Arise, A Knight Ch. 03

*** (Author's Note:) Now to introduce the younger Schans sister.

**No sex scenes in this here chapter. Come next chapter we'd go back to Rickard and things start to pick up.

***This was a bit wordier, around 1700 words, which is a lot for me. and I got a nitpicky.

***Again thanks for your time.

Mireshka was apprehensive at first. She looked him over from head to toe. And she noticed that he didn't wear any boots. Absolute foolish peasant. But she was told by Lotte that Rickard was like this with everyone, including the lord mayor. She was about to rise to the carriage when all of a sudden Rickard got down, to offer her a hand. Merishka rolled her eyes and swatted his dirty peasants hand wawy.

"Don't even pretend to be a footman, you're still a peasant, Rickard. "

"I was just trying to be polite mistress, Donal used to do this and I've seen him do this plenty fo times. Just need to get accustomed to this, is all."

Merishka took her sketchbook and decided to try the lay of the land as they waited.

Merinda came back, dressed in her regally. With no one to aid her in clothing, she felt somewhat unkempt. Maybe, the townsfolk wouldn't be able to tell? Merinda on the other hand just looked as reagl as if she was dressed by half a dozen servants. She tried not to take notice of it.

Rickard offered her a hand, Merinda only looked at tit for a brief second, did a little shake of her head but nonetheless took the offered hand and got up.

The carriage rolled out of the gates but Rickard had to stop for a bit to close them back, locking it with the key and handing it back to Merinda. Was it wise to rust such an important item as the key to the manor, even for brief time, to a peasant?

She stopped just basking in the silence of everything.

The voices of her tormentors, her enemies at school drifted away, even they were no match for the resounding silence that was the countryside.

Meriska loved the capitol. She loved school but what she didn't love was the varying multitude of ego clashing in one another. Various noble houses have sent their daughters tot eh academy for a great variety of earned but all try to vie for the position to the Kingslord. They call it the capitol but it was the center of everything. She longed to go the far off cities of the realm. But a mere day in those cities could very well drown a lower house in absolute debt.

She looked about her drawings. Trying to see some improvement over her much older work. As she brought out. She noticed something. Odd.

She had developed the skill and would juts scribble whatever her eyes sees, never really put much thought to it. She seemed to have scribbled a faint outline of a person in the horizon. She would have noticed such a thing. There it is again. Just this morning.

She looked toward the woods. The silence had turned to something more....haunting. She looked at the shadows.

"Looking for something, your Ladyship?"

"AHH!"

"Apologies your ladyship," he said grinning, making an attempt at a bow of sorts

"You buffoon. You nearly halfway scared me to heavens."

"My ladyship we are being hailed, by your sister."

"Fine let us be off," She didn't miss that the peasant Rickard took a rather peek and in those eyes she saw no humor or mirth of his, only seriousness unlike anything.

Merishka joined them as they went to town,

Although it was only just a stones' throw distance away, they were still nobles.

And thus they travelled in the. It was an open carriage.

So they were stuck with but a single servant now huh?

They had arrived at town, it was a small little thing but the people were kind and grateful. Not to mention clean. Very clean. The lord mayor, ran a tight ship and were very good friends with her parents. She sauntered off on her own.

The townsfolk waved at them each as they passed, More towards Rickard and what not. And quite few even bowed. The commoners at the Capitol never did that, save for the Grand Nobles. Here almost everyone extended some form of courtesy towards them. She felt somewhat better at the thought. It had been almost six years and even when visiting back she had sparse time going into town as a young woman.

She had but a few passing glimpses of her memory. Playing in the woods and the fields. She was only seen as a child. Merishka saw familiar faces that had faded into the memory of time.

Instantly she drew the gazes of the townsfolk, especially the women. The commoners on the capitol were either frightful or respectful always keeping their distances. But they were friendly. And sought to know more about the capitol. She might have to admit that her head grew a bit bigger.

She had her own thing going, sticking around with the group was mentally exhausting. And stimulating. So she bid her farewell. It was the way her jaw stiffened and her eyes unmoving bore down on her. She was accompanied by her two closes friends while other rest either were suddenly focused at nearby tree or flying bird.

