Allen found himself now sitting in an office he hadn't expected to be in. When he'd come to Haven it had been to become a Healer. Yet here he was sitting in the office of the dean of Bardic Collegium. The room was crammed with books, scraps of paper with odd notes on them and many different types of instruments, most intact, but not all. Allen sat there, his clothing bag at his feet, his gittern held carefully in his lap. The dean wasn't here right now. After depositing him here, she'd gone off to see to something, saying she'd be back shortly.
The door behind him opened, startling him. He quickly grabbed the gittern he almost dropped. "So," the dean said as she came to sit behind her desk. She folded her long-fingered hands in front of her and looked at him with sharp black eyes. "You came to be a Healer and instead find yourself dragged into Bardic. Must be quite a shock, eh?"
Allen only nodded silently. He could feel his wish of becoming a Healer drifting farther and farther away. Still, a Bard? At least his parents would be proud. And Carlie would be ecstatic. She'd love having a Bard for a brother.
"Still, my boy, we can't let one with your talent get away from us." Allen only nodded again silently. He couldn't see it as a Gift yet. "So now we need to know just what we need to teach you."
So followed an hour of intense questioning about his school and background. Several times she tsked and shook her head but overall she looked a bit pleased. Allen tried his hardest not to squirm during the interview. He still wasn't really sure that this was happening. His dream of being a Healer was gone.
Finally the dean sat back and looked done. "I know this is not what you wanted, Allen," she said kindly. "However I have a feeling this is where you were meant to be. Do you have any questions for me?"
Allen thought for a moment, knowing this might be his only chance to ask these questions of her. "I thought that you had to have two Gifts to become a Bard. What other Gift do I have?"
She sat back for a moment, looking thoughtful. "I can sense your Bardic Gift. It's probably what made you a good Healer, being able to sense emotions. I will have to hear you play to decide which other Gift you have. Quite frankly I suspect it's the Creative Gift. You always just pick out tunes, is that so?"
Allen nodded, now numb. He had always just picked out tunes on his gittern rather then play tunes already well known. But it was just a hobby…
He stood and followed her when she told him to do so. The dean pointed out many things as she led him down the halls. He barely noted the things she showed him. Many others about his age walked past them. Some were in the well know Gray of a Heraldic Trainee. Others wore blue. The Bardic students all wore a rust-brown color. Then the last group made his heart clench. They wore the pale green he had expected to be wearing right now.
Many smiled at him as he was led down the halls, following the dean like a well-trained dog. Finally she came to a particular room and stopped. She opened the door revealing a room obviously meant for him to live in. Probably to share, there were two beds, two desks, each on opposite sides of the room. He trudged in and placed his bag of clothes on the bed. The dean looked around and smiled. "Your roommate…"
"Is already here with food." A laughing voice said behind her. She turned with a laugh to let the boy, Shiron, whom he'd met coming into the grounds, past her and into the room. He scooted past her in the small room, balancing a jug and a tray full of food. Allen moved to grab the tray and set it down on the table between the two beds. "Don't worry dean, I'll get him settled and show him around."
Again she laughed at the boys' exuberance. "Alright Shiron, I'll trust him to your care. I'll have a schedule ready for him in a little while. Be sure to bring him down to get it, alright?" Shiron nodded and the dean left the two boys alone.
Shiron pointed to one of the dressers. "Go ahead and put your clothes away. Then we'll eat and get you some clothes; you'll need robes of course and then we can do as you want for the rest of the day. I have the day free and will gladly show you around. But we do have to get you assigned for chores." Now Shiron grimaced comically. "Hate them but we have to do them."
Allen shrugged, not really caring. His dream was gone, everything else was just peripheral. He sadly put his clothes in the dresser, not really listening to what Shiron was saying. He took out his gittern so that it lay gently against the wall. He stroked the outer casing gently, thinking to himself. A Bard, he thought. The idea brought no joy to his heart. I'm going to be a Bard. I've always wanted to be a Healer, ever since I was a child. Yet here I am on my way to becoming something so very different.
Shiron watched his new roommate stare sorrowfully at the gittern. The black haired boy didn't know anything he could say that would make Allen's heart a bit lighter, but he knew he should. Then he remembered what one of the MindHealers had said one time when he had been playing to calm a fretful child that had been burned badly by an abusive father. "We Healers heal the mind and the body. But a Bard, a true Bard, Heals something we cannot: the soul." He knew it would be the right thing to tell Allen but not right now. Right now he had to immerse Allen into the Collegium. Once he was in and the pain had dulled a little, then he would tell him. So time to take care of several things. With that thought in mind he jumped off his bed.
"So, you hungry?" Allen only shook his head again, still not speaking. "Alright then, lets get you signed up for chores and get you some clothes." Silently Allen followed Shiron out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him.
~~~~~~~~
It was only an hour later that Allen was dressed, not in the pale green of a Healer Trainee, but in the rust-brown that all Bardic Trainees wore. He plucked at the robes he now wore, not really caring for them. Nothing was turning out the way he had thought and he wasn't quite sure he liked it. Sullenly, the lanky blond flopped down onto his bed, covering his eyes with an arm.
Shiron looked at Allen and sighed. Most would be thrilled to be accepted into any of the Collegia, let alone being told that Healer's would gladly take him but being put into Bardic because of his Gifts. Now would be the time to tell Allen what he had learned. "Allen?" He asked softly. The other boy removed his arm and looked at Shiron. "There's something I think you should know. I know you didn't come here to be in Bardic but you can do good." Now he had Allen's attention. "I once heard a Healer tell another Healer this: 'We Healers heal the mind and the body. But a Bard, a true Bard, Heals something we cannot: the soul.' Being a Bard wearing red is not the same, but Bards are a type of Healer." With that Shiron closed his mouth, not wanting to say anything to counter the positive effect that last had seemed to have, and began to read a book on his own bed.
Allen lay on his own bed thinking about what the other boy had said. In his heart he had always wanted to be a Healer. Yet what Shiron had to say felt right. It struck a cord in Allen's heart that reverberated with truth throughout his own soul. He glanced over at the gittern he'd placed so carefully in the corner. He put his hand out and brought it to his lap as he sat up on his bed. With careful hands, he unpacked the gittern and quickly tuned it. He closed his eyes and began to pick out a tune that felt right to him, missing the smile that played over the face of his roommate.
~~~~~~~~
Allen sighed quietly, the peace that had covered him when he had played sweeping away. Maybe Shiron was right, maybe he was meant to be a Bard. No, he decided. If I had been meant to be a Bard, why would I have wanted to be a Healer? This wouldn't be a prank, would it? No, the Healers, at least, wouldn't do a thing like that. So then… I'm dreaming, that's it. I'm still in the cart and I've fallen into a silly dream in which I become a Bard. That doesn't even happen in songs, people get Chosen in songs. Just to prove it, he pinched himself.
"Ouch!"
"Are you alright?"
"Fine…" Shiron's body posture screamed disbelief, but he had the sense not to ask. If his roommate wanted to tell him, he could tell him in his own time. Till then, he could wait.
It would seem, Allen thought, slightly amused at himself, that I am not dreaming.
