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Post by Holly on Aug 5, 2011 21:31:54 GMT -5
ordeum 16, 1582, midmorning
acerbus umbra castle, acerbus umbra, pertinax
"You know, it's not bad once you get used to it. The appearance of this place shouldn't frighten you," The woman commented about the castle, taking slow, even steps up the stairs to the door that would lead them inside. Her dark blue eyes were gleamering eagerly, like a child's, and Holly was once again reminded why she found it so easy to trust this person's opinion. Her smile, her liveliness, her honest attitude all reminded the young olisthir of her mother.
A sudden wave of sadness washed over Holly Skies. "W-Wait..." She muttered, stopping on one of the steps. "Aria, what if... they don't like me?" She kept her voice down, jumping at every little sound that bounced around her.
Aria stopped as well, looking down at Holly for a moment. Her gaze was different than before. Instead of being childlike, her irises were swirling with contemplation. "Holly, that's not what you're thinking," She pointed out gently. Casually, she knelt down so she could see Holly's eyes. "I'm extremely sorry about your family and I know you're scared about coming to a new place. But, I know your type. You're strong and you have a good heart. One that will get through this," Aria smiled and ruffled Holly's hair. "And one that will make for an outstanding Mystic. No one in this castle will doubt that."
It made Holly feel a twinge better to know that there was someone who felt that way about her. Quickly, she shook the thought of Chase out of her mind. She tried not to remember his hurt expression as she walked away from him, not answering any of his questions. A small grin tugged at the edges of her lips, "I don't believe I'm that special, Aria. But, thank you."
"Oh, please, Holly Lyra Skies. No need to be modest," Aria stood up, taking the olisthir's hand in reassurance. "Now, let's go! A lot to explore in the castle!" Her immature side had begun to show again as she rushed up the last couple of stairs, towing Holly after her.
"Salutations Acerbus Umbra Castle!!" Aria yelled, then looked down at Holly. "Welcome to your new home."
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Post by Roxilicious on Aug 6, 2011 17:16:40 GMT -5
"Aria, please."
A man was walking out from the dining hall in the east wing of the main castle. He was a tall man, perhaps around 6'5". His skin was that of alabaster, so white and lifeless, undoubtedly very sensitive to the sun's merciless rays. He had a strong jaw and dramatically shallow cheeks, accenting his bones, especially under the poorly lit main castle hall. His hair was cut very short, as if it had been shaven off completely and left to grow for about two or three weeks. It was black as night, contrasting greatly with his white skin. Last but not least, his eyes were the color of a tropical ocean: brilliant, bright, cerulean blue.
Though his royal crown was sitting on his very own throne (as he absolutely hated wearing it), everybody knew who this was: it was King Vidar, ruler over all of Verfall.
He approached his trusted mystical advisor while rubbing his temples. His head was throbbing. His voice sounded shot, too. Vidar's throat hurt, and his knuckles on his right hand were red and beginning to bruise.
"Oh, is this your new apprentice?" he inquired when he approached Aria and Holly. He looked down at the girl with light eyes and a welcoming smile, withdrawing his hands from his pounding head.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," King Vidar said, holding out his hand to Holly. "My name is King Vidar, monarch of Verfall. My wife should be around here somewhere if you need a tour."
The King looked around helplessly, as if looking for his wife who he knew was not around. He turned his attention to Aria and cleared his throat, hoping to make the hoarseness of his voice go away.
"Aria, it seems Roxanna has returned again from her nonsense underground dueling," the King lied superbly, his tone fully serious and believable. "And from the looks of it, she seems to have lost. She's lying in her bed right now. Could you tend to her, please?"
Of course, for Aria, there wasn't much of an option. Asking nicely and saying please was just King Vidar's method of dishing out his orders.
