Story 18 - Chapter 6
A/N: I have to REWRITE this!!
Sandry, Daja, Tris, and Briar were all waiting patiently (in Tris's case, impatiently) for their charges to come down. Finally, Tris got tired of waiting. Not even thinking about, she ran into the house, ready to inflict bodily damage onto their very late charges.
Daja sighed, and went in after her. Moments later, a loud crash was heard. "Up! Up! Wake up already!" Apparently, the frustrated Tris was now banging pots and pans together to express her dissatisfaction. And from the occasional "Ow!" heard, she was not too uptight to whack them with some of them if they were still sleeping.
Finally, a sleepy Pirelle, a murderous Kitty, a sheepish Ramon, and a yawning Tas came out of Discipline. Tris came out after them, looking somewhat satisfied, and Daja walked out after her, running her fingers over her staff.
Briar eyed the staff suspiciously. Maybe not all of the cries came from pots and pans .
"Why are we up?" Kitty demanded.
Briar, Tris, and Sandry looked to Daja, her mentor. Daja sighed. "Did we or did we not tell you yesterday that you would wake up at five- thirty? And is it or is it not five thirty-one?"
"We're one minute late. That's still not reason to be so loud!" Pirelle grumbled.
"You are here to learn Discipline," Sandry said in a level tone. "Every morning, you will get up at five-thirty to meet us out here. We shall be taking turns instructing you, and you *will* be here on time."
The four nodded meekly.
"Now," Briar said. "Let's begin. Let's see how much you have learned so far ."
+Earth+ +Air+ +Water+ +Fire+
"I shall take revenge . let me see. Aleia Keystone has been dead long ago. Dearie me. Too bad. Especially since I killed her. She had no children, but she did have two sisters . well, it looks like all of her descendents are gone except for two. One Lord Linden and one Tasmindu Weaver. Well, let's see how long it takes for me to finish them off ."
+Earth+ +Air+ +Water+ +Fire+
Sandry heaved a sigh. She wasn't teaching until that afternoon, so she could stretch a while. She shook her head. Those four children had much unharnessed power, but they had no discipline. Unless they learned how to control it, they would be in trouble. As she sat in her room, Lark came in.
"You have a visitor," Lark said gently.
Sandry looked up. "Who is it?"
"He introduced himself as Lord Linden."
Sandry looked up in surprise. "Really?" she asked. "Tell him I'll be right with him."
As she walked up to meet Lord Linden, she prayed with all of her heart that this wasn't ~another~ marriage proposal. Lords had been over from all over the land, trying to "woo" her, to her disgust. It would have been nicer if she had known that they liked her, or at least found her pleasant. But no. They were all power-hungry lords who wanted to be able to rule Emelan through her. Lord Linden had seemed polite, kind, and even seemed to enjoy her company so far. Maybe he would prove the exception to the rule.
Lord Linden looked up. "Greetings, Lady Sandrilene," he said.
"Lord Linden," she inclined her head. She was too well trained to let it on her face, but her curiosity was peaked. What did he want? Not a marriage proposal, not a marriage proposal, she prayed.
He bit his lip. "Well, I might as well be blunt about this. Against my wishes, my father ordered me to court you, so I thought I might as well get asking for your hand in marriage out of the way. So let's just pretend I asked you to marry me and you said no, and it'll save me the ~real~ agony of being rejected." He smiled at her. "After all," he shrugged. "Both you know and I know that you're tired of leeches coming to bask in your glory, oh almighty Duchess-to-be of Emelan, who they are sure will fall in love with them as soon as you glimpse their manly charm, and disgustingly good looks. Definitely an ego trip."
Lady Sandrilene permitted herself a genuine smile as well as a chuckle. "Is that all you wanted?" she asked politely. She smiled. "Besides, of course, to insult some more impertinent and impetuous arrogant lords some more."
"Well, I was wondering if we could just be friends," Lord Linden said promptly. "I don't have many friends back home . not any *real* friends, anyways. Most of the people where I come from are just bootlickers who should be pitied, and lords my father wants me to be friends with, who are backbiting dunces who are way too full of themselves."
