Dormitories - Midafternoon - Overcast
Sorcha Blaiddyd
She should have known, really.
It was just sort of true that when good things happened in Sorcha's life, they could only last so long before something came crashing down to ruin it. Maybe that was being overdramatic, but she couldn't help feeling that way right now. Her lips pursed; she studied the letter in front of her like it had personally offended her somehow. It hadn't, really—Lady Cornelia was usually a very nice person to get letters from. But she'd really been just the messenger in this case, and the news wasn't good.
Bandits everywhere, an ongoing food shortage, the systematic oppression of the people of Duscur, and all her uncle could think about was having a good time with other people's money. He wasn't an awful person, not to her at least, but she was beginning to suspect he might be an awful person in general.
Almost as bad somehow was what she was going to have to do to fix it this time.
Standing from her desk, Sorcha grabbed her cloak off the hook on the wall and settled it around her shoulders. She needed to take a walk. Maybe the chill air outside would help her clear her head. Think about this rationally and remind her that it probably wouldn't be so bad. It was nothing she couldn't handle, after all.
Locking her door behind her, she headed towards the greenhouse. Looking at the flowers might help, too.
When she'd arrived, there were two people already inside. One of them was Senka, probably to care for the flowers from Duscur, however; with her was Mercer. He seemed genuinely interested as she seemed to explain them to him.
“You seem to know a lot about these flowers, Sen, even though they're from Duscur. I didn't take you for someone who knew different types like that," he spoke. She merely shrugged, however; before she said anything, her eyes landed on Sorcha, and she smiled at her. Mercer followed her gaze, and grinned. “Hey Sor! Come to learn about flowers, too?" he asked. Senka rolled her eyes slightly, but didn't say anything.
The question kind of caught Sorcha off-guard. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't quite that. “Uh... no," she admitted, probably too seriously for the lightness of the query. But her mood wasn't really letting her think of anything more lighthearted to say, so instead she shrugged. “I was kind of just going to look around... maybe check on the lilies." That part, she said with dropped eyes. But it would be kind of nice, she'd thought, to visit that little spot and think a bit.
She couldn't disguise the hint of melancholy to her tone, though she did make an effort.
Senka's eyes furrowed a bit, as did Mercer's. “Is everything alright, Sor? You look a little... down," he stated, seemingly concerned for a moment. Senka remained quiet, but nodded her head as if in agreement.
She sighed. Part of her wanted to play it off, but they'd see through her, she was sure. Besides, she didn't like the idea of lying to her friends. And she'd have to tell them at least part of it eventually.
“Not exactly," she said, shaking her head a little. Her eyes moved to Sen's flowers, resting on the orange petals of one variety. It was a pretty color. “I've been summoned back to Faerghus. Founding Day is this week, and someone has to preside over the formal ceremonies and things. My Uncle insists that I do it, apparently because it will be my duty soon."
Sorcha knew better than to believe that. Uncle Rufus might not like all the work that came with being king, but he wasn't eager to prepare her for her duties, either. Lady Cornelia thought he'd gotten rather too used to being called "Your Majesty" and might like to be king in truth, instead of just the Regent. Sorcha wasn't sure about that, but he definitely wasn't doing this to help her. More likely he wanted out of the boring responsibilities of his position, and so it fell to her to do them.
“So I'll have to leave tonight to get to Fhirdiad in time to prepare. I don't know how long I'll be away—it depends on how many things I'll have to attend to while I'm there, I guess." How many things Uncle Rufus had put off until the last minute, in other words.
Mercer blinked mildly before pursing his lips. Senka dusted her hands off on her skirt, before straightening back out. “Then I will be going with you," she simply spoke. It was like her, though, to go where Sorcha went. She'd always tried to provide comfort where she could. Mercer arched a brow in their direction, before inclining his head somewhat.
“I'm sure they'd let us, if you want us to go with you, Sor. That way, you won't have to be there alone," he added, seemingly, as his way of support for her. “Just say the word, and we'll accompany you to Faerghus," he looked genuinely serious about it.
“I—" she was about to say she couldn't ask them to do that. This was hardly an existential threat to herself or the country, after all. Probably wouldn't amount to much more than an annoyance in the long run, however bad it was sure to make her feel about herself.
But... but the worst part about it all was the thought of having to leave her friends behind, and if they were really willing to go with her... maybe it would be different this time. Maybe she'd be able to handle it better, knowing that people who really cared about her were there. And maybe if Mercer in particular was there, they wouldn't bother her so much about—well. The obvious.
“If—if we can get the permission, then I'd really appreciate it," she admitted softly, finally moving her eyes back to rest on them properly. “I don't want to get anyone in trouble with the Archbishop though, so if she says no, please don't." The last thing she'd ever want was to make things more difficult for them.
Mercer grinned rather widely at her. “That's why we ask Teach to do it. She couldn't say no to him, and she didn't last time when we all went to Derdriu, so..." he trailed off with a light shrug of his shoulders. “You know he'd say yes if you asked him. Or, you know, got Sen to do it," he added, waggling his eyebrows in Senka's direction. She merely regarded him with a flat stare, though.
