A/N: ::jawdrop:: My gosh...23 reviews?! That makes this my most reviewed story! Yay! Thank you all...so much...::sniffs happily::
To everyone who noticed the similarities between Rick and Neal: embarrassed look I absolutely adore Neal...he's one of my favourite TP charries of all time. It's SO hard not to bring him into Rick...but I promise I'll do my very best to give Rick something of his very own. Let me know if he becomes too Neal-like, OK? ;D
emikae: Heehee...I know...it's crazy...SO glad there's no more school!! Glad to hear you're enjoying it grin
Rubber Duck: Yeah, Meg's story'll be gift-centric...but I'm working on adding something else in the mix too...and Dom might very possibly be making an appearance in this fic :D If not, look for him in a future TP fic of mine.
miamouse: Really? I'm honoured =)
Fyli: grin Good to hear. Just wait until I start introducing all the guys...I'll do my best to keep them distinct, but I have a feeling they might get confusing...XD
ShadowWyvern: Thanks!! :D I'll do my best to extend the chapters...this one should be longer than the previous =) ROFL, you like my vocabulary? That's the first time I've gotten THAT compliment...well, in that case, here's a new word for you – esoteric. It's pronounced eh-SAW-teh-rick, and it means "known by very few people". So there you have it ;D
Steph Silverstar, Lizai, elfin2, WhiteTiger-82087, Mage-Magic17: Thanks to all of you! I appreciate even the shortest of reviews oh-so-very much. =D
Now that I've wasted half a page replying to reviews...::sheepish grin::...wow, I've definitely not updated for almost three weeks. O.O SO sorry, guys!! First my AP World History project was taking up all my time, then final exams started, and it's just been one thing after another. sigh Well, thankfully it's all over now...so I'll do my best to update a lot :D Here goes!
I'm very sorry if this chapter seems odd. The timing and content turned out totally different than I planned, and I finished it late at night/early in the morning, so it might be muddled. Apologies
Disclaimer: I still don't own Tortall or Lord Padraig. I still own all of the pages. XD
Chapter Four: The Affair of the Mess Hall
Meg followed Rick into the mess hall a bit nervously; her anxiety was only increased when she noted the size of it. It seemed to be completely filled with boys of all shapes, sizes, colours, and personalities. Some ate in silence, some talked, some laughed boisterously. She froze in place, open worry dancing across her face.
Rick halted a few steps away when he noticed she'd frozen. He turned around, exasperated; the look quickly melted away into one of gentle sympathy when he noticed the scared look on Meg's face. "Come on," he said with a smile, tugging on her arm. "It's not as bad as it looks."
Shyly, Meg peeked around at the massive amount of boys; shuddering, she could barely bring herself to follow Rick. "Trust me," he said cheerfully, piling her plate – as well as his own – with food. "It's not bad at all."
"Easy for you to say," Meg whispered, following her sponsor like a shadow. "You're not a girl."
Rick stopped where he was, blinked, and turned to face Meg thoughtfully. The pages in line protested loudly, but he remained where he was, a pensive expression on his face.
"You're right," he finally concluded, after far too long of a pause. "I'm not. But that brings to mind very interesting images. C'mon, I'll introduce you to everyone." He tugged her arm towards a very full table. Meg noticed nearly all of the first-year pages and their sponsors – excluding the sour-faced Astor and Regan – sitting there, laughing boisterously and play-fighting. The older pages seemed to have a tight network of friends; the younger ones were starting to talk to each other, slowly getting more and more comfortable.
Meg stopped where she was, causing Rick to stumble. The pages behind Meg began to protest again, but she fixed pale blue eyes firmly on her sponsor. "I can't sit there," she attempted to say strongly, but her voice trembled and her gaze wavered as she spoke.
Rick, looking exasperated, ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. "That's ridicu – " he began, then stopped and broke off, an entirely different expression on his face. He took her elbow and steered her towards a small, empty table. "You know, I can see why the boys might be a bit overwhelming at first," he confided as he sat down. "We're a crazy bunch." He grinned again.
