[Flashback: Squire Dorms] Just Us Girls (Aurelia)

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Season of Winter, Day 23, 507 AV

Jaelyn came back to her small three bedded dorm room absolutely exhausted. Ser Raynard was pushing her hard in her training, and today she had spent almost the entire day in full plate armor. Her limbs felt like they were made of lead as she trudged her way over to her bed and sank down on it. Despite how tired she looked from her movements there was a soft smile on her face as she sat there. She had been happy Ser Raynard had decided to be her Patron for this very reason. She needed someone strict and strong to help make sure she became an excellent Knight.

Slowly lifting her head up Jaelyn's gray eyes fell on the frame on the third bed in her room, which this morning had been empty, and was surprised to find that it had now been made. That meant a new Squire would be coming into the room. Stretching her sore and tender muscles slowly Jaelyn wondered who the new girl would be. Hopefully someone a bit more focused than her other roommate. Rachel was nice, but the older girl was too much of a busybody for Jaelyn's tastes, always asking about everyone else and their personal matters.

[Aurelia Whitethorn]

The dormitory door groaned as it swung inward, surrendering to the gentle push of the small figure standing over its threshold. Her ocean blue eyes swam nervously inside the room that was to become her future home, combing its depths for some hint of familiarity or comfort. She found nothing of the sort. A cursory glance of the lackluster facility revealed only a humble chamber devoid of any welcoming furniture or recognizable faces. It was enough to stir gooseflesh along her thin arms and neck, and for perhaps the tenth time this day, Aurelia Whitethorn wondered if she had been wise to vehemently resist her mother’s urgings for her to become a proper lady instead of a knight. That had been three years ago.

The young girl’s bony shoulders sagged beneath the weight of the small traveling bag slung over her back. It was not until a few steps carried her inside did she realize that there were three beds dispersed throughout the room. It had not even occurred to the disheartened squire-to-be that she would be sharing the dormitory with two other girls, but the unanticipated discovery did not repulse her. On the contrary, she welcomed the prospective company. The past several years had been replete with lonely nights and yearnings for home. Now, it was only a matter of waiting to determine if her roommates were the amiable type or the sort that would make her want to fling herself from Stormhold Castle’s highest wall.

An unexpected stir on the edge of her peripheral vision compelled her gaze to one of the beds, where another girl stretched her aching limbs in a languid manner. The sight of the older squire startled the newcomer, causing her to leap back on the balls of her booted feet. “Oh my god,” Aurelia loudly shrieked, her hands jolting defensively in front of her as if to repel some unseen attack. Her heart fluttered in her chest, the moisture in her palms gathering as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

As her gaze fixed upon the innocuous girl, though, Aurelia regained her calm and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry,” She said through an uneven breath. “I didn’t know anyone else was here.” Lifting a slender hand, she mechanically wiped away several blonde curls that had fallen over her eyebrows and tucked them behind her ear. “My name is Aurelia. I think I’m your new roommate.”

[Jaelyn Baroth]

The sound of the door opening drew Jaelyn's attention, and when the girl revealed was not Rachel a soft smile touched the young Squire's lips. Figuring this was her new roommate Jaelyn opened her mouth to great the girl, but before she could make a sound the blonde haired girl glanced at her and gave a loud shriek.

Jaelyn's eyes widened in shock, and she quickly scrambled off of her bed. Afraid that there was something behind her she tried to turn around to face it, but her tired body refused to cooperate. Instead she tumbled to the ground and rolled the short distance to crash into the frame of her new roommate's bed.

Giving a soft groan at the fresh bump on the top of her head Jaelyn turned her gaze back up to the other girl and gave a faint, slightly pained smile, "It is fine, I am sorry I startled you," with a sharp breath Jaelyn stood back up, walking the short distance to the door and offering her hand to the new girl, "It is a pleasure to meet you Aurelia. I am Jaelyn. You just became a Squire, right? Then you would probably be staying here with me and Rachel, I think we are the only female room that was not full yet."

The throb in her head fading a little Jaelyn's smile was a bit warmer as she stepped to the side and motioned to the simple bed and chest she had just tumbled into, "That would be your bed and chest. Would you like some help unpacking your things?"

