A/N: Sorry that this has taken so long! I kinda got frustrated and gave
up on it for a while (I have the attention span of an inattentive two-
year old!) but I'm back! All those nice reviews persuaded me to make a
second attempt, so here it goes-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Audiara's stomach was a mass of butterflies by the time she reached the
King and Queen. Their Majesties smiled at her, and Thayet reached over
to take her hand. "Don't worry, you look lovely." the Queen whispered.
Audie tried to smile, but she felt frozen. Turning out to face the
court, Thayet waited for the murmurs to die down before making her
announcement. "Good evening, everyone! I hope you are all enjoying
yourselves, and I shall not take up too much of your time by rambling
on." There was a brief spate of laughter, and Audie relaxed a fraction,
managing to paste a smile on her face. "I am sure you all remember
Audiara of Legann, whose introduction to Court ended in a minor
catastrophe." Thayet paused. "The pun was unintentional, I assure you!"
Even Audiara managed to laugh this time, and the Queen squeezed her
hand. "Rather than put the poor girl through that again, we decided to
present her to you all tonight. Will you please welcome Audiara,
daughter of Imrah and Marielle of Legann!" The room exploded in
applause as Audiara made her curtsey. Raising her eyes slightly, Audie
could see all her new friends clapping hardest of all. Grinning from
ear to ear, she curtseyed again, this time to the King and Queen,
before gliding off to join Kerrine and Lisana again. Several new faces
came up to greet her, most of them girls her own age.
"Now aren't you glad you stayed?" Kerrine whispered in Audie's ear.
"Half the girls we just talked to were pages or squires who said they
would have died of embarrassment if something like that happened to
them!" Audie stopped and spun around to face her friend.
"They said that? Really?" she asked. Kerrine nodded, smirking a bit
before schooling her face into a proper, polite, smile. Kerri had
thought Audie's ideas about lady knights were silly, and was thrilled
at this opportunity to prove herself right. Audie rolled her eyes and
looked around her thoughtfully. Reluctantly she admitted to herself
that Kerri was right - the girls who wanted to become knights weren't
all that different from herself. They just had different ways of
expressing themselves. As she turned back to the crowd, Audie caught a
snatch of Kel's conversation with Neal about the use of a lance, and
grimaced. She preferred her mode of expression. Daine waved to Audie
from across the room, and Audiara started across, keeping her eyes down
to avoid trodding on people's toes. When she was halfway across, she
saw a small furry streak in front of her, and heard someone wailing,
"No! Cream, come back here!"
A/N: Ok, it's still short, and it ends kinda fast, and the ending is
just plain sadistic, but is it otherwise ok? *grins* Reviews are
greatly appreciated, flame if you must (I'm cold anyway!) and I'll
try to write something new soon!
up on it for a while (I have the attention span of an inattentive two-
year old!) but I'm back! All those nice reviews persuaded me to make a
second attempt, so here it goes-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Audiara's stomach was a mass of butterflies by the time she reached the
King and Queen. Their Majesties smiled at her, and Thayet reached over
to take her hand. "Don't worry, you look lovely." the Queen whispered.
Audie tried to smile, but she felt frozen. Turning out to face the
court, Thayet waited for the murmurs to die down before making her
announcement. "Good evening, everyone! I hope you are all enjoying
yourselves, and I shall not take up too much of your time by rambling
on." There was a brief spate of laughter, and Audie relaxed a fraction,
managing to paste a smile on her face. "I am sure you all remember
Audiara of Legann, whose introduction to Court ended in a minor
catastrophe." Thayet paused. "The pun was unintentional, I assure you!"
Even Audiara managed to laugh this time, and the Queen squeezed her
hand. "Rather than put the poor girl through that again, we decided to
present her to you all tonight. Will you please welcome Audiara,
daughter of Imrah and Marielle of Legann!" The room exploded in
applause as Audiara made her curtsey. Raising her eyes slightly, Audie
could see all her new friends clapping hardest of all. Grinning from
ear to ear, she curtseyed again, this time to the King and Queen,
before gliding off to join Kerrine and Lisana again. Several new faces
came up to greet her, most of them girls her own age.
"Now aren't you glad you stayed?" Kerrine whispered in Audie's ear.
"Half the girls we just talked to were pages or squires who said they
would have died of embarrassment if something like that happened to
them!" Audie stopped and spun around to face her friend.
"They said that? Really?" she asked. Kerrine nodded, smirking a bit
before schooling her face into a proper, polite, smile. Kerri had
thought Audie's ideas about lady knights were silly, and was thrilled
at this opportunity to prove herself right. Audie rolled her eyes and
looked around her thoughtfully. Reluctantly she admitted to herself
that Kerri was right - the girls who wanted to become knights weren't
all that different from herself. They just had different ways of
expressing themselves. As she turned back to the crowd, Audie caught a
snatch of Kel's conversation with Neal about the use of a lance, and
grimaced. She preferred her mode of expression. Daine waved to Audie
from across the room, and Audiara started across, keeping her eyes down
to avoid trodding on people's toes. When she was halfway across, she
saw a small furry streak in front of her, and heard someone wailing,
"No! Cream, come back here!"
A/N: Ok, it's still short, and it ends kinda fast, and the ending is
just plain sadistic, but is it otherwise ok? *grins* Reviews are
greatly appreciated, flame if you must (I'm cold anyway!) and I'll
try to write something new soon!