The Lighting of the Lake

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Aella grew quiet at the comment. She didn't know what to say. Because, after she thought of it a moment, she realized, it was.

"Well, I hardly notice," she said after a moment. "It's just how I pass the time when I have a free moment to myself." When she wasn't being groomed, paraded around or other wise.

OOC: Ugh, sorry post is lame and probably repetitive :T
I should really go to bed >>
*posts anyways*

[Rhindeer]

"Don'tcha got any friends?" Faolán asked, and then froze, realizing abruptly who he was talking to, and that maybe he had gone too far.

His face colored, heating up clear to his ears, and he ducked his head. "Ah...I mean...I'm sorry, m'lady...I don't mean to, uh...I don't wanna insult or anything, I'm sure ya got tons, of course!"

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Before Aella got a chance to respond, she tensed at the sound of her mother.
"Where's Aella!?" the voice came harshly from down the hall. "AELLA!?" then there was a slam of the door, softer words coming from General Serenus and the approaching footsteps.

Aella visibly tensed, freezing up and having no idea what to do, shock and fear evident on her face, and before she knew it, the door swung open wider as her mother, the Duchess of Hellvion, stepped into the room with a heavy click of her heels. And she paused, mouth open as if ready to strike out a few words when her eyes met upon Faolán.
She set her jaw, rage brewing in the depths of her eyes as she snapped. "What is the meaning of this!?"

The words prodded Aella to speak up as she stammered, "Oh, mother! I did not wish to interfere with your private conversations with the General so I thought-"
Her mother harshly grabbed her wrists, drawing her daughter near.

"You thought what? Aella, you know it is unwise to leave my side, especially in the presence of commoners. And your duty lies to your mother!" she hissed, keeping her close. "Perhaps there was too much activity for you today. We will go to the manor house and let you rest before night fall." Then Duchess Melora turned sharply on her heels, eyes narrowing like a hawks as she studied the boy. "You could be hung for less," she warned him with a hiss.
And it was then General Serenus interfered, daring to laugh in the duchess's face.

"Duchess Melora, they are but children. It only makes sense our boring conversation forced your daughter to seek temporary companionship with someone more close to her age."
The Duchess gave the General a dark glare as she held on tightly to her daughter, it hurting Aella's arm, but the girl saying nothing. It took every ounce of energy for Aella not to cry, but her face was getting red ad her violet eyes were sparkling with the threat anyways.

"If I asked for your opinion, General, we'd be going to war," then she nodded her head rigidly to him and cast a nasty glare in Faolán's direction.  "Just remember your place, soldier. This is the daughter of a duke you fraternize with and you are to keep your distance at all time."

"Oh, but mother he did. We were only-" and as Aella spoke, her mother gave a sharper grip of her arm as Aella gave a cry of alarm.

"Silence, my daughter! You must be tired. We'll leave immediately for the manner," Melora said, then bowed rigidly a second time to the General. "Have a good day, sir. I hope Duke Calent remains well." And she cast one more nasty glare back to Faolán before dragging Aella off.

[Rhindeer]

When Aella's mother burst into the room, Aella wasn't the only one that froze in horror. Then, realizing how close he was standing to the girl, Faolán jerked and took a step backwards, and quickly bowed, because panic had set in and that just seemed the right thing to do!

Of course, it was too little too late as the woman began her tirade, and Faolán had no choice but to fall into horrified silence and weather it, watching the interaction between mother and daughter as it played out in such a surreal manner. And the threat?

He was so grateful for Serenus's intervention. The woman was angry enough, part of him felt she might actually order it done.

When she was finally gone, Faolán realized, with a spark of shame, that he was trembling and his heart was pounding. It wasn't all fear, though that was definitely there--he'd never been threatened like that before, much less by someone so powerful, someone who could actually enact that threat, and it all at once made him feel small and vulnerable, made him realize his position and how dangerous that had been. But wasn't fear that made him set his jaw and clench his hands into fists; it was anger.

