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 Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:13 pm
"Thank you," she said genuinely, taking the box in her hands as gently as if it were a snowflake. "He doesn't seem so cruel to me," she replied blushing, "It was a nice thought. And it's nothing, really. Just this guy that drives me insane." She scoffed. "I'm supposed to marry him. But I can't even stand to be in the same room as him." Stacia frowned to herself. "Sorry. I didn't mean to just blurt that out. It's strange. I haven't thought about him in months, but today..." She shook her head, trailing off. "You asked about carrier pigeons. I don't know about that. But I'm sure I could find out. Whenever we get mail from home, it's always delivered by a rider. He rides on the route back and forth between here and... here and home." She looked over at Lavender, smiling slightly. "If we only had a messenger like that, a rider, would I still be able to write to you?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:39 pm
I'm supposed to marry him. But I can't even stand to be in the same room as him... Lavender gave her a sympathetic smile. An arranged marriage, she thought, almost horrified. Even though As'ardenian parents also chose husbands for their daughters, they all got along well enough to work through the trauma of being forced into a union. Perhaps that was what held Ani back as well - the forceful nature of the whole situation. Perhaps she could have loved him if they had met another way. Then again, Lavender knew too little to give advice. She made a mental note to introduce her to Oonagh, As'arden's High Priestess. She would know what to do and what to say.
"They should have something somewhere, because we've sent mail by carrier pigeons before. Th'ardrod is only two day's travel away and would take about a day and a half, at the most, for an aerial creature. It would be more convenient than a rider, I think."
Just then, a bewildered fox leaped out of nowhere, shrieking as though it was being chased by death or fear itself. It whirred past them in a flash of bright orange, leisurely, in comparison, followed by an angry teacher.
"That blasted child!" he grumbled, trying not to cause a scene.
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:46 pm
Stacia flinched and backed away a few steps, trying to hide herself from the professor's line of sight. Once they were out of view, she turned to look at Lavender. "I'd better get back to class. I promise I'll look for the birds. Thank you for this," she said holding up the box, "and this," she motioned to her bag of fruit. She turned to walk away, but stopped and turned. "Will you still be around the market at lunch?" She didn't want to sound needy, but after months alone, it seemed she had finally found a friend - and she didn't want to lose that.
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 2:16 pm
Lavender nodded. "We're here for at least two days still." She watched her new friend disappear into the building that was, supposedly, the university. It was a large, marble structure that seemed to be, besides the library, the crown jewel of Th'ardrod. Ryan would have called it classic.
She spun around on her toes and started in a comfortable trot in the direction the fox had run. Oonagh was holding the fox in her arms, arguing with a dark-clad man. The other As'ardens continued their duties as if nothing was amiss. Sage, on the other hand, was furiously hissing at the teacher, baring her teeth and growling from her throat. Lavender checked his mask: an owl. He might have been the headmaster. She strolled into the scene with grace, trying to emit more positive energy than what was going on about her. She touched Sage's cheek. Oonagh handed the creature over to her and continued to quarrel with the adamant professor.
"Sir, you would do well to encourage your students to be curious and ambitious about their studies," she argued.
"And have them stumble upon knowledge they weren't ready to know? Who are you to decide how I should teach my pupils?"
"No one. However, if they know the means to acquire said knowledge, why would they not be ready to be acquainted with the ends?"
"Because their magick is not focused enough to experiment with the practical elements of said knowledge."
"Might I remind you that we are talking about Caoimhe and not some inexperienced firstyear."
"That's even worse! What in Craejan is she doing in my university in the first place? She is not our pupil. She does not pay the school fees, yet she turns up at class."
"We pay in produce! Those were my personal harvests - only the best I can offer - and I've already given them to your healing instructor. Why not trade a few simple classes for the favour? Are you so sting-" Sage was cut of by Lavender's hand resting on her elbow. She had calmed and shifted to her human form once more.
"If he won't hear reason from us, he will at least have a new respect for us once Mum's finished with him. Let's go do something more fun," she whispered and pulled the still fuming Sage away from the arguing adults.
They returned to their stalls. Sage set out some bowls of steaming water for aromatherapy and Lavender sat on a flat stone near her, improvising a melody on her pan flute.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 1:03 am
Stacia hurried to stand in front of her professor. There was a book on a podium. "Go on." Stacia looked at the page. Great. A practical exam. I always do horribly. "First question," she recited, "What are the five ethical principals of sorcery..."