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Post by Holly on Aug 6, 2011 18:30:45 GMT -5
"This would be her," Aria nodded, beaming like the happiest person in the world, and nudged Holly forward an inch closer to the King of Verfall. When she looked down at the olisthir, her eyes flashed with the obvious, light command of 'Come on, why don't you introduce yourself?' However, the command was optional. Aria knew very well that Holly could be nervous and too scared to say anything at all.
Despite being anxious in the current situation, Holly bowed her head in respect and grinned politely, "My name is Holly Lyra Skies, King Vidar. I promise I will do my best to become a Mystic worthy of Verfall," She responded honestly, taking the King's hand and shaking it before retreating it.
There was something wrong about him. Holly wasn't one to judge anyone before she knew them, but something about the man did not make her feel good. Stop thinking negatively. It's just nerves, Holly thought to herself, making sure that no one would be able to hear her.
"Again? Really?" Aria's surprised tone snapped Holly out of her thoughts. "Roxanna such a strong girl, though. You'd think she'd win more at these things," She was completely unaware of what Vidar was hiding. Her voice had changed, though, to one of much more concern. "Well, let's go, Holly," She grabbed the mystic-in-training's hand once again and started walking away. "I'm coming back later to look at your knuckles!" Aria called over her shoulder. "Don't think for a second that I didn't notice!"
"Who's Roxanna?" Holly questioned.
"Oh, Roxanna is Vidar's daughter. You're actually about the same age as her. Just two years off, I think. They've got a son too. His name's Falkor. Oh, and he's about four years older than you," Aria explained. When she saw the excitement suddenly spark in Holly's eyes, she frowned and decided to add quickly. "They're... Er... Interesting. Don't be too surprised if they are not as welcoming as their father or their mother."
"Oh..." The young olisthir answered, nodding slightly. She kept her hopes up, however, thinking that even if they weren't the most open people, there would still be people around her age.
Suddenly, Aria stopped, knocking on a door before entering it with soft footsteps. "Roxanna, I'm coming in," The volume of her voice had been turned all the way down to a loud whisper as she entered the room. "So you lost again, huh? Where'd you get hurt?"
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Post by Roxilicious on Aug 6, 2011 19:50:13 GMT -5
Vidar made a fist and looked at his screaming knuckles. There wasn't much you could do for bruises, but there was so much you could do for mental instability. His eye twitched, he shuddered, and he walked away to his private quarters.
The instant Roxanna heard the knocking on her door, she sat upright. She winced; her abdomen hurt. Ignoring the aching pain, she wiped the tears from her eyes and composed herself as she swung her legs over the side of her bed just as Aria opened her door. She cleared her throat and wiped her nose.
The young vedial was wearing torn clothing. It was the clothing of the common man, surprisingly, though that was mere preference rather than lack of royal treatment. Visible from some of the tears were bleeding wounds, dripping the scarlet liquid and soaking into her clothes. Hidden beneath her rags were newly forming bruises. She held her right wrist in pain; it looked to be contorted in an unnatural, broken manner. There was a more visible cut oozing blood dangerously close to her interior jugular vein, begging to end her life.
Roxanna looked up at Aria and Holly. Her eyes were red from crying, but this only made her brilliant-colored irises stand out even more. They glowed with hidden pain. On the outside, her gaze showed something equivalent to 'I done it again, Aria.' Something nearing the definition of mischievous and trouble-making. It took a deep look to see something other.
"I, um." Her voice was quiet. It was actually quite pretty. The pitch was very feminine, and as she spoke more fluently, her voice almost sounded singsong.
"Just some cuts from a sword that need to be treated," she admitted. "And I think my wrist is broken."
Roxanna only let Aria treat the superficial or extreme wounds. Her bruises were petty; interior bleeding could not be healed easily anyway.
"I'm a disappointment to the family name," she said gloomily, hanging her head. "I can't win any of these fights!"
