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Disclaimer: All characters or places that you recognise belong to Tamora Pierce, I only borrowed them.
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It is somewhat ironic that today is Crown Price Roald's 5th birthday, because he shares it with a very special person, my best friend, and as I walked up to the thrones today, in order to offer my congratulations to the King and Queen and to wish the bouncing boy happy birthday I couldn't help but think about her…
She was born Evelyn of Dorthonion, tall with a figure to die for even at that young age and had laughing green eyes setting off wavy blonde hair, and this knack for making people smile. I was first introduced to her when we were both 10 years old and entering the convent for the first time, I am somewhat embarrassed now to admit that I was suffering from acute homesickness and she was to be my roommate.
Looking back now that first night seems hilarious, I was crying into my pillow feeling truly sorry for myself, and instead of telling me to shut up and let her get some sleep she was trying to make me laugh by dressing up as all the different members of my extended family, the best bit was when she covered her hair in white powder, used cushions to pad herself out and pretended to be my grandmother, that got a burst of laughter from me, unfortunately it also brought the Priestess into our room.
The following lecture Eve was read on the proper behaviour for young ladies was impressive and long, especially as it was being delivered to her at 1:30 in the morning. After the Priestess had gone she looked at me, eyes sparkling and began to giggle, it was infectious and I soon joined in, I don't ever recall being homesick again.
Over the years we spent at the convent we became close friends, well we acted more like sisters, the other girls used to tease us, and ask were we 'joined' at the elbow? It was all in good fun though, although we were not in the popular group, due to our open and intense dislike of Delia, (the cow), we did have a large group of close knit friends.
I wouldn't go as far to say that the convent was a prison, I quite enjoyed it actually, as I felt we were learning tools for the future. Although I remember Eve complaining more then once that all it did was churn out clones and that no girl was allowed a spirit of her own, I didn't ever think much of it at the time, although she was always arguing with the Priestesses on the subject, in fact the amount of sheets she had to darn for her 'impertinence' was astronomical, I think the priestesses were tearing sheets towards the end, just for her to stitch them!
When any of us asked why she kept arguing when all it landed her was punishment work she would just smile and say that it was 'improving her embroidery' and it was true, even though she didn't agree with the convents methods, she was the perfect lady, it used to drive me mad, she was always in trouble and yet she was as good as any of us who were working our asses off to keep our work to the highest standards! It was the only thing we ever really argued about, I accused her of being a hypocrite, and she fairly enough hit the roof.
She happened to be the strongest person that I knew, but she needed every ounce of strength she could find early on in our convent years, when while on a visit to Corus, her mother caught the sweating sickness and died, she and her mother had been extremely close. Every week there would be a letter from home and each Sunday night she would compose an essay to be sent home. I felt so helpless, her face was soo carefully blank it was almost scary, however her eyes told the real story, they were filled with pain, she didn't shed a single tear though, not then, it wasn't till a week later when it was revelled that her father had died of the same disease that they came, it was as though a flood gate had been opened, she was the only one left of her family, it took her weeks to get over it.
Although she recovered, she was never the same after it, not really, ooh I don't mean that she was moody or anything like that, no, still the same happy-go-lucky girl, but her arguments with the Priestesses became more frequent, more serious. I asked her about it once and she said that 'she had no parents or immediate family to disgrace anymore so she was going to be herself, and she didn't care about the consequences'. Brave words from a supposed 'clone'.
I must admit convent life became a lot more fun after that, whereas before she had refrained from practical jokes, it seemed that the gloves had come off, and she played some of the best pranks, one of my favourites was when she dyed all the Priestesses hairs ginger, or the time when she convinced one of the Mithrain Priests to place a spell on the corsets which caused them expand and made it look as though we had all put on at least 2 stone. Although they were only small acts of rebellion and may seem boring to the outsider it must be remembered that we were all trying to be as slim as possible, that particular one had the Priestesses in a blind panic. It also kept her sane and all of us in fits of giggles!
It all changed when we arrived at court shortly after our 18th birthdays. While we remained close, (nothing could ever break the bond we had established) I feel head over heels with the man of my dreams and was so involved in the supposed 'games of court' that I didn't get to see her as much. I was missing out on all the girly chats we had had previously and so it took me longer then usual to notice when she stopped smiling and her eyes lost their twinkle, when her laugh became forced, I have kicked myself so many times over it, and will continue to do so, it was so obvious, I should have seen it…
They met at our presentation ball, he was Jonathon, the King to be, tall dark and handsome and she like countless others before her fell for him and he, well he broke her heart…
We all knew that he had loved the Lioness, but she was convinced that it was over, she respected the Lady Knight too much to try and steal her man, but then Jonathon started to court the Princess Josaline of the Copper Isles, she was hurt by this but appeared content to remain his friend. I don't know what she was thinking during that period, she was so level headed, love does funny things to you I suppose, gods know she had practically every other man at court at her feet.
He would dance / flirt with her at every party, and when his parents died she helped him to cope, just like I had supported her all those years ago, they became closer, with all the suspicion surrounding his reign she helped to keep the court on his side and he in turn showed her Corus at its best and taught her to fire a bow and arrow. In some secret corner of her mind Eve thought that he might love her the way she adored him, this much she did confess to me one late night, I should have said something then, if I had things might have turned out differently, but then they say hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Then just 6 weeks from his coronation, when I was beginning to think that perhaps they had a future together as more then just friends Alanna the Lioness returned, and with her came Princess Thayet of Sarian, rumoured to be the most beautiful creature alive, how could Eve ever hope to compete? Jonathon was captivated by the foreign Princess, and with her dark complexion and hazel eyes she was completely the opposite from the fair Eve.
