding much like a teenager caught out after hours.
“You were letting him throw? Oh you can be so, so, argh!” She looked over Lucian’s arm. “And you, young man, you know better. I told you absolutely none of that. You may have torn your stitches out or caused bruising around them.”
“I’m sorry, Tallia. I just couldn’t sit there while everyone else was playing.”
“Oh yes you could have. You,” she continued, turning to Achilles, “you better start watching him and making sure he’s not doing anything he’s not supposed to or so help me, I’ll, I’ll, well, I’ll think of something horrible to do to you.”
“I’m sorry, Tallia,” Achilles said gently.
Lucian stared at Achilles in disbelief. He’d never heard Achilles apologize for anything.
Tallia looked up at him from Lucian’s arm. Achilles was smiling at her and she couldn’t help but smile back. “I might forgive you this time. There was no harm done. Both of you, back to class now.” She pushed them out of the room.
Kaelen was not there to see Lucian defend him or the trouble that Lucian had gotten himself into for it. He was now battling another row of blue stitches in the dress Gelasia was helping him make. It was the fourth time he’d had to do that row. The satin slid in his hands and despite the valiant efforts of his thimble, he’d pricked his fingers more times than he could count. When he finally finished the row, he looked at his work. “I hope I never have to make a living as a tailor; I’d starve,” he said glumly.
“It’s not so bad,” Gelasia countered. “Satin is terribly difficult to work with. Perhaps I should have given you something easier to start with.”
“I chose this fabric, remember?” he said through a mouthful of pins.
She chuckled, “I suppose then I should have warned you. Well, don’t worry Kaelen, we’ll get you through these and when you’re done the gown will be lovely. In fact, I don’t think anyone will ever notice them. They’re all on the inside. As you keep at it, you’ll get better. Oh, look at the time! It’s time for your next class. Let’s see, next you have oh, silly me; next you have etiquette. Well, if it’s alright with you, I’ll let you keep working on that until the rest of your class gets here. Then you’ll join them for the lesson.”
“Alright, I’ll get this row right if it kills me.”
“That’s the spirit, dear,” she said as she headed for the door to welcome in the rest of the class.
“Hey, Kaelen,” Adrian said as he and Lucian came in. “What are you working on?”
“Dress,” Kaelen replied through his pins.
“That’s a nice color for you,” Lucian said smiling.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s blue right? That’s almost the same color as our uniforms.”
“You don’t think it’s girly?” Kaelen asked suspiciously.
“No, I’d wear that color,” Lucian said.
“Oh, thanks,” Kaelen said, surprised at the kindness Lucian was showing. A guilty feeling was settling in his stomach.
“You should probably come have a seat now. Gelasia’s coming in,” Adrian said.
Kaelen finished the row carefully and put the pieces down in the basket Gelasia had given him for his sewing projects. Then he walked to his seat just as Gelasia sat down.
“Today we’re going to have a class discussion,” Gelasia said after taking roll. “I’ve been quite disappointed in the behavior of many of my gentlemen in the past couple of days. Tell me, how should a gentleman behave in the presence of a young lady?”
For a while it was quiet, then Kaelen timidly raised his hand.
“Yes, Kaelen?” Gelasia asked.
“Well, a young lady is supposed to always be cheerful, so I suppose a gentleman would do things that would make her feel happy,” Kaelen replied.
“Can you give me a specific example?”
“He would be kind to her, like offering to be her friend.”
“Very good, what else?” She turned to the rest of the class.
Adrian raised his hand and waited until Gelasia called on him before saying, “A gentleman would treat her with respect. He’d offer help rather than ridicule.”
“A very good point, Adrian. What else?”
Lucian raised his hand. “At home, my mother always tells me that a gentleman compliments young ladies. Anytime Allegra, my sister, had a competition, I had to tell her at least one good thing I had seen her do. Like the time she won her first blue ribbon; I got her some roses out of our flower garden.”
