Spring had sprung. Flowers were blossoming, birds were singing, and there
were so many couples sucking face around the palace that Willow found herself
constantly nauseous. Even Ariel and Mel had the fever. Willow had lost count the
numbers of times she had knocked on Anthony's door, and on not receiving an
answer, walked in to find Ariel and Anthony in bed together, and certainly not
just sleeping. She was surprised she wasn't scarred for life. The only person
who seemed to be mildly reasonable was Matthew, and so Willow found herself
spending practically every minute of every day with him. They had even begun to
sleep over at each other's places on occasion. Willow loved Matthew's small
apartment - it was cluttered with stacks of books and papers, empty teacups and
half-eaten pieces of buttered bread. Despite a slight stench that radiated from
the kitchen, it was one of the most wonderful places Willow had ever been, and
she was always loathe to leave when it became late, or she had run out of clean
clothes, and he had run out of soap. She felt more comfortable lounging on his
couch reading Bazhir philosophy while he attempted to fix an edible dinner than
she did anywhere else in Corus.
Staying at Matthew's also offered a refuge from the spring fever that was spreading rapidly through the palace. Willow and Matthew seemed to be the only two who hadn't been struck by it, although now whenever they went out people seemed to be asking how long they had been dating, and once even if they were engaged. The situations were always uncomfortable for Willow, because she knew she felt something for Matthew, and she was almost positive that Matthew felt something for her. But they would never do anything about it - Willow wouldn't let that happen. She refused to mess up the best friendship she'd ever had.
It was an average spring day, and Willow had spent the last 3 nights at Matthew's, sleeping soundly on his couch. It was now the late morning, and Willow was indulging in a decidedly girly activity - sunbathing. She had been laying out on there dozing for several hours when in the back of her mind she thought she heard someone knock on Matthew's door. She shifted slightly, ignoring the sound. It must have been Matthew knocking over a book. However, moments later her peace was shattered.
Ariel shoved Willow. Not hard, just enough to make her chair teeter. Willow yelped and stood up quickly.
"Ariel!" She exclaimed. The redhead giggled mischievously, making Willow wonder if she really *was* a little nymph sent from the other realm.
"Willow!" Ariel replied, mocking her. Willow shot her a cynical look and rolled her shirt back down over her flat, slightly tanned stomach.
"What do you want, Ari?" Willow asked, giving in.
"Come with me to Lower Corus." Ariel demanded.
"Why?"
"Because Anthony's an outhouse and won't." Willow blinked, ignoring the comparison, and slipped her feet into a pair of worn leather sandals.
"Yeah, sure." Willow replied, and Ariel linked their arms, practically dragging the girl away. Willow gave a strangled laugh, waving to a bewildered Matthew as she was taken from the apartment.
Ariel and Willow walked the 30 minutes down to a little cornershop in Lower Corus. Ariel let them both in, and Willow found herself in a very strange store. It was composed of two rooms, and the back one had a pad on a frame in it and nothing else, looking like someone must sleep there. A relatively young man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, sat on a stool in the first room, reading a thick volume. Ariel cleared her throat, shifting her weight from her toes to her heels, and waited for the man to acknowledge them. After several moments, a pointed nose and owlish eyes appeared from behind the book, and blinked at them.
"Hi." Ariel said. The man closed the book, tossing it to the ground.
"Hello." The man replied, using a long finger to push his spectacles back up on his nose.
"I'd like my belly button done. It's 40, right?" Ariel said. Willow arched an eyebrow - what on earth was this crazy child going to have done to her belly button? She wondered. The man nodded, tucking his neatly combed hair behind his ears and pushing up his glasses once again. Standing up, he walked over to a dusty cabinet on the other side of the room, and Willow watched him pull out a metal tray and a small basin.
"Come to the back, please." Ariel smiled brightly at Willow and skipped off to the back room with the man, who shut the door as soon as she was inside. Willow stared at the door, horribly confused. What in gods' name was going on behind that door? What was in that metal tray? And what did Ariel want done to her body, exactly? All of Willow's questions were answered a few short minutes later. Ariel and the man reappeared from behind the door. Ariel's face was glowing, and her hands were fidgeting with the hem of her royal purple shirt. Although Ariel was constantly moving, she rarely fidgeting, and Willow was curious as to what had been done to her navel to make her do so. Ariel plopped down the payment in the man's large, surprisingly smooth hands, and grinned contentedly at Willow.
"Okay, let's go home now." Willow smirked, cocking an eyebrow.
"You drag me down here and I don't even get to see what you did to your poor defenseless navel?" She questioned her cousin. Ariel giggled and lifted her shirt up a few inches, displaying her belly button to Willow. The surrounding skin was red, looking somewhat traumatized. Hanging from the small flap of skin above her navel was a silver ring, shut tight by a small purple bead. Willow blinked - they had body piecing in ancient times too? I suppose it makes sense.. She thought to herself, remembering the many lessons she'd sat through about the ritualistic piercing that occurred in many of the nomadic tribes that used to exist in the Eastern Lands. Some cultures, no matter when they existed, would always take rituals that had true meaning and turn them into a pop culture fad, and Willow realized that Tortall, whether it was ancient or modern, was no exception. She grinned, watching Ariel stare at her belly button, beaming.
"You should get yours done, Willow!" Ariel exclaimed, looking at her. Willow laughed and shook her head. Getting her ears done had been bad enough! She refused to lay down on that itchy looking pad while someone shoved a needle through her navel. It had never done anything to her, she saw no reason to punish it. She lead her cousin out of the store.
"No way, Ariel. My navel's happy being free of puncture wounds and steel." Willow said as they began to walk back to Upper Corus, Ariel limping every few steps, still adjusting to the new body ornament.
"I bet Maaaaaathew'd like it.." Ariel giggled, teasing Willow. Willow rolled her eyes at her cousin.
"Maaaaathew doesn't see anything even remotely interesting in my belly button, I doubt he'd care if I got it pierced or not. And besides, he's never even seen it." Ariel scoffed.
"Yeah, right! You sleep over at his house all the time! I know what happens when teenagers sleep over!" She replied. Willow laughed slightly.
"I sleep on the couch, Ari. Besides, you and Anth were keeping me up all night!" Ariel gave Willow an innocent look.
"Whatever are you talking about, dearest cousin?" She quipped, batting her eyelashes. Willow couldn't help but giggle as she answered.
"I'm talking about the grunting and the moaning and the fact the walls shake!" She exclaimed. "It kept me up all night and I thought I was going to go crazy! So now I sleep here, where there is silence, and peace, and sturdy walls." She said in a mockingly stern voice. Ariel feigned a yawn.
"How boring. I'll take my shaking walls over sleeping on his ratty-tatty couch any day, thank you very much." She replied. After a moment, Ariel looked back over. "But.. you do like him, don't you, Will?" Willow groaned inwardly: the dreaded question. Taking in a slow breath, she collected her thoughts, mapping out her sentences carefully. The last thing Willow wanted to do was send the wrong impression about a topic as sensitive as her friendship and feelings towards Matthew. Willow knew very well that gossip and rumours spread like wildfire, and Ariel was no stranger to starting them. Even in good fun, it could be damaging to someone as sensitive and, at times, gullible as Matthew was.
"Well," Willow began. She didn't get another word out before Ariel squeaked, hopping up and down like a bunny rabbit.
"I knew you liked him!" Ariel squeaked.
"Hey!" Willow protested. "You didn't even give me a chance to explain!" Ariel scoffed.
"It was obvious what you were going to say, Willow! You like him, there's no denying it. So say it already!" Willow was beginning to feel cross.
"I would," she snapped. "If you'd just give me a chance!" The moment the words flew from her mouth she regretted them. Ariel's lips formed into that dreaded shape, the shape that was used by the mouth muscles to make one sound, and one sound only.
"Awwww.." She said, sounding as if she was looking at a newborn puppy. Willow wished she had a dagger on her.
"Oh, shut it, Ariel." Willow said, scowling deeply. Ariel, sensing that her cousin was no longer joking around with her, quieted. She put her hand on Willow's forearm gently.
"Calm down, Will. I just wanted to know." Willow rolled her eyes, still unhappy.
"Yeah. And then by tomorrow, the entire country will know. Including Matthew." She sighed, running a hand through her blood red hair.
