For a person used to living in the lap of luxury, the little room she'd been given to reside in was a FAR cry from what Kate would call tolerable. There was a bed, a positively ancient desk and matching bookself, a dresser (Kate didn't know what she was supposed to put in it, since she hadn't come here with anything but the clothes on her back) and a night stand next to the bed.
Through a little, bubbly-glass window, she could see a wide, field dotted with white specks that moved about aimlessly. Companions' Field, she'd be informed, as she inquired of Dante the moment she'd looked out of the window.
'Every Companion ever born lives or has lived in that Field,' he'd told her, and she wondered why they gave her a room that had such a clear view of the place.
She sighed and sat back upon the bed; one of those infernal bells had rang loudly at about an hour after dawn. Kate had been awake, of course, but the sound of that bell was enough to set her pulse racing. For a young woman so schooled in controlling her emotions, to have allowed that little slip was something *quite* unsatisfactory.
'Be ready by the second bell,' Dante had said to her before he'd left last night, leaving Kate wishing he'd stayed behind a while longer. He never said where she was being taken, nor why, but Kate followed the request anyway. She was curious, and that was enough to make her ready herself and wait for him. Sure, curiosity killed the cat, but Kate wasn't a cat, now, was she?
:Very funny.: said a voice inside her head, and then the door to Kate's room swung open a bit. "Ready to go?"
It was Dante, of course, and Kate nodded at him. "I'm ready, though I wish you wouldn't intrude upon my thoughts like that. . . ."
"Sorry."
"Where are you taking me?"
"To meet the Queen, of course. She's the reason you're here, after all. You didn't think we'd just drag you out of your home without a purpose, did you?"
"I'm not stupid."
Dante laughed, shoved open the door, offered Kate his hand. "Come now, Princess, toward the Old Palace and the Queen, Herself."
Well, Kate didn't know just how exactly she was supposed to remember the way to the Queen's chambers. There were so many switchbacks and loops and long, identical hallways that Kate soon gave up trying to keep her wits about her. A first for the girl, and it made her terribly uneasy. Dante read her nervousness wrong, and soothed, "The Queen isn't a bad woman, Kate. No worries! She's kind and dear-hearted, and she has a good head on her shoulders."
Kate let him think that her anxieties had been about their meeting, and nodded. "I'll be okay."
And she was, when they opened the door to the Queen's Chamber, after being quizzed by two burly guards who - Kate noticed immediately - had the aire of two who were quite confident in themselves. 'There must be other guards within hearing. . . .'
"Highness?" said Dante, bowing briefly and leaving Kate unsure if she should do the same, "I have with me the Princess Fitral, from -"
"Ah!" A bright-eyed, fiery-haired woman smiled, cutting Dante off mid-sentence and standing, "I was hoping I'd see you today!" She made her way over to Kate and shook her hand vigorously, much to Kate's dismay. She wiped her hand on her pants -- the cheeriness might be catchy.
"Err -- good day to you, Your Majesty. . . ." was all she managed to say while still making sure her hand wasn't contaminated. She saw the Queen flash Dante a side-long look.
"Welcome to Haven, Kayatice. I had hoped you'd make it here without harm, but things don't always go according to plan, do they?"
"Uh - No. I suppose not."
"No, they don't. Well, you're better, now? Or so the Healers tell me. . . ."
"Just a few broken ribs, that's all."
Dante snorted. "A broken jaw, a sprained ankle, bruised AND broken ribs, a punctured lung, terrible burns on her hands and arms, and a slight concussion, Highness."
The Queen's jaw dropped slightly. "Dante! Could you not have spared some time to be careful with your cargo?"
"It wasn't him," Kate hastily explained, lest Dante earn some retribution for the injuries, "It was my Father, and his guards."
With folded arms, the Queen nodded. "I see. And You're sure you're okay, now?"
"Aye."
"Very good. Now, tell me a little bit about yourself, Kaya-"
"Kate."
"-Kate, starting with your age, please?"
"I've just turned seventeen, Majesty."
"Is that all?" Clearly shocked, the Queen sat down again.
"Yes. . . ."
"Well, I should say you are a marvelous person, then, to have escaped a fate so horrid and still make it to Haven in one piece! Not to mention, you seem to have *quite* a grasp on your FireStarting Gift, from what Dante has told me."
