Disclaimer: Tortall and the Gift and Tusaine all belong to Tamora Piece, but everything else is ALL MINE!!! Muahahaha!
~*Extreme Ways*~
Chapter 2: Back at the Ranch…
Brendan sighed as he lay on his bed. It was late, and he couldn't stop thinking about Payton. Her skin last night……….her hair. He had just lost his best friend to a bunch of mindless girls with nothing better to do than gossip. He stared at his leaky low ceiling and listened to the rain smack his rattling window next to his bed in torrents.
He sat up quickly. 'I can't let this happen to me,' he thought to himself, 'I'm killing myself over losing her. There must be something I can do…..' His thoughts ran off. Suddenly, a completely foolish idea hit him. 'I have to make myself good for her,' he thought, smiling inwardly. 'She'll go off to that convent of hers and meet dashing knights and forget all about me, but by Gods, I will make myself good for her.'
He stood up onto the creaky floor and gathered his belongings. He didn't have much, only a few ratty clothes and other personal items. The small room was dark, but he moved stealthily around it like he had memorized it.
He ran out into the freezing rain and covered his head with a cloak. His boots were already covered with clinging mud. He looked around to make sure no one was walking about this late at night and hurried off to the stables.
By the time he got there, we was absolutely soaking wet. 'Not exactly the best time to be doing this, Brendan,' he thought to himself. Then of course, the rain made it unable for anyone to heard the horses hooves beat on the ground as he led in out into the rain. He had chosen Lord Melvin's fastest horse, the stallion he was the most proud of. 'A payback for what you did to Payton,' he thought. He wasn't worried about anyone tracking him, they weren't going to. Where he was headed was the last place they would ever expect of a poor common boy like him.
He kicked the horse into gallop and he was on his way.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Payton followed Ciarra into her new quarters. Fortunately, they weren't near her sister's, so it was somewhat of a reprieve from her cruelty. She opened the white door to reveal a large, pink lace clad room. Mirrors adorned almost every piece of furniture, and the canopy-laden bed was decked out in pink and ivory pillows. There were about ten chairs, and she supposed these were for the ladies' to faint in if they found themselves to beautiful when they looked in the hundreds of mirrors. She laughed out loud when Ciarra hurried to one of them to once again check her hair in a mirror.
"Atrocious!" wailed Ciarra, "I'll tell you, I'm never riding a horrid horse again. Look what it does to my hair! And my complexion!" She started dusting herself with a complementary powder puff.
Payton, meanwhile, had dropped her bags on the floor next to her bed and fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When she awoke, it was dark out. She quickly changed out of the breeches she was still wearing and into a simple blue cotton dress. She checked the moon outside her wondow. From the looks of it, it was near two o'clock. She pulled on a pair of shoes and hurried out the door to her room and into the hallway. It was black except for an occasional candle lighting the way down the carpeted corridor. She turned left and strode quickly down the hallway towards the kitchens.
Ciarra had given her a brief tour yesterday, cut short when her friends ran over to her hugging her and gossiping, but she had had time to show Payton where the kitchens were. Payton reached the end of the hall and walked to a massive marble staircase towards the servants quarters. When she got to them near the back of the castle, she found this place very much alive. Women bustled about with linens and dresses, pushing past her as if she weren't there. She silently thanked her simple dress and walked forward. A girl stopped her just as she was to enter the kitchens.
"Well," she said, studying Payton with scrutinizing eyes, "you're not from around here, are you."
"Actually, I just arrived today," Payton said, wanting to keep it as simple as possible. She didn't want these women shooing her back off to bed.
"That would explain it," the young woman said, her mouth turning up into a smile. "My name's Mairen," she said, offering a hand.
"Payton," the girl replied, taking Mairen's hand and shaking it, "it's nice to meet you."
"So, you looking for food or something?" asked Mairen.
"Well, yes. I just woke up from a nap and I was looking for the kitchens."
