Since this is Fanfiction I took some liberties and decided that Alanna would have another son named Leo and King Jonathan would have another son named Robyn. Both are the same age and the youngest in their families.
Human Era, year 463 – August
Scrutinizing brown eyes matched the girls orange ones as Lord Padraig haMinch surveyed the small, black-haired girl before him. She was twelve from what her file said, but to him she looked more like nine. Her small face looked ethereal, with delicate pixie like features and pale skin that was the expected complexion of a lady. Her strange orange eyes were big, adding to her pixie looks. They were sorrowful, angry and resentful.
Just why is she here? thought Lord haMinch. First she spends a year in the convent to become a lady then gets sent away. Not precisely sent away, but rather kicked out. There had been an undisclosed incident involving the whole convent. That was what her file read, but no explanation as to why she was kicked out. Whatever the reason, the girl did not like a future knight to him. In fact, she could pass as one of the small serving girls that past emperors of Carthak used to serve drinks in their courts.
"Becoming a knight will be hard," Lord haMinch started his speech he gave to all first year pages. "You will be tested mentally, physically and emotionally. If you survive the eight years of training, you will earn your shield and the rewards will be numerous. Knights do not have days off and neither will you. Your training will consist of bookwork and related studies in the mornings while afternoons are dedicated to the learning and mastery of swordsmanship, riding, archery, jousting and anything else that a knight is expected to be proficient in."
Lord haMinch waited for some response from Selene but she gave none. The training master went on.
"As a girl page, you will be treated the same as any of the boys; no special treatment or favors because of your sex."
"I expected as much." Selene interrupted.
"Good, then I hope it won't surprise you that you will be put on probation during the first year. This means I can expel you at any time if I see you lacking in your duties."
"Also no flirting with boys or any provocative behavior. For this I can also expel you. If you enter a boy's room the door must be kept open and the same applies if a boy enters your room. Any questions?" The tone of his voice made it very clear he wanted no questions, but Selene couldn't resist.
"Since I will be treated the same as the other boys do you insist I bathe with them well? Or will bathing separately be considered 'special treatment'?"
Selene's uncle turned red and started muttering an apology for his niece's impertinence.
"Careful page, you are on probation. Such remarks will reflect poorly on you. As for your answer you will bathe separately in the women's baths or in your own room. Any other questions will be answered by the head of housekeeping or by older pages and squires. I look forward to seeing you on the practice field."
She was then promptly dismissed. Selene and her uncle stood awkwardly outside haMinch's office, neither of them knowing how to say good-bye to each other. Neither one of them had much love for the other and it was in Selene's nature not to linger on sentimental feelings, never mind waste her time on someone for whom she had no respect. In the end, she muttered a hurried "Good-bye," and followed a servant who waited to show her to her room. Her uncle was soon forgotten.
Selene stepped into her new room as a page and immediately took a strong liking to it. It had a bay window overlooking the city and the surrounding countryside. She sighed and dropped her bundle of new page clothing on her bed and sat down next to it. All her belongings had been brought up already but she wasn't much in the mood to unpack. A sudden image of her dormitory back at the convent came to her mind. No, she couldn't return there. Not after what she had done. Selene vowed she would not make the same mistake. If she failed as a page, she had nowhere else to go.
She thought of the advice her uncle had given her, during the few times they had attempted to talk in the carriage.
"Although it's legal for women to become knights and Lady Kel has publicly earned her shield, people will still be skeptical of you and the other boys will try to deter you from your path. Remember you change your mind you can come home."
It was still raining outside, although it had slowed to a steady drizzle and showed no signs of stopping. Her room was chilly, but yet she was not cold. A perk of her Gift she supposed. Selene was a fire mage and a powerful one at that. A little too powerful for someone so young, that's why her family and Numair thought it would be wise for her to wear the power limiters. But her Gift had it uses. She could control fire like no other. Her eyes too, were another side effect of her Gift. Her orange eyes were beautiful, but an oddity.
She set her gaze on the empty fireplace, concentrated and a warm, bright fire burst to life. She went to stand before it, draping her cloak on a stool.
"Hello?" a timid voice came from her doorway.
Selene turned her head to see two boys, one with wild red hair and purple eyes and the other with dark black hair and blue eyes, standing on her threshold, looking on with huge surprised eyes.