"Your friend?" Lady Sandrilene asked in surprise. "Well, I suppose so."
"Good," Lord Linden smiled. "Then you can just call me Linden."
"And you can call me Sandry," Sandry said finally.
And a friendship was formed.
+Earth+ +Air+ +Water+ +Fire+
Briar shook his head. He definitely wasn't going to regret Tris having the first shift. Those kids were annoying! At least his charge Ramon didn't yell out at the teachers, or glare at them, or play jokes on them. He rubbed the back of his head in remembrance of a particularly vicious pea Tas had sent flying from a peashooter after he had informed them that there would be only half an hour of free time a day. He had no idea what kind of lifestyles they were suited to, and whether or not Lark and Rosethorn had gone soft, but-. He paused in mid-thought, and winced. No. Rosethorn was gone. Niko and Frostpine had retired. He amended his thought. And whether or not Lark had grown soft, but he and his mates had been used to less in the beginning.
Of course, maybe he was old-fashioned . He snorted. Old-fashioned? Him? He was barely out of his teens for goodness's sakes. Maybe it would have been better for his present sanity if he had taken the first teaching shift. At least then, he wouldn't be worrying about being old-fashioned, of all things. God, now he was talking to himself. He really needed to rest. He shook his head to clear it. Come to think of it, he was pretty sleepy. He ought to go to his room and nap for a bit. Nap? Him? Nap? He was getting soft! Or maybe he was just getting too used to a Bag's lifestyle. He sighed and walked into his room, when out of the corner of his eye, he caught something.
As he leaned over to look, he saw Sandry and Lord Linden walking in Rosethorn's garden, hand in hand .
A/N: I need to count up the votes now! Sandry/Briar and Tris/Lord Linden, or Sandry/Lord Linden, and Tris/ Briar . or annex out the Lord Linden completely! This is your last chance to vote. Next time I post up, I'm posting up MAJOR couple hints, and it'll be unchangeable! WARNING! VOTE! Oh yeah . and review.
A/N: I have to REWRITE this!!
Sandry, Daja, Tris, and Briar were all waiting patiently (in Tris's case, impatiently) for their charges to come down. Finally, Tris got tired of waiting. Not even thinking about, she ran into the house, ready to inflict bodily damage onto their very late charges.
Daja sighed, and went in after her. Moments later, a loud crash was heard. "Up! Up! Wake up already!" Apparently, the frustrated Tris was now banging pots and pans together to express her dissatisfaction. And from the occasional "Ow!" heard, she was not too uptight to whack them with some of them if they were still sleeping.
Finally, a sleepy Pirelle, a murderous Kitty, a sheepish Ramon, and a yawning Tas came out of Discipline. Tris came out after them, looking somewhat satisfied, and Daja walked out after her, running her fingers over her staff.
Briar eyed the staff suspiciously. Maybe not all of the cries came from pots and pans .
"Why are we up?" Kitty demanded.
Briar, Tris, and Sandry looked to Daja, her mentor. Daja sighed. "Did we or did we not tell you yesterday that you would wake up at five- thirty? And is it or is it not five thirty-one?"
"We're one minute late. That's still not reason to be so loud!" Pirelle grumbled.
"You are here to learn Discipline," Sandry said in a level tone. "Every morning, you will get up at five-thirty to meet us out here. We shall be taking turns instructing you, and you *will* be here on time."
The four nodded meekly.
"Now," Briar said. "Let's begin. Let's see how much you have learned so far ."
+Earth+ +Air+ +Water+ +Fire+
"I shall take revenge . let me see. Aleia Keystone has been dead long ago. Dearie me. Too bad. Especially since I killed her. She had no children, but she did have two sisters . well, it looks like all of her descendents are gone except for two. One Lord Linden and one Tasmindu Weaver. Well, let's see how long it takes for me to finish them off ."
+Earth+ +Air+ +Water+ +Fire+
Sandry heaved a sigh. She wasn't teaching until that afternoon, so she could stretch a while. She shook her head. Those four children had much unharnessed power, but they had no discipline. Unless they learned how to control it, they would be in trouble. As she sat in her room, Lark came in.
