Summons: The Squire

[Jirai]

When a lady needed assistance with a task, who better to ask than a knight? Unfortunately, Myrken was suffering from a severe lack of knights these days. The lady would have to make do with a squire. Fortunately, there was a particular squire who seemed to be in need of some good work to occupy his time - time that he was spending entirely too much of with some rather un-knightly folk. Really, it would be in the boy's best interests to assist the lady, and so Rhaena Olwak had summoned the squire.

There was no rush though, and when the boy arrived he would find the gowned woman sitting at a small table that had been set with a fine tea service and a plate of biscuits. "Ah, good morning, young sir." She smiled up at him, the expression quite visible through the thin veil. "Do have a seat. Would you like some tea? The ladies at the tea house send me samples of their finest blends, you know. The best in town." Without awaiting an awswer, she ceremoniously poured the steaming amber liquid into twin china cups.

[Glenn]

Was she expecting a stout lad in armor, sword at his side and chivalry in his heart? Perhaps two years ago, that's exactly what she would have gotten from young Elliot Brown. Even a year ago, six months ago, she would have ended up with the stout part, at least. Of course, Rhaena Olwak had seemed somewhat aware of that, so perhaps the surprise would not be QUITE as bad as it might have been.

For starters, the boy, though he was somewhat less of a boy every day, DID come. She called. He came. He was Myrkenborn and well conditioned to listen to his betters when summoned so directly. They could always gossip and whisper and gripe about such 'betters' behind their backs later.

He wore no armor though. instead it was dark clothing full of hidden pockets and well placed sharp things. They weren't black, just dark. Black would make him stand out and while he wasn't sure WHY he didn't want that, he knew that he certainly didn't. He would teeter with surprising grace, from one foot to the next, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

Rhaena Olwak was WEIRD. The veils were weird. The scales were weird. The bells were a little weird. The fact that she was supposed to be a MIND READER was weird. How much certain merchants in town seemed to almost worship her was weird. The fact she gave up a lot of her own money to help other people was weird. Her hand? Definitely weird. When she didn't HAVE a hand? Weird as well. When she was going around dressed like a low priced call girl. Weird. Dressing like she was in mourning for two years when no one died. Weird. And now dressing in these gowns. Very weird.

Of course, Elliot was used to weird. Niall had been his constant companion up until a few months ago. Now he was being trained to stab things by a pregnant elf, or whatever the heck Miss Solena was. He also had, despite all evidence otherwise, a rather romantic inclination towards young women in gowns. At the sight of her and her new look (which he had heard of, since he heard a lot of things, but had yet to see), he went a little red. "Tea?" No one had ever actually offered him tea before. The newly minted teenager just looked at her agog. Also, no one had ever offered him the best ANYTHING in town. He took a seat, all but sleepwalking towards the chair. It wasn't until the rather dubious squire sat down that he realized he should respond. "Um, yes please?"

[Jirai]

Weird Rhaena Olwak might be, but this was Myrken. If one wasn't already odd to start, Myrken would soon find a way to change that. It was a fact that her brother had sorely underestimated when he brought a much younger Rhaena to Myrken Wood. As for Elliot, he didn't much look the part of a squire these days, did he? One might more closely compare his clothing of choice to that of Suede Roschen's - a fact which Rhaena might delicately point out. But later. For now, as Elliot sat, her smile widened. "I am ever so pleased that you could join me this morning, young squire. I do hope that I am not interfering with any tasks you had this morning."

She picked up her own cup of tea with a motion that sent ripples of green and blue and red running along the hand that was not made of flesh. "Myrken has been quite busy these past few weeks, has it not?" She took a sip of her tea, slipping the cup smoothly under her veil. "Quite unfortunate that I had to be absent... poor timing that was, although I suppose none of us can predict the future. Who could have guessed that the very weeks I choose to travel would be the weeks that would actually see Kelsaen House occupied again?"

[Glenn]

Smalltalk.

Smalltalk was unnerving. Smalltalk with Rhaena Olwak, in her gown, over tea, was TERRIFYING. The boy's eyes were wide. On the other hand, he had chivalry practically worked into him on the fields of the Shepherd Knights' Estate. Just like sword-wielding reflexes, those of politeness took over when necessary. He just let it flow. "It was no bother at all... my lady. I am... honored that you invited me today?" A bit of hesitation and uncertainty, but the words were right at least. The tone would come, perhaps. He sat up just a little straighter.

He also did not stare either at the scales through her veil or at her hand. THAT was due to all the time spent with a very scarred Niall. He was well used to such things and could avoid gawking at them better than most myrkenborn boys. Her talk of current events made him pause. Something dawned on him. "First Lady Olwak? Is that what I should call you now? Oh wait, you never actually married Glenn Burnie." Oblivious. One awkward statement to the next. He had spoken with Rhaena before. She had been down to earth! He'd seen her at barn dances! And drinking with Agnieskza Kaczmarek. Not like this. Elliot became red once more.

