It was midday when they came at last to their destination. Yuri, by this
time, was aching all over - riding pillion was one of the most
uncomfortable ways to travel that she could imagine. They were now at a
walled village in the style of the northern border where the villages must
be protected from Scanran raiders. The villagers appeared to know Lady
Keladry very well, since they mobbed them as soon as they rode through the
gates. Kel's flag of the Mindelan owl quartered with the Masbolle lion was
run up the flagpole on top of the main barracks and administration
building. Next to it was a flag bearing rearing horse that Yuri didn't
recognise as belonging to any particular family or guard unit.
A young man came out of the building at a run. He skidded to a halt under the indulging gazes of the villagers and bowed politely to Alanna. Then, unable to resist it any longer, he flung himself on Kel. Yuri looked on curiously. Who was he? At last he calmed down.
"Welcome to Fief New Hope, Lady Alanna. Meech will show you to your quarters."
"It's a pleasure to be here, Sir Tobe."
"Lady Keladry?"
"Kel, please Tobe, we dropped the my lady years ago. My usual rooms, I suppose? Give my page your old room then, she's going to serve as you did so kindly leave her off the work schedule please."
"Of course."
Kel led Yuri up to a small room next to a larger one that obviously belonged to the knight. It was a pleasant but plain room, containing a bed, clothes chest, shelving and, of course, a weapons rack. There were already uniforms of New Hope sky blue and Masbolle black waiting there for her - this had obviously been planned a long time ago, or else prepared very quickly and efficiently. Yuri suspected the latter, since no one would have known for sure until the King made his final (unfair) decision.
Yuri changed out of her now somewhat battered dress. Too bad, she'd never liked it anyway and she'd much rather be wearing the practical, comfortable pages' (i.e. boys') clothes that had been laid out for her. She unpacked the very few belongings she'd brought with her. Having thought that she'd have to carry it all herself, she'd been rather sparser than she might otherwise have been.
After that, Yuri straightened up her uniform, brushed her hair into a semblance of neatness and went outside. A long line of soldiers was filing slowly into a long, one storey building nearby. They all looked quite old, and wore the uniforms of the regular army, not those of the fief as Yuri would otherwise have expected. When she built up the courage, she went up to a grizzled looking veteran with greying hair.
"Excuse me sir, where can I find Lady Keladry?" she asked, taking care to be respectful in case he was an officer.
"Let me see, young sir. You'll be the page then, won't cha? It's just past midday now, so she'll be along 'ere soon enough for her own grub, don't you worry. Always eats with us, her an' young Lord Tobe. Good 'un she is, not like my old lord back home. Queue here, an' you'll be served wi' th' rest o' us."
"Thank you, uh Sergeant? I'm Yurimi of Queenscove."
"Pleased ta meet you. I'm Sergeant Jem Smithers of the New Hope Militia."
When at last Yuri progressed into the hall and collected the solid soldiers' fare that passed for food, she looked shyly around the hall for somewhere to sit. She had never been to any place like this before, although she assumed it followed a plan common to most soldiers' mess halls. Long tables stretched lengthwise from one end up to the dais, and wooden benches ran alongside them. At the far end was a small dais, on which stood a shorter table placed at right angles to the rest so that the nobles eating there faced the soldiers. There were three men sitting there so far, but there was no sign of either Lady Keladry or Lady Alanna. One man was the youth who had greeted Yuri's new knight mistress so exuberantly earlier. He looked a friendly, open man, especially for a noble since so many of them learned as children to hide their feelings. He wore his blond hair cropped short as most peasants did, nobles tending to prefer an old fashioned, longer cut and his blue eyes twinkled as he caught sight of her looking so uncertain.
He beckoned her over when he caught her eye.
"My lord?" she asked, finding that she was unable to bow whilst carrying her food tray. He smiled infectiously at her.
"Here, sit down. I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Tobe. You can eat here for today, but Kel that tomorrow you go down to be with the other youngsters. They're sitting over there. All a bit older than you, I should think, but that's what she says. When you're practised enough, you'll be waiting on us too, but that's unlikely to be for a few months. Luckily for you, your books won't arrive for a few days, and trust me, I know how many there are."
