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rainbowfic2014-07-26 12:32 pm
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2014-07-26 12:32 pm
Amaranth #13, Fish Blue #7, Wizard #14
Name: kay_brooke
Story: The Myrrosta
Colors: Amaranth #13 (Persephone), Fish Blue #7 (pygmy goby), Wizard #14 (Herbology)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas
Word Count: 1,787
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Jay glimpses one of the Nikoleans' secrets.
Note: Follows directly after this piece. Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
After the ritual, once Jay was warm, dry, and fed, after she had been bathed by the other priestesses to wash away the muck and mud of the river that clung to her skin like placenta, Ala came to visit her.
“Did I pass? Am I accepted?” asked Jay as the older woman arranged her robes and sat down in the only chair in the room, a narrow wooden stool that Jay sometimes used to hone her balance. Her room, like all the other Nikolean students, was sparse, the walls bare and the only furniture practical. The only personal affect Jay had in the room was the lumpen cloth doll her mother had given her before she left for the temple. These seven years it had lain beneath her thin pillow, hidden from the other students and the priestesses, the only memento Jay had of a mother whose face she could no longer recall.
“You asked that after the trial,” said Ala. “They were your first words when you emerged from the river.” She frowned. “I hope it is not a sign that your service will be eclipsed by your own selfishness and ambition.”
“I have no ambition but to serve the Empress and her representatives,” said Jay, annoyed. “And I have no memory of what happened right after the river.” But she couldn’t be too upset; Ala’s admonishment told her what she needed to know. She didn’t truly think she had failed--if that had happened, she doubted she would have been given the bath and the new clothing--but it was only after hearing it from Ala herself that she could let go of the tension that had haunted her shoulders in a manner far too old for a girl of thirteen, for the past month. “What of the other trial? Did anything happen?” She hardly dared ask, but she needed to know.
Ala said nothing in response, but her gaze was piercing, as if she waited for Jay to say something else. Jay ducked her head and bit down on her irritation.
Finally, the priestess said, “Come with me.” She stood, smoothing her robes.
Despite the bath, despite the new robes, thicker and warmer than what she was used to, Jay didn’t want to leave her room. She had just been through a trial, an uncomfortable and daunting one, and the last thing she wanted was to traipse around the temple any more that night.
But she always obeyed Ala, so she rose from her bed and followed her teacher out into the hall and through the temple until they came to the door that led into a small courtyard separating the main temple from the abandoned remains of the original Nikolean temple.
Jay hung back as Ala unlocked the door with a large iron key she produced from somewhere within her robes. She had never been through the door; indeed, students were forbidden from doing so. The stories kept away those who might be bold enough to go against their superiors: stories that the courtyard was bathed in magic, so that anyone who entered would be cursed; stories that the abandoned temple wasn’t abandoned at all, but merely looked like it to outsiders. Jay had only seen the courtyard from up above, where it could be observed through one of the windows on the upper levels of the temple, and it looked like a normal courtyard, surrounded on all sides by solid walls, only one door in or out, bushes lining a path that led to a dry fountain. She had never seen anyone inside it.
“Come along,” said Ala, opening the door. Jay hesitated for just a second, tales of curses and damnation running through her head, but curiosity got the better of her, and besides, she had just been invited by someone who had a key. She had been given permission to enter, so nothing bad could happen to her.
As soon as she was on the other side of the door Ala turned and closed it. Jay startled at the clank the metal latch made as Ala pushed it into place.
They were alone.
Only not; Ala smiled and said, “Maleese,” and Jay turned to see a woman standing near the fountain, her hands folded and her lips set into a gentle smile. She wore the plain brown robes of a Nikolean warrior at tasks, but her black hair was so long the tips touched the small of her back, and she had no sun tattoo on her face despite clearly being old enough to have been given one. Jay frowned. Who was this woman, who wore the clothes of the Sun Guard but bore none of their marks?
“Jaishlin Mortague, this is Maleese Degough,” said Ala. Jay tried not to cringe at the use of her full name, and bowed her head to the other woman as was respectful, though she wasn’t sure this Maleese deserved it. Jay kept her respect for other students, her teachers, and the Sun Guard. And of course the Empress. This woman was none of those.
“Ah,” said Maleese, gliding forward. “Newly seen?”
“Newly seen,” Ala agreed.
