Chapter 4.
Kally stepped into another white-walled room. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace, heating the cold autumn air. There were weapons of all kinds mounted on the walls and directly in front of Kally was a sturdy wooden desk covered in letters. A middle-aged woman looked up. She was sitting behind the desk, a knife in her hand, slitting an envelope open. She had bronze coloured skin, dark eyes and very black, very curly hair that was coiled in a ringlet at the back of her head. She had a strict, no-nonsense look about her. A man was standing behind her, facing the fireplace, reading the letter that was in his hand. He was tall and very wide, he wasn't fat he was just very muscular. He was bald and had incredibly black skin and he too was middle-aged.
"Lady Unicorn?" Kai said. "Kai! Are you back from Corus already? I thought you were planning to spend the whole day there!" the Shang Unicorn's voice was bright and musical.
"I was planning to my Lady but I happened to come across this girl here," Kai replied, indicating Kally, "She wants to be a Shang novice." The man who Kally assumed was the sub-head of the school turned around at this point. He looked at Kally and a frown creased his forehead, identical to the Shang Unicorn's frown.
"Alright Kai, you can leave. Oh and could you tell Aurek to come to my office now please." The woman said.
Kai bowed swiftly then turned and walked out. There was a lengthy and uncomfortable silence in which nobody said anything then finally the Unicorn said, "Please, take a seat" Kally sat in the seat opposite the desk thinking, wondering what was going to happen, who Aurek was, and wishing Kai was beside her to offer some encouragement. After a couple of minutes, there was a tentative knock on the door and a woman entered. She was short and plump and was wearing an apron, her long golden hair tied back.
She curtsied to the two adults and gave a friendly nod to Kally and, at the Unicorn's request, took a seat. "This is Aurek; she is our head house-woman, meaning she is a maid, cook, healer and anything else that comes along all rolled into one. She is not Shang obviously, as she has the gift and is the only one who lives in the house that does have the gift, but still she is respected. We use her for all our magical needs-" (she almost spat the word magical) "-such as healing and truth-telling. We will ask you a series of questions and you will answer them." Aurek took a clear glass globe from her apron pocket. "If you lie," the Unicorn continued, "the inside of the globe will glow red, if not, it will stay clear. Do you understand?" Kally nodded nervously, wiping her sweaty palms on her breeches.
"First question, what is your name?" the Unicorn asked. "Sadira" Kally answered, thinking vigorously, it is one of my names and she didn't ask which one I should tell her. The globe stayed clear, obviously it agreed with her. Kally breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but not too loud, in case one of the adults should hear her.
"Good, next question. How old are you?" the Unicorn continued. Kally knew this would be coming and she knew she could not fool the truth globe. "Thirteen" she said truthfully. There it was again, the small crease in both foreheads. Nevertheless she continued.
"Do you have the Gift or the Sight?" she said, looking directly in Kally's eyes as if she already knew the answer. Kally knew that she would be discovered no matter what she said and guessed that it would be better to be known as truthful rather than a liar so she took a deep breath and said clearly, "Yes, I have the Gift."
The Shang Unicorn leant across the desk towards Kally and said, "Did you not know that Shang masters only accept novices that are Giftless and under the age of eight?" Kally looked down at her hands that she had clasped tightly in her lap to stop them from shaking. "Yes." She said, "I knew. It is just that this is the only thing that I want to do and I've already had some Shang training like Kai so I've done enough to match up to a novice's work. And I...I won't use my gift unless I have permission from you my Lady Unicorn. I'll swear a blood oath to say that I won't!" Any person who broke a blood oath died slowly as their own blood boiled in their veins.
"And what if you broke your oath accidentally?" said the Shang Unicorn, standing up and placing her hands on the desk, looming above Kally.
"I know a way that I can bind myself; bind my gift, to prevent me from being able to use it. I still have my gift but if I try to use it I will find myself unable to take hold of it unless I have permission from you." Kally shifted uncomfortably. "It's not a very nice feeling, knowing that your gift is there and not being able to use it but I'll sacrifice my gift for now. I have my heart set on doing this and all I want is for you to give me a chance to prove my worth. Please, let me do so." Kally didn't know it but her eyes were pleading and her throat was tight from nerves and emotions. Everything was catching up with her, the realisation of what she had done. She had run away from home, taken up with a strange boy and was now pleading to become the first ever Shang novice with the gift. She felt tears stinging and blurring her eyes but she promised herself that she would not break down in front of these people; she at least had her pride.
"I don't think that will be necessary," the Unicorn said, "I think that if you swear an oath by Mithros it will do well enough. If I take you on at all, I have to know that I can trust you completely to do what is right, not just be scared into doing it. But if I do take you on I will find a way of being alerted if you use your gift and believe me, if you do, you will be out of here before you can say Shang, do you understand?" Kally nodded mutely. "Now I'm not saying that I will take you on, in fact it is very doubtful as there is also the matter of your age to consider. I must consult the sub-head. Wait there."
