Mary's Tale: Into Zure, #2

Chapter 1

Mary opened her eyes.  She could see the wooden ceiling of the two-story house belonging to her father, who was a chamberlain.  The wood, even the ceiling, was polished with some kind of lacquer.  Her bed a warm and soft and purchased only two years ago by her father.  The bed had a covering of some fur from an animal that she didn't know and stuffed with some kind of filling that she didn't know.  It had a wooden frame and was a proper bed.

She stirred some more but knew that she needed to wake up soon for her classes to begin.  Her father recently started her enrolled in a school of sorts with the other well to do but not noble families of the area.  The maid of the house was too busy sweeping the floors to pay her much mind.

She looked around the room without getting out of bed.  There was a nightstand next to the bed, which featured a doll that she enjoyed playing with her friend.  The doll was something hand made by someone else during her infancy when her family didn't have the wealth they did today.  The doll was made out of painted burlap over wool and sewn in a way to give the doll the form of a person.  Still, it was kind of a shoddy representation of a person though it was close enough that Mary still cherished it.

Around the room there was also even a mirror recently purchased though only about a foot in diameter suspended by a wooden frame that propped the mirror up to eye level.  The wood was painted a shiny yellow that you could tell was supposed to look like gold but really wasn't.  There was a dresser nearby that mirror with her brushes on top and clothes inside of it.  Mary sighed when she looked at the dresser as she knew she would have to get out of bed soon to change for school.

Perhaps most important to Mary right now aside from the bed was the two windows of her room.  She didn't know what the street looked like right now but could generally get a good view from her position on the second floor of the house.  Beams of light shown through the window and into her eyes, which is what waked her up.  It was almost like the sun didn't want her to be late for school.  Begrudgingly the soft influence of the light from the window roused her from her slumber and forced her out of bed.

Slowly she got out of bed.  She was still extremely young, so any markings of old age like creaking bones and popping joints were absent on her.  She moved to her dresser and pulled out what was a dress.  It was slightly bent in weird shapes and was wrinkled from staying hidden away in her dresser.  She got changed out of her clothes that she slept in to change to the clothes that she would go to class in. 

The dress was a simple plain dress.  It was nearly tan over the lower portion, but the portion that was around the torso was white.  It wasn't Mary's favorite dress, but she couldn't wear her favorite blue dress anymore because she outgrew it, and it also endured so much wear and tear.  Her favorite dress was still in the corner of the room as something of a keepsake but was filled with too many holes to wear without embarrassment as her mother had said.

The dress was still a little bit loose on her.  Her parents said that they had it made big so that she would grow into it.  The dress was a little bit poofy in the front chest area, perhaps for the development of her body that would take place on a later date.  Still, she looked at herself in the mirror.  The dress seemed like it would stay on her body.  Her hair was slightly long coming down a little bit past her shoulders.  It was blond, like her eyes.  Strange eyes that no one else outside of her family seemed to have.  Her skin was a creamy white, perhaps because she didn't go out into the sun that much.  She didn't experience much in the way of disease, and so her skin was nearly flawless, but then again, she was only 7 years old.  She was only 3'8" and somewhat small for someone her age.

Still, this was the first day of school, and she didn't know what to expect.  A feeling of uneasiness filled her stomach.  She knew that her friend would be there, and her friend had been going to this school for the past year so she would show her the ropes.  There aren't that many kids that are supposed to be there.  Haley said that there were only about 12 other kids that she would be in the class with that comprised the school.  Still, she was anxious because, to her, that was too many people.

Mary walked down the stairs and past the maid on the second floor of the house.  On the ground floor of the house, her mother had woken up and was preparing lunch for her and her daughter.  Her father was nowhere to be seen as he was working in the town nearby.  Her mom says that he wanted to live in a different town that he worked.  Her mother greeted her daughter with a smile as she heard the creaking of the floorboard when she went down the stairs. 

Good morning, did you dwell too long in the realm of Sassri, my child?  Sassri is the goddess of love but also pleasant dreams in this case.  Sessri, her twin, is the goddess of hatred and bad dreams.

Mary's mother, Alice, was probably where she got her strange hair and eyes from.  Even though they didn't really, it would seem like they glowed given a little bit of light.  The light of the sun seemed to reflect off of their hair and eyes in a strange fashion that made it seem like they were almost glowing slightly.  Mary's mother Alice was probably around 32 at this time.  She still was regarded by the locals as extremely beautiful.  Although there were some superstitious lot that didn't like her hair and eyes.  They said blond hair and blond eyes, but they really were a light golden color.  Her skin, unlike her daughter, had a series of blemishes and imperfections.

I had a dream, but I forgot what it was,  Mary replied to her mother.  Who came in close and gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head on her hair.  She couldn't feel the kiss but could hear it.

That is because Sassri knows that us mortals will spend all of our time dreaming if we could remember our dreams.  I only know that my dreams are of you, and they are wonderful even if I cannot remember them.  Her mother knelt down and looked Mary in the eyes.  Are you ready to go to school?  A warm smile came across her mother's face.  I was only in the midst of preparing lunch, so I will walk with you to school and bring it to you when you have lunch, my treasure.

Thank you, mom.  Mary hopped and stuck her hand in the air so that her mom could hold it to guide her where they needed to go.