If Rick was any indication, Meg thought as she sat across from him, they certainly were a crazy bunch. She didn't voice this thought, though, and Rick went on. "I don't mind staying with you a while, though, until you get used to everyone – to analyze you, make sure you're worthy of our gang." He winked at her cheerfully; she found herself giving a small smile in reply. "I hope you won't mind me at least explaining to them why I'm not there, though."
The request was reasonable, and Meg appreciated that he'd asked first. She pretended to think about it, then nodded.
Rick saluted her cheerfully and bounced over the the next table. Yes, Meg noted with amusion, he actually bounced. She'd never met anyone with enough energy to bounce as they moved before. Then again, she'd never met anyone quite as overwhelmingly energetic as Rick; he'd talked quickly and animatedly almost all the way down to the mess hall. To a shy girl like Meg, he was absolutely terrifying – yet at the same time, someone new and someone exciting. It surprised her that he seemed to care what happened to her, even though they were so different. And she, who was an excellent judge of human character, liked him.
As Rick approached the table, Meg heard murmurs of conversation. Curiously, she placed her finger to her ear to magnify her hearing range; idly she wondered when she'd lost all respect for privacy. She'd tried the trick at home a few times, but Elris had caught her...perhaps exposure to the palace and Rick at the same time, as well as the absence of her father, were emboldening her.
"So the great Roderick thinks that now that he's associating with ladies, he's too good for our little crew?" teased a light, easy tenor voice; Meg probed it and was rewarded with the knowledge that it belonged to Tiernan, the training master's son.
"Is it me who's too good or you who's too far below me?" Rick retorted.
Tiernan laughed. "I'm kidding, Rick. I think it's great that you're taking her in. She's sure to receive some bad treatment around here."
"Well, of course she is!" someone put in, speaking quickly and bluntly. There was sudden silence at the table; Meg peeked to see all the boys staring at the first-year she recognized as Rhysten of Nond.
The boy blushed, but continued hotly. "Well...just look at her. She's...strange."
Instantly almost every head turned to look at Meg, who quickly glanced away. She felt the heat rise to her own face and had to struggle to fight tears. Did they really think her strange?
The next voice that spoke was quiet; Adair of Legann's. "Of course she's strange. Have you sensed her Gift? But some of the nicest people are powerful mages. Master Numair, for one...she seems sweet." Meg felt the colour slowly leave her face; she was intensely grateful to Adair.
"Thank you." Rick sounded mollified. "She is. I like her."
"I am still unclear," drawled a voice similar to Adair's – it must have been Blair, his brother – "as to why exactly you chose to sponsor her. Could it be you're interested in showing her more than just the palace?"
There was a smack, a crash, and a yelp loud enough to be heard by almost everyone in the mess hall. The room abruptly went quiet as everyone whirled to see what had happened, Meg included. She gasped; Rick was on his feet, his hand lowered from a strike and clenched in a fist. Blair was on the floor next to his tray (its fall had made the clatter), his hand on his cheek. He was staring at Rick incredulously; the other boy regarded him with a cold, fierce eye.
The pages instantly began to chatter quietly, nervously; a hush descended onto them as Lord Padraig stormed through the aisles to stand before the table.
For a long time there was silence. Meg was unable to tear her eyes away from the scene, as were most of the pages in the mess hall. The air practically crackled with tensior. Finally, Lord Padraig spoke.
"What," he said slowly, "in the name of Mithros happened here?" His tone was heard by all; it was cold as ice and hard as steel, not loud but still carrying a tone of power and authority through the mess hall. And anger – oh yes, he was angry. Meg shrank back in fear.
"He hit me!" Blair yelped, looking stunned as he stared up at Rick.
"Thank you, master of the obvious," Adair muttered, pulling his brother back onto his chair. Meg noticed the similarities between the two – they were practically identical, only Adair's mahogany eyes were lighter and Blair's messy blond hair was longer.
Padraig whirled onto Rick; his icy fury sent the boy a step back, but he met the training master's eyes, chin trembling. "Is this true, Cavall? Did you strike another page unprovoked?"
There was a pause. Then, "...No, sir," Rick replied, his voice strong although his frame was shaking. The defiance was costing him, but he was obviously planning to carry through with it.
"No?" Lord Padraig's tone was grating. Meg had only heard such a tone laden with sarcastic displeasure a few times before, from her father. "So you mean to tell me you did not hit Blair?"
