A/N: Not nearly as many reviews this time...perhaps I should become one of those psycho authors who only updates after a certain number of reviews. =P Nah, don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you guys. ;D
Rubber Duck: Thanks! Well, this isn't "soon" exactly, but it's less than a week later...I do get props for that, right? Right? ::silence::
Miamouse: Heehee...it is, but for different reasons...Romance, hmmm, to be honest I have absolutely no idea at this point what'll happen, romance-wise. We'll have to see ::giggles:: Meg'll probably get her first hint of romance sometime between second and third year of pagehood...and as for sequels, I'm thinking of doing it in the same style as PotS, with her first year, then the rest of her page years, then her squire years, then her knight years. Think that'll work?
Fyli: ::giggles:: Glad to see you like Rick, I personally adore him 3 And here ya go, just one day late...;D
Elfin2: Isn't it? ::grin::
Emikae: Thanks muchly! =)
OK, this update'll be kinda odd...I based it on Kel's first day, but I didn't want to include all the teacher speeches, so I kinda breezed through 'em...sorry if it makes it seem incoherent ::apologetic grin:: And more Rick-y goodness!! Yay!! ::giggle:: This chapter's kinda long...and ends oddly...sorry guys!
Randomness: I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about horses, so feel free to correct me if I get something wrong, okay? And Meg's horse's name is as close to the Japanese as I could make it. ::sheepish grin::
Disclaimer: I still don't own Tortall, or Lord Padraig. I still do own Meg, Rick, Adair, Idren, Tiernan, and all the other pages. Yay for me and mah boys! ::huggles them::
:: Chapter Five: Training Lessons ::
Meg spent the rest of the night being shown about the castle by Rick. He showed her salons, libraries, official chambers, and the portrait gallery. Halfway through the tour, they were joined by Adair of Legann. The soft-spoken boy apologized to Rick for what his brother had said, then reproached him for replying with physical harm. "But between you and me," he added conspiratorially, "it's about time someone did." He introduced himself shyly to Meg, who instantly took a liking to him
Adair accompanied them for the rest of the tour; Meg felt incredibly priviledged to be introduced to the castle by two young men who'd lived at Court most of their lives. Adair had a quiet, scholarly air about him and he obviously knew a lot about every place they visited. Rick's dry comments and unique stories added humour and fire to every room. Meg found herself relaxing in their company and went to bed happy; for the first time since she could remember, she didn't cry herself to sleep.
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Two days later, Meg nervously adjusted her new uniform in the practice courts as Hakuin Seastone talked. Faleron had told her about him; she was relieved to find that both the Shang Horse and the Shang Wildcat still worked there. Meg stayed close to Rick; however, the groups were soon split up into first years and everyone else. Meg glanced apprehensively at her sponsor, who gave her a reassuring wink.
Nervously, she went to stand with the other first-years. Astor of Rosemark shot her a calculating, hate-filled look that made her tremble and edge away from him. She tried to turn her attention to Hakuin, who was demonstrating how to fall.
One by one, the pages tried it themselves. Meg realized that she could tell something about them by way they fell. Astor, for example, executed the slap and roll falling motion almost perfectly, with a very smug air. Donegal of Veldine, Idren of Disart, and Rhysten of Nond all made mistakes, but Meg discovered that it was amusing to watch how each took to his scolding. Donegal forgot what he was supposed to do halfway through; he grinned sheepishly when Hakuin lectured him. Idren executed it too slowly; he turned scarlet and ducked his head upon receiving his lecture. Rhysten, on the other hand, was too quick, and took his lecture with graceful optimism ("Don't worry, I'll get it next time!").
Finally, it was Meg's turn. She realized, apprehensively, that Rick and Adair had halted their drill to watch her. With an effort, she convinced herself to ignore both their eyes and the eyes of her fellow first-years. She ran through the motions she'd seen Hakuin do - slap the ground and roll - and grabbed his hand.
When Meg hit the ground, it felt as though every bone in her body was straining with the effort not to break. True, she had had injuries before, but Meg wasn't an overly active girl; eleven years spent almost entirely inside, with no weapons training or physical exertion (Elris had considered it unladylike) had made her extremely easy to bruise. However, she did remember to slap her arms down to lessen the impact, and instantly rolled and got to her feet. Her entire body protested the motion and it took an obvious effort for Meg not to show her pain.
Hakuin gave her a smile. "Very good. You're Faleron's sister, aren't you?" Startled, Meg nodded, and Hakuin grinned. "You two are very much alike. He was always good at this particular move." It was the right thing to say; Hakuin addressed all the pages in explanation of other moves as Meg beamed with pride at the compliment to her brother.
"So, how'd it go?" Rick inquired as the pages migrated, at the bell, to another part of the courts.
Meg glared at him; she was abjectly grateful to know Rick and to be able to glare at him. She was beginning to realize that not only would it not offend him, but that it was the only way to manage him. "My body is one big bruise," she retorted, sore from head to toe. It was an effort just to walk.
"If I didn't feel similarly, I'd carry you," Rick offered sweetly; Meg glared at him again. "You'll get used to it soon enough. If it gets too bad, I'll take you to a healer."
