Chapter 14: Pushing your Limits

Chapter 14: Pushing your Limits

Chapter 14

The next morning Kai woke up with the first light of dawn. He slept wonderfully, the bed felt like a cloud and he didnt have to share it with anybody else.

I hope Im not getting spoiled, if they throw me out, Im gonna miss this bed.

He was excited about what he would learn that day. No one told him what he should do or where he should go, so Kai put on the only clothes he had and headed outside. The smell of salt and the sound of waves welcomed him.

He walked the short distance that separated him from the sandy beach and sat down to meditate facing the rising sun. With such a perfect atmosphere it would be a crime not to.

Kai closed his eyes and lost himself in the rhythmic crashing of the waves.

It must have been less than an hour later when something obscured the sun.

Opening his eyes, he noticed Elijah was standing in front of him. Without saying anything, he tossed him a bundle. Kai took a second to realize they were two sets of clothes.

Put those on, yours are falling apart.

Ehm Thank you. He was not going to refuse free gifts.

Its nothing, we can't have a naked child run around the property every time he needs to wash his clothes.

Kai blushed a little, of course they had seen him. He walked back to his house to change and maintain a bit of his dignity.

The new clothes were a simple pair of beige trousers and a white shirt. They werent anything special, but the material was different from the typical cheap linen he was used to. They felt softer on his skin and fit his size perfectly.

Do you have clothes of all sizes hanging around?

No, I made some adjustments to an old pair. Elijah looked at him as if daring him to say something.

Thats very kind of you. The butler gave him a nod of the head and turned to look away.

Is he embarrassed? Someone doesnt know how to receive compliments. I can use that.

Kais smile didnt last very long.

As I said, its nothing. Now start running.

Kai got a bad feeling. What do you mean?

You have a Running skill, right? Run to the north edge of the bay and then back. Since its your first day one lap will be enough. If you cheat or stop, Ill know.

Kai thought he was here to learn about magic, but he wanted to make a good impression and he did have a Running skill.

With the first light of day on the horizon Kai started running. The bay looked deceptively small, but not when he had to run its 3 kilometers of beach.

By the time he got to the north end, he was already heaving and sweating buckets.

Damn. My. Short. Legs. Kai had to take pauses to breathe between each word.

He miscalculated and pushed too hard in the beginning, making the way back much more difficult, but he tried to maintain a slow jog. He didnt doubt Elijah would know if he stopped to rest or walked.

He had not seen the strange butler while he ran, but as soon as he made it back, he was casually standing in front of him.

Such a showoff.

Kai thought he made a good impression. He ran about 5 kilometerssince he didnt start from the very south of the bayand completed it in about half an hour. Spending most of his time outside, he wasnt in bad shape, a bit on the thin side since food wasnt abundant.

Elijah didnt give him any gratification for his efforts.

You can rest 5 minutes then start swimming.

What do y.

You have a Swimming skill, dont you? He pointed in the distance, Stay close to the shore and swim till that red marker. You can rest for 15 minutes when you reach it, then run the way back.

Kai would bet the butler was struggling to suppress a smirk from his face.

He shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand to look for the red marker in the distance, but he couldn't find even a red dot.

Youll see it when you get closer, now get swimming, your 5 minutes are up.

That was likely more than a kilometer away. He stopped a witty remark in his throat and tried to act confident and asked, One lap?

Yes.

As I told you, Im ready. She moved her gaze onto him. You must be the child, how are you dear? Is Elly treating you all right? Tell aunty Dora. I cook every plate in this house, no one will notice if I slip a few sazelia leaves into his morning tea.

The butler threw her a death stare, My name is Elijah and you told me it had been an accident.

Sure, it was Elly, but what about next time? Will it be a mistake or not? Who knows Dora laughed aloud. Now you can leave. I have everything well in hand.

In an instant, a slew of different expressions blinked on the pale man's face, several more than all he had shown since he met him. In the end, he closed his mouth in a thin line and marched away.

Dont pout Elly, it ruins your pretty face. Ill cook your favorite dish tonight. Dora said out loud after his disappearing figure, then turned to whisper at him. Dont mind him, he is a bit moody in the morning.

