Me: (Is standing in a sea of llamas, looking down at something. Hears someone cough and looks up) Oh. Hi. Uh, you guys should just go ahead and read the story.
Disclaimer: HELLO!
Me: Where did you come from?
Disclaimer: Over there. (Points in another corner)
Me: Uh, great.
Disclaimer: Hey, what's that? (Tries to get better look through herd of llamas)
Me: Nothing.
Disclaimer: Is that blo-
Me: No.
Disclaimer: Ok. (Skips off happily)
Some Dude: (Passes by and sees something in llama's protective huddle. Face goes several interesting colors of green) What happened?
Me: Well, we were chasing RG. He kind of fell into my cage of rabid monkeys…(Looks down again)
SD: Uh-oh.
Me: Yeah. It's gonna take a while to clean up…
SD: Uh, no. Nobody told you, did they?
Me: What?
SD: Err…
Me: What happened?
SD: Well…
Me: Spit it out before I make you.
SD: The rabid monkeys got out…
Me: WHAT?
SD: Er, yeah.
Me: They got out?
SD: Yes. Oh, and the evil opossums did too.
Me: We're screwed.
SD: Why?
Me: You do remember what happened last time, don't you?
SD: (Shudders) Is it even possible to forget?
Me: Well, that's why.
SD: We're gonna die. We're gonna die. We're gonna die.
Me: Well, since we're going to croak, as SD so eloquently put it,
SD: We're gonna die. We're gonna die. We're gonna die. We're gonna die.
Me: None of the characters are mine, yadda yadda yadda. Now. RUN FOR YOUR GOD DAMN LIFE BEFORE THE MONKEYS AND OPOSSUMS GET YOU!
SD: We're gonna die. We're gonna die. We're gonna die
Mother and Jesterby Eveiveneg
Gayle stood in the field of grass where the Riders trained. She'd come here about two weeks ago and had settled well into the routine. Though the horses weren't here yet, she'd had a good time. If you counted running around the meadow in continuous circles for two hours as a good time. Which Gayle did.
Today, though, would be different. The Horse Mistress was arriving today, towing the trainees' new horses with her. Gayle was excited. She hadn't been on a horse since the ride down to Corus, and was aching to start riding again.
She'd been waking up everyday before everyone else, including the officers who trained them. She would practice using a staff, using sticks as substitutes. She hadn't been able to get a hold of the bows, so she had to wait until they were allowed to use them.
The first morning here, while practicing, an explosion had occurred inside. She'd been so frightened; she'd nearly fallen on some animals that had joined her. Later she found out that it had been one of the officers, Sarge, a large dark-skinned man who seemed to have some bear blood in him, waking up the male trainees.
Now, though, she was used to it. She'd get down to the mess hall before everyone else, ready to eat. A couple of the trainees would talk to her, or in many of the boys' cases, flirt with her. She would flirt in response, having seen others done so before. She hadn't realized she was such a proficient flirt before then, and was satisfied by the trainees' responses. It was really invigorating for actual boys to talk to her after so many years of being shunned by them.
Today, though, she wanted to see the horses in the stables. She pushed open one of the doors and slid in, shutting it behind her. The horses looked at her, thinking she might give them food. She smiled and walked past the stalls, admiring the animals. They were all very fine. Her grandfather would have liked them.
One of them caught her eye. She walked over to the stallion, amazed at his shining coat. He glanced at her. "Oh," She said quietly. "You're amazing." He was a tall, cream–colored stallion. His snow-white mane was long and hung down over his flanks.
She held a hand out; he sniffed it and snorted. She held back a laugh. He continued to explore her, stuffing his snout into her pockets. She giggled as his hair tickled her skin. "Aren't you the curious fellow?"
"He is indeed."
She looked around, startled. A man with sharp blue eyes was leaning against one of the stall walls and watching her. He looked like he was in his early thirties, with a lean build.
"Hello." She tilted her head curiously. "Who're you?" He raised an eyebrow. "Direct, aren't you?" She stared at him, waiting. He sighed. "Evin Larse." She was startled. He was the Commander of the Riders.
"I was taking care of some bandits, and would have been here otherwise." He said, not seeming to notice her surprised expression. "We got back the day before yesterday, and I had to deal with paperwork." He made a face. She smiled.
