Wellstone

The 12th day of Septus, 1248

I don't think my years at the academy would have been so bad if I hadn't made that first mistake. It was my own fault. I'd had a chip on my shoulder from the start. Looking back, I knew that. They say hindsight is 20/20, and no one knows that better than I do. If only I'd kept my mouth shut.

It, of course, started on the very first day of classes. The orientation went great, and even getting settled into the dorms was easier than I thought it would be. The hard part, was the realization that the academy was wrong. They had told me and my father that social class wasn't a factor in the day to day running of the school. I knew that first day that I was the lowest in social class that attended the school, and that I was the only one who had been forced to undergo all of the tests for acceptance into the academy.

The rest of them, the nobles, lords and ladies all, had simply paid the tuition and showed up. There were one or two others like me, but every one of them had blood bluer than my own. I was the lowest of the low here, practically nothing at all. Back at my home, in my village, I was the Mayors daughter. I was treated with respect by all the goodmen and housewives. My fathers uncle was married into a Dukes family, and my mothers great grandfather was second cousin to a Chancellor. That was all. The kids here, they were lords and ladies themselves.

I knew it was a deep honor that I was even considered for acceptance into the Wellstone Academy, as my father had reminded me daily until I finally left, but I felt so out of place and sad, that the honor was a bit lost in my young mind. The other girls in the dormitory had been mostly indifferent to me. They had all come from the kings court, and most of them had know each other prior to coming to Wellstone. I knew the boys in the other dorm would all be the same. They were all an inner circle that I was not a part of. They all had their own friends, and weren't interested in making one cast-out feel welcome. I didn't mind it so much at first, I was a bit resentful, but I knew time would warm them. It was what my father told me and I had believed him.

The first day of classes came, and still, no one had paid me any attention at all, and I was not the kind who went seeking it. So I went to class alone, following behind a group of girls who didn't know I was there. I noticed another girl, walking alone, with her head down, and I wondered about her, but did not speak.

I had had schooling in my own village, in a class, with other children, the very basics of learning. My father had brought a tutor in to teach me more, once it became clear that my aptitude was high for learning. Those classes did not prepare me for the classes at Wellstone. Each separate subject had its own large room, and we traveled from class to class across what the academy referred to as a campus.

That wasn't the only thing that was odd. I had expected the classes to be segregated, by gender, but they were not. Everyone filed into the rooms, sitting where they pleased, chatting casually with one another as if it were the most normal thing in the world. I wasn't a prude, but I had been raised differently, and had expected something different from such a respected academy.

The boys, for the most part, looked exactly like the village boys I was used to seeing, awkward and gangly, with trouble in their eyes. The only difference was finer clothes and a more educated dialogue. I knew many girls in my village who got silly and giggly around any boy, and it seemed these girls were no different. Boys did not really occupy my attention at the time though, so it was no real problem for me to ignore them and wander off by myself to sit alone. It was my small hope that another girl, perhaps the one I had seen earlier, would come sit by me, but this was not my luck.

It seems I had chosen to sit in the corner that some of the finer nobles had singled out. They sat around me, cutting me off from the rest of the room, and ignoring me utterly as they talked and gossiped among each other. So I sat alone, doing my best to ignore the kids around me as they were me. I was in such a foul temper when the scholar finally ended his speech, that I was ready to snap. I was still young after all, and I hadn't been bred as a lady, like all of the other girls had been. I stood impatiently, and waited for the kids to move so that I could leave, but they all just stood around, talking and laughing, not seeing me or my impatience. It seemed the girls were paying particularly close attention to one boy. He wasn't handsome to my eyes, or witty from what I could hear, but they all hung on his every word. I sighed in frustration and moved closer.

"Excuse me," I managed in something little better than a whisper.

Eyes swiveled to me, but no one moved. Most of them sneered, and some few even laughed. "Did that mouse just speak?" the un-witty boy asked mockingly. I felt my face go red.

"She did. A bare squeak," another boy said and they all laughed.