“Perfect, Lucian. That is a very gentlemanly thing to do. Although, I do hope you asked your mother first,” she continued with a smile. “I want this to be a full class discussion. What else should you do? Or perhaps I should ask what should you not do?”
More of the boys started participating and Kaelen noticed that some were turning a bit red in the face. Gelasia allowed the discussion to continue until people were running out of ideas. “You have all given excellent examples. Now, since I can tell you all know how to behave like gentlemen, who would like to explain why so many of you have treated Kaelen with such animosity?”
The room was quiet enough to hear the snow falling outside. Many of the boys were staring at their hands or at the floor, trying to hide their shame from Gelasia.
“No one? Perhaps I can explain it to you,” she offered. Kaelen felt himself go red in the face. “Many of you have allowed yourselves to forget the gentleman’s code. Granted, it can be easy to forget, as it is not written down anywhere. You are just expected to know and follow it. That code applies to how you behave around everyone. Even young ladies have a set of rules that are to be followed. Kaelen must still keep himself to the gentleman’s code while at the same time learning and following the rules a young lady is expected to obey. How difficult that must be for him! Imagine trying to learn two sets of rules, which can, at times, be contradictory. He must be the perfect gentleman and the perfect lady at once.
“Your attitude and the way you treat him will either strengthen his ability to do this or be horribly detrimental to it. Surely not one of you would purposely make his princess cry and yet, you have done this to your classmate. Not a single one of you would dare to treat any of Melantha’s ladies in the appalling manner you have treated Kaelen. I should not have to have this conversation with you. I’ve taught you better and I am sure that your parents have taught you better. Instead of making this experience as hard as you possibly can for Kaelen, you should be looking for ways to ease his burden. Yes, he is being punished for his behavior, but none of you has the authority to punish him further. You are classmates, here for six years. By the time you leave, many of you will be very close friends, closer than brothers. Let’s not spoil the opportunity by behaving as miscreants.”
Silence fell over the room. Kaelen wished desperately he had somewhere to hide. He’d never needed anyone to protect him before. Having Adrian offer to be his friend was one thing. Adrian was at least a tough-looking guy. Gelasia was an ancient fairy. Not only was she a fairy, she was a girl. It was embarrassing.
“Now,” she said, interrupting Kaelen’s thoughts, “it’s time for you to go to lunch. I expect better behavior from all of you. Class is dismissed.”
“Wow, she was serious,” Adrian said as he walked down the hallway with Lucian and Kaelen.
“Let’s just not talk about it, okay?” Kaelen interrupted. “That was really embarrassing.”
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“Don’t worry about it, Kaelen,” Lucian said. “I don’t think that was her intention. She just wants to make sure we’re all behaving like gentlemen. Besides, I think some of the guys were just as embarrassed as you were.”
“Whatever,” he sighed as they walked into the dining hall. “Where should I sit?” he asked Adrian.
“Pick a spot, we’ll find you.”
Kaelen found a table, sat down and then invited everyone else to sit down as a serving boy came over with his tray. “Can’t I get my own?”
“I’m sorry, mi…sir, I have to bring it to you. That’s m’job,” the boy replied before scurrying off again.
Kaelen sighed. Soon Adrian and Lucian arrived at the table. As they were sitting down, Nathan walked by. “Kaelinda, you’re at the wrong table.”
“Actually, Kaelen is right where he belongs, Nathan.” Adrian countered.
He scowled and walked away. “See you around, Kaelinda.”
“Someone didn’t listen in etiquette today, did they?” Lucian asked.
“Obviously not,” Adrian said. “Oh well, let’s eat.”
No one said another word about Nathan as they ate their lunch. It wasn’t long before the serving boy showed up again to take Kaelen’s empty tray. After Adrian and Lucian cleared their places, the three walked out and upstairs to the orientation classroom.
They were almost up the stairs of the tower when they heard George running up behind them. “Hey guys, wait up!”
Adrian turned around. “What’s up, George?”
He