“I'm sure Cyril will say yes regardless of who asks him, Mercer. Although I'm not so sure if you asked him. He'd probably say no," Senka responded, causing Mercer to snort softly and roll his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, if you say so. Anyway, we should probably go find out. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? Oh, we should see if Vridel and Thea want to go. Thea's never really had much experience outside of the church and our missions. I'm sure she'd like to see Faerghus for a new experience. And Vi, being your, you know..." he gestured vaguely, but Sorcha knew what he was referring to. Vridel was her step-brother, but he didn't seem to want to say it just in case Senka didn't know.
“Stepbrother, yes," she confirmed. There wasn't a lot about Sorcha's life that Senka didn't already know, but she appreciated Mercer's discretion nonetheless. “I suppose it might not be all bad," she continued, turning towards the greenhouse entrance with them. “Founding Day celebrations are quite... festive, in Faerghus. There's a parade, of course, and it's probably the one day a year everyone really feasts, as such."
It was an austere sort of place, and even this year the feast was likely to be less than those she remembered from her childhood, but still for Faerghus it would be all-out. There weren't really many other food-based celebrations, as the founding day roughly coincided with more local harvest festivals and people tended to pool the resources into one big meal rather than a few smaller ones.
“Oh, sounds like it'll be fun, then! Of course, that's assuming we can go. Any chance to try new food, and I'll be there in a heartbeat. Even if I have to sneak out of the academy to follow you," he spoke, grinning at Sorcha. Senka huffed lightly, and shook her head.
“Let us go find the others, first, and then we'll see whether or not we will have to do that, Merc," Senka replied, causing Mercer to nod his head.
“Sounds like a plan. I think Vi and Thea are both in the library. Something about learning more about the white magic and stuff like that. Teach might be with them since he's basically learning everything. He just absorbs everything; it's a little unnerving sometimes, but I suppose that's just Teach for you," Mercer spoke, walking towards the door of the greenhouse. He glanced back over his shoulder, and blinked.
“Well? C'mon! We only have a few hours before we have to pack and leave, right? Let's go find out!" he spoke, motioning for them to follow him. Senka glanced at Sorcha, shrugged lightly, and made her way towards Mercer.
Sorcha found, unexpectedly, that a smile bloomed across her face. It was the last thing she'd expected to find there after the letter from Lady Cornelia, but...
But there it was, all the same.
“Yeah," she said softly. “Yeah, let's."
It was just sort of true that when good things happened in Sorcha's life, they could only last so long before something came crashing down to ruin it. Maybe that was being overdramatic, but she couldn't help feeling that way right now. Her lips pursed; she studied the letter in front of her like it had personally offended her somehow. It hadn't, really—Lady Cornelia was usually a very nice person to get letters from. But she'd really been just the messenger in this case, and the news wasn't good.
Bandits everywhere, an ongoing food shortage, the systematic oppression of the people of Duscur, and all her uncle could think about was having a good time with other people's money. He wasn't an awful person, not to her at least, but she was beginning to suspect he might be an awful person in general.
Almost as bad somehow was what she was going to have to do to fix it this time.
Standing from her desk, Sorcha grabbed her cloak off the hook on the wall and settled it around her shoulders. She needed to take a walk. Maybe the chill air outside would help her clear her head. Think about this rationally and remind her that it probably wouldn't be so bad. It was nothing she couldn't handle, after all.
Locking her door behind her, she headed towards the greenhouse. Looking at the flowers might help, too.
When she'd arrived, there were two people already inside. One of them was Senka, probably to care for the flowers from Duscur, however; with her was Mercer. He seemed genuinely interested as she seemed to explain them to him.
“You seem to know a lot about these flowers, Sen, even though they're from Duscur. I didn't take you for someone who knew different types like that," he spoke. She merely shrugged, however; before she said anything, her eyes landed on Sorcha, and she smiled at her. Mercer followed her gaze, and grinned. “Hey Sor! Come to learn about flowers, too?" he asked. Senka rolled her eyes slightly, but didn't say anything.
The question kind of caught Sorcha off-guard. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't quite that. “Uh... no," she admitted, probably too seriously for the lightness of the query. But her mood wasn't really letting her think of anything more lighthearted to say, so instead she shrugged. “I was kind of just going to look around... maybe check on the lilies." That part, she said with dropped eyes. But it would be kind of nice, she'd thought, to visit that little spot and think a bit.
She couldn't disguise the hint of melancholy to her tone, though she did make an effort.
Senka's eyes furrowed a bit, as did Mercer's. “Is everything alright, Sor? You look a little... down," he stated, seemingly concerned for a moment. Senka remained quiet, but nodded her head as if in agreement.
She sighed. Part of her wanted to play it off, but they'd see through her, she was sure. Besides, she didn't like the idea of lying to her friends. And she'd have to tell them at least part of it eventually.