"A pity. I thought better of Wellstone than this. Vermin in their very halls. Imagine!" A girl with hair bigger than her head said lifting her nose in the air.

I turned to the boy that everyone was holding in such regard. His smirk was satisfied as he looked down at me. "I have found that vermin are among the high as well as the low. They can wear fancy dresses and fine adornments. They are no less vermin than those who do not wear the gaudy frivolities."

The boy stood straighter, his back going stiff, and there were gasps from the others. "How dare you!" one girl snapped, while another opened her mouth. The boy flung his hand up. "Do you know who I am?" he asked softly.

"I do not care." I answered darkly. "Move out of my way."

"Careful mouse," he said stepping back. "It is easy for the small to have their necks snapped when the mighty walk."

"You do not look very mighty," I said as I walked past.

And that was the start of my misery. At the next class, I sat among kids that were already there and seated. I knew that when the 'elites', as I would later learn they were called, arrived, there were some hard stares in my direction, but they sat off in their own corner again. I hurried out when the class ended, but it did me little good. By that time, it seemed everyone was watching me and whispering behind their hands. Even the scholars were scowling in my direction when I sat down in the dining hall. I didn't know what I had done, or why it was such a big deal, but I would soon find out.

I sat at a small table, where two others were already sitting, making sure that there was no room for anyone else to sit. I was beginning to think that at this point, I didn't really want friends at this place. I saw them when they came in. I dropped my eyes, but not before I saw at least three of them look at me. If I had seen them coming towards me, I would have had time to get up and walk away, but dropping my eyes had lost me that chance. I learned quickly not to drop my eyes, to always be wary.

"So. Mouse. Eating alone?" The un-witty boys voice was thick with amusement, with himself no doubt. I ignored him. "and here I thought mice traveled in little groups, scurrying and scrounging."

My eyes shot up, my face burning. "But they do," I said with an acid smile. "Just look around you. They are all following obediently." And then I stood and left, leaving my tray there, most of the meal untouched.

I got through the last two classes the way I had the second, though the stares were worse. I was glad to be able to hide in the dormitory when the classes were over. My sanctuary didn't last long. I had seven roommates in my room, and everyone stared at me and whispered quietly when they came in. I pretended to read a book, but I could feel their eyes and almost hear the whispers. I wanted to scream at them.

Instead, I left. I went outside to walk by myself. Around the West side of the campus was the tourney fields, the Arena, and it was filled now, with horses and boys. Boys from every class. The fences were lined with women. I would soon find out that after class, every boy would go to the fields to practice the games, the sword, other weapons, and their horsemanship, and all the women would go and watch. The oldest boys were first, and the most fun to watch.

I stood at a distance and watched for some time as they stood atop their horses and lopped the heads off dummies with their swords, speared loops from half a field away, and a dozen other feats that made my breath catch in wonder. I stood there through every grade, right down to the first years, my own class. When I realized the boys from the elite group would be out there now, I almost smiled, waiting for their mistakes and the hurts I was hoping they would cause themselves.

For the most part I was very satisfied. Save for the un-witty boy. I wanted to scream when I saw him perform almost as well as the fourth and fifth year students. I hated that he did well, when I wanted to see him fall on his face. I returned to the dorms scowling. I didn't go to the dining hall for dinner, so I was more than famished the next morning when I got up before everyone else to go eat. I had the large room practically to myself, and I made good use of my time, eating as quickly as I could, and stowing some bread in my bag for lunch so I wouldn't have to return. I turned to go and the boy was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, watching me.

"Taking it back to your nest, mouse?" he asked disdainfully.

"Let me pass," I said glaring up at him.

He stood up straight, blocking the doorway completely. "You are either woefully stupid, or simply ignorant, mouse. That someone of your position is here at all, says to me that you may have something in your head that resembles brains, so I will enlighten you. I am not someone you wish to cross, now, or ever."

"You are no one!" I said angrily, ready to launch into a speech about nobles being no better than anyone else, but I was cut short when he slapped me hard enough to send me to the floor in a heap.