"I won't say anything if you don't want me to.." Ariel offered quietly. Willow looked over at her. She seems sincere, Willow thought to herself. And I've always trusted her with everything in the past, and nothing horrible has ever happened. Willow managed a small smile.
"Yeah. Thanks." She told Ariel. After a few moments, she added, "It's not as if I'm going to do anything about it. He's one of the closest friends I've ever had. I refuse to mess that bond up by bringing in a dimension that neither of us seem really ready for." She saw Ariel's nose twitch, meaning she had something to say about that. Willow noticed that Ariel's nose twitched a lot. She, however, stayed silent. As they moved from the dirt and hay roads of Lower Corus to the cobble stone ones of Upper Corus, Ariel took another peak at her belly button, grinning.
"Anth's gonna love this." She commented.
"Why's Anth going to love it?" Willow questioned, genuinely curious. Ariel giggled madly, blushing slightly.
"Well..it's like this. He's got this thing, when we're in bed together. He thinks my stomach is the neatest thing ever. So he kisses it a lot and stuff. And I know once he sees this, he'll want to incorporate it, somehow." Ariel explained. Willow's eyes widened slightly, realizing what Ariel had meant when she said that Anth was going to love it.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, turning slightly pink herself. Ariel giggled.
"Yeah. Y'know, it's all the sexy stuff that a little innocent girl like yourself wouldn't know about." Ariel explained, making perfect sense in her own little Ariel way. Willow laughed gently.
"Yeah, all that sexy stuff. Nooo thank you!" She replied. The two girls, once again bubbly and happy, turned onto the small sideroad that lead to the boarding house where Matthew lived. Willow smiled as she studied the outside of the Royal Library, which was easily visible from where it stood, only a few blocks away. The place was so beautiful, it was easily her favourite place in the entire city, no matter what time she was living in. Ariel and Willow darted up the three flights of stairs to Matthew's floor, and Willow pulled out the extra key that Matthew had given her a few weeks earlier. Letting them in, she found a scrawled note from Matthew sitting on top of a sandwich he had made himself yesterday and never gotten around to eating. It was now sitting on top of a volume of Tyran mythology, slowly gaining mold and a slightly unpleasant stench.
"For such a smart person, he lives horribly." Ariel commented, picking up the note cautiously. She read it aloud. "Will. Burke. Four-forty-two. Ten." Ariel blinked pointedly at the note and looked up at Willow. "You have your own language?" Willow laughed, plucking the note from Ariel's hands.
"No, we don't have our own language. Will - short for my name, of course. Burke is the philosopher he's been studying for the past few months, so that's why he's gone - he's found something out about him and needs to verify it, or something along those lines. If I'm interested in knowing what he does - which I'm most certainly am, by the by - I should look in Volume IV, page forty two. And he'll be home around ten, if I'm lucky." Willow explained the note to Ariel, and then dropped it back on top of the sandwich, heading into the kitchen area to raid the icebox. Ariel stood there the entire time Willow made herself a plate of leftovers, gaping at her cousin. Ariel would have probably continued to stand there staring if Willow had not put cold chicken on the plate, which just happened to be Ariel's favourite food. Squeaking and giving a little hop, Ariel bounced into the kitchen.
"Ooh, can I have a piece, Willy-Nilly?" Ariel cooed, making doe eyes at her cousin. Willow giggled and shoved the plate over towards Ariel, offering up the chicken. With another squeak and a quick shaking of her fingers, Ariel dug it, slurping up the thin strips of chicken quickly. "I don't believe you knew what that note said!" Ariel exclaimed after swallowing a surprisingly large amount of chicken. Willow laughed, taking a seat on the counter and beginning to eat as well.
"I've gotten used to his notes, they really aren't that hard to read anymore." Willow explained. Ariel rolled her eyes, grinning as she stole a grape.
"Whatever you say, Will. With communication with that, it's gotta be love." Willow made a face at her cousin. Ariel giggled. "Shush. It's my job as family to tease the living lights out of you." Willow giggled, knowing she couldn't argue with that. The two stopped the conversation, allowing themselves proper time to eat the food Willow had prepared.
After several more silly conversations and almost an entire chicken, Ariel bid Willow goodnight and bounced home to show Anthony her latest addition to her body. Willow, feeling slightly nauseous, made her way around the apartment, collecting the old and sometimes decaying food in a large parcel bag. After she finished, she closed the bulging back off with a piece of string, and tossed it out the window in a large dumpster set up to collect unwanted remnants. Wading knee-deep into Matthew's work area, Willow managed to recover the fourth volume of Burke he had mentioned in his note, and curled up on the couch, reading intently from page forty-two on. Willow sat reading for a long time, finally checking her watch at page one hundred and eighteen. The dull silver watch showed the time to be 11:37, and Matthew was still gone. Yawning, Willow marked her page and closed the book, carefully balancing it on top of a wobbling stack of papers and ancient tomes. Stripping down, she pulled on a heavily worn pair of breeches and an oversized shirt, the two most comfortable articles of clothing she owned. Running her hand through her hair as a substitute to a proper brushing, Willow curled up on the couch, pulling a thin blanket over her, and fell asleep quickly.
~*~
Willow was under the impression that the month of June was going to pass peacefully. Of course, her dreams were shattered by the first week, when she learned that Ariel and Mel both had final exams. Willow watched with vague interest as Ariel shot arrow after arrow into a bullseye in the practice yard. She had been out here for the past two hours watching, and since then Ariel had managed to split at least 40 arrows in half. The girl's talent and training in the area was obvious in every move she made with the bow, the way her muscles tensed and relaxed, the way she loaded her arrows. After Ariel split her forty-first arrow, Willow hopped down from her seat on the fence.
"How long have you been training with a bow?" Willow questioned, watching as Ariel twirled an arrow through her fingers idly. Ariel laughed slightly.
"Oh, practically forever. Ever since I've been tall enough to hold a bow." Willow whistled, low and long. Now that was impressive.
"Is Anth really good at archery, too?" Willow said. She figured it would make sense - why would Ariel want to be squire to someone who wouldn't be able to further her talent? Other than the fact they were head over heels for each other, of course. Ariel giggled madly.
"Anth? Good at archery? He'd sooner eat cow dung than hit the bullseye twice in a row." Ariel explained with a smirk, haphazardly loading her bow and firing it off. Willow's mouth opened slightly as she watched it imbed deeply in the innermost ring of the target. She hadn't even been looking! Ariel grinned, stretching her arms and legs.
"Like I said, I've been training forever." Ariel told her. Willow closed her mouth, grinning.
"I'm going to go watch Mel fence for awhile, okay?" Willow told her cousin. Ariel nodded,
"Alright. I'll be out here for awhile, and then I have to practice fencing too," she said with a sigh. "Fencing can bite my bum, stupid skill," Willow heard Ariel mutter as she walked over to where Mel was involved in a rather intense match with a large opponent, obviously a man. At first Willow thought it was Ian, but as she neared the perrying pair, it became obvious that it wasn't. Although this man had the same lean but muscular build as Ian, his movements were far more graceful. The two seemed as if they were dancing, not dueling. Mel thrust forward, her wrist flicking up violently, and the man countered, flicking his own wrist downwards, forcing the point of her sabre towards the ground. Willow thought the man had Mel in a tough spot - her entire midsection was open, even Willow's untrained eye could see that. Willow waited for the man to thrust forward and disarm Mel, thus winning the match. The man lunged, his own sabre right on target. As the majority of his weight switched from his right foot to his left, Mel pulled her arms and sword close against her body and spun herself away from the attack. The man stumbled forward, trying to regain his stance. Mel's sabre flicked out from it's hiding place behind her arms at the man's hand, prepared to disarm him. The man had regained his balance, for the most part, and managed a weak counter. Not sparing a moment, Willow watched as Mel tossed her sword from her left hand to her right, and with an intricate twist with her right wrist, the man's sword dropped to the ground, creating a small cloud of dust as it hit the dry soil. Mel grinned, running a hand over her forehead and through her hair. The few pieces of hair that had fallen loose from their tight bun were coated by the large beads of sweat sitting on Mel's forehead. The sweat wet them and held them away from her face when they were pushed back. Grinning, Mel sheathed her own sabre and with a slide and flick of her foot, sent the man's sword up into the air. She grabbed it by the hilt, and handed it back to him. The man laughed, tossing his own shaggy, sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes and accepted the weapon.
