Knights of Avalon

Chapter 5

Aegis’ gaze fell on the textbook and pages strewn across Gawain’s desk. Gawain’s writing pad seemed suspiciously clean. There was no way that would be the case if he had read through all of Aegis’ notes like he was claiming.

Aegis handed his notes back to Gawain. “There’s still plenty of time until the next class, so take your time.”

“But…”

“Seriously, it’s fine.”

Aegis forced Gawain to take the notes back despite his protests. Gawain wondered if it was because Aegis was convinced that he hadn’t studied the notes thoroughly enough.

Deciding that it would be best if he didn’t behave too differently than usual, Gawain accepted Aegis’ notes without objecting further.

Gawain and Aegis got ready for bed. Once they were settled in, Gawain heard a rustle from the top bunk, followed by Aegis’ voice.

“Hey, what are you gonna do about class tomorrow?”

“Show up I guess.”

As much as Gawain wanted to use his injured shoulder as an excuse to skip class, he wanted to avoid inviting more unnecessary gossip. There were already too many rumors circulating around the academy that Calvert had attacked him to make him fail his exams.

In contrast to Gawain’s tone of resignation, Aegis seemed disappointed.

“Aw, I was hoping you’d get to relax a little more.”

“There’s no sense in screwing up my exams. Don’t worry,” Gawain reassured Aegis and slowly closed his eyes. Contrary to his worries that his anxiety might keep him awake, he managed to fall asleep in no time.

***

Lately, every time Gawain was about to open his eyes, he felt a twinge of fear in the pit of his stomach that he might find out that this was all just a dream, or at least some kind of cruel twist of fate. He could no longer keep track of the number of times he had woken up feeling utterly grateful that he hadn’t found himself lying on the cold stonework of a dank prison floor.

In the mirror, Gawain caught sight of himself wearing a neatly-pressed brown uniform.

Damn it. Again, huh…?

It was hard to tell how many times he had this nightmare. Gruesome scenes from the night the Knights of the Round Table were massacred and the endless days of torture he subsequently endured flashed through his dreaming mind as if they had happened just yesterday.

Whenever this happened, it felt as if every hair on his body stood up on end while his strength was sapped out of his body. Gawain took a deep breath and readjusted his tie while staring at his reflection.

The Gawain he saw in the mirror looked very young—even younger than he remembered. It helped center him to see himself this way. Truly, he had returned to the past.

Aegis, who had already finished preparing for the day, observed Gawain staring blankly into the mirror before piping up.

“Everything okay?”

“Hm? What?”

“I was just wondering. You seemed to be zoning out while looking into the mirror.”

“Oh… I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Yeah, no kidding. You’re injured with exams being less than a week away.”

No one knew better than Aegis how much Gawain had devoted himself to his studies and training, so it made sense that Aegis would assume Gawain’s anxiety was due to getting injured right before exams. But this wasn’t why Gawain was distressed.

“We should start heading to class soon if we don’t wanna be late.”

After Gawain finished straightening his tie, he grunted affirmatively and followed Aegis out of their dorm room.

Gawain was closing the door behind him when he looked up and locked eyes with a classmate who lived across the hall. The boy looked away quickly as if he had seen nothing.

After blatantly refusing to acknowledge Gawain’s presence, the boy proceeded to greet Aegis warmly.

“Good morning, Aegis.”

“Yeah, good morning to you too.”

“Well, I guess I’ll be going then. Have a good day.” The boy walked past them hastily without waiting for Aegis to respond.

Aegis shook his head and sighed, clearly upset on Gawain’s behalf.

“He should’ve at least said hello to you.”

“Forget it. It’s not like I’m close to him anyway.”

It was true. Gawain might’ve returned to the past, but he couldn’t even remember the boy’s name. Or was it more that he couldn’t be bothered to remember? Gawain suspected it was the latter.

“You’re not insulted by how rude he was?”

“Why would I be insulted?”

“You’ve lived across the hall from him for the past three years!”

“Why are you so bothered by it? It’s not like you’re that close to him either.”

“That’s not true! I was invited over to his estate over the last school break. I mean, I only know him because I ran into him at a gala, but—”

The social season of the Britannian Empire’s elite overlapped with the Military Academy’s holiday. Unlike Gawain, who stayed behind at the dormitory over school break, Aegis was obligated to attend various social events and gatherings as expected by his family.

He eventually became so burnt out and jaded by events of this kind that, once Aegis was made a Knight, he refused to show his face at any high-society functions save for the most important ones where his presence was absolutely required.

The irony was that, by making himself scarce in this way, Aegis unwittingly turned himself into the subject of endless rumors and fascination, especially among eligible young women.

Something about Aegis’ expression told Gawain that there was more to the story than his friend was letting on.

“Did something happen?”

“I don’t know… Not exactly. I met the elders of his family, but then they introduced me to his younger sister. I mean, I let her down gently, but things have been weird ever since. I don’t blame Charon. I’m sure his parents twisted his arm into doing it, but still… I just don’t see the point in any of it. It doesn’t matter who I meet. I’ll end up marrying a woman picked out for me by my family anyway.”

