A/N: Sorry for any confusion, which I expected. Yes the person speaking in
The Fates was Leiryh. I was only doing it in first person because it worked
better for my story plot than doing it in third would've been. The
remainder of the story should be in third person but for one more chapter
from Leiryh's point of view; I meant to add more stuff, a lot more to the
previous chapter but forgot. Sorry for confusing you.
.
Leiryh looked over the manor garden deep in thought. She was reclined quite comfortably in the bench beneath her room window. Her eyes swept over the flowerbeds, the gravel paths winding through the bushes towards her mother's private fountain; it was hidden from her view by a large pine tree. A forgotten round of cloth lay in her lap. A long strand of pink thread was woven into the thin material; it created a picture of two lines. Leiryh had never been one for embroidery, but society insisted all proper young ladies were to weave. The girl traced a finger across the wooden windowsill, her imagination travelling off to past memories and events. In fact she had never really enjoyed the feel of cloth between her fingers.
Erih's cotillion unveiling had been last week. Being the daughter of the kings favored vassal, Erih had had her cotillion at the royal castle, and it had been hers alone. Leiryh was to present herself with four other girls her age at a lesser palace somewhere near the market center.
Leiryh hadn't been personally invited to her best friend's cotillion presence. Her elder brother Edtin had received an invitation from Erih's family only because he was considered a possible suitor for their daughter. Leiryh knew that Erih planned never to marry, or at least not yet. The surprisingly boisterous friend of Leiryh's had plotted out her entire life; she had then taken an entire afternoon detailing it to Leiryh and never once did the younger girl catch an intention of marriage from her friend.
Edtin had been persuaded to take his younger sister to the cotillion with her by both Leiryh and the eldest child of their family, Jonasth. Whatever Jon told his siblings, it was unquestionably agreed with. So when Jon had blankly told Edtin to take Leiryh with him the argument was dropped.
Sighing and with one last glance at the flowers dancing in the wind below her, Leiryh swung her legs off the bench and stood up, walking briskly across her room. The cotillion had been fun; Leiryh had been surprised to find Otamo there, but was ecstatic with his presence when she realized Erih would be busy dancing the entire duration of her cotillion. Leiryh smiled as she corrected her memory. Not the entirety, the three friends had escaped for the last hour of the four-hour occasion during a musician pause; they jumped the short rail of one of the side balconies.
The only misfortune Leiryh happened upon during the cotillion was tripping over the hem of her gown and falling into the arms of a servant who then spilled the food contents of his tray all over the young girl. The servant had been reprimanded in front of the entire party after Leiryh's balance had been righted and later fired, which Leiryh regretted quite bitterly.
A bell rung from somewhere within the manor. It was one of those loud ones that could be heard no matter where you tried to hide from it. Leiryh's dazed reminiscence moment was broken and she quickly dressed from her nightgown to a more proper but still drab dress. She walked quickly through the halls towards the main parlor, for it was unseemly for ladies to run, eager to discover the identity of the sudden visitor.
A long stairway led her from the second story of the manor to the main hall where the front door stood ajar. Leiryh's interest was whet; who was so important that her father had forgotten to close the door. She controlled her speed to a brisk walk across the wide front hall to the parlor door and was about to peek through the open doorway when a hand wrapped around her shoulder.
Leiryh spun quickly, jumped by the sudden touch of someone she hadn't noticed present before to find herself glaring up into familiar gold eyes.
"Ratiug!" She inhaled sharply, at a loss for breath, much less anymore words. It was four months to her twelfth birthday, the witch wasn't supposed to be here before then.
"Shush child!" Tol's familiar but oddly impatient voice called out from behind her fellow prophesier. "Your father, we must speak to him. Where is he?"
Leiryh pointed weakly to the open parlor door and watched the two witches wordlessly.
"Oh drat," cursed Ratiug as she peeked through the door. "Ezilat's little bother got here first." With that she and Tol slipped into the parlor, closing the door firmly behind them and leaving Leiryh starring at the carved wood. Another hand on her shoulder made her squeal and she spun to find Otamo's hand clamped over her mouth.
"Shush!" He implored suppressing his own laughter. Leiryh glared at the older boy, mad at him for various different reasons, which he certainly didn't understand much less, know about. "I know how loud you can scream. Sorry if I surprised you." He grinned, slowly removing his hand from Leiryh's mouth.
"I wouldn't have screamed." Leiryh protested, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping her glare upon Otamo; her eyes were locked squarely with his brown ones.
"You already were screaming if you hadn't noticed." He pointed out, relaxing into a usual debate session. His opponent merely huffed her discontent and began walking towards the door. Frowning in confusion, the boy followed close behind. "What got you so scared?"
Leiryh stepped out onto the gravel walkway leading away from the manor before answering. "Nothing. I wasn't scared."
"Then why were you screaming?" The boy easily caught up with Leiryh's fast pace as she made her path towards the fountain trails she had been gazing at earlier.