“And does she see?” Now that Maleese was closer, Jay could see that her eyes were a deep brown, an unusual color among Nikoleans. Her estimation of the woman dropped even lower. Was she even full-blooded? Her skin was pale, though that seemed not from the presence of foreign blood but from illness. Jay could see the dark circles under the woman’s eyes, the way her dull skin hung as if she had lost much weight recently, and the careful way she moved, as if something inside pained her if she exerted herself too much. Jay had seen the signs of wasting sickness before.
Beside her, Ala hesitated at Maleese’s question. Jay waited for the answer, hardly daring to breathe. She had asked the same question earlier, with different words, and had not received an answer.
Finally, Ala said, “No.”
Jay let out a breath, not sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. It was said those discovered to have gifts were given positions of honor among the temple’s leaders. But it also meant she could not become one of the Sun Guard, the one thing she had striven for since she was six.
Was Maleese one of the gifted? Was that why she had no tattoo?
“Then why have you brought her to me?” Neither Ala nor Maleese seemed aware of the questions nearly burning their way out of Jay.
“Because there was something.” Ala paused again. “Nothing true. But she may be the one who will replace me.”
Jay blinked. Replace Ala? As a teacher? But she didn’t want that. She wanted to be an active part of the Sun Guard, out defending the Empress and her empire, not stuck in the temple.
“I do not think she wants that,” said Maleese, turning her disconcerting gaze toward Jay once more.
Ala waved her hand. “She’s young yet. Let her have her adventures, and then maybe she’ll appreciate a quieter life.”
“I am sorry, but who are you?” Jay said, the question bursting out of her almost against her will. She immediately shut her mouth and bowed her head as Ala turned angry eyes on her, but she wasn’t sorry. She was tired of being spoken about as if she wasn’t even there.
“Jaishlin--”
Maleese raised a hand. “It is quite all right.” She looked back at Jay. “I am merely a humble priestess. It is my job to make sure the gardens grow.”
“Kaya is in charge of the gardens,” Jay protested, because she wasn’t stupid. She had lived at the temple for seven years.
“She is,” said Maleese. “But I am the one who makes sure they grow well every year. That’s my gift.” She knelt and reached toward the edge of the path, lightly touching the tiny bulb of an early spring flower. Beneath her fingertip the bulb opened and bloomed, its flower a bright blue that stood out amidst the still-brown grass of the courtyard.
Jay gasped and took a step back. She knew there were some Nikoleans who had gifts, but she had never seen them in use.
Maleese smiled. “I give myself to the earth, so that we always have enough food to eat.”
“You give yourself?” Jay looked at her, at her pale skin and her trembling hands. Heard the way her breath came quicker as if she wasn’t drawing in quite enough air. “Does it give anything back?”
Maleese’s eyes narrowed in contemplation. “She is observant.” She looked up at Ala. “I think you are wrong. She is not for the temple. Not today, not any day. She has a far different and grander future before her.”
Jay bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning.
Ala didn’t seem happy with this pronouncement. “And what is grander than serving the Eight? What is grander than keeping our faith alive while false gods press on all sides?”
“I did not say she wouldn’t do those things,” said Maleese. She stood, slowly. Her breathing seemed to have improved. “I just do not think she will do them here. I am sorry, but you may have to wait a bit longer for your replacement.”
Ala grumbled something unintelligible under her breath, then said, “You know our numbers shrink every year.”
“I do.”
Jay set her jaw but kept quiet. She had been forgotten again.
“What if there never is anyone else?”
“Then that is what the gods intended.”
Ala shook her head. “You may be resigned to your fate, but some of us are still fighting.”
“I know.” Maleese gave Jay a small smile. “But you cannot force what is not meant to happen.”
Ala took Jay’s arm, pinching it in a tight, painful grip, but her voice was nothing but cordial. “Thank you for your time, Maleese. I will see you again, at our regular time.”
Maleese nodded as Ala spun, and, dragging Jay with her, opened the door back into the temple. As it closed behind them, Jay turned her head for one last glimpse of Maleese, but the other woman was already gone. It then occurred to Jay that there was only one door into the courtyard, the one she and Ala had gone through.
“What did you mean you will see her at your regular time?” she asked. “What do you two do together?”
“Don’t ask about things you will never understand,” Ala snapped. “Now go wash up. You’ll be expected at dinner. Don’t be late.”