"Yeah, well -- my Father knew I had it since I was five or something. I guess I didn't like one of the toys I was given for my birthing-day gift. They found it in a pile of ash on my floor, or so I'm told."
"So, he trained you from that day on, correct?"
"He didn't, no. Father hired someone for that."
"I see. What else were you trained in?"
"Weapons. I can use a broad-sword, a short-sword, a dagger, throwing knives," as Kate continued, the Queen's eyes widened, "A bow and arrow, a mace, walking stick, club, or even an old pair of boots. I know defense, I know offense, I know how to detect spies, how to lose a follower, how to BE a spy and how to follow. . ." Dante was staring at her as she counted these off on her fingers, and the Queen had fallen silent. "What?"
"Well," said Dante, who recovered first, since he'd spent the most time around Kate and her ways, "It's just that -- most of the Trainees here never learn that much in their lifetime, and I'm sure that even our current Weaponsmaster doesn't know some of the things you do, Lo-" He'd been about to say 'love,' but caught himself and continued, "Like uses for a mace. . . ."
Now the Queen spoke up. "Is there anything else we should know about? Other schooling you've been given aside from Weapons?"
"Yeah. I know arithmetic, map reading, astrology, herbology, beginning tracking, city management, Ettiquette, some general cooking -- What now!?"
"Again," said the Queen, "Most trainees here don't know any of those things until their fourth or fifth year in the Collegium."
"But I'm not a Trainee! It doesn't apply."
"It's only a reference tool," Dante said, almost unhappily.
"I can also speak Hardornen, a tiny bit of Karsite, and now Valdemaran, aside from my own language."
"Well," said the Queen again, drumming her fingers on her desk, "There went MY plans."
"What plans?" Dante and Kate asked in unison.
"I was going to enroll Kate as an Unaffiliate and get her accustomed to life here. I think she'd be too far advanced in most everything for us to let her sit in, however."
"Well, what about Valdemar History? She hasn't any knowledge about us . . . do you?"
"Only a little."
"There, you see? History. That's a good one. And -- what else?" Dante was a bit smug.
"How are you at equitation, Kate?" The Queen ignored Dante's tone of voice and smiled slightly at Kate.
"Not so good. I wasn't allowed to ride after I tried breaking from the Palace on one of my Father's racers."
"There we go, another class. And I suppose we'll put you in Advanced Gift training, just to make sure you have your technique straightened out."
Kate surpressed a sigh and looked the Queen in the face. "Why?"
"Why?"
"Yeah - why do I have to take these classes in the first place?"
"Well - would you rather sit around on your behind all day and collect dust? I suppose I could turn you into a handmaided, or something sim-"
"No."
"Then . . . ?"
"I'll take the damned classes."
"I thought you'd see things my way, Kate!" came the cheery response, and Kate nearly snarled. She turned away from the woman and stared around the room as the Queen chatted about something inconsequential - at least, as the moment it was nothing to Kate - that had to do with . . . well, Kate hadn't been listening, and so couldn't really say what the two of them were talking about. She was staring at an almost life-like painting on the wall of a woman with nearly-white hair and a man who seemed positively outlandish. The woman had a Companion leaning it's head on her shoulder, and the man had a *very* large hawk sitting upon his.
And as she stared at the portrait a little longer, Kate could have *sworn* that she heard it call her name!
"Kate!" it said again, and then she realized it'd been Dante all along. She turned and gave him a questioning look.
"Is that okay with you?" he asked, and the young woman wished she would have been paying attention earlier. She looked at him, completely confused.
Dante sighed. "Supper tonight, Kate, in the Hall with the rest of the Court. Are you up to it?"
"Oh . . ." she said airily, as though this were some meaningless decision that she had to make, "I suppose I could manage it, if I had something to wear."
A slight smacking noise drifted from Kate's left, and she turned to look. The Queen had her hand on her forehead. "I'd completely forgotten about that. Dante? Can you take her into town for clothes? I can have the Dean give you the necessary funds for the trip."
"Certainly, Highness."
"Good. Very good. Dante, Kate, thank you for coming."