"Yes my lord, I can imagine."
"You're a Queenscove, aren't you?"
"Why, yes my lord. Yurimi of Queenscove."
"Your father was here once, during the last major war with Scanra. I was only a boy then, about your age probably. Has he ever told you about it?"
"Yes, my lord," Yurimi said, grinning. "He called it 'that miserable mudpit, but it doesn't seem that bad to me."
"That sounds like something Neal would say," Tobe said, smiling back. "But then things have changed quite a bit. We're far more civilised now than when this was a common refugee camp. Lady Keladry was in command, her first proper command, and I was her servant. That's probably how I landed this job. She had a different horse then, Peachblossom. Probably the worst tempered and most troublesome horse that I've ever seen, but he and my lady got on fine. He used to bite your father all the time. He told me it was just because he squealed so satisfactorily - I have horse magic, you see." Yuri could easily understand that - the number of pranks she and her brother had pulled off for no particular reason except to see the expression on his face.
Just then, Lady Keladry arrived.
"What are you telling her, Tobe?"
"Nothing about you," he replied quickly, looking rather like a boy of Kel's own age caught in the process of mischief. "I was just saying about Neal and Peachblossom."
"That temperamental old brute," Kel said affectionately. "I still miss him. You can sit down Yurimi." This was to Yuri, who had risen politely at her entrance.
"I think the first thing will be weapons. I saw you have a glaive of course, and I think we'll just need practice on that - after all, I don't think there will be much I can teach you. Do you have any other weapons?"
"No, my lady. My father only let me bring my glaive because mother insisted."
"Then we'll issue you some from the army stores. There'll be no problems with that - its something every capable soldier at New Hope is entitled to and by the time I'm done you will be competent. I know you won't have a horse, so we'll be riding to Fort Mastiff tomorrow to buy one off Lord Wyldon. He trains the best horses there are around, and Tobe helps him so we'll be able to get a good one for a fair price. Then, let's see, I'll have young Meech give you a tour after we've eaten. After that, I'd like you to explore yourself, and possibly get to know a few people. If you're commanding, or ruling, a small place like this, it's very important to know your subordinates. You really have the time to yourself. I'd advise that you turn in early tonight. It's been a long day, and we have an early start tomorrow."
A young man came out of the building at a run. He skidded to a halt under the indulging gazes of the villagers and bowed politely to Alanna. Then, unable to resist it any longer, he flung himself on Kel. Yuri looked on curiously. Who was he? At last he calmed down.
"Welcome to Fief New Hope, Lady Alanna. Meech will show you to your quarters."
"It's a pleasure to be here, Sir Tobe."
"Lady Keladry?"
"Kel, please Tobe, we dropped the my lady years ago. My usual rooms, I suppose? Give my page your old room then, she's going to serve as you did so kindly leave her off the work schedule please."
"Of course."
Kel led Yuri up to a small room next to a larger one that obviously belonged to the knight. It was a pleasant but plain room, containing a bed, clothes chest, shelving and, of course, a weapons rack. There were already uniforms of New Hope sky blue and Masbolle black waiting there for her - this had obviously been planned a long time ago, or else prepared very quickly and efficiently. Yuri suspected the latter, since no one would have known for sure until the King made his final (unfair) decision.
Yuri changed out of her now somewhat battered dress. Too bad, she'd never liked it anyway and she'd much rather be wearing the practical, comfortable pages' (i.e. boys') clothes that had been laid out for her. She unpacked the very few belongings she'd brought with her. Having thought that she'd have to carry it all herself, she'd been rather sparser than she might otherwise have been.
After that, Yuri straightened up her uniform, brushed her hair into a semblance of neatness and went outside. A long line of soldiers was filing slowly into a long, one storey building nearby. They all looked quite old, and wore the uniforms of the regular army, not those of the fief as Yuri would otherwise have expected. When she built up the courage, she went up to a grizzled looking veteran with greying hair.
"Excuse me sir, where can I find Lady Keladry?" she asked, taking care to be respectful in case he was an officer.
