Lady Gale: Chapter Two:
Tour and Ball.
"So you think that Lady Gale has wild magic?" Neal asked Kel. Kel was brining along Neal, his wife Yuki, Owen and Merric to meet Gale; currently they were walking down the Foreign Wing, looking for Gale's room. "She has to have it. The only other people I've seen with that many animals that like them are Diane and Stefan." Kel said. "I don't know Kel, a lot of animals like you-what's that?" Owen said pointing to an orange thing at the end of the hall. "I believe that's Seamus." Kel grinned and trotted over to the end of the hall. Seamus looked up at Kel with his yellow green eyes and meowed, then turned to the door and stood up on his back hunches and drummed his paws against the doors. "Come on in!" Gale's voice came from inside the room.
Kel opened the door and found Gale doing her rather damp hair back in a horse tie. "Hullo Kel! Sorry I'm not ready yet. Took me awhile to set that bloody thing up." Gale said nodding to the bird perch that Dive was perched upon.
"Wouldn't it be easier just to keep him in the mews?" Merric asked. "I suppose so, but 'e 'ates it in there. And you are?" Gale asked turning to look at Merric and the others. " Gale, this Nealen Of Queenscove, his wife, Yukimi noh Daimoru, Owen of Jesslaw and Merric of Hollyrose, they're friends of mine." Kel noticed that Gale blinked several times quickly when she introduced Yuki. Kel had a feeling that Gale didn't have much contact with the Yamani people or culture.
"I prefer to be called Yuki though." Yuki smiled, and Gale visibly relaxed. "A pleasure to meet you." Gale said, shaking everyone's hand, "So where to first?" "I was thinking the gallery would be the best place to start." Neal said. "Neal is an excellent tour guide." Kel smiled, "Gave me my first tour of the palace when I came here as a pa-probationer." Kel said, sighing a little. She still had to catch herself from saying her first year she was page. "Still don't think that was fair, putting you on probation Kel." Owen grumbled as they headed out the door. "Me foster brother once said, 'if life was fair, the world wouldn't work and knights wouldn't 'ave a job.'" Gale said as they walked, Neal in the lead of the group, Gale's dogs and Seamus following close behind. "What made him say that?" Kel asked. "Well, if everything was fair, everybody would have equal shares. No class systems, no rich or poor and so on, no competition, and we people need competition and challenge, according to me brother. And if everything was fair, there would be peace, and knights wouldn't be needed, and they wouldn't exist anyway, due to said lack of a class system." Gale took a breath after that, before continuing, "At least that's what me brother says. 'E's a philosopher." "Sounds logical actually." Neal commented. "Maybe, but it couldn't hurt if life was just a tiny bit fairer." Owen said.
Soon they arrived at the royal gallery. Neal took great pride in explaining whom the pictures were of and what the poses the people were in meant about them.
"Glory be. I can see why ye call your queen, 'Thayet the Peerless.' She's beautiful." Gale said in awe, looking at the picture of the royal couple, "Your king is 'ansome to, too 'ansome actually, too perfect for my liking. Even them white 'airs add to 'is good looks."
"Gale, does everybody from your country have that accent?" Yuki asked, and then quickly added, "I meant no offence though. It's just here; I've found different areas have different accents."
"No offence taken Lady Yuki. More or less we all 'ave the main accent, some thicker, some thinner, but the basics, like not pronouncing our 'h'es and all that is the same. But the commoners also 'ave the 'abit of saying, 'yew' instead of 'you.' Dinnae ask me why, just they way things have always been."
"But you do pronounce your 'h's." Owen pointed out.
"I meant at the beginning of the word lad." Suddenly the hourly bell rang and Gale must have jumped two feet in the air.
"Bloody 'ell! I'm never going to get used to that." Gale grumbled, and then slapped her forehead, "Oh shyte! I've got to go back to me room. The ambassadors want me all dolled up for the welcoming ball tonight."
"Do you need us to walk you back?" Merric asked.
