Her Departure

After Venna left my schedule became a lot calmer. I wasn't pressured to study for any exams and I didn't need to practice any etiquette or dancing for an upcoming ball so I was mostly free.

There were two exceptions though. Young Master Falden visited me twice.

I wouldn't normally be upset to have someone visit but at our age there's usually only a few reasons for this type of thing. And since he was a boy and visiting alone there could be no questions about the purpose.

Thankfully Corin expressed that he wasn't interested in me in that way and our conversations were just that, conversations. He stayed only long enough to not appear impolite but not so long that his visits might be construed as romantic in nature. We were also always supervised by two knights and Rebecca.

My mother wasn't happy with the situation and my father looked defeated when I asked him about it. The most I got from him was an exhausted 'You don't have to have a relationship with him if you don't want to, but his visits are out of my hands.'

I did enjoy our conversations and he wasn't unattractive. But it was his attractiveness that only served to further solidify the idea that I might not like men that way. Judging from Corin's gaze and our interactions I believe he wasn't interested in me in that way either, thankfully.

I spent the rest of the time reading and playing with Noah, who was incredibly happy to have more of my attention. As things began to get closer to the date that I'd have to leave he started to get a little sullen though.

"Noah I'll be able to visit whenever we have a break."

"How far away is that? Do I have to wait a long time?"

"It's about three months before the first break."

"How long is three months?"

 "It's ninety days so you have to go to sleep and wake up once a day ninety times."

"That's too much! I thought maybe I'd only have to wait seven days!"

"Noah, Mari can't come home every week because it's too far from here to the Academy and she'll sometimes have work to do on the weekends."

"Mom! Tell the Academy they don't have to give sister work to do cause she's smart!"

Mom looked tired of his questions at this point and she put her hands on her hips.

"It doesn't work that way Noah. Now you'll have to be nice and spend time with your sister as much as you can before she leaves because she'll be sad and miss you too."

He put his head down and came to hold my hand.

"I'm sorry sister, will you be sad when you leave?"

"I certainly will be sad that I can't spend time with you. Will you play with me as much as you can before then?"

He cheered up enough to flash me a bright smile and then, as if he was the one who was leaving, he made a triumphant declaration.

"I'll make sure that sister won't be too sad when you're gone by playing with you lots!"

He made true on that promise by coming to interrupt me every day no matter what I was doing. It got to the point where I had to ask mom to give him something to do so he wasn't constantly seeking me out. I still made plenty of time for him though.

When the time finally did come for me to leave I was dealing with a mixture of emotions. I was happy to escape from this manor where I had spent almost fifteen years of my life either neglected or abused. The memories of what happened here will probably haunt me for the rest of my life. But I had finally gained something more, something a year ago I never thought I'd find here.

I had convinced myself less than a year ago that I had no place here and the family that lived in this manor would never be my family. I believed that the one person that cared for me would follow me out and I'd never look back. I would give them prestige while they had only provided a roof and food. And that last one only begrudgingly.

Yet in just one day, as if someone had showed me that the tea I was drinking was actually nightshade, the things in my life all became foreign to me.

I love my younger brother Noah and I'm coming to acknowledge the love my mother might have for me. The person I thought would be with me forever is gone, along with the servants who scorned me. My family has expressed kindness towards me, each in their own way.

In some ways I even appreciate my father's detachment from me.

There will always be a shadow over my heart regarding this place but someday it might not loom as large.

Pulling myself from my thoughts I ask Rebecca to grab some of my things and we make our way to the front door where my family is waiting.

My father is of course the first one who speaks to me.

"Do you have everything you need Marisilea?"

"Yes father, everything is packed and I have the letter verifying my room information."

Mother came over and started smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles on my dress.

"You can always stay in our manor near the Academy if the dorms are too cramped Mari."

"Riding a carriage to the Academy and walking across the entire grounds would be too tiring to do everyday mother. The dorms are situated to make life easier and I won't apply for a special exception just to live more comfortably. Besides, I can always stay there on the weekends if I have to."