"Let me see, young sir. You'll be the page then, won't cha? It's just past midday now, so she'll be along 'ere soon enough for her own grub, don't you worry. Always eats with us, her an' young Lord Tobe. Good 'un she is, not like my old lord back home. Queue here, an' you'll be served wi' th' rest o' us."
"Thank you, uh Sergeant? I'm Yurimi of Queenscove."
"Pleased ta meet you. I'm Sergeant Jem Smithers of the New Hope Militia."
When at last Yuri progressed into the hall and collected the solid soldiers' fare that passed for food, she looked shyly around the hall for somewhere to sit. She had never been to any place like this before, although she assumed it followed a plan common to most soldiers' mess halls. Long tables stretched lengthwise from one end up to the dais, and wooden benches ran alongside them. At the far end was a small dais, on which stood a shorter table placed at right angles to the rest so that the nobles eating there faced the soldiers. There were three men sitting there so far, but there was no sign of either Lady Keladry or Lady Alanna. One man was the youth who had greeted Yuri's new knight mistress so exuberantly earlier. He looked a friendly, open man, especially for a noble since so many of them learned as children to hide their feelings. He wore his blond hair cropped short as most peasants did, nobles tending to prefer an old fashioned, longer cut and his blue eyes twinkled as he caught sight of her looking so uncertain.
He beckoned her over when he caught her eye.
"My lord?" she asked, finding that she was unable to bow whilst carrying her food tray. He smiled infectiously at her.
"Here, sit down. I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Tobe. You can eat here for today, but Kel that tomorrow you go down to be with the other youngsters. They're sitting over there. All a bit older than you, I should think, but that's what she says. When you're practised enough, you'll be waiting on us too, but that's unlikely to be for a few months. Luckily for you, your books won't arrive for a few days, and trust me, I know how many there are."
"Yes my lord, I can imagine."
"You're a Queenscove, aren't you?"
"Why, yes my lord. Yurimi of Queenscove."
"Your father was here once, during the last major war with Scanra. I was only a boy then, about your age probably. Has he ever told you about it?"
"Yes, my lord," Yurimi said, grinning. "He called it 'that miserable mudpit, but it doesn't seem that bad to me."
"That sounds like something Neal would say," Tobe said, smiling back. "But then things have changed quite a bit. We're far more civilised now than when this was a common refugee camp. Lady Keladry was in command, her first proper command, and I was her servant. That's probably how I landed this job. She had a different horse then, Peachblossom. Probably the worst tempered and most troublesome horse that I've ever seen, but he and my lady got on fine. He used to bite your father all the time. He told me it was just because he squealed so satisfactorily - I have horse magic, you see." Yuri could easily understand that - the number of pranks she and her brother had pulled off for no particular reason except to see the expression on his face.
Just then, Lady Keladry arrived.
"What are you telling her, Tobe?"
"Nothing about you," he replied quickly, looking rather like a boy of Kel's own age caught in the process of mischief. "I was just saying about Neal and Peachblossom."
"That temperamental old brute," Kel said affectionately. "I still miss him. You can sit down Yurimi." This was to Yuri, who had risen politely at her entrance.
"I think the first thing will be weapons. I saw you have a glaive of course, and I think we'll just need practice on that - after all, I don't think there will be much I can teach you. Do you have any other weapons?"
"No, my lady. My father only let me bring my glaive because mother insisted."
"Then we'll issue you some from the army stores. There'll be no problems with that - its something every capable soldier at New Hope is entitled to and by the time I'm done you will be competent. I know you won't have a horse, so we'll be riding to Fort Mastiff tomorrow to buy one off Lord Wyldon. He trains the best horses there are around, and Tobe helps him so we'll be able to get a good one for a fair price. Then, let's see, I'll have young Meech give you a tour after we've eaten. After that, I'd like you to explore yourself, and possibly get to know a few people. If you're commanding, or ruling, a small place like this, it's very important to know your subordinates. You really have the time to yourself. I'd advise that you turn in early tonight. It's been a long day, and we have an early start tomorrow."