Ch. 3
OK people, here's chapter three. I know chapter one was pretty short, and chapter two wasn't much longer, so I'll try to lengthen my chapters a bit. But the fact is, is that I have very little time to write do to evil teachers and grumpy parents, so it's either shorter chapters closer together, or longer chapters less frequently. PLEASE REVIEW! Come on people don't make me grovel. I'd like to maintain some dignity, but I need to know what you think. Otherwise I won't know if I'm doing something wrong, and could improve my writing. I also don't know if anyone else besides my three whole reviewers likes the story, or is actually reading it. So review when you're done. If you did review the last chapter, look for your name below.
Ice-otter: Thank you for your reassurance and sympathy. I hope to live up to your praise. I'll get some more chapters up soon for you to look at, tell me what you think (be honest).
Kirsten: Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Don't worry, I plan to keep writing, I'm already planning another fic (Harry Potter, it'll be a while though). For now this is my one baby. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I pretend to own the characters/settings/plots/ideas of Tamora Pierce. All I own is Elentari and her life story, and I don't even really own her as I have no patent. Please don't sue me. You won't get very much if you do anyway, I have no money.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*
Elentari woke about an hour before dawn, purely out of habit. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and gasped as her feet hit the cold stone floor. Quickly, she grabbed her slippers and shoved them on her feet, and shuffled into her wash-room. She splashed her face with cold water to wake up, then changed into her training clothes. Elentari's rigorous daily schedule started with morning practice dances by herself with staff and sword, then some strength training exercises. After completing them she put food and water out for her cat, still sleeping in her bed, and headed to one of the smaller practice courts on the school grounds.
Today she arrived a little early, so she began to stretch and loosen up her sleep weary joints as she waited for Liam to arrive.
"Liam," she thought, as she recalled the previous night's occurrences. But had no time to dwell on them again, because just then Liam came striding through the door of the court.
"Good morning," he greeted her boisterously, "finally decided to turn up on time for once I see." Elentari hardly ever showed up on time. She was usually about ten minutes late, and Liam liked to tease her about it.
Elentari merely glared and finished her stretch, setting herself for the first exercise. Every morning she met Liam out here for their morning exercise routine. It started with some slow, controlled, graceful movements and rhythmic breathing to calm the mind and soul. Then they would move into a slightly faster pattern dance with out weapons, finally increasing the difficulty and speed to a point where their arms and legs just appear to be moving blurs. They incorporate in some acrobatic tricks in the dance as well. When they were done they practiced kicks, blocks, and punches, and then some flexibility exercises. It takes them about an hour in all, and by the end she was always sweating. This day was no different.
"How is it that you barely break a sweat, and aren't even breathing hard after that?" she demanded of Liam between heavy breaths. "I mean come on, if I hadn't been here with you, I wouldn't believe you had worked out at all."
Liam merely shrugged, smiling mysteriously as he stretched.
After she caught her breath, Elentari started heading back to her room to take a bath before breakfast.
"Elentari!" Liam called as she was walking out the door. "See me in my office after breakfast, we need to discuss something,"
Her stomach sank, but she nodded. She knew it was going to be about last night.
"Oh well," she thought as she soaked in her tub," at least I'll have the opportunity to ask him what's bothering him. She climbed out of her tub and dried quickly. She slipped into the training uniform, a pair of brown cotton breeches, and a loose, un-dyed cotton shirt. It was simple and practical for all the training and chores they did. They did have a formal uniform, but that was only used for special occasions. She pulled on her boots and walked out the door and down the hall to the cafeteria.
Once in the cafeteria, she grabbed a tray and got in line for food. Today it was porridge. She scanned the room for her friends, and smiled as she spotted them waving to her from the corner. She walked over and sat down next to Lenora, her best friend. Across from her sat Jay, he grinned at her as she sat down,
"We were wondering when you'd get here," he said with mock seriousness, "we considered sending out a search party, we were so worried. You're not one to miss meals." Upon this comment, Lenora threw her apple core at him. He merely ducked and stuck out his tongue.
Elentari's spirits lifted observing her two closest friends. They could always cheer her up. Happily she reached for an orange, and began peeling it. She peeled off a section of the orange, and put it in her mouth, sucking on it thoughtfully.
