Aine's interview with Rowland
Later, there was another knock on the door which made her heart jump again. Could it be the Guard already? She braced herself and then said, "Come on in."
A healer trainee had brought in her dinner and placed it upon the nightstand close to her bed. He appeared to be quite a young boy, perhaps fourteen or fifteen. The food on the tray had silver covers over it to keep the food warm. Still, Aine could smell the combination of vegetables, warm bread, and perhaps some turkey or chicken coming from the tray. Her stomach made loud noises and she was instantly overwhelmed by her hunger. The healer trainee smiled, then exited the room. She removed the silver covers from the food on her tray and being delighted by what was offered, began to dig in. She ate quickly, having not eaten for quite some time. Somehow, this food seemed to be the best she ever had. At least it seemed that way to her at the present moment.
Having eaten, she began to feel a little tired again; the aromatic herbs had seemed to achieve their intended effect. With her eyes slightly closed she reflected about Fenix and how, for some odd reason, she seemed to be attracted to him. She visualized him with his medium length brown hair which never seemed to stay in place. He almost always wore brown clothing with a little white trim now and then. She heard minimal talk about him being a poet or storyteller.Other than his odd manner of diction, she hadn't heard much about it. More puzzling there were times she was startled by what she figured had to be Fenix' 'voice' speaking as it were, in her mind. Thinking about it now, that first time they had met, was quite the episode. She smiled at the thought. She laughed as she recalled how terribly embarassed he was when he had a perfectly natural ocurrence (under the circumstances), and at the time she thought she would surely die laughing. For some reason I find myself attracted to him, he sticks in my memory now and I can imagine---Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. She jumped with a start. Her heart pounded a little bit. "Yes? Who is it?"
A cultured male voice responded from the other side of the door. "This is Herald Rowland Giles. I wish to ask you some questions, if you are up to it."
"C-Come in," she said nervously. "A Herald," she whispered to herself. Aine became quite wide eyed and felt compelled to draw the covers further up on her body. She gazed with apprehension towards the door.
The door opened and in stepped Rowland completely attired in his beautiful Heraldic whites. He left the door open with a Healer standing nearby as was the custom whenever a Herald Guard or guard would interview the convalescent in his or her room; this helped to maintain credibility, and more than anyone else perhaps, the Healers could be trusted to be appropriately discretionary. Aine noticed that he had quite a few laugh lines around his steel blue eyes. He had no head gear or other battle apparel on at this time and he had short blonde hair with a hint of red. Aine became more wide-eyed at the sight of this impressive man. "Y-you are a Herald, a Herald -"
"I am the leader of the Herald Guards, to be precise," he said, interrupting politely, "Rowland Giles at your service Madam." He took a slight bow and smiled at her. Now she could really see the laugh lines. He requested a chair brought in and he sat down. He didn't appear to be threatening at all.
Aine was impressed how he managed to say and do all this without sounding like he was being condescending, or without sounding like he was mocking her somehow. Her mood sobered a little though as she quickly realized he was here to ask questions. It had to be either about with her fight with the boys or perhaps her parents had sent out an alert. Actually, in a way, it was a combination of these two events; though not the way she expected.
"You have eaten correct, uh...your name?"
"Aine Myst, and yes I had a very good dinner," she replied with an uneasy smile. She didn't feel terribly guilty but...
"Excellent. Well, Aine," he said pleasantly, "I know this isn't always the most cheerful of times, these interviews, but I have a few questions." Here, he paused as if in thought and looked up at the ceiling then back down again. You are how old?"
"Sixteen, almost seventeen" she replied, beginning to feel a little nervous. She looked down at where her feet were under the covers.
:Be nice to her now, you promised, she's a newcomer. I promise you great rewards if you do. She has a unique potential: The mindspeak had come from the direction of the stables where Rowland knew Azura was still eating hay. Still, it startled him a little bit. This Companion had been with Rowland a long time now, so enhanced long distance mindspeak wasn't too difficult.
Rowland mindspoke back. :Rewards, hmmmm, well I don't really need those rewards, of course I will be discreet and easy going...:
:Hmmphh, you don't think you need those rewards, but you will: Azura countered. :I was planning on restoring some of the neurons in your brain, all of the vast quantity of them you burnt out in your wildly flaming youth, trying to consume more Mead than the next guy. Such manly endeavours you embarked upon whilst younger, tsk, tsk; but since you refuse my help...:
The mindspeak had come from the direction of the stables where Rowland knew Azura was still eating hay. Still, it startled him a little bit. This Companion had been with Rowland a long time now, so enhanced long distance mindspeak wasn't too difficult. Inwardly, he could feel her laughing at him. Rowland mindspoke back :Okay, enough for now Azura, I will be available for your amusement later:
Rowland sighed, then continued, "You have various scratches, a couple of cuts on your body here and there, and some bruising as well," he said gesturing a little towards her. "Also, you were very fatigued, dehydrated, and you were wondering the whole countryside between the orphanage, er, and that giant poplar tree." He looked at her when he said this, in such a way as if he knew very well that she must have been there. "Then you traveled through the woods, then you also ranged as far as your home in the Upper Districts of Beldorn." Here he paused, as if reflecting on some trivial matter which later could turn out to be very important. A trick which he often used as an interrogator to make the alleged suspect a little anxious, and perhaps, a little more likely then to spill the beans later. You had to make sure they had a full stomach too, and if they hadn't eaten yet, act very concerned about that then see to it immediately they got a full meal. They always seemed to be more co-operative this way if you seemed to be concerned about them. Of course she wasn't a criminal suspect, but still, Rowland had his ways of getting answers no matter what the questioning was about. He scratched the little bit of beard he had, looking slightly puzzled, "You never did, but you could havegone back to your home to get some lodging there and a meal, correct?"
