Maramale of Trebond
Maramale sat in the chair in her da's study, watching her sister pace impatiently. After Jaslyn's announcement that she and Mara wished to train as lady knights, as their fellow male relatives had done so, though their brother had not, their parents had locked themselves in their chambers, after telling the two girls to wait there. It was going on an hour now, and Mara still had yet to hear a reply. She knew her da would know if she shifted, and snuck in to eavesdrop, so she had to make do with this. Jaslyn had not been convinced yet, and got caught not several minutes ago for the fourth time trying to listen in with her gift. Mara did like her wild magic, but sometimes she was envious of Jaslyn, who could do many things with her all-purpose gift.
Mara broke from her thoughts as the door creaked open, and their mother entered. Standing, she brushed a dark brown curl out of her eyes, and watched her mother enter. Mara had gotten impatient with the vague answers her mother always gave when asked if Mara could cut her hair boy short, like her brother, and had done the deed some weeks ago. Her mother was vexed with having to trim Mara's then badly cut hair neater, but by the end of the tedious task, Mara had what she desired, earlobe length hair, perfect for fighting.
Elenna of Trebond was truly a beauty. Like her daughters, she had pale skin, and a slim figure. Like Jaslyn, she had hazel eyes, and her hair was a dark red, lightened here and there with her caramel blond tips and highlights. However, if the girls wished to be knights, they could not have had a worse mother for the task of allowing this. Elenna of Trebond was a strict woman, loud in her opinions that other nobles could send their daughters to such a rough life, but not her. This was rather odd, since her own mother had been a former thief, and her father had served the first lady knight in over a hundred years before he came to Trebond to start his own family and run the lands, not to mention their da's mother, who was a wild mage, and participated in the queens riders, spying, scouting, fighting, and such, before being burdened with a family of her own, and the lady knights who popped in sometimes. No, Elenna wouldn't have it. This she made clear many times. And Rikash loved his wife so, the girls feared he would sway to her notions.
Jaslyn and Mara hurriedly curtsied to their mother. I hate dresses, Mara thought, annoyed with the ankle length, dark green wool gown, with the heavy embroidery on the sleeves and hem. When I'm a knight, I'll never wear a dress. Never. She was distracted from her thoughts when her sister elbowed her, and she looked up to see her da come in, looking decidedly happy. She wondered what it was about. Her mother was first to speak.
"Jaslyn, Maramale. Regarding your request..." Mara was surprised to see her mother, usually so respectful, look rather annoyed with them. The woman continued. "Regarding it... well, both of you are aware of the feelings I have towards you girls training to be knights, rather than lovely, valuable noble ladies. I take this opportunity to discourage you. It is not fun. You will train all day. All night. In your sleep. If you're sick. There are no breaks, no slacking. This life is not for wom-" Rikash smiled gently at the girls, then cleared his throat, and their mother stopped abruptly, blushed, then sighed and continued. "Despite my arguments, however, your father feels... he feels you will do well in an environment such as this. So... you may go." Mara and Jaslyn squealed, and raced to hug their mother, then their da.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" they both cried, excited.
"You should go pack," Rikash told them, "You, your brother, and I set off in the morning for Corus." The girls nodded eagerly and left. Mara went to her rooms, and began packing, a grin on her face.
I'm going to be a lady knight!
AN: So, this is the first chapter of my story! Its short... well, the first will be. First we're going through how all the girls get to Corus!
Now, keep in mind, this is a confusing story. I started it out thinking I could write a story about a lady knight in training. I've always wanted to, and after re-reading Granddaughter of the Lioness (great story, though I could kill the author for abandoning the sequel like that- Noo! Keep writing, Skyflyte12!), I decided to try my hand at it! Slowly, it evolved from just one girl, to four, though. We're gonna follow four very different girls, from three different backgrounds, including other kingdoms! However, this really does revolve around Mara. It might evolve into a foursome, but my original intents are to keep to just Mara, for the most part, inserting others when I feel like it. Otherwise, I have to decide who gets this chapters point of view, and the next, and the next... its easier this way. Feel free to lemme know what you think in the reviews! Love it, hate it, wanna kill me for writing so badly... it's all good! Just please, tell me something to improve on, or I'll kinda dismiss it as idle prattle. And no, "Please write more!" is not improvement. I can write more with or without your nagging, though I do find it endearing!
As a last message to my dear readers, I shall release three of my character descriptions! My chapter doesn't do the girls justice. So without further ado, the official descriptions of the triplets!
Characters:
Maramale (Mara-mel) of Trebond, granddaughter of Corum Smythesson and Rispah Cooper on her mother's side, and Numair Salmalín and Daine Sarrasri on her da's. Her mother is Elenna of Trebond, and her da is Rikash Salmalín. She inherited her grandda's height, and she has a small, neat figure. Her skin is pale, her eyes are dark, and her hair is curly, and dark brown, with caramel highlights. She is triplets with her brother and sister, and out of the three of them, she is the only one with wild magic. Hers is very powerful, inherited from both her da and her grandmother.
Jasson (Ja-son (but the 'a' is pronounced like the 'a' in apple)) of Trebond, grandson of Corum Smythesson and Rispah Cooper on his mother's side, and Numair Salmalín and Daine Sarrasri on his da's. His mother is Elenna of Trebond, and his da is Rikash Salmalín. He is also tall, though the shortest of the three, and has pale blue eyes and black hair. He has a weak healing gift, not enough to really count, but he is very intelligent, which makes up for it, and is living in the palace, taking lessons from the healers to be- you guessed it- a healer, for the wars. He is very protective over his siblings.
Jaslyn (Jas-lin) of Trebond, granddaughter of Corum Smythesson and Rispah on her mother's side, and Numair Salmalín and Daine Sarrasri on her da's. Her mother is Elenna of Trebond, and her da is Rikash Salmalín. She has the gift, like her da, and strong. She also inherited her grandda's height, and she is the middle child in height and age of birth with her triplets. She is a little more feminine than her sister, with a wider bust and hips, and a small, heart-shaped face. She looks rather delicate, with her pale skin, hazel eyes with long lashes, full lips, and honey-blond hair, wavy, and pretty. However, she has an explosive temper, and is not to be trifled with.