It was a constant headache. They were not enemies to say the least but neither were they the closest of acquaintances.

In a way she had missed this countryside simplicity; No underhanded tactics or intrigue. Just simple and honest country folk.

Which is why it was quiet something else's when her supposed peers, young women of an age with her became flocking to her and putting her atop some sort of pedestal.

It was nice, being the center of attention like this.

In the capitol it was almost the exact opposite to be in the center of attention.

They brought her along the local tavern, she half expected an unruly place but it was actually quite decent. Certainly there were a few loud voices but these were laughter., men and women intermingled and merely talked the topic of the day.

Simple, commoner discussions.

These women, ladies that were an age of her, just asked about what was going on the capitol. Here she felt almost above. She never stood out at the Capitol, here she was respected because of it. It was so easy, getting lost and getting drunk off the special attention.

Then she saw a familiar face of an old friend.

"...Mills?" The woman was taller than Merishka by an inch or so. Sharp features and and angular jaw that bespoke a stern almost hawklike features. Her dark hari was cut short just about the chin and all the more cupped her face in such a manner that her beauty was simple and in that simplicity was striking in and of itself A small child of about three clung to her skirts as they made their way to her.

"Long time, Merishka." Came that particular smile, her demeanor can be quite sever like a winter breeze and just as beautiful like freshly laid snow on a clear sky. Merishka felt an old glow inside of her, seeing that smile on her old friend's face.

"And with her was the little girl. Who bore a striking resemblance to her and her parents, what with the grass green eyes and dark hair?

"You've had a little sister? I...Wow, your parents sure are...active" She managed to mutter

"Ha! I only heard compliments like that from men! No this is my Daughter, Meadow."

"Oh wow...uhm, your husb--" That put her tongue to a twist. They were around the same age of twenty one winters, For Mills to conceive at such an age.

"Out of our lives, for the most part." She said calmly and almost joyful at that statement.

"Oh..." Merishka didn't know how to proceed on this. This was far beyond her.

"Don't be sorry. We were miserable together. We had to learn the hard way that marriage does not solve everything. Its better this way." Odd to think that they were the same age and Mills seemed to be far mature compared to her. Merishka felt her cheeks reddened at her outbursts and hysterics. As she looked at her old friend, she thought of the stories they dreamt together as kids, of finding love with Knights and all the nonsensical fairy tales they all enjoyed.

"Not quite like the stories huh?" Merishka finally muttered, letting go and instead just to be vulnerable informal and familiar, going against the teaching of the Governess at the Academy. She would not distance herself to a close friend, especially not Mills.

"No, hehe" Mills gave a small laugh, almost tired, all the while trying to catch her young daughter who keep sitting on the floor. "But enough about me, look at you! almost like a lady."

"What does that mean?" A sly smirk crept to Mireshka's lips, jesting with Mills brought about alightness in her she ahdn't realized was gone.

"You used throw mud at each other when we were kids." She answered a matter-a-fact.

"Please don't remind me. The girls at our school were far worse."Mireshka admitted, feeling the weight of the memory, almost like giant boulder pressing in one her.

"You don't seem so bad."

They just sipped their tea in silence, just a brief respite, waiting for the moment to settle. They didn't look at one another, no need too. They ere just settling to the familiarity of each other's company. And in that was comfort, the kind of comfort of having an old friend reunited after all this years could. Both women just sat there and watched the scenery outside, of people going about their lives.

"We're near broke, Mills." Mireshka simply uttered, just to get it out.

"Don't go asking me for money." she rasied her hands with a smile in her face. She let out a breath and the look in her eyes was warm, reassuring. "I wouldn't worry too much. Your sister will sort it out. She's made of steel that one."

"I think she has one rammed up on her ass!"

"There you go! There's the Merishka I know!" Mills gave her a mocking punch in her shoulder, making her grin.

"If our governess at the Capitol heard that, she'd swat our bare butts with a crop. And that woman has a hell of an arm for her age."

"That doesn't sound so bad- -"

"In front of our class."

"Damn."

It seems that her stay here wouldn't be as bad as she had thought. Even with the threat of barbarians, there was no place like home, Mireshka thought.