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Post by Holly on Aug 6, 2011 21:33:01 GMT -5
Holly was quite shocked when she saw the daughter of Vidar Nightingale. She didn't exactly know what to expect, but she didn't think that she would have just as bright of eyes as her father. The torn, common clothing that Roxanna was wearing also took her aback. Holly was wearing seemingly better quality clothing(a simple green blouse, a tan skirt, and boots) and her family had had barely any money.
Something made Holly step forward, a swift feeling of courage and determination to get through to the girl on the bed she barely knew. She didn't know what it was, but she knew what to say in that instant, "But you keep fighting. The determination to win should be enough for your 'family name'! I don't know you very well, Roxanna, but you shouldn't put yourself down like that!"
Aria blinked in surprise, staring down at her apprentice now. "Holly..."
"And you didn't even mention the bruises!" Holly continued, "They're all over your body and while they're easy to treat, they can be helped more than just letting them sit there!" She could sense it. The pain that was going through Roxanna's body was too much not to ignore. And when Holly stared into Roxanna's eyes, she could see it. Once again, something about this didn't feel right, but she couldn't place a finger on it.
A hand fell over Holly's mouth and Aria chuckled nervously about Holly's sudden outburst. "This is my new apprentice, Holly. Please excuse the remarks.."
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Post by Roxilicious on Aug 8, 2011 20:47:50 GMT -5
Roxanna looked up at Holly's pep speech, just before Aria said her name. She met the apprentice's gaze with a sea of tropical ocean blue, surprise at her bold confrontation and immediate advice without any prior knowledge to how the vedial noble even worked.
Her eyes were full of a newfound appreciation and sort of admiration for Aria's new apprentice, next mystic of Acerbus Umbra and archmystic of Pertinax. They seemed to open up a whole new world of her past and her history, with that blurry bridge between when her family loved her and when they started to hate her. And then she smiled just a little bit.
"No, no," she said gratefully, finding trust in this new person just two years younger than herself. "Thank you so much, Holly. It really means a lot. I-I, um. Thank you. I can show you around the castle after Aria does her thing, if you'd like. I'll introduce you to my mother and my brother. Unless Aria, um, wants to do that..."
Her whole person radiated submissiveness and fear. She spoke with a sort of hesitancy, as if she were terrified she'd be treading in waters too deep to swim. Her movements were withdrawn and subtle, and she held herself low and quietly, trying her damn well best to go unnoticed.
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Post by Holly on Aug 8, 2011 22:17:22 GMT -5
"Me?" Aria shook her head and chuckling softly as she did. She caustiously approached the young girl, hands glowing with restoration magic. As the vedial began healing more of the worse wounds on the girl, she continued, "Roxanna, do whatever you feel like. I, as a Mystic and as your friend, will listen to your wishes and will go along with them unless I feel they are against your health. And I don't believe showing Holly around will be a bad thing. If anything, it'll be a benefit to the both of you."
The Mystic smiled when she was done and dug in her pocket for a moment, pulling out a small vial the next second. It was filled halfway with small, purplish-glowing pills. "Okay," She started as a popped the cork off and poured out a few of the pills, "These are to be taken as follows: one right now, one before you go to bed, and the last one tomorrow morning. That should take care of most of the pain and hopefully clear up the bruising as well."
She handed them to Roxanna and nodded to Holly before turning back to the fellow vedial. "I'll leave Holly with you for now and you can come find me when you're done with your tour and such. I've got to go see to your father, and then I'm going to get a room ready for Holly tonight. I'll see you two later." Aria flashed one more smile before leaving with as much as energy as she always had, never faltering.
As soon as Aria was gone, Holly smiled politely, finding a strong connection with Roxanna already. "You're welcome, by the way. I uh... I don't exactly enjoy seeing people so down, so that just slipped out," She chuckled lightly. "My brother told me that a person should always be kind to themselves and it kind of stayed with me." There was another moment of silence before Holly remembered why Aria had left her there. "Oh! And thank you for offering to give me a tour. I would love one."
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