Chapter 6
A/N: Yes. I figured Chapter 5 would be confusing with the time change, but this chap will fill in the gaps and hopefully make sense.
Midori went to rest in her room, saying she felt dizzy and needed to sleep, and quickly turned to the mirror on the wall.
"Goddess, I feel so confused...what happened to change me?"
A familiar voice whispered. "If you must know what has happened. Let my brother show you..."
Midori suddenly felt a drugged sleep induce her to rest. Her eyes drooped and she felt her body slump to the floor.
FLASHBACK
Midori found herself as page again, with Emrys and the others, books on curses and immortals and their notes on parchment, littering the floor. It was a day after the fight in the stables.
"Did you see Jarvis' face when he was sent to clean the armory?" Amyl giggled. Midori nodded, nose buried in a book, almost finished with her essay on different immortals and their magic's.
After Emrys had ordered Midori taken to the healers, he and Sheba told the training master what had happened and Ceylon, quite disappointed in Jarvis, sent him to clean the armor for a full bell the next morning.
END FLASHBACK
15 year old Midori, still drugged with the Dreamking's visions, began to remember meeting Kalen for the first time...
FLASHBACK
Emrys and the others were sitting in the mess hall, talking about how much homework had been given and the difficulty of mastering the sword and the bow.
"I find the sword is the easiest" Oriana said, cutting her meat.
"The bow is probably my best weapon" Amyl replied.
"I find both are mastered by different people" Emrys added. "What's your best weapon, Midori?"
"The glaive. It's been used by the Yamani's for a long time, Lady Kel taught me" Midori explained.
Sheba elbowed Emrys in the ribs, which made him nearly choke on the juice he had been drinking.
"Why don't you go ask him to sit with us?" Sheba inquired, pointing to a boy who sat in the corner, alone.
"Who?" Emrys asked
"Him" Sheba pointed again to direct Emrys.
Emrys grinned, stood from his seat, and walked over to the boy.
A few moments later, the boy stood and followed Emrys to their table and sat down.
"I guess...I should go then" he murmured, not looking at the group.
Midori found she put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "No, please do stay"
The boy sighed heavily and introduced himself. "I'm Kalen Haimaid of the Bloody Hawk"
The group then introduced themselves and continued their discussion. Midori could only wonder if Kalen would come out of his shell, she hesitated and began. "Do you like riding?"
Kalen looked up and once again, Midori's stomach did funny things as he replied, "Sometimes"
END FLASHBACK
Midori sighed as she felt her dream self move with the glaive she was practicing...weapon training and surprising news...
FLASHBACK
Ceylon barked out orders as the pages practiced with wooden staffs. Midori yelped as the staff accidentally hit her knuckles for the fourth time that day.
"Where's Lady Kel" a page asked. Kel had been missing for some time now; she would have trained the pages on staff work.
"She's on something we call a maternity leave" Ceylon explained. "Sergeant Domitan has also been granted permission to marry her" Ceylon winked at Midori, knowing she'd be a first cousin soon, since Dom and Neal were cousins.
For the rest of the day, Midori was in a good mood, training until she either was too exhausted or collapsed from the amount of work.
Her friends had told her to stop this constant training, but she continued to do anyways, working hard on her studies and training.
END FLASHBACK
Midori opened her eyes and found herself back in her room. Stiffly she got up and rubbed her temples. "That is the last time I work that hard" she mumbled.
"Owen of Jesslaw is your knight master, child. He will work you to become a fine lady knight" explained the Great Mother. Slowly her presence faded and with it the sudden exhaustion and dizziness she had felt earlier.
"Owen of Jesslaw?" "This could be a jolly squire hood" she mumbled, chuckling to her self and taking her glaive from their hooks on the wall to begin a pattern dance.
Once she had finished, she remembered when Kel had come with Dom to the palace to visit the year before. She and Neal were surprised to find Kel holding a two year old boy in her arms. She had learned that Dom and Kel were married and the boy was named Shalem.
She also remembered when Kel had come to teach Midori more about weaponry and how to throw the shukusen properly. Dom had watched a safe distance away, with Shale sitting on his knee. Midori had laughed when Shale had held out his hand asking her to hold it after her practice.
"He's a sweet little cousin" she chuckled and opened the window to let in some air. Few sparrows from Kel's flock flew around her head, chirping and whistling.
"I suppose the rest of my journey is going to be easy...unless Jarvis has a another plan cooking in his dark mind" She thought, putting bowls of water and seeds on the windowsill and watching as the sparrows ate and drank from them.