[Aurelia Whitethorn]

Deep blue eyes opened in patent concern as they followed the dark-haired girl’s unceremonious journey from her bed to the unforgiving dormitory floor. “Shyke!” She gasped, dropping her small bag onto the ground and hurrying to the girl’s side. “Are you okay?” Descending to a knee, Aurelia winced guiltily as she spotted the blooming bump on the stranger’s forehead, a wound that she would not have sustained but for Aurelia’s earlier outburst. So much for making friends on my first day, she gloomily thought to herself. The incident reminded her of her earliest days as a page when her only comrades had been the horses that she had been assigned to feed every morning, afternoon, and night.

It was for that reason that the dark-haired girl’s surprising smile disarmed Aurelia’s pessimism. She instinctively glanced over her shoulder, wondering if the recipient of the warm gesture was somewhere behind her, but when she perceived no one else in the room, the young girl realized that the expression had been awarded to her alone. “No, no,” Aurelia shamefully insisted. “It was my fault for acting like a such a-” Girl, the newly instated squire mentally and embarrassedly finished. “-I’m sorry.” She sighed and inserted the edge of her thumbnail into her mouth, chewing self-consciously at the dead skin.

Her gaze darted to the extended hand – another gesture that Aurelia was unaccustomed to being the beneficiary of. The other girl’s sincere introduction, however, elicited a snowy-white smile across Aurelia’s face. “You don’t know how relieved I am to meet you, Jaelyn,” the blonde-haired girl laughed, accepting the girl’s offered hand with both of her own and shaking it excitedly. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I came here.”

“I had my ceremony this morning,” Aurelia explained. “They told me that I was assigned to this dormitory, and I’m glad they did too.” She breathed a sigh of relief and released Jaelyn’s hand as if the meeting had singlehandedly allayed her earlier concerns. At the mentioning of Rachel, Aurelia searched the room with a sweeping glance, shortly realizing that her other roommate was not currently in attendance. She supposed that she would meet the girl later.

Following Jaelyn’s motioning to the vacant bed and empty chest, Aurelia retrieved her bag and tossed it carelessly onto the mattress. “I should be alright, thank you,” the newcomer gently answered, plopping her rear onto the bed with a heavy sigh. “I didn’t really bring too much with me.” She expounded. “I heard that I wouldn’t need a lot of my stuff at home anyway.”

“Is it true that it’s as hard as they say?” Aurelia restlessly asked the older girl, fidgeting with her hands in her lap as she studied Jaelyn’s bruised limbs, or at least, the portions that were bruised and exposed.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn couldn't help but continue to smile at Aurelia's energetic response to their introduction and greeting, and as the other girl spoke she moved up and gingerly took a seat on her own bed again. Jaelyn wasn't a terribly talkative girl, and so she was happy to just quietly listen as Aurelia spoke.

"It is hard," Jaelyn responded with a small nod to Aurelia's question, "But how hard it is depends on you and your Patron. Listening to some of the other Squires during dinner and in the halls most seem to have different ways of training. For me it is hard work, but Ser Raynard never asks more of me than I can give," Jaelyn's respect for her Patron was clear in her voice as she spoke of him.

Falling silent for a moment Jaelyn hesitantly asked, "Would you like me to show you around the dorms? They are not very complex, but there are a few things it took me a little while to learn when I arrived here earlier this year," Jaelyn hoped Aurelia would not be like Rachel and tease her about her slight awkwardness in talking with people.

OOCI changed the datestamp on the first post to reflect Aurelia's updated birthday.

[Aurelia Whitethorn]

She appreciated Jaelyn’s candor, a virtue that Aurelia herself tended to exhibit to her mother’s unequivocal disapproval. That was mostly because the blonde-haired girl had a proclivity towards articulating the whole truth as opposed to a mitigated version of it, but sensitivity had never been Aurelia’s strongpoint. She had a penchant for telling things how they were, and thus, she reciprocally preferred the same to be relayed to her. However, that did not always mean that she enjoyed what she learned.