"I noticed you've been getting up about two hours earlier than everyone else here." He commented. She shrugged. "I always get up early." She stated a she rubbed the stallion's side. "It's hard to break an old habit." He looked at her curiously.
"What's your name?" He asked. "Gayle Falconer."
"Ah." He nodded in understanding. "You're the one Percy was talking about." She raised an eyebrow. "Has he? He failed to mention that he was spreading my name around the palace." She shook her head. "It's a shame when you can't even depend on an old man not to spread word about."
He grinned wryly. "Too true." He glanced at the horse she was still being inspected by. "What do you think of him?" Gayle looked at the horse. "Yours, I presume?" He nodded. "He's a fine horse. I haven't seen one this good-looking, or silly," She added as he snuffled in one of her breech pockets. "In a long time."
She stroked the gelding's forehead. He butted his head into her arm. "He's a sweet guy." She nudged him towards the commander. "Go say hi to your wonderful master." He trotted over to the tall blonde and rubbed against him affectionately.
She perched herself on one of the walls, watching with a smile as the man greeted his horse.
"UP AND AT 'EM TRAINEES!" Evin jumped, but Gayle simply sighed. "I'll never get used to that." Evin remarked. "But you apparently have." She shrugged. "My mother enjoyed doing the same thing to me when I was younger." He shuddered. She shrugged again and slid off the wall.
The commander joined her as she headed to the mess hall. "So what do you think of our training?" He asked. "It's fine. A bit boring, but fine." He glanced at her with a confused expression. "Boring?" She nodded. "So far all we've done is run around the field. Not that it isn't beneficial," She added hastily, thinking he might get ideas. "But doing the same thing over and over can get tedious." He grinned at that. "You don't have to worry. The ponies are coming today, and then we'll be able to start with the real training." She sighed gratefully. "Good."
They were silent a moment. "Race you." Evin said abruptly. He started running. "Hey!" She yelled, starting after him. She didn't catch up to him. She could have, but chose not to. Why let people know your strengths when you could surprise them later on?
They both pounded into the mess hall, surprising the trainees as the raced past them. They slowed to a stop.
"Cheater." Gayle said between fake pants.
"You're just a sore loser." Evin said with an air of dignity.
"I only lost because you cheated." She retorted. "Maybe." She mock-scowled at him.
"That was interesting." A voice remarked. She glanced at the speaker and blinked in surprise. A tall woman with flawless ivory skin and clear hazel eyes was looking at Evin with raised eyebrows. She brushed back a lock of raven black hair as she went on. "I hadn't realized our Commander had started racing again. Especially after what happened the last time he did so."
"I never learn." He stated proudly. "How have you been lately Thayet?" The Queen of Tortall shrugged. "Same old, same old. I'm just glad to be able to help with the trainees. I'd go mad otherwise." Evin nodded in understanding.
"So," She began. "Who's your friend?" He grinned. "Thayet, this is-"
He turned and stopped short. Gayle wasn't there any more. "What the-" He looked around. She wasn't anywhere in sight. All he could see was a mass of trainees.
As soon as she'd realized who the woman was, Gayle had melted into the crowd. Not that she wanted to be rude, of course. But if she were introduced to the Queen, she would most likely be mentioned to the King. And if the King knew about her, he would begin to become suspicious of her. She couldn't have that. Not after she'd made so many friends here.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The trainees were running around the field again. Evin watched them with a grin. He knew what it was like to have to sprint around all day, everyday. It could be a bit, no, very, exhausting. Sarge was urging them on as he jogged among them, making sure all could keep the pace.
His eyes wandered back to Gayle, who was in the midst of the group. The scarlet-haired girl was towards the back of the runners, with the rest of the trainees who lagged behind. It seemed that she wasn't the best of runners.
But this reasoning was contradicted by the fact she was chatting with her temporary companions. Wouldn't she be too out of breath to talk? He sighed. She was a strange girl. There was a mysterious and sad tone in her voice, despite her usual cheerfulness. Something that made you think. She seemed to be hiding something, too…
He heard a shout and turned to see who it was. A woman was leading a train of ponies into the field. He waved at her. It was Onua, the Horse Mistress for the Riders and a good friend of his.
He whistled sharply, catching Sarge's attention. He nodded towards Onua and Sarge nodded in reply. "TRAINEES! ONE MORE LAP AROUND AND YOU'RE THROUGH!" Most of the others groaned.
