Author's note- school starts wed. after that, I am not sure how often I will be able to add on. I will try to as often as possible, but I am taking REALLY hard courses this year.
Don't worry, 2 times in 3 weeks…. Short chapters. This is a decently long one.
As she shook hands with him, she caught his eyes. He caught her eyes. And they remained in each other's eyes until Merric's voice drew them out.
"Uh, hello, but he wasn't the last page in the room." Merric said.
Jaina and Roald both blushed a deep crimison. "I am sorry. What is your name?" Jaina said, using her best court voice, to make up for her mistake, and trying to dispel all the color from her cheeks.
"Merric of Hollyrose." Merric said. "This is Faleron of the King's reach."
Merric went through and introduced her to all the pages in Nealan's group. "So that is all of us." Merric said.
Jaina smiled, "I am happy to meet all of you." She looked around at the entire group to emphasize this. Her gaze lingered at Roald though, and it seemed to say, and especially you.
"One thing that we are wondering about is that you said you were a knight-in-training in your galaxy. Does that mean women are allowed to fight in your galaxy." Nealan asked, in his usual blunt way. Everyone else had also been wondering about this, but was planning to ask in a less blunt way.
"Of course." Jaina said, puzzled why the topic would even come up. "Gender, race, and species are no barrier to ability. The Force flows to us all."
"Thank you." Nealan said. "THANK YOU."
Jaina was surprised by the forcefulness of his answer. "What do you mean, is that disputed in your galaxy."
"Yes." Keladry said. "Didn't you notice that Nealan pointed out that I was the first female page in 10 years. Many conservatives think that women shouldn't be able to fight, they should stay in the 'womanly arts'."
"My father believes differently." Roald said, quietly. "His best friend is Sir Lady Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, someone who hid their gender to get their shield. Then when father became king he passed the decree saying women could be knights, but still so many conservatives were unhappy, and that was a point of such controversy that he had to let Kel, the first page candidate, be put on probation. Kel, I know you are still sore about being put on probation, but realize this, if Wyldon had quit Tortall would be facing a civil war right now. Alanna checked on it. If Wyldon had resigned in anger, 12 fiefs would've revolted. It killed my father to make the decision."
"Really." Kel asked, still skeptical.
"Really." Roald said, showing a forcefulness he rarely showed.
"Ah." Jaina thought out loud. "That explains a couple things."
"Like what." Roald said.
Jaina cursed herself for speaking out loud. "I am training to be a Jedi. Jedi can sense emotions. And I sensed an emotion from the King and Queen, that lead me to believe they were using my entrance as an opportunity to prove something to Lord Wyldon, maybe it is the fact that women can be fighters." Jaina said, slightly reluctantly.
"That's a cool thing." Nealan said.
"Can you keep that a secret for now?" Jaina asked. "I don't want my 'emotion-sensing abilities to become common knowledge."
"Sure." They all said.
"I have to go see Lord Wyldon soon." Jaina said, trying to get everyone's mind off of her Jedi abilities. "Any suggestions or pieces of advice?"
"Be prepared for him commenting on how hard it's going to be, and that you aren't up to it." Keladry said.
"That's the main thing." Nealan said. "But remember, he is the stump, his viewpoints are basically unchangeable."
"And remember, we think you can do it." Merric said.
"Thanks." Jaina said. "I should go now, just tell me how to get there."
"Just down this hall." Faleron called.
"Thanks." Jaina called back. Then she turned and gave the group a huge wave and walked off.
She had to
do 2 calming exercises. Rather than the advice helping her it had made her more
nervous. Calm, she thought, calm, peace, the light side of the force
are they. Fear, anger, aggression, and hate, the dark side are they. Do not
give in.
By the time Jaina reached the training Master's office she was calm. She carried the grace of a Jedi. Boy, if Uncle Luke could see me now, she thought, he'd be proud.
The servant led her in, marveling at how regally and gracefully she carried herself.
"Jaina Solo." The training master said. "You have been thrust upon me by his majesty. I warn you, training here will not be an easy task. Your old training master must have been a pushover. I bet you your training was easy. But here, it will not be."
Jaina felt the calm she had built up evaporate, and in its place was fury. How dare this man insult her uncle! How dare this man insult the academy! How dare he insult the training procedure at the academy! This man had never even been there; he had never seen it there, yet he still insulted it. Jaina felt herself rise from her chair in anger, and her hand start to clench to strangle this man before her training with Luke, and her good sense came back. Killing or hurting him would hurt her more than him, she reminded herself, that would be done in anger, and anger is the dark side. Anger is the dark side. She calmed herself down with 3 calming exercises before she trusted herself to speak. "Your Lordship." She said, in a calm, but steel coated voice. "You have never been to the Jedi Academy, and at the moment I can not take you there to see how easy or hard it is. You also have not met our training master."
"I met you, and I can tell from your looks you would not make a hardy knight-"
Jaina interrupted the training master; she didn't want to hear what was next. "Lord Wyldon, give me a week. If I don't prove my worth, then you can insult my training master, and academy and I will listen."
"I usually would scorn at such a dealing. But right now, I think it is the best I have to go on so deal."
Jaina shook on it with the training master.