"Nay, the lads can lead me back if I get lost. See you at the ball." Gale said, trotting off back to her quarters, the dogs leading the way.
"'Shyte?'" Owen called to the retreating Gale.
"Aye, it's more or less the Celtic version of shit!"
*** Gale sighed. She bored to pieces at the Welcoming ball. The Celtic people she had come over with were talking with Tortallan nobles, sages and such. Even Gale's new Tortallan friends were talking to their friends and family. Gale felt ashamed at the dread she felt when she first met Keladry. The girl didn't have a single scar on her face. From what Gale had heard, and if the stories were at least half true, Kel had been in loads of battles and fights. Maybe Kel had a different method then Gale. Let the body get hit, protect the face to Gale's protect the body, let them hit the face. Well, that would make sense, that and there was more of Kel's body to hit. Kel was the biggest girl Gale had ever seen, at five feet and nine inches, a whole seven inches taller then Gale. Not that was an amazing feat. The Celtic people were short folk, by nature, and rarely would you find one over six feet in height, and even they were considered giants. Looking around, Gale could see there some massive people among the Tortallans. A knight Kel was talking to, he had to be a knight, from his muscles and the way he carried himself, he was huge, well over six feet. His hair was curly black, short cropped and his eyes were black, but he had a smiling face and laughed a lot.
"Hello." Came a slightly mountain accented voice beside Gale. Gale would have jumped if she hadn't remembered she held a cup of spiced red wine. Turning, Gale saw her greeter was around the same height as her. Gale guessed her age was early to mid-twenties. She had what was described as smoky brown hair, loosely curled. At the moment it was down with blue silk ribbon woven through it, the blue was the same shade as the woman's dress. Her eyes were a soft blue and the rest of her spoke of time in the open air and sun with animals. The animal part was also distinctive in the amount of wild magic she had. When Gale was first discovered to have wild magic, she went through a process that allowed her to see animal wild magic in those who had it. The woman had wild magic coursing through nearly every vein that was visible to the naked eye, much like Gale had, but the woman also had an aura of wild magic around herself.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. I'm Veralidaine Salmalin." The woman said offering her hand for a shake. Now Gale was confused, "That's odd, I thought the only person who 'ad that name and the amount of wild magic you 'ave last name was Sarrasri." The woman, Daine, chuckled, "I was called that until I was married two years ago."
"Ohhhh. Gah, me wits 'ave gone a begging again. I'm Gale."
"Nice to meet you Gale. So you can see wild magic too?"
"Aye, after a mage friend of mine did that weird head thing, after 'e kept the wild magic from the 'uman part of me."
"Your people already knew about that?" Middle tone male voice spoke behind Gale. This time Gale did jump, thankfully, she had put down her drink first.
"Honestly Numair, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Daine scolded gently. Turning around, Gale came head to chest with Numair Salmalin, greatest mage in the Eastern lands and Daine's husband. Other then being tall, Master Salmalin and a longish nose and dark skin. His long black mane was pulled back with a horse tie. He wore a black silk robe, showing his station as one of the few black robed mages living. Looking closely, Gale took note that Master Samlin had a few white hairs in his mane, and some laugh lines. He was obviously too old for Diane, around mid- thirties, but if Diane if herself didn't mind, she wasn't going to make mention of it. Also, although Master Samlin held an aura of grace and confidence, Gale had a feeling that as a young man and a child, he was somewhat awkward, all elbows and knees.
"A pleasure to meet you, Master Numair." Gale said in her best, meeting-someone-important-voice, and bowed.
"Please, no bowing and none of this 'Master' stuff. Now about my question." Numair said, looking fairly curious.
"You'll have to excuse him, once he wants to know something..." Diane sighed.
