5A/N: Yay! I got my first review(s)!
Part 1, Chapter 2 (Year: 1253)
"We don't know where you're from, Aria," Edu simply stated.
"What?! How can you not know where someone is from? You keep records of everyone!" Aria was shouting at the Elders. She knew she shouldn't be, it was disrespectful, but she didn't understand how they didn't know where she came from. Her collected, controlled demeanor that she usually had was completely gone.
"Well, you weren't given to the Sisterhood in the usual sense. You were literally left on our doorstep, and we're pretty sure that the day you were abandoned was the day you were born."
"So, you don't know anything about me?"
"All we have are our guesses about your identity."
"Your guesses? What do you mean?"
"Well, look at you! You obviously have some other race in your ancestry. No Aguthsmerian's hair has been that dark since before the isolation period! And your eyes: they are almond brown. That is a trait nearly impossible to acquire, without someone from the Benlandian continent in your very recent ancestry, that is." Many of the elders were speaking; it was no longer just Edu. They were all throwing in their own opinions. Many seemed to think her mother might have been a privateer, and had met a Caiman sailor. Most seemed to think that. "If your mother was a privateer, she mightn't have wanted you — Perhaps she thought it better for you to be raised an orphan than a sailor — It would explain your feistiness and skills —"
Aria was close to tears. She really had been abandoned. She had always felt that that was the case, but now she wouldn't even be able to find out why.
Oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oO
"All right, now turn, swing, follow through with your back leg, step, and jab. You think you got all that?"
"What do you think?" Aria thought that it was really funny how her combat instructor treated her like she was… twelve. Sure, she was twelve, but she had the skill of someone at least eighteen. The instructor didn't need to coddle her!
As she repeated the sequence (flawlessly, she might add) that her instructor had shown her, she thought back to the previous day, after the Elders had dismissed her.
She left the room gracefully, her composure having returned. As soon as she was in the hall, she ran on silent feet to her bed. There, she collapsed. The plain thing offered little comfort, being neither soft nor secluded. At any moment, one of the other girls could come in and see her sobbing into her pillow. Under normal circumstances, she might care about her image here. Now, though, it didn't matter. She wasn't ever going to be able to leave as a legend like she had wanted. She wasn't ever going to leave.
Her sobs soon subsided, leaving her emotionally drained. She sat up, and wiped away the tears. She decided to devote her life to the Sisterhood. She was going to be the best they had ever seen!
She finished the sequence, sheathed the large sword she had been using, and bowed to her instructor. "Will that be all for today?"
"Yes, Aria. You may g—" She stopped short, not bothering to finish the sentence for someone who had already left.
Aria dashed through the halls. She was looking for Shaylie, but she wasn't sure where her friend might be. When she had steamed through the combat classes, they hadn't bothered telling her where her friends would be located. She wasn't even entirely sure what level Shaylie was at. It wasn't that she didn't care about her friend, she just didn't burden herself with seemingly unimportant information. She would have to start paying attention to details, now that she was specialized.
She stopped upon hearing her name. She turned around, seeing one of the lower level combat instructors leaning out of their door, beckoning to her. "Aria, I need your help with something."
She walked over to the older woman, whose name escaped her. Aria wasn't even sure if she had had this instructor. "Yes, of course, Elder."
She stepped into the room, and saw Shaylie wave at her slightly from the back.
"I'm trying to demonstrate a specific attack/block combination, but none of my students know either. Would you care to help?"
"Of course, I will assist you."
The woman didn't bother telling her what attack/block combination it was; she leapt into a sequence, which Aria instinctively blocked and dodged. She knew she must be doing it right, because the instructor smiled. "There you have it class…"
Aria tuned her out. She was about to leave, unnoticed, when the instructor reclaimed her attention. "Would you be willing to assist my class for today? After all, you are specialized in combat, aren't you?" When she nodded, the whole class gasped. Aria hadn't been able to tell anyone about her specializations from the previous day, as she had gone to bed early and skipped breakfast.
She roamed, looking her Sisters over as they practiced the technique. Shaylie stopped her as she walked past. "Combat, huh? I thought you got called down there to get in trouble."
"They wanted to 'discuss my behavior'. I told them about my desire to know where I come from. Apparently, they tell you when you get specialized, so you can leave if you want to."
"So, how'd you get here?" Shaylie was still practicing, able to easily divide her attention between her friend and her sparring partner.
"I was left at the door, shortly after birth. They don't know who I am."
Shaylie turned to face her suddenly. "What?"
"That's what I asked. But, now I don't have anything to worry about except my specializations."
Her friends dark-blue-almost-purple eyes widened. "You got more than one? What's the other one?"
"Disguise, Deception, and possibly Acquisition, later," she said, grinning at her friends shocked expression. "Have you heard of anyone getting four specializations before?"
"No. Aria, that's amazing!"
A/N: Not so much of a cliffhanger here…
If it wasn't clear already, this is a fictional world. Aguthsmere is where Aria is. The Benlandian continent lies to the east. Caima is on its eastern edge.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the review! I'll answer, if it won't give anything away!
More pronunciations:
Aguthsmere: ah-GOOTH-smeer
Benland: exactly how it looks
Caima: kah-EE-mah or KIE-mah