Yvonne - 2000-01-13
"Deran smiled at the rush of questions, but caught the faint pained look that crossed the girl's face when she mentioned her father. He hadn't met the man but already disliked him. He hadn't even the honor to say goodbye to his own child.o, will you answer a question for me? Why did you take this job? Protecting a young girl who is trying to escape the dislike of her father and the rumors that her court chooses to believe about her? What kind of a job is that for people like you and your sister?"
"Why did we take the job? Because it pays well and has a minimum risk factor," he said, keeping a careful watch on his charge out of the corner of his eye. She didn't seem altogether happy with his answer so he continued. "Your world, it is very strange. You judge your peers by who their parents are and how much wealth they've amassed and not by their true value or how much they contribute to their society as a whole. Who your father is and what your court thinks has no relevance to us, only what you do. To us, we see you as the sum of your actions and not the actions of your ansestors. And from what I see, your court and father are fools."
Diana smiled as the Lord rose to his feet, perhaps swaying a little, perhaps just a trick of the candle light. "Good evening, Roderon, Diana. Is there something you need?" At least his speech wasn't slurred. Diana could not stand that.
"Yes. I wish to speak to you about tomorrow. What is the exact route you wish us to take. What is our exact destination? How many do we bring with us, and are my brother and I to protect them as well. Are we to stay in any particular city? Are there any stops along the way that we must make? Does Lady Adriana have any health concerns that we should be aware of? Does she have any training to defend or care for herself alone, or is she completely helpless? Is there anything else I should be aware of? I do believe that we should leave for somewhere more .. private," Diana finally said, managing to make that simple request into something a little less than proper, "I do not know whether or not you wish to make the rest of your people aware of our plans. I would council against it, but you are the one in charge."
Amber - 2000-01-13
enra sighed, watching as the Clan disappeared. Squinting, she could barely make out the top of their Roof. She smiled, whistling softly to attract Silver's attention from the deer he was watching hungrily, and they set out together.
"Where d'ya wanna go?" She asked idly. Silver padded next to her softly as they trace invisible paths through the forest, silent as ghosts.
<Home.> Jenra smiled and nodded, adjusting her course a little bit and heading towards her house, the last cave of the Darkecats. She sighed, and listened carefully for the sound to greet her home.
Finally she heard it. The great rush of a waterfall that was hurtling itself hundreds of miles to plunge into a rocky, deep pool. Her cave was basically invisible to the untrained eye, unless one took in the fact that there was a bridge across a stream to a small hill of clear land against a cliff.
She crossed the bridge, leaving Silver playing in a small pond, trying to catch a minnow that had caught his eye, and placed her axe next to her door, which only could be seen up close to the person who knew it was there.
Sitting, she leaned back against a tall willow tree and idly twirled a leaf/vine around her finger, watching Silver lazily.
Laura - 2000-01-13
oonlight swept through Azari's bedroom window. It was white and cold and fell on the floor like snow. But on the other side of the room, the fireplace created a radiant heat. Its warmth seemed to melt the moonlight and brighten the room with a soft glow.
Azari sat on her bed in the middle of the room, her mind spinning a mile a minute, her emotions caught up in her heart. She was a young child again, remembering all the special memories she had shared with her father. Once, when dressed up like her mother, her father had given her a fast kiss on the cheek saying, "Don't grow up too fast, Azari, you are still my little girl." She could still hear his light-hearted laughter.
She had been in her room for hours now, pacing the floor, looking out the window, and sometimes sitting on her bed. Azari was beside herself. She knew she was about to destroy this man that she loved so much. Azari could feel the tears beginning to swell up in her eyes. Dear God, I don't want to do this, I beg you to help me find the right words. Help my father to understand. Please! She dragged herself off the bed to look out the window. The sky was illuminated by the edges of clouds caught in the moons reflection. She could see a far distance and wished she were there, or anywhere but home.
Just outside the hall, her father called her name. Lost in thought, Azari did not answer. The bedroom door opened slowly. Her fathers voice was soft and sweet as he said, "Are you feeling well, Azari?" When she turned, he could see her face in the firelight and knew she was crying. Quickly he moved toward her and enfolded her within his arms, just as he had when she was a child. "Why are you crying, daughter? It's your birthday, I thought you would be begging us for your gifts!" Azari did not answer. She could not. The words were caught in he throat choking her like seeds of grain. Her father merely waited for her to regain her composure. He knew it would come eventually. That was Azari, she always pleased. But when she detached herself from his arms, there was no smile to replace the tears, no stalwart "chin-up." Instead, she turned her face from him and looked out the window.