"No worries, me mage friends go into scholar mode all the time." Gale said, and then turned to Numair, "Well you see, the Celtic god of mischief and fun, Brock, had ties to wild magic, probably because 'e was 'alf badger. Anyway, about, sixty years back 'e was 'aving fun with mortal women, if ye know what I mean. 'E'd disguised 'imself as a 'ansome knight, or something like that. 'E'd never rape a lass, wasn't in 'is nature to 'urt people, just to enjoy 'imself. Well a fair number of those lasses 'ad wee ones. And well, it took about four of them to go mad before the mages got off their arses to fix it. Didn't take them long to figure it out. Of course Brock kept up'is ways until about forty years, maybe thirty-five years, back. Many people thought the elder gods thought that Brock was trying to make an army of 'is own kin. I personally think 'e needed to take a break. Whatever the reason, people with wild magic stopped being born. It wasn't until about fifteen years before I was born before the last one died out, and people thought the wild magic died out." Gale blushed, "Sorry, dinna mean to rattle on like that."
"No problem Lady Gale, in fact, usually I have to keep asking questions." Numair smiled, then furrowed his brow, " That mean you might be a demi-god."
"I might be. Some people were saying that the reason I passed the test of nobility was because me da is a god. Seems kind of silly to me. If me da's a god, doesn't mean I'm a kind of nobility?" Numair and Diane both laughed out right to this.
"You have a point there!" Diane chuckled.
"Oh what a sweet kitty!" a female voice said.
"Uh, oh." Gale said. Nah, she told him not to sneak in here. He might be accepted but-
Momma! A voice within Gale's head called. A small orange blur raced around feet and leaped, landing on Gale's shoulder, purring loudly.
"'Onestly Seamus. Yer going to get fur on me dress." Gale scolded.
Well you shouldn't have worn hunter green silk and satin then. Seamus replied regally. Gale sighed. Sometimes she swore that there were two cats inside of Seamus' body, one sweet, snugly and kitten like, and the other regal and confident, like most cats were. A laugh broke through Gale's thoughts. Looking over Gale saw a short woman and the big man Kel had been talking to walked to wards her. The woman was dressed in purple silk and fine cotton. She was about two inches shorter then Gale, and her hair was a fiery red. Her eyes though, they were amazing, the same shade of purple as her dress. That's when Gale knew that the most famous lady knight in the Eastern lands, ever, was walking towards her. Gale had heard many a tale of Alanna the Lioness. She knew not all were a hundred percent true, like the fact that she was ten tall, when actually Alanna looked about five feet even, but that didn't stop her from feeling nervous as hell though.
"It's like you and Faithful, but the colours are in reverse, Alanna." Chuckled the big man.
"Well, not exactly, Raoul, their eyes aren't the exact same shade of green, but it close enough." Alanna chuckled also. Raoul of Golden and Malorie's Peak. Giant killer and knight commander of the King's Own. Now Gale knew she was going to be sick with nerves.
"Faithful?" Daine asked.
"My cat when I was square, and the first part of my knight years. He would always be nearby me. His favourite spot was on my shoulder. He had the same shade of purple eyes as me. He'd only get up on my shoulder though." Alanna explained.
"Well..m-m-milady. Seamus he's not picky." Gale stuttered. Talking about animals was just barely enough to get Gale to talk. As if to prove Gale's point, Seamus leaped over onto Alanna's shoulder.
I am so picky. This one smells like a cat person. Maybe she has some treats! Alanna chuckled, scratching behind Seamus' ear. Seamus purred his loudest.
"Seamus isn't the most balanced cat is he?" Daine asked, after having listened to Seamus' split personality.
"Aye, Seamus dinnae 'ave the best kitten 'ood, so, I think 'e can't rid of 'is kitten side." Gale said with a shrug.
"Maybe it's all the animals he interacts with. I heard from Neal that you have a fair bit of animals. Mind if I come over tomorrow to take a look?" Daine asked.
"Sure, come in the morning though, that's when Kel and the others said they'd 'elp me study."
"Gale, is alright if I give Seamus some shrimp?" Alanna asked.
OH YES PLEASE MOMMA! Seamus begged. Daine and Gale just looked at each other and laughed.