"What's wrong Leni?" Lenora asked, using their nickname for her.
Elentari looked up with a start, she hadn't realized that she had zoned out, but apparently her friends had, as both of them were looking at her questioningly.
"Oh, nothing," she said, "I was just thinking.."
"Congratulations." Jay cut in dryly.
Elentari glared at him and continued, " I was just thinking about next year. I mean you two are graduating next month, and I'll probably have to stay. I'm just not looking forward to being alone."
"Don't worry Leni," Lenora said, " things will turn out fine. Plus, you might graduate this year too. After all you're at the same level as us, you're just a few years younger."
"Five," Elentari said as she gave Lenora a look as if to say 'yeah right'.
"Oh come on Leni," Jay wheedled, "stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's not that unlikely. You're smarter than any of us, better at sword, and hand-to-hand, and just as good as the rest with staff. Plus you're loads stronger than most of the other girls here. Just think positive."
"Thanks guys, but I'm still going to worry." Elentari said.
"We know, it's just you nature." Jay said as he patted her on the shoulder, while Lenora hugged her at the same time. Even though they were five years older, they were Elentari's closest friends. Those three were an unbreakable trio and Elentari loved both of them dearly.
When breakfast ended she picked her tray up with a sigh and brought it over to the dishwashers. As they walked out, she separated from her friends, and told them she would meet up with them in class. Then she trotted down the hall to Liam's office. She stopped at the big oak door and sighed.
"Might as well get this over with," she sighed, and rapped on the door lightly, but firmly.
"Come in," Liam's voice said from inside. Elentari turned the handle and stepped into his office.
To be continued.
I know I'm being really evil by stopping here but you'll have to read the next chapter. I know these last few chapters have been a little slow, but I had to set up a bit of a background. More will be revealed as the story goes. I promise next chapter gets into the main plot, and answers some questions. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but you have to admit I've been pretty generous with my chapter a day retinue. I'm spoiling you, I know, but don't get too used to it, finals are coming up and the chapters may get further apart.
OK people, here's chapter three. I know chapter one was pretty short, and chapter two wasn't much longer, so I'll try to lengthen my chapters a bit. But the fact is, is that I have very little time to write do to evil teachers and grumpy parents, so it's either shorter chapters closer together, or longer chapters less frequently. PLEASE REVIEW! Come on people don't make me grovel. I'd like to maintain some dignity, but I need to know what you think. Otherwise I won't know if I'm doing something wrong, and could improve my writing. I also don't know if anyone else besides my three whole reviewers likes the story, or is actually reading it. So review when you're done. If you did review the last chapter, look for your name below.
Ice-otter: Thank you for your reassurance and sympathy. I hope to live up to your praise. I'll get some more chapters up soon for you to look at, tell me what you think (be honest).
Kirsten: Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Don't worry, I plan to keep writing, I'm already planning another fic (Harry Potter, it'll be a while though). For now this is my one baby. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I pretend to own the characters/settings/plots/ideas of Tamora Pierce. All I own is Elentari and her life story, and I don't even really own her as I have no patent. Please don't sue me. You won't get very much if you do anyway, I have no money.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*
Elentari woke about an hour before dawn, purely out of habit. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and gasped as her feet hit the cold stone floor. Quickly, she grabbed her slippers and shoved them on her feet, and shuffled into her wash-room. She splashed her face with cold water to wake up, then changed into her training clothes. Elentari's rigorous daily schedule started with morning practice dances by herself with staff and sword, then some strength training exercises. After completing them she put food and water out for her cat, still sleeping in her bed, and headed to one of the smaller practice courts on the school grounds.
Today she arrived a little early, so she began to stretch and loosen up her sleep weary joints as she waited for Liam to arrive.
"Liam," she thought, as she recalled the previous night's occurrences. But had no time to dwell on them again, because just then Liam came striding through the door of the court.
"Good morning," he greeted her boisterously, "finally decided to turn up on time for once I see." Elentari hardly ever showed up on time. She was usually about ten minutes late, and Liam liked to tease her about it.
