NaNoWriMo, part 8
Nov. 14th, 2006 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bookish_dragonChapter 3
Bjernu stomped through the hallways. He did not care where he was going. He had only wanted to get out of the mess hall. His nose hurt still. Sister Emmar had said it would for a few more days, and she had given him something to bring down the swelling.Olgyu had a hard head. He scowled. He did not want to think about that anymore. He did not want to think about the city Ameena had talked about, or about his reaction to that information. It was irritating, the way he jumped at every situation in which it seemed he would get looked down upon because of his bloodline. He would have toapologise to Ameena in the morning, when he saw her at breakfast, for his treatment of her at dinner. She had looked pretty beat up about telling him. Why had Marnak let her do it? He could have it easily himself, and save her the embarrassment. Bjernu came to the main entrance. The doors were closed but not locked and he went outside to calm down in the cool spring air. He wound his way through the gardens. A slight breeze played with his hair.Bjernu breathed in deeply. It smelled good out here. He suspected he was close to Sister Emmar's herb garden. The breeze succeeded in clearing his head. Slowly he walked back to the main entrance. 'Do I really want to go there? I could be bad for my health.' A bang made him look up. The doors were being opened and closed with force. Someone fled out of the monastery, rounding the corner of the building and disappearing out of sight. Curious, Bjernu followed. He hadrecognised Ameena by her tail, and he wanted to know where she was going to in such a hurry.
After storming out of the mess hall Ameena went straight outside. How dared she?! To talk like that? She did not know what her life was like. The rejection every place she went to.Ameena felt all wound up inside. There was adrenaline flushing her body after her anger, and she needed to get rid of that. Behind the monastery there was a small field where the more physically inclined monks kept up their strength and agility. The latter was what she herself was good at: the tail helped with keeping her balance. She had rarely been this angry. She wondered how that warrior had gotten under her skin like that so soon.Ameena lent against the rack with the quarterstaffs . They had been taken out of storage after the winter snow had melted. There was a straw dummy standing in the middle of a circle. It was looking pretty battered and would need to be refilled in the nearby future. It still fulfilled its purpose.Ameena closed her eyes. 'Gods, give me strength,' she prayed. "Help me get strong enough to overcome this.' Her hand reached out and grabbed one of thequarterstaffs . She gripped it tightly in two hands and took a step forward. Opening her eyes she looked at the dummy standing mutely in its circle. She took another step forward, holding the staff in front of her chest. She struck at the dummy, left and right. It bled straw; dull thumps and quickened breathing the only sounds on the field. She missed the dummy at times, but she did not let that deter here. She just kept on going. She kicked at it, and hit it with her staff. Her blood pounded in her ears. She wanted to stop thinking. Finally she lowered her weapon and stared at nothing in particular. She took deep breaths. The dummy was now nothing more than a sack with some straw in it.Ameena looked up as she heard clapping. "Who is there?"
Bjernu came out of the shadow of the monastery where he had been watching her. He stopped applauding. "Your technique lacks some finesse, but you do know how to handle that staff. Do youpractise a lot?"
She stiffened. "Were you spying on me? I can not seem to go any place without some of your group standing there." Her black eyes turned red again.
"I was not spying on you. I was already outside when you stormed out so you could beat up that dummy. What happened?" He sat down on a roughlyhewn bench, and looked up at Ameena. "Care to join me, Sister Ameena?" He patted the place next to him.
She stared down at him. Her legs were shaking and her arms were aching now that she had stopped. Ameena plopped down next to Bjernu, making the bench sway for a moment.
"Careful, or we will fall down."
She paid no attention. "I overreacted. I got angry."
"Why was that? What made you angry? He turned so he could see her better.
"Not what, but who. Something Olgyu said." She looked up at the sky. The staff she had lent against the bench. Her tail curled around her waist into her lap. "It was not even what she said. I do not know why I got angry." She sighed, still looking up.
"What did she say?" While waiting for an answer he studied her profile.
"She wanted me to stop apologising for everything. This was right after you left. I am sorry for telling you about that city."