"What? You've never seen a girl before?" she retorted. She was barely here for a half a day and already people were intruding on her!
The red-headed boy hurriedly replied. "No, well yes, we have but not a girl page, wait you didn't ask that. We have seen-"
The black haired boy with laughing blue eyes cut his friend off. "We heard rumors that there was a girl page here. I guess the rumors are true."
"Yes they are. I'm here to stay by the way. So if you have any intention of running me off, you should know nothing will stop me."
"Nobody is going to stop you!" exclaimed the red head. "Well, not us in any case." He glanced at his friend. "Robyn might drive you off just by being a jerk sometimes but he really isn't all that bad."
"Oh shut it Leonard." Robyn retorted. "He hates his full name. My dear friend here, on the other hand, might get on your nerves a little too often and soon enough you might start thinking of putting a bag on his head, or suffocating him with the nearest pillow."
"Robyn!" pouted the red-haired boy named Leonard. "Now that was mean!"
Selene looked on in wonder and confused. She had never had a close friend with whom she tease and insult like these pair were going at each other. She also wondered if Robyn was the one that she might feel like suffocating with a pillow.
"You really don't have to call me Leonard. I'd much prefer it if you would call me Leo." Leo looked so shy and innocent that even Selene could not resist his request.
"Very well…Leo. I'm pleased to meet you. I am Selene of Renvyle."
"Titles, titles, titles," Robyn sighed. "They mean so little and so much."
Leo tugged at Robyn's tunic and gave him a side-ways glare. "I think we should properly introduce ourselves."
"Well-spoken!" Robyn grinned broadly. "I'm Robyn of Conté, last in line to the throne of Tortall."
Selene gasped and curtsied. She couldn't believe Prince Robyn was standing in her room introducing himself so casually to her! She quickly sunk into a deep curtsy. "It's a pleasure to meet you your Highness." It felt so stupid to curtsy while in her tunic and leggings.
"You don't have to do that," he grinned. "Please, I get enough of that from my father's nobles. It's like there people falling down everywhere when I walk past."
Selene was still thinking about the fact that King Jonathan's own son was in her room, and she couldn't help but notice the obvious arrogance in his voice.
"If you insist then…" She straightened up.
"Oh and this red-haired thing here is Leo of Pirate's Swoop. No need to guess who his mother is huh?"
"Alanna is your mother?" Selene asked Leo in shock.
"Yes she is." He answered with a hint of pride. "She's extremely proud that I'm here to train as a knight, since Thom was the oldest and he wanted to study magic and she thought that only Alan would earn his shield. And then she was disappointed when Aly never showed interest in becoming a knight although now my mother keeps bragging to everyone she knows that her daughter led a revolution in the Copper Islands and helped restore the rightful queen to the throne!"
"So you have a lot to live up to then?" Selene asked, not without a trace of teasing. Leo was too cute, something that she would never admit aloud. She could never imagine him as a sword-wielding, horse-riding knight.
"I guess so," Leo sighed. "But it's alright. My family has done so much for the Realm already-"
Robyn cut off his friend impatiently. "Leo loves telling family history and I can promise you that by the end of the month you can write a full report on each and every family member and their achievements." This brought a small grin to Selene's face. "Would you like to see the palace Selene? I can give you a tour. I'll even bring along Leo." Leo's purple eyes brightened.
Selene hesitated. What if these boys were leading her on, teasing her, befriending her only to abandon her later. She couldn't help the way she was thinking. Her whole life she had been treated like that. Except now there was no one to turn to. She was on her own and she would deal with anyone that came in her way.
"Alright, show me the best the king has to offer."
Robyn and Leo happily guided Selene through the extent of the Royal Palace. They showed her the long, golden-gilded hall of tapestries depicting all types of scenes. One tapestry was of a hunting party chasing a boar, another of a lady with a unicorn in her lap and a rather large one with Mithros, the High God of justice, commanding his army. Selene stared at this for a few long seconds, trying to decipher the slight grin on the god's face. There were more wondrous tapestries woven of the fine cloths still to see but the two boys drew Selene into another passage. Selene had felt as if she could have entertained many an hour in that fantastic corridor.