And she refused to say any more.
kay_brookeStory: The Myrrosta
Colors: Amaranth #13 (Persephone), Fish Blue #7 (pygmy goby), Wizard #14 (Herbology)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas
Word Count: 1,787
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Jay glimpses one of the Nikoleans' secrets.
Note: Follows directly after this piece. Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
After the ritual, once Jay was warm, dry, and fed, after she had been bathed by the other priestesses to wash away the muck and mud of the river that clung to her skin like placenta, Ala came to visit her.
“Did I pass? Am I accepted?” asked Jay as the older woman arranged her robes and sat down in the only chair in the room, a narrow wooden stool that Jay sometimes used to hone her balance. Her room, like all the other Nikolean students, was sparse, the walls bare and the only furniture practical. The only personal affect Jay had in the room was the lumpen cloth doll her mother had given her before she left for the temple. These seven years it had lain beneath her thin pillow, hidden from the other students and the priestesses, the only memento Jay had of a mother whose face she could no longer recall.
“You asked that after the trial,” said Ala. “They were your first words when you emerged from the river.” She frowned. “I hope it is not a sign that your service will be eclipsed by your own selfishness and ambition.”
“I have no ambition but to serve the Empress and her representatives,” said Jay, annoyed. “And I have no memory of what happened right after the river.” But she couldn’t be too upset; Ala’s admonishment told her what she needed to know. She didn’t truly think she had failed--if that had happened, she doubted she would have been given the bath and the new clothing--but it was only after hearing it from Ala herself that she could let go of the tension that had haunted her shoulders in a manner far too old for a girl of thirteen, for the past month. “What of the other trial? Did anything happen?” She hardly dared ask, but she needed to know.
Ala said nothing in response, but her gaze was piercing, as if she waited for Jay to say something else. Jay ducked her head and bit down on her irritation.
Finally, the priestess said, “Come with me.” She stood, smoothing her robes.
Despite the bath, despite the new robes, thicker and warmer than what she was used to, Jay didn’t want to leave her room. She had just been through a trial, an uncomfortable and daunting one, and the last thing she wanted was to traipse around the temple any more that night.
But she always obeyed Ala, so she rose from her bed and followed her teacher out into the hall and through the temple until they came to the door that led into a small courtyard separating the main temple from the abandoned remains of the original Nikolean temple.
Jay hung back as Ala unlocked the door with a large iron key she produced from somewhere within her robes. She had never been through the door; indeed, students were forbidden from doing so. The stories kept away those who might be bold enough to go against their superiors: stories that the courtyard was bathed in magic, so that anyone who entered would be cursed; stories that the abandoned temple wasn’t abandoned at all, but merely looked like it to outsiders. Jay had only seen the courtyard from up above, where it could be observed through one of the windows on the upper levels of the temple, and it looked like a normal courtyard, surrounded on all sides by solid walls, only one door in or out, bushes lining a path that led to a dry fountain. She had never seen anyone inside it.
“Come along,” said Ala, opening the door. Jay hesitated for just a second, tales of curses and damnation running through her head, but curiosity got the better of her, and besides, she had just been invited by someone who had a key. She had been given permission to enter, so nothing bad could happen to her.
As soon as she was on the other side of the door Ala turned and closed it. Jay startled at the clank the metal latch made as Ala pushed it into place.
They were alone.
Only not; Ala smiled and said, “Maleese,” and Jay turned to see a woman standing near the fountain, her hands folded and her lips set into a gentle smile. She wore the plain brown robes of a Nikolean warrior at tasks, but her black hair was so long the tips touched the small of her back, and she had no sun tattoo on her face despite clearly being old enough to have been given one. Jay frowned. Who was this woman, who wore the clothes of the Sun Guard but bore none of their marks?
“Jaishlin Mortague, this is Maleese Degough,” said Ala. Jay tried not to cringe at the use of her full name, and bowed her head to the other woman as was respectful, though she wasn’t sure this Maleese deserved it. Jay kept her respect for other students, her teachers, and the Sun Guard. And of course the Empress. This woman was none of those.
“Ah,” said Maleese, gliding forward. “Newly seen?”
“Newly seen,” Ala agreed.
