Jes looked at the small room in the Page's wing that had been assigned to
her with satisfaction. The room was small, but it fulfilled all of the
usual needs of a page and there was plenty of extra space for any
practicing she might care to do.
The servants had already brought in her bags, they were carefully placed by the door. Jes had already checked them to see if they had been opened or looked through and they were evidently untouched. Jes grinned, she was being paranoid, why would anyone look through her things?
Jes carefully opened her bags and started to store her clothing into the small dresser that sat in one corner of the room. At a knock on the door Jes sprung up, carefully shutting her bags as she opened the door. A tall girl was standing outside, leaning against the doorframe. "Hello, are you Jestinia then?" the girl asked.
Jes wondered for a minute how the girl knew her name before remembering the slate that stood over the entrance to her room. She smiled. "Yes, but call me Jes, everyone else does."
The girl smiled, "I'm Daniella of Goldenlake, but if I'm to call you Jes then you should call me Dani, everyone else does." She said. Jes looked at the other girl for a minute, measuring up the daughter of the famous pair of leaders, Buriram and Raoul of Goldenlake who had led the Queen's Riders and the King's Own respectively although they had new leaders now under King Jonathan.
Dani ran a hand through her cropped brown hair, "You're one of the five first year girls, I'm a second year myself, I haven't met any of them yet though. You're lucky, I'm the only girl in my year even though there are a bunch in all the others. But you'll love it here. What weapon's your favorite?"
Jes stared at the talkative girl for a minute, bemused by her babbling. "I like knives best really, but I'm good with hand to hand." She said.
Dani grinned, "That's good then, we just got a new Shang. We didn't have one my first year here, they don't like to settle down, that's what Pa says. But the Shang Panther came two weeks ago and he says that he's going to stay for a long time because he's tired of his own cooking."
"A Shang?" Jes asked. She had heard of the Shang warriors of course, and envied them their talent although Jes had always wanted to be a knight. She had wanted to be a knight ever since she had first seen one, riding through the city on his great warhorse. But the Shang warriors were still famed throughout the realm and it would be interesting to learn an organized system of hand to hand combat rather than the jumble that she had managed to pick up throughout the years. It had been necessary, living where she did.
Dani was still babbling away, not noticing that Jes' attention was elsewhere. Finally she paused to take a breath and then remembered why she had come to greet Jes. "Oh yes, I came to get you for dinner," she said, "I know Lord Merric probably told you that it wasn't for another hour, but there's a special banquet tonight because they're officially announcing the new Champion and the new Commander of the King's Own. They're probably going to announce the new leader for the Queen's Rider's too come to think of it, although I'm not totally sure who that's going to be. Mum and Pa stepped down you see, of course you probably already knew that." Jes nodded, she had heard that they had stepped down from their positions obviously, she didn't live under a rock and she opened her mouth to say so but Dani was off running at the mouth again. "Well, I decided I'd tell you because you're the last arrived of the pages and Lord Merric tends to get a little scatter brained at the end of the day, especially when he's thinking of something, which I know he is because his wife is expecting a baby any minute. But the banquet's tonight and you'll have to ask Master Oakbridge where he wants you to work. Master Oakbridge is really old now but he's still obsessed with perfection so there you go." Now Jes was staring outright at Dani who just smiled and grabbed Jes' hand. "Come on then!"
Jes just followed her new friend, dazed by all the babble.
The servants had already brought in her bags, they were carefully placed by the door. Jes had already checked them to see if they had been opened or looked through and they were evidently untouched. Jes grinned, she was being paranoid, why would anyone look through her things?
Jes carefully opened her bags and started to store her clothing into the small dresser that sat in one corner of the room. At a knock on the door Jes sprung up, carefully shutting her bags as she opened the door. A tall girl was standing outside, leaning against the doorframe. "Hello, are you Jestinia then?" the girl asked.
Jes wondered for a minute how the girl knew her name before remembering the slate that stood over the entrance to her room. She smiled. "Yes, but call me Jes, everyone else does."
The girl smiled, "I'm Daniella of Goldenlake, but if I'm to call you Jes then you should call me Dani, everyone else does." She said. Jes looked at the other girl for a minute, measuring up the daughter of the famous pair of leaders, Buriram and Raoul of Goldenlake who had led the Queen's Riders and the King's Own respectively although they had new leaders now under King Jonathan.
Dani ran a hand through her cropped brown hair, "You're one of the five first year girls, I'm a second year myself, I haven't met any of them yet though. You're lucky, I'm the only girl in my year even though there are a bunch in all the others. But you'll love it here. What weapon's your favorite?"
Jes stared at the talkative girl for a minute, bemused by her babbling. "I like knives best really, but I'm good with hand to hand." She said.
Dani grinned, "That's good then, we just got a new Shang. We didn't have one my first year here, they don't like to settle down, that's what Pa says. But the Shang Panther came two weeks ago and he says that he's going to stay for a long time because he's tired of his own cooking."
"A Shang?" Jes asked. She had heard of the Shang warriors of course, and envied them their talent although Jes had always wanted to be a knight. She had wanted to be a knight ever since she had first seen one, riding through the city on his great warhorse. But the Shang warriors were still famed throughout the realm and it would be interesting to learn an organized system of hand to hand combat rather than the jumble that she had managed to pick up throughout the years. It had been necessary, living where she did.
Dani was still babbling away, not noticing that Jes' attention was elsewhere. Finally she paused to take a breath and then remembered why she had come to greet Jes. "Oh yes, I came to get you for dinner," she said, "I know Lord Merric probably told you that it wasn't for another hour, but there's a special banquet tonight because they're officially announcing the new Champion and the new Commander of the King's Own. They're probably going to announce the new leader for the Queen's Rider's too come to think of it, although I'm not totally sure who that's going to be. Mum and Pa stepped down you see, of course you probably already knew that." Jes nodded, she had heard that they had stepped down from their positions obviously, she didn't live under a rock and she opened her mouth to say so but Dani was off running at the mouth again. "Well, I decided I'd tell you because you're the last arrived of the pages and Lord Merric tends to get a little scatter brained at the end of the day, especially when he's thinking of something, which I know he is because his wife is expecting a baby any minute. But the banquet's tonight and you'll have to ask Master Oakbridge where he wants you to work. Master Oakbridge is really old now but he's still obsessed with perfection so there you go." Now Jes was staring outright at Dani who just smiled and grabbed Jes' hand. "Come on then!"
Jes just followed her new friend, dazed by all the babble.