What Aegis said gave Gawain chills. The old Gawain wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but now, his foreknowledge meant that he knew that Aegis would enter a marriage arranged by his family soon after becoming a Knight.

The pair briskly walked through the academy grounds to the main building where their class was held. As soon as Aegis and Gawain entered the classroom, they were greeted by a rather chilly reception.

The boys found a relatively deserted spot in the back. A group of students craned their necks to gawk at them openly. Calvert was one of them.

“Look at him, acting like a gigantic baby over a minor arm injury.”

“Just forget about him. He brought it on himself, didn’t he?”

“Exactly. By the way, I don’t know where he gets off making Aegis tell the instructors that he can’t make it to class, like he’s his little errand boy. The absolute nerve. He should really learn his place.”

“That’s enough! You’re the one who attacked Gawain in the first place...!” Enraged by the boys’ obvious taunts, Aegis jumped to his feet to lash out, but Gawain quickly held him back.

“Aegis, just leave it. They’ll get tired of it. They always do.”

Luckily, Aegis’ outburst had startled them so much that Calvert and the boys quickly turned their attention back to the front of the classroom.

“Damn it! This would’ve never happened if I was there. I know it wouldn’t have!”

“It’s fine. Plus, I have to admit, I did let my guard down.”

“C’mon Gawain. This seriously doesn’t aggravate you?”

Did it aggravate him?

Admittedly, there was a time when this would’ve enraged him. But Gawain believed that his time was better spent on graduating from the Military Academy with flying colors to become the greatest Knight he could be.

“Well, sure, it aggravates me. It aggravates me a lot. But there’s no reason why you should be aggravated on my behalf.”

“But you worked so hard...!”

“It’s okay. Besides…”

“Besides what?”

“Never mind… It’s nothing. I’m really okay with it, so don’t let it bother you so much. Making a scene will only make it worse.”

Realizing that Gawain didn’t want to cause any more waves, Aegis fell silent and pouted.

The professor entered the room right at that moment. Gawain was relieved when the professor made no mention of his missed attendance and instead proceeded with class as usual.

“Very well. This seems like a good place to wrap up for today.”

Right on cue, the students all rose from their seats and began collecting their things. As soon as the professor was out of sight, Aegis rapidly got up and glowered menacingly at Calvert and his friends as they milled out of the classroom.

“Aegis.”

Aegis flinched when he heard Gawain call his name.

“Please, I’m asking you to just leave it alone.” Gawain appreciated Aegis’ concern, but he felt that his behavior was a tad reckless.

I already knew he had a temper, but…

Now that he looked back, he realized that Aegis’ hotheadedness had been even worse as a youth.

“I get that you’re trying to look out for me, I really do. But you need to think before you act. I don't want to be turned into more of a target than I already am.”

Aegis was silent.

“Please, let’s just forget about this and grab some lunch, okay?”

By the time Gawain had finished collecting his things, Calvert and his friends had long since left the classroom.

Aegis pouted and sulked at Gawain on their way to lunch. “What did you stop me for?”

“What did you think you were gonna accomplish by picking a fight?”

“I wasn’t gonna pick a fight, I was just gonna give them a piece of my mind.”

“That’s the same thing as picking a fight.”

It was a little funny. Aegis was taking things extremely personally. It was almost as if Aegis was the one who had been wronged and not Gawain.

“So what?”

“Don’t you think you’re taking this a little too personally?”

“Well, it was my brother who instigated the duel in the first place and not Calvert, wasn’t it?” Aegis clenched his fists. “It’s bad enough that this duel happened under my brother’s name. What makes it worse is that out of all the cadets here, the one who was challenged was you.”

Aegis wasn’t just angry for Gawain. He felt guilty toward him as well. It was as if Aegis, as a fellow member of the Jupiter family, felt he was obligated to be angry at Tuar Jupiter on Gawain’s behalf.

Of course.

Gawain realized that, in part, the reason why Aegis was so furious was because he couldn’t stand the fact that something so underhanded could happen in the name of House Jupiter.

“Calvert used your brother’s name with his consent, right? I mean, there’s no way he would’ve used your family’s name in vain, right?”

“Of course not! Lying about that would be…!”

“That’s exactly my point. So if you’re angry with Calvert, it’s the same as you being angry with your own brother.”

You could call a spade a spade, but Tuar was still a member of the Jupiter family, no matter how big of a scoundrel he was.

Gawain continued. “Believe me, I’m mad about what happened. But I don’t have to waste time being mad about it right now, especially with exams right around the corner.”

Gawain casually brought up exams again in hopes of assuaging Aegis’ anger, and Aegis immediately calmed down.

“So you’re saying… Get back at them fair and square?”

“Did I say that? I was just talking about exams.”

“Sure. Well, I guess accidents are pretty common during final exams.”

“Yeah, of course they are.”

Having successfully talked Aegis down, Gawain got in line for lunch. The cafeteria was booming with students and bustling with activity. Gawain carefully balanced his tray on one hand as he searched for a place to sit when a passing student bumped into him forcefully.

Gawain’s tray teetered like it would tip over any moment. Just then, someone’s hand shot out and helped steady the tray.

“You all right there?”

“You…!”