When they were alone again, Faolán let out a shaky breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

"What a horrible woman," he said, under his breath like he was still afraid of her hearing even though the door was closed and her footsteps had faded. He couldn't forget the look on Aella's face; she had looked ready to cry, and he couldn't blame her. That woman was a terror. Aella didn't look tired at all, and they had just been talking! Her mother, on the other hand...

He recalled her hand on the girl's arm, fingers whitening, and Aella's alarmed cry.

She was hurting her, and Aella looked scared of her. It all made sense, considering their conversation, the way she couldn't go a sentence without mentioning the woman, her lonely activities, how she never mentioned any friends...that woman was a bully, beating her own daughter into submission and not caring a wink what she had to say on the matter.

Shifting from one foot to the other, Faolán rubbed at one arm without realizing that it was the same arm Melora had gripped on Aella. "She was hurting her."

And he hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

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The General set his jaw, knowing full well the young boy was upset. He couldn't completely treat Faolán like a soldier yet, tell him to man up and ignore it. This was politics, plain and simple. And you did what you were told.

"It's best not to worry on the affairs of the nobles, lad," the General began, a hand lightly resting upon the hilt of his sword and his usual easy grin upon his face. "Their world is far different than our own. Spend too long a day amongst it, you might feel like a trapped animal." And he gave a laugh, tossing back his head before shaking it and looking the young man over. "I'm sure it's anger you feel. But know their world works different than our own. The Duchess can do as she pleases. But you, on the other hand, you'll soon belong to the knighthood yourself, and your orders will come from a different hierarchy altogether." His eye scanned the boy.  "As much as it seems peculiar and unjust to us, that girl's mother is just naturally over protective. Being her only child, Aella is the only heir for all of the duchy of Hellvion. It's best not to think more on it. Come, perhaps another sparing match would sooth your mind? " He gave a smirk. "It's not like every day a young knight such as yourself gets the opportunity to train with me." ANd he laughed about that, the laughter being course, like his voice, but carrying easily, like his spirit.

[Rhindeer]

"I thought you were kidding when you said she'd kill just for lookin' at her daughter..." Faolán said, still a little shaken. It was very, very clear that the world of nobles was an entirely different and scary one--and one that made no sense. He guessed he had always figured it was more...glamorous. From where he was standing, though, it looked rather savage and unkind. "It's just so stupid."

With a deep breath in and let out slowly through his nose, Faolán rolled his shoulders to ease the tension out of them and picked up his sword. He was still angry; he didn't like to see anyone treated like that, and Aella was so nice and thoughtful! She didn't deserve that. She deserved friends and people who actually cared what she thought and didn't call her ideas stupid.

Argh!

He shook his head and, with another slow breath, loosened his grip on his sword when he realized he was squeezing the life out of it. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll...I'll try and forget about it," he said, and added with a polite bow, "This really is a blessed opportunity, and I seriously appreciate it, sir."

He slid into position and raised his sword into a defensive stance. He couldn't see what the man found so funny about all this--it wasn't funny at all to him!--but he was right. Another match might do well to clear his head, and at the very least it would provide a healthy outlet for his frustration.

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The General gave a good hearted laugh at Faolán's concerns and honest opinions of politics (and more notably, the Duchess's over protective nature of her daughter).
"Just be glad you don't live in their world, Faolán," the General began with a grin. "Politics are like a tricky game of Chess. There are always ways to bend and break the rules, and always ways to cheat and get the upper hand. It's all about who is the most powerful..." His smirk twitched. "And the most cunning."