"I already told you, I didn't scream." She slowed as she rounded the first bush, reaching out a hand to brush against the soft greens. Summer was indeed her favorite season.
"Oh, then that sound that is still ringing around in my ears wasn't you."
"No." She scowled towards the ground before sighing and stopping to look at Otamo. She could never remain mad long enough to maintain a debate with him. "If you want an argument you might want to go find Erih. I'm sorry for making your ears hurt." She wouldn't tell him about the reason why she was so surprised no one but her blood family knew about the fates.
Otamo laughed merrily. It was just like Leiryh to apologize after two minutes of disagreement. "Erih's still being punished for avoiding her own cotillion. Apparently we disappeared before she was actually presented to the royal family."
"Oh no!" Leiryh was greatly alarmed. To avoid the king? How embarrassing it must have been for Erih's parents.
Otamo grimaced at the girls over reaction. "It's not as though the king has never seen the oldest daughter of his favorite noble," he mumbled, pulling leaves from a nearby bush. "You know Leiryh, you should try and lessen on the dramatics. Jonasth wouldn't like the court men swooning over you already."
Leiryh frowned. Jon had brought up the same subject when Leiryh had returned from Erih's cotillion. "I'm eleven Tam." She spoke both reproachfully and sarcastically. Why her brothers and Otamo thought men would swarm to a dramatic eleven-year-old when there was a beautiful girl like Erih floating around was beyond Leiryh. Besides, she was technically cursed.
"I know what the court guys are like, Leiryh. They swarm towards money and placidity." He shrugged, looking back at her manor over his shoulder. Leiryh hated when Otamo decided to act like Jonasth. True, they had become friends through the girl, but that didn't mean they had to be twins. She had nothing to retaliate with.
"Your fourteen Otamo, what girls are you swarming towards?" Erih's voice behind the pair suddenly piped up. Leiryh managed to suppress the squeal of surprise she had greeted Otamo with but after spinning quickly in surprise she lost her balance and fell to the ground in a heap.
"Fifteen." Otamo corrected before looking to Leiryh as she sat flustered on the ground. "Why are you so easy to surprise today?"
"No reason." Leiryh spoke slowly, feeling her head with her hand while pushing away from the ground with the other. Otamo, once recollected from his confusion and valiant as ever reached down to take hold of Leiryh's arm and helped her up. "I must be going though, sorry Erih." She apologized to her newly arrived friend before racing off down an adjoining path; she knew it as a short cut to the manor.
Erih and Otamo watched as Leiryh sprinted away, both of them trying to recall the last time they had seen Leiryh flustered enough to be running in a skirt.
.
Leiryh looked over the manor garden deep in thought. She was reclined quite comfortably in the bench beneath her room window. Her eyes swept over the flowerbeds, the gravel paths winding through the bushes towards her mother's private fountain; it was hidden from her view by a large pine tree. A forgotten round of cloth lay in her lap. A long strand of pink thread was woven into the thin material; it created a picture of two lines. Leiryh had never been one for embroidery, but society insisted all proper young ladies were to weave. The girl traced a finger across the wooden windowsill, her imagination travelling off to past memories and events. In fact she had never really enjoyed the feel of cloth between her fingers.
Erih's cotillion unveiling had been last week. Being the daughter of the kings favored vassal, Erih had had her cotillion at the royal castle, and it had been hers alone. Leiryh was to present herself with four other girls her age at a lesser palace somewhere near the market center.
Leiryh hadn't been personally invited to her best friend's cotillion presence. Her elder brother Edtin had received an invitation from Erih's family only because he was considered a possible suitor for their daughter. Leiryh knew that Erih planned never to marry, or at least not yet. The surprisingly boisterous friend of Leiryh's had plotted out her entire life; she had then taken an entire afternoon detailing it to Leiryh and never once did the younger girl catch an intention of marriage from her friend.
Edtin had been persuaded to take his younger sister to the cotillion with her by both Leiryh and the eldest child of their family, Jonasth. Whatever Jon told his siblings, it was unquestionably agreed with. So when Jon had blankly told Edtin to take Leiryh with him the argument was dropped.
Sighing and with one last glance at the flowers dancing in the wind below her, Leiryh swung her legs off the bench and stood up, walking briskly across her room. The cotillion had been fun; Leiryh had been surprised to find Otamo there, but was ecstatic with his presence when she realized Erih would be busy dancing the entire duration of her cotillion. Leiryh smiled as she corrected her memory. Not the entirety, the three friends had escaped for the last hour of the four-hour occasion during a musician pause; they jumped the short rail of one of the side balconies.
The only misfortune Leiryh happened upon during the cotillion was tripping over the hem of her gown and falling into the arms of a servant who then spilled the food contents of his tray all over the young girl. The servant had been reprimanded in front of the entire party after Leiryh's balance had been righted and later fired, which Leiryh regretted quite bitterly.