* * *
Stacia entered her room on the ground floor three hours later, exhausted and sore. She placed her pomegranates in a bowl on a table and sat on her bed, examining the apricot; she hadn't had one since she was a child. Stacia bit into it and smiled. It was sweeter than she remembered. She sat back against the wall, examining the paint on her hand. Her professor had noticed and lectured her for the last half hour of the class. What would your parents say, she had asked.
She finished the apricot and tossed the pit out the window into the lawn, wondering if somehow it would grow anything one day. She turned to wash away the paint in the basin, and caught herself staring at it. After a few moments of this, she turned away from the basin and pulled on soft cloth gloves, smiling slightly, and climbed out the window onto the back lawn. She straightened her collar and headed for the market to find Lavender.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 1:27 am
There was a slightly unnerving atmosphere in the market. The As’ardens seemed to be packing up and Imperial soldiers were standing around, eating the fruit on the stalls and laughing callously at petty, uneducated jokes. Sage stood near the horses, feeding them something that looked a bit like parsley, but could have been spinach or some sort of lettuce. She was silently fuming, glaring at the soldiers as if their heads could explode from her gaze. There were some Th’ardrodian children about the foreigners, begging them not to leave and sobbing without reserve. Lavender stood with such a child. She was an adorable little creature with gleaming golden locks and a snowy wolf pup mask.
“Shhh,” Lavender sat on her hunches and wiped the girl’s tears with her thumb. “Big girls don’t cry. You have to be strong and brave and, then, one day, you’ll have the power to stand up for what you believe in and the wisdom to know when not to…”
“Lavvy… Don’t leave me.”
“Hey, kiddo.” It was Ryan. He was radiating his usual positivity that the others seemed to be having trouble keeping up. “Why the long faces?”
“There aren’t any horses here, Ryan.”
“Oh? Sharp, this one, isn’t she, Lavender?”
She nodded and Ryan carried the little one away, letting her ride on his shoulders.
She looked at her stall being raided by the soldiers.
“These are some mighty fine fruit you have here, love,” one of them said, checking her out as if she was an item for sale. When she didn’t answer and only folded her arms over her bare belly, feeling self-conscious, the bunch of them laughed, made a few more inappropriate remarks and then went on munching away at the As’ardens’ harvest.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 1:50 am
Stacia stopped, horrified as the Imperial soldiers stole fruit and other wares, forcing the As'ardens to clear out. She spotted the captain in charge and went over to him. He looked to her, only mildly interested. "Miss Natesa. Always a pleasure to see you." She glared up at him. "What do your soldiers think they're doing? They can't steal from these people. It's bad relations," she told him, hoping to appeal to his political common sense.
"What will happen when we don't get our fruit shipments because we've treated them so poorly? What will happen if they refuse to trade? Do you really want to be the cause of a dispute."
"Well... no," he conceded.
Stacia could feel her anger on behalf of her new friend, threatening to boil over. "And just why are you doing this anyway? What have they done to warrant such treatment? You're supposed to be keeping the peace, not destroying it!"
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:09 am
The captain shifted his weight uncomfortably.
“Tea time’s over, gentlemen,” he decided on calling off his troops. “Escort these people out in an orderly fashion.” The responses were grunts and scowls.
“Com’on, ye little squirming mongrels, get going.” The soldiers were bulky and seemed rather out of place underneath all that armour. Some of them helped to pack away the produce and to load the caravans, but most of them lazed between the stalls, laughing at what they considered lesser beings.
“They crossed the boundary without permission. They do not belong here,” came the answer to Stacia’s question. “And don’t blame me for these barbarians.”
“No worries, Captain.” Lavender stood at her friend’s side with a brave smile on her lips. It didn’t reach her eyes. “We are well acquainted with the likes of them. Faerang never had much respect for any tribe. They would do the same to you.”
A young Faerang warrior approached her with a crate of soy candles. “Where shall I out these, m’lady?”
She appointed him to the red caravan, “Over there. Thank you.” Then, turning her head to Stacia, she added, “Of course, there are always exceptions – life’s lovely surprises.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:19 am
Stacia felt her heart sinking; she finally managed to make a friend and now she was leaving. Once more she saw similarities and felt a short surge of pity for Tannem. She forced it away, looking around at the chaos and tearful goodbyes. She looked up at the captain, forcing herself to meet his eye with a glare. "I do blame you." She walked away from him angrily, toward Lavender's table and fruits. Quietly and without looking at her, unsure that she wouldn't cry, "Where will you go? Is it far?".
