CH 51 - The Etiquette of Children

Break of Autumn, Week 3, Day 4

“Can I call you Jen?” I asked, my voice smaller than I wanted it to be but stronger than I expected.

The room seemed to still. Lady Perry blinked. The knights froze as they approached their seats. Lady Jennifer looked up from her curtsy in shock. Even the footman-who-might-be-a-butler stopped mid-closing the door. I wanted to sigh. But I didn’t. I swallowed that desire and instead placed Noir down in the seat that was meant for me.

A beat passed –then Lady Perry found herself and started beaming. She knocked her daughter on the back, and Lady Jennifer stumbled out of her curtsy.

“Well?” Lady Perry pointedly looked at her daughter –who looked confused, “Can Lady Eunora call you Jen?”

“Uhm,” the girl said, “I, uh, prefer Jenny, Lady Eunora.”

I reached forward and grabbed Jenny’s hand, a smile on my face, “Nora.”

The girl looked down at our joined hands before carefully disentangling herself.

“Thank you for your grace, Lady Nora.”

I blinked. It was my turn to be confused. My smile fell a bit, and I watched Lady Perry’s mouth twitch. I ignored it, instead focusing on the girl in front of me. I glanced down at my empty hand.

“I think you’ve misunderstood.” I rubbed my hands nervously on my dress before wishing I could clutch Noir. “I would like you to call me Nora. Just Nora.”

I heard an intake of breath behind me, but I refused to look and see which knight made it. Instead, I focused on the cold girl in front of me. If I was going to be stuck in this town while the knights handled whatever mess the blights were causing, I didn’t want to spend it alone, not after Ugar, with Clara and the boys. It had been fun. I wanted more of it. I had felt little Eunora growing happier within me, and {Eternal Communion] had hardly griped about it. It felt right, it felt as if I was adapting.

Again, Lady Perry looked ecstatic, “Oh, brilliant, Lady Eunora, I’m sure Jenny would be thrilled–”

“Mother,” Jenny hissed, “I can’t–”

“Nonsense,” her mother cut her off, “Just–”

I pressed my lips together and nodded as they shot back and forth. I wasn’t going to force her. That wasn’t fun. That wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted her to want me. Just me. Maybe I could win her over.

“It’s all right, Lady Perry,” I gave a tight smile, “If Lady Jenny isn’t comfortable, it’s fine. But perhaps she can show me around Perry tomorrow?”

Mother and daughter looked back at me, a blush creeping up Jenny’s neck at being caught in a breach of etiquette –meanwhile, Lady Perry had a satisfied smile. Soon enough, though, Jenny’s face fell back into a blank mask, and she nodded briskly.

I took the chance to sit down, scooting Noir to the side of the plush chair. Everyone else followed.

Dinner was filled with most of the people present silently eating –many of whom seemed to be deeply uncomfortable. That being Sir Limrick, Dame Arella, and Arlen, as well as Jenny. But Lady Perry was skilled enough to keep coming up with talking points, and Sir Rellar was handling most of the responses –in a shock to me. I hadn’t heard him say paragraphs before, but there we were. Lady Perry asking about the latest patrol he did, and Sir Rellar sharing stories of the fight back in Ugar. There were details that he hadn’t directly shared with me –such as how powerful the blight had been to cause him to exhaust his Skills. But now, clearly relaxed in the presence of an adult, he was more forthcoming. I felt irritation fill me once again.

This time directed at the shackle that was this small body. They still felt as if they needed to protect me from the darker parts of life. Perhaps, if I were actually eight, it would make sense, but –I cut myself off, swallowing that train of thought. Of course, they didn’t know. They couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed to tell them, and there’s no reason they should think so. Even if I was precocious. Did I really say enough for them to even think that?

It was at the end of dessert, a too-sweet cake filled with jam that I couldn’t finish, that Lady Perry turned serious.

“About the Oath,” she started, her eyes cast down into her drink, “We have been facing heightened attacks from brambles. More often than usual. I employ an order of guards, but they have been growing more and more weary as the brambles have been growing in power.”

Sir Rellar nodded, “Ugar had similar issues, but I have to ask. When was the last time a patrol came through? I know it’s off-season, but surely they’ve been by recently.”

Lady Perry straightened up, “They were here a few months ago, in Rule, and they handled the higher Tiered monsters –but, and I’ll be blunt here, Sir Rellar, Lady Eunora, they are growing too quickly.”

“Are you implying you think it’s unnatural?” Sir Rellar’s voice was measured, and he did not break eye contact with Lady Perry.

“I think it is not my place to start a witch hunt,” Lady Perry took a breath, “But it’s too early for this kind of growth. Usually, it’s Rule of Winter before blights appear in such numbers.”

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I leaned forward, and I wanted to ask, What could unnatural mean? But I felt the fear of little Eunora and the irritation of [Eternal Communion]. I kept silent.

“Do you have any leads?”

“None. All I know is my guards have spotted seven brambles on their patrols –and they’ve eradicated three others over the past months.”

Sir Rellar nodded, looking back to me, “My Lady, seven brambles would take at least four days to clear. As in Ugar, we have right of refusal as we are not a patrol. But, with it being off-season, a patrol might not be able to make it out before a tragedy happens.”

I nodded my head in understanding. He wanted to help. And I agreed.

