Chapter 118: The Holiday Begins
Arthur woke in the dim light of Roxane’s private quarters.
Beneath them, the Leaping Stag was already waking up.
The sounds were muted but familiar: kitchen pans clattering, heavy chairs scraping across the taproom floor, and a delivery crate landing in the rear alley.
Roxane was still pressed firmly against his side. Her breathing was slow and even. One bare leg rested over his, and a long rabbit ear lay across his shoulder.
Her phone began vibrating on the nightstand as messages from her staff appeared across the screen.
She ignored it, tightening her arm around his chest.
"I still have morning classes," Arthur pointed out, trying to slide out from under her.
"You are disturbing the owner before opening," she murmured into his shoulder.
"The owner’s staff already sound awake."
"That is exactly why I employ them."
Roxane muttered that he was responsible for leaving her exhausted. When Arthur reminded her who had demanded a month’s worth in one night, she ignored the contradiction and pulled him closer.
Roxane eventually pushed herself out of bed. The fading marks from the spanking remained visible, and one ear still drooped with sleep. She took her first few steps toward the wardrobe more carefully than usual.
Arthur watched her.
She caught him looking over her shoulder. "Do not look so pleased with yourself."
"You demanded a month’s worth," Arthur reminded her.
"And you still owe interest."
Roxane pulled on a loose shirt and comfortable trousers. But her languid attitude vanished the second she finally checked her phone.
The remaining sleepiness disappeared as she shifted back into running the tavern. An early supplier needed a signature. A taproom worker was late. The kitchen was waiting for her approval on a menu change.
Arthur pulled on his uniform while she rapidly typed out instructions.
They went downstairs through the private staircase and ate a quick breakfast of bread, hot eggs, and strong coffee in the quiet staff section before the Leaping Stag opened.
The early workers were accustomed to Arthur’s presence. A kitchen hand walked past, briefly noticed Roxane’s drooping ear and careful movements, and quietly returned to his prep station without a word.
Roxane ate while scrolling through the morning accounts on her tablet.
Two workers approached with questions while she ate. Roxane answered both between bites, corrected one account entry, and sent them back to work.
Before Arthur finished his coffee, she looked up.
"Message me when you return to Lornfell."
Roxane caught his shirt, pulled him in for one firm kiss, and warned him not to disappear for the entire month.
"You heard one month," Arthur replied, pulling back. "I never said one month."
Roxane’s ears tilted sharply backward. "Get out before I add interest to your debt."
Arthur smiled and left through the rear alley entrance. When he looked back, she was already directing her staff on the tavern floor.
The final days of the academy term passed in a blur of closing lectures and packing crates.
Once the last classes ended, the dormitories transformed. Departure schedules covered the notice boards. The corridors echoed with students dragging heavy storage cases, trying to catch family transports or secure seats on the departing academy buses.
By the first official morning of the holiday, the academy was frantic.
Arthur stood inside his private dorm room, listening to the shouts echoing through the corridor outside. Several doors on his floor were already locked and empty.
He filled one durable travel bag with enough clothes for an uncertain stay, one better outfit for formal family meals, and his usual weapons. Once the bag was closed, he secured the leather bracer around his forearm.
Emily still had not told him how long she expected him to stay. If he needed anything else, he could buy it later.
He was just securing the buckles when Felix appeared in the open doorway.
Felix had packed considerably more. He carried a heavy satchel and dragged a reinforced trunk that appeared to contain mostly books, reference notes, and training material.
Arthur looked at the heavy trunk. "Are you planning to establish a rival academy during the month?"
"I already removed the unnecessary reading material," Felix answered calmly, pushing his glasses up his nose.
Arthur looked at the reinforced trunk and decided he did not want to know what Felix had removed.
Felix noticed Arthur’s compact travel bag. "You either severely underpacked, or Emily still hasn’t given you a return date."
"The latter," Arthur confirmed, throwing the bag over his shoulder.
They walked out of the dorm and headed downstairs together.