"No," Meg said quickly, as they entered the next court. "Pain builds character."
Rick looked at her oddly. "Who told you that?"
"My father," she retorted; Rick went quiet; Sergeant Obafem Ezeko introduced himself and explained the staff drills they were to be doing. He selected Kendrick of Linden and Tiernan haMinch to demonstrate the drill. Meg watched them; both boys were tall and slim, so they were evenly matched. Kendrick moved fluidly, as if the moves came naturally, but he put a bit too much force into his attacks and blocks. Tiernan's were less smooth, but they were powerful without being too forceful. Meg noted some of the first-years staring at his movements with envy; Lord Padraig looked proud.
Ezeko handed out staffs and made the boys and Meg practice each movement. She liked the feel and weight of the staff in her hand, and found that the movements came easily to her. Despite her bruised body, she was lithe and flexible, and she soon was able to perform all of the movements close to perfectly.
"Pair off! Two lines! Right strikes, left blocks! First years with first years!" Ezeko bellowed, and Meg scurried into line. She found herself facing Idren; the boy's hazel eyes were uncertain as he looked at her. She hesitated, then gave him a small, shy smile. After an even longer hesitation, he returned it.
Ezeko and Lord Padraig went up and down the row, checking the pages' stances and grips. She noted that Padraig spent an extraordinarily long time perfecting Rick's grip. When he reached her, he moved her hand further apart and gave her a reassuring grin; Ezeko grumbled about Idren's weak grip and loose stance. "To my count!" he yelled, making Idren wince. "High! Middle! Low!"
Meg and Idren's staffs clacked together, and she found she couldn't pay attention to anything anyone else was saying. She was intensely focused on the drill, on the ache of her sore, bruised muscles as she shifted into blocks for Idren's strikes. Every move took more concentration than anything she'd done before; however, as she got into the rhythm, she noticed that there was an anatomy to them. It was something like talking to her father...she had to take into account his mood, what could affect it, if he'd been drinking...her tone had to be perfectly crafted to appeal to him. The blocks had layers too...her stance had to be solid but flexible, her grip firm but mobile, her strength behind the block just enough. She and Idren settled into a rhythm; Meg was surprised to find them almost perfectly matched. He was taller and just slightly heavier than she was, while she was quicker and more flexible.
"Switch off! High! Middle! Low!" Ezeko called, and they did, Meg striking. This was harder; she found she couldn't put very much force into the attacks. She simply didn't have the strength in her. Idren tried to hold back on his blocks, shooting her a sympathetic glance. Meg smiled at him thankfully, continuing to try and make the strikes as strong as she possibly could.
Ezeko soon announced combinations, and told them to switch partners. Confused, Meg stayed where she was and found herself facing Tiernan. He gave her a faint smile as they settled into the drill. Tiernan was about the same height as Idren, but broader as he was older. His strikes had more force behind them, though it was obvious he was holding back for Meg, so that she could catch up and get used to his blows. She was ferociously grateful to have such a good partner; by the time they'd finished, Tiernan had worked up to almost full power and Meg felt stronger already. When it was time to switch partners again, he clapped her shoulder warmly and winked at her before moving on.
After more staffwork (Meg was lucky enough to get Rick and Adair as partners), the pages moved on to archery. This delighted Meg, who'd shown a talent at the games of darts Faleron had shown her when she was young. Archery was what interested her most.
The archery master, however, didn't show them how to grip their bows; Meg, therefore, was flustered, not knowing how to string the arrow properly. She glanced around, helpless; Adair was on one side of her, and a tall brown-haired boy she didn't know on the other. Meg looked at Adair, who strung the bow smoothly and let loose a perfect arrow. He glanced at the girl; his next arrow came onto the string slowly, his movements exaggerated. Meg realized what he was doing, and copied him, shifting her grip until it mirrored his own. He gave her a subtle nod; she was about to let loose when she glanced at the other boy. He was about to loose his arrow.
"Your aim's off," Meg muttered without thinking.
He looked up, startled. "I beg your pardon?"
"It'll go too high," Meg replied, unsure of how she knew this. It just felt wrong the way it was. "Lower it." Raising an eyebrow at her, he did. "Lower."
"It'll go too low," he protested.
"No, it won't." He lowered it more, rolling his eyes, until the wrong feeling left. "That's good. Let it go now." Looking exasperated, the boy did; the arrow flew straight and true, hitting the edge of the bull's-eye.
"A bit off," Meg said airily, her attention back to her own target. "You'll get it next time."
The boy was staring at her in disbelief. "How," he demanded, "did you know that?"
Meg shrugged, a bit uncomfortable, and loosed her arrow. It struck the bull's-eye dead center while the boy watched, open-mouthed.
As the archery session went on, Meg realized that she could sense where the arrow should go by using a simple little trickle of her Gift. It was what would give her the chord of comfort and rightness when the arrow was center. Almost all of her arrows were within three inches of the center of the target. The brown-haired boy next to her got scolded a number of times because he was staring at Meg like she was the Wave Walker.
Near the end of the archery session Rick, who was on the other side of the brown-haired boy, hissed, "Will!" The boy turned. "We're almost done. Next the first-years will be choosing horses."