[Jirai]

Being polite was a skill that far too many people in this town were lacking in. Elliot at least had the words right, and that would earn an approving nod from the smiling Rhaena Olwak. Perhaps he hadn't forgotten everything about being a knight. Or, given his next few comments, perhaps he had. Her brows arched at the awkward statements, but she did not lose that smile for an instant. It was a true smile, too, not the falsely-polite smile one might see from a noble or politician, nor yet the unnerving grin Glenn Burnie tended to sport. A genuinely happy smile, one that lit up her eyes (not literally, though if it were dark that might be a different story). How unusual was that in this town?

"No, we're not yet married." She agreed simply, along with another sip of her tea. "And what of yourself, Elliot? May I call you Elliot? Do you have a sweetheart?" He had been spending an inordinate amount of time with that tattooed sorceress, after all. Hardly an appropriate match for a squire, really.

[Glenn]

Revenge! Terrible, cruel revenge by the mindwitch! He had misstepped so severely when it came to common courtesy and she was clamping down upon him and making him pay for it. He didn't deserve such a question for his slight lapse! The boy had half a mind to drop to his knees and beg for mercy so he wouldn't have to answer the... Elliot looked up at her smile, that honest, deep smile and swallowed. Paling somewhat, he just nodded (though what he was nodding to was anyone's guess). "Y...you can call me Elliot." Maybe that was what he was nodding to?

When he continued it was with a terribly sheepish voice. "No, ma'am. I'm too busy for such things." It was the sort of unbelievable claptrap that he'd tell his mother if she pestered him with such a question, but at least with her, he'd do a far better job at lying. To Rhaena, in her dress, being a MIND READER, it was hopeless. "I haven't seen Niall for a while." He wasn't an IDIOT. He'd know that she'd seen them together. "We had a bit of a fight. I don't even remember over what. Usually I go looking for her but I've just been focusing on my training and time's gotten away from me." He shouldn't have mentioned the training. What if she followed up on it? What if she ASKED about it? Her dress reminded him of something and he leapt upon it. "I'd met a very nice girl a few years ago that I fancied quite a bit but the Ashfiend killed her in the Dagger." Blunt, with just a bit of desperate trauma. It was true, too, well, not the "nice girl" bit but he didn't know that part. She had died before he could have found out.

[Jirai]

Had Elliot voiced any of those thoughts about the terrible, cruel mindwitch, he might very well have made Rhaena cry. He did not voice them, though, and she was much too polite (whatever some people might think) to pry. "Ah, I see." And still she smiled. "Most young men would prefer to spend time with young women than to pursue their studies and training. You have a commendable work ethic, Elliot. Still, fights with friends are best mended, and the sooner the better." She set her teacup down on the saucer. "I am sorry to hear about your girl. The Ashfiend was a terrible, terrible thing." And for a moment she lost her smile and the look in her eyes was something that anyone who had lived through the Ashfiend would be familiar with. She shook off the sadness swiftly though. "Best to speak of more pleasant things, don't you think? How goes your training, Elliot?" And the smile returned.

[Glenn]

The Ashfiend was a terrible, terrible thing, and even years later, the surface trauma would be hard for her not to feel, prying or no. The flashes of memory, of dashing across the battlefield as blood and gore splattered about, burning the fallen bodies of his friends, mentors, and comrades so that they would not immediately rise up as undead creatures in the service of the necromancer. He was still young now, but that had been years ago, and he had been younger still. It shaped him as much as anything else.

Only a few months ago, Elliot had thought himself almost over it but then the ghostly voices had clawed out to him. That was his real break with Niall, the underlying cause of it all. She had made him hear those voices when he wouldn't have otherwise and then had, only weeks later, forgotten his sacrifice for her. The sum of it all had driven him right into Solena's surprisingly waiting arms.

And his training? "It is going very well, ma'am, thank you. I show improvement everyday." And then, with some desperately false optimism. "And I'm sure that before long some young lady will come and catch my eye." It was what she wanted to hear, no? He didn't say anything about mending fences with Niall. Fences. The thought of that caused him to frown slightly. "When," and as he gathered his thoughts, he looked down at the tea as if it was some sort of strange bog liquid, stalling for time. "When you've let me know how I can best assist you, my lady, I have some concerns that I would be.." What was the word? "obliged, if you were to hear?"

[Jirai]

She did not like to think about the Ashfiend. And it was easier, of late, to not think about such things. Not the Ashfiend, and certainly not the drow. Not the Dreamwaker or Ariane or any of that. She shied away from the thoughts and memories without even being aware of what she was doing. This was Rhaena Olwak, yes, but this was not the Rhaena Olwak who had drunk herself silly with Agnieszka at the barn dance, nor the Rhaena Olwak who had lost so much more than her hand to the drow, nor yet the Rhaena Olwak whose hand Catch had replaced just recently.

