Perci walked Eleni back to the pages wing. He hoped Lokejo would be around to help him. The poor thing had cried herself to exhaustion and probably needed a bath and dinner. Perci could help with only one of those. Between the two of them, they might be able to get Eleni up and functioning again. He knocked on her door and thanked the gods; Lokejo was in the room and let them in.
While instinct told him to interrogate the squire holding on to his little charge. Eleni's face was ashen and her eyes were bloodshot; she'd clearly been crying. A quick glance over the nestling told him that she wasn't injured, so something else must have happened.
"I'll take it from here, young master." Gently leading Eleni into the room, Lokejo bowed his head to Perci and closed the door. That was quite enough socializing for one day.
"Well done," Alex said behind him. He had heard Eleni's sobs echoing off the stone corridor. "Whatever did you do?" he asked with a wicked grin. Needling Percival of Port Legann would never get old; the two were destined to be eternally at odds.
Perci wasn't in the mood to humor him. He'd had enough of a long day dealing with Eleni, and he just had a feeling that Sir Nealan would be especially difficult tonight at dinner. Alex of Tirragen was not high on his list of priorities at the moment. "Leave her alone, Alex. She's gone through enough." He didn't bother to wait for a response, didn't wait to let him argue. Perci was tired and the days were only going to get longer.
The little ceremony to welcome the newest pages was certainly different. It might have been sympathy that kept Lord Padraig from prolonging the events with his usual malice, but no one was sure. Though life had continued on for them and all of the other inhabitants of the palace, the pages' wing was a somber reminder of how short life could be. It was better to not squander it with petty scorn.
And that was how Miuko came into her page years. Although she was older than her yearmates, she was no less nervous. While she had become used to the open stares of strangers, the thirteen-year-old girl hoped that they would abate in time. If nothing else, she would have her younger cousin Devin as a companion and sponsor. She had quietly hoped to be sponsored by Eleni, but had been warned by her father's squire that she would be hesitant.
That wasn't to say that Eleni was cold towards Miuko. On the contrary, she was exceptionally kind and helpful. But the thought of being responsible for her throughout her first year made Eleni break into a cold sweat. Kyle had been enough of an experience and it hadn't ended on good terms. Devin was the better choice; the boy had spent the better part of the summer holed up at Queenscove with what remained of the family.
As she was much older than the three boys who began training alongside her, Miuko spent most of her time with her cousin and his friends. A semi-permanent resident of the palace, she was familiar with etiquette, and prior to her mother's passing, they had spent many evenings reading about Tortallan history together. Her mother loved her new home and had wanted her children to be as brilliant as their father.
And that was how the two girls found themselves alone in the early days of December. Although it was bitterly cold outside, the bright sunshine served to warm their courtyard just enough to not be utterly miserable.
"Do you think we'll be allowed time to watch the Ordeal?" Eleni asked Miuko. In a rare moment, the two had been left to practice with their bows. Miuko wasn't a fan of the weapon, but she knew it was vital she learned; not all battles could be fought up close with a sword. "You've lived here your whole life, so you'd know better than I."
She took a second to loose her last arrow before answering. "It'll be your choice. Most people choose the warmth of their own chambers to waiting all morning for the doors to open. Why do you ask?" They had a warm friendship, based on mutual respect and admiration, not to mention that they often joined in open disgust at the boys' antics.
"No reason," Eleni muttered through a blush. If anyone asked, she could blame the coloring on the cold air.
Miuko didn't believe her. Although no one would ever be able to replace her younger sisters, she and Eleni had developed a special bond. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with Ferenc of Nond," she said over her shoulder as she went to retrieve their arrows from the targets.
Eleni could only blush as her friend handed back her arrows. "He's a good friend," she said defensively. "It would be nice to have friends waiting for him. I'd want the same."
"Of course," was the giggled replied. She wouldn't press her friend. Maybe Eleni didn't know herself, but the small crush was readily apparent to her friend. But Miuko of Queenscove had been raised to know she would one day marry. The notion of training for knighthood hadn't even crossed her mind until her mother's funeral. She might be training for a shield now, but she was openly comfortable being feminine. She just couldn't feel shame over her gender or the feelings that came with it. Reading a room and people was a skill her mother and aunts had taught her to value; it would be a valuable asset to any diplomat or wife.