Noah then approached me and tugged on my sleeve to get me to lean down for one of his signature 'quiet' whispers.

"Do you have an extra bag you can hide me in? I want to stay with you and see the Academy more."

"You'll be able to visit with mother and father later, and you don't want to make mother cry do you? She'll miss you so much. Even though I'll be sad mother will be sadder. Plus I'm getting older and I have to learn to go to other places. When you get older you'll get to go to the Academy too."

"Really? Will I have to leave like you?"

"Yes Noah, you will. But you can come back here during breaks and when you're finished."

His cute little nose wrinkled as he took on his thinking posture.

"I'll let you have a hug then and I'll keep mom happy. Is that fair sister?"

"That's plenty fair Noah."

I bent down so he could wrap his little arms around my neck for a hug. I picked him up like that and carried him over to mother to hand him off.

"Mari, will you write to me occasionally and tell me if you need anything?"

"Of course mother."

My father thankfully called the farewells short before my mother could get too emotional. I'm still not comfortable being shown too much kindness.

"Let her get in the carriage Elaina. She has to leave now so that she can check into the dormitories."

Rebecca followed me into the carriage and Sir Verret mounted his horse outside to lead the small knight squad he'd picked out. They would be staying at the manor near the Academy and would be on standby for when I left the campus. Knights weren't permitted on campus grounds but supposedly the security was top notch so I wouldn't be needing him while I stayed in the dorms.

When everyone was situated Rebecca gave two taps on the panel leading to the carriage driver to indicate we were ready to head out.

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Taking the transportation circles to arrive meant that the carriage was in front of the dormitories in just a little more than an hour. This type of travel wasn't something that was afforded to everyone but being a Duke's daughter meant I could use it freely.

As our carriage came to a stop it garnered a lot of attention. With the crest of the House of Arkesh on the side and the extravagant gold leaf trim around the edges it was a given this would happen. I ignored the pointed stares and had Sir Verret help Rebecca with unloading my few pieces of luggage. Two of the female knights that had been recently appointed would assist in carrying the luggage into the women's dorm for obvious reasons.

I would be staying in one of the rooms set aside for high ranking nobles so Rebecca would have a room attached to mine. These rooms were also single rooms instead of the typical doubles that most of the other students shared. Even the lower ranking nobles would share rooms even if theirs were nicer than the commoner rooms.

I'm thankful that I won't have to share, especially if it would have been with a higher ranked noble. I can imagine the number of complaints the dormitory office would receive about living with a 'firstborn daughter' or how much my 'curse' would be blamed on their performance in one thing or another.

Since the dorm I'd be staying in was so large and tailored specifically to fit the fussy needs of higher nobles it would be part of a single floor building. There are three dorms for each gender. The commoner dorm, the dorm for the gentry and lower nobles, and the higher noble dorm. There were houses set aside for any attending royalty.

The building for the commoners stood at three stories and was fairly large. The dorm for the lower nobles and gentry was two stories and a bit bigger than the commoners' dorm. The higher nobles' dorm was actually not that large as there typically isn't a lot of higher nobility between the kingdoms. Lestryal only has five, two dukes and three marquisates, and not every one of them will have someone attending the Academy at the same time.

I've heard that I'm one of only four higher nobles in the Academy as of right now. I know that Young Master Falden will be one in the male dorms but I'm not sure about the others.

I'm also not sure if Venna will be in one of the houses for royalty or if she'd be in one of the higher nobles' dorm rooms. The Elven culture's avoidance of titles and the lack of many Elves attending the Academy might make things a bit confusing. Venna would probably be fine in a commoner's dorm too.

We arrived at our dorm with plenty of time until the evening assembly and Rebecca got to work unpacking. I saw the two knights who had escorted us here off and then I took a walk around the park that was outside the dorms. It was a well-manicured area with plenty of flowers and perfectly level bushes. It was pretty but it felt… artificial.

As I sat at one of the few benches that were scattered around I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

"Mind if I sit with you Mari?"

Venna had already found me.