Ten
Leigh could almost imagine the trolls laughing at her now. Why couldn't they have waited an hour before it rained? From the directions the innkeeper gave her the night before, she's only less than an hour away and it was too late to stop now. Then, she remembered: trolls make rainbows, not rain.
She would've passed by the narrow dirt road leading to the school had it been night time. Thank goodness there was a few hours to go before sunset. Also, the innkeeper's description of the finishing school didn't match what the school looked like at all. Then again, he said he hadn't seen the place since the last five years. He described it as a small wooden house, could be a former home of a not-so prosperous merchant.
The school that loomed before her was certainly not just some wooden house. In fact, it somewhat resembled a little castle without a moat and towers. It was certainly bigger and newer. It did seem intimidating but she hoped it was cozier inside.
Slowly, she got down from her horse, Gilgamesh; the soggy boots Ernie gave her making a loud squeak in the process. She got a carrot from her bag and fed it to the horse, hoping that he could hear her amidst the noise of the rain.
"Thank you for the ride, Gilly. You know your way back home, don't you?"
The horse seemed to nod, making Leigh believe that perhaps the horse could really understand human speech.
She was about to find some sort of temporary shelter for him from the rain, but when she turned around, the horse was going away on his own.
Wishing him luck, Leigh faced the school and quickly ran towards the door. She knocked loudly and tried to make herself appear presentable—as presentable can be. She knew how she looked without checking the mirror. Drenched from head to toe, her long black hair in clumps and some even plastered on her face and wearing dripping oversized men's clothing, she might give the person who opens the door a heart attack. Not the good first impression she was hoping to make.
A lady did open the door, but instead of slamming it back on her face, she thoroughly looked her over once and without any questions, let her in.
"You must be Leigh." she said slowly, waiting for her to confirm it.
Leigh swallowed nervously and nodded.
"I am Madame Emma, the headmistress of this school." she introduced herself briskly. "Before anything else, a maid will show you to your room, where you will change to your uniform and freshen up, if you like. Afterwards, I'll be expecting you in my office and we will have a talk." She called for a maid and left her. She seemed to be very busy at the moment.
"I'll take your bag, miss." a familiar voice said timidly. Leigh suddenly snapped out of her reverie and noticed the girl who took her bags for the first time.
"Alla? Is that you?"
The maid peered at her in surprise. "Soleil! Ixi idari otomo?" ("What are you doing here?")
"Otomo iddarensi avona. Uryu?" ("I'm going to study here. How about you?")
They began walking to the rooms, with Alla in the lead. "I work here now. Queen Avila dismissed me." she said in Kyrrian. She switched again to Ayorthaian. "Eppife onno ede." ("Everyone thought you were dead.")
Before Leigh could explain, a group of people blocked her path. They were all wearing purple gowns with yellow ribbons on their hairs. "Look at the drowned rat. She still has the gall to come here." one of them commented spitefully. Pansy.
"She shouldn't have come, that's for sure. From the looks of her, she'll never belong." one of her companions chided. Clearly, Pansy has already made a lot of allies in the school.
Alla didn't know whether to just stand there or break the group and walk on. Leigh placed a hand on her shoulder and said in Ayorthaian, "Don't mind them. Let's go."
They cut in the group and moved on, ignoring the snide remarks that followed them. They walked up an elaborate staircase until they reached the first room.
"This is the Lime room." Alla entered and passed by four beds until she reached the last one beside the window. She walked to the closet, pulled out a similar purple gown Pansy and company had on and placed it on the bed.
Leigh couldn't believe her eyes. The room was breathtaking. Everything was in different shades of light green with a little yellow. It was like entering a sunny field. She could even almost smell the faint scent of lemon and lime.
Alla was watching her reaction, amused. "Madame Emma is waiting downstairs so don't be long in changing. We should talk sometime, Soleil."
"Yes, of course. And it's Leigh now."
Alla curtsied and was about to walk out the door when she suddenly stopped. "You don't have to talk to me around them, you know. They'll only make fun of you more." she said softly.
Leigh was shocked she would even suggest it. "No. You are my friend, Alla. Your approval means more to me than theirs." She watched as a smile blossomed on her friend's face as she left, leaving her to change her clothing.
~
"Come in, come in."
Leigh pushed the door open to Madame Emma's office. She found the headmistress sitting behind a desk. She had on a kind smile, contrary to the formal manner she was received when she first arrived.
"Please sit down."
She sat on a plush chair in front of the desk, placing her hands folded upon her lap.
"That's better. Don't you feel more comfortable?"
"A little." she admitted. She was wearing the purple uniform and had her damp hair tied in a braid behind her back. Her fingers brushed upon her pocket and she realized she hadn't paid yet. "I forgot. This is for you." She handed the pouch to her. She didn't know why she was so jittery. She must admit, she was a little bit intimidated, despite the fact that Madame Emma looked so young for her position. She guessed her to be in her early thirties, and attractive too.