The Unicorn turned and walked out, the man followed right behind her. They left Kally facing Aurek who smiled at her but said nothing. The time went by so slowly, it felt like hours but it must have only been ten minutes. Kally didn't know what she would do if the Shang masters came back and told her she could not stay. She fidgeted, twitched and shifted about uncomfortably in her chair. Her mother would have been very disapproving as this was a very unladylike thing to do but Kally couldn't care less, she was too nervous.
Finally, the door opened and the two Shang masters walked in. The Unicorn resumed her position at the desk, rested her elbows on it and spoke seriously to Kally. "Listen, we've decided to take you on, providing you don't use your Gift, you are able to keep up with the novices and you have enough experience. Aurek will give me a token so that if you use your Gift, I will know about it and believe me, you will regret ever having heard of the Gift, alright? And we also think it is best if you don't tell anyone but Kai about your Gift. We will ask Kai to show you around and help you settle in. We expect results from you Sadira, don't disappoint us now."
She continued, "I'm sure you already know this but I am the head of this school. My name is Kylaia al Jmaa, I'm the Shang Unicorn. And this is the sub-head of the school, Shihab te Kimar, the Shang Griffon." She said, indicating the man. Her face broke into a smile, "Welcome to Shang High Sadira."
Kally's heart had soared at the Unicorn's first words and now she felt like she was flying. She stood and was going to curtsy but remembered that she was wearing breeches and thought of how stupid it would look so instead she bowed deeply to all three adults. "Thank you my Lady Unicorn, my Lord Griffon, Madam Aurek. I am in your debt. And I promise I will not disappoint you."
"Before you thank us though, I want you to swear an oath by Mithros that you will not use your gift without my personal permission or the permission of the Griffon." Said Kylaia.
Kally placed the palm of her right hand over her heart, placed her left hand over her right hand and bowed her head. "I swear by Mithros, the most powerful and glorious king of all the gods that I will not use my Gift unless I have permission from the Shang Unicorn or the Shang Griffon. So mote it be." She said sealing the oath. She looked up, all three adults looked satisfied.
There was a knock at the door, "Come in!" Kylaia called. Kai entered the room. He took one look at Kally's face and grinned, guessing what the Shang masters' answers had been. Kally smiled back at him, she felt as if she was in a dream she was so happy and she was almost weak from relief that her true identity hadn't been discovered.
"Kai, I want you to show Kally around and help her settle in. Show her everything and tell her everything she needs to know. You can have the rest of the day off as we'd planned okay?!" Kai bowed, took Kally by the hand and dragged her out of the room.
********** Well guys, I hope you like it. Keep on reviewing, it'll make me want to write more!
Kally stepped into another white-walled room. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace, heating the cold autumn air. There were weapons of all kinds mounted on the walls and directly in front of Kally was a sturdy wooden desk covered in letters. A middle-aged woman looked up. She was sitting behind the desk, a knife in her hand, slitting an envelope open. She had bronze coloured skin, dark eyes and very black, very curly hair that was coiled in a ringlet at the back of her head. She had a strict, no-nonsense look about her. A man was standing behind her, facing the fireplace, reading the letter that was in his hand. He was tall and very wide, he wasn't fat he was just very muscular. He was bald and had incredibly black skin and he too was middle-aged.
"Lady Unicorn?" Kai said. "Kai! Are you back from Corus already? I thought you were planning to spend the whole day there!" the Shang Unicorn's voice was bright and musical.
"I was planning to my Lady but I happened to come across this girl here," Kai replied, indicating Kally, "She wants to be a Shang novice." The man who Kally assumed was the sub-head of the school turned around at this point. He looked at Kally and a frown creased his forehead, identical to the Shang Unicorn's frown.
"Alright Kai, you can leave. Oh and could you tell Aurek to come to my office now please." The woman said.
Kai bowed swiftly then turned and walked out. There was a lengthy and uncomfortable silence in which nobody said anything then finally the Unicorn said, "Please, take a seat" Kally sat in the seat opposite the desk thinking, wondering what was going to happen, who Aurek was, and wishing Kai was beside her to offer some encouragement. After a couple of minutes, there was a tentative knock on the door and a woman entered. She was short and plump and was wearing an apron, her long golden hair tied back.
She curtsied to the two adults and gave a friendly nod to Kally and, at the Unicorn's request, took a seat. "This is Aurek; she is our head house-woman, meaning she is a maid, cook, healer and anything else that comes along all rolled into one. She is not Shang obviously, as she has the gift and is the only one who lives in the house that does have the gift, but still she is respected. We use her for all our magical needs-" (she almost spat the word magical) "-such as healing and truth-telling. We will ask you a series of questions and you will answer them." Aurek took a clear glass globe from her apron pocket. "If you lie," the Unicorn continued, "the inside of the globe will glow red, if not, it will stay clear. Do you understand?" Kally nodded nervously, wiping her sweaty palms on her breeches.
"First question, what is your name?" the Unicorn asked. "Sadira" Kally answered, thinking vigorously, it is one of my names and she didn't ask which one I should tell her. The globe stayed clear, obviously it agreed with her. Kally breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but not too loud, in case one of the adults should hear her.
