Читать книгу Theopolda's Quest - Linda Wisely - Страница 4

One day when Theo was thirteen and Will fourteen, a young man came to apprentice at the monastery. He was a tall, thin, good-looking youth, with fine features, striking blue eyes and hair so blonde that it had white highlights in the sunlight.

Brother James, whose job it was to take visitors on tours of the monastery and welcome newcomers, brought him to Theo and Will since they were about the same age.

"Theo, Will, I want to introduce our new apprentice, Sagan Hapsburg of Austria."

Will, always one to speak before thinking, burst out, "Sagan? What kind of name is that?"

Sagan stood up tall, looked Will straight in the eyes, and said calmly, "It's Anglo-Saxon. It was my father's name. My mother said it meant wise one."

Brother James put a gentle hand on Sagan's arm, "And a fine name it is for a young man. The Anglo-Saxons are known as people chosen by God."

Will immediately felt bad about his unwelcoming attitude. "I'm sorry I was rude. It's great to have you here."

Theo stepped forward, "I'm sure we'll all be great friends once we get to know one another."

Sagan nodded with a shy smile, "I'm looking forward to it and to living in this monastery. It is a great honor to be chosen for apprenticeship here."

"If you'll follow me, Sagan, I'll continue your tour and then take you to your chambers," Brother James said as they walked away, their footsteps echoing in the dark stone hall.

"Really Will, won't you ever learn to think before you speak?" Theo slapped Will playfully on the arm.

Will brushed back a lock of dark hair which was always falling into his eyes. Looking down at Theo, who was almost a foot shorter than him, he said with grin, "I'm working on it." He rubbed his arm as though he were mortally wounded. "That hurt. I think it calls for a reprisal." He plunged towards her, but she was too quick. They ran down the hall of the monastery laughing. When he caught her, he began to tickle her ribs.

"That's enough, I give, I give up," she said giggling.

Will was Theo's best friend and she adored him. He had medium length black hair and eyes so brown, they looked like puddles of dark melted chocolate. When he smiled his engaging smile, anything could be forgiven him and often was.

As she looked into his eyes, she found herself noticing how handsome he was becoming. Strange how she had never noticed before. Her face flushed a little in embarrassment.

Will looked at her in surprise. He decided not to comment and acted as though nothing was any different than usual. "Are you done with the lessons Brother Justus gave us? I have a new fencing move I want to try out on you."

"Absolutely, let's go." Theo turned away quickly, glad to get past the awkward moment. They hurried towards the big, open courtyard at the center of the monastery to practice the sword fighting they both loved so much.

Soon, Sagan became fast friends with Will and Theo. They could be heard laughing noisily as they ran through the monastery together. This brought smiles to all of the nuns and monks, though sometimes they had to be shushed when they passed through the libraries.

Brother Justus continued to be their educational mentor under the watchful eyes of their nurse and Will's mother, Fhi. Theo studied alongside Will and Sagan, even though it wasn't customary for girls to be educated. As they grew older, each of them began to receive specialized education from other monks at the monastery. Theo found that she had a propensity to learn languages. By talking to the foreign monks who had joined the monastery, she began to learn English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Latin. Will was interested in the financial and distribution aspects of the winery along with anything that involved being outdoors. Sagan was interested in Roman and Greek ruins and encripting the meaning of words found on the ruins.

Time while on the Isle of Literary Wisdom seemed to stand still with little change. But four years had passed, and it was now the year of our Lord, 1478.

One day, Brother Justus called Theo to come to the big office where the monastery's finances were kept. What did I do now? Theo searched her mind. Yes, she had put the frog in Brother Alexio's bed, but he was always so dour, he needed a little excitement in his life. Oh, of course, she hadn't completed her chores yesterday. Will and Sagan were sword fighting in the big hall. How could she miss that? She always got to fight the winner. If they could do it, so could she!

"I'm here, Brother Justus," Theo said quietly as she stood before him. "If it's about the frog?" she began.

"No, no, Theo. Brother Alexio said it didn't bother him. He actually likes frogs," Brother Justus said with a slight smile.

"You know Theo, in a couple of months it will be your eighteenth birthday. The council has decided that you should take a trip to Italy to see the important sights and visit the great monasteries and courts, because you have never been off of the island. You should have gone a couple of years ago, but we didn't want to go to the mainland while there was a risk of contracting the black plague when it resurged. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad this time as when it wiped out half of Italy about twenty years ago. You know we closed the monastary to visitors for a while because of it," Brother Justus began. "It is coming time for you to decide what you will do with your life. Of course you are welcome to stay here and join the order. But you might chose to marry, live in Italy, and have a family,"

"I thought God already had a plan for my life. I thought it was right here."

"Yes, before you were born God had a plan for your life, but it is up to you to prayerfully seek to find what it is," Brother Justus told her softly.

"Oh, Brother Justus, I can never leave you, Will, or Sagan, not to mention Fhi. I don't even need this trip to make my decision," Theo exclaimed.

"Nevertheless," Brother Justus continued. "The trip has been planned and set."

"But what about Will and Sagan?"

"They will go with us as our guards. We are very impressed with their sword fighting skills. Even though we do not promote violence, in this world we must be able to protect ourselves."

"I can protect myself. I'm just as good as they are with a sword and bow," Theo said proudly.

"Yes, it has been noted. Therefore, we should be safe from thieves and ruffians as we travel."

"Isn't Fhi going?"

"No, my dear, she is not in good enough health. She will be here when we return and praying for us while we are gone." Brother Justus answered her question and then continued, "We plan to visit Palermo, Naples, Florence, and Venice. This should be a great educational trip for all of you youngsters. Will also needs to decide his future. Sagan came here four years ago with the intent of continuing his studies as scrivener for as long as needed. I understand from him, that he is content with that decision."

"When are we leaving?" Theo asked.

"Room on the supply ship that comes the first of each month has been booked for May 1st."

"Wow, just over three weeks. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Theo complained.

"Knowing your propensity to get overly excited to the point of not being able to accomplish anything, we decided three weeks was enough time for you to get ready. The rest of the needed requirements have been accomplished over these past six months," Brother Justus told Theo with a kindly smile. "Fhi has been working on new clothes for you to wear on the trip in her spare time."

Time went by very quickly, as everyone was busy doing regular monastery work in addition to preparing for Brother Justus and the young people's trip.

As the day grew closer, Theo began to worry. Would she know what to do and how to act in Italian society, would people like her, would they be safe? She worried about anything and everything that came to mind, until she hardly slept. It was good that she had her birthday to think about also. It was only days away.