Gayle glanced at him before returning to the conversation she was currently having with one of other trainees. "Hey," She said abruptly. "I've got an idea." The girl, Mya, looked at her uneasily. The last time she'd said that, they'd very nearly blown up the Own's barracks.
"What?" Mya asked cautiously. "We'll do a little chant to encourage our fellow trainees." She announced proudly. Mya looked unsure. "Ah, come on! Do it with me!" Gayle pleaded. "No, I don't think I will."
"Why not?"
"Well, considering the last time we almost set fire to the barracks of the King's Own."
"I keep telling you, that wasn't my fault! When I put the alcohol there, I didn't realize that it was right next to the fire!"
Mya looked at her with skepticism. "Sure you didn't. In any case, the answer is still no."
"Fine. I'll just have to do it on my own."
Evin was staring off into space when someone started shouting.
"WE ARE THE TRAINEES, THE INCREDIBLY SPLENDIFEROUS TRAINEES!"
Evin looked towards the trainees, startled.
"SOON TO BE A RIDER, WE HAVE TO PACK UP LIGHTER!"
It was Gayle. She looked incredibly excited. Though why, he was entirely unsure. If the looks the other trainees were giving her were any indication, she was in for a very painful experience.
"UP EARLY EVERY DAY, WE CAN'T TAKE IT, COME WHAT MAY!"
She hadn't seemed to catch the glares the others were giving her. That, or she was ignoring them.
"EVERYONE HEARS US SAY ALOUD: WE ARE STUPID AND WE'RE PROUD!"
She started to repeat the entire thing.
"WE ARE THE TRAINEES, THE INCREDIBLY SPLENDIFEROUS-"
She'd finally noticed the trainees after they'd leapt at her. She laughed and started running faster, trying to get away from them. She was still laughing, despite the growls and shouts that the trainees were emitting.
She spotted the Commander and gave him a friendly wave as she sprinted by. He waved back, grinning. She ran past the point where she would have been allowed to stop, but kept going, for obvious reasons.
"Masters and Mistresses!" She called back to the trainees. "Why do you try to hurt someone who only wants to encourage you?" They all shrieked in annoyance. 'What did I ever do?' She wondered sorrowfully. 'Why don't people ever appreciate me?' She thought for a moment. 'Oh yeah. I annoy them.'
When she looked back to see if maybe her pursuers were tiring, she was unhappy to see that they were starting to get out of breath. 'Maybe I should slow down a bit, so they can regain their breath…' She thought. Her pace slowed almost imperceptibly.
But Evin saw it, as well as Sarge and Queen Thayet, who had joined him at the edge of the field. "Did you see that?" He asked. The two nodded. Sarge grinned suddenly. "She wants to be chased. You can see it in her face." He announced. Thayet smiled. "What a tease."
Gayle was still loping ahead of the trainees, keeping back tears of mirth. It was just so funny. All of the others were shrieking, growling, yelling, and so on, which clearly told Gayle just what they were going to do to her if they caught her.
Seeing a nice, tall tree off in the distance, she headed towards it, the trainees following close behind. She vaulted over the fence that separated her from the big oak.
"Nearly there, nearly there, nearly there." She muttered to herself. 'Yes, I see the branches. They're very big and homey and safe. Surely they will keep me out of harm's way aka psychotic, insane, mentally disabled young adults with creepy pyromaniac-like glints in their eyes. Or not. Please let it be the former.'
Twenty yards. Fifteen yards. Ten yards. Five yards. As soon as she was close enough, Gayle started scrambling up the tree, causing a lot of bark and leaves to fall down.
She was about three quarters of the way up before she realized that no one was following her. She looked down and saw all the trainees, each and every one of them, just staring at her. She tilted her head as she watched them, but remained silent.
After a few minutes, one of the asked in an annoyed way, "Don't ya want ta why we aren't going after you?" She shrugged. "Not really."
"Well, it's because we don't feel like going up there, so we're going to wait for you to come down." She grinned down at the speaker. "You do realize I just tricked you into telling me?" He blinked then swore quietly. "You need to work on that. It's not a good quality in a Rider to be tricked into something so easily."
The boy glared at her. She shrugged again. "Whatever…" She looked off into the distance, warm and happy. It was nice up here, with the wind blowing gently and the sun shining down.
