more pre-RaT's Story
This follows the previous piece.
Rating : mild PG-ish?
Timeframe : fall 1253
Rune shuffled painfully across the floor in shoes that were far too tight, tugging the sleeves of his shirt in a futile attempt to bridge the distance between the ends of the cuffs and his wrists. Masakari had given him two pieces of advice; keep quiet, and stay close, neither of which he was finding difficult to heed. In this strange new world, he didn’t dare let the slender blonde in the lavish blue gown stray further than arm’s length.
The ballroom was oppressively hot. Though autumn had just begun to settle outside, the fireplace at the center of the chamber housed a spectacular blaze. The crowd that filled the room was immense and closely packed. It seemed there were more people in this one room than in the entire village where he’d been raised. Their voices filled the air, hundreds of conversations merging into an undecipherable babble, underscored by the music of a chamber group staged near the entrance.
He felt the weight of strangers’ eyes on him, as those they passed stopped to gawk at them. Though unintelligible, the presence of their whispers bit through the drone of the masses. None bothered to conceal their notice, and he caught more than a few looks of outright disdain. Their reaction was not lost on his companion either.
“I must apologize,” she said, though her tone and expression remained as stoic as since their first encounter. “Gossip travels at least as fast among the nobility as anywhere else.”
“What gossip..?”
Masakari paused, casting a cold, warning stare at the ladies about them. The onlookers quickly averted their eyes and melted back into the crowd. “You must understand,” she said. “What I have done in bringing you here is most unorthodox. There are those who will take issue with both of us for it.”
“Then why-?” he started, thinking there were few things he should like less than to be brought to such a foreign place only to become a spectacle.
“The same who would denounce me for enlisting one outside the nobility would also deny that demons even exist. Their opinions do not concern me, nor should they you. We need only endure them for tonight. Tomorrow we will be on our way again and I assure you, you will find our new companions far more hospitable.”
A girl emerged from the crowd. “Ski!“ she called out over the din. Copper braids and dark eyes adorned what might have otherwise simply been a younger version of Masakari’s own image, though there was something distinctly different about her. Perhaps it was the broad smile that split her features. “Ski!” she said again, enthusiastically, as she approached them.
“Lyssa,” Masakari said, swiftly turning her back to Rune and placing herself between him and the newcomer. As a result, the girl focused her attention on her, without noticing his presence.
“This whole thing is so boring!” Lyssa complained, though she hardly looked bored. “I don’t know why I ever wanted so badly to come to these.”
Rune hesitated to believe it, but he thought he saw a smile on his companion‘s face as she spoke to the girl. “I always told you it was nothing special,” she said.
Lyssa flashed her a grin. “That’s okay,” she said. “Cleo and Nika swiped a few bottles from the pantry and we’re going to have a real party back at the dorms later.”
Masakari fixed her with a stern look. “I am going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” she said. “And I will not be cleaning anything up for you and your friends in the morning.”
“You could join us,” Lyssa offered, stifling a laugh.
“Right,” Masakari replied dryly. “I can think of nothing I would rather do than spend the night drinking with a bunch of teenagers. Can you imagine the trouble I would find myself in?” She shook her head. “Besides, I have more important things to do.”
“Ski, you always have ‘more important things to do.’ Lighten up once in awhile.”
“You do enough of that for the both of us,” Masakari said, and Rune was certain she was smiling.
Lyssa laughed. “I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing you around for awhile,” she said, frowning slightly. “More important things and all.”
“No, I am afraid not.”
“Well, take care of yourself, Ski.”
“And you,” she said, “keep out of trouble.”
Lyssa gave a sigh of mock indignation. “I will try.” She turned and slipped back into the crowd.
Rune raised an eyebrow as Masakari turned her attention back to him. “Ski?” he said.
She blushed faintly. “Only Lyssa calls me that.”
“I’m guessing you’re related?”
She nodded. “My sister. Quite the handful, but she will make an excellent knight when she grows up, if she ever grows up,” she amended with a sigh.
“I think that’s the first I’ve seen you smile.”