"Right this way," Maire said, ushering Payton along. "So what do you want? We've got bread, pastas, fish, meat………you name it"
"A bowl of soup, perhaps?" intoned Payton.
"Soup? You sure?" asked Mairen to a nodding head. "Alright! Soup it is." And with that, she poured Payton a bowl of steaming soup and brought it over to her.
"What room are you in? I didn't see you arrive," asken Mairen
"Well, actually…....." Payton fingered her bowl nervously. She liked this girl, and she knew many people who held her noble status against her when they found out. She took a deep breath "upstairs."
"Upstairs?! Like as in you're a noble?" yelled Mairen, "But, they never come down here! No, you're lying, I can tell." She started laughing.
"Think what you want," said Payton, her eyes averted. Mairen looked at her long and hard.
"You really are from upstairs, ein't you?" Mairen looked at Payton hard.
"Yes," said Payton, her eyes meeting Mairen's just as fiercely.
"So why are you down here? I mean, nobles never come down here unless we were late cleaning their dress or something. And this is your first day!"
"I guess I was just really hungry," Payton replied, "that and the fact that all the pink was getting to me."
Mairen started laughing again. "I think I like you, Payton, for all you're a noble."
~*~*~*~*~
Brendan stopped at an roadside inn, exhausted from the ride last night and the rest of the next day. It was quite uneventful, and he knew he wanted to keep it that way. He hoped no one would notice he was gone for good until it was too late. Lord Melvin usually didn't go riding, so he probably wouldn't know his trusty steed was missing along with some of Nathaniel's finest clothing for awhile.
"Ein't yeh a bit young to be ridin' off on yer own, lad?" a voice boomed behind him, "and a horse! Where did yeh ever get that 'un? She's a beauty."
"I am off to Tortall to visit my uncle," said Brendan, reciting a lie he'd practiced on the way over, "I have some news for him, and a guard couldn't be spared at the moment." He tried to keep his soft lilt from being heard. He was dressed like a noble in Nathaniel's old clothes and supposed he should act like one as well.
"Yeh never know what kind 'o men are around 'ere. Yeh better keep an eye out, lad, pickpockets and murders are all over these days."
"Well, thank you for your hospitality," replied Brendan with a grin, "and if it's not too much trouble, I would like a bath."
"Right away, sir," the innkeeper replied. Brendan turned and walked toward the bar, easily stealing a purse from a rather large redhead on his way. When he got to the bar, he opened it to find a handful of gold nobles and even more silver nobles. He smiled inwardly to himself. "This ought to do the trick," and with that he was off to his rooms to take a nice, long bath.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Payton smiled when she woke up the next morning. She had stayed most of the night with Mairen and had met many other girls who worked at the castle. They had come from all over the realm, and she got to know each one quite well before she fell asleep into her soup. The girls got quite the kick out of that, and they got her a rag and told her she should go back to bed. Payton had obeyed reluctantly.
She didn't know girls could be so much fun. When she lived in Inaugh, her fief, she was only friends with boys because all the girls there treated her like dirt. They teased her relentlessly and only talked to her when their parents forced them. But these girls, these girls treated her like a real human being. They shared stories of their childhood and even told her about all the secret passages in the castle. "That way you won't get caught if you want to come down here again," Mairen had told her with a smile, "it was pure luck you didn't get caught. Some of the newer sisters patrol the halls nightly, and if you're caught out of bed, you won't forget it."
Payton got out of her bed and took a nice, warm bath. She cleaned the dirt off of every bit of herself from the long ride the day before and then scrubbed her milky shin until it was pink. She got out of her bath and donned a sapphire blue dress that was cut high in the neck. She knew that she didn't really have much to flaunt, so she didn't push it. She pulled a brush through her hair, trying to help it dry and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She fingered her stubborn chin, and brushed out her dress. 'I guess I'll pass,'she thought to herself, 'I'm not a beauty like Ciarra, but I'll pass.' She snorted at the mention of her sister. Where was she, anyway? Payton had no idea what she was to be doing, now, so she opened the door with a creak and peeked out. Girls were rushing past, some half dressed, yelling to each other and giggling.