"You have a visitor," Lark said gently.
Sandry looked up. "Who is it?"
"He introduced himself as Lord Linden."
Sandry looked up in surprise. "Really?" she asked. "Tell him I'll be right with him."
As she walked up to meet Lord Linden, she prayed with all of her heart that this wasn't ~another~ marriage proposal. Lords had been over from all over the land, trying to "woo" her, to her disgust. It would have been nicer if she had known that they liked her, or at least found her pleasant. But no. They were all power-hungry lords who wanted to be able to rule Emelan through her. Lord Linden had seemed polite, kind, and even seemed to enjoy her company so far. Maybe he would prove the exception to the rule.
Lord Linden looked up. "Greetings, Lady Sandrilene," he said.
"Lord Linden," she inclined her head. She was too well trained to let it on her face, but her curiosity was peaked. What did he want? Not a marriage proposal, not a marriage proposal, she prayed.
He bit his lip. "Well, I might as well be blunt about this. Against my wishes, my father ordered me to court you, so I thought I might as well get asking for your hand in marriage out of the way. So let's just pretend I asked you to marry me and you said no, and it'll save me the ~real~ agony of being rejected." He smiled at her. "After all," he shrugged. "Both you know and I know that you're tired of leeches coming to bask in your glory, oh almighty Duchess-to-be of Emelan, who they are sure will fall in love with them as soon as you glimpse their manly charm, and disgustingly good looks. Definitely an ego trip."
Lady Sandrilene permitted herself a genuine smile as well as a chuckle. "Is that all you wanted?" she asked politely. She smiled. "Besides, of course, to insult some more impertinent and impetuous arrogant lords some more."
"Well, I was wondering if we could just be friends," Lord Linden said promptly. "I don't have many friends back home . not any *real* friends, anyways. Most of the people where I come from are just bootlickers who should be pitied, and lords my father wants me to be friends with, who are backbiting dunces who are way too full of themselves."
"Your friend?" Lady Sandrilene asked in surprise. "Well, I suppose so."
"Good," Lord Linden smiled. "Then you can just call me Linden."
"And you can call me Sandry," Sandry said finally.
And a friendship was formed.
+Earth+ +Air+ +Water+ +Fire+
Briar shook his head. He definitely wasn't going to regret Tris having the first shift. Those kids were annoying! At least his charge Ramon didn't yell out at the teachers, or glare at them, or play jokes on them. He rubbed the back of his head in remembrance of a particularly vicious pea Tas had sent flying from a peashooter after he had informed them that there would be only half an hour of free time a day. He had no idea what kind of lifestyles they were suited to, and whether or not Lark and Rosethorn had gone soft, but-. He paused in mid-thought, and winced. No. Rosethorn was gone. Niko and Frostpine had retired. He amended his thought. And whether or not Lark had grown soft, but he and his mates had been used to less in the beginning.
Of course, maybe he was old-fashioned . He snorted. Old-fashioned? Him? He was barely out of his teens for goodness's sakes. Maybe it would have been better for his present sanity if he had taken the first teaching shift. At least then, he wouldn't be worrying about being old-fashioned, of all things. God, now he was talking to himself. He really needed to rest. He shook his head to clear it. Come to think of it, he was pretty sleepy. He ought to go to his room and nap for a bit. Nap? Him? Nap? He was getting soft! Or maybe he was just getting too used to a Bag's lifestyle. He sighed and walked into his room, when out of the corner of his eye, he caught something.
As he leaned over to look, he saw Sandry and Lord Linden walking in Rosethorn's garden, hand in hand .
A/N: I need to count up the votes now! Sandry/Briar and Tris/Lord Linden, or Sandry/Lord Linden, and Tris/ Briar . or annex out the Lord Linden completely! This is your last chance to vote. Next time I post up, I'm posting up MAJOR couple hints, and it'll be unchangeable! WARNING! VOTE! Oh yeah . and review.