They ran down a hallway with great, soaring windows on either side giving the impression of being on a glass-encased bridge. Today however, the grim storm clouds let in feeble light and the rain was pounding relentlessly on the window panes, promising a wet practice field tomorrow. The convent where Selene had spent a year was fine and decorated enough, but she could not have enough time here to wonder and ponder at every spectacle in the palace, for there were many.
Robyn led them into the lower part of the castle, where the kitchens were located. They approached a broad wooden door, where the clamoring of pots and the general busy bustling of the kitchens could be heard. Robyn held a finger to his lips and ducked into the room. Moments later he returned with three small meat buns and motioned for them to run.
They didn't stop until they were back in the grand upper levels of the palace where Leo started freaking out, wondering if they were going to get caught. Robyn threw a careless arm around the smaller boy's shoulders and told him not to worry. The young prince then opened a set of elegantly decorated doors and they trooped in, the doors sounding shut behind them. Selene found they had entered the library, as she saw rows upon rows of large bookcases taking up most of the spacious library. A few ladders led to upper levels of the library, and Selene just how many books were here in this grand room. A vast marble fireplace was situated against the far right wall with a cozy fire burning merrily in the hearth. Worn but comfy looking armchairs and small sofas were in front of the fireplace, providing the sitter warmth and light.
Heavy wooden tables and chairs were placed around the room and in between rows of books, most likely used for knights-in-training to study on. Robyn threw himself onto a sofa and began attacking his meat bun. The vigor he showed made it apparent that he very much enjoyed those buns. Leo curled up into an armchair and ate his stolen food with much less energy. Selene chose to sit directly in front of the fire, needing to feel it's comforting heat.
Her glittering silver wristbands were illuminated by the flickering light and Leo noticed the silvery sheen dancing on Selene's arms.
"Hey Selene what are those?" Leo asked inquisitively.
"These?" Selene lifted one arm. "These are my power limiters. Because of my Gift, Numair thought it would be best for me to wear them, since no one knows the extent of my power."
"Really? Are you that strong?" Leo's purple eyes were wide in excitement.
"What kind of Gift do you have anyway?" Robyn asked, now licking his fingers from the meat bun.
"I'm a fire mage."
"A fire mage?" Robyn inquired.
Selene shook her head. "Apparently my Gift is so rare there's only been a few cases in the past and there's not much information on it. Are you Gifted by any chance?" Selene knew that the King was incredibly strong and both of Leo's parents had magic as well.
"I have the general Gift," Robyn was first to explain. "You know shielding, fighting magic and basic illusions. I'm still working on mastering more powerful spells although I know that's going to be a long way off."
"I have more of a Sensing Gift." Leo answered in an eager voice. "I can sense magical presences. My Gift isn't used for fighting, more for healing and defense."
"Well that's useful too I suppose." Selene said, unsure of anything else to say.
"And you?" Leo asked.
"I can control and manipulate fire. I'm also resistant to burns and I have easier time breathing when it's smoky. A huge perk of it is that I'm always warm and I've never once felt cold in my life."
"So lucky," Leo looked downcast at his shoes.
Robyn seemed fascinated with her strange power and was itching to learn more. "You can manipulate fire? Like a battle mage?"
"Can battle mages do this?" Selene cupped her hands together and called her Gift. When she unfolded her hands, a small ball of fire was hovering above her palms. She softly blew on the fire and it dissolved into several little flames, each taking form as a miniature sailing ship. The fire ships took flight around the room, sailing lazily in the air and leaving a small trail of flames that evaporated after a few seconds. Leo gasped in astonishment and reached out to touch one of the ships and delighted in the fact that it was warm but did not burn his skin. Robyn too, was impressed and Selene allowed herself a small grin of achievement.
"See Robyn, aren't you jealous now that you can't do that?" Leo asked slyly.
Robyn flushed. "I'm an alright mage but I don't think you could do that either!"
"I could too! Selene could teach me, right?" Leo came and hugged her arm. Selene pushed him away and she realized she had hurt Leo by the look in his purple eyes. She was unused to such contact and the way Leo looked at her was heart-breaking.
"I'm sorry," She said. "You remind me of a puppy dog." If Leo had had a tail right then, it probably would have stopped wagging. Robyn laughed at Selene's animal reference to his dear friend, as he sometimes had to agree with her.
"So what is going on in here?" a drawling voice came from the library doors.