“One of Lyssa’s contagious tendencies,” she said, smiling again. “Forgive me for not introducing you. I thought you would prefer not cause a scene. Lyssa is not one to hold her tongue, and, knowing who you are, I am sure she would have questions…”
“Understood,” he said, in an effort to dismiss her discomfort, wondering how he was to answer any questions when, inevitably, they presented themselves.
“Are you hungry?” she tried hastily to change the subject.
Though it might not have occurred to him without her asking, his stomach was most definitely empty. The two of them had only arrived in the capitol that same afternoon, scarcely leaving time to prepare for the ball, much less to eat. “Very,” he said.
“This way,” she said.
Along the side of the room, stood a serving table more than twice the length of all the counters in Berna’s inn combined, laden with steaming platters of food. There was little among the dishes that seemed familiar to him and most of it carefully crafted and displayed so that the task of choosing one item to sample from the many was somewhat daunting. After studying the selection for long moments, he opted for the safety of a roll from an overflowing bread basket.
“Lady Masakari.” The voice that came from behind them was sharp and nasal, its tone deeply condescending. Both Rune and Masakari turned to face a woman perhaps in her thirties in an elaborate gown of mauve velvet. Her thin features were pinched into a sour expression.
Masakari gave a slight bow in the woman’s direction. “Lady Merrin,” she acknowledged, her voice tense.
Lady Merrin turned her gaze on Rune, examining him with all the warmth with which he might expect one to appraise livestock. From the scowl she gave Masakari, he figured he did not pass inspection. “I gather this is your latest little project,” she addressed Masakari as if he were not standing before them.
“It is not your concern,” said Masakari.
Merrin glared at the younger woman. “Regardless what she or you may think, Lady Kinari is not the gods’ gift to the Knighthood, nor, my dear, are you. What I see fit to make my concern, I will.”
Nearby guests were beginning to stare and whisper again. Masakari cast them a warning look, but, in the presence of her superior, it seemed their fear of her was lost. “You would do well not to speak ill of the Headmistress,” she cautioned the older woman.
Merrin scoffed at her warning. ”There is the school and then there is the real world. You would do well to remember that, as you take charge of your own squad, you are no longer Kinari’s ward. You must think of the ramifications of your actions upon the entire order and not proceed with the abandon Kinari has permitted you thus far. You will soon find the rest of us will not coddle you like your precious mentor.”
Masakari scowled but held her tongue.
The older woman turned her attention again to Rune. “You can dress him up all you like, but a peasant remains a peasant.”
“I never claimed to be anything else,” he said. Masakari winced. A murmur of shock spread through the onlookers.
Lady Merrin paled visibly. It was a stretch for her, but she reached up and grasped him forcefully by the chin. She straightened herself as much as possible and craned her neck, but still found difficulty looking him in the eye. “Did I ask you to speak?” she demanded.
“Get your hand off me,” he snapped. Masakari gasped. Merrin went livid. The crowd of nobles gaping at the scene was rapidly growing.
“Rune-” said Masakari.
Merrin cut her short. “Your pet would do well to learn some manners,” she said to Masakari, though her eyes never left Rune.
“You would do well to let go of me,” he said.
She sneered. “I do not take orders from peasants, boy. You will learn your place quickly or not even Kinari will be able to afford you protection.”
“And you,” he said, “will learn to keep your hands off me or-”
“Or what?” She laughed, showing no intention of releasing him.
Rune said nothing more, just glared at her.
“Rune…” Masakari said nervously, putting her hand to her mouth.
“I warned you,” he muttered.
Merrin shrieked and withdrew her hand. She staggered backwards, clutching her wrist, as blisters appeared on each of her fingertips. She stood gaping at him and at her red and swollen hand, frantically moving her mouth in a desperate attempt to form words which seemed to escape her. Waves of shock and awe passed amongst the crowd.
Rune stared the flabbergasted woman down in silence a moment longer before turning sharply away. “I’ve had enough of this,” he said to Masakari. “I’ll be in my room.” Masakari kept her hand to her mouth, too stunned to answer.
The crowd parted before him, cutting him a wide berth as he stalked to the entrance.