"Nice match," Mel said, sounding only slightly out of breath. The man nodded, shaking her hand.
"You too," he replied. "Tomorrow, same time?" Mel laughed, nodding her head,
"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Benny." The man, who apparently answered to Benny, nodded and grabbed a satchel hanging on one of the fence posts. Slinging it over his shoulder, Willow watched the man walk away, grace apparent in each step. His shaggy ash brown hair waved slightly in the wind that his quick pace created. Willow looked over, noticing Mel was watching her.
"That's Benny." Mel said, as if that would explain everything to Willow. Willow blinked at Mel. "He's a court regular, a fencing tutor of sorts," Mel continued. Willow nodded, understanding only slightly more.
"You're not being helped by him, are you?" She questioned innocently. Mel's reply was a long, loud laugh that made Willow's cheeks burn profusely and turn bright red. Recovering slightly, Mel giggled,
"Goddess, no! We're friends, and we spar together every day. I'm much more skilled than he is, though." She said, a giggle still escaping occasionally.
"Oh! Well, that makes much more sense!" Willow exclaimed, laughing a bit herself. Mel grinned and picked her up her things, shrugging a pack onto her shoulder.
"Aribelle should be down here any moment. I have to go up and work on my archery, the wretched sport that it is," Mel said, and began the trek to the other side of the training grounds, which were as long as almost twenty football fields and nearly as wide.
Willow spent the rest of her day walking back and forth with Mel and Ariel, watching as they practice hour upon hour, making sure they would display their best effort in every area that they would be graded on. After a full 12 hours of practice, with the edges of the sky beginning to fade from blue to orange, it looked to Willow that the two girls were finally packing it in for the night. At least, that's what it seemed like at first. After a brief stretch and rest, Willow watched as Ariel took up what appeared to be a mutant form of a foil. Seeing Willow's confusion, Ariel grinned down at her weapon.
"I know, it's strange. The knight program stopped teaching with tradition foils a long time ago, because they don't mimic what a real sword would be like. So now we have these if we choose foil," she explained, waving her sword gently in the air. It looked like a strange combination of all three swords. The guard was on the large side, like that of an epée. The blade, however, was slightly more pliable - although not nearly as much as that of a foil - and slight thicker, a lean version of a sabre. A well-sharpened steel point glinted at the end, showing that if Ariel got the better of her opponent, they would most certainly know it. Willow watched with great interest as Mel practiced a few one sided thrusts and perries, while Ariel carefully bent her sword back and forth, bowing it for a few moments and then releasing it, watching with satisfaction as it snapped back, wobbling slightly from side to side.
"Keeping it pliable helps me use it, because it pulls more on my archery techniques," Ariel told Willow, before going down into a quad stretch. A few moments later, the girls appeared ready. They each took their stances, and with a slight nod of Mel's head, they began. They circled each other slowly, Mel faking a move a few times. Each time, Ariel began to move to a counter, leaving crucial areas of her torso open. It was obvious she wasn't a born fencer. Finally, after several minutes, the real attacks started. Anxious, Ariel moved to the offensive, thrusting forward several times. Willow watched as Mel countered easily, a look of what seemed to be annoyance on her face. Willow saw the source of her annoyance moments later, when she tried to force Ariel's point the ground. Ariel's sword bowed under the weight, but her hand never moved. Mel growled and finally stepped back, going back on the defensive. They moved back and forth, and Willow noted that although Ariel was on the offensive, she was giving up more ground than Mel. Finally, Mel saw her opening, and in a split second her sabre was in her left hand and pushing Ariel back quickly, and then back in her right hand, and then in her left again. Each time she performed some complicated move, although when Mel did it, it looked like a walk in the park. Mel spun and landed in Ariel's blind spot. Before Ariel could even finish raising her sword to counter, it was on the ground. Ariel grinned, picking up her sword with her foot, as Mel had done to Benny's earlier. The two shook hands.
"Nice job, Aribelle. You're getting better," Mel commented. Ariel grinned wickedly.
"Yeah yeah, whatever Mel. But, c'mon, let's go to my turf now," she replied, putting her sword away. Mel laughed and the two headed over to where a clean target was set up for arching. Ariel stretched her arms briefly and then rubbed something similar to wax on her hands and her bowstring, and Mel did the same. Ariel looked over at Mel, grinning like a madwoman.
"Ladies first, Melly," she told her friend. Mel rolled her eyes and then took her stance, studying the target for several moments before loosing her arrow. It flew straight, hitting the line separating the innermost circle and the middle one.
"Not bad," Ariel commented, and loosed her own arrow. It imbedded dead center in the bullseye.
"I hate you, Aribelle," Mel replied as she loosed her second arrow. It wobbled slightly on it's trip, landing in the center of the middle ring. Ariel grinned ruthlessly and shot again. Her second arrow landing in the bullseye, splitting her first one down the center. Ariel opened her mouth to remark on her talent, but Mel cut in.
"Oh, don't even start. I know I suck." She loosed her third arrow, grinning happily as it imbedded firmly in the center of the inner circle.
"You don't suck, Mel," Ariel paused, letting her third arrow fly. It split the second one. "You're just not perfect, like me." Before Mel could even let off her fourth arrow, Ariel had reloaded and taken the opportunity to split the arrow Mel had shot into the middle circle. She reloaded again as Mel scowled, fumbling with her bow. Ariel giggled,
"Never give up the sword, Mel." Ariel suggested. Mel hissed, although Willow knew it was all in good fun, and that there were no true hard feelings between the girls. What Ariel said next, though, was enough to cause Willow to lose her balance and fall off the fence.
"Willow should shoot for you." Thud.
After standing up, Willow emitted several high pitched sounds that a person could have interpreted as either a weasel call or a rather angry finch screaming at its nesting children. Ariel smirked slightly, while Mel stood dumbfounded. Finally, Willow found her voice, although it was much high than normal.
"I don't shoot things!" She squeaked out. Ariel drug the protesting girl over to where Mel stood, giggling. Taking Mel's bow from her, she loaded it and place it in Willow's hands.
"Shoot."
"What?!"
"Shoot it!"
"No!"
"Now!" The arrow whizzed from the bow, landing on the outermost ring. Willow blinked, looking dumbly down at the empty bow in her hands. She had just shot that? And done it right? She had done something athletic right? It was practically enough to make the poor girl faint. Ariel was clapping, jumping up and down.
"See, I told you that you could do it!" She exclaimed, beaming. Mel laughed at Ariel, smiling warmly at Willow.
"Nice job, Will," she told her. Willow nodded, grinning, and handed Mel's bow back over to her. Ariel and Mel finished their practice competition, Ariel winning of course, and the three trekked back to the palace for a late dinner.
~*~
The end of June brought a second surprise into Willow's life. She had been sleeping in for once when there was a gentle knock on the door. Groaning, she rolled onto her back.
"Ari?" Willow croaked, hoping her cousin would get the door. Ariel didn't respond, and there was no sound from Anthony's room indicating the girl had even heard her. Sighing, Willow rolled out of bed, shoving her hair out her face. Rubbing her eyes with one hand, Willow opened the door to find Summer, beaming bright as the sun, standing there.
"Willow!" Summer exclaimed, hugging her tightly. Willow blinked, surprised. What had her so happy?
"Um, come in.." Willow replied, stepping aside to let the girl in. Summer bounced in.
"Where's Ariel?" She asked, looking around the room excitedly. Willow laughed,
"She's probably still asleep. Lemme go wake her up," She replied, and let herself through the door that connected Ariel and Anthony's room to Willow's. Sure enough, Ariel was sleeping soundly, curled up close to Anthony, who was snoring lightly. Willow walked over and poked Ariel in the shoulder. Ariel groaned, batting gently at Willow's hands like a kitten. Giggling, Willow poked her again. Ariel opened one eye, looking cross.
"Leave." Ariel growled, sounding even more like a kitten than before.
