There Has Got to be a Smarter Way to Defy a Parent ((Signing Up!))

[Raeyn]

 

Pushing her hair back over her shoulder, Lydia stared at the building before her.  "The Fortress of the Light," she whispered to herself, somewhat unaware of the flood of humanity jostling her as she stood outside the gates.  When someone started shouting for her to get out of the way, she very willingly jumped back - she was not in the mood to get mowed down by a returning patrol!

 

Her eyes drifted back to the structure again.  Why is it that on the day she finally decided to find out if she could become a Child like her father, something she had wanted all her 18 years... was she standing outside the gate gawking like some foreigner?  Taking a deep breath, she willed her legs forward, and beyond the outer gate.

 

Crossing to what looked like the main entryway, Lydia took stock of herself.  She wasn't that much to look at - long dark hair and normal dark eyes.  Calloused hands from a life of beating other peoples' clothing clean attempted to smooth large wrinkles out of her ill-fitted dress... how she hated having to wear dresses.  Her mother had always ignored her desire to follow in her father's footsteps and had <i>tried</i> to make a lady out of her.  Besides, she couldn't see any man wanting a plain thing like her, soldier to-be or not...

 

Shaking her head, she entered the building proper.  Her footsteps echoed through the cavernous entrance chamber before she stopped moving to openly stare.  Why, this fit into those stories her mother told her of kings and queens as she was a child; was this the world she was entering?!

 

"Hey now, what are you looking at?" a man stopped in front of her and inquired.  Blushing slightly, Lydia managed to stammer out a reply, "G-g-ood Day, sir.  I w-w-was... that is to say... where do I sign up to become a Child of the Light?"  The man laughed slightly, eying her with mild incredulity.  She lowered her head slightly, before raising it back up to meet him in the eye.  Curiosity dawned in his face, but he politely explained that she would have to meet up with the Head Clerk, and gave directions to his office.

 

"Thank you, sir," she responded politely before starting in the direction he had indicated.  Yes, she could understand his response.  She didn't look like soldier material on the outside, but on the inside... who knew?

 

It wasn't long before she found herself before some door with scribbles on it.  She didn't know how to read, so as she knocked, she prayed fervently that she hadn't come to the wrong place.

 

[Nynaeve]

Roudal coughed. Then coughed again. And again, ignoring his assistants' glares. Well, now you know how I feel with all your constant yammering and buzzing, halfwits. Told you I'd have the last laug... Roudal went into a coughing spree again, sipping on some tea to try and ease his sore throat. The memory of last night echoed in his head. His wife, insisting he goes see the healer and him refusing and being sent to sleep elsewhere for disturbing her sleep. Terrible woman. No sense of compassion or caring.

 

Roudal grumbled. First a wife, then kids, then incompetent assistants and now this? The bitterness quickly surfaced and it was obviously showing because the office suddenly fell even quieter. Good. At least he could have his quiet. One good thing in an otherwise terrible day. Roudal didn't have to be in the office, but he found putting up with his assistants was easier than putting up with his wife's judgmental stare. Oh, no. He needed his safety distance. And something to keep him distracted. So, he flipped through a pile of papers, organizing the disarray while sniffing and blowing his nose occasionally. His nose was red by then, no doubt. Which made him look utterly ridiculous. I swear if I catch one of them even smiling...

 

A knock sounded on the door, cutting off Roudal's line of thought. Some of the clerks turned their heads, some continued with their business, but none seemed to be moving towards the door. Roudal banged his fist on yet another new desk, leaving a nice new dent. "One of you better open that before I get in an arm's reach of any of you." A few clerks jerked up but one of them quickly made it to the door and opened it.

 

A young girl stepped into the office hesitantly and got sent in Roudal's direction. He sipped his tea, feeling a bit silly to be drinking from such a petite cup. He could literally wrap his hand around the entirety of the cup, and could most likely crush it with a minor application of pressure. He definitely needed a new set of manly tea cups.

 

Narrowing his eyes, Roudal eyed the girl, who now stood in front of his desk, seemingly trying to make up her mind on how to address him. Eyes suddenly widening, he cursed. "You better not be the healer's assistant, sent by my wife's request. If you are, you better leave, missy. I feel fine!" Roudal tried to restrain himself from coughing, turning all red (which matched his nose).