"Father I do not want you to say a word until I am finished. What I have to say is very hard to think of, let alone to speak out loud. I am not the daughter you know and love, I have been hiding something from you for years and now I must tell you about it." Her eyes were sincere and began to well up in tears. "I can't emphasize enough how painful this is for me. And I wish I could be joyful, Father, for I know that it is my birthday. But I am not your little girl anymore. I am a grown woman. I want to further my training in swordsmanship. I do not want to stay here. I want to leave Torrigan." Her words had come out in a rush and now her voice softened. "I have kept my wish silent for years. I did not mean to hurt you, for I am well aware of your wish for me to carry on the family business. I know I am your only heir... but I can no longer live up to your expectations. I am sorry if that hurts, Father, but it is the honest truth."
She gained the courage to turn and look into his eyes. He was angry, of this she was certain.
He remained silent. He wondered how she would make it on her own, and more so, why she had not told him of her wishes, long ago.
"Why this Azari?" his voice full of frustration and confusion, "have I not trained you enough?"
Azari took comfort in knowing that at least her father had not walked away. He was a kind and generous man, but expected to get his own way. "I will be eternally grateful for all you've taught me, Father. But I cannot forsake my desire to find the greatest knight in all of Torrigan. It is time for him to be my teacher."
Azari's father sighed with a deep breath and shrugged his wide shoulders. Staring at his daughter, he noticed the glow of the fireplace made her cheeks red as a rose, and her eyes violet as a plum. She was too beautiful for him to remain distant.
"Do you recall the day we travelled together at Islia? How you yearned for that sword in the guild?" he asked.
Azari turned to him in surprise. "How could I ever forget?"
"I was not fair to you then because I thought if you aspired to become a warrior, you would be killed. I would have no one to follow after me, no heir, no beautiful daughter. I am sorry. I did not wish to crush your dreams, but you are crushing mine."
Azari would have felt guiltier if not for the stubborn look in his eyes. "All these years I have done as you wish. Isn't it my turn now, Father?"
Of course it was, and he knew it. Just like he knew she was no longer a child, and he could no more talk her out of her dreams than silence a bird from singing.
Still he could not give in completely. "It is time to talk to your mother of these things. Come."
Marie looked up from her book and smiled when they entered the room, but the smile trailed off into oblivion when she saw the expression on Clefton's face. "What is it?"
"Azari is leaving us. She wishes to be trained, and to become a Knight of Torrigan."
Marie looked from one to the other, then turned away. "I was afraid this day may come, but have prayed it would not." She stood, then came across the room to face her daughter. "I'm afraid of your death. How will you live and defend yourself? And who is this that will train you?"
"I have saved money all these years, Mother. And Father trained me to defend myself. As for who will train me? His name is not important. I will know him the moment I set eyes upon him. Of this I am sure."
"Such nonsense!" Marie exclaimed. "Surely you won't allow this, Clefton?"
Azari met her Father eye to eye, will against will. But Clefton did not want this to end in some unresolved stand-off.
"Your mother and I need time to talk. Why don't you go into the kitchen and have yourself some birthday pie? Your mother worked hard on it."
This was not so much a request as a demand, but Azari did as told, knowing it would be the last childish thing she would ever do...
Danae - 2000-01-13
s Adriana listened closely to his answers she tried to appear relatively uninterested by the response.
"Why did we take the job? Because it pays well and has a minimum risk factor." That wasn't the kind of answer she was looking for but supposed that would make the most sense. After all, they were not required to like her, they were simply guards-for-hire. They weren't like Rody and she couldn't expect them to want to be. To her surprise he didn't just leave it at that but continued to try to explain.
"Your world, it is very strange. You judge your peers by who their parents are and how much wealth they've amassed and not by their true value or how much they contribute to their society as a whole. Who your father is and what your court thinks has no relevance to us, only what you do. To us, we see you as the sum of your actions and not the actions of your ancestors. And from what I see, your court and father are fools."
As they continued to walk in silence she contemplated his answer. Perhaps this trip wasn't going to be so bad after all. She knew that Lucian had arranged it only for her own safety and peace of mind....but she couldn't help feeling a little like she was being exiled from her own house. Deran's explanation of how his people judged others was so unlike that which she had been brought up with that she could barely comprehend a world like that. Somehow or another, though extremely foreign to her, it rung true... and without even realizing it he had given her the answer to the question she hadn't even asked, but cared about more than anything else in the world. After a few minutes of these kinds of thoughts she had used up what little energy she had contained in her reserves and she began to yawn...
Copyright (c) 1999-2000 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.