Elentari merely glared and finished her stretch, setting herself for the first exercise. Every morning she met Liam out here for their morning exercise routine. It started with some slow, controlled, graceful movements and rhythmic breathing to calm the mind and soul. Then they would move into a slightly faster pattern dance with out weapons, finally increasing the difficulty and speed to a point where their arms and legs just appear to be moving blurs. They incorporate in some acrobatic tricks in the dance as well. When they were done they practiced kicks, blocks, and punches, and then some flexibility exercises. It takes them about an hour in all, and by the end she was always sweating. This day was no different.
"How is it that you barely break a sweat, and aren't even breathing hard after that?" she demanded of Liam between heavy breaths. "I mean come on, if I hadn't been here with you, I wouldn't believe you had worked out at all."
Liam merely shrugged, smiling mysteriously as he stretched.
After she caught her breath, Elentari started heading back to her room to take a bath before breakfast.
"Elentari!" Liam called as she was walking out the door. "See me in my office after breakfast, we need to discuss something,"
Her stomach sank, but she nodded. She knew it was going to be about last night.
"Oh well," she thought as she soaked in her tub," at least I'll have the opportunity to ask him what's bothering him. She climbed out of her tub and dried quickly. She slipped into the training uniform, a pair of brown cotton breeches, and a loose, un-dyed cotton shirt. It was simple and practical for all the training and chores they did. They did have a formal uniform, but that was only used for special occasions. She pulled on her boots and walked out the door and down the hall to the cafeteria.
Once in the cafeteria, she grabbed a tray and got in line for food. Today it was porridge. She scanned the room for her friends, and smiled as she spotted them waving to her from the corner. She walked over and sat down next to Lenora, her best friend. Across from her sat Jay, he grinned at her as she sat down,
"We were wondering when you'd get here," he said with mock seriousness, "we considered sending out a search party, we were so worried. You're not one to miss meals." Upon this comment, Lenora threw her apple core at him. He merely ducked and stuck out his tongue.
Elentari's spirits lifted observing her two closest friends. They could always cheer her up. Happily she reached for an orange, and began peeling it. She peeled off a section of the orange, and put it in her mouth, sucking on it thoughtfully.
"What's wrong Leni?" Lenora asked, using their nickname for her.
Elentari looked up with a start, she hadn't realized that she had zoned out, but apparently her friends had, as both of them were looking at her questioningly.
"Oh, nothing," she said, "I was just thinking.."
"Congratulations." Jay cut in dryly.
Elentari glared at him and continued, " I was just thinking about next year. I mean you two are graduating next month, and I'll probably have to stay. I'm just not looking forward to being alone."
"Don't worry Leni," Lenora said, " things will turn out fine. Plus, you might graduate this year too. After all you're at the same level as us, you're just a few years younger."
"Five," Elentari said as she gave Lenora a look as if to say 'yeah right'.
"Oh come on Leni," Jay wheedled, "stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's not that unlikely. You're smarter than any of us, better at sword, and hand-to-hand, and just as good as the rest with staff. Plus you're loads stronger than most of the other girls here. Just think positive."
"Thanks guys, but I'm still going to worry." Elentari said.
"We know, it's just you nature." Jay said as he patted her on the shoulder, while Lenora hugged her at the same time. Even though they were five years older, they were Elentari's closest friends. Those three were an unbreakable trio and Elentari loved both of them dearly.
When breakfast ended she picked her tray up with a sigh and brought it over to the dishwashers. As they walked out, she separated from her friends, and told them she would meet up with them in class. Then she trotted down the hall to Liam's office. She stopped at the big oak door and sighed.
"Might as well get this over with," she sighed, and rapped on the door lightly, but firmly.
"Come in," Liam's voice said from inside. Elentari turned the handle and stepped into his office.
To be continued.
I know I'm being really evil by stopping here but you'll have to read the next chapter. I know these last few chapters have been a little slow, but I had to set up a bit of a background. More will be revealed as the story goes. I promise next chapter gets into the main plot, and answers some questions. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but you have to admit I've been pretty generous with my chapter a day retinue. I'm spoiling you, I know, but don't get too used to it, finals are coming up and the chapters may get further apart.