After what was clearly a dismissal, Dante bowed himself out. Kate didn't bother looking back over her shoulder as she exited, and the Queen looked after the departing duo with an amused expression on her slender face.
Through a little, bubbly-glass window, she could see a wide, field dotted with white specks that moved about aimlessly. Companions' Field, she'd be informed, as she inquired of Dante the moment she'd looked out of the window.
'Every Companion ever born lives or has lived in that Field,' he'd told her, and she wondered why they gave her a room that had such a clear view of the place.
She sighed and sat back upon the bed; one of those infernal bells had rang loudly at about an hour after dawn. Kate had been awake, of course, but the sound of that bell was enough to set her pulse racing. For a young woman so schooled in controlling her emotions, to have allowed that little slip was something *quite* unsatisfactory.
'Be ready by the second bell,' Dante had said to her before he'd left last night, leaving Kate wishing he'd stayed behind a while longer. He never said where she was being taken, nor why, but Kate followed the request anyway. She was curious, and that was enough to make her ready herself and wait for him. Sure, curiosity killed the cat, but Kate wasn't a cat, now, was she?
:Very funny.: said a voice inside her head, and then the door to Kate's room swung open a bit. "Ready to go?"
It was Dante, of course, and Kate nodded at him. "I'm ready, though I wish you wouldn't intrude upon my thoughts like that. . . ."
"Sorry."
"Where are you taking me?"
"To meet the Queen, of course. She's the reason you're here, after all. You didn't think we'd just drag you out of your home without a purpose, did you?"
"I'm not stupid."
Dante laughed, shoved open the door, offered Kate his hand. "Come now, Princess, toward the Old Palace and the Queen, Herself."
Well, Kate didn't know just how exactly she was supposed to remember the way to the Queen's chambers. There were so many switchbacks and loops and long, identical hallways that Kate soon gave up trying to keep her wits about her. A first for the girl, and it made her terribly uneasy. Dante read her nervousness wrong, and soothed, "The Queen isn't a bad woman, Kate. No worries! She's kind and dear-hearted, and she has a good head on her shoulders."
Kate let him think that her anxieties had been about their meeting, and nodded. "I'll be okay."
And she was, when they opened the door to the Queen's Chamber, after being quizzed by two burly guards who - Kate noticed immediately - had the aire of two who were quite confident in themselves. 'There must be other guards within hearing. . . .'
"Highness?" said Dante, bowing briefly and leaving Kate unsure if she should do the same, "I have with me the Princess Fitral, from -"
"Ah!" A bright-eyed, fiery-haired woman smiled, cutting Dante off mid-sentence and standing, "I was hoping I'd see you today!" She made her way over to Kate and shook her hand vigorously, much to Kate's dismay. She wiped her hand on her pants -- the cheeriness might be catchy.
"Err -- good day to you, Your Majesty. . . ." was all she managed to say while still making sure her hand wasn't contaminated. She saw the Queen flash Dante a side-long look.
"Welcome to Haven, Kayatice. I had hoped you'd make it here without harm, but things don't always go according to plan, do they?"
"Uh - No. I suppose not."
"No, they don't. Well, you're better, now? Or so the Healers tell me. . . ."
"Just a few broken ribs, that's all."
Dante snorted. "A broken jaw, a sprained ankle, bruised AND broken ribs, a punctured lung, terrible burns on her hands and arms, and a slight concussion, Highness."
The Queen's jaw dropped slightly. "Dante! Could you not have spared some time to be careful with your cargo?"
"It wasn't him," Kate hastily explained, lest Dante earn some retribution for the injuries, "It was my Father, and his guards."
With folded arms, the Queen nodded. "I see. And You're sure you're okay, now?"
"Aye."
"Very good. Now, tell me a little bit about yourself, Kaya-"
"Kate."
"-Kate, starting with your age, please?"
"I've just turned seventeen, Majesty."
"Is that all?" Clearly shocked, the Queen sat down again.
"Yes. . . ."
"Well, I should say you are a marvelous person, then, to have escaped a fate so horrid and still make it to Haven in one piece! Not to mention, you seem to have *quite* a grasp on your FireStarting Gift, from what Dante has told me."