"Am I uh...I'm not a criminal suspect here, am I?" she asked, stirring uneasily.
Rowland stood up slowly, gazing at her with those steely blue eyes, those eyes that knew and saw all. "Why Aine, are you displaying a guilty conscience here?" His eyes took on a little bit of an amused aspect here, they softened and glistened a little.
"No, but..." she started.
"Well if we go by what that rat, Simon Dewwart had said, you'd be in a heap of trouble. He claims that you came out of nowhere while they were playing around that tree, and whupped the chicken feathers off of all of them, for no reason! That's quite a feat to accomplish, for anyone," he said, laughing out loud. Especially, with you being a sixteen year old girl, he was going to say, but then thought better of it. He didn't want to cause a ruckus here, evidently she was very capable of doing so. Besides, some of his best guards were women. He looked at her, noting the sharp featured, yet very pleasant face. He noticed those cobalt blue eyes of her; eyes of strength.
Here Aine became a little wide-eyed, then sat up quickly, displaying a little anger. "Well I'll be! I don't suppose he said anything about what he was doing there, did he? Don't tell me you trust that guy, he is-"
"A liar and a coward, among other things," he finished for her. He knew of this guy alright, in fact for a little while now the Guards had set up various temptations in an effort to trap him. To try and teach him a lesson, if possible. "I think I'm a fair judge of character, if I may say. I also know Fenix and Jewellyn were there too. I am fairly certain you had good reason to do what you did. From what little I know of you already you would fight to the death for your friends, and maybe even for your parents." Rowland sat down, judging the effect of his last word upon her. Of course, he also knew about what happened that day she had the argument with her parents.
Aine looked down, feeling very sobered up, and very saddened too all of the sudden. "What don't you know?" she asked, beginning to cry a little. "Did my parents notify the Guard I was out and about, not wanting to come home?"
"Yes, your parents did alert us. They also said why you ran away; that you wanted to come here to Haven, to perhaps become a Herald Guard at the Collegium. You know, you can say what you want about your parents, they aren't perfect I know...who is? I could tell one thing though..." Roland paused, looking straight at her with a kind of firm, yet kind, concern on his face.
"And that is...? she asked, already knowing. She looked as if she was going to break out crying, no holding back, at any moment.
He said more quietly now, "That your parents love you very much, that they would do anything for you; in fact I think they'd even fight to the death for you as well. You learned that much from them didn't you, Aine? How to stand up for what you believe in at all costs." Rowland almost felt as if he were going to cry any moment.
"Y-yes I do..." she coudn't help it, the dam broke and she began to cry profusely, the kind of crying that comes down from deep within the soul. She drew the sheets up over her face. Aine continued crying and Rowland felt that maybe he was a little harsh on her, and maybe even too facetious at times during the interview. Yet he knew, deep inside about the power of love and how it could hurt so much; how sometimes a person had to take a few hard knocks here and there to learn what love was really all about. He also knew love wasn't all church bells and roses either. It could tear you apart inside; sometimes it could even break your heart. It could also make you feel good too when those whom you love accomplished something. They accomplished it partly because you loved them, no matter what, for all they were. When all is said and done, when you heal, when you feel good about life and who you are, ultimately, it is because of unconditional love. Rowland would fight to the death as well to defend those beliefs. Woe to anyone who would try to disrupt that!
Azura interrupted. :You weren't easy on her at all were you Rowland? You calloused brute. I know what you were trying to do here, despite your questionable methods, Chosen. You want her to come here for the right reasons, and you want her to reconcile with her parents first, if possible. It is true I must admit. If she comes here with things settled and perhaps, even with her parents approval, then she truly is on her way to becoming a Herald. She will come ready and with a clear conscience. We both know she could be very valuable to our cause. She is a fighter Rowland, and she has this other unique skill which we've rarely seen, which could prove invaluable. I love you Rowland, though only the Gods of Valdemar know why. You did the right thing:
A lone tear rolled down Rowland's cheek. :Thank you Azura, you don't know how good that makes me feel:
:Oh but I do Rowland, I do. We, in a way, have taught it to each other..Now please, go comfort the girl:
He stood up and she was still crying. "Listen, Aine," he reached down his hand to offer it to her. I know you want to become one of the Guard, but I also think you might want to straighten a couple of things out. Inside, you know you do. We would love to have you here."
Aine withdrew the bed covers from her face to see that wonderful Herald Rowland looking down at her with a kind of sad compassion on his face. A feeling perhaps, that she would come to know. He was holding out his arm with an extended hand, she noticed.
She offered hers and they shook hands. It was a defining moment, which they both would come to realize.
"Welcome," Rowland said.
"Thank you," Aine said. She thought of that dream...and if it meant anything or not. All this emotion was a bit much, yet it felt kind of exhilarating to her too.
"The Healers will attend to you, then you can go." Rowland left. The silence now was overwhelming.
Aine made up her mind. She wanted to become one of the Guard, and if she had any magical talent, a Herald. She knew now, what she must do.
