Gavin left the armory empty-handed. He shielded the candle flame and counted his steps under his breath. The back halls of the castle were empty.
At the foot of the spiral stairs, he restarted the count. Twenty-seven steps up and he turned to the hall. He walked past his dressing chamber and stopped at the door to his sleeping quarters. The door had a scuff on it.
Gavin opened the door and tore at the ascot around his neck. The wound was itching.
That brat. I beat her, though. I’m going to write down that I won.
He pulled back a curtain and opened the wicker basket behind it. He dropped the ascot in with the laundry. Simmons had laid out sleeping clothes on his bed.
I’ll change after I journal.
He snapped the basket shut and closed the curtain, nose wrinkling. Gavin moved the candle to his writing desk and slipped out a small key from his pocket. He opened a drawer and moved some books out of it. He unlocked the bottom panel.
His journal was bound in smooth leather. Leather was prone to scuffs, and this one had not a single mark. He slipped it out and let it fall open in his hands.
Twenty-eighth day. Ninth month. Year eighteen of my life.
I defeated
Gavin replayed the duel in his mind. He would have beat her. Had she not cheated. It was not that she was using her left hand. She had been doing that since she was twelve and he fourteen. That was her choice. He crossed out ‘defeated’ with a single thin mark. Gavin did not lie to posterity.
I defeated would have defeated Rileya today. I scored two blood, puncturing her shoulder and thigh. Until she resorted to cheating.
Gavin saw the shield falling from her wrist and hitting the white sand. It was a clever trick, and he could not fault her for it. It was also not expressly forbidden by the rules. Grappling, however, was.
Rileya grabbed my wrist during the fight, which resulted in a forfeit.
He rubbed at the bandage on his neck. Gavin examined his hand. There was no blood.
Tomorrow I will travel with the Guild Masters to Kalden, the capital.
Gavin worried that they would leave without him. That did not need to be immortalized. It did need to be prevented. He blew on the page until the ink dried.
He flipped the book shut, slipping it back into his hiding place. He locked the panel and returned the other books to the drawer.
Gavin thought to himself, I’ll ask Simmons which room L’Marc is in.
He made his way back to the lower levels of the castle and entered the kitchen. The staff were feasting on the untouched duck à l’orange. They snapped to attention when he entered.
“Master Gavin.” The serving girl Mary spoke, still dressed in her uniform. Her hair was undone and hung lank on her shoulders, and the bow on her apron was asymmetrical.
Gavin narrowed his eyes and replied, “Your timing was off in serving the first course tonight. Cora’s plate hit nearly two seconds after everyone else’s.”
Simmons stepped in front of the girls. “Master, your mother has requested that you address all complaints to me. I shall redirect them to the staff on your behalf.”
“It does not matter anymore.” Gavin raised his chin. “I am leaving for Kalden in the morning.”
He surveyed the room. All eyes stared at him, their expressions unreadable, save one. Riley’s friend, Lissie, was away from the group. Her hands were in a cupboard and there was a sack at her feet.