"It is not your fault. I am sorry for snapping at you over it. And like that, she meant?" He smiled slightly.
"You did not snap. Yes, I think so. I do not know. It is a part of me. It has been for so long."
"Why do you keep saying sorry for everything? Not everything is your doing."
"It does feel like that at times. Mother always said..." Ameena but her lip.
"What did she say?" Bjernu wanted to put his arm around her, she looked so forlorn.
"I had rather not talk about it. Olgyu also said that the rest of the world would not care about me being different. I could wonder how she knew, but this," she said while stroking her tail, "is a big clue. Have you heard what I am?" She looked directly at him.
He did not flinch under her stare. "You havefiendish blood in you. Father Morgenstern told us. He asked us to take you out into the world, so that you do not spend your entire life here. That is why we seem to be wherever you go. We want to know beforehand who we are taking along with us." He kept looking at her.
"That is why I got pulled out of garden duty to help Marnak with those maps. Did you arrange that?" She looked less angry and more curious. She was too tired to be angry anymore.
"Not to my knowledge. Maybe Marnak did it, maybe not."
"What if I do not want to go with you? Will I get forced to?" She thought for a moment. "He looked rather angry. I doubt he arranged it."
Bjernu shrugged. "We do not force anybody. If you do not want to go, we will not make you." 'Please come', he thought. She was not too bad a fighter. There were some rough edges, but a real battle would take those off. He quite liked her. She had to become more sure of herself, true, but it was there. "It would be good for you. Not everyone is as superstitious as the people around here. They will not care. There is Sigil, for one."
"Who is Sigil?" Ameena was confused. They had been talking behind her back to foist her off on a random group of adventurers? She felt insignificant.
"It is a place. A big city at the top of the Spire, at the centre of the multiverses. The City of Doors. You can find all species there." His face took on a dreamy look.
"It sounds fascinating. What is it like?"
"I have never been there. I hope to, one day. I do not like cities much, but I want to see it. Care to come along when I do go there?" He smiled fully at her.
Ameena looked at the ground. Her boots were scuffed and dirty. "I do not know if I am even going with you now, let alone to Sigil. This place is all I have known for most of my life. I do not want to leave here. And not all people fear me. There are some in Plün who do not."
"So you have said. Are you afraid?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Very much so."
Bjernu could not help himself any longer. He put his arm around her. She remained seated as she was. "That is all right. It would be weird if you were not afraid. But it is a wonderful universe out there and it would be a shame not to see any of it. Please come. We are not always as bad as this."
"I should hope not." She felt comfortable being held like this. It had not happened often since she had come of age, and sherealised she missed it. :Why do you want to go to Larghain? You know of its reputation." She turned her head and looked at him.
His jaw stiffened. "You are not the only one who got pestered because of their heritage."
"I am sorry. I did not mean to pry if you do not mean to talk about it." She tentatively put her hand on his shoulder.
"I am from down west, a small village with just humans. Mum went on a journey to the nearest city to sell her wares. She is a weaver, and she did not trust thetravelling merchants to give her a good price. When she came back, she had sold all her fabrics, and she was pregnant with me. She never told anyone what exactly had happened. This caused gossiping in the village. It got worse when it turned out that the father was an elf. We lived on the edge of the village, mostly shunned by the others. We managed to survive regardless. She kept on weaving, and I took to the forests. She still lives there, and will until the day she dies. She does not want to move."
"Do you see her often?" Ameena asked.
"Not as often as I would like. But I write to her whenever I can, and can only hope she is getting all my letters. It keeps her from worrying too much."Bjernu looked up at the sky. It was beginning to get dark. "We have been here longer than I thought. Shall we go inside?"
"I do not mind the dark. I had rather stay here a while longer." She took her hand from his shoulder and put her arm around him. It felt strange and good to do this. "What do you want to do when you arrive at Larghain?"
"I do not know. Look around and see for myself? I do not know. If all is true, then I will not be let in. Maybe the stories arecoloured by those who tell them."
