The Novel's Sidekick

“Aaelin, please tell me again, why have you brought me here?” Gavin asked his elder brother, grumbling as both siblings moved to a particular house in the camp without resting a moment after finishing their task.

The sun hung low on the horizon, and Pra'moon peeked twinkling. Luminescent stones were lit in most of the stone houses, as the two of them approached a particular house next to the main base.

“Nothing much,” Aaelin answered. “I thought you would love to have a talk with mother.”

“Why now?” Gavin questioned. “It's almost midnight in Sholistin. Do you really think it's a good idea to bother her now?”

Aaelin squinted his eyes. Certainly, he had not thought about that. “Come on. Mother is a Magus. She wouldn’t mind her dear children bothering a little.”

Gavin frowned at his brother, looking at his exterior carefully. Aaelin was actually half a head taller, with a prominent jawline and a handsome face, but with the cheeky grin, he was flashing, it didn’t take long for Gavin to figure out the main reason behind such a sudden urge.

“Kisana was in charge of the booth now, right?” he asked with a piercing glare.

Aaelin looked away, not admitting or denying it. Well, it was likely the case. His good brother could have been the ideal dating material; he’s good looking, Heir to the princedom and even to the Throne, an elite Knight at a young age. What else can a maiden ask for? Aaelin would have been an ideal man, if only he was not that oblivious and blunt at times, which put him at the wrong end with every relationship he had so far.

“Well, I was considering having a talk with mother, sooner or later,” Gavin said, sighing, admitting defeat in his brother’s pursuit. “Maybe I should ask her to arrange someone for you, or should I wait for you to screw this up? Well, considering mother, she probably arranged something already.”

“No,” Aaelin said immediately. “Do not speak a single word related to my love life to mother.”

“Sure, but you have to promise me one thing,” Gavin agreed, but with a condition in place.

“If it's about the hunt, I can’t do anything about it,” Aaelin said instantly, guessing where Gavin was going with it.

Perhaps not all oblivious. Gavin clasped his palms into fists. “How about I watch from hundreds of yards away?” he negotiated. “You know, the season is coming. I wouldn’t have a chance then."

“I can take you if it was a well-organised hunt,” Aaelin said, pondering for a moment, “but only if you get permission from father.”

“Why do you have to bring father into everything?”

“It's you who brought mother first.”

The siblings approached the booth as Gavin went inside first, while Aaelin looked around first to join. As Gavin had thought, the one in charge of the communication channels for this time was none other than Kisana—daughter of Lord Varuth, a high-ranking officer in his father's army. She has the tall posture of a Mahenarian woman, olive-skinned with rare curly black hair hung on her back. A full sleeve gown hugged her body, even though it was always searing hot here. She lifted her head from the book she was reading to look in their direction.

Kisana was about to greet Gavin, but her expression grew sour, finding Aaelin trailing behind.

Gavin gave his elder brother a flat look, as if asking: How had he already destroyed his chances with her?

Aaelin laughed stupidly in response, greeting, “Hello, Kisana,” he said, “apologies that I could not join you yesterday. I was quite busy with--”

“Training a recruit.” Kisana completed his sentence, snorting. She ignored Aaelin and gazed at Gavin to inquire. “Do I need to help you connect?”

“No, I will manage,” Gavin said, giving his brother a look, which says: you better be grateful.

Gavin advanced, giving some free time for the two to chat. Sitting down on the seat Kisana was before, Gavin registered his name and whom he was contracting on the register first.

Other than the register book, there were two fictions on the table. It did not surprise Gavin, finding both of them were romances. Women, young or old, irrespective of age, all love these kinds of romances. Gavin had read a couple. Usually, the story revolved around a young female apprentice who falls in love with all kinds of characters, such as a teacher (not your average elderly wizard), or a (bad boy) classmate, or a prince(exactly opposite his brother, who lacks the vocabulary to speak flowery words), an enemy prince (even better).