“Perry may be larger than Ugar, but it is still small. And in need.” I turned to Lady Perry, pulling the phrasing from my parsed memories, “The Knights of the Dusk will perform in accordance with their Oath, and as a child of the Dawn, I will remain until it is done.”

The tension in her shoulder released itself, and Lady Perry went back to the woman she had been pretending to be –motherly and kind, but only to the Eunora she thought I was. A child of the Dawn.

“You have my thanks, Lady Eunora.”

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The next morning found me wishing I hadn’t agreed to any of this at all.

“My Lady, we will need every Knight. Klein and Arlen should be enough, in conjunction with Lady Jennifer’s own guards. Will you permit Dame Arella and Sir Limrick to join us on the excursions?”

I stared at Sir Rellar and bit my cheek, reluctance filling me. No. I don’t want to. They are my knights.

“Of course,” I said instead. “But in exchange, come back safe.”

Despite my fear of being alone, my fear of being lonely, I feared the Knights of the Dusk getting hurt because of me even more.

Sir Rellar nodded seriously, “Your will be done, my Lady.”

I wondered, then, if perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut.

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Klein had been oddly cagey since we entered the walls of Perry, often keeping his head down and keeping his mouth shut. It was the latter that weirded me out the most. And the fact that within the manor, he was nowhere to be found.

However, his personality was decidedly not my concern. Instead, I was focused on the girl walking next to me –Lady Jenny.

“Lady Jenny, what is your favorite pastime?” I asked casually as we made our way through the town square, headed to the church.

She looked at me for a long moment, “I take heirship lessons. And I practice with the bow.”

I nodded, “But what do you do for fun?”

She blinked before– “I play the harp.”

I looked at her in surprise, “Truly?”

She nodded, “Yes, I am no prodigy, but it is a good way to practice my Dexterity.”

I hummed, “Can I hear you play when we return to the manor?”

It was a long moment, where I started to think I’d overstepped, before she spoke, “I suppose.”

I even thought I heard a pleased tone in her voice. I smiled to myself. Progress.

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Klein handed me the donation, and the head priest of this church was more talkative than the others had been. It took several minutes of babbling before I was able to get settled in the singular private prayer room in the church.

Much like in Ugar, the icon used was a wooden statue –but rather than a small thing, this one was seven feet tall and took up a third of the room. I knelt on the pillow and went the safest route.

Why would I pray to anyone else when I knew Morloch would leave me alone? I smiled to myself.

“Morloch, God of Sacrifice and Self-Improvement,” my smile fell with every word, “I pray for the Suns in the Sky –may they shine another day. I pray for the tides in the sea –may they flow another day. I pray for Revel –may the moon rise yet again. I pray for Perry and its people. I pray for the forest to thrive.”

As always, I stood for the last bit, “I pray that the world continues to spin so that one day, I can claim what is due to me.”

Become the God of Nora.

“I pray we do not meet again.”

As the last of the gold disappeared from the offering bowl, I exited the room. Unfortunately, Klein and Arlen had been waiting with Lady Jenny at the back of the church –giving the priest enough time to rush to me with a grin on his face.

Oh, not again– I tried to hustle back to Klein and Arlen, but the man caught up to me.

“My Lady! Wait, please!”

I winced and turned back around, “Yes?”

The man was dressed in a pale blue. His body chains a deep navy that matched the accents of his robes. I had no idea which God he served—obviously, not Morloch, though, which relieved me.

“I wanted to thank you for your generous donation,” he smiled down at me, holding out his hand.

I hesitantly held out my own, and –instead of a handshake– he gripped it in both of his hands, holding me hostage.

“Would you like to see what your donation will fund?” His eyes were intense, and I glanced back at Klein, Arlen, and Jenny, slumping my shoulders.

“Yes, that would be nice,” I all but sighed in defeat.

Nodding, the chatty priest dragged me to the front of the lectern and opened a door hidden in the stone wall. It revealed what was clearly the church’s administration area –it held six desks, three of which were occupied by priests and priestesses. They all had their heads down and were writing furiously, so none gave me a second glance. I let out a relieved breath–

“Attention!” The chatty priest called, “Everyone, this is the Lady who is making the Winter School a successful project!”

As one, all three of them jumped up and focused their eyes on me. Anxiety swelled within me. I swallowed it.

“Uh, the Winter School?” I asked, more out of polite conversation than genuine interest.

The priest nodded vigorously, “Yes, yes, as you donated in Morloch’s name, it is tradition to offer Skill classes and schooling to help the populace grow. We haven’t had one in a while, as other gods are more prominent in this region.”

I nodded, suddenly intrigued. I hadn’t actually known that was where all the gold I donated went –I thought that was just a tagline for the church. I had no idea there were rules, and it couldn’t just be used for general good works. I mean, yes, they said that was what they did. But I figured it was like elsewhere, where it was easy to earmark the projects as the church wanted.

“What will the school offer?” This time, my interest wasn’t feigned.

“It depends. We’ll likely offer two courses –one for craft Skills and one for combat Skills. Morloch has often been known to appreciate the sacrifice of time in the pursuit of improvement, so we’ll have to hold them during productive hours.”

I blinked, “So they’ll have to sacrifice their livelihood?”

The priest laughed, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that –because Winter is less productive overall, but partially. It has to be a sacrifice, after all.”