Rating : mild PG-ish?
Timeframe : fall 1253
Rune shuffled painfully across the floor in shoes that were far too tight, tugging the sleeves of his shirt in a futile attempt to bridge the distance between the ends of the cuffs and his wrists. Masakari had given him two pieces of advice; keep quiet, and stay close, neither of which he was finding difficult to heed. In this strange new world, he didn’t dare let the slender blonde in the lavish blue gown stray further than arm’s length.
The ballroom was oppressively hot. Though autumn had just begun to settle outside, the fireplace at the center of the chamber housed a spectacular blaze. The crowd that filled the room was immense and closely packed. It seemed there were more people in this one room than in the entire village where he’d been raised. Their voices filled the air, hundreds of conversations merging into an undecipherable babble, underscored by the music of a chamber group staged near the entrance.
He felt the weight of strangers’ eyes on him, as those they passed stopped to gawk at them. Though unintelligible, the presence of their whispers bit through the drone of the masses. None bothered to conceal their notice, and he caught more than a few looks of outright disdain. Their reaction was not lost on his companion either.
“I must apologize,” she said, though her tone and expression remained as stoic as since their first encounter. “Gossip travels at least as fast among the nobility as anywhere else.”
“What gossip..?”
Masakari paused, casting a cold, warning stare at the ladies about them. The onlookers quickly averted their eyes and melted back into the crowd. “You must understand,” she said. “What I have done in bringing you here is most unorthodox. There are those who will take issue with both of us for it.”
“Then why-?” he started, thinking there were few things he should like less than to be brought to such a foreign place only to become a spectacle.
“The same who would denounce me for enlisting one outside the nobility would also deny that demons even exist. Their opinions do not concern me, nor should they you. We need only endure them for tonight. Tomorrow we will be on our way again and I assure you, you will find our new companions far more hospitable.”
A girl emerged from the crowd. “Ski!“ she called out over the din. Copper braids and dark eyes adorned what might have otherwise simply been a younger version of Masakari’s own image, though there was something distinctly different about her. Perhaps it was the broad smile that split her features. “Ski!” she said again, enthusiastically, as she approached them.
“Lyssa,” Masakari said, swiftly turning her back to Rune and placing herself between him and the newcomer. As a result, the girl focused her attention on her, without noticing his presence.
“This whole thing is so boring!” Lyssa complained, though she hardly looked bored. “I don’t know why I ever wanted so badly to come to these.”
Rune hesitated to believe it, but he thought he saw a smile on his companion‘s face as she spoke to the girl. “I always told you it was nothing special,” she said.
Lyssa flashed her a grin. “That’s okay,” she said. “Cleo and Nika swiped a few bottles from the pantry and we’re going to have a real party back at the dorms later.”
Masakari fixed her with a stern look. “I am going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” she said. “And I will not be cleaning anything up for you and your friends in the morning.”
“You could join us,” Lyssa offered, stifling a laugh.
“Right,” Masakari replied dryly. “I can think of nothing I would rather do than spend the night drinking with a bunch of teenagers. Can you imagine the trouble I would find myself in?” She shook her head. “Besides, I have more important things to do.”
“Ski, you always have ‘more important things to do.’ Lighten up once in awhile.”
“You do enough of that for the both of us,” Masakari said, and Rune was certain she was smiling.
Lyssa laughed. “I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing you around for awhile,” she said, frowning slightly. “More important things and all.”
“No, I am afraid not.”
“Well, take care of yourself, Ski.”
“And you,” she said, “keep out of trouble.”
Lyssa gave a sigh of mock indignation. “I will try.” She turned and slipped back into the crowd.
Rune raised an eyebrow as Masakari turned her attention back to him. “Ski?” he said.
She blushed faintly. “Only Lyssa calls me that.”
“I’m guessing you’re related?”
She nodded. “My sister. Quite the handful, but she will make an excellent knight when she grows up, if she ever grows up,” she amended with a sigh.
“I think that’s the first I’ve seen you smile.”