"If they are true, who would you want to go to a place you can not enter?"
"'Can not' and 'not allowed to' are two different things. I can always get in, even if they do not want me to." He winked at her. "What does it have going for it?"
"The war hero Feyador has built a fighter-academy there. It is quite famous and attracts a lot of potential students. Most get rejected. It is quite strict in who are allowed to enroll."
"Feyador? The hero of the Crimson Tower-siege Feyador? That Feyador?" Bjernu's eyes glittered in the dusk. "I did not know he was still alive."
"That Feyador, yes." Ameena looked at him, amused by his enthusiasm. She smiled to see it.
"He has been somewhat of a personal hero of mine. Poor family, and still managed to become a high ranking officer in the army." His enthusiasm lit up his whole face. "There is a good reason to go there. I want to meet him." He pulled her closer to him, notrealising he was doing so.
Ameena let him do so, thinking. "You wanted to join the army?" she asked.
"Not particularly, no. I admire him for getting so far given where he started." Stars came out, blinking in the darkened parts of the sky. "It is time to go back inside. We both need sleep." He hesitated. "Tomorrow, after dinner, would you like to train with me?"
"Maybe. Why do you ask? You said I was good."
"You are, but you can get better. You have never really fought, have you?" He felt more than saw her shake her head. "As I thought. I can help you with that. I am more robust than that dummy over there."
Ameena giggled. "I will." She started to get up. He got up directly with her, and offered her his arm. He smoothed out his face.
"Allow me to escort you inside, miss."
She took the proferred arm. "Why thank you, good sir." They walked back to the main entrance. There she curtsied. "Thank you for escorting me safely back here, good sir. I shall never forget your kindness."
Bjernu looked at her. With her disheveled hair and dusty clothes she did not look like a noblewoman. She looked more alive than any of those. He bowed. "You are welcome, miss. I bid you good night." They smiled at each other. "See you at breakfast?"
"Yes, of course. Good night, Bjernu." She walked inside and went to her dorm. Bjernu soon followed to his own bed.
Bjernu stomped through the hallways. He did not care where he was going. He had only wanted to get out of the mess hall. His nose hurt still. Sister Emmar had said it would for a few more days, and she had given him something to bring down the swelling.Olgyu had a hard head. He scowled. He did not want to think about that anymore. He did not want to think about the city Ameena had talked about, or about his reaction to that information. It was irritating, the way he jumped at every situation in which it seemed he would get looked down upon because of his bloodline. He would have toapologise to Ameena in the morning, when he saw her at breakfast, for his treatment of her at dinner. She had looked pretty beat up about telling him. Why had Marnak let her do it? He could have it easily himself, and save her the embarrassment. Bjernu came to the main entrance. The doors were closed but not locked and he went outside to calm down in the cool spring air. He wound his way through the gardens. A slight breeze played with his hair.Bjernu breathed in deeply. It smelled good out here. He suspected he was close to Sister Emmar's herb garden. The breeze succeeded in clearing his head. Slowly he walked back to the main entrance. 'Do I really want to go there? I could be bad for my health.' A bang made him look up. The doors were being opened and closed with force. Someone fled out of the monastery, rounding the corner of the building and disappearing out of sight. Curious, Bjernu followed. He hadrecognised Ameena by her tail, and he wanted to know where she was going to in such a hurry.
