Love In The Light 05: Meet The Team

Mariel and Dandin awoke simultaneously as Laurie bawled out her reveille to the skies. Aureole threw a pillow at her.

"Hi-yo the bells of morning, hi-yo the bells of day…hi-yo we've had no warning, hi-yo it'll go our way!"

"Huh – what's going on?"

"Nothing unusual," explained Safire, slamming her own pillow down on to Laurie's face to muffle the raucous shouting. "Laurie just likes to hear the sound of her own voice, don't you, Laurie?"

"Vajjuseccabones."

"Pardon?" Safire released the haremaid.

"I said, that's just an added bonus!"

Having spoken her piece, Laurie bounced out of the dormitory and down to the kitchen in hope of early breakfast.

"Meet the team," said Aureole with a laugh. "The mad one who just went out is Laurel Chamberlain Sarkcroft, commonly known as Laurie. I'm Aureole, Lady Safire's lieutenant, and that's Lady Safire over there."

As the three – Mariel, Dandin, and Aureole – trooped downstairs, Aureole introduced them to everyone they met.

"That's Skipper. His real name's Allen, but usually it's 'Otter-Get-Over-Here-And-Lift-This'."

Allen looked mortally offended. "Of course," he said mischievously, "Aureole belies her name. She should be called Devil's Horns!"

"That's true," said Aureole thoughtfully. "But it doesn't trip off the tongue quite as well, does it?"

Allen grimaced and went on his way to the ramparts. "You'd better run if you want breakfast," he called back. "Laurie's storming the kitchens!"

"I hope you're fast runners," Aureole said, leaping down the steps five at a time.

*

"Y'see, the place you escaped from is their base in the north. We're the northern resistance, otherwise known as Rainoh. Sounds bally silly, doesn't it? It should have a 't' in it, but it was easier to say this way. The eastern lot do, though. Have a 't', I mean. They're buildin' a new fortress up here. Don't blame 'em. Castle Merriam's no place for any self-respectin' beast. It's horribly draughty. The plan was, infiltrate the castle, set fire to the wall hangings, and watch the vermin burn. Only – it was a pretty nasty death, and they might still escape. Not very good, wot?"

Laurie spoke all this between mouthfuls of food Mariel would have thought it impossible to consume had she not seen Tarquin L. Woodsorrel at close quarters.

She glanced happily in the direction of Castle Merriam.

"That's a goner. The wildcats are movin' out. They'll go back to the bally capital. That's in the centre of Hartfar. Of course, there they have Raicoh – like I said, we have bloomin' silly abbreviations."

"There's a lot of rivalry between the Resistances," said Aureole, pausing in her demonstration of how not to eat breakfast. "It's stupid, really, we ought to be pulling together."

"We're all in this together…by ourselves," quoted Lady Safire.

"That pretty much sums it up," agreed Aureole.

Laurie looked straight at Mariel and Dandin. Eyeing them thoughtfully, she asked: "Are you going to join us?"

Everyone who had heard (except Mariel and Dandin, naturally) glared ferociously at the haremaid, who shot a defiant look back.

"If you want us," replied Mariel calmly.

"Of course we do!" cried Laurie. "But what about your friend?" She mock-scowled at him. "Does he want to?"

"I always fall in with Mariel's wishes," said Dandin solemnly. "She hits me if I don't."

Laurie howled with laughter and Mariel poked her friend in the stomach. "At least I don't eat food meant for two seasons in two days!"

Aureole grinned mischievously. "Well, we have two kitchens here. One for Laurie and one for everyone else!"

Laurie stuck her nose in the air and walked out. Unfortunately, she tripped over a fallen chair and fell flat on her face.

All the beasts in the room applauded her.

"Why, thank you, thank you." She bowed several times. "Next week's demonstration will be on how to fall off the battlements."

"Oh, but you've done that one before," Aureole argued. "Remember?"

Laurie seemed to prefer not to recall the incident. "I'm going to find Susie," she said, changing the subject, and walking out, this time without any mishaps.

"Susie's her niece," explained Lady Safire.

Laurie seemed to have regained her good humour, anyhow she was singing something in strident tones. Dandin could just make out the words.

"I've sung this song, but I'll sing it again,

Of the people I've met and the places I've seen,

Of some of the troubles that bothered my mind,

And a lot of good people that I've left behind,

Saying:

So long, it's been good to know you,

So long, it's been good to know you,

So long, it's been good to know you.

What a long time since I've been home,

And I gotta be driftin' along."

Her voice faded away into the distance, impossible though that sounds, and Aureole caught at the sleeve of a handsome mouse who was just going past.

"Durante, these are Mariel and Dandin. They joined us last night."

Durante smiled, but his smile did not reach his eyes. His face registered admiration for Mariel and disdain for Dandin. "Very nice. I (haw!) assume that you'll be joining Rainoh!" He pronounced 'joining' like 'jorning'.

"They have," replied Aureole before either of the two could answer.

"Ah! Well, hope you'll be valuable assets!"

The stuffy young mouse moved away, and Dandin contented himself and his dislike of Durante by making awful grimaces behind the mouse's back. Mariel bit her lip, but Aureole made no attempt to hide her amusement.

"Thank goodness somebody's done that!" she exclaimed. "Durante is ever so, never so polite, as Susie says, but I can't stand him."

"I get that feelin', too," said Allen glancing up from his precious battle plans. "Too fastidious for my taste. Acts like he's just left the royal court."

"He probably has," Aureole laughed.

"Don't even joke about treachery, Aureole," said Lady Safire sharply. Aureole blushed.

No more was said on the subject.

*

"Well, what do you think of them?" inquired Aureole that evening.

"What do you mean?" asked Lady Safire. Laughing, she added: "You sound like you're boasting about prize specimens of something!"

"They are, in a way, wot?" Everyone turned to look at Laurie, this was most unexpected from her. She grinned back, quite unembarrassed. "Well, they are! Prize specimens of warriors. I can feel it. They're bloomin' ordinary, good-natured creatures, but there's somethin' uncanny about them. We've just been lyin' around, when Mordred and co. come up here, we have a couple of skirmishes, kick 'em out, and go back to sleep (metaphorically, o'course). These two, they'd chase 'em right out of Hartfar!"

Lady Safire nodded. "I agree, Laurie. They're like Skipper Allen, they're determined that when they start a job, they'll finish it!"

"Which is why – " Laurie began, but Aureole cut her off.

"This is a council of war, not matchmaking plan time. I agree, but just shut up for now, all right?"

Laurie shrugged. "If I must…"

"You must."

Again, Laurie shrugged. "Whatever."

"Though Mariel's a dashed pretty gel…" began Durante, but was silenced by an icy glare from Aureole.

"Now, let the games begin…" she said with a sly smile.