"Good, next question. How old are you?" the Unicorn continued. Kally knew this would be coming and she knew she could not fool the truth globe. "Thirteen" she said truthfully. There it was again, the small crease in both foreheads. Nevertheless she continued.
"Do you have the Gift or the Sight?" she said, looking directly in Kally's eyes as if she already knew the answer. Kally knew that she would be discovered no matter what she said and guessed that it would be better to be known as truthful rather than a liar so she took a deep breath and said clearly, "Yes, I have the Gift."
The Shang Unicorn leant across the desk towards Kally and said, "Did you not know that Shang masters only accept novices that are Giftless and under the age of eight?" Kally looked down at her hands that she had clasped tightly in her lap to stop them from shaking. "Yes." She said, "I knew. It is just that this is the only thing that I want to do and I've already had some Shang training like Kai so I've done enough to match up to a novice's work. And I...I won't use my gift unless I have permission from you my Lady Unicorn. I'll swear a blood oath to say that I won't!" Any person who broke a blood oath died slowly as their own blood boiled in their veins.
"And what if you broke your oath accidentally?" said the Shang Unicorn, standing up and placing her hands on the desk, looming above Kally.
"I know a way that I can bind myself; bind my gift, to prevent me from being able to use it. I still have my gift but if I try to use it I will find myself unable to take hold of it unless I have permission from you." Kally shifted uncomfortably. "It's not a very nice feeling, knowing that your gift is there and not being able to use it but I'll sacrifice my gift for now. I have my heart set on doing this and all I want is for you to give me a chance to prove my worth. Please, let me do so." Kally didn't know it but her eyes were pleading and her throat was tight from nerves and emotions. Everything was catching up with her, the realisation of what she had done. She had run away from home, taken up with a strange boy and was now pleading to become the first ever Shang novice with the gift. She felt tears stinging and blurring her eyes but she promised herself that she would not break down in front of these people; she at least had her pride.
"I don't think that will be necessary," the Unicorn said, "I think that if you swear an oath by Mithros it will do well enough. If I take you on at all, I have to know that I can trust you completely to do what is right, not just be scared into doing it. But if I do take you on I will find a way of being alerted if you use your gift and believe me, if you do, you will be out of here before you can say Shang, do you understand?" Kally nodded mutely. "Now I'm not saying that I will take you on, in fact it is very doubtful as there is also the matter of your age to consider. I must consult the sub-head. Wait there."
The Unicorn turned and walked out, the man followed right behind her. They left Kally facing Aurek who smiled at her but said nothing. The time went by so slowly, it felt like hours but it must have only been ten minutes. Kally didn't know what she would do if the Shang masters came back and told her she could not stay. She fidgeted, twitched and shifted about uncomfortably in her chair. Her mother would have been very disapproving as this was a very unladylike thing to do but Kally couldn't care less, she was too nervous.
Finally, the door opened and the two Shang masters walked in. The Unicorn resumed her position at the desk, rested her elbows on it and spoke seriously to Kally. "Listen, we've decided to take you on, providing you don't use your Gift, you are able to keep up with the novices and you have enough experience. Aurek will give me a token so that if you use your Gift, I will know about it and believe me, you will regret ever having heard of the Gift, alright? And we also think it is best if you don't tell anyone but Kai about your Gift. We will ask Kai to show you around and help you settle in. We expect results from you Sadira, don't disappoint us now."
She continued, "I'm sure you already know this but I am the head of this school. My name is Kylaia al Jmaa, I'm the Shang Unicorn. And this is the sub-head of the school, Shihab te Kimar, the Shang Griffon." She said, indicating the man. Her face broke into a smile, "Welcome to Shang High Sadira."
Kally's heart had soared at the Unicorn's first words and now she felt like she was flying. She stood and was going to curtsy but remembered that she was wearing breeches and thought of how stupid it would look so instead she bowed deeply to all three adults. "Thank you my Lady Unicorn, my Lord Griffon, Madam Aurek. I am in your debt. And I promise I will not disappoint you."
"Before you thank us though, I want you to swear an oath by Mithros that you will not use your gift without my personal permission or the permission of the Griffon." Said Kylaia.
Kally placed the palm of her right hand over her heart, placed her left hand over her right hand and bowed her head. "I swear by Mithros, the most powerful and glorious king of all the gods that I will not use my Gift unless I have permission from the Shang Unicorn or the Shang Griffon. So mote it be." She said sealing the oath. She looked up, all three adults looked satisfied.
There was a knock at the door, "Come in!" Kylaia called. Kai entered the room. He took one look at Kally's face and grinned, guessing what the Shang masters' answers had been. Kally smiled back at him, she felt as if she was in a dream she was so happy and she was almost weak from relief that her true identity hadn't been discovered.
"Kai, I want you to show Kally around and help her settle in. Show her everything and tell her everything she needs to know. You can have the rest of the day off as we'd planned okay?!" Kai bowed, took Kally by the hand and dragged her out of the room.
********** Well guys, I hope you like it. Keep on reviewing, it'll make me want to write more!