"May I go now?" She asked, politely.
"Yes, but report later to be assigned a page sponsor."
Jaina bowed to the training master and walked out as regally as she had come. She still didn't know why she had been brought here, she was pretty sure that someone or something had transported her here for this reason, but now she was certain now that she had a mission here. She, working with Keladry of Mindelan, would prove to the training master that girls COULD be fighters. And if the training master couldn't be convinced, she would convince the rest of the kingdom and make sure the lesson stuck so hard that the training master couldn't do a thing about lady knights. She obviously didn't know if this was what the force that had brought her here had in mind, but this was what she would do here, for now at least.
She walked back to the library. "How did the meeting go?" Nealan asked.
"It started off horribly. He insulted my academy and training master and I almost lost my temper. But then I controlled myself, and ended up making a deal with him."
"What was the
deal." Kel asked.
"That if in one week, I didn't
prove myself, he could insult my academy and training master all he wanted, and
I'd listen."
"Uh, Jaina, no offense or anything but I think that is impossible." Roald said. "In one week, to prove yourself to the man known as The Stump."
"Nothing is impossible. You do not believe, and that is why you fail." Jaina said, quoting the words that Yoda had said to Luke, who had in turn passed it on to his trainee's.
She couldn't help but smile as she said those words. It was too bad, she thought, that Uncle Luke wasn't here to see her quoting his words at others.
"At least that's what my Uncle Luke always said." She said with a shrug. "Now I get to test it out."
"Who's your Uncle Luke." Roald asked.
"The head of the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4."
"Ah… right." Nealan said. "Naturally, I should've guessed. You are the daughter of the leader, so naturally your uncle would head the academy."
"No." Jaina corrected him. "We are a democracy, people head things. It was a coincidence. My Uncle was the only surviving Jedi Master, so he had to take the role."
"Ah." Merric said. "So it is a coincidence that your family heads everything."
"Yes, except the military. The military is headed by Admiral Ackbar."
"Wait, doesn't the military report to the leader."
"There is a separate leader of the military. The Council decides when the military deploys, though of course that is a technicality, at least with my mom, because she is friends with the head of the military who knows she'd never ask for its deployment except in just cases."
Everyone looked dazed. "Uh, what is the Council." Seaver asked.
"Never mind our galactic politics, there is time for that later. Can you give me a quick briefing on yours, since we are here."
"Roald, this is your thing." Nealan said, gesturing to him. "Take it on."
"All right, my family line is the Conte` line. My father is King Jonathan the IV, and my mother is Queen Thayet. I have younger sisters, Kalasin and Lianne, my brother's name is Liam. We have a council which is made up of my father's trusted advisors- his former squire Lady Sir Alanna of Pirate's swoop and Olau who serves him as King's Champion, it is mostly a title for name, the Knight Commander of one of the armies, the King's own, Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's peak Alanna's adoptive father Sir Myles of Olau, his Prime Minister Gareth the younger of Naxen, and Duke Gareth of Naxen. They advise him, and sometimes go on diplomatic missions for him. Stuff like that. There is the Queen's riders, army which allows women. My mother used to be the commander-in-chief, but it interfered with her duties as Queen, so her best friend, and old personal guard, Buriram Tourikam heads it now. There are fiefs, which are lead by their lords, or barons, all lords and barons must follow the King's law and are under him. The lords and barons, and their kids make up the noble class. People who live in fiefs, common class. All people become knights, are nobles. Was that too much information at once?"
"Nope, I got it." Jaina said.
Then the bell rang. "Time to report to Lord Wyldon, he will assign you a page-sponsor now." Merric informed her.
They walked out in a line. Jaina wasn't nervous, for once through this encounter, she knew what she was facing, a male chauvinist, and that she had some friends and of course, the force.
Jaina followed the group carefully. Lord Wyldon beckoned for her to stand in front of the line she did so respectfully. "All of you heard his Majesty's order that Jaina Solo train as a Knight of Tortall. She needs a page sponsor, who shall sponsor her?"
As Roald stood in line he felt his eyes keep steering towards Jaina Solo. In his own mind he could admit that he found her beautiful, nice, and… he was attracted to her, he admitted. That in itself was surprising, Roald was more shy and held back then his father had been in his page and squire years, which meant that he usually didn't get attracted to a girl (or didn't admit it.). But there was something about Jaina Solo that put Roald instantly off-guard. He even felt more than attraction, but he dismissed it, get real, he told himself, you have known her for too short a time to be in love with her. Well then, a voice said, sponsor her. Get to know her, satisfy your scruples. But his natural shyness held him back. SPONSOR HER, shyness, SPONSOR HER, no… I'll wait, GET TO KNOW HER, STOP BEING A COWARD, KNIGHT'S AREN'T COWARDS.
"Uh, I'd like to sponsor Jaina, milord." Roald said, before his mind threw something else at him.
Jaina looked at the Prince. She had felt his mental turmoil and hadn't thought he'd resolve it this soon.
"All right." Lord Wyldon said. "Now, page sponsors have been assigned. His Highness shall tell you how to do everything, and when to report to classes. Dismissed." He said, he walked off a little quicker than usual, wanting to get away from the… girl.