She thought maybe she should go down. But then again, there were people trying to kill her. What did it matter, anyway? If she could just sit here all her life, without a care in the world, she'd be perfectly content. No enemies, no hurt. She'd be free from it all. Angst, depression, everything, she'd be free from it.
She saw a dark, strange shape. She frowned for a moment, then started to relax, half-closing her eyes. It was like the thing had a voice. She could hear it speaking to her, in a low, soft, enticing voice. 'You are a hurt child, sad, lonely. I can help you. Come here, child. You will be safe from the world's harm…'
It seemed to be taking shape, a tall, elegant creature. A woman, cloaked and hooded, but you could tell from the way she held herself and moved that she was a woman. 'Come, child.' She beckoned to her. Gayle smiled dreamily and stood up slowly, feeling light and airy. She didn't realize that the body of a redheaded girl lay behind her, slack and unmoving.
The mysterious figure smiled and held out her hand to the girl. She raised her hand and was about to place it in the stranger's, when she heard something.
"Gayle!"
She was suddenly back, sitting on the branch. Actually, she wasn't. She was falling off. She immediately went into action. She grabbed a smaller, thinner branch that was nearby, dropping it and grabbing another. She repeated this pattern as she fell to the ground.
When she finally landed, she felt a little dizzy. The trainees watched her with dazed looks on their faces. Mya came up to her. "Are you all right?" She asked worriedly. Gayle nodded absently. "Fine, fine. I kind of drifted off. Sorry 'bout that."
The group surrounding them seemed to be coming back to their senses. She quickly noticed this, and went into action. She pointed over their shoulders, and shrieked, "RACOON!"
All of them turned around to see what she was screaming about, stared in confusion for a second, then realized what she'd said. But by that time she had disappeared, having run away in the other direction as soon as they'd turned around.
For a moment the trainees looked dumbfounded, then shrugged and went off in different directions.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When the lunch bell finally rang, Gayle cautiously entered the mess hall. None of them noticed her. She sighed happily. At least she wasn't going to get mauled. Today, at least.
She sat down next to Mya, who glared at her for a moment before smiling and turning back to her food. They were almost done eating when Sarge stood up and began to talk.
"Well, my lambs, today's the last day of lazing around." Mya rolled her eyes and Gayle grinned. "Onua, our horse mistress," A rather short, black-haired woman stood up. "Has arrived. Since she's brought the ponies we need, we get to start our real work. After lunch you're off to the fields to pick out your new mounts."
Gayle broke into a happy smile. 'Finally.' She thought as Sarge sat down again. It was about time. When she was finished, she picked up all her dishes, dropped them off with the servants, and trotted out the door.
When she reached the field, she smiled. The ponies were wandering around, munching on the grass, standing nervously in groups, or just playing around. She watched them for a moment, content just to see them. Then she hopped over the fence and strolled over to where some horses were.
They glanced at her uneasily. She just stood there, humming 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park', a song she rather liked. It was a good thing that the ponies didn't understand the words, or they might have slowly backed away like any sane person or animal. But they didn't. In fact, they seemed to like her humming. Or maybe the fact she was a psycho didn't seem to bother them.
In any case, they started to approach her, sniffing her curiously. She let them. She was used to horses and knew they weren't likely to hurt her. This was just the horses' way of inspecting someone.
After they seemed satisfied, they waltzed away, apparently losing interest in her. She went over to a tree and sat down underneath it. She watched as the other trainees came into the field and introduced themselves to the horses.
"La-la, la-la, la-laaaa, la, la-la, la-la, la-laaaa, la," She hummed to herself. "They're oh so, oh so, annooooying." After a while she started walking among the horses and trainees, looking at them all with a speculative expression.
She was watching Mya introduce herself to one of the horses when something butted her from behind. Looking around, Gayle saw dark eyes watching her curiously. A long-legged gelding stood there, flicking his ears back and forth as he analyzed her. His reddish brown coat was splotched everywhere with white. His straight black mane was very long, hanging down to the tops of his legs.
She gently blew in his nostrils, introducing herself. He blew back in her face and she chuckled. He ran around her and stopped abruptly. "You're a weird guy." She remarked. He shook his head vigorously and she laughed loudly. He let out a whinny and she heard a neigh in reply. She turned around to see who he was calling to, and stared.