He stood over the top of me, keeping me from getting up. "When your betters deem you worthy of advice, you would do well to take it, mouse. Do not cross me again. Am I clear?"

At that point, if I had simply said yes, perhaps he would have forgotten me, or just left me alone, but I of course, did not. "You despicable beast!" I growled up at him angrily. His eyes narrowed and he spun on his heel and left.

I heard him say softly as he strode away, "As you wish it then, mouse."

And so, for three very long years, my life at Wellstone was miserable. I had no friends, everyone was my enemy. Even the scholars frowned at me, for I had given grave insult to not only the highest nobles of the land, but the crowned prince himself. Of course un-witty would turn out to be the prince. It was my luck.

Everyone hated me, because he did. He did not leave off, not the second or third year. They never tired of tormenting me. I was called names, taunted, and I was the recipient of every cruel trick they could think of. They would find me when I was alone and hurt me, and torment me and ridicule me in public. Un-witty went so far as to have me followed, never giving me a moment's respite. It came to the point that I would turn around and walk the other way when I saw one of them ahead of me. I hated them all desperately.

The fourth year came, and I begged my father not to send me back, but he would not listen. He told me that any amount of torment could be borne for a Wellstone education. So I prepared to return, and two days before I was scheduled to leave, there was a massive fire in the village hall. Forty two people were killed, including my mother. My father kept me home that year, to help him oversee estates and to mourn, until he could bring someone else in. I was tutored in every waking moment of my spare time, my father was adamant about returning to school the next year, and I would have to pass another series of tests to be readmitted. That year, as busy as it was, was blissful. I celebrated my 16th birthday in quiet reflection.

At the very end of that year, word came down to us that Berengard was entering into war. My father fretted and worried, but in the end, saw no reason that I shouldn't return to school the next year. I was crestfallen, but I returned. As it turned out, my fifth year wasn't bad either. Because of the war, most of the boys were gone, including the un-witty prince. Many of the higher nobles were absent, and the year was peaceful. I even made a friend, one of my room-mates.

Now, here I am, preparing to return once again, for my sixth and final year at Wellstone. I have heard news that the war was already over, and I have heard news that the war was taken overseas. The only thing I am certain of, is that the war tax has not yet been lifted from our village, so I am hoping for the best as I make my way back to Wellstone.

Poppy De'Voet

Ander Lerris was standing with his friends, talking excitedly about school, and what he'd missed the previous year. They joked about the girls they'd bed this year, and talked about the battles they'd seen. The war was over, the Serens chased back across the ocean, his father said it had been little more than a major skirmish really. Ander hadn't actually wielded and sword in combat, but he had commanded his own troops, and that was almost as good.

They stopped their conversations a moment and murmured appreciatively when a group of girls walked by, then joked coarsely about which ones they would bed. Ander was mostly bored with the constant stream of girls that climbed into his bed, but his comrades weren't, it was usually all they wanted to talk about besides fighting. He sighed and looked around dismally.

"Who is that?" he asked about a small girl, not far away, walking towards the girls dorms. She was small of stature, but full figured, her long chestnut tresses bound back with a simple country ribbon. Her eyes were large and dark, lined with long lashes, and her lips full, and ready to be kissed. "She is new." he said softly. She was beautiful. He stepped away from his friends with an , "I'll be right back," just as his friend Jaed started to speak, but he was already gone, walking quickly to head her off.

He slipped quickly around the garden wall and stopped just inside the archway where she would have to either stop or run into him. She looked up and saw him at the last possible moment, and skidded to a halt with a gasp. He smiled brightly and took her hand in his, then bent over it to kiss it. She jerked her hand back with a scowl and he looked down at her, confused. "Hello," said softly. "I am,.."

"I know who you are Ander, you insufferable pig," she said angrily, catching him off guard. He stared down at her shocked. "Let me pass." She said through gritted teeth.