 

 

 

Roudal

Head Clerk

 

[Raeyn]

 

"Healer?" Lydia exclaimed, "N-nn-no, sir, I'm not a healer..."

 

She trailed off, blushing.  This was the man that the other people in the office seemed to indicate was the person she needed to talk to, but she had thought the smirking was because she was a frail girl.  And while she might not be the brightest, it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were smirking at the misfortune of anyone that had to deal with this man personally.

 

"Well then, what do you want?!" this man, this Roudal barked at her, "Make it quick, can't you see I'm trying to have a cup of tea?"  He glowered at her, and she felt yet another blush creeping up her face.

 

Taking a breath, she took a step closer to his desk, "My name is Lydia Gerig sir, and I want to be a Child of the Light, like my father before me.  He told me about the joy of serving a higher purpose and defending that what is good in the world, and I have always wanted to take after him.  And now that I'm a woman grown, I intend to do just that... if you'll have me, that is."

 

Lydia bowed her head, and hoped that she hadn't been overly bold.  She had no idea what she would do with herself if they wouldn't take her, but she knew one thing - she was done with being a washerwoman like her mother.  One way or another, she would make something of herself in this world.

[Nynaeve]

"My name is Lydia Gerig sir, and I want to be a Child of the Light, like my father before me.  He told me about the joy of serving a higher purpose and defending that what is good in the world, and I have always wanted to take after him.  And now that I'm a woman grown, I intend to do just that... if you'll have me, that is."

 

Roudal took out his flowery handkerchief and blew his nose. Then he peered to the sides, and quickly slipped the handkerchief back into his sleeve. He coughed, covering his mouth with his fist, and then finally looked up at the girl. "Well, why didn't you say so earlier, silly girl! You come in here looking all heal...y and then you get surprised when I mistook you for a healer?".

 

Roudal opened up the sign up book and flipped through the pages for a long while, until he managed to focus enough and find the right page. "Give me your full name, age and place of origin, girly."

 

 

 

Roudal

Head Clerk

[Raeyn]

 

Blushing slightly, Lydia took another step closer to the desk, <i>"Why under the Light would he think I'm a healer?  Was that.. was that a test?"</i>  She shuddered momentarily before speaking again, "My full name is Lydia Gerig, as said sir.  I was born and raised right here in Amador - my mother is a washerwoman for some of the officers here in the Fortress, sir."

 

Biting her lip, she wondered if she was being too forceful in tone, but she was serious about her desire to serve.  She <b>thought</b> he wasn't toying with her, but this might as well have been a different country on this side of the Fortress walls.

[Nynaeve]

Roudal scribbled down the information, his vision growing increasingly blurry from his eyes tearing up. His face felt hot. And big. A big hot head, was what he was. The funny thing was that most people would agree to that statement even when he was as healthy as a bull. Were bulls the symbol of good health?, Roudal wondered. No. Sure, they are massive animals, but being big doesn't mean being healthy. Roudal knew that for a fact, being a big man most of his life (and the rest of it being a big child).

 

Roudal hated being sick because it involved both being sick and continuously denying that there was anything wrong with him. He was running out of excuses too. Allergies, that's all. Yes. It's the season. Oh, something just got in my eye. A leprechaun stole my voice, yep. Very sad. Oh, I'm just trying the rugged voice deal. Sweeps the ladies off their feet. He wasn't quite sure why he did that. It was sort of a reflex. In his opinion, vulnerability was never something you should let others see. If only because it could be risky, but additionally, Roudal couldn't stand sympathy. He was fine dealing with it on his own, taking comfort in cursing his wife all along.

 

Sniffling, Roudal looked at Lydia and... smiled. He wasn't sure exactly why he was smiling but there was no going back from that. "Well, welcome to the Children of the Light, recruit Lydia. Your next stop is the Quartermaster, Emanuella. She will assign you a room, give you some advices and will answer any questions you might have. Go on, you'll find her in her study. Ask for directions from one of my assistants. Chop chop!".

 

 

 

Roudal

Sniffly

 

 

[Nynaeve]

bump