Discovery

Chapter Four

     Clarissa awoke to the sound of rain hitting the windows of the women’s dormitory. The weak, grey light of a cloudy day was barely enough to illuminate the room so she rolled out of bed and lit a lamp for light. Myrna was already up and in one of the tubs so Clarissa washed and rinsed quickly, foregoing her usual morning soak in favour of avoiding conversation. Pulling her curtains closed around her bed, she pulled on the despicable clothing all students had to wear. Grabbing her hairbrush, she set herself to do battle with the thick, tangled mass of hair that puddled around her shoulders. She had given up wearing the cloak indoors a few weeks ago now but she still refused to braid her hair. Cutting it shorter was as much concession to practicality as she was willing to give into yet. The sounds of the other girls rousing drifted through the curtains as she tamed her unruly locks, tying them out of her way with a strip of leather. When she could hear that most of her room-mates had relocated to the washroom, she slipped quietly out the door and down to the dining hall.

            The dining hall was unusually busy for this early in the morning. All the red-robed Instructors were already here and most of the few trained mage-pairs in residence were too. The paired students were already starting to trickle in so Clarissa glided across the floor to choose her breakfast before all the best stuff was gone. To her surprise and delight, the cooks had set aside a table of food just for those who would be tested with the Searching today and they had outdone themselves. Delicate apple-cinnamon pastries sprinkled with coarse sugar, stacks of pancakes with berry preserves and whipped cream, bran muffins with raisins....the variety was mouth-watering! She sighed regretfully. Remembering her mother’s warning to always be mindful of her figure, she chose only a muffin and a cup of tea. Choosing the end seat at the table she shared with the rest of the unpaired students, she sipped delicately from her cup.

            The men showed up just as she was starting to eat. Jaim and Fenn rushed eagerly to the buffet table, pushing and shoving each other out of the way as they surveyed the breakfast bonanza with obvious delight.

            “Remember to leave some for the ladies,” Talloran reminded them laughingly as they were heaping their plates. Clarissa chuckled to herself over their antics. Jaim and Fenn were certainly lacking in manners and a proper upbringing, but even she had to admit, they were entertaining! They were a lot like puppies she decided: rambunctious and undisciplined but they got away with everything because they were cute.

            “Are you sure that’s all you want to eat?” Jerne asked her, eyeing her plate with concern as he set his down beside it. She jumped at seeing him unexpectedly. For such a huge man he could be remarkably inconspicuous when he wanted to be.

            “Now why would you ask me that?” she wanted to know. “Clearly, if I wanted to eat anything else I would have chosen to put it on my plate.”

            In answer he took a few pancakes off his own plate and slid them onto hers. “I asked you because I was hoping that you would reconsider your chosen breakfast,” he said, cutting up the pancakes for her. Horrified, Clