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In fact it took six agonizing days to reach Lineaus, the way station outside the capital city. Sandrin sat on a bright bay of the same name, a sparkling port city guarded by the Lords of the Windswept Isles.
As they walked around the town, Lady Serena pointed to places they could go for what she called Ciardis's “wardrobe intervention.” "In that building there," she said while pointing out the red structure with beautiful inlaid glass on their right, "is the place with the best mud facial this side of the Ameles Forest." Ciardis glanced quickly at the shop front as they passed. "And this dress shop," said Serena, "is where we'll get some attire to make you look appropriate for an appearance before the Guild Council. We can't have you looking like a ragamuffin, now can we?"
Ciardis tugged anxiously at the heavy brown overskirt that she wore. It was true that what she was wearing was rather threadbare...and ugly. She voiced her only concern, though. "Milady, I don't have the coin for the likes of this."
"Oh heavens, dear," said Serena, "I know you don't. As your sponsor in this venture, I will provide for your lodging and attire. At least until you have been reviewed by the Companions’ Guild for potential trainee status."
Over the next several hours, Ciardis was prodded and measured.
When Serena asked, “Are your undergarments linen or silk?” Ciardis gave her a look like a deer facing the glow of a bright lantern in the dark forest. She didn’t want to answer because she wasn’t wearing any aside from the woolen pants she wore to keep her legs warm under the skirt.
Reading her expression, Serena tersely ordered five pairs from the salon owner and snippily informed Ciardis that she would be enrolled in an intense class on “personal hygiene maintenance,” whatever that was, as soon as she had settled in as a trainee.
The measurements continued while Serena sipped tea and ate biscuits contently in the corner. Occasionally, Serena would interrupt the silence with lightning fast decisions on the cut of cloth and fit of the dresses Ciardis was trying on. Eventually Serena began to confer with the salon assistant on the best fabric and dyes to compliment what she referred to as Ciardis’s “decidedly brownish” hair.
“Tell me, Ciardis,” Serena said over the shop assistant’s head, “Your skin is chafed—I assume due to your duties and the cold temperatures of a winter in the vale. But what’s your skin like in the summer?”
Relieved to hear a question that she could answer, Ciardis hurriedly said, “Quite tough, ma’am. At least, compared to those in the vale. I even got calluses when I wrung out the clothes in the river.”
Serena grimaced. That was not the answer she had been looking for.
Serena tapped her fan in irritation. “This could complicate your debut.”
Turning to the shopkeeper, she explained, “We’ll stick with the current attire, including long sleeves to mask the rough patches on her skin. I’ll send orders for more garments in the spring after we’ve started her on a strict moisturizing regimen.”
He nodded in acknowledgement from the counter where he was tallying up the cost of all the gowns Serena was purchasing. The shopkeeper’s assistant never raised her head from where she was focused at Ciardis’s waist stitching a small piece of gold cloth with a flower design to improve the overall look.
Serena continued, "And if the Council of the Companions’ Guild judge you worthy as a companion trainee, as they surely will, all your needs will be seen to before the Patron Hunt."
"Patron Hunt?" asked Ciardis, feeling a bit dazed at everything, as the sour-faced shopkeeper’s assistant held up the third swatch of dark blue up against her skin in as many seconds. The assistant looked to Serena and the shopkeeper for the decision. Ciardis had learned a few dresses back to not even bother voicing her desires in this venture. It never ended well.
Serena indicated her approval with a subtle nod. "Yes, this color made into a simple frock will do nicely." She turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Oh, she'll also need a few accessories—scarves, pins, and a cloak, as well as some light weaver's dresses for her tutorials."
"Aye, milady."
Serena turned her attention back to Ciardis. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes. In three months' time, you will be presented at the Patron Hunt, a gala that lasts for two days and three nights. At the end, you must be claimed by a Patron."
Ciardis bit her lip and nodded as if she understood, though she really didn't understand anything at all. They left with three packs of dresses wrapped in paper and a promise from the shopkeeper that the rest would make its way to the Companions’ Guild before two nights had passed.
Once they got settled in the carriage, they proceeded eastwards, toward the ocean. Soon, Ciardis could hear the squawk of water birds as they flew along the quays, their wings outspread. She wondered if she might catch a glimpse of the Imperial palace. Surely it was grand enough to be seen from atop the gates.
They rounded a bend, and there it was: a huge, sprawling palace of sparkling pink marble blocks, spires, and turrets, stretching as far as Ciardis could see. She giggled nervously as her gaze looked over the castle and then she took a moment to look at the white beach with beautiful turquoise waters that lay off to her right.
