Evandria did not miss the way the girl had flinched as she casted. The fear in her eyes were undeniable. Yet, as swift as it appeared, it was replaced by excitement as Cat watched the floating fork. The Hoxian was left wondering what might have caused such a reaction from the human girl. Despite her thirst to know, she decided to let the issue pass for now. Perhaps she could ask when the time felt right.
Bad Aisling… The young woman knew of the place. A village not too far from here. She had passed by it on her way back from Cellas Isle, although admittedly she paid very little attention to anything. They had stopped there to water the horses before continuing their journey to Vienda. All she could really remember about the trip was that the carriage was painfully silent without her parents.
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. It would have never occurred to her that Cat would aspire to be a smith – quite an uncommon interest in most girls. “Good luck then. Judging from the beautiful work Master Raynarus had done with the vipoxz, I am sure you have a great mentor.”
Evandria smiled wanly at the girl’s question, putting down her spoon in the bowl. “At first. I was different from most of the other students. I look different and I speak different.” Her early years in Brunnhold had not been the best. Some days they teased her endlessly about the vipoxz she always wore. Other days they called her a savage. “Then, someone told me that I should stand up for myself and after a while I did. They stopped bothering me when they realized that I could beat all of them in a duel.”
A smile tugged at her lips as she remembered the day she first talked to Lorcan. They had already been in the same third year biology class for a season, but they never really interacted with one another. She knew who he was for he was the sort to be constantly surrounded by people, the other students naturally gravitating towards his easy smiles and friendly disposition. Meanwhile, Evandria kept mostly to herself.
When the class ended that day, as always, the Hoxian gathered her books and notes in her arms hurriedly before anyone could pay any particular attention to her. Her efforts proved to be fruitless. Just as she stood, a hand shot out towards her and knocked all her things from her hands. The class turned silent as her items cluttered onto the floor. Evandria did not even bother protesting, she simply went down and started collecting her things. He told those who bothered her off.
She could still see his face when Lorcan knelt down in front of her. Are you going to stay silent forever or are you going to stand up for yourself, he asked her in a low voice. She didn’t have the answer for him at that moment. Ever since that day, Lorcan always went out of his way to talk to her, to find a seat beside her. He helped her courage and confidence grow, until it was enough for her to finally stand tall. “I have a great friend now, so that is not the reason, no.”
A servant walked in to serve the main course, a plate in front of each of them. It was nothing particularly extravagant – roast chicken, rice, boiled vegetables. When the scent registered in her mind, her stomach growled uncomfortably. She just remembered that she had missed both breakfast and lunch. Her appetite had not been great, but having a distraction truly seemed to have helped.
“It simply feels… off, going to school. After what happened, nothing is going to be the same yet there is nothing I can do because I am still a student,” Evandria admitted quietly, stirring her bowl of soup mindlessly.