Gavin always wondered why can't they fall for a low-key character, such as a janitor. Doesn't the janitor deserve some love? Shaking his head, he reached for the receiver of the communication device.

The communication device was huge, taking up almost two-thirds of the desk, not to mention the desk was no smaller than a six by four feet desk. There were smaller versions of this device, but this one was the hub of the communication channel, which connects all the smaller counterparts to wherever they wanted to connect.

Gavin kept an ear open to perceive how was Aaelin’s business was going, which turned out just as he imagined: Kisana giving him a cold shoulder, as Aaelin gave her excuses after excuses.

Letting out a breath, Gavin infused spirit energy into the receiver, searching for the private line that connects to his mother. Not many people own a private line, with the communication line only being invented less than a decade ago. It's exponentially expensive, even to the royal family.

Overlooking the links that connect to other hubs, Gavin checked for the specific link that connects to his mother. It didn’t take long to find, as he was quite familiar with the device, though it would take a minute or two to connect.

Gavin turned his head again to check on Aaelin to find another person joining them. Gavin raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. It was Sir Rogan’s daughter, who joined the camp only a week ago, just completing her education at the academy.

Gavin looked at the three carefully. With the blessing of his bloodline into play, he didn’t miss any exchange between the trio. Gavin was no fighter, but he had talents in other places, like this, using the bloodline power to notice the smallest details that others overlook. Even Aaelin, who was an excellent knight, was not as good as him.

His mother empathised that it has to be related to one’s personality. Aaelin was never good at reading people, like their father. Hell, he was even more oblivious than father, while Gavin seemed to inherit this from his mother, though it was scarcely low compared to what his mother could do, but with the bloodline into play, he was better than he needed to be.

The first thing he noticed was that Kisana didn’t seem to like Yasmine all that much, even though they were meeting for the first time. It was likely Aaelin’s fault. How was it was Aaelin’s fault? Well, he was in charge of new recruits, and Yasmine being one, he was in charge of her training. Also, Yasmine was new to her Dominion and needed training. It was likely to help her did Aaelin miss the date yesterday.

Still, it was kind of a jerk move on Aaelin’s part, but Gavin had to admit both of them were two training maniacs, one minded and oblivious at times. Just like now, none of Yasmine or Aaelin noticed the change in Kisana’s body language, or her phrase being a bit on the sour side.

“Hello,” a voice echoed out of the device, as Gavin withdrew his interest from the trio.

“Mother, it’s me,” Gavin said, “Good eveni, oh, it's goodnight for you. I didn’t know you would be awake at this hour.”

“Usually, I don’t,” his mother’s voice came again, “but I was talking to Amara just now. So, why do you call? All of you are healthy, right?”

“Yes.” Gavin gave Aaelin a side look. “Mother, I have a request of you.” He paused for several seconds to open his lips again, hesitantly. “Can you get me father’s consent to go on a hunt?”

“A hunt? I thought you don’t like combat, and also your illness--”

“It’s not that I don’t like combat, it's just I'm terrible at it,” Gavin said, exhaling, “My health has been good so far, also, my visit will be highly educational. I’ll be content with just observing it from a hundred yards away.”

“Hmm,” his mother didn’t answer immediately. “I’ll talk with your father, but no promise on my part. If your father sees it fit, then you can go. And also, you should ask your father first. You know your father, if he learns it from me, it is unlikely you will get the chance.”

“Of course,” Gavin said, sighing inwardly. He forgot about that entirely. His father’s personality was just too upright. If he finds out about his request from mother, it is unlikely he would have a good chance this time around. He might even deny him the chance just to teach him a lesson. He sighed again.

“Anything else?”

“No,” Gavin said, and looked at his brother. “Aaelin wants to talk as well.” Saying that, he blocked the line and yelled, fearing his brother would destroy his chances with both of the women, spilling out some nonsense. “Hey, Aaelin, Mother wants to talk to you.”

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