Mary looked all about the city of Samdri as she walked, holding her mother's hand on the path to school.  There were people walking the streets of Samdri.  It was early in the morning, but still, people needed to work.  The roads were bustling, and you could hear the occasional conversation of people at vendors or just having personal conversations.  One such man was talking with his friend about how the price of grain has risen recently, and it meant that he had a little less to eat.  She didn't overhear the whole conversation as she was walking with her mom.

They crossed a few streets to get to their destination and had to wait for a lull in street traffic to pass by.  Sometimes the locals were friendly enough that they stopped their carriage to let them pass early and bid them ado with a grand flourish of the hand.  It took Mary and her mother Alice about 20 minutes to get to their school.

The school was actually a warehouse that was owned by one of the local merchants who had their son going to the school.  He donated it so that the students could get an education.  Normally a formal education is quite costly, and only nobles afford it with the exception of the oral lessons given to priests.  However, the local upper middle class of the city decided that they could afford someone qualified to teach their children if they all pitched in for the money.  This was actually a practice that was seeing more and more of an occurrence of happening because of the emerging middle class in Mestria.  It cost a little bit extra to do this as the teacher thought that he would be in less demand after he taught commoners.

The additional cost, however, was picked up by Mary's dad Kemtin.  He was technically a noble, but since he was recently one and also because of the stigma associated with tax collecting, he was considered a wealthy noble by the other nobles.  It didn't matter to Kemtin as he loved that the money afforded his daughter Mary new opportunities.  She would be schooled and taught the basics of classical literature, mathematics, and the sciences.  Then if she liked getting an education, he would see to it that she would receive further education.  Still, this method of chipping in was good as he thought it would allow Mary to meet more children and become acquainted with dealing with people.

Inside the warehouse, it wasn't as impressive.  The warehouse was still filled with the assortments of grains and spices that the merchant father traded.  It was still in use as he probably wasn't rich enough to have an abundance of warehouses.  Still, there was a wide-open area where there sat a collection of tables and chairs for the students.  There was even still a warehouse worker currently moving goods around when Mary and her mother walked in.

Mary was actually a little bit early as she woke up near the crack of dawn.  Still, she could barely make out the kids that have already arrived when she saw someone waving frantically at her.  It was Haley.  Mary was overcome with a new sense of excitement and let go of her mother's hand as she ran to greet her friend.

She heard her mom yell to her, Alright, have fun, Mary.  I will be back with lunch later.  I love you.

Mary quickly turned around to face her mother.  She made a quick waving motion and ran to her friend Haley.  She didn't see her mom leave, but all of the apprehension of a new day of school left her when she saw her friend.

Hey, Mary.  Come sit next to me.  Haley grabbed Mary by the hand and led her to the seat next to where she was sitting.  It seemed to be empty, so Mary sat next to her friend.  Let me tell you about the book that is being read to us.  It is about some man named Darin.  He was a hero about 5,000 years ago.  I think.  I forgot what the teacher said.

Are the classes easy?  Do we have to remember everything the teacher says?  Mary asked Haley when there was something of a lull in the conversation.  Mary didn't like to interrupt people, but sometimes you would have to wait a minute or two for them to stop talking.  Then occasionally you get people who talk for 30 minutes straight, and she usually lost interest in the conversation at that point.

Huh.  Oh no, it is really easy.  Every ten days, the teacher separates us and asks us questions by ourselves to see if anyone doesn't understand what he was saying or remembers what he said.  Haley thought for a second putting her finger on her chin and looking up as if to see something that wasn't there.  Oh, math is hard, though.  I still don't get the numbers.  You said that your father tried to teach you though, so maybe you already have an idea on what to do, Mary.  For science, the teacher is telling us about various plants and how to recognize them.  Oh, but I still haven't told you about Darin.  Haley's eyes seemed brighter when she was talking about this Darin person.  Mary decided to listen intently as it seemed important to her friend, and she was curious.

You see, Darin lived about 4,000 years ago or something.  That isn't important.  What is important is that Darin fought the gods.  Darin used to rule some ancient kingdom before Mestria.  It was full of people that didn't like each other.  So the people were always fighting because they thought that they were accepted by the gods, and apparently, they worshiped different gods than are worshiped now.  The gods we worship now trusted Darin, and so they gave him powers.  With those powers, Darin fought each of the different kingdoms with his troops.  Haley paused, looking at Mary, waiting for a response.

So what did he do with his gifts that the gods gave him?  Did he win?  What did he manage to do after he fought them?  Mary asked Haley with something of a partial interest.

Oh, Darin was successful.  He united all of the lands that he knew back then under the rule of his kingdom.  He rose from being a common soldier to being the leader of the nation that he lived under.  Everything was that kingdom.  Since the gods helped him, he made sure that everybody worshiped those gods.  However, when he died, the kingdom split into pieces.  They are now the kingdoms that we know now.  However, according to the teacher, there are even more kingdoms than we know of.  Haley again stared into Mary's eyes with excitement, seemingly waiting for a response.

That is really awesome, Haley,  Mary said to Haley though she suspected that Haley didn't include all of the information of the tale.  I thought of a new poem.  Do you want to hear it?!

Of course, Mary, I'm all ears.  Haley looked upon her friend with genuine interest.

The days are long and filled with idleness

I remember little from the days before

But each day I just want more

These hands speak little of physical toil

I am not one that works soil

I spend my days singing chords

I dream of performance within the court

I know I am a child

But the dreams I carry are wild

Mary looked at Haley.  That is all that I have, but I barely know how to write it.  What do you think.

Haley just gave Mary a look like she enjoyed it.  She