"I can't! Summer wants to see you. She's in my room." Willow said, watching as Ariel carefully extracted herself from Anthony's arms and slipped his shirt over her head - she had been wearing nothing moments earlier. Ariel and Willow padded back into the other room, where Summer was still bouncing around the room with excitement. The moment she saw her sister, Summer enveloped her in a gigantic hug, similar to the one she had given Willow minutes before. Ariel squeaked,
"Summer! What happened?" She asked, struggling slightly in the tight grip. Summer grinned broadly, her entire face was glowing. There was something different about the way she carried herself, but Willow couldn't put her finger on it.
"Ariel, Willow, you're never going to believe what good news I have!" Ariel giggled, sitting down on the bed.
"Well, we certainly aren't if you're not going to tell us!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down slightly on the bed, kicking her heels against the frame. Summer bounced,
"I'm pregnant!" She exclaimed. Willow gasped - that was it! She had a maternal glow around her, that was what was different! Willow and Ariel bombarded the girl with hugs.
"Congratulations!" Willow said.
"That's so cute!" Ariel told her sister. Summer grinned and giggled, hugging the two girls back.
"I just found out yesterday afternoon," she explained. "I had missed my cycle this month, and I went to the healers. They did whatever it is they do, and told me I was pregnant! Probably almost a full month and a half." Summer smiled gently down at her abdomen, running her hand over it carefully. "I can't wait.." She said softly. Ariel smiled brightly,
"You're going to let us help pick out names, right? Have you written Mama and Papa? You told Tomas, right?" Ariel attacked the poor girl with questions, poking her in the side, demanding an answer. Summer laughed,
"Ariel, lay off the sweets! Yes, I'm going to have you help me pick out names, yes I've written Mama and Papa, and of course I told Tomas!" Summer exclaimed. Willow smiled, watching the two girls. She was glad to be included in a family like this one.
The three girls continued to talk, briefly discussing married life and babies names and anything else they could think of. Finally, Summer left, saying she had to meet Tomas at the training grounds. Ariel downed a sleeping elixir and crawled back into bed with Anthony, who was still sound asleep. Willow decided to go over to Matthew's apartment. She remembered him mentioned a few weeks ago that his Uncle Frederick and Aunt Aliciane were going to be in Corus - they lived in the Yamani Isles - and Willow had wanted to meet them. Showering and dressing, she walked the short trip over to his boarding home.
As she neared the hallway that lead to Matthew's suite, Willow heard faint screaming. As she walked closer to his room, it got louder. Listening, Willow realized the screaming was coming from Matthew's suite. It wasn't really screaming, though, for it wasn't a woman. Rather, a man with a deep, booming voice was bellowing. He sounded frightening, and Willow debated whether or not she should come back at another time. Curiosity killed the cat, Willow reminded herself. However, she found her hand on his doorknob, unlocking the lock as quietly as she could. Poking her head in, she found a very interesting scene before her.
His apartment was spotless - all his manuscripts and books were neatly put away in the several giant bookcases that lined the walls of the main room. His trash had been collected and bagged, presumably thrown out into the dumpster. His flatware and dishes had been washed and dried, and now sat sparkling behind the glass doors of a cabinet Willow had never noticed before. The entire place had been dusted and washed down. The oak gleamed richly with cleanliness. The culprit of this mass cleaning appeared to be a young, pale woman. She drifted through the rooms, her silver-blonde hair wafted behind her in the slight breeze her movement made. Pale hands ran over the objects in each room, making sure everything was in place. For a moment, she turned, and Willow was amazed by the colour of her eyes. They were silvery, almost the colour of the moonlight, and entrancing. They had a sad, longing look in them, as if she was a prisoner desperately wanting to escape, but with no knowledge how to. That must be Aliciane, Willow thought to herself after a moment. She looks so young..
Changing her focus, Willow looked over to what she assumed to be Matthew's Uncle Frederick. He couldn't have looked more different from Aliciane. First of all, he was huge: barrel-chested and well over six feet tall. A proud shock of thick chestnut hair crowned his face, and a closely cropped beard and mustache of the same colour framed his lips and chin. Auburn eyes blazed under dark bushy eyebrows. His enormous figure was swathed in obviously rich clothing: his hands displayed several silver and gold rings in large, knotty patterns, and a gold chain hung around his neck. He was standing with his legs spread apart, bellowing so loudly that his face was beginning to turn red. The muscles in his neck were taught, and Willow could see each one flex and twitch individually.
Looking down at the couch, where Frederick's eyes were focused, Willow found Matthew. He was slouched over, looking down, his head in his hands. Against his wraith-like aunt and bullish uncle, he looked horribly out of place. Willow looked between Matthew and Frederick, listening to the words he was bellowing for the first time.
"...a complete weakling! You spend day after day after day doing what, Matthew? Reading! For Mithros' sake, that's not a career! You're a disgrace to the entire family! What's gotten into your screwed up little mind? You're twenty-two years old, you should be looking for a wife, a home, a place in the world! Not the meaning of life!" Frederick screamed at Matthew. Willow felt her heart ache - why did Matthew have to be the scapegoat of the family? He didn't deserve this. Willow watched intently as Matthew raised his face from his hands to respond to his uncle. Frederick's arm, its thick muscles pulling the material of his sleeve taut, raised threateningly above his head. Goddess, no, Willow thought. Don't let him hit Matthew, he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment.
The hand came down at an alarmingly speed, connecting squarely his Matthew's cheek. The stinging sound of flesh on flesh resonated through the air, followed by a thud as the force of the blow threw Matthew to the ground. Willow choked back a cry, and the overwhelming urge to run in there and help him. Frederick turned, his eyes darting along the walls.
"Aliciane!" He bellowed. Aliciane skittered into the room, allowing her husband to place the large arm around her shoulders. Willow saw them walking towards the door, and pressed herself up against the wall, praying they wouldn't notice. Luckily, the two walked right past her, not even noticing that the door had been ajar. Willow wondered momentarily if, with a neck as thick as Frederick's, he could move his head from side to side, or if the girth damned him with terminal tunnel vision.
Walking in quietly, she found Matthew lying on his back, still on the floor. She knelt down next to him, not saying anything. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fall gently, almost as if he were a sleep. The muscles on his face twitched occasionally, still reacting to the blow. The entire left side of his face was steadily growing a malted blue-black colour, speckled with areas of scarlet. Willow touched his unharmed cheek gently, brushing her fingertips across it. Matthew flinched, still not opening his eyes.
"Aunt Aliciane?" He asked quietly, almost timidly. He sounded like a child. Willow took a more permanent seat on the floor.
"No," she replied softly, her tone soothing. "It's me, Matthew." She watched the corners of Matthew's mouth twitch slightly, debating whether or not he should smile. Finally, he opened his eyes, looking up at her.
"Willow.." He began, and winced. Willow stood up, offering her hands to him. He took them gratefully, and with her help, stood up.
"Sit down," she told him sternly. He obliged, collapsing back against his couch. Willow sat down next to him, studying his face with worry.
"How long have you been here?" Matthew asked, looking at her. Willow looked away - she couldn't bear seeing what Frederick had done to his face.
"I came because you mentioned your aunt and uncle were here, and I had wanted to meet them. When I walked in, Frederick was screaming about how you were a disgrace and needed a face, and then he slapped you." She explained, glancing up at him several times but always looking back down. She heard him sigh deeply.
"I hate him. Father sends him to see me anyway, he thinks it's good for me." Willow scowled,
"Why don't you tell your father what he does to you? He wouldn't still send him then, would he?" Matthew shrugged slightly,
"I don't know if he would or not." He didn't seem to want to answer her question any further than that. After several moments of silence, Matthew sighed again. "Maybe he's right." He said, his voice emotionless. Willow blinked,
"What?"
"Maybe he's right," Matthew repeated. "Maybe I shouldn't be running around looking for some kind of enlightenment through all these books. Maybe I should put on a nice shirt and start going to the balls, clean myself up, find myself a wife. Maybe I should settle down, and stop being the black sheep of the Naxen brood." Willow hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. Instead, she carefully rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist in an awkward hug.
"You know you wouldn't be happy like that. You're happy as the black sheep. You have friends as the black sheep. Come on now, black sheep pride." She told him, surprisingly serious. Matthew laughed and winced as his assaulted muscles protested, looking down at her.