Then nodding his head, he accepted Faolán's thanks.
"You have a noble heart and good spirit, boy. Focus that on the task ahead, for you will need it in all of your endeavors as a knight." Then he noticed the boy's stance and his eyes lit up. "So I see you are ready." He carefully slid out his blade. "This time I won't go as easy on you. Focus your strength, and not necessarily your anger. Learn how to hone that in and take quick, concise cuts. Now.." he tossed back his cape and stood at the defensive as well. "Pretend I'm that Duchess." he said with a laugh. "Take out all of your anger on me, but keep it focused." He narrowed his gaze upon the boy, grip tightening about the hilt of his sword. "Let's see what you can do."
And then he struck out, goading Faolán into the first attack.

[Rhindeer]

Faolán's eyes lit up at that, and he actually laughed, surprised that instead of scolding him for saying such things, he was joking with him. Pretend he was the Duchess?

Now that was something he could get behind!

Grinning, he shook his head. "Alright, Duchess. Meet your doom!"

So instead of visualizing some monstrous beast as he had while he'd practiced, he visualized another monster--Aella's mother. Part of him felt a little guilty for it, because he didn't really want to hurt her or any other person, yet when he remembered the things she'd said and added some new layers to it bu picturing her terrorizing her daughter, it kind of surprised him how easy it came to him.

Serenus struck out and Faolán parried, then swept in under his blade with a thrust at his middle.

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Serenus was surprised at the clean and precise actions of Faolán's swings. His grin grew wider as he guarded himself with a grunt and pushed the blade away.

"That's it lad, keep at it! But stay focused, keep a steady grip on your blade, though keep it loose, like a quill. Then come at me again. Focus your energies. What do you seek to protect? What sort of honor do you uphold? Focus that within your blade and come at me again!"

[Rhindeer]

It was amazing what a few good pointers could do. Faolán was not anywhere near decent--he was still a painfully obvious beginner. But with Serenus's tips, his form had improved, and that made a difference, even if he didn't yet have the strength, speed, skill, or technique down.

Endurance was another thing he'd have to work on.

Breathing fast, he managed a quick nod in response to Serenus's words and came at him again. He tried not to think about his sore, tiring muscles and instead focused on the opportunity he was being given--and why he wanted it to begin with. He wanted to be a knight; he wanted nothing more than to protect his family and by extension his country, to get to travel and save people and be a hero and taste the sort of freedom he could never taste if he remained home.

After a few thrusts and parries, he swung a little too high at Serenus, growing a little careless as he grew more tired.

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Serenus could sense the boy was getting tired, and careless... but that was all apart of the training. When the boy swung too high, he cracked his sword heavily against Faolán's in attempts to knock the sword clean out of the boy's hand.
"You are getting careless, keep your arm strong! Knights are never to grow weary. In battle, it could mean your life!"

[Rhindeer]

He could feel that thwack clear up his arm!

With a cry, Faolán lost his grip on the sword and it went spinning across the ground with a clatter. Grimacing, Faolán hurried to retrieve it. His arms were shaking from exertion, but he picked it back up, hid his glower--he was bloody tired!--and smoothed out his expression before he turned back to Serenus.

He nodded, shaking sweaty bangs out of his face. "Got it, sir," he panted. "Okay."

Trying to ignore the burning in his limbs, he strengthened his arm and went at him again, feinting a thrust before going in low.

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Serenus smiled and admired the boy's vigilance. Though it might have just taken a rough tongue to get him to fight back.... Perhaps a few more minutes of practice, just to get the boy used to the soreness of sword play and he'd let him rest.

"There, that's it. Keep at it boy and you'll be a soldier in no time!" the general said, tossing his head back in a laugh. Though the sword moves were easy to parry, it was nice to see the boy picking up some techniques in the first go. He had trained young men that were far worse than Faolán. And those young men had become clumsy and careless on the battlefield. Most of those sorts did not live or would become too severely wounded to come back alive.

[Rhindeer]

Faolán gave a weak, tired grin and nodded at Serenus's praise. It made him want to keep going, even though he felt like he was burning up and ready to explode. Meanwhile, the general looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat! Would they keep going until he passed out?! Because if that were the case, Faolán would just have to keep going. The last thing he wanted was to look like he wasn't taking this seriously or worse, like he was a quitter.