On the way downstairs, they passed three students struggling to carry an overfilled trunk around the landing. Felix paused to help while Arthur held the door.
The academy’s main departure area was a sprawling crush of movement. Large academy buses idled beside the loading lanes while city taxis wove through the congestion.
Arthur and Felix found the rest of their group near the edge of the crowd.
Leon and Alicia were already arguing. Their voices overlapped as they debated whose family vehicles and massive luggage trunks were occupying too much space in the loading zone.
Alicia eventually dragged one of Leon’s smaller cases out of the walkway herself. Leon objected on principle, though he made no attempt to take it back.
Cedric and Elara stood nearby. Cedric had packed surprisingly lightly after complaining about their recent exchange trip. Elara casually pointed out that she was currently carrying most of the supplies he had conveniently left behind.
Their conversation moved between complaints about luggage, unfinished training plans, and guesses about who would return to Lornfell first. None of them stopped watching the loading lanes for their transport.
While Leon was distracted by his family’s driver, Chloe stepped closer to Arthur for a quieter moment.
Her gaze briefly passed over his bracer and travel bag before returning to his face.
"I am visiting Emily’s family," Arthur teased lightly. "Not entering a dungeon."
"You have managed to return injured from supposedly safe situations before," Chloe pointed out smoothly.
She stepped slightly closer, the movement naturally hidden by the chaotic crush of students, and gave him a brief, firm kiss.
"Contact me if you return to Lornfell before I do," she told him.
Arthur agreed.
Before the group could fully separate, Instructor Morwenna appeared through the crowd. She was actively supervising the departure lanes, but she paused when she saw Arthur’s travel bag.
She stepped over, her expression as stern as ever.
"Do not become lazy during the month away, Vance," Morwenna warned, skipping any pleasantries. "Resting does not mean abandoning your close-range drills or your bracer transitions."
"The academy officially called it a holiday," Arthur mildly protested.
"I expect you to return without losing the progress you made," Morwenna countered, entirely unmoved. She checked the clipboard in her hand. "The city inspectors have formally taken over the freight-yard evidence. The issue is out of your hands unless the academy specifically contacts you."
Arthur nodded.
Before Morwenna could say anything else, she noticed a student trying to force an oversized training crate into an already full luggage compartment. Her expression darkened, and she marched toward the bus.
The group separated gradually as their respective vehicles were called.
Cedric and Elara left first, waving as they headed toward the transit lines. Felix walked toward his departure lane, still adjusting the heavy straps of his excessive luggage. Leon and Alicia were pulled toward their family vehicles, still arguing over whose luggage had caused more trouble.
Chloe met Arthur’s eyes once more before turning and disappearing into the crowd.
The departure area remained loud and crowded, but one by one, the familiar faces disappeared into buses and waiting vehicles.
Arthur’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
Turn around.
Arthur turned toward the outer departure lanes. Emily was waiting beside a dark Thorne family vehicle.
She was wearing a sharp, tailored travel jacket. When Arthur approached, her gaze dropped to his single bag before moving back to his face. One eyebrow rose, but she made no comment.
A uniformed driver stepped forward and stored Arthur’s luggage in the rear compartment.
Emily reached out, straightened the collar of his jacket, and gave the result a small nod of approval.
Emily’s hand lingered at his collar for a moment. Arthur noticed the tension in her shoulders, but she stepped back before he could comment.
Arthur entered the spacious rear compartment, and Emily slid in beside him.
Before the door closed, Arthur looked back through the tinted glass at the busy academy entrance. Morwenna was still arguing with the student by the bus. Felix was barely visible in the distance, hauling his trunk toward the gates.
Students continued moving between the buses and loading lanes as the door closed.
The vehicle pulled smoothly away from the departure lanes and joined the morning traffic flowing through Lornfell.
Once they were moving, Emily took Arthur’s hand. Her grip was firmer than usual.
Arthur noticed but did not question her. He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles as the city passed outside.
The vehicle cleared Lornfell’s outer district, and the academy towers disappeared behind the buildings.
The holiday had begun.