"You guys were amazing!" Juliana reverently declared as they all strode back through the academy halls together, tureen left behind, Jess and Rulia sharing a final swig of wine before nonchalantly tossing the pitcher aside, chuckling at Juliana's wince.
Rulia flashed Juliana a grin, playfully rubbing her hair. "Me? I fought well. More than a match for all but the captain back there who is almost as fast as me, and those men were no slouches. Jess here, now she is something else. What, I’m not sure, but something.”
Jess laughed and smacked her friend’s arm at that, earning herself a grimace. “Don’t hit so damn hard, Jess.”
“Sorry,” apologized a chastened Jess.
Her friend shook her head ruefully. “Don’t know your own strength, do you? Come now, ladies. I do believe the dinner bell is calling and I, for one, am famished!”
Jess nodded in happy accord, though Juliana looked a bit concerned. "But, um, don't you guys want to change, first? You're still wearing your armor. Are the guards letting you keep that set, Jess? And um, not to be rude or anything, but one can tell you two had a very… vigorous training session."
Rulia shrugged. “Up north where I’m from, true warriors don’t fear a little sweat.”
Jess laughed. “Agreed! Screw their fine sensibilities. If they don’t like us as we are, they can leave. Or even better, kick me out. I swear if you two weren’t here, I’d go insane!”
Rulia nodded. “I second that. Are you with us, Juliana?”
Their shy companion smiled and nodded. “Of course! I, for one, hope Angelica’s nose falls off!”
14
Their entrance into the dining hall was met with hushed whispers and looks both derisive and coolly measuring, the volume of gossip and laughter having noticeably fallen upon their entrance. Smiling with cool confidence, Jess and Rulia headed toward their chosen table. Juliana, head bowed awkwardly under the weight of her classmates’ stares, followed but a step behind.
Waiting before their table and greeting them with a cool glare was one of the disciplinarians for their school, a notch above the table matrons Jess had so blithely ignored. Her hair was coiffed in a stiff bun, dress severe, eyes cold and joyless.
"Your actions today have been inexcusable," the proctor declared with a voice deliberately intended to carry through the dining hall entire. "Cutting classes without permission, in the company of men without a proper chaperone, wearing attire inappropriate for women of stature. You three are to report to the head disciplinarian at once!"
She took one sharp sniff, nose wrinkling as if she had encountered something truly foul. “After you lot shower and change into something resembling proper attire. Or at least as proper as you poor excuses for students can manage.”
The disciplinarian's words seemed to echo through the great chamber with the weight of doom, nervous peals of laughter tittering from several of the seated girls. It seemed to Jess that the student body entire was gleefully watching the show, like jackals savoring the butchery of a noble animal, just waiting to devour the broken carcass like the carrion filth they were, or so Jess found herself idly thinking as she took the time to lock stares with several of those hungry-eyed students, her cold gaze causing each and every one of them to shudder and drop their own, before Jess turned at last to face the proctor, even at that moment eyeing the three of them with such ill-concealed contempt.
"No," Jess said, icy gaze now locked upon the proctor's own, even as disbelieving gasps raced around the great dining hall, a look of utter outrage suddenly painted upon the lady's shrewish features.
“What did you say, child?” the proctor's voice was an outraged hiss.
"Are you hard of hearing? Is your bun too tight? I said no. No, I will not see the head disciplinarian, save at my own discretion, at my own time, and she can damn well take me just as I am, sweaty leathers and all. And you can take your shriveled shrewish ass right out of here and tell her I said that! I, for one, am famished. And I plan on eating a good hot meal before I choose to speak to anyone." Jess flashed the woman a mocking smile, hands on hips, in utter defiance of the matron's cold disdain.
The proctor gazed at Jess with such fury she was rendered speechless, the student body gazing at Jess in fascination, much the same look of awe and disbelief one would have if a lapdog decided to charge a bull. No doubt they expected a similar outcome as well.
"How dare you, you insolent whelp! I shall break you of your despicable arrogance, see if I don't!" Her hand whipped out full circle fearsome speed, perfectly set to send a resounding crack against Jess's cheek, had it not been intercepted with almost contemptuous ease, Jess’s own reflexes on the pale glimmering edge between mortal and supernatural.
Jess's crimson eyed glare caused the proctor’s knees to suddenly weaken. The woman gasped, stumbling back, though her wrist was caught in a grip like steel. “Don’t think you have the right to touch me. Ever.” Jess’s whisper cut through the murmurs of the hall like a hot knife hissing through butter. “The next time you raise your hand against me, I will break it! Are we clear?”
Authority crumbling, the proctor tripped over her own dress, so quickly did she backpedal when Jess contemptuously released her, looking utterly shocked and speechless, unable to even process what was occurring. Her gaze was one of absolute hate even as she landed on her rump, more than one girl tittering in wondrous horror at the scene. “The headmistress will hear of this, you insolent whelp!” the humiliated woman all but shrieked, and Jess smiled. Her heart was cold and fierce, and Jess realized with a bleak sort of joy that she was quite looking forward to the confrontation.
Coldly, she watched the proctor scurry away. Jess then turned to meet the eyes of all the students staring at her with looks bordering on awe. She clenched her gloved fists tightly. When she was certain that all focus was on her, she addressed the crowd of students. "My name is Jessica de Calenbry. Friend of the Guild of Adventurers, foe to demons and undead alike! I have braved the Shadowlands, rescued students in peril, damsels in torment, and helped to pull an entire demesne free from the clutches of Shadow! I have slain liches of the first order, and dueled demon princes for the hearts of maidens fair! My name is Jessica de Calenbry, Paladin of Turnsby, and savior of the Turnsby estates! My feats are legend, and no mortal is my equal with the blade!"
And the vast dining hall was utterly silent, scores upon scores of girls gazing at Jess in speechless awe, or outraged disbelief. "I will not mince words, nor will I play games of intrigue and alliance. My word, once given, is true. And I will never betray a friend, or one I've sworn an oath to. I am here for two reasons, and two reasons only. One, to prove I am no threat to our king's rule. I have no desire for politics or followers. The only power I crave is the rush of Delving, slaying my foes, and saving those in peril. And if my staying at this academy assures those who pull the true strings of power in this land that I am no threat to their rule, then so be it! I will stay. But I will stay on my terms. I will not be a part of politics or innuendo. I will not attend classes that seek only to teach such sly arts, either."
Jess took a deep breath, doing her best to catch the gazes of any and all who would dare meet her own, seeking not so much to challenge those girls who sought with grim resolve to excel in the cruel games of this institution, but rather those whose idealism and dreams had yet to be completely crushed by the bitter cynicism that saturated this place like a foul miasma. "I also seek friends and loyal companions on life's great journey. I do not seek alliances, nor do I care for politics of any sort. But if you have need of a friend, then by all means, come to me, and I will see what I can do to help you. For the second reason for my arrival was to come to your aid in a matter that should be of concern to all of you."
She paused then, the grand dining hall absent even the tinkle of glass and silverware, the student body entire hanging on to her every word. "Some students have gone missing. Is this not so? Students that half the Academy hardly remembers, I am suspecting, as if they were nothing
more than vivid fragments of a fever dream. And this scares you, does it not? As well as it should. For truly, this has the mark of a rip in the fabric between our reality and realms of darkest nightmare. If any of you has any information regarding these lost students that half of you are sure never existed but I assure you they once did, then please. Come speak to me. As a Delver this is my specialty. With enough clues, perhaps I can help."
With that, Jess sat down, grinning with satisfaction, glad to be done with asinine pretenses and silly games. She would not primp and pose for anyone, she decided. She would be herself, always. And people could accept or reject her as they saw fit.
With such contented thoughts, Jess ravenously tore into her meal of roasted pheasant and potato soup, even as Rulia laughed with delight.
“I knew there was something special about you. I knew it! Jessica de Calenbry. Jessica’s Journey. Of course! I absolutely love that tome.” Rulia gave Jess an affectionate hug and kissed her, pheasant grease and all, and Jess laughed, passionately kissing her back, utterly uncaring of the shocked looks and whispers reverberating through the hall once more.
Juliana looked confused, her finger twirling mousy brown hair in nervous uncertainty. Jess found her waif-like expression utterly fetching. "But, I thought… I thought those adventurer's tales were just stories to keep the peasants and commoners happy? I mean, they're not real, are they? The Guild just makes really vivid plays with poppy smoke and everyone enjoys the journey into the story, but it's not like it really happened, right? At least, that’s what my father always said.”
Rulia chuckled indulgently. "Of course that's what your father said, dear Juliana. Most nobles want to believe a Delver's stories are just that. Stories. Adventures being merely yarns to spice up a long winter's night with tales of excitement. But those who are heirs to true power know well the might of Delvers, the truth of the Shadowlands, and I am sure even your father has heard whispers of estates here and there slipping completely into the dark reaches of Shadow, lost in a world of twisted dreams and nightmares."
Juliana's cheeks reddened and she turned away, Rulia's voice softening as she gently touched her shy friend's chin. "Think about it, Juliana. If it were all a hoax, why would your king have allowed the Guild a position of such preeminence and power within your kingdom? Nobles are perfectly happy to poke fun at adventurers behind their closed doors at home, but do you know of any noble who has ever challenged a Delver to a duel, or openly disputed their rights and privileges? Do you know of any man who dares to speak against the Guild, outright?"
Juliana looked suddenly pale. “No one would dare it. The Guild has connections. No one says it, and their representatives are always appropriately respectful, but everyone knows that those who work with the Guild tend to prosper and those who don’t, well, they tend to fold.”
Rulia’s smile turned wicked. “Exactly.”
“But why is that?”
Rulia shook her head. "Well, think of it. If you run an association of adventurers possessing inhuman strength and speed, don't you think most lords and ladies would find it prudent not to cross them? If you read Jess's book, she and her shieldbrother once faced down a legion of monsters straight from the Abyss. If they were able to take on scores of hideous abominations and live to tell the tale, what mortal band of swordsmen could hope to overcome them in an honest fight? Would a lord's private retinue stand a flicker of a chance, if the Guild wanted that lord removed? Think about it, Juliana. There is a reason why Jess has been exiled here. And it is not for her dislike of dresses, either."
Jess grinned. “But it's true. I do rather dislike dresses.”
Juliana gasped. “So the Guild is really just a group of inhuman assassins?”
Jess blinked, momentarily flustered, catching sight of Juliana's suddenly pasty features, remembering all too well what her duties as a Squire of War really entailed, years before she had ever taken seriously the exploits of Delvers. How many covert assignments had she and her brethren been assigned, in the three years she had attended Highrock? How many black dogs had they put down before Jess had even once thought of escaping her bittersweet destiny in the guise of adventuring? Assassins indeed.
Rulia laughed gently. “No, silly. What I’m saying is that the peerage, when not busy subtly trying to lessen the awe people feel for the Guild and thus weaken their influence, is actually quite well aware of the potency of that organization, and thus very leery about crossing them directly. Because the Guild is so potent, comprised as it is of Delvers and the varied powers of Shadow their exploits have blessed them with. Because adventurers who survive their trials are, when you get right down to it, living weapons few would dare to cross without an army at their backs.”
Jess sighed. “I suppose there is some truth to that, but I’m guessing most adventurers are like me. Simply wanting to be left alone to live their lives in peace, politics be damned.”
Juliana blushed. "Should we really be having this conversation here?" She looked around at the many students eyeing them with the same rapt attention as they would actors in a play.