“And does she see?” Now that Maleese was closer, Jay could see that her eyes were a deep brown, an unusual color among Nikoleans. Her estimation of the woman dropped even lower. Was she even full-blooded? Her skin was pale, though that seemed not from the presence of foreign blood but from illness. Jay could see the dark circles under the woman’s eyes, the way her dull skin hung as if she had lost much weight recently, and the careful way she moved, as if something inside pained her if she exerted herself too much. Jay had seen the signs of wasting sickness before.
Beside her, Ala hesitated at Maleese’s question. Jay waited for the answer, hardly daring to breathe. She had asked the same question earlier, with different words, and had not received an answer.
Finally, Ala said, “No.”
Jay let out a breath, not sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. It was said those discovered to have gifts were given positions of honor among the temple’s leaders. But it also meant she could not become one of the Sun Guard, the one thing she had striven for since she was six.
Was Maleese one of the gifted? Was that why she had no tattoo?
“Then why have you brought her to me?” Neither Ala nor Maleese seemed aware of the questions nearly burning their way out of Jay.
“Because there was something.” Ala paused again. “Nothing true. But she may be the one who will replace me.”
Jay blinked. Replace Ala? As a teacher? But she didn’t want that. She wanted to be an active part of the Sun Guard, out defending the Empress and her empire, not stuck in the temple.
“I do not think she wants that,” said Maleese, turning her disconcerting gaze toward Jay once more.
Ala waved her hand. “She’s young yet. Let her have her adventures, and then maybe she’ll appreciate a quieter life.”
“I am sorry, but who are you?” Jay said, the question bursting out of her almost against her will. She immediately shut her mouth and bowed her head as Ala turned angry eyes on her, but she wasn’t sorry. She was tired of being spoken about as if she wasn’t even there.
“Jaishlin--”
Maleese raised a hand. “It is quite all right.” She looked back at Jay. “I am merely a humble priestess. It is my job to make sure the gardens grow.”
“Kaya is in charge of the gardens,” Jay protested, because she wasn’t stupid. She had lived at the temple for seven years.
“She is,” said Maleese. “But I am the one who makes sure they grow well every year. That’s my gift.” She knelt and reached toward the edge of the path, lightly touching the tiny bulb of an early spring flower. Beneath her fingertip the bulb opened and bloomed, its flower a bright blue that stood out amidst the still-brown grass of the courtyard.
Jay gasped and took a step back. She knew there were some Nikoleans who had gifts, but she had never seen them in use.
Maleese smiled. “I give myself to the earth, so that we always have enough food to eat.”
“You give yourself?” Jay looked at her, at her pale skin and her trembling hands. Heard the way her breath came quicker as if she wasn’t drawing in quite enough air. “Does it give anything back?”
Maleese’s eyes narrowed in contemplation. “She is observant.” She looked up at Ala. “I think you are wrong. She is not for the temple. Not today, not any day. She has a far different and grander future before her.”
Jay bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning.
Ala didn’t seem happy with this pronouncement. “And what is grander than serving the Eight? What is grander than keeping our faith alive while false gods press on all sides?”
“I did not say she wouldn’t do those things,” said Maleese. She stood, slowly. Her breathing seemed to have improved. “I just do not think she will do them here. I am sorry, but you may have to wait a bit longer for your replacement.”
Ala grumbled something unintelligible under her breath, then said, “You know our numbers shrink every year.”
“I do.”
Jay set her jaw but kept quiet. She had been forgotten again.
“What if there never is anyone else?”
“Then that is what the gods intended.”
Ala shook her head. “You may be resigned to your fate, but some of us are still fighting.”
“I know.” Maleese gave Jay a small smile. “But you cannot force what is not meant to happen.”
Ala took Jay’s arm, pinching it in a tight, painful grip, but her voice was nothing but cordial. “Thank you for your time, Maleese. I will see you again, at our regular time.”
Maleese nodded as Ala spun, and, dragging Jay with her, opened the door back into the temple. As it closed behind them, Jay turned her head for one last glimpse of Maleese, but the other woman was already gone. It then occurred to Jay that there was only one door into the courtyard, the one she and Ala had gone through.
“What did you mean you will see her at your regular time?” she asked. “What do you two do together?”
“Don’t ask about things you will never understand,” Ala snapped. “Now go wash up. You’ll be expected at dinner. Don’t be late.”
And she refused to say any more.