He staggered a little, legs trembling, then came in again, swinging his blade as hard as he could to try and copy what Serenus had done when he'd whacked his sword out of his hand.

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The general's eyes sparkled as the boy struck hard at his blade.
"That's it, boy!" Serenus cried with a laugh and a grin. "Keep at it! Show me what you got! Show me what you're fighting for and let it out with your blade!"

[Rhindeer]

The elation was swiftly turning into exhaustion and, with it, moodiness as he felt close to dropping, his shirt sticking to him in all sorts of unpleasant ways and every muscle burning. He wanted to tell Serenus exactly where he'd like to shove that blade, but he wisely bit back the quip. The man's sword had hardly budged!

He gave it yet another hard swing, putting his back into it, and this time, though a stronger blow, the momentum sent him tripping over his own feet as the weariness caught up to him.

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Realizing only when he caught the falling boy that perhaps he was pushing him to the edge, he only smiled and gave one of his soft breaths of laugh as he helped get Faolán to his feet.
"Very good," the General said with a nod of his head. "Perhaps it's time I ought to give you a break." And he chuckled again and gave a slight bow. "You have potential. Don't let other's steer you other wise." And his smile broadened. "You may be dismissed to go enjoy the rest of your day."

[Rhindeer]

Short of breath, Faolán leaned shamelessly on Serenus until the man put him back on his feet.  Even then, standing was an effort when all he wanted to do was slump to the floor in a puddle of exhaustion. Never was he more relieved than when Serenus announced their session was over.

The rest of the day to himself, huh? Hopefully he wouldn't be too beat to enjoy it! Thirst and hunger called, though, so he at least wouldn't pass out until both had been abated.

Wiping his brow off on the back of his hand, he took a deep breath, flashed the man a tired grin, and bowed. "Thank you, sir!" he said. "That was fun! Uh...I mean, educational. Useful!"

He offered Serenus his sword back, handle first. He stared at the sword, suddenly bashful. "And, um...seriously, thanks. For everything, and giving me this chance."

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Serenus nodded, a subtle glint to his eyes.
"Aye, think nothing of it, lad, but it's good to see you are humbled. Not all recruits are as such." He laughed scratchily and accepted the sword. "A lot of times I get some cocky bastards." His grin itched as it grew wider. "Those ones are always fun to break in." Then he nodded again. "Hopefully you will not be too exhausted for the ceremony this evening. I bid you farewell, Faolán. And please.." he studied the boy a moment before adding, "Don't hesitate to look me up before the end of the week. Is hall be stationed here until then, when the Duchess and her daughter return home. THen I must report back to my own Duchy in Allar. And perhaps, fi you are so ambitious, you might be able to join the squadron there, but we shall see." He tossed his head back in a casual laugh. "Though I suppose we should not get ahead of ourselves. I rarely have a chance to attend to men at your level, but never the less," he swept dwn intoa  graceful bow. "I bid you farewell. May the evening be enjoyable." And then the General left.

[Rhindeer]

Head full of new hopes and possibilities, Faolán headed back to town and spent the rest of the day leading up to the ceremony taking it easy. He got a little cleaned up and put his hair back into some semblance of neatness, slicking it back with water and tying it into a tail. There were a lot of things to see and do, though he didn't have much money for it--he was saving up for the night.

Just in case they sold out, though, he bought his candle early, and felt scandalous for doing so.

He'd already told Aella he would, but after her mother's firm warning, it felt like a small act of rebellion. She told him to stay away, but he could still send a candle Aella's way, and the thought brought a smile to his lips as he rested out by the lakeside, candle in his hands.

It was kind of like what Aella had been talking about, about beauty. In this case, beauty triumphing over ugliness. The duchess was quite pretty, of course, but Faolán thought her quite ugly beneath it.