A tall, majestic mare stood a ways off. Her long white mane and tail blew in the gentle wind, standing out in extreme contrast to her inky black coat. She trotted over gracefully to them, stopping next to the playful gelding. She butted him affectionately, and he rubbed against her. It seemed they were friends.
The mare came up to her, looking at her and assessing her carefully. Gayle stood still, not wanting to give the horse the wrong impression. Suddenly, the mare was in front of her. Unsure of what she was doing, Gayle didn't move. Then she blew in her face. Gayle smiled and did the same.
She rested her head on the girl's shoulder, giving her a playful bite on the ear. Gayle laughed and gently rubbed her snout.
"Well," A voice said behind her. She turned and looked at the horse mistress. "I'm surprised." Gayle blinked.
"Why ever would that be?" She asked, curious.
"That mare there has been the only one out of all the ponies here," She waved her hand around. "That didn't listen to me. The only one who distrusted me. She didn't even want to go near Daine." Gayle blinked again. What? Not want to go near the Wildmage?
"She stayed away from the rest of the group, except for that one there." She nodded at the gelding, which, at the moment, was running around in a circle for no apparent reason. Gayle really doubted that there was one.
"And she just comes up to you and plays around with you." Onua shook her head. "You must have a gift with horses." Shesmiledwryly and shook her head. "Naw. Not me. Just your average, dull-witted trainee." She replied.
Onua grinned. "I'd have to agree with that. I saw you being chased by all the others. And I saw you encourage them to do so in the first place." Gayle grinned happily. "I know. It's just so much fun to tease others." When the K'mir raised her eyebrows, she quickly added, "No, no. Not in that way. I haven't met a guy I would even want to touch, let alone kiss."
The gold-skinned woman smiled and nodded her understanding. "So," Gayle looked over at the two horses standing a ways off. "Do they have names?" The horse mistress nodded. "The gelding's name is Jester." Gayle smiled at this. "How appropriate." Onua grinned in return, but then frowned and turned back to the horses. "But the mare, she doesn't have one. Daine couldn't figure it out. She just wouldn't answer."
Gayle watched the two horses. Jester was prancing around, acting very much like a young boy. He would snap playfully at the other and draw back quickly. The mare simply stood quietly, giving the gelding a look rather like one that a mother would give to her child; annoyed, amused, and affectionate.
"Anya." She said abruptly.
"What?" Onua looked at her, confused.
"Anya." She repeated. "It means mother in Hungarian."
The older woman blinked. "Hunga-what?"
"It's a language my mother taught me." She explained quickly. 'Stupid, stupid!' She yelled at herself. 'No one knows what Hungarian is!' Onua, not seeming to notice her inner-turmoil,glanced at the horses again. After a moment, she smiled. "It fits."
Gayle nodded, then turned and walked towards the two. They watched her approach. "Hey," She stepped up to the black mare. "I want to ask you something." The horse cocked an ear. "What do you think of the name Anya?" She asked.
She seemed to consider it a moment. Then she pulled the girl's hair lightly and blew in her ear. Gayle's lips curved up into a smile. She knew what that meant. "Good." She picked up an imaginary sword and tapped the horse's shoulders.
"I dub thee Lady Anya." She said formally. "Bear the name well." The mare snorted in response. She grinned and stroked the animal. Jester came up and bumped into her, wanting attention as well. She laughed out loud and rubbed him as well.
Onua watched the scene with interest. "That was astonishing." She turned around and smiled. "It was, wasn't it Daine?"
The Wildmage nodded. "That horse refused to talk to both you and me, who have wild magic. Then that girl comes," She gestured to Gayle. "And she accepts her without question." She shook her head. "What does it mean?"
Onua looked at the tall redhead who was playing around with the two horses. "I don't know, Daine. I really don't know."
OOOOOOOOOOO
Whoa. Long chapter. It was all pretty much rambling about nothing, too. I'll try to make the next one better. Really.
Ok, answer me this. I've been thinking about doing another story, with either Tortall or Circle of Magic. It kind of depends. You know, this is actually two questions. I'll write 'em down here:
1) Should it be set in Tortall or Circle of Magic?
2) Should I start it now? Or should I wait until I've finished this one, letting me focus on it singularly?
Give me your opinion please. (Bangs large gong that is conveniently placed right next to the computer) That is all.
Eveiveneg