“One of Lyssa’s contagious tendencies,” she said, smiling again. “Forgive me for not introducing you. I thought you would prefer not cause a scene. Lyssa is not one to hold her tongue, and, knowing who you are, I am sure she would have questions…”
“Understood,” he said, in an effort to dismiss her discomfort, wondering how he was to answer any questions when, inevitably, they presented themselves.
“Are you hungry?” she tried hastily to change the subject.
Though it might not have occurred to him without her asking, his stomach was most definitely empty. The two of them had only arrived in the capitol that same afternoon, scarcely leaving time to prepare for the ball, much less to eat. “Very,” he said.
“This way,” she said.
Along the side of the room, stood a serving table more than twice the length of all the counters in Berna’s inn combined, laden with steaming platters of food. There was little among the dishes that seemed familiar to him and most of it carefully crafted and displayed so that the task of choosing one item to sample from the many was somewhat daunting. After studying the selection for long moments, he opted for the safety of a roll from an overflowing bread basket.
“Lady Masakari.” The voice that came from behind them was sharp and nasal, its tone deeply condescending. Both Rune and Masakari turned to face a woman perhaps in her thirties in an elaborate gown of mauve velvet. Her thin features were pinched into a sour expression.
Masakari gave a slight bow in the woman’s direction. “Lady Merrin,” she acknowledged, her voice tense.
Lady Merrin turned her gaze on Rune, examining him with all the warmth with which he might expect one to appraise livestock. From the scowl she gave Masakari, he figured he did not pass inspection. “I gather this is your latest little project,” she addressed Masakari as if he were not standing before them.
“It is not your concern,” said Masakari.
Merrin glared at the younger woman. “Regardless what she or you may think, Lady Kinari is not the gods’ gift to the Knighthood, nor, my dear, are you. What I see fit to make my concern, I will.”
Nearby guests were beginning to stare and whisper again. Masakari cast them a warning look, but, in the presence of her superior, it seemed their fear of her was lost. “You would do well not to speak ill of the Headmistress,” she cautioned the older woman.
Merrin scoffed at her warning. ”There is the school and then there is the real world. You would do well to remember that, as you take charge of your own squad, you are no longer Kinari’s ward. You must think of the ramifications of your actions upon the entire order and not proceed with the abandon Kinari has permitted you thus far. You will soon find the rest of us will not coddle you like your precious mentor.”
Masakari scowled but held her tongue.
The older woman turned her attention again to Rune. “You can dress him up all you like, but a peasant remains a peasant.”
“I never claimed to be anything else,” he said. Masakari winced. A murmur of shock spread through the onlookers.
Lady Merrin paled visibly. It was a stretch for her, but she reached up and grasped him forcefully by the chin. She straightened herself as much as possible and craned her neck, but still found difficulty looking him in the eye. “Did I ask you to speak?” she demanded.
“Get your hand off me,” he snapped. Masakari gasped. Merrin went livid. The crowd of nobles gaping at the scene was rapidly growing.
“Rune-” said Masakari.
Merrin cut her short. “Your pet would do well to learn some manners,” she said to Masakari, though her eyes never left Rune.
“You would do well to let go of me,” he said.
She sneered. “I do not take orders from peasants, boy. You will learn your place quickly or not even Kinari will be able to afford you protection.”
“And you,” he said, “will learn to keep your hands off me or-”
“Or what?” She laughed, showing no intention of releasing him.
Rune said nothing more, just glared at her.
“Rune…” Masakari said nervously, putting her hand to her mouth.
“I warned you,” he muttered.
Merrin shrieked and withdrew her hand. She staggered backwards, clutching her wrist, as blisters appeared on each of her fingertips. She stood gaping at him and at her red and swollen hand, frantically moving her mouth in a desperate attempt to form words which seemed to escape her. Waves of shock and awe passed amongst the crowd.
Rune stared the flabbergasted woman down in silence a moment longer before turning sharply away. “I’ve had enough of this,” he said to Masakari. “I’ll be in my room.” Masakari kept her hand to her mouth, too stunned to answer.
The crowd parted before him, cutting him a wide berth as he stalked to the entrance.