“I thought as much,” She despondently responded. Her blue eyes trailed nervously along her slender wrists and arms, wondering how the forthcoming years would further blemish and transform them where her page training had not. Aurelia had always been a rough-and-tumble type of person, but she occasionally liked feeding her girly inclinations – a trait undoubtedly inherited from her proper mother. “My Patron Knight seems serious than I imagined he would be, but I guess that will be good for me in the long run.” She tried to rationalize, elevating her small shoulders in a shrug.

Jaelyn’s honest impartation relaxed her somewhat, mostly because it provided Aurelia with some hope that her stern-faced Patron Knight would exercise the same discretion that Sir Raynard showed to Jaelyn. “He sounds like a reasonable person,” Aurelia candidly commented. She immediately thought of her father, a man who, although stern, was nevertheless capable of displaying his soft and tender side as well. Aurelia had always been close to her father, and she had cried miserably on the day she learned that he was to be relocated to the north.

A thin smile curled upward from the edge of Aurelia’s mouth. “That would be wonderful,” She happily accepted Jaelyn’s kind offer. Rising to her feet, she opened the empty chest beside her bed and apathetically deposited her bag into it. Aurelia had meant what she had said earlier: she had brought only one set of clothing and a few other items, so there had been no urgent reason to unpack. On that note, she reminded herself to ask Jaelyn later about any clothing shops in the area.

“I’m a little embarrassed to ask you this, but would you mind showing me the training field and the mess hall as well?” Aurelia hopefully asked, praying that she did not sound incompetent in front of her new acquaintance and, with any bit of luck, soon to be friend. Her Patron Knight had instructed her to meet her at dawn on the morrow at the training field. The only problem was that Aurelia had no idea where that was.

ooc: thanks!

[Jaelyn Baroth]

"It is for the best," Jaelyn agreed with a nod, "As hard as our Patrons make training it is best to be prepared for when we eventually become Knights," there was honesty and conviction in her words, she truly believed in what she was saying.

"Ser Raynard is a great Knight," Jaelyn's voice had a touch of pride to it as she spoke of her Patron, "And I am sure that your Patron will be a good teacher for you. The Knighthood is full of good and noble people," she did her best to give a reassuring smile to her new roommate.

At Aurelia's acceptance and question Jaelyn smiled softly, "There is no need to be embarrassed Aurelia. You just arrived, so it is understandable that you do not know where anything is yet," moving to the door Jaelyn opened it and held it for Aurelia, "Have you eaten dinner yet? It will be time for our suite to eat soon, and so if you are hungry it would probably best to go to the dinning hall first."

[Aurelia Whitethorn]

“It seems so far away,” Aurelia replied with a protracted sigh. At thirteen, it would be at least five years until she was eligible to embark on her Knightly Quest, and that was assuming that her Patron Knight deemed her ready for the arduous trials. Although her transition from a page to a squire brought her one step closer to her dream of becoming a Syliran Knight, the young girl knew that the road would be riddled with hard work, sweat, and tears. Nevertheless, she found comfort in the older squire’s words, which convinced her that she would one day look back on her squire training and recognize that she had been better for it.

As Jaelyn vouched for the integrity and competence of the Syliran Knights, Aurelia’s head dipped without skipping a beat. “I believe you,” She honestly said. Again, her mind roamed back to her childhood and the many joyous memories that she had shared with her father. It was he who had inspired her to follow in his footsteps notwithstanding her mother’s contrary wishes. He always looked so gallant and courageous in his shining armor, and the respect that the commoners conferred to him whenever he passed – that was something that Aurelia had always wanted in her own life. If all the Syliran Knights were as Jaelyn described, then she had many wonderful years to look forward to.

She watched the older squire gait towards the door in preparation for the impromptu tour, deeply appreciating her openness and altruism. Prior to meeting Jaelyn, Aurelia had feared what the other squires would be like. She had wondered if they would look down on her for being new, if they would haze her to break her in, or if they would simply ostracize her for some arbitrary reason. The young girl knew that people could be mean – her years as a page had taught her that much.