"So you think that Lady Gale has wild magic?" Neal asked Kel. Kel was brining along Neal, his wife Yuki, Owen and Merric to meet Gale; currently they were walking down the Foreign Wing, looking for Gale's room. "She has to have it. The only other people I've seen with that many animals that like them are Diane and Stefan." Kel said. "I don't know Kel, a lot of animals like you-what's that?" Owen said pointing to an orange thing at the end of the hall. "I believe that's Seamus." Kel grinned and trotted over to the end of the hall. Seamus looked up at Kel with his yellow green eyes and meowed, then turned to the door and stood up on his back hunches and drummed his paws against the doors. "Come on in!" Gale's voice came from inside the room.
Kel opened the door and found Gale doing her rather damp hair back in a horse tie. "Hullo Kel! Sorry I'm not ready yet. Took me awhile to set that bloody thing up." Gale said nodding to the bird perch that Dive was perched upon.
"Wouldn't it be easier just to keep him in the mews?" Merric asked. "I suppose so, but 'e 'ates it in there. And you are?" Gale asked turning to look at Merric and the others. " Gale, this Nealen Of Queenscove, his wife, Yukimi noh Daimoru, Owen of Jesslaw and Merric of Hollyrose, they're friends of mine." Kel noticed that Gale blinked several times quickly when she introduced Yuki. Kel had a feeling that Gale didn't have much contact with the Yamani people or culture.
"I prefer to be called Yuki though." Yuki smiled, and Gale visibly relaxed. "A pleasure to meet you." Gale said, shaking everyone's hand, "So where to first?" "I was thinking the gallery would be the best place to start." Neal said. "Neal is an excellent tour guide." Kel smiled, "Gave me my first tour of the palace when I came here as a pa-probationer." Kel said, sighing a little. She still had to catch herself from saying her first year she was page. "Still don't think that was fair, putting you on probation Kel." Owen grumbled as they headed out the door. "Me foster brother once said, 'if life was fair, the world wouldn't work and knights wouldn't 'ave a job.'" Gale said as they walked, Neal in the lead of the group, Gale's dogs and Seamus following close behind. "What made him say that?" Kel asked. "Well, if everything was fair, everybody would have equal shares. No class systems, no rich or poor and so on, no competition, and we people need competition and challenge, according to me brother. And if everything was fair, there would be peace, and knights wouldn't be needed, and they wouldn't exist anyway, due to said lack of a class system." Gale took a breath after that, before continuing, "At least that's what me brother says. 'E's a philosopher." "Sounds logical actually." Neal commented. "Maybe, but it couldn't hurt if life was just a tiny bit fairer." Owen said.
Soon they arrived at the royal gallery. Neal took great pride in explaining whom the pictures were of and what the poses the people were in meant about them.
"Glory be. I can see why ye call your queen, 'Thayet the Peerless.' She's beautiful." Gale said in awe, looking at the picture of the royal couple, "Your king is 'ansome to, too 'ansome actually, too perfect for my liking. Even them white 'airs add to 'is good looks."
"Gale, does everybody from your country have that accent?" Yuki asked, and then quickly added, "I meant no offence though. It's just here; I've found different areas have different accents."
"No offence taken Lady Yuki. More or less we all 'ave the main accent, some thicker, some thinner, but the basics, like not pronouncing our 'h'es and all that is the same. But the commoners also 'ave the 'abit of saying, 'yew' instead of 'you.' Dinnae ask me why, just they way things have always been."
"But you do pronounce your 'h's." Owen pointed out.
"I meant at the beginning of the word lad." Suddenly the hourly bell rang and Gale must have jumped two feet in the air.
"Bloody 'ell! I'm never going to get used to that." Gale grumbled, and then slapped her forehead, "Oh shyte! I've got to go back to me room. The ambassadors want me all dolled up for the welcoming ball tonight."
"Do you need us to walk you back?" Merric asked.
