A/N: Thanks again for your reviews, I really appreciate the support.
Apple, Cherry or Blueberry?
Chapter 4: Flashbacks
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been a good first day. That in itself was a miracle. I didn't exactly have the best first day
record. On the first day of my tutoring
class, I fell asleep on my desk, amid the snickers of the rest of my family. On my first day of sword training, I had my
pride ruined when the man-at- arms paired me with my older sister. I never doubted women as warriors since
Raven beat me that day. I practiced
non-stop for months after that to regain the man's satisfaction. My first day of command at 15 I actually did
well, but I had forgotten to eat or drink and ended up face first in the dirt. Not a good day- they had won under my
command- but I'll always remember it as 'the day I made a fool out of myself by
falling in the dirt' day.
Today had been my first day in the Own. My family had thrown me a party. To be accepted into The King's Own was the
greatest honor I could imagine. These men were respected as much as any proven
knight, if not more. I was Private
Domitan of Masbolle, and my first day had gone smoothly. Lord Raoul had come back to Corus to pick me
up and they had gone through everything I owned. He introduced me to everyone in Third Company, the one he had
assigned me to. Nice bunch of fellows, and
they all invited me to come watch the first year pages try to tilt.
We went and watched, sitting on the
fence or standing next to it. I saw my
cousin Neal the Meathead and who must have been Keladry of Mindelan. Nealan had written to me so much about her I
felt I knew her. She blended in with
the rest of the pages, so much that I knew that's what she was hoping for. I couldn't see her very well from that
distance, but I immediately felt an enormous respect for her.
She winced as Neal completely missed the
target. We watched as each page went by
and made fools out of themselves. The
men next to me made quiet comments before and after each run. When the girl started to line herself up, I
noticed for the first time how large her mount was, excessively large for a ten-year-old
girl. The men suddenly made a circle,
unknowingly including me, and began to bet.
One of them was writing down the amounts and such while the others
discussed things to bet on. One of the
subjects was the girl-page. Wolset,
another private, decided to see if he could place a bet with anyone.
" If that girl manages to stay on that
beast, I'll pay for a meal at the Jugged Hare."
The men chuckled, but no one took him
up on it, they obviously didn't want to pay for his meal.
" I'd like to get in on that." I said to Wolset. I realized he must have been joking because they all stared at me. I wasn't doing much to improve my image, but
if half the things Meathead had told me about her were true, I thought I had a good
chance.
He smiled at me slowly; he must have thought me a total fool. One of his companions 'took pity' on me and
tried to reason me out of it.
" That horse will throw her off the
second she kicks him, trust me son, I've seen what he can do, the nasty piece
of work."
" I'll take my chances." I told him, hoping I wasn't going to make an
idiot out of myself.
He shrugged and they all turned back
to watch her first try. She started
fine, she didn't kick him, she whispered something in his ear, and he immediately
began to gallop to the target. She
began to try to lift her lance, only to find she couldn't. The training master yelled something at her
but I couldn't catch it. She managed to
clip the edge of the shield and she braced herself for the impact of the buffet
bag that came soon after. She pulled
harshly on the reins to slow her mount down- I didn't blame her, he looked like
he had a mouth as hard as stone- but instead of resisting, he whinnied in
protest and reared.
She would have fallen but for the
quilted tilting saddle, and as it was she barely managed to stay on by dropping
her lance, throwing her weight against the gelding's back and releasing the
pressure on his mouth.
" The horse is too big for that
page," Lord Raoul called, just coming over to stand by us. "I'm surprised you let him ride that
gelding, Cavall."
My lord obviously hadn't noticed this
page was different.
" The probationer picked that mount
herself, Goldenlake," The training master replied coldly. "She had a choice of horses, just like
the others."
The girl turned her mount to face us
and the strangest look came onto her face; I grinned, hoping to catch her eye. Lord Raoul looked startled. "This is the girl?" he asked. Lord Wyldon grimaced and nodded.
They talked only a little while longer before Lord Raoul came back to us and we
rode off. Wolset dropped back to ride
with me.