Luckily the boys were too far removed from romantic notions to look or notice how Eleni perked up when the blond squire visited them. As the newest addition to their little band, Miuko had taken pains to read the dynamics and to study her new friends. Sometimes she wondered if they themselves knew everything that she could see so plainly in their mannerisms.
The Ordeal was rather mysterious ambiguity in Eleni's mind. Few people knew what actually occurred within the stone room, and even fewer spoke of their experiences. Supposedly, the Chamber of the Ordeal would test the mind and spirit of would-be knights to see just how much they could tolerate without making a sound. But as for what actually happened, what one saw or heard, Eleni couldn't get a straight answer.
Eleni was pulled from her musings by Kyle's shriek of joy. Whipping her head around to face the door, Eleni could see Kel of Masbolle. The knight had found her way to their little haven in the Green Library, but Eleni saw Perci and Ferenc behind her; she'd clearly had help ferreting out her son and his friends. It was nice to see the little reunion, even if it reminded her of how long it had been since seeing her own mother. The pages patiently waited until Kyle had hugged his mother and then offered their own greetings.
"I thought you'd be up north until springtime!" Kyle exclaimed. Kel could only smile at her only child. For all of Lord Padriag's efforts, the soft edges of boyhood could not be erased. "Did Da come with you?"
"No," she replied a little sadly. "But more than a few of your aunts and uncles are here." The Mindelan children were many and interwoven into all levels of Tortallan nobility. "Because that one," she pointed to the grinning Ferenc behind her. "Insisted that I sponsor him. Said he just couldn't have anyone other than his favorite aunt." Although Kel did her best to appear gruff about the whole affair, she was proud to sponsor her nephew.
"Well, it's not like my other aunts could sponsor me," came Ferenc's quick reply. Kyle laughed at his older cousin's antics and the room followed. Even Kel had to appreciate that Ferenc was quick on his feet. It would serve him well as a knight.
Looking around the room, to the joyous family reunion and the intimate conversations shared between friends, Eleni felt at peace. Despite her continued anxiety about her first year of openly training as herself, the sky had not fallen. She supposed, if she had only been honest from the start, it would have worked out the same. Schuylar and Devin would have been her friends regardless. Perci would have looked out for the younger pages, male or female. And Alex - she had to stop her thoughts there. Although Alex had not reverted to his old schemes, and after all he really couldn't when his old friends had died, he was rarely seen by the others. He would appear at training and lessons, but otherwise he was a ghost. Meals he ate quickly and questions he answered brusquely.
Eleni couldn't help but wonder if he avoided them because of her and her secrets, but she tried to not dwell on it. The others could her forgive her, and she had lied to them despite a deep friendship. Alex had less to lose when he learned the truth. If he wanted to avoid her and anything to do with her, she didn't care. Alexander of Tirragen would be whisked away to a distant land in the spring. Some knight master would claim him as a squire, and Eleni would probably see even less of him after that.
For now, the little group of friends was complete as it was. Nothing was missing. Midwinter would come and go; such was the way of time. She would not waste her life and second chance waiting for him to resolve whatever grudge it was that he insisted on having with her. Enough time had been spent trying to make peace with someone who insisted on being at war.
"Will you be waiting outside the Chamber?" Ferenc had escaped the eager interrogation Schuylar had been giving him. Eleni turned to see him kneeling next to her armchair. He could have easily sat across from her at the empty chair, but Ferenc always found a way to be close to her.
Eleni was grateful that she'd decided against a dress today. Being around Ferenc always made her feel awkwardly feminine. It wasn't outright uncomfortable, but still oddly unsettling. "I wasn't sure if I would be allowed."
Ferenc gave her a wolfish grin. "So my little kitten had been thinking about it already? I'm touched." He really was. Ferenc knew that she was young, and that the Lioness would skin him alive if she ever knew how much he cared for the girl, but he couldn't help himself. One day, when she was ready and the woman he could see just below the surface, he'd be there in any capacity she'd allow him to be. He'd known she was special even as a boy. Something had drawn him to the vicious little redhead and he had thanked the gods when she had been exposed as a girl. He didn't, however, thank the gods for her ability to take his legs out from under him.
"Of course," Eleni said while going back to her book. "I figured that Sir Zahir would have some final instructions for you to not humiliate him. It will make for a good learning experience for when I become a squire," she said cheekily. She still bore the final dusting of blush, but she would not let him have the last word. But, she thought as she saw him chuckle and get up, I can certainly let him have the final laugh.