"Nay, the lads can lead me back if I get lost. See you at the ball." Gale said, trotting off back to her quarters, the dogs leading the way.
"'Shyte?'" Owen called to the retreating Gale.
"Aye, it's more or less the Celtic version of shit!"
*** Gale sighed. She bored to pieces at the Welcoming ball. The Celtic people she had come over with were talking with Tortallan nobles, sages and such. Even Gale's new Tortallan friends were talking to their friends and family. Gale felt ashamed at the dread she felt when she first met Keladry. The girl didn't have a single scar on her face. From what Gale had heard, and if the stories were at least half true, Kel had been in loads of battles and fights. Maybe Kel had a different method then Gale. Let the body get hit, protect the face to Gale's protect the body, let them hit the face. Well, that would make sense, that and there was more of Kel's body to hit. Kel was the biggest girl Gale had ever seen, at five feet and nine inches, a whole seven inches taller then Gale. Not that was an amazing feat. The Celtic people were short folk, by nature, and rarely would you find one over six feet in height, and even they were considered giants. Looking around, Gale could see there some massive people among the Tortallans. A knight Kel was talking to, he had to be a knight, from his muscles and the way he carried himself, he was huge, well over six feet. His hair was curly black, short cropped and his eyes were black, but he had a smiling face and laughed a lot.
"Hello." Came a slightly mountain accented voice beside Gale. Gale would have jumped if she hadn't remembered she held a cup of spiced red wine. Turning, Gale saw her greeter was around the same height as her. Gale guessed her age was early to mid-twenties. She had what was described as smoky brown hair, loosely curled. At the moment it was down with blue silk ribbon woven through it, the blue was the same shade as the woman's dress. Her eyes were a soft blue and the rest of her spoke of time in the open air and sun with animals. The animal part was also distinctive in the amount of wild magic she had. When Gale was first discovered to have wild magic, she went through a process that allowed her to see animal wild magic in those who had it. The woman had wild magic coursing through nearly every vein that was visible to the naked eye, much like Gale had, but the woman also had an aura of wild magic around herself.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. I'm Veralidaine Salmalin." The woman said offering her hand for a shake. Now Gale was confused, "That's odd, I thought the only person who 'ad that name and the amount of wild magic you 'ave last name was Sarrasri." The woman, Daine, chuckled, "I was called that until I was married two years ago."
"Ohhhh. Gah, me wits 'ave gone a begging again. I'm Gale."
"Nice to meet you Gale. So you can see wild magic too?"
"Aye, after a mage friend of mine did that weird head thing, after 'e kept the wild magic from the 'uman part of me."
"Your people already knew about that?" Middle tone male voice spoke behind Gale. This time Gale did jump, thankfully, she had put down her drink first.
"Honestly Numair, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Daine scolded gently. Turning around, Gale came head to chest with Numair Salmalin, greatest mage in the Eastern lands and Daine's husband. Other then being tall, Master Salmalin and a longish nose and dark skin. His long black mane was pulled back with a horse tie. He wore a black silk robe, showing his station as one of the few black robed mages living. Looking closely, Gale took note that Master Samlin had a few white hairs in his mane, and some laugh lines. He was obviously too old for Diane, around mid- thirties, but if Diane if herself didn't mind, she wasn't going to make mention of it. Also, although Master Samlin held an aura of grace and confidence, Gale had a feeling that as a young man and a child, he was somewhat awkward, all elbows and knees.
"A pleasure to meet you, Master Numair." Gale said in her best, meeting-someone-important-voice, and bowed.
"Please, no bowing and none of this 'Master' stuff. Now about my question." Numair said, looking fairly curious.
"You'll have to excuse him, once he wants to know something..." Diane sighed.