Ciardis was startled out of her exploration at the sharp poke of Serena’s finger on her shoulder. She admonished Ciardis, "Do not ever let me hear that noise coming out of your mouth again." She shuddered delicately. "Companions do not giggle."
"Yes, milady," Ciardis whispered.
Their carriage pulled up to the gates and entered a wide courtyard decorated with fountains spraying water from spouts every which way. The manicured lawn spread before her with elaborately shaped trees and green grass that would leave farmers with envy back home. As it eased to a halt, Serena said grandly, "Welcome, my dear, to the Companions’ Guild."
They stepped out into the courtyard, and Ciardis reveled in the smell of fresh salt air. "This is not an Imperial palace?" she inquired after a long moment.
Serena responded negatively. "Well, don’t dawdle," she soon called out as she began to rush into the cavernous entryway. Ciardis was almost left behind, and she hurried to grab their purchases from the top of the steerage.
"Of course I can see why you might mistake it for an Imperial palace," Serena said when Ciardis had caught up, and for a second, the girl had no idea what she meant. Then she continued, "This castle was built decades ago for Queen Margie, you see. She was the first Companion—and only Companion, thus far—to rise to Imperial Consort. The Queen bequeathed the castle and a tidy sum of money to a group of wealthy Companions after she passed to the heavens, for the training and establishment of a guild—” She broke off.
"Sarah!" squealed Serena as she stared up the stairs to a woman perched at a desk on the balcony a story above. The woman stood up abruptly and looked over the staircase railing next to her at Serena’s cry. Serena rushed up a small staircase to the imposing white desk which stood parallel to it. Sarah, the bespectacled woman with blue-streaked hair piled on top of her head, came out from behind the desk she attended to greet Serena. Ciardis took in the scene with a little smirk, thinking, Companions don't giggle...and yet they can squeal?
Serena, noticing that Ciardis was again lagging behind, motioned for her to join them. "Sarah, may I present the Companions’ Guild’s newest recruit: Ciardis Vane."
Sarah's lips curled in amusement as she took in Ciardis, who was lugging multiple packages and her belongings from Vaneis up the winding stairs. "Wayfarer stock, I see," Sarah murmured, then leaned forward to whisper into Serena's ear, "And she's just barely the newest recruit. Another recruit checked in just hours before – although Ciardis can of course take the title for now." The blue-haired woman leaned back with a smug look.
Serena's gasp was audible from where Ciardis stood on the landing. Ciardis could barely hear them and she had no idea what the gasp was about. Sarah continued with a sarcastic roll of her eyes because she hated Vana just as much as Serena did, "Our beloved Lady Vana rolled in this morning with a Chimaeran girl!"
"What!" Serena said, shocked. "Chimaeran? Impossible!" She was clearly distressed.
"It's true!" Sarah hastily explained, "She was apparently just passing by the Summer Isles and happened upon this young girl."
"She was 'just passing by' the Summer Isles?" echoed Serena. She then said something quite unladylike. "No one just ‘passes by’ the Summer Isles. The number of pirates in that region alone requires an armed escort of at least three destroyers to ward them off!" Serena paced in front of the desk. "That...that...harridan did this just to spite me! I know she did!"
Ciardis looked at her askance as Serena had basically just questioned the woman’s heritage...all for what?
"Oh, dear, hush now. You're frightening the new recruit," Sarah said soothingly.
Serena grimaced and sighed. "Well, there's nothing to be done about it now. Ciardis, meet Sarah, the Head Archivist for the Guild. She registers each and every recruit, trainee, and full Companion, along with their past and present domiciles, annual salary, and their magical and/or mundane talents. She'll fit you in to the roster." She gestured for Ciardis to step forward. "Your training begins tonight. There's much to learn."
From that moment on, Ciardis's day was a whirlwind of constant movement. Sarah took her in hand and quickly explained the bureaucracy and regulations of living in the Companions’ Guild. "First of all, you need to know that the Companions’ Guild is run by the Companions Council. The council consists of seven individuals, five female and two male, all of whom are active Companions with well-established patrons."
Male companions? I didn't know about those. I wonder if they're for women, or maybe even for men, Ciardis thought with shock.
As they walked along the hallway Ciardis took in the beautiful gardens through the colonnade. Sarah continued, "The Guild keeps detailed records of each of the companions who are bound to a patron, they are known as patron companions. These patron companions are able to provide the Companions’ Guild with political and financial support for council ventures in various ways. You never know who will come in handy. Who your patron is," she said as they walked across a wide, tiled hallway, "will determine who you are."