After following Jaelyn outside, Aurelia shook her head to indicate that she had not eaten yet. “I’m starving. The ceremony took all afternoon,” she said with a soft laugh. At the mentioning of dinner, she could feel her stomach churn beneath the white tunic she wore. “That would be great,” She eagerly agreed. Before they left, though, Aurelia extended a small hand to gently stop the older squire by the arm. “By the way, thanks again for helping me out. I was a little nervous before I came here.”

[Jaelyn Baroth]

"I am happy to help," Jaelyn replied to Aurelia's thanks with a warm smile and a light pat on her hand, "It was not that long ago that I first arrived at the dormitories myself, and I was nervous too. It is a big step towards becoming a Knight, but I am sure your nervousness will go away quickly once you get to training."

Leading the way out into the common room Jaelyn gestured at the wooden door next to the sleeping room they had just left, "That is the wash room. Most of the time if someone is using it they will leave a towel or clothing on the handle, but it is still best to knock first before you enter," a faint flush touched Jaelyn's cheeks as she remembered the time she had seen someone not knock first when they were tired.

"The common room can be used by anyone in the suite," she gestured about the room, and then indicated the doors leading to the other two sleeping quarters, "And us three girls share it with 10 other boy Squires. It can sometimes get a little rowdy, but that is typical for the suites from what I understand."

Leading the way out of the suite and into the hall Jaelyn had to quickly stop to keep from being bowled over by a group of boys who had started wrestling just outside the door. Giving a soft smile to Aurelia Jaelyn offered, "Oh, and you will learn quickly to watch out for those rough housing. I do not know how they have the energy, but they are always around," waiting for an opening Jaelyn quickly slid out of the suite and into the hall, "The dinning area is down this way," she smiled softly and waved back to Aurelia to follow her.

[Aurelia Whitethorn]

“I hope so,” Aurelia optimistically said. She found comfort in Jaelyn’s encouragement. That the older squire spoke positively of her experience thus far played an enormous role in alleviating the blonde-haired girl’s concerns, which had followed her from her Sponsor Knight’s estate to the dormitories. With a deep sigh, the young squire nodded affirmatively and mentally reminded herself that everything would be better once she acclimated to her new lifestyle. She was immensely grateful that Jaelyn would be in it.

Their first stop brought them to the wash room, arguably the most important facility on the entire floor. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she grinned as Jaelyn’s abashed demeanor hinted at a humiliating experience in the past. Aurelia could well imagine the embarrassment one might suffer while catching sight of another in the privy. She hoped that that particular scenario was one that she could permanently avoid. “I’ll use two towels in that case.” The young girl innocently said. Privacy was rather important to her.

Poking her head into the common room later, Aurelia sucked back her lower lip pensively as she examined the lounge. It seemed homey enough, although the young girl suspected that the ambiance would change dramatically if there were ten other boys in the room. “There are only three of us girls?” She asked, one golden brow arching in alarm. It was obvious from her wary expression that she had not been fond of the news. As a younger page, she had often been subject to the devious whims and cruel jokes of her male counterparts. While maturity was usually expected with age, there was no telling when it came to men.

The sight of the wrestling boys outside did little to allay the new squire’s apprehension. She avoided the mess of flailing limbs beside Jaelyn, but her eyes followed their rowdy duel down the hallway. “Just great,” she said, staring slack jawed at the barbaric adolescents. What was it about the male species that motivated their aggressive behavior? If they were not fighting among themselves to prove the superiority of their manhood, they were degrading and picking on those weaker than them.

A peculiar glimmer flashed in Aurelia’s blue eyes as she turned away from the brawling pair. She would never be the victim of their insults again – not ever.

Quickly following Jaelyn to the hallway and grateful to be removed from the chaotic scene, Aurelia hurriedly fell into step beside the taller squire towards the dining area. “They better not mess with me,” the young girl determinedly said, punching a small fist into an open hand as if the gesture would somehow guarantee that desired result. Her confidence seemed to waiver, though, as she glanced up at Jaelyn. “T-they’re not mean, are they?” She hopefully asked. If they were, she needed to know who to steer clear from.