After storming out of the mess hall Ameena went straight outside. How dared she?! To talk like that? She did not know what her life was like. The rejection every place she went to.Ameena felt all wound up inside. There was adrenaline flushing her body after her anger, and she needed to get rid of that. Behind the monastery there was a small field where the more physically inclined monks kept up their strength and agility. The latter was what she herself was good at: the tail helped with keeping her balance. She had rarely been this angry. She wondered how that warrior had gotten under her skin like that so soon.Ameena lent against the rack with the quarterstaffs . They had been taken out of storage after the winter snow had melted. There was a straw dummy standing in the middle of a circle. It was looking pretty battered and would need to be refilled in the nearby future. It still fulfilled its purpose.Ameena closed her eyes. 'Gods, give me strength,' she prayed. "Help me get strong enough to overcome this.' Her hand reached out and grabbed one of thequarterstaffs . She gripped it tightly in two hands and took a step forward. Opening her eyes she looked at the dummy standing mutely in its circle. She took another step forward, holding the staff in front of her chest. She struck at the dummy, left and right. It bled straw; dull thumps and quickened breathing the only sounds on the field. She missed the dummy at times, but she did not let that deter here. She just kept on going. She kicked at it, and hit it with her staff. Her blood pounded in her ears. She wanted to stop thinking. Finally she lowered her weapon and stared at nothing in particular. She took deep breaths. The dummy was now nothing more than a sack with some straw in it.Ameena looked up as she heard clapping. "Who is there?"
Bjernu came out of the shadow of the monastery where he had been watching her. He stopped applauding. "Your technique lacks some finesse, but you do know how to handle that staff. Do youpractise a lot?"
She stiffened. "Were you spying on me? I can not seem to go any place without some of your group standing there." Her black eyes turned red again.
"I was not spying on you. I was already outside when you stormed out so you could beat up that dummy. What happened?" He sat down on a roughlyhewn bench, and looked up at Ameena. "Care to join me, Sister Ameena?" He patted the place next to him.
She stared down at him. Her legs were shaking and her arms were aching now that she had stopped. Ameena plopped down next to Bjernu, making the bench sway for a moment.
"Careful, or we will fall down."
She paid no attention. "I overreacted. I got angry."
"Why was that? What made you angry? He turned so he could see her better.
"Not what, but who. Something Olgyu said." She looked up at the sky. The staff she had lent against the bench. Her tail curled around her waist into her lap. "It was not even what she said. I do not know why I got angry." She sighed, still looking up.
"What did she say?" While waiting for an answer he studied her profile.
"She wanted me to stop apologising for everything. This was right after you left. I am sorry for telling you about that city."
"It is not your fault. I am sorry for snapping at you over it. And like that, she meant?" He smiled slightly.
"You did not snap. Yes, I think so. I do not know. It is a part of me. It has been for so long."
"Why do you keep saying sorry for everything? Not everything is your doing."
"It does feel like that at times. Mother always said..." Ameena but her lip.
"What did she say?" Bjernu wanted to put his arm around her, she looked so forlorn.
"I had rather not talk about it. Olgyu also said that the rest of the world would not care about me being different. I could wonder how she knew, but this," she said while stroking her tail, "is a big clue. Have you heard what I am?" She looked directly at him.
He did not flinch under her stare. "You havefiendish blood in you. Father Morgenstern told us. He asked us to take you out into the world, so that you do not spend your entire life here. That is why we seem to be wherever you go. We want to know beforehand who we are taking along with us." He kept looking at her.
"That is why I got pulled out of garden duty to help Marnak with those maps. Did you arrange that?" She looked less angry and more curious. She was too tired to be angry anymore.
"Not to my knowledge. Maybe Marnak did it, maybe not."
"What if I do not want to go with you? Will I get forced to?" She thought for a moment. "He looked rather angry. I doubt he arranged it."
Bjernu shrugged. "We do not force anybody. If you do not want to go, we will not make you." 'Please come', he thought. She was not too bad a fighter. There were some rough edges, but a real battle would take those off. He quite liked her. She had to become more sure of herself, true, but it was there. "It would be good for you. Not everyone is as superstitious as the people around here. They will not care. There is Sigil, for one."
"Who is Sigil?" Ameena was confused. They had been talking behind her back to foist her off on a random group of adventurers? She felt insignificant.
"It is a place. A big city at the top of the Spire, at the centre of the multiverses. The City of Doors. You can find all species there." His face took on a dreamy look.
"It sounds fascinating. What is it like?"
"I have never been there. I hope to, one day. I do not like cities much, but I want to see it. Care to come along when I do go there?" He smiled fully at her.