"Fiona, have you given me my red dress back yet?"
"Where in the goddess's name are my black shoes?"
"Does anyone have extra rouge I can borrow? I ran out!"
When Payton stepped out of her room, she was almost trampled by who she supposed was Fiona, because the girl was carrying a rather risqué red dress.
"Oh! Sorry!" she glanced at Payton and almost kept walking. "Wait," she said, turning back to face Payton, "you're the new girl, aren't you?"
"Um, yeah, that's me," said Payton with a little bit of a smile, "what's going on? Does this happen every morning?"
"Well, actually, er…."
"Payton"
"………right, Payton. Actually, it's market day, so we're all getting dressed for it. You're Ciarra's little sister, aren't you?" Payton looked her over. She was about Ciarra's age, with curly chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes that twinkled.
"Yes, I am," replied Payton, indifferently, "are you friends with her?"
"Well, no, not really. You have to gorgeous to be friends with Ciarra, and trust me, I definitely don't pass." Payton let out a small sigh of relief.
"I was under the impression that everyone here was friends with her," said Payton.
"Really? That's strange, because only about five girls here are good enough, and the rest are just written off by Ciarra as hopeless. See that girl, right there?" asked Fiona, pointing to a gorgeous blond-haired girl who was dressed in a soft pink dress. "That's Evelyn, and she's a whiz at putting together great parties. She's god a rather powerful gift she uses to help her with it, you know. And there," she pointed to a small graceful girl with golden hair that fell below her waist in waves. "That's Riley, the second most beautiful next to your sister. Those twins right there," she pointed to two girls with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, and the creamiest skin she'd ever seen, "those are Siobhán and Shea. They just got into Ciarra's clique last year after they successfully got perfects in the beauty category on exams. And there's your sister's best friend," Fiona said, pointing to a strawberry blonde with golden eyes and ghostly white skin. Next to Ciarra, and Lady Kelleigh, she was the most beautiful woman Payton had ever seen. "Her name's Shannon and she actually beat your sister in the etiquette portion of the exams last year. She was the only one to beat her in anything" whispered Fiona, so the other girls wouldn't overhear their conversation.
Payton snorted with laughter. "Impressive," she said sarcastically, under her breath. Fiona heard it and grinned.
"Do you have a sponsor yet? Because I would be glad to show you your way around the castle and all if you want. It can be a bit confusing at first."
"Well, my sister was supposed to be mine, but it appears as though she has other things on her agenda," Payton replied as she watched Ciarra flow down the hallway toward the dining hall for breakfast, "I accept."
"Great! Let's get going then!" said Fiona with a smile.
A/N: I hoped you guys liked it! There's going to be a lot more happening soon, so sorry if it's a bit boring…….I know the feeling. Thanks to all my reviewers! (actually, just the two of them…….*sigh*) I really liked hearing your critique and suggestions! Thanks!
Reviewers:
Krizta: She does seem that way, doesn't she? I was thinking about that, too. Brendan's a hottie, maybe I'll make the story about him. Lol. Haha, either that or I'll have the Sisters ream her out for being snotty, and she'll mellow out a little.
Reviewer: Haha, it's actually kinda funny. I came up with the idea when I was on the phone with my brother, who goes to school at Cornell. I went to visit him there awhile ago, and found out that they go gorge jumping there at night (can you imagine? I guess they don't have anything better to do…). So I added in the full moon to make it seem like they didn't so it every night and voila! Quarry jumping and Payton breaks her leg! Thanks for the review!
Name Pronunciations for all that have problems with these things like me:
Payton: (PAY-ton)
Ciarra: (cee-AIR-a)
Fiona: (fee-OWN-a
Mairen: (MARE-in)
Evelyn: (EV-el-in)
Riley: (RYE-lee)
Kelleigh: (KEL-lee)
Siobhán: (shiv-AWN)
Shea: (SHAY)