Will raised an eyebrow, aimed his bow, and fired - the arrow nearly decapitated Blair. "Sorry!" he called sheepishly, then turned back to Rick. "So what?"
"Well..." Rick lowered his voice further. "You know that Regan and his crew make life miserable for the first-years they...don't take a liking to. And...well...I know from the way Regan looked at her that he wouldn't like Meg. Hence, he and his cronies will make sure she gets a bad horse."
Will nodded slowly. "I'm following this...go on."
Rick lowered his voice more still; it took on a conspiratorial tone. "Well...what say you and I...and maybe Dair and Tier...make it so that they can't, and get Meg a nice horse?" He suddenly stopped, looking anxious. "You do like her, don't you, Will?"
Will glanced at the dark-haired girl next to him, who was biting her lip in concentration. "Yeah, I do," he said softly. "She reminds me of the twins. Only less evil. You going to take her to meet Ria, or will I?"
"Later, Will," Rick chided in annoyance. "That's not the issue here. The issue is...we'll create a diversion. Then, Tier and Dair - if they agree - "
"Which they might not," Will put in dryly. "Dair especially. He hates your silly hare-brained schemes."
"Will you listen?" Rick demanded. "As I was saying, Tier and Dair will escort her - subtly, of course - close to the stables, and then our wonderful horse master Dair will aid her in choosing one." His chocolate-coloured eyes glimmered. "It's fool-proof!"
Will raised an eyebrow, familiar by now with Rick's "fool-proof" plans. "You're worse than my crazy brother, and that's saying something," he proclaimed; Rick looked appropriately pleased. "How exactly do you propose we 'distract' Regan and them?"
Rick gave an evil grin; Will shivered apprehensively. "Blair!" Rick hissed to the boy next to him. "How many of those arrows are you going to be using?"
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When the bell rang for the end of the session, Lord Padraig yelled, "Riding!" Meg turned to put down her bow; Rick winked at Will, who groaned and muttered, "I can't believe I'm doing this." Gleann of Darroch, Kendrick, and Regan had all gathered in a circle, glaring nastily at Meg, and getting ready to run towards the stables.
"You were right," Will whispered to Rick in horror.
"Less talk, more action," Rick hissed in return. Both boys aimed their bows; in full view of the training master, they aimed a barrage of arrows at Regan, Kendrick, and Gleann.
The effect was immediate and explosive - literally. Whenever the arrows hit the ground, they burst in blasts of emerald, black-flecked light. Regan, Kendrick, and Gleann threw themselves to the ground, yelling and yelping. Lord Padraig and the archery master ran over to where Rick and Will were standing and instantly began to yell angrily at them.
Meg stared with open mouth at the scene before her; the first-years looked beyond stunned, the second and third years furious, and the fourth-years resigned. Suddenly, she felt her arms being grabbed; Tiernan and Adair were dragging her, slowly and subtly, closer to the stables. "What - " she began, confused.
"Don't ask," Tiernan grumbled, looking annoyed. "It was Rick's idea. Regan and his gang were planning to stop you from getting a good horse. Apparently, getting flayed by Father is his idea of a decent distraction."
"He and Will are brainless dolts," Adair supplied, but there was no venom in his voice. "But they're good-hearted brainless dolts. Which doesn't entirely make up for it...but still." He grinned faintly at Meg. "I'm to make sure you get a good horse. Tiernan's to calm his father." He looked at the other boy pointedly; Tiernan smiled at Meg and went to do so.
Lord Padraig looked up as he saw his son approach. "First-years! Go pick out your mounts, quickly!"
"Now," Adair muttered, tugging Meg's arm and glancing over to where Regan was shooing Astor. He pulled Meg over to the stables; the girl followed, noting with pride that they were the first ones there.
"I actually had an idea for you..." Adair confessed as he led Meg to a stall. "I wanted you to see him first, but decide quickly, the others will be coming soon..." He gestured to the horse inside and Meg gasped. Inside was a gorgeous gelding, about 15 hands tall, surveying his surroundings with a calm eye. His ears twitched; he was a mottled light brown and white colour. He had white stockings and a short, dark mane, as well as a long, dark tail. He nudged Adair's chest affectionately when the boy approached him, then turned a curious eye to Meg.
"He's beautiful," Meg whispered in awe.
"You think so?" Adair looked pleased. "A Yamani nobleman was returning to the Isles this summer, so he returned him...his name's Karameushi-Uma. Apparently his owner had a sense of humour." Meg raised an eyebrow; Adair explained, "It means 'cow-coloured horse'."
Meg blinked, then looked at Karameushi-Uma. Now that she noted it, his mottling did look an awful lot like a cow's. She giggled. "I think I'll call him Ram for short."
Adair smiled at her. "Better saddle him up quick, though...Lord Padraig's looking restless. I'll go." He waved at her, then went to saddle up his own horse.
Meg approached Ram slowly, holding out her hand for him to smell. He leaned over and checked it; disappointed to find no proffered treat, he lipped her palm in affection anyway. Meg looked up into the horse's dark eyes and saw trust and affection.
She was sure it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.