" What would you like to eat
tonight."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
" Dom?" Kel asked, pulling him out of his reverie.
" Hmmmm?"
" What does this have to do with
anything? All I asked was what happened
today and why. I just want to know what
Lord Raoul was talking-"
He put his hand over her mouth, cutting her off.
" All in good time, Kel." He said, making her scowl.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was sitting in the Jugged Hare; a
fresh and warm meal just in me, when I found the group huddled together in a
corner, looking scared. Curious, I sat
down next to them wondering what could make ten grown men so perturbed in such
a relaxing environment. Their Sergeant,
Flyndan, I believe, wasn't with them. Taking a seat next to Wolset, I studied
them. They very much resembled a bunch
of rabbits; wanting to run, but too spooked to move.
" What's wrong?" I asked a little on the loud side and got
the intended jumps of surprise. Not
bothering to hide my amusement I listened to all the men hush me before a man
named Boyder answered me in a shushed voice.
" It's my lord's birthday."
Oh, that explains everything, I thought to myself.
" And?" I prompted. "Let me
guess, you forgot to get him a gift."
He seemed to be annoyed by the fact
that I was still there, but then one of the others muttered that I was 'one of them'
now, and I had a right to know.
" Every year, somewhere around this
day, My Lord renews his tradition." He
winced visibly but continued. "He
plays a practical joke on us, for his birthday. Sometimes after, sometimes before, but most of the time it's right
on time. Like clockwork."
" He never does it to any of the other
Companies." Wolset added bitterly.
Boyder nodded. "One time he put a truth spell on our
food. By Midnight we were all telling
him and the Lioness things we swore would never see the light of day."
I smiled; the man was original, I had to give him that. "Why didn't you just refuse to
answer?"
" Because most of us were conveniently
drunk at the time." Came the short
reply from the other end of the table.
" What else did he do?" I asked him eagerly. I was hooked.
" There was that time he faked his own
death. We were half-way through the
funeral when he burst out of the coffin, making the diggers die of heart
attacks." They proceeded telling me the
tales of torture they had all gone through.
With each heart-felt story, I admired Lord Raoul increasingly. I also felt increasingly sorry for the men
under his command. Why didn't they pull
a prank on him? He seemed like the kind
of person who would take it in stride. I
voiced these opinions, making them laugh heartily. Until they discovered I was serious.
" Are you mad?" Wolset demanded.
" I'm going to do with or without you." I said.
" He is mad." Boyder said with awe.
" Are you in, or out?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As I positioned the flour-filled sack above
the door, my mind tried to reason me out of it. I was more than half-willing to give it up then and there, but I
had told everyone I was going through with it. So I would.
' You don't want to be
court-martialed on your first day, do you?'
Obviously, the logical part of me
wasn't comforting, so I tried my military side.
' The element of surprise' immediately
ran through my head. No, I
decided, I had to go through with this, even if just because it was too late to
back out now.
Footsteps that could only belong to
one person sounded throughout the hall.
I took a deep breath and called to him.
"My lord, could you come here for a second."
The door was partially open, so there was no doubting my voices origin.
" Sure. What-" He pushed open the door to enter, making the open bag
fall over and spill its contents on him.
He reached up and calmly stared at use after wiping the flour from his
face.
" Whose idea was this?" He asked me; I was standing in front of him.
" Mine, my lord." I informed him, clasping my hands behind my back.
" I suppose they told you about my
birthday surprises every year?"
I nodded.
" And this was your reaction?"
I nodded again.
He smiled wolfishly and reached out
for a handshake. "Welcome to the
team, Domitan. I have the suspicion
you'll make a very nice addition to Third Company."
END FLASHBACK
A/N: So, is it stupid, or what? Thank
you for every single review, I got more than I asked for, which was nice. Also, I'm sorry this took so long to update,
I had a doctor's appointment, with needles and everything, and I was
sidetracked after that. Guess what? I think I'm almost done with this story. I only have one or two more chapters in me,
I think. Review, my dear readers, or I
shall be forced to make the order "Off with their heads!"
**Valencia