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:27 am
The question gave a sparkle to Lavender’s eyes and an inevitable grin as if she knew something not even the captain did.
“Not that far. We’re just changing levels, not courses. Oonagh and the other elders will return to the border and set things right. They’ll take the carriages with them.” She wrapped a pale green, embroidered with golden thread into delicate floral patterns, sari around her and picked up two mangoes. She handed Stacia one along with a small fruit knife and sat cross-legged on one of the tables, peeling away and biting into the juicy, sticky sweetness. None of the younger folk were really productively packing away. There was a hesitant pause.
“Meet me at the lake at sundown. Will your mentors allow you?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:45 am
He offered her an apple slice as they sat on a cushioned bench outside under a large white awning. She turned her head away and he placed it on the platter. The butler removed it. He stared at her for a few minutes as she watched the pond ripple from the splashing of the happy fish. "I leave tomorrow to visit my mentor." She said nothing. "I won't be back for quite some time," he pressed on, "and I was wondering... if you'd like to come with me?"
Her heart skipped a beat as she panicked. "Go with you? Abroad?" He nodded. "I can't," she lied.
"Why not?" He leaned closer to her; she wondered if he was trying to be romantic. It more or less just made her uncomfortable and irritated. "I'll start school soon," she lied. "School? Your parents didn't mention anything," he frowned in confusion.
"That's because I haven't told them yet. I want to study... to study sorcery," she said the first thing that came to mind. "I can teach you that," he said with a relieved smile. "And it will be a great chance to bond. We can practice at the lake beside our estate."
"No," she said quickly, "I want to go to school. I want to make friends..."
Stacia swallowed the bit of mango and looked up at Lavender, the only friend she managed to make in all the months she had spend in Th'ardrod. "What's at the lake," she asked. "I'm not actually sure where it is," she added, "We're never really allowed to venture very far."
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:03 am
Lavender glanced around, meeting Ryan’s gaze. He frowned at her in question. She mouthed the word “leaving.” His frowned deepened and he lifted his hands. “Lake,” she mouthed. He nodded and continued packing away. “He didn’t catch that. Wait for it…” He shrugged, still sporting a confused expression on his face. Lavender laughed at him. “Silly. Anyway, I’ll show you where it is.” She slid off the table, stuffed her shoulder-bag with some pink apples and slipped away from the road and into the forest of houses.
“What’s it like living here?” she asked, deciding to make small-talk to keep her from asking questions that she could not answer at the present time.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:38 am
"My friend," Stacia told him simply, glaring, "And I'm busy so you should leave now." She turned to walk away, but he moved and blocked her path. "And why would I do that? I came all the way from Eridell just to see you, and you can't even spare five minutes for your fiance?" Stacia's face burned. "Look, thanks and all but I really am busy. Just... go back to the university and I'll give you all the time you want when I get back."
He looked from her to Lavender and back again. "Alone," he asked, eyebrows raised. "Yes, fine. Whatever." Satisfied he nodded his farewell. "Good day, ladies," without further word, he turned and walked down the lane, taking out his frustration by kicking a rock into the brush.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:58 am
She watched the pair in silence. Once he left, Stacia was enveloped and held. Lavender appeared to be more upset about the encounter than she seemed to be. “Sorry,” she withdrew, embarrassed. Despite this, something bothered her. She didn’t want Stacia to spend a minute alone with that man. She didn’t trust him. The idea of treating a marriage as a business contract popped into her mind, but she brushed this away and changed the subject. “The lake isn’t that far anymore. It will look different at night time, but you’ll be able to see more clearly. Oh, and wear something you can swim in. Can you swim?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:10 am
She nodded to Lavender, still slightly shocked by the hug and the sudden appearance of Tannem. "Yes," she said finding her voice, "Yeah, I can swim. I'll try to shake him off, but I will be here. I promise." She looked down at her gloved hand and had a sudden thought. "Will anyone else be there? Or just us?" It wasn't that she didn't like Ryan, but she was still apprehensive. He was different from everyone she knew - they all were - and she felt she couldn't handle any more surprises today.
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