Instead of weighing it, Madame Emma put it aside and looked seriously at Leigh with her beautiful hazel eyes. "Leigh, before I go on, I'd like to be frank with you. I am a fair person. Strict, if need be, but I am also very considerate. You don't have to be scared of me. I don't want to make students feel that way. I don't play favorites, even if most of the student population here are… Let's say, they come from highly-distinguished families." She leaned back to her seat. "Now that I had said a little something about myself, it's your turn to do the same. I'm quite curious why you came so late, and not as planned with um, what's her name?" She drummed her fingers on the desk in thought.
"Pansy?"
She snapped her fingers. "Yes, of course. She was with Jupiter and Reeta."
Trying to control her laughter at the mistake, Leigh told her what happened with the trolls, leaving out Pansy's role in it. She felt it was unnecessary and besides, Madame Emma might even think that she was whining about it.
She listened with a sympathetic look on her face. "You know, I couldn't care less about the money. True, it is still needed to keep the school running but I wouldn't have minded if you paid me later on. fraechramM zhiriS had helped me once before, you know."
Leigh found herself liking her more and more.
"Alright." Madame Emma returned to her business-like tone. "Since you missed the orientation a week ago, I'll fill you in about the school and how things work here. This used to be a smaller school when my older stepsister, Edith, ran the school. She's retired now so I took charge and expanded the place. I retained the rooms, though. You've seen it, of course?"
"Only the Lime Room. I think it's beautiful."
"I agree. You should see the others. The Lime, Daisy, Opal and Lavender Rooms are for the girls, which is in the left wing. The boys' rooms are on the right. Over all, we could accommodate forty students although currently, we have… thirty-five. A little more girls than boys. I'm afraid this school isn't very popular with the boys yet. But in time, we'll see…" she paused.
"Lessons, I added a few more, removed those that had little use. There are still some older teachers, like Sewing Mistress and Manners Mistress who you might find-" Her eyes twinkled. "-a little eccentric. But don't get me wrong, they're the best. Basically, the boys and the girls take the same lessons: Language, Dancing, Manners, Arithmatic, Astronomy and History. However, you take Sewing while the boys take Weaponry. You have Sunday as a free day to do whatever you wish. Rules? No cutting classes, no foul play… the usual. I do not tolerate disrespect. Also, the girls are not allowed to the right wing after hours and vice versa. The lake and all that lies beyond are out of bounds. It is for your own safety."
Leigh nodded at each, trying to absorb everything at once.
"Do you have any other questions? Concerns?"
She shook her head.
"Very well. Good luck, then." She gave another encouraging smile, then glanced at her pocket watch. "Manners class has just ended. I think you may still join Languages. The room is at the end of the hallway."
"Thank you."
Leigh left, having a much lighter feeling that she almost smiled her way to the Languages room. That is, until she saw the smirking face of Pansy, who entered the room almost at the same time. Her look darkened.
Pansy leaned over and whispered to her ear. For others, it may seem as if she was a good friend disclosing a secret. "This is war."
Leigh watched calmly as Pansy brushed past her. Now, she was the last to enter the room. Naturally, the only seat that was left was the one at the farthest corner. She strode inside the room, pausing at the front center to look defiantly at the whole class. Many people were giggling and whispering most likely about some nasty rumor Pansy was spreading about her.
Closing her eyes, she let out a breath and walked over to the seat. As she settled down, she noticed a familiar face beside her. Prince Jerric of Kyrria. What was he doing here? Wasn't he in Ayortha?
No matter, Leigh thought to herself. I won't give Pansy the satisfaction of watching me suffer. Desperate to make a friend—any friend at all, she put on a smile and held out her hand to him for a shake. She hoped he wasn't polluted with Pansy's lies yet. "Hello! I'm Leigh. I'm new here."
For the longest while, the prince stared at her hand. Her cheeks ached from smiling too long. Then, he turned his cold green eyes to hers and said stonily, "I don't make friends with poor peasants."
She took back her outstretched hand and clenched it into a fist.
A/N: 1.) Yesss! This is where the fun starts! They finally meet, and I mean really meet and not just some accidental thing. I've already written the next chapter but as a rule I set upon myself, I'm not going to post it until I am at least one chapter ahead. That way, I could still edit and revise stuff before I could do some serious damage. Updates will most probably be faster, although I'm not promising anything…!
2.) I've reached the part where the adventure begins. The stage is all set. I've gotten all the characters to where they are supposed to be. And I promise! No more name-changing. It might revolve between Soleil and Leigh though, but I'll make it clear so you won't get confused. Now before I go on, I'd like to know what you guys want to see and don't. I'm just curious and I think it will help in the flow of the story. :) Incidentally, do you want longer chapters? I'm thinking about doing it but I don't know if it's eye-friendly.
3.) Okay. Here's a sneak peek to the upcoming chapters since you're so faithful to the story. It's decided. Jacqueline is going to make a comeback! How, why, when, where, you'll have to read and find out… :)
4.) I just read all the reviews I got ever since I stopped writing for a while and I'd like to mention and thank all you sweet, caring people but the list is too long. I was really motivated to write again after that. Anyway, you know who you are… Thank you soooo much! *hugs*