A bell rung from somewhere within the manor. It was one of those loud ones that could be heard no matter where you tried to hide from it. Leiryh's dazed reminiscence moment was broken and she quickly dressed from her nightgown to a more proper but still drab dress. She walked quickly through the halls towards the main parlor, for it was unseemly for ladies to run, eager to discover the identity of the sudden visitor.
A long stairway led her from the second story of the manor to the main hall where the front door stood ajar. Leiryh's interest was whet; who was so important that her father had forgotten to close the door. She controlled her speed to a brisk walk across the wide front hall to the parlor door and was about to peek through the open doorway when a hand wrapped around her shoulder.
Leiryh spun quickly, jumped by the sudden touch of someone she hadn't noticed present before to find herself glaring up into familiar gold eyes.
"Ratiug!" She inhaled sharply, at a loss for breath, much less anymore words. It was four months to her twelfth birthday, the witch wasn't supposed to be here before then.
"Shush child!" Tol's familiar but oddly impatient voice called out from behind her fellow prophesier. "Your father, we must speak to him. Where is he?"
Leiryh pointed weakly to the open parlor door and watched the two witches wordlessly.
"Oh drat," cursed Ratiug as she peeked through the door. "Ezilat's little bother got here first." With that she and Tol slipped into the parlor, closing the door firmly behind them and leaving Leiryh starring at the carved wood. Another hand on her shoulder made her squeal and she spun to find Otamo's hand clamped over her mouth.
"Shush!" He implored suppressing his own laughter. Leiryh glared at the older boy, mad at him for various different reasons, which he certainly didn't understand much less, know about. "I know how loud you can scream. Sorry if I surprised you." He grinned, slowly removing his hand from Leiryh's mouth.
"I wouldn't have screamed." Leiryh protested, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping her glare upon Otamo; her eyes were locked squarely with his brown ones.
"You already were screaming if you hadn't noticed." He pointed out, relaxing into a usual debate session. His opponent merely huffed her discontent and began walking towards the door. Frowning in confusion, the boy followed close behind. "What got you so scared?"
Leiryh stepped out onto the gravel walkway leading away from the manor before answering. "Nothing. I wasn't scared."
"Then why were you screaming?" The boy easily caught up with Leiryh's fast pace as she made her path towards the fountain trails she had been gazing at earlier.
"I already told you, I didn't scream." She slowed as she rounded the first bush, reaching out a hand to brush against the soft greens. Summer was indeed her favorite season.
"Oh, then that sound that is still ringing around in my ears wasn't you."
"No." She scowled towards the ground before sighing and stopping to look at Otamo. She could never remain mad long enough to maintain a debate with him. "If you want an argument you might want to go find Erih. I'm sorry for making your ears hurt." She wouldn't tell him about the reason why she was so surprised no one but her blood family knew about the fates.
Otamo laughed merrily. It was just like Leiryh to apologize after two minutes of disagreement. "Erih's still being punished for avoiding her own cotillion. Apparently we disappeared before she was actually presented to the royal family."
"Oh no!" Leiryh was greatly alarmed. To avoid the king? How embarrassing it must have been for Erih's parents.
Otamo grimaced at the girls over reaction. "It's not as though the king has never seen the oldest daughter of his favorite noble," he mumbled, pulling leaves from a nearby bush. "You know Leiryh, you should try and lessen on the dramatics. Jonasth wouldn't like the court men swooning over you already."
Leiryh frowned. Jon had brought up the same subject when Leiryh had returned from Erih's cotillion. "I'm eleven Tam." She spoke both reproachfully and sarcastically. Why her brothers and Otamo thought men would swarm to a dramatic eleven-year-old when there was a beautiful girl like Erih floating around was beyond Leiryh. Besides, she was technically cursed.
"I know what the court guys are like, Leiryh. They swarm towards money and placidity." He shrugged, looking back at her manor over his shoulder. Leiryh hated when Otamo decided to act like Jonasth. True, they had become friends through the girl, but that didn't mean they had to be twins. She had nothing to retaliate with.
"Your fourteen Otamo, what girls are you swarming towards?" Erih's voice behind the pair suddenly piped up. Leiryh managed to suppress the squeal of surprise she had greeted Otamo with but after spinning quickly in surprise she lost her balance and fell to the ground in a heap.
"Fifteen." Otamo corrected before looking to Leiryh as she sat flustered on the ground. "Why are you so easy to surprise today?"
"No reason." Leiryh spoke slowly, feeling her head with her hand while pushing away from the ground with the other. Otamo, once recollected from his confusion and valiant as ever reached down to take hold of Leiryh's arm and helped her up. "I must be going though, sorry Erih." She apologized to her newly arrived friend before racing off down an adjoining path; she knew it as a short cut to the manor.
Erih and Otamo watched as Leiryh sprinted away, both of them trying to recall the last time they had seen Leiryh flustered enough to be running in a skirt.