Disclaimer: Might try it in dribble this time. Here goes. Nalagan olagof thilagis belagelolagongs tolago melage, ilagits allagal Talagamelageys. Tolagofelagee, Solagophelagealaga Tlagat arlagar milagine. (Translation - none of this belongs to me it's all Tammy's. Toffee, Sophia and Tat are mine.)
A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, everybody! Who's Tat? I hear you ask , read on and find out!
Chapter three: Lessons, Tat, and … Delia?!?!?!
Alanna groaned, wondering why she felt so miserable, and then remembered where she was. The convent. The last place on earth she wanted to be. Wondering what had woken her, she sat up slightly, glancing around her new rooms. Maude came bustling in from one of the smaller doors, looking determinedly cheerful, and carrying a towel slung over one arm.
"Come now, Alanna, you need to bathe and dress so you won't be late for your lessons. Mithros you're dirty, child. Come on, or do you want a cold bath?"
Shuddering at the thought of having to endure a cold bath in her already freezing rooms, Alanna staggered out of bed, allowing Maude to lead her into the small bathroom.
She had just finished pulling on her most comfortable dress, and thoroughly drying her hair into a copper cloud, when someone knocked on the door. She stood up as Maude opened the door for the young priestess she had met last night - Sophia, the First Daughter had called her. She smiled slightly at Alanna, who stopped herself just short of grinning outright at the young priestess's friendly face, and smiled back.
"Lady Alanna, I am to take you down to the dining hall for breakfast and then to your first lesson after that. Are you ready?"
Alanna nodded, and the young woman beckoned silently for her to follow, and walked out the door. With a last glance at Maude, Alanna followed, taking care to keep close to her as they walked down the twisting stone corridors. They rounded a corner and Alanna stopped dead at the slight of dozens of girls and the odd group of boys sitting together in the hall.
"You might want to eat quickly, as there's not that much time left before the first lessons begin."
Alanna nodded silently in assent and walked over to the tables set up with food, selecting an apple and shoving a second in her pocket for later, before wandering over to a window seat, where she sat slumped, eating her apple and staring out at the iron grey sky. The bell rang, startling Alanna into dropping her apple core, and she quickly picked it up, glancing round for Sophia. Seeing her standing behind her, Alanna stifled a yelp of fright, biting her lip. Sophia said nothing, only grinned, and pointed to a bin where uneaten food and dirty dishes appeared to be put. Alanna took aim and threw the apple core into the centre, then blushed a Sophia raised an expressive eyebrow. "Come on, you'll be late. It's not a good way to start your time here, and especially since you have Priestess Clothilde for your first lesson."
Alanna wondered who Priestess Clothilde was, and then, shrugging, once again followed Sophia down the maze of stone corridors to a medium sized room filled with desks. A old, irritable looking priestess writing on a large sheet of paper tacked to the front wall of the room turned, frowning, as Sophia knocked on the door. Sophia gently pulled Alanna forward. "This is lady Alanna of Trebond, Priestess Clothilde. She is to join your class." Looking the priestess over, Alanna realised why Sophia had given her the impression it wasn't wise to annoy her. She looked willing to dole out all sorts of horrible punishments to anyone who did.
Priestess Clothilde sniffed, looking at Alanna disapprovingly. Then she said, "In this class, we study reading and writing, and the way in which they relate to etiquette. You may sit between lady Tatiana and lady Delia." She gestured impatiently with her hand towards two girls who were sitting as far away from each other as the desk would allow.
As she sat down, the priestess turned back to her paper, and the girl on the right looked down her pert little nose at her, and said, "I am lady Delia of Eldorne. " her superior tone of voice irritated Alanna, and did not invite further conversation. A tap on her shoulder made her turn her head toward the girl on her left, a medium height girl with unruly white blond hair and sparkling grey-green eyes. She held out a hand. "Tatiana of Eagles Reach. Most people call me Tat, though. Pleased to meet you, Alanna." This time Alanna couldn't restrain herself. She grinned, and shook the girl's hand. "Pleased to meet you too. Is she always like that?" Alanna tossed her fiery head towards Delia. Tat grinned and whispered, "Who, lady Delia? Of course. She seems to think it's her job to be nasty to people younger than her. Don't worry about it. She -"
"Lady Tatiana, lady Alanna, stop chattering and get on with your work!"
Reaching for her quill, Tat muttered to a bewildered looking Alanna, "We're studying the rudimentaries of invitation writing today. What fun."
Alanna smiled her thanks, pulling the textbook Priestess Clothilde had dumped in front her over and receiving whispered help from Tat whenever she had trouble understanding something. When the bell finally rang, she scooped up her books just before Tat grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the room. "I thought that lesson would never end! I don't suppose you know where the next lesson is, do you?"
"No, I wouldn't have a clue."
"I suppose I better show you around then. Otherwise you might end up being shown around by Delia and her clones." Tat grimaced. "Not nice. I had to do that when I first came here and since I like you, I'll spare you the experience. Next class is needlework with priestess Katerina. She's not too bad, considering. A bit strict, but she's fair. She also takes the gifted for magic."
Tat continued to supply Alanna with interesting bits and pieces of information throughout the day, and by the end of the last lesson, (riding - by far Alanna's favourite, although she had to ride side saddle instead of the way she'd always done it, like a boy,) they had discovered that they had quite a lot in common.
Well, thought Alanna as she stripped of her dress and changed into a nightgown, today wasn't a complete disaster. At least I made a friend.