"No worries, me mage friends go into scholar mode all the time." Gale said, and then turned to Numair, "Well you see, the Celtic god of mischief and fun, Brock, had ties to wild magic, probably because 'e was 'alf badger. Anyway, about, sixty years back 'e was 'aving fun with mortal women, if ye know what I mean. 'E'd disguised 'imself as a 'ansome knight, or something like that. 'E'd never rape a lass, wasn't in 'is nature to 'urt people, just to enjoy 'imself. Well a fair number of those lasses 'ad wee ones. And well, it took about four of them to go mad before the mages got off their arses to fix it. Didn't take them long to figure it out. Of course Brock kept up'is ways until about forty years, maybe thirty-five years, back. Many people thought the elder gods thought that Brock was trying to make an army of 'is own kin. I personally think 'e needed to take a break. Whatever the reason, people with wild magic stopped being born. It wasn't until about fifteen years before I was born before the last one died out, and people thought the wild magic died out." Gale blushed, "Sorry, dinna mean to rattle on like that."
"No problem Lady Gale, in fact, usually I have to keep asking questions." Numair smiled, then furrowed his brow, " That mean you might be a demi-god."
"I might be. Some people were saying that the reason I passed the test of nobility was because me da is a god. Seems kind of silly to me. If me da's a god, doesn't mean I'm a kind of nobility?" Numair and Diane both laughed out right to this.
"You have a point there!" Diane chuckled.
"Oh what a sweet kitty!" a female voice said.
"Uh, oh." Gale said. Nah, she told him not to sneak in here. He might be accepted but-
Momma! A voice within Gale's head called. A small orange blur raced around feet and leaped, landing on Gale's shoulder, purring loudly.
"'Onestly Seamus. Yer going to get fur on me dress." Gale scolded.
Well you shouldn't have worn hunter green silk and satin then. Seamus replied regally. Gale sighed. Sometimes she swore that there were two cats inside of Seamus' body, one sweet, snugly and kitten like, and the other regal and confident, like most cats were. A laugh broke through Gale's thoughts. Looking over Gale saw a short woman and the big man Kel had been talking to walked to wards her. The woman was dressed in purple silk and fine cotton. She was about two inches shorter then Gale, and her hair was a fiery red. Her eyes though, they were amazing, the same shade of purple as her dress. That's when Gale knew that the most famous lady knight in the Eastern lands, ever, was walking towards her. Gale had heard many a tale of Alanna the Lioness. She knew not all were a hundred percent true, like the fact that she was ten tall, when actually Alanna looked about five feet even, but that didn't stop her from feeling nervous as hell though.
"It's like you and Faithful, but the colours are in reverse, Alanna." Chuckled the big man.
"Well, not exactly, Raoul, their eyes aren't the exact same shade of green, but it close enough." Alanna chuckled also. Raoul of Golden and Malorie's Peak. Giant killer and knight commander of the King's Own. Now Gale knew she was going to be sick with nerves.
"Faithful?" Daine asked.
"My cat when I was square, and the first part of my knight years. He would always be nearby me. His favourite spot was on my shoulder. He had the same shade of purple eyes as me. He'd only get up on my shoulder though." Alanna explained.
"Well..m-m-milady. Seamus he's not picky." Gale stuttered. Talking about animals was just barely enough to get Gale to talk. As if to prove Gale's point, Seamus leaped over onto Alanna's shoulder.
I am so picky. This one smells like a cat person. Maybe she has some treats! Alanna chuckled, scratching behind Seamus' ear. Seamus purred his loudest.
"Seamus isn't the most balanced cat is he?" Daine asked, after having listened to Seamus' split personality.
"Aye, Seamus dinnae 'ave the best kitten 'ood, so, I think 'e can't rid of 'is kitten side." Gale said with a shrug.
"Maybe it's all the animals he interacts with. I heard from Neal that you have a fair bit of animals. Mind if I come over tomorrow to take a look?" Daine asked.
"Sure, come in the morning though, that's when Kel and the others said they'd 'elp me study."
"Gale, is alright if I give Seamus some shrimp?" Alanna asked.
OH YES PLEASE MOMMA! Seamus begged. Daine and Gale just looked at each other and laughed.