"I think you've been hanging around Ariel too much." He told her, still smiling best as he could. Willow giggled,
"I think I have too," she replied. Looking up at him, she flinched slightly. His left eye was almost completely closed by the swelling, now. "Is there anything you can do to help that?" She questioned, reaching out to touch the left side of his face and then stopping herself. Matthew nodded,
"Oh, of course. I'll put some bruise balm on it and go to sleep with a bit of ice on my face, and I'll be good as new in the morning." He explained. She smiled,
"Good."
Matthew and Willow sat together on the couch for a long time. Finally, overcome by the sleep she had lost earlier in the day, Willow drifted off, her head still laying on Matthew's chest.
Staying at Matthew's also offered a refuge from the spring fever that was spreading rapidly through the palace. Willow and Matthew seemed to be the only two who hadn't been struck by it, although now whenever they went out people seemed to be asking how long they had been dating, and once even if they were engaged. The situations were always uncomfortable for Willow, because she knew she felt something for Matthew, and she was almost positive that Matthew felt something for her. But they would never do anything about it - Willow wouldn't let that happen. She refused to mess up the best friendship she'd ever had.
It was an average spring day, and Willow had spent the last 3 nights at Matthew's, sleeping soundly on his couch. It was now the late morning, and Willow was indulging in a decidedly girly activity - sunbathing. She had been laying out on there dozing for several hours when in the back of her mind she thought she heard someone knock on Matthew's door. She shifted slightly, ignoring the sound. It must have been Matthew knocking over a book. However, moments later her peace was shattered.
Ariel shoved Willow. Not hard, just enough to make her chair teeter. Willow yelped and stood up quickly.
"Ariel!" She exclaimed. The redhead giggled mischievously, making Willow wonder if she really *was* a little nymph sent from the other realm.
"Willow!" Ariel replied, mocking her. Willow shot her a cynical look and rolled her shirt back down over her flat, slightly tanned stomach.
"What do you want, Ari?" Willow asked, giving in.
"Come with me to Lower Corus." Ariel demanded.
"Why?"
"Because Anthony's an outhouse and won't." Willow blinked, ignoring the comparison, and slipped her feet into a pair of worn leather sandals.
"Yeah, sure." Willow replied, and Ariel linked their arms, practically dragging the girl away. Willow gave a strangled laugh, waving to a bewildered Matthew as she was taken from the apartment.
Ariel and Willow walked the 30 minutes down to a little cornershop in Lower Corus. Ariel let them both in, and Willow found herself in a very strange store. It was composed of two rooms, and the back one had a pad on a frame in it and nothing else, looking like someone must sleep there. A relatively young man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, sat on a stool in the first room, reading a thick volume. Ariel cleared her throat, shifting her weight from her toes to her heels, and waited for the man to acknowledge them. After several moments, a pointed nose and owlish eyes appeared from behind the book, and blinked at them.
"Hi." Ariel said. The man closed the book, tossing it to the ground.
"Hello." The man replied, using a long finger to push his spectacles back up on his nose.
"I'd like my belly button done. It's 40, right?" Ariel said. Willow arched an eyebrow - what on earth was this crazy child going to have done to her belly button? She wondered. The man nodded, tucking his neatly combed hair behind his ears and pushing up his glasses once again. Standing up, he walked over to a dusty cabinet on the other side of the room, and Willow watched him pull out a metal tray and a small basin.
"Come to the back, please." Ariel smiled brightly at Willow and skipped off to the back room with the man, who shut the door as soon as she was inside. Willow stared at the door, horribly confused. What in gods' name was going on behind that door? What was in that metal tray? And what did Ariel want done to her body, exactly? All of Willow's questions were answered a few short minutes later. Ariel and the man reappeared from behind the door. Ariel's face was glowing, and her hands were fidgeting with the hem of her royal purple shirt. Although Ariel was constantly moving, she rarely fidgeting, and Willow was curious as to what had been done to her navel to make her do so. Ariel plopped down the payment in the man's large, surprisingly smooth hands, and grinned contentedly at Willow.
"Okay, let's go home now." Willow smirked, cocking an eyebrow.
"You drag me down here and I don't even get to see what you did to your poor defenseless navel?" She questioned her cousin. Ariel giggled and lifted her shirt up a few inches, displaying her belly button to Willow. The surrounding skin was red, looking somewhat traumatized. Hanging from the small flap of skin above her navel was a silver ring, shut tight by a small purple bead. Willow blinked - they had body piecing in ancient times too? I suppose it makes sense.. She thought to herself, remembering the many lessons she'd sat through about the ritualistic piercing that occurred in many of the nomadic tribes that used to exist in the Eastern Lands. Some cultures, no matter when they existed, would always take rituals that had true meaning and turn them into a pop culture fad, and Willow realized that Tortall, whether it was ancient or modern, was no exception. She grinned, watching Ariel stare at her belly button, beaming.
"You should get yours done, Willow!" Ariel exclaimed, looking at her. Willow laughed and shook her head. Getting her ears done had been bad enough! She refused to lay down on that itchy looking pad while someone shoved a needle through her navel. It had never done anything to her, she saw no reason to punish it. She lead her cousin out of the store.
"No way, Ariel. My navel's happy being free of puncture wounds and steel." Willow said as they began to walk back to Upper Corus, Ariel limping every few steps, still adjusting to the new body ornament.
"I bet Maaaaaathew'd like it.." Ariel giggled, teasing Willow. Willow rolled her eyes at her cousin.
"Maaaaathew doesn't see anything even remotely interesting in my belly button, I doubt he'd care if I got it pierced or not. And besides, he's never even seen it." Ariel scoffed.
"Yeah, right! You sleep over at his house all the time! I know what happens when teenagers sleep over!" She replied. Willow laughed slightly.
"I sleep on the couch, Ari. Besides, you and Anth were keeping me up all night!" Ariel gave Willow an innocent look.
"Whatever are you talking about, dearest cousin?" She quipped, batting her eyelashes. Willow couldn't help but giggle as she answered.
"I'm talking about the grunting and the moaning and the fact the walls shake!" She exclaimed. "It kept me up all night and I thought I was going to go crazy! So now I sleep here, where there is silence, and peace, and sturdy walls." She said in a mockingly stern voice. Ariel feigned a yawn.
"How boring. I'll take my shaking walls over sleeping on his ratty-tatty couch any day, thank you very much." She replied. After a moment, Ariel looked back over. "But.. you do like him, don't you, Will?" Willow groaned inwardly: the dreaded question. Taking in a slow breath, she collected her thoughts, mapping out her sentences carefully. The last thing Willow wanted to do was send the wrong impression about a topic as sensitive as her friendship and feelings towards Matthew. Willow knew very well that gossip and rumours spread like wildfire, and Ariel was no stranger to starting them. Even in good fun, it could be damaging to someone as sensitive and, at times, gullible as Matthew was.
"Well," Willow began. She didn't get another word out before Ariel squeaked, hopping up and down like a bunny rabbit.
"I knew you liked him!" Ariel squeaked.
"Hey!" Willow protested. "You didn't even give me a chance to explain!" Ariel scoffed.
"It was obvious what you were going to say, Willow! You like him, there's no denying it. So say it already!" Willow was beginning to feel cross.
"I would," she snapped. "If you'd just give me a chance!" The moment the words flew from her mouth she regretted them. Ariel's lips formed into that dreaded shape, the shape that was used by the mouth muscles to make one sound, and one sound only.
"Awwww.." She said, sounding as if she was looking at a newborn puppy. Willow wished she had a dagger on her.
"Oh, shut it, Ariel." Willow said, scowling deeply. Ariel, sensing that her cousin was no longer joking around with her, quieted. She put her hand on Willow's forearm gently.
"Calm down, Will. I just wanted to know." Willow rolled her eyes, still unhappy.
"Yeah. And then by tomorrow, the entire country will know. Including Matthew." She sighed, running a hand through her blood red hair.
"I won't say anything if you don't want me to.." Ariel offered quietly. Willow looked over at her. She seems sincere, Willow thought to herself. And I've always trusted her with everything in the past, and nothing horrible has ever happened. Willow managed a small smile.
"Yeah. Thanks." She told Ariel. After a few moments, she added, "It's not as if I'm going to do anything about it. He's one of the closest friends I've ever had. I refuse to mess that bond up by bringing in a dimension that neither of us seem really ready for." She saw Ariel's nose twitch, meaning she had something to say about that. Willow noticed that Ariel's nose twitched a lot. She, however, stayed silent. As they moved from the dirt and hay roads of Lower Corus to the cobble stone ones of Upper Corus, Ariel took another peak at her belly button, grinning.