She took a set of keys from her belt and slipped one into the large metal lock of the left hardwood door before them. As the doors swung open, Ciardis saw a long hallway filled with door after door, presumably rooms or exits to other hallways.
"There are twenty-six rooms here," said Sarah. "Enough for each recruit on the roster. Of course, we hope all of our recruits go on to the next step in the process and become full-fledged trainees. The decision of the Companions Council will decide that though."
Ciardis nodded. "Of course."
They stopped in the middle of the hallway, at Room Five B. "This is your room," Sarah said. "The east side of the hallway is reserved for companion recruits and trainees without magic, like yourself. The A rooms, on the west, are reserved for those with magical talents."
Ciardis's eyes widened with shock, and she stuttered, "B-but Serena said there were only that wasn’t possible.”
"I'm sure she said no such thing," Sarah said flatly. "She might have implied that magical Companions succeed most often, and she's right. Patrons prefer Companions who are useful. But that's not to say that there isn’t the occasional Patron—particularly those with no gifts of their own—who prefer a Companion who can maintain the books, organize the household, or even school their children."
In her thoughts Ciardis highlighted on, “maintain the books, organize, school.”
"That’s not a companion, that’s a wife," muttered Ciardis.
"What?" Sarah asked sharply as she unlocked the door.
"Nothing," said Ciardis hastily. "Just talking to myself."
Ciardis walked into her new quarters behind Sarah, taking in the layout with wide eyes. This room was bigger than the kitchen at the inn in Vaneis! There was a four-poster bed, an armoire, a desk, a storage nook, and—at this point, she gasped aloud—an attached bathroom. Sarah followed her as she wandered around in amazement, touching objects and gazing at them with wonder.
When Ciardis looked questioningly at the five knobs of varying sizes and shapes over the tiled bathing nook, Sarah showed her which one to turn to summon the water, and explained the symbols above each knob: soap, hair lather, perfume, and cleanser.
Sarah said, "Now, this is all very nice, but you must realize that it all comes at a price. You must be accepted as a trainee, and then you must succeed in the Patron Hunt—only then can you enter contract under the Guild's name." Her eyes narrowed. "We ensure that the financial cost of housing you, feeding you, training you and clothing you is paid either way. You will either be charged a sum upon signing your contract with a patron or be required to repay the Companions’ Guild upon exit from companion training."
That sounded ominous. Ciardis nodded mutely.
Sarah sat on the bed and stared at Ciardis, who stood there meekly. "So tell me, what did you study in Vaneis? The basics? Instruments? Languages?"
Ciardis shook her head, feeling ashamed. "I only know a little arithmetic, ma'am, and how to do laundry."
Sarah rubbed her eyes in irritation with a sigh. "Oh dear. Serena's been known to be taken in by a pretty face, but even she couldn't be this idiotic. There must be something..." Shifting to reach into her pocket and then turning back to Ciardis with a metal locket in her hand, Sarah asked, "Do you know why I am the Master Archivist for the Companions’ Guild?"
Ciardis responded tentatively, "Because you're good at reading and writing?"
Sarah responded with a wry smile. "Yes. I also have a great memory and an empathic touch. The latter will be a trait that is most useful to us right now."
Ciardis bit her lip and nervously bunched a bit of her dress in her hand. "What's an empathic touch?" she finally asked.
Before answering, Sarah reached over to ease Ciardis's grip on her dress and smoothed over the wrinkled fabric. "My dear, that’s a sign of nervousness that you need to get over," Sarah said sardonically.
"Now," she continued, "Empathy is the ability to feel memories and composition. It is usually not done through physical feelings but I can assess the memories only through touch. I am not a mind healer, but rather a visualizer."
"Right," murmured Ciardis.
Sarah nodded and said, "Usually, this means I can touch a book or scroll in the library and the essence of it will imprint on me. I'll instantly know a vague sense of the contents. It's better if I read it, of course."
Sarah continued, "The Companions Council recently discovered that I am also able to read human visualizations to see what their abilities are or might be." She glanced away briefly. "We tried it with a non-human—a kialis, which is practically human anyway—but, well, that didn't go so well."
After a long, expressionless moment, Sarah went on. "Regardless, I can tell what talents, if any, a person is imbued with. It's usually an art form, such as the ability to play one or more instruments, or dance. Or sometimes it's a gift for numbers and figures. That one is always a favorite with the newly rich."
Ciardis clasped her hands in front of her chest. "You might be able to read me, then!" she said excitedly. "Perhaps I have a talent!"
"Yes," said Sarah approvingly. "Now sit down, please."