"I am glad you are enjoying your training, Elliot," and she did sound pleased, that was certain. "Though really, are those clothes quite appropriate? They look more like something Roschen might wear than a knight." Rhaena was not, it seemed, all-knowing, mindwitch or no. He stared at his tea and she drank hers, enjoying greatly the delicate flavor. "Concerns? Certainly, I would hear your concerns, Elliot."

[Glenn]

On the one hand, he still wasn't sure why she had summoned him here. On the other, she didn't like her comparing him to a crazy tailor who poisoned people. He'd never even noticed what Roschen had.. hey, wasn't it a COMPLIMENT to be told that you dress as well as a tailor does? No? Finally, almost reluctantly, he shut an eye warily and sipped at the tea. Whatever good qualities she was enjoying, he seemed blind to, but it had bought him a little bit of time, and in that time he had made a decision.

No more knighthood talk. No more talk of his training. If she was going to give him an out, he'd take it, and just stay curious to whatever she wanted him for. Did she just want company? A young knight-in-training to flutter about her. That was a scary thought. "Catch. I'm worried about Catch. I think things are getting worse with him."

[Jirai]

The tailor certainly dressed well - he had an eye for cut and color (and drow) and was quite skilled with a needle (poisoned or no), but he definitely did not dress as a knight or squire ought. Perhaps she ought to engage his services, for having gowns sent all the way from Razasan was doubtless an expensive prospect. But this line of thought was distracting her from the squire at hand and his words recalled her to reality.

"Catch? Has something happened to him since I've been gone?" She sounded genuinely concerned. "He is such a sweet man, I would hate to think that anything had happened!"

[Glenn]

At that, the boy seemed to awaken from his terrified and cautious state. His hands became animated as he put down the tea. This was a subject he could really talk about. "He told me he's been doing BAD things. He's just like a child, Miss Rhaena." No more ma'ams or my ladies. He suddenly wasn't even a poor excuse for a squire but instead a Myrken born boy who had family in some trouble for something that wasn't his fault. "He is. He just needs direction. A job. Something to keep him busy. Idle hands do all sorts of bad things. And lately, he's been too idle. I don't know if there's less to do because of winter or what, but he can't help himself."

The boy was frowning severely now. "Every child wants to knock something down. It just how we are. How people are. They see it and they want to knock it down or they want to see how things work and I think lately, he's just been worse at not giving into those urges. And he doesn't MEAN any harm, Miss Rhaena. He doesn't."

[Jirai]

"Of course he doesn't mean any harm, Elliot." How could anyone think that Catch meant harm? "He wants to help. He is a good person." Really, even the things that some people thought were bad were actually good, weren't they? "He puts things back together." And putting things back together was good and that was all there was to it, right? And speaking of putting things back together... "I wanted to ask for your help, Elliot. When I was in Razasan, I purchased books for the school, and I need help getting them over to the school. They're such wonderful books, too! How is your reading?" Knights ought to know how to read, she was certain of that. "I hope they are not neglecting that part of your training."

[Glenn]

Miss Rhaena Olwak had always been so sensible. There was the time where she was going around half naked, but even then, if you had a legitimate concern, she'd listen. Oh, she'd get the strangest look, but it was hardly dismissive. When she was depressed and introverted, she'd still want to help. Now, however, she was dismissing this completely and Elliot's jaw almost dropped.

It put him completely off guard for her next question. Carrying books and supplies for her was well within his abilities and while he wasn't as bulky as he had been, the boy was a hard worker and given her current state of dress and manner, more than happy to help her however she wanted.

The question though.

"That is.. I'm a farmboy, Miss Olwak," the governor business was forgotten in the heat of the blushing moment. "My Pa could write his name." and that was impressive in his own right. "and I make an awfully nice E, I think, with swooshes," and then, almost desperately. "I'm learning a little with Miss Solena so I can better.... deliver messages." Some things probably shouldn't be said in proper company and he had only just caught himself at the very end but she didn't need to be a mind reader (which she was) to realize he might have used a euphemism there.

[Jirai]

"Ah, I know your family, young Elliot. And it's no shame for be a farmboy, but reading is something a knight ought to be able to do." She said firmly. "It is most important! I can't imagine why they would be neglecting such an important aspect of your training. Perhaps you ought to spend some time at the school, if they are not teaching you properly." Yes, that would be the solution, wouldn't it? So busy arranging things to suit everyone (in her mind, at least), she'd almost... Wait, had he said Solena?

"...Miss Solena? You're learning with Miss Solena?" She sounded almost incredulous.