Ameena looked at the ground. Her boots were scuffed and dirty. "I do not know if I am even going with you now, let alone to Sigil. This place is all I have known for most of my life. I do not want to leave here. And not all people fear me. There are some in Plün who do not."
"So you have said. Are you afraid?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Very much so."
Bjernu could not help himself any longer. He put his arm around her. She remained seated as she was. "That is all right. It would be weird if you were not afraid. But it is a wonderful universe out there and it would be a shame not to see any of it. Please come. We are not always as bad as this."
"I should hope not." She felt comfortable being held like this. It had not happened often since she had come of age, and sherealised she missed it. :Why do you want to go to Larghain? You know of its reputation." She turned her head and looked at him.
His jaw stiffened. "You are not the only one who got pestered because of their heritage."
"I am sorry. I did not mean to pry if you do not mean to talk about it." She tentatively put her hand on his shoulder.
"I am from down west, a small village with just humans. Mum went on a journey to the nearest city to sell her wares. She is a weaver, and she did not trust thetravelling merchants to give her a good price. When she came back, she had sold all her fabrics, and she was pregnant with me. She never told anyone what exactly had happened. This caused gossiping in the village. It got worse when it turned out that the father was an elf. We lived on the edge of the village, mostly shunned by the others. We managed to survive regardless. She kept on weaving, and I took to the forests. She still lives there, and will until the day she dies. She does not want to move."
"Do you see her often?" Ameena asked.
"Not as often as I would like. But I write to her whenever I can, and can only hope she is getting all my letters. It keeps her from worrying too much."Bjernu looked up at the sky. It was beginning to get dark. "We have been here longer than I thought. Shall we go inside?"
"I do not mind the dark. I had rather stay here a while longer." She took her hand from his shoulder and put her arm around him. It felt strange and good to do this. "What do you want to do when you arrive at Larghain?"
"I do not know. Look around and see for myself? I do not know. If all is true, then I will not be let in. Maybe the stories arecoloured by those who tell them."
"If they are true, who would you want to go to a place you can not enter?"
"'Can not' and 'not allowed to' are two different things. I can always get in, even if they do not want me to." He winked at her. "What does it have going for it?"
"The war hero Feyador has built a fighter-academy there. It is quite famous and attracts a lot of potential students. Most get rejected. It is quite strict in who are allowed to enroll."
"Feyador? The hero of the Crimson Tower-siege Feyador? That Feyador?" Bjernu's eyes glittered in the dusk. "I did not know he was still alive."
"That Feyador, yes." Ameena looked at him, amused by his enthusiasm. She smiled to see it.
"He has been somewhat of a personal hero of mine. Poor family, and still managed to become a high ranking officer in the army." His enthusiasm lit up his whole face. "There is a good reason to go there. I want to meet him." He pulled her closer to him, notrealising he was doing so.
Ameena let him do so, thinking. "You wanted to join the army?" she asked.
"Not particularly, no. I admire him for getting so far given where he started." Stars came out, blinking in the darkened parts of the sky. "It is time to go back inside. We both need sleep." He hesitated. "Tomorrow, after dinner, would you like to train with me?"
"Maybe. Why do you ask? You said I was good."
"You are, but you can get better. You have never really fought, have you?" He felt more than saw her shake her head. "As I thought. I can help you with that. I am more robust than that dummy over there."
Ameena giggled. "I will." She started to get up. He got up directly with her, and offered her his arm. He smoothed out his face.
"Allow me to escort you inside, miss."
She took the proferred arm. "Why thank you, good sir." They walked back to the main entrance. There she curtsied. "Thank you for escorting me safely back here, good sir. I shall never forget your kindness."
Bjernu looked at her. With her disheveled hair and dusty clothes she did not look like a noblewoman. She looked more alive than any of those. He bowed. "You are welcome, miss. I bid you good night." They smiled at each other. "See you at breakfast?"
"Yes, of course. Good night, Bjernu." She walked inside and went to her dorm. Bjernu soon followed to his own bed.