"Yeah, well -- my Father knew I had it since I was five or something. I guess I didn't like one of the toys I was given for my birthing-day gift. They found it in a pile of ash on my floor, or so I'm told."
"So, he trained you from that day on, correct?"
"He didn't, no. Father hired someone for that."
"I see. What else were you trained in?"
"Weapons. I can use a broad-sword, a short-sword, a dagger, throwing knives," as Kate continued, the Queen's eyes widened, "A bow and arrow, a mace, walking stick, club, or even an old pair of boots. I know defense, I know offense, I know how to detect spies, how to lose a follower, how to BE a spy and how to follow. . ." Dante was staring at her as she counted these off on her fingers, and the Queen had fallen silent. "What?"
"Well," said Dante, who recovered first, since he'd spent the most time around Kate and her ways, "It's just that -- most of the Trainees here never learn that much in their lifetime, and I'm sure that even our current Weaponsmaster doesn't know some of the things you do, Lo-" He'd been about to say 'love,' but caught himself and continued, "Like uses for a mace. . . ."
Now the Queen spoke up. "Is there anything else we should know about? Other schooling you've been given aside from Weapons?"
"Yeah. I know arithmetic, map reading, astrology, herbology, beginning tracking, city management, Ettiquette, some general cooking -- What now!?"
"Again," said the Queen, "Most trainees here don't know any of those things until their fourth or fifth year in the Collegium."
"But I'm not a Trainee! It doesn't apply."
"It's only a reference tool," Dante said, almost unhappily.
"I can also speak Hardornen, a tiny bit of Karsite, and now Valdemaran, aside from my own language."
"Well," said the Queen again, drumming her fingers on her desk, "There went MY plans."
"What plans?" Dante and Kate asked in unison.
"I was going to enroll Kate as an Unaffiliate and get her accustomed to life here. I think she'd be too far advanced in most everything for us to let her sit in, however."
"Well, what about Valdemar History? She hasn't any knowledge about us . . . do you?"
"Only a little."
"There, you see? History. That's a good one. And -- what else?" Dante was a bit smug.
"How are you at equitation, Kate?" The Queen ignored Dante's tone of voice and smiled slightly at Kate.
"Not so good. I wasn't allowed to ride after I tried breaking from the Palace on one of my Father's racers."
"There we go, another class. And I suppose we'll put you in Advanced Gift training, just to make sure you have your technique straightened out."
Kate surpressed a sigh and looked the Queen in the face. "Why?"
"Why?"
"Yeah - why do I have to take these classes in the first place?"
"Well - would you rather sit around on your behind all day and collect dust? I suppose I could turn you into a handmaided, or something sim-"
"No."
"Then . . . ?"
"I'll take the damned classes."
"I thought you'd see things my way, Kate!" came the cheery response, and Kate nearly snarled. She turned away from the woman and stared around the room as the Queen chatted about something inconsequential - at least, as the moment it was nothing to Kate - that had to do with . . . well, Kate hadn't been listening, and so couldn't really say what the two of them were talking about. She was staring at an almost life-like painting on the wall of a woman with nearly-white hair and a man who seemed positively outlandish. The woman had a Companion leaning it's head on her shoulder, and the man had a *very* large hawk sitting upon his.
And as she stared at the portrait a little longer, Kate could have *sworn* that she heard it call her name!
"Kate!" it said again, and then she realized it'd been Dante all along. She turned and gave him a questioning look.
"Is that okay with you?" he asked, and the young woman wished she would have been paying attention earlier. She looked at him, completely confused.
Dante sighed. "Supper tonight, Kate, in the Hall with the rest of the Court. Are you up to it?"
"Oh . . ." she said airily, as though this were some meaningless decision that she had to make, "I suppose I could manage it, if I had something to wear."
A slight smacking noise drifted from Kate's left, and she turned to look. The Queen had her hand on her forehead. "I'd completely forgotten about that. Dante? Can you take her into town for clothes? I can have the Dean give you the necessary funds for the trip."
"Certainly, Highness."
"Good. Very good. Dante, Kate, thank you for coming."
After what was clearly a dismissal, Dante bowed himself out. Kate didn't bother looking back over her shoulder as she exited, and the Queen looked after the departing duo with an amused expression on her slender face.