He took a step back, and to the side, giving her a wide berth. She passed quickly, and it suddenly occurred to him who she was. "Mouse?" he called after her, and she looked over her shoulder with a scowl, but quickened her step to get inside. He smiled to himself as he tried to bring up memories of her. He didn't remember her being so pretty, or so nicely put together. She had been a skinny, tiny little thing, with a sharp tongue. His friends caught up with him then and watched him warily.

"I was trying to tell you Ander," Jaed said softly.

"What is her name?"

"Mouse? I don't know."

"Find out." he said as he turned to make his way to the men's dorm.

Poppy was sitting next to her bag on her bed, scowling at the wall, clothes in her lap, forgotten. What was he up to? What was he about outside? For a moment, she thought he hadn't recognized her. She almost hadn't recognized him. He was taller, and filled out, not a skinny gangly boy any longer, but one look showed her he was the man the boy would grow into. Had he possibly not recognized her? Or maybe even forgotten her completely? It had been two years. What if she had pulled the mountain back down on her shoulders by reacting the way she had? No. She was sure he had been toying with her. Perhaps trying to lull her. She sighed unhappily as her door opened. It was Natya, one of the Elites. Poppy scowled darkly. "What do you want?"

The girl smiled, and Poppy could see through the façade. She wasn't happy to be there, or talking to her, but she was there, smiling a fake smile, a companionable fake smile. Poppy was instantly wary. "I just came by to say hello," she said, her voice dripping honey. Poppy didn't stop scowling at her. "Welcome you back. Did you enjoy your time off?"

"What do you want?"

Her smile faltered, but it returned. "I told you. I just thought, perhaps, we could be friends. I'm Natya,."

"I know who you are. What do you want?"

"Well, I'm sorry. We've never really met, I don't have the pleasure...."

"Get out Natya." She said turning her back on her.

"Well, I didn't want to keep calling you 'Mouse'. You aren't..."

The door opened and Deirdra strode in and smiled brightly at Poppy. "Pop!" she said hurrying to her and hugging her. Poppy returned her hug and squeezed her friend extra tight.

"Pop? Is that your name?" Natya asked frostily.

"Get out Natya," Poppy said again, turning to glare up at her.

"You're being very rude. Do you wish things to revert to our younger years? I am simply asking your name."

"Why? Why do you want my name? Why is it suddenly important?"

"Poppy," Deirdra said softly. "Her name is Poppy." Poppy turned to her friend with a frown, and Natya left with a satisfied nod. "Pop, you told me how miserable you were back then, there was no reason to let it start again. She only wanted your name after all."

"You are right Deirdra. My pride is bigger than my station." She sighed and turned back to her bag and unpacked quietly.

"What did she want do you think?" her friend asked her curiously as she sat down on the bed next to hers. They came to no conclusions that night.

The orientation was different that year. Instead of the usual speeches, there was a huge ceremony, honoring Ander, and several of the higher nobles who had been gone the year before in service of the war. They also honored two young men who had been killed in the war. It was a somber and eye opening event. She hadn't realized that the boys who were gone last year had actually been fighting. She thought their parents just kept them close, where they would be safe, like the spoiled bags of puss that they were.

She had mastered slipping in and out of rooms unseen and being as small as possible, so it was easy for her to escape the celebration that evening. She went alone to the forest behind the school and walked by herself. It wasn't hard to find her place, untouched, exactly as she had left it the year before. It was her haven.

When she had found it that first year, she had feared that someone lived there. A scholar, or caretaker, someone. But no one did. It wasn't a large place, and it was old, forgotten by time itself. There had been windows once, but weather and creepers had seen to their demise. The door hung askew, and she did not disturb it as she slipped in. The roof was mostly intact, and it only leaked into the upper stories, so it was dry. As always, she felt peace wash over her. It was her safe place, her haven.

The furniture that had been in it when she had found it was old, but someone, years before her, had found this place and had simple furniture here, and even some battered pots and pans and dishes in the kitchen. She sighed happily as she walked from room to room. Later, when she had time to return to her room and sneak back out here, she would bring some of her things. Each year, she brought things with her to put in the house, to make it a more home-like haven.