“Not exactly," she said, shaking her head a little. Her eyes moved to Sen's flowers, resting on the orange petals of one variety. It was a pretty color. “I've been summoned back to Faerghus. Founding Day is this week, and someone has to preside over the formal ceremonies and things. My Uncle insists that I do it, apparently because it will be my duty soon."
Sorcha knew better than to believe that. Uncle Rufus might not like all the work that came with being king, but he wasn't eager to prepare her for her duties, either. Lady Cornelia thought he'd gotten rather too used to being called "Your Majesty" and might like to be king in truth, instead of just the Regent. Sorcha wasn't sure about that, but he definitely wasn't doing this to help her. More likely he wanted out of the boring responsibilities of his position, and so it fell to her to do them.
“So I'll have to leave tonight to get to Fhirdiad in time to prepare. I don't know how long I'll be away—it depends on how many things I'll have to attend to while I'm there, I guess." How many things Uncle Rufus had put off until the last minute, in other words.
Mercer blinked mildly before pursing his lips. Senka dusted her hands off on her skirt, before straightening back out. “Then I will be going with you," she simply spoke. It was like her, though, to go where Sorcha went. She'd always tried to provide comfort where she could. Mercer arched a brow in their direction, before inclining his head somewhat.
“I'm sure they'd let us, if you want us to go with you, Sor. That way, you won't have to be there alone," he added, seemingly, as his way of support for her. “Just say the word, and we'll accompany you to Faerghus," he looked genuinely serious about it.
“I—" she was about to say she couldn't ask them to do that. This was hardly an existential threat to herself or the country, after all. Probably wouldn't amount to much more than an annoyance in the long run, however bad it was sure to make her feel about herself.
But... but the worst part about it all was the thought of having to leave her friends behind, and if they were really willing to go with her... maybe it would be different this time. Maybe she'd be able to handle it better, knowing that people who really cared about her were there. And maybe if Mercer in particular was there, they wouldn't bother her so much about—well. The obvious.
“If—if we can get the permission, then I'd really appreciate it," she admitted softly, finally moving her eyes back to rest on them properly. “I don't want to get anyone in trouble with the Archbishop though, so if she says no, please don't." The last thing she'd ever want was to make things more difficult for them.
Mercer grinned rather widely at her. “That's why we ask Teach to do it. She couldn't say no to him, and she didn't last time when we all went to Derdriu, so..." he trailed off with a light shrug of his shoulders. “You know he'd say yes if you asked him. Or, you know, got Sen to do it," he added, waggling his eyebrows in Senka's direction. She merely regarded him with a flat stare, though.
“I'm sure Cyril will say yes regardless of who asks him, Mercer. Although I'm not so sure if you asked him. He'd probably say no," Senka responded, causing Mercer to snort softly and roll his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, if you say so. Anyway, we should probably go find out. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? Oh, we should see if Vridel and Thea want to go. Thea's never really had much experience outside of the church and our missions. I'm sure she'd like to see Faerghus for a new experience. And Vi, being your, you know..." he gestured vaguely, but Sorcha knew what he was referring to. Vridel was her step-brother, but he didn't seem to want to say it just in case Senka didn't know.
“Stepbrother, yes," she confirmed. There wasn't a lot about Sorcha's life that Senka didn't already know, but she appreciated Mercer's discretion nonetheless. “I suppose it might not be all bad," she continued, turning towards the greenhouse entrance with them. “Founding Day celebrations are quite... festive, in Faerghus. There's a parade, of course, and it's probably the one day a year everyone really feasts, as such."
It was an austere sort of place, and even this year the feast was likely to be less than those she remembered from her childhood, but still for Faerghus it would be all-out. There weren't really many other food-based celebrations, as the founding day roughly coincided with more local harvest festivals and people tended to pool the resources into one big meal rather than a few smaller ones.
“Oh, sounds like it'll be fun, then! Of course, that's assuming we can go. Any chance to try new food, and I'll be there in a heartbeat. Even if I have to sneak out of the academy to follow you," he spoke, grinning at Sorcha. Senka huffed lightly, and shook her head.
“Let us go find the others, first, and then we'll see whether or not we will have to do that, Merc," Senka replied, causing Mercer to nod his head.
“Sounds like a plan. I think Vi and Thea are both in the library. Something about learning more about the white magic and stuff like that. Teach might be with them since he's basically learning everything. He just absorbs everything; it's a little unnerving sometimes, but I suppose that's just Teach for you," Mercer spoke, walking towards the door of the greenhouse. He glanced back over his shoulder, and blinked.
“Well? C'mon! We only have a few hours before we have to pack and leave, right? Let's go find out!" he spoke, motioning for them to follow him. Senka glanced at Sorcha, shrugged lightly, and made her way towards Mercer.
Sorcha found, unexpectedly, that a smile bloomed across her face. It was the last thing she'd expected to find there after the letter from Lady Cornelia, but...
But there it was, all the same.
“Yeah," she said softly. “Yeah, let's."