"Anth's gonna love this." She commented.
"Why's Anth going to love it?" Willow questioned, genuinely curious. Ariel giggled madly, blushing slightly.
"Well..it's like this. He's got this thing, when we're in bed together. He thinks my stomach is the neatest thing ever. So he kisses it a lot and stuff. And I know once he sees this, he'll want to incorporate it, somehow." Ariel explained. Willow's eyes widened slightly, realizing what Ariel had meant when she said that Anth was going to love it.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, turning slightly pink herself. Ariel giggled.
"Yeah. Y'know, it's all the sexy stuff that a little innocent girl like yourself wouldn't know about." Ariel explained, making perfect sense in her own little Ariel way. Willow laughed gently.
"Yeah, all that sexy stuff. Nooo thank you!" She replied. The two girls, once again bubbly and happy, turned onto the small sideroad that lead to the boarding house where Matthew lived. Willow smiled as she studied the outside of the Royal Library, which was easily visible from where it stood, only a few blocks away. The place was so beautiful, it was easily her favourite place in the entire city, no matter what time she was living in. Ariel and Willow darted up the three flights of stairs to Matthew's floor, and Willow pulled out the extra key that Matthew had given her a few weeks earlier. Letting them in, she found a scrawled note from Matthew sitting on top of a sandwich he had made himself yesterday and never gotten around to eating. It was now sitting on top of a volume of Tyran mythology, slowly gaining mold and a slightly unpleasant stench.
"For such a smart person, he lives horribly." Ariel commented, picking up the note cautiously. She read it aloud. "Will. Burke. Four-forty-two. Ten." Ariel blinked pointedly at the note and looked up at Willow. "You have your own language?" Willow laughed, plucking the note from Ariel's hands.
"No, we don't have our own language. Will - short for my name, of course. Burke is the philosopher he's been studying for the past few months, so that's why he's gone - he's found something out about him and needs to verify it, or something along those lines. If I'm interested in knowing what he does - which I'm most certainly am, by the by - I should look in Volume IV, page forty two. And he'll be home around ten, if I'm lucky." Willow explained the note to Ariel, and then dropped it back on top of the sandwich, heading into the kitchen area to raid the icebox. Ariel stood there the entire time Willow made herself a plate of leftovers, gaping at her cousin. Ariel would have probably continued to stand there staring if Willow had not put cold chicken on the plate, which just happened to be Ariel's favourite food. Squeaking and giving a little hop, Ariel bounced into the kitchen.
"Ooh, can I have a piece, Willy-Nilly?" Ariel cooed, making doe eyes at her cousin. Willow giggled and shoved the plate over towards Ariel, offering up the chicken. With another squeak and a quick shaking of her fingers, Ariel dug it, slurping up the thin strips of chicken quickly. "I don't believe you knew what that note said!" Ariel exclaimed after swallowing a surprisingly large amount of chicken. Willow laughed, taking a seat on the counter and beginning to eat as well.
"I've gotten used to his notes, they really aren't that hard to read anymore." Willow explained. Ariel rolled her eyes, grinning as she stole a grape.
"Whatever you say, Will. With communication with that, it's gotta be love." Willow made a face at her cousin. Ariel giggled. "Shush. It's my job as family to tease the living lights out of you." Willow giggled, knowing she couldn't argue with that. The two stopped the conversation, allowing themselves proper time to eat the food Willow had prepared.
After several more silly conversations and almost an entire chicken, Ariel bid Willow goodnight and bounced home to show Anthony her latest addition to her body. Willow, feeling slightly nauseous, made her way around the apartment, collecting the old and sometimes decaying food in a large parcel bag. After she finished, she closed the bulging back off with a piece of string, and tossed it out the window in a large dumpster set up to collect unwanted remnants. Wading knee-deep into Matthew's work area, Willow managed to recover the fourth volume of Burke he had mentioned in his note, and curled up on the couch, reading intently from page forty-two on. Willow sat reading for a long time, finally checking her watch at page one hundred and eighteen. The dull silver watch showed the time to be 11:37, and Matthew was still gone. Yawning, Willow marked her page and closed the book, carefully balancing it on top of a wobbling stack of papers and ancient tomes. Stripping down, she pulled on a heavily worn pair of breeches and an oversized shirt, the two most comfortable articles of clothing she owned. Running her hand through her hair as a substitute to a proper brushing, Willow curled up on the couch, pulling a thin blanket over her, and fell asleep quickly.
~*~
Willow was under the impression that the month of June was going to pass peacefully. Of course, her dreams were shattered by the first week, when she learned that Ariel and Mel both had final exams. Willow watched with vague interest as Ariel shot arrow after arrow into a bullseye in the practice yard. She had been out here for the past two hours watching, and since then Ariel had managed to split at least 40 arrows in half. The girl's talent and training in the area was obvious in every move she made with the bow, the way her muscles tensed and relaxed, the way she loaded her arrows. After Ariel split her forty-first arrow, Willow hopped down from her seat on the fence.
"How long have you been training with a bow?" Willow questioned, watching as Ariel twirled an arrow through her fingers idly. Ariel laughed slightly.
"Oh, practically forever. Ever since I've been tall enough to hold a bow." Willow whistled, low and long. Now that was impressive.
"Is Anth really good at archery, too?" Willow said. She figured it would make sense - why would Ariel want to be squire to someone who wouldn't be able to further her talent? Other than the fact they were head over heels for each other, of course. Ariel giggled madly.
"Anth? Good at archery? He'd sooner eat cow dung than hit the bullseye twice in a row." Ariel explained with a smirk, haphazardly loading her bow and firing it off. Willow's mouth opened slightly as she watched it imbed deeply in the innermost ring of the target. She hadn't even been looking! Ariel grinned, stretching her arms and legs.
"Like I said, I've been training forever." Ariel told her. Willow closed her mouth, grinning.
"I'm going to go watch Mel fence for awhile, okay?" Willow told her cousin. Ariel nodded,
"Alright. I'll be out here for awhile, and then I have to practice fencing too," she said with a sigh. "Fencing can bite my bum, stupid skill," Willow heard Ariel mutter as she walked over to where Mel was involved in a rather intense match with a large opponent, obviously a man. At first Willow thought it was Ian, but as she neared the perrying pair, it became obvious that it wasn't. Although this man had the same lean but muscular build as Ian, his movements were far more graceful. The two seemed as if they were dancing, not dueling. Mel thrust forward, her wrist flicking up violently, and the man countered, flicking his own wrist downwards, forcing the point of her sabre towards the ground. Willow thought the man had Mel in a tough spot - her entire midsection was open, even Willow's untrained eye could see that. Willow waited for the man to thrust forward and disarm Mel, thus winning the match. The man lunged, his own sabre right on target. As the majority of his weight switched from his right foot to his left, Mel pulled her arms and sword close against her body and spun herself away from the attack. The man stumbled forward, trying to regain his stance. Mel's sabre flicked out from it's hiding place behind her arms at the man's hand, prepared to disarm him. The man had regained his balance, for the most part, and managed a weak counter. Not sparing a moment, Willow watched as Mel tossed her sword from her left hand to her right, and with an intricate twist with her right wrist, the man's sword dropped to the ground, creating a small cloud of dust as it hit the dry soil. Mel grinned, running a hand over her forehead and through her hair. The few pieces of hair that had fallen loose from their tight bun were coated by the large beads of sweat sitting on Mel's forehead. The sweat wet them and held them away from her face when they were pushed back. Grinning, Mel sheathed her own sabre and with a slide and flick of her foot, sent the man's sword up into the air. She grabbed it by the hilt, and handed it back to him. The man laughed, tossing his own shaggy, sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes and accepted the weapon.
"Nice match," Mel said, sounding only slightly out of breath. The man nodded, shaking her hand.
"You too," he replied. "Tomorrow, same time?" Mel laughed, nodding her head,
"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Benny." The man, who apparently answered to Benny, nodded and grabbed a satchel hanging on one of the fence posts. Slinging it over his shoulder, Willow watched the man walk away, grace apparent in each step. His shaggy ash brown hair waved slightly in the wind that his quick pace created. Willow looked over, noticing Mel was watching her.