"Three small pages, three more servings of Fresh meat," said another boy, bringing laughter from the others with him. A group of older boys had entered the library, possibly squires, and Selene knew this would not end well.
"Why are you lazing about here? Shouldn't you be scrubbing our chamber pots?" This came from the first boy, obviously the leader of the group, and his friends laughed at his words.
"Shouldn't you be with your mommies? It's past your curfew isn't it?" Selene snapped back. Her temper had risen, as well as the fire next to her, for it became agitated when she did.
"Well, well, well," said the first boy. He had brown frizzy hair and the much dreaded acne of adolescence while his crocked nose did nothing to improve his looks. "It seems the rumors are true: A girl page has arrived. But she won't be staying for long." He softly added the last part.
"I'll be staying as long as I want!" Selene now stood up, although she was still short. "You swine!"
"Whoa, you better respect you betters. Do you know who you're talking to?" the boy with the frizzy hair growled.
"No please enlighten me," Selene put as much sarcasm into her words as possible
"I'm Alden of Horganshold," He said proudly.
"Fantastic, now can you actually spell that?" Selene retorted.
The boy next to Alden grumbled and stepped towards her. "No Gordon, I'll take care of this!" Alden said and held his friend back. Selene walked towards Alden until they were only six feet apart. Robyn and Leo looked on, wanting to help the girl, but did not want to incur Alden's bullying and both privately resolved to jump in as soon as Alden made a move.
"I'm going to say this one time and one time only," Selene said defiantly, standing with her legs apart and arms crossed. "I'll say how long I'm going to stay. I'll say who I'll listen to and I'll decide whose snide comments and bullcrap I'm going to put up with. But. It. Won't. Be. You." she said these last words separately. "If you get in my way, I'll burn you to a crisp with the snap of my fingers!"
Gordon, Alden's friend who was slightly flabby for a knight in training and had watery eyes and thin hair, laughed at Selene's comment. "You're bluffing! The only one who has that much power is the sorcerer Numair and that tiny bitch Alanna!" A loud, demented battle cry sprung out of nowhere and a shock of red hair collided with Gordon, sending the large boy onto his back. Leo sat on Gordon and punched him as hard as he could and pulled on Gordon's dark brownhair.
"Don't you dare talk about my mother like that!" Leo was enraged now and Gordon was suddenly fearful of this brave boy with his strange purple eyes. "You can only ever hope to be half the knight she is!"
Gordon became aware of the considerable size advantage he had over Leo and seized the red-haired boy by his shoulders and shoved him into a bookcase. Leo was stunned by the blow and books fell on top of him. Alden took advantage of the chaos and pushed Selene roughly, while she came back with a wild kick.
"Enough!" Robyn stood in front of the group. "If you don't stop now, I will report you to my father."
"Who's your father, a lowly guard?" Alden growled.
"No he's Prince Robyn of Conté," The bullies gasped and fell to one knee bowing down to Robyn. "Yea I didn't know him either but it was a hell of a lot better introduction then this." Selene said.
"Go now and if I see any of you tonight the king will hear of it personally," warned Robyn.
"And if he doesn't I will," The boys turned to Selene. "But of course I'll tell Alanna instead and I might add that you tried to rape me. You better make sure you're well out of the country by then."
With that, the bullies turned and scrambled out the door, Alden pausing to cast a glance at Selene. "You better watch your back, you fire witch."
"You better watch where you're going," Selene grinned as Alden ran into the doorway. He curse and ran out, the library doors closing heavily. Leo sighed loudly.
"I wish I had as much courage as you do Selene," he said wistfully.
"Yes, because running head-on into a bully doesn't require any amount of bravery, just a large amount of stupidity," Selene retorted. Leo blushed and Robyn lay laughing on the floor. She looked up to where the last two of her magical fireships were sailing through the air. It seemed to her that they were her private sentries, her little protectors that only she could procure and control. Selene scoffed at the ridiculous though and turned back to her friends. Leo let out a loud squeal as Robyn had put him into a headlock. The sight was so ridiculous to Selene that she couldn't help herself as she smiled broadly.
So I condensed chapters and added some more conversation to when the trio first meet. It seems to me that they get off to a better start that way. When I re-read the original conversation I cringed because it was cheesy and…stupid. The run-in with Alden stayed the same. Also I'm trying not to over play the puppy-dog-cute Leo as that's going to get old quick.
