Forty Six

Indrik's Pov

The days have been crawling by slowly. Way too slowly. What with my master refusing to train me. I have tried everything I could think to do, from begging, to threatening, to trying to make her life a living hell all in a bid to get her to train me but she stubbornly keeps refusing

Now, having totally run out of options, I have been starting to grow a little bitter. So bitter that I now send her on errands more for malicious reasons than to get her to change her mind.

I looked around the room and groaned in annoyance. Everything in the room seemed to be placed there to make me mad. From the plush rugs, to the beautifully painted walls, to the magnificent designs above. Everything. I groaned again as I got out of bed. Yeah! Another reason I was so mad was because I had recovered fully or almost fully, at least. Enough to move around and enough to start training but my master still would not agree to train me.

I got dressed and stepped out of the room, eager to get a breath of fresh air. I looked from the door that led to the garden to the door that led to the other parts of the palace, trying to make up my mind. I settled on the latter and headed out.

Stepping out of the door, the first thing that met me was a cold blast of wind. I shivered as I drew my garment closer noticing for the first time that it was already evening. The sun was sailing down the horizon in a brilliant show of light and colors, ranging from golden to blue, to white. I shivered again as I continued to move, keeping my eyes fixed on the ground before me.

"Look who we have here!" A voice that I would recognize from anywhere in the world boomed, prying me out of my thoughts. I kept my head bowed while continuing to walk, hoping that they would just leave me to myself and let me pass over without much incident. Of course, I wasn't going to be that lucky. A leg suddenly appeared within my legs sending me falling forward into a broad chest.

"Come on, brother!" You weren't about to walk past without saying hi to your beloved brother now, were you?" His voice sounded so hurt that he might have actually convinced a passerby into thinking he was a good brother who was trying to keep family ties alive. Too bad none of them ever waited to see just how far he went to keep the family ties alive and very well defined.

I tried to sidestep the barrel sized man standing before me without raising my head but it was futile as he just appeared before me again. Already frustrated from before, I raised my head and glared at the oaf who smirked back. He was kind of short, barely managing to reach my shoulder but what he lacked in height, he more than complicated for in size.

One arm of his could probably break my trunk in half very easily. His legs could very well pass for tree trunks of very large trees. His trunk was comfortably twice the size of mine and atop this sat a sneering square head that seemed to say, 'I can't wait to break you!' and tell you what? I believed it.

"I see you have finally been freed, brother. My apologies that I wasn't able to visit you in there. I really hope you won't hold it against me now that you're out." A taller man stepped before me, shoving the shorter man aside. He was proof that short is not a compulsory qualification for stocky. As a matter of fact, he was bulkier than the short man. Hair that is a shade lighter than mine, a face that would turn heads if we ignored that jagged scar behind his left ear and the moustache that looks like an anchor, pale yellow skin.

Yeah! He is my brother! Trust my luck to run me into the one person I was better off not running into. "Come on brother. This is rude. You are just going to ignore your well wishers?"

I swallowed, the memory of what had happened the last time we met still fresh in my memory. Something that had to do with horses and poo and faces. Spit gathered in my throat and I forced it down so hard, it was almost painful. His smirk informed me that he hadn't forgotten it either.

"Let me go!" I rasped, trying to walk around him but he wasn't done yet as he held out a hand, stopping me in my tracks. His friends all had lopsided grins on their faces as they closed in around us. I swallowed so forcefully that I burst into a coughing fit. There was no escaping this now.

"You want to leave? But the fun has not even started yet and oh boy, are we going to have a lot of fun?" My brother turned to his friends who burst into laughter as though on cue.

"Go try your luck elsewhere, Leon. I am not going to play any of your games today. Get out of my way." I shoved him in the chest but I might have as well shoved an oak tree. He didn't move from the spot instead, I was the one who stumbled back a couple of feet before managing to regain my balance. Leon stared at me like he was looking at some silly animal in his circus. His friends caught on and started to yap again.

"I don't remember saying you had a choice. Like you already know, brother," he pronounced the last word like it was burning his tongue, "I never take no for an answer." He covered the gap within us in one stride and grabbed me by the shoulder.

"Boys! It is game time."