I can still hear you! Elijahs voice resounded from afar. Dora put on a whoops expression and closed the door behind him.

Kai stared at her in awe with starry eyes.

I must learn how to make him flip with a few words too.

So, what is your name sweetheart? Dora asked him.

Kai.

Right at that moment the goop inside the cauldron began loudly bubbling again, spilling its content all around.

I guess those mudworts were truly a bit old. In the blink of an eye, she was again busying around. A couple minutes later she proudly raised a glass full of a liquid the color of dried mud.

She then walked back to him and offered him the glass, Nice to meet you, Kai. Now shut your nose and drink this, it will do you good.

Kai hesitatingly took the glass, Werent you saying the mudwort was expired or something? He didnt want to get any closer to that brown goop.

What an attentive little fellow you are. That is true, but at most it will have lost a bit of potency. It just means youll have to drink more. It will help you recover from Elijahs training session. Dora smiled at him encouragingly.

Kai took a deep breath and brought the glass closer to his lips. He should have listened and shut his nose. A whiff of the liquid almost made him gag.

They would not try to kill him in such a convoluted way, would they?

Without thinking twice if this was a good idea, Kai swallowed the whole glass. The taste wasnt as bad as the smell, which wasnt saying much.

I dont feel any different, he commented.

Choosing a fast effect when its not necessary means wasting the effectiveness of a potion. You might feel a slight tingling in your extremities, but thats perfectly normal. Dora explained.

She then turned to her workbench again, muttering almost as an afterthought. Only if you start feeling a strange itch in your chest, should you start to worry and run straight to me. That mudwort was indeed a bit old.

Before Kai could say anything, Dora had already taken what she needed and was walking out the door. Come, we have much to do.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Kai followed Theodora around the garden as she harvested, sowed and replanted all sorts of different plants. From mushrooms and delicate herbs that didnt reach his ankles to small trees and shrubbery. With a touch of her hand, an almost wilted flower would gain new life.

As for his task, it was mostly uprooting infesting weeds and digging holes, followed by more weed cutting. It was tedious work, but he liked being surrounded by exotic plants and he would never get bored with Dora around.

The woman was a total chatterbox, going on long tangents about each plant. She explained to him the many ways to use each of themwho knew blue tanglebells had seventeen different uses, which was still nothing compared to the thirty-seven of the turmeric roots.

They stopped for lunch and he accompanied her to the kitchen. Dora never stopped talking, simply switching the subject to food. Kai wouldnt tell anyone, but she might be a better cook than Alana.

After eating they were back in the garden.

Even if they were working dozens of meters apart, her voice never stopped once. She had a pleasant cadence to her words. It felt like listening to a podcast while working. About halfway through the afternoon, a new stray thought popped into his mind. It was clear Theodora loved to talk, but he doubted she was giving him a speed course on botany just for fun.

Please tell me she doesnt expect me to remember everything.

Kai tried his best to memorize the most interesting facts, but it was too much.

About three hours before dusk, Elijah reappeared and took him for another round of practice along the shore. It was as grueling as in the morning, but Doras concoction must have worked. His muscles had regained some strength and he was able to push through, more slowly than that morning.

From then on, he was going to eat all his meals in the kitchen at Theodora's place. It was the same building he went to this morning, but her living quarters were on the opposite side, facing the jungle rather than the sea.

When she started quizzing him about plants at dinner, he would have yelled I knew it, if he was not on the verge of falling asleep on his plate. He answered the best he could.

Dora kept smiling encouragingly, but as he failed to answer question after question, the smile grew more strained. Her thoughts were much more transparent than the other two residents.

He must have looked a bit down because she added, That was good for our first day, dear. Im sure tomorrow youll do even better.

Kai nodded his head, almost too tired to feel upset about it. Almost. Her disappointment hit him much more than Elijahs snarky remarks.

Did I not try hard enough? Am I not smart enough?

Those were the thoughts that accompanied him to bed. Thankfully he was so tired he fell asleep as soon as his head crashed into his soft pillow.nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.