Jess grinned. "Why not? This school caters to the savviest noble daughters in the kingdom. Is that not so? I have no doubt that all of them were taught to disparage tales of adventurers, while at the same time having been instructed as to precisely why it is a very bad idea to cross the Guild itself." She then turned her gaze to meet those of the rapt audience of students gazing at their table. "And just like the Guild, if you leave me in peace, I am more than happy to treat you with equal civility. If you have a problem of a supernatural nature, such as with what I fear is happening at this very school, then by all means, talk to me." Her voice turned cold. "But if you seek to cross me, or my family, I will put you in the ground."
More than one gasp could be heard with the finality of those words, many of the girls hurriedly getting back to their much-neglected meals. Jess smiled coolly before addressing the hall once more. "There you have it, ladies. I make a great friend, though you will shed bitter tears if you seek to oppose me. But fear not. As I said before, I seek allies in this journey through life. Not enemies. If you ever want to chat with me, just stop by my table."
And indeed, a few girls stopped by their table, mostly just to give Jess careful, measuring looks which made Jess feel odd, but she took care to smile warmly at everyone who met her eyes. Some of the girls even flashed her smiles of their own, nodding slightly, as if in approval of something, though Jess couldn't fathom exactly what that might be.
“Why do I get the feeling half the student body thinks my declaring myself apart from all the intrigue, and stating my position with the precision of a very sharp knife was itself a bit of intrigue?” Jess asked her lover with some bemusement later that evening, the pair curled next to each other, sated and happy, kissing gently, after a nice soothing bath in the hot copper tub that had been provided them by several nervous looking servants.
Rulia gazed warmly down at her lover and Jess found herself absolutely falling in love with Rulia’s tender smile, her fingers reaching up to gently stroke her lover’s perfect, golden blond hair. “I love your hair,” Jess whispered admiringly, and Rulia laughed.
“It's just hair,” Rulia said with a playful kiss. “Your lips, however, are beyond compare.” She gently stroked Jess’s plump lips with her finger, inviting a grin from her lover who tenderly sucked Rulia’s fingers, causing her to gasp in delight. “To answer your question, dear Jess, for most of these girls, your very direct speech tonight was a masterful bit of intrigue. A show of pure force and strength. You are pitting your will against the school entire, and if the headmistress acquiesces to your declaration that you will only do what strikes your fancy, your position of strength is entrenched. If, however, you end up going back to class, wearing those dresses you so love to hate, meek and broken, you will have failed at your rather bold gambit. So most of the students are awaiting to see what will happen on the morrow, before judging one way or the other.”
> Jess sighed at that before an evil chuckle and a knowing touch made her gasp. She grinned broadly at her lover. “Seeking to distract me from the battle on the morrow, I see.”
Rulia smiled and kissed Jess with sweetest passion. “Distract you and me both. Come, lover. There is a special journey I want to take you on, and we don’t even have to leave the room.”
15
It was the knock on the door that first clued Jess in that something was wrong. A tentative, frightened knock, and sure enough, when a grumbling Rulia wearing naught but a tight cotton shift and a tired expression shuffled over to open it, the young waif on the other side frantically looking about the chamber until she spied a suddenly alert Jess.
The girl's anxious smile became a rictus. Jess's heart skipped a beat.
“What's wrong?” Jess's hands clenched into anxious fists.
The girl swallowed and backed away.
Rulia gazed at Jess a moment before turning back to the trembling girl. “There, now. Are you one of the academy servants? Just relax and tell us what's wrong, alrighty, love?”
The girl gave a nervous nod. “That is Jessica de Calenbry?”
Rulia nodded slowly.
The girl swallowed, took a deep breath, and spoke. “The head disciplinarian will see one Jessica de Calenbry in the lower chambers.” She gazed anxiously at Jess. “I'm to take you there now, my lady.”
With strangely clumsy hands, Jess dressed herself in the same cotton tunic, trousers, and doublet she had worn the day before, smelling of sweat and leather still. She turned to gaze at Rulia, measuring her words carefully. "Have you been to my quarters, Rulia? Feel free to visit while I am out, if you like."
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