Eve herself was forgotten, cast aside as a child casts an old toy, ooh he still chatted to her, asked her advice on how to woo the Princess, even got her to review his poetry before he gave it to Thayet, but he never seemed to notice that he was killing her inside, that the smiles had become false, the laugh stilted, the twinkle in her eyes extinguished, for the first time in her life she was left completely alone, not being able to chat to me or the others and distanced from Jonathon, this went on for weeks, and then came the day of the coronation.
It had all gone according to plan, despite the suggestion that there would be trouble, Jonathon had survived the ordeal, and seemed to be in good enough form. Evelyn was stunning her hair looked like pale spun gold, half up, half down with pearls through it and dressed in a green dress, so pale in colour it could have been white, the sleeves and top of the bodice decorated with small beads in green and white, while the sleeves themselves were bound to the elbow and then flared out, the skirt was layered in many layers of chiffon, she looked like a princess herself, as she walked into the Hall of Kings, she seemed to float but then everything went wrong, little did I know then but my life and those of many others were about to be shattered...
They placed the crown on Jonathon's head, and suddenly all hell broke loose, swarms of men in Eldorne and Tirregin colours burst into the hall while the earth seemed to be trying to tear itself apart under our very feet.
Gary pushed me away while simultaneously pulling out his sword, I was terrified for him, but as I ran I grabbed Eve's hand, she seemed torn, rooted to the spot, but then it was as though her mind had been made up she struggled free of my grasp and ran to join the protective circle around Jonathon. When I look back now I can see why she did it, why she made that choice, she really did love him and would have done anything to protect him, I'll never forget that sight, the picture that was painted before my very eyes she was so beautiful, standing there with a bow in her hand with her hair coming out of its pins, fighting just like the men, Jonathon had taught her well…
They claim that the Shang Dragon was the one who saved Jonathon's life by taking those arrows, and I have no doubt that he did, but in all the songs that are sung, perhaps because the conservatives fell she had no right to be fighting, there is never any mention of the court lady who leapt in front of the 7th arrow, the one heading straight for the new Kings back, she to saved his life that day, and paid the highest price she could for it…
I can vaguely remember hearing an unearthly scream and realising that it was coming from me, I left the group of women I was with and ran towards her, tears streaming down my face, I was no longer aware of the crowds of people or the fighting which was winding down, all I could see was my friend and the bright red stain that was rapidly spreading across her chest, I observed her sink to her knees, and then I was at her side, when I got there she was trembling, I'll never forget it, her face was ashen white but her eyes were burning, she gave a small smile, I recall asking why, why did she do it? Her answer was something I will never forget, she simply replied, "I gave my tomorrows for his today." In saying it a single tear fell, and she whispered that, although she didn't regret it she was scared…
I held her hand, trying to comfort her, to convince her that it would be alright. That help was coming and watched appalled as she struggled to breath, to keep fighting and then suddenly with a final sigh it was over, she died and left for the realms of the dead, I have never cried so much I my life.
The sobs were catching in the back of my throat and tears were blinding me, the next 15 or 20 minutes passed in a blur, I was just numb, the friend I had loved as a sister, the pride of the convent, was gone, she would never dance or laugh again, there would be no one to tease me when I got onto my high horse, no one to chat with. I sat there covered in her blood with the tears tripping me, in a daze until I heard a sort of choked cry and then there was someone on the other side of her, holding her other hand, shaking her shoulders and calling her name in what can only be described as a broken voice.
I looked up and saw the bowed head of the king as he held her; he looked up once and asked a simple question "why?" I didn't answer, I didn't think I needed to; he already knew the answer I could see it in his eyes. They were filled with such pain, and I wondered just what had been between them, it's something I will never know...
The day of her funeral was so cold, the sun was out but it gave no heat, frost lay heavy on the ground and if any birds were about they did not sing. The majority of the court had turned out, a testament to how much she had impacted on peoples lives, and by the end even the stiffest old man was in tears, she had been only 19 and yet she gave her life for the kingdom, as brave as a knight, I remember hearing the Priest saying "she will not be forgotten" and yet, 6 years on it seems she has been...
I decided to take the steep hillside walk to her grave today after seeing the royal family, they seemed so happy it tore at my heart to think of Eve, all alone for the last few precious weeks of her life. I couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if she hadn't taken that arrow, if she had lived...
And as I climbed the hill and stood under the cherry tree where she was buried I looked at the model of her, it was so lifelike, I wanted to shake it and for her to get up and laugh, for her to tell me it had all been a dream, but of course it wasn't, and no amount of shaking would make her stand up. As I went to place my bunch of poppies I noticed a simple posy of cream and red roses clasped between her hands, but with no card attached. I smiled, perhaps I had been wrong earlier, she hadn't been forgotten, she will always live on in the memory of her friends, and when I have my first daughter, Gary and I have agreed that she will be christened 'Evelyn of Naxen', in honour of my best friend and the unsung hero of Tortall.