"No, sir, that's not what I said," Rick replied in a lighter tone, his fists clenching and unclenching. His body wasn't shaking anymore and his voice was easier, though still just barely polite. "I did hit him, but it wasn't unprovoked. He insulted my honour."
Lord Padraig looked as though he wanted to hit Rick himself. Meg didn't blame him; she was having the same urges. How could he be so subordinate? The training master readied himself to reply, then thought better of it and sighed deeply. In a low, furious tone, he growled, "See me after dinner." He stalked off, leaving silence in his wake.
Once Padraig left, the silence slowly filled in until the volume had risen to the level it was before, the incident forgotten. Meg watched as the twins talked quietly and everyone else returned to their regular conversation, leaving Rick to saunter back over to Meg's table.
He sat down, pretending nothing had happened, and promptly began to eat. Meg raised an eyebrow at him; he didn't seem to notice. Shrugging it off, she too dug in and they ate in silence.
However, after a few minutes the silence became deafening. Unable to bear it any longer, Meg put her fork down and glared at Rick.
After a while, he noticed her glare. "...Yes?" he asked through a mouthful of veal, gesturing with his fork.
"What," Meg asked crossly, "possessed you to hit Blair like that?"
Rick looked a bit disappointed – or annoyed, perhaps, or maybe even chagrined – at the question, and he continued to eat. "You heard me, didn't you?" he muttered. "He insulted my – "
"Honour," Meg finished, annoyed, "if you have any. But his comment wasn't all that...offensive. Not to you, anyway."
Rick actually put his fork down to stare at Meg. Colour tinted his cheeks. "...You heard it?" he asked quietly, guiltily. At Meg's nod, he bit his lip and sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair. "It was offensive. I'm not the kind of person who'd take advantage of a girl...Mithros, I'm twelve. It's far too early to be thinking about...that sort of thing."
Meg noted, with absurd pleasure, that Rick was thoroughly flustered now. Having grown up without a mother, she had learned about these sorts of things late in life; her learning had come from the servants at King's Reach, who knew more about the realities of sex than most nobles. Thus, she was well educated in the ways that talk could bring a reputation down. "It was my reputation insulted, though, not yours. Why take it upon yourself to defend me?"
Rick looked even more flustered, and then his entire expression changed. "You've some fire in you after all. Mithros, I was beginning to think you were hopeless." Before Meg could reply indignantly, he continued in a thoughtful tone. "It was my reputation as much as yours, my dear girl. However, had it been only yours, I would have jumped to your defense anyway. I know how talk can hurt...my sister was near ruined by Court gossips a few years back." His eyes darkened; Meg was stunned to see the boy behind the cheerful, energetic mask. "Plus, Blair's a jerk," he added.
Meg blinked. "But you're friends, aren't you?"
"Oh, of course, I'll apologize tomorrow and so will he. You can't not fight with Blair, everyone's done it at least once. He's bubbly, open, cheerful, outgoing, and friendly, but he's a jerk. Anyway, Lord Padraig was just dying for another excuse to pick on me. All I did was give him ammunition."
Meg raised an eyebrow. "He was?"
Rick shrugged cheerfully, grabbing a roll off Meg's plate. "He always is. He hates me. He's hated me since I broke his son's arm my second week of training."
Meg's jaw dropped. "You what?!" she yelped. "How did you – when did – why – you – "
Rick chuckled, looking amused. "Again with the slurs on my reputation. Tiernan was bothering me about it, asking me about my sister, so I tackled him and broke his arm. Lord Padraig was furious and ordered me to apologize, but I refused to." Meg looked ready to start spluttering again, but Rick continued before she had a chance. "Tiernan understands now, of course...he apologized to me later, he said he was just testing me, and we're the best of friends now. But Padraig's never forgiven me." He stole Meg's other roll and continued eating.
Meg stared at him for a long time, until he started staring back. "What?" he demanded.
"There is considerably more to you than meets the eye, Cavall," she proclaimed, trying to keep a straight face.
The concept of straight faces was entirely lost on Rick. "And there is considerably more to you than meets the eye as well, m'dear King's Reach." He took his goblet in hand and raised it. "A toast, to there being more than meets the eye."
Giggling, Meg followed suit.