"That's Benny." Mel said, as if that would explain everything to Willow. Willow blinked at Mel. "He's a court regular, a fencing tutor of sorts," Mel continued. Willow nodded, understanding only slightly more.
"You're not being helped by him, are you?" She questioned innocently. Mel's reply was a long, loud laugh that made Willow's cheeks burn profusely and turn bright red. Recovering slightly, Mel giggled,
"Goddess, no! We're friends, and we spar together every day. I'm much more skilled than he is, though." She said, a giggle still escaping occasionally.
"Oh! Well, that makes much more sense!" Willow exclaimed, laughing a bit herself. Mel grinned and picked her up her things, shrugging a pack onto her shoulder.
"Aribelle should be down here any moment. I have to go up and work on my archery, the wretched sport that it is," Mel said, and began the trek to the other side of the training grounds, which were as long as almost twenty football fields and nearly as wide.
Willow spent the rest of her day walking back and forth with Mel and Ariel, watching as they practice hour upon hour, making sure they would display their best effort in every area that they would be graded on. After a full 12 hours of practice, with the edges of the sky beginning to fade from blue to orange, it looked to Willow that the two girls were finally packing it in for the night. At least, that's what it seemed like at first. After a brief stretch and rest, Willow watched as Ariel took up what appeared to be a mutant form of a foil. Seeing Willow's confusion, Ariel grinned down at her weapon.
"I know, it's strange. The knight program stopped teaching with tradition foils a long time ago, because they don't mimic what a real sword would be like. So now we have these if we choose foil," she explained, waving her sword gently in the air. It looked like a strange combination of all three swords. The guard was on the large side, like that of an epée. The blade, however, was slightly more pliable - although not nearly as much as that of a foil - and slight thicker, a lean version of a sabre. A well-sharpened steel point glinted at the end, showing that if Ariel got the better of her opponent, they would most certainly know it. Willow watched with great interest as Mel practiced a few one sided thrusts and perries, while Ariel carefully bent her sword back and forth, bowing it for a few moments and then releasing it, watching with satisfaction as it snapped back, wobbling slightly from side to side.
"Keeping it pliable helps me use it, because it pulls more on my archery techniques," Ariel told Willow, before going down into a quad stretch. A few moments later, the girls appeared ready. They each took their stances, and with a slight nod of Mel's head, they began. They circled each other slowly, Mel faking a move a few times. Each time, Ariel began to move to a counter, leaving crucial areas of her torso open. It was obvious she wasn't a born fencer. Finally, after several minutes, the real attacks started. Anxious, Ariel moved to the offensive, thrusting forward several times. Willow watched as Mel countered easily, a look of what seemed to be annoyance on her face. Willow saw the source of her annoyance moments later, when she tried to force Ariel's point the ground. Ariel's sword bowed under the weight, but her hand never moved. Mel growled and finally stepped back, going back on the defensive. They moved back and forth, and Willow noted that although Ariel was on the offensive, she was giving up more ground than Mel. Finally, Mel saw her opening, and in a split second her sabre was in her left hand and pushing Ariel back quickly, and then back in her right hand, and then in her left again. Each time she performed some complicated move, although when Mel did it, it looked like a walk in the park. Mel spun and landed in Ariel's blind spot. Before Ariel could even finish raising her sword to counter, it was on the ground. Ariel grinned, picking up her sword with her foot, as Mel had done to Benny's earlier. The two shook hands.
"Nice job, Aribelle. You're getting better," Mel commented. Ariel grinned wickedly.
"Yeah yeah, whatever Mel. But, c'mon, let's go to my turf now," she replied, putting her sword away. Mel laughed and the two headed over to where a clean target was set up for arching. Ariel stretched her arms briefly and then rubbed something similar to wax on her hands and her bowstring, and Mel did the same. Ariel looked over at Mel, grinning like a madwoman.
"Ladies first, Melly," she told her friend. Mel rolled her eyes and then took her stance, studying the target for several moments before loosing her arrow. It flew straight, hitting the line separating the innermost circle and the middle one.
"Not bad," Ariel commented, and loosed her own arrow. It imbedded dead center in the bullseye.
"I hate you, Aribelle," Mel replied as she loosed her second arrow. It wobbled slightly on it's trip, landing in the center of the middle ring. Ariel grinned ruthlessly and shot again. Her second arrow landing in the bullseye, splitting her first one down the center. Ariel opened her mouth to remark on her talent, but Mel cut in.
"Oh, don't even start. I know I suck." She loosed her third arrow, grinning happily as it imbedded firmly in the center of the inner circle.
"You don't suck, Mel," Ariel paused, letting her third arrow fly. It split the second one. "You're just not perfect, like me." Before Mel could even let off her fourth arrow, Ariel had reloaded and taken the opportunity to split the arrow Mel had shot into the middle circle. She reloaded again as Mel scowled, fumbling with her bow. Ariel giggled,
"Never give up the sword, Mel." Ariel suggested. Mel hissed, although Willow knew it was all in good fun, and that there were no true hard feelings between the girls. What Ariel said next, though, was enough to cause Willow to lose her balance and fall off the fence.
"Willow should shoot for you." Thud.
After standing up, Willow emitted several high pitched sounds that a person could have interpreted as either a weasel call or a rather angry finch screaming at its nesting children. Ariel smirked slightly, while Mel stood dumbfounded. Finally, Willow found her voice, although it was much high than normal.
"I don't shoot things!" She squeaked out. Ariel drug the protesting girl over to where Mel stood, giggling. Taking Mel's bow from her, she loaded it and place it in Willow's hands.
"Shoot."
"What?!"
"Shoot it!"
"No!"
"Now!" The arrow whizzed from the bow, landing on the outermost ring. Willow blinked, looking dumbly down at the empty bow in her hands. She had just shot that? And done it right? She had done something athletic right? It was practically enough to make the poor girl faint. Ariel was clapping, jumping up and down.
"See, I told you that you could do it!" She exclaimed, beaming. Mel laughed at Ariel, smiling warmly at Willow.
"Nice job, Will," she told her. Willow nodded, grinning, and handed Mel's bow back over to her. Ariel and Mel finished their practice competition, Ariel winning of course, and the three trekked back to the palace for a late dinner.
~*~
The end of June brought a second surprise into Willow's life. She had been sleeping in for once when there was a gentle knock on the door. Groaning, she rolled onto her back.
"Ari?" Willow croaked, hoping her cousin would get the door. Ariel didn't respond, and there was no sound from Anthony's room indicating the girl had even heard her. Sighing, Willow rolled out of bed, shoving her hair out her face. Rubbing her eyes with one hand, Willow opened the door to find Summer, beaming bright as the sun, standing there.
"Willow!" Summer exclaimed, hugging her tightly. Willow blinked, surprised. What had her so happy?
"Um, come in.." Willow replied, stepping aside to let the girl in. Summer bounced in.
"Where's Ariel?" She asked, looking around the room excitedly. Willow laughed,
"She's probably still asleep. Lemme go wake her up," She replied, and let herself through the door that connected Ariel and Anthony's room to Willow's. Sure enough, Ariel was sleeping soundly, curled up close to Anthony, who was snoring lightly. Willow walked over and poked Ariel in the shoulder. Ariel groaned, batting gently at Willow's hands like a kitten. Giggling, Willow poked her again. Ariel opened one eye, looking cross.
"Leave." Ariel growled, sounding even more like a kitten than before.
"I can't! Summer wants to see you. She's in my room." Willow said, watching as Ariel carefully extracted herself from Anthony's arms and slipped his shirt over her head - she had been wearing nothing moments earlier. Ariel and Willow padded back into the other room, where Summer was still bouncing around the room with excitement. The moment she saw her sister, Summer enveloped her in a gigantic hug, similar to the one she had given Willow minutes before. Ariel squeaked,
"Summer! What happened?" She asked, struggling slightly in the tight grip. Summer grinned broadly, her entire face was glowing. There was something different about the way she carried herself, but Willow couldn't put her finger on it.
"Ariel, Willow, you're never going to believe what good news I have!" Ariel giggled, sitting down on the bed.
"Well, we certainly aren't if you're not going to tell us!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down slightly on the bed, kicking her heels against the frame. Summer bounced,
"I'm pregnant!" She exclaimed. Willow gasped - that was it! She had a maternal glow around her, that was what was different! Willow and Ariel bombarded the girl with hugs.
"Congratulations!" Willow said.
"That's so cute!" Ariel told her sister. Summer grinned and giggled, hugging the two girls back.
"I just found out yesterday afternoon," she explained. "I had missed my cycle this month, and I went to the healers. They did whatever it is they do, and told me I was pregnant! Probably almost a full month and a half." Summer smiled gently down at her abdomen, running her hand over it carefully. "I can't wait.." She said softly. Ariel smiled brightly,
"You're going to let us help pick out names, right? Have you written Mama and Papa? You told Tomas, right?" Ariel attacked the poor girl with questions, poking her in the side, demanding an answer. Summer laughed,
"Ariel, lay off the sweets! Yes, I'm going to have you help me pick out names, yes I've written Mama and Papa, and of course I told Tomas!" Summer exclaimed. Willow smiled, watching the two girls. She was glad to be included in a family like this one.
The three girls continued to talk, briefly discussing married life and babies names and anything else they could think of. Finally, Summer left, saying she had to meet Tomas at the training grounds. Ariel downed a sleeping elixir and crawled back into bed with Anthony, who was still sound asleep. Willow decided to go over to Matthew's apartment. She remembered him mentioned a few weeks ago that his Uncle Frederick and Aunt Aliciane were going to be in Corus - they lived in the Yamani Isles - and Willow had wanted to meet them. Showering and dressing, she walked the short trip over to his boarding home.
As she neared the hallway that lead to Matthew's suite, Willow heard faint screaming. As she walked closer to his room, it got louder. Listening, Willow realized the screaming was coming from Matthew's suite. It wasn't really screaming, though, for it wasn't a woman. Rather, a man with a deep, booming voice was bellowing. He sounded frightening, and Willow debated whether or not she should come back at another time. Curiosity killed the cat, Willow reminded herself. However, she found her hand on his doorknob, unlocking the lock as quietly as she could. Poking her head in, she found a very interesting scene before her.
His apartment was spotless - all his manuscripts and books were neatly put away in the several giant bookcases that lined the walls of the main room. His trash had been collected and bagged, presumably thrown out into the dumpster. His flatware and dishes had been washed and dried, and now sat sparkling behind the glass doors of a cabinet Willow had never noticed before. The entire place had been dusted and washed down. The oak gleamed richly with cleanliness. The culprit of this mass cleaning appeared to be a young, pale woman. She drifted through the rooms, her silver-blonde hair wafted behind her in the slight breeze her movement made. Pale hands ran over the objects in each room, making sure everything was in place. For a moment, she turned, and Willow was amazed by the colour of her eyes. They were silvery, almost the colour of the moonlight, and entrancing. They had a sad, longing look in them, as if she was a prisoner desperately wanting to escape, but with no knowledge how to. That must be Aliciane, Willow thought to herself after a moment. She looks so young..
Changing her focus, Willow looked over to what she assumed to be Matthew's Uncle Frederick. He couldn't have looked more different from Aliciane. First of all, he was huge: barrel-chested and well over six feet tall. A proud shock of thick chestnut hair crowned his face, and a closely cropped beard and mustache of the same colour framed his lips and chin. Auburn eyes blazed under dark bushy eyebrows. His enormous figure was swathed in obviously rich clothing: his hands displayed several silver and gold rings in large, knotty patterns, and a gold chain hung around his neck. He was standing with his legs spread apart, bellowing so loudly that his face was beginning to turn red. The muscles in his neck were taught, and Willow could see each one flex and twitch individually.
Looking down at the couch, where Frederick's eyes were focused, Willow found Matthew. He was slouched over, looking down, his head in his hands. Against his wraith-like aunt and bullish uncle, he looked horribly out of place. Willow looked between Matthew and Frederick, listening to the words he was bellowing for the first time.
"...a complete weakling! You spend day after day after day doing what, Matthew? Reading! For Mithros' sake, that's not a career! You're a disgrace to the entire family! What's gotten into your screwed up little mind? You're twenty-two years old, you should be looking for a wife, a home, a place in the world! Not the meaning of life!" Frederick screamed at Matthew. Willow felt her heart ache - why did Matthew have to be the scapegoat of the family? He didn't deserve this. Willow watched intently as Matthew raised his face from his hands to respond to his uncle. Frederick's arm, its thick muscles pulling the material of his sleeve taut, raised threateningly above his head. Goddess, no, Willow thought. Don't let him hit Matthew, he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment.
The hand came down at an alarmingly speed, connecting squarely his Matthew's cheek. The stinging sound of flesh on flesh resonated through the air, followed by a thud as the force of the blow threw Matthew to the ground. Willow choked back a cry, and the overwhelming urge to run in there and help him. Frederick turned, his eyes darting along the walls.
"Aliciane!" He bellowed. Aliciane skittered into the room, allowing her husband to place the large arm around her shoulders. Willow saw them walking towards the door, and pressed herself up against the wall, praying they wouldn't notice. Luckily, the two walked right past her, not even noticing that the door had been ajar. Willow wondered momentarily if, with a neck as thick as Frederick's, he could move his head from side to side, or if the girth damned him with terminal tunnel vision.
Walking in quietly, she found Matthew lying on his back, still on the floor. She knelt down next to him, not saying anything. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fall gently, almost as if he were a sleep. The muscles on his face twitched occasionally, still reacting to the blow. The entire left side of his face was steadily growing a malted blue-black colour, speckled with areas of scarlet. Willow touched his unharmed cheek gently, brushing her fingertips across it. Matthew flinched, still not opening his eyes.
"Aunt Aliciane?" He asked quietly, almost timidly. He sounded like a child. Willow took a more permanent seat on the floor.
"No," she replied softly, her tone soothing. "It's me, Matthew." She watched the corners of Matthew's mouth twitch slightly, debating whether or not he should smile. Finally, he opened his eyes, looking up at her.
"Willow.." He began, and winced. Willow stood up, offering her hands to him. He took them gratefully, and with her help, stood up.
"Sit down," she told him sternly. He obliged, collapsing back against his couch. Willow sat down next to him, studying his face with worry.
"How long have you been here?" Matthew asked, looking at her. Willow looked away - she couldn't bear seeing what Frederick had done to his face.
"I came because you mentioned your aunt and uncle were here, and I had wanted to meet them. When I walked in, Frederick was screaming about how you were a disgrace and needed a face, and then he slapped you." She explained, glancing up at him several times but always looking back down. She heard him sigh deeply.
"I hate him. Father sends him to see me anyway, he thinks it's good for me." Willow scowled,
"Why don't you tell your father what he does to you? He wouldn't still send him then, would he?" Matthew shrugged slightly,
"I don't know if he would or not." He didn't seem to want to answer her question any further than that. After several moments of silence, Matthew sighed again. "Maybe he's right." He said, his voice emotionless. Willow blinked,
"What?"
"Maybe he's right," Matthew repeated. "Maybe I shouldn't be running around looking for some kind of enlightenment through all these books. Maybe I should put on a nice shirt and start going to the balls, clean myself up, find myself a wife. Maybe I should settle down, and stop being the black sheep of the Naxen brood." Willow hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. Instead, she carefully rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist in an awkward hug.
"You know you wouldn't be happy like that. You're happy as the black sheep. You have friends as the black sheep. Come on now, black sheep pride." She told him, surprisingly serious. Matthew laughed and winced as his assaulted muscles protested, looking down at her.
"I think you've been hanging around Ariel too much." He told her, still smiling best as he could. Willow giggled,
"I think I have too," she replied. Looking up at him, she flinched slightly. His left eye was almost completely closed by the swelling, now. "Is there anything you can do to help that?" She questioned, reaching out to touch the left side of his face and then stopping herself. Matthew nodded,
"Oh, of course. I'll put some bruise balm on it and go to sleep with a bit of ice on my face, and I'll be good as new in the morning." He explained. She smiled,
"Good."
Matthew and Willow sat together on the couch for a long time. Finally, overcome by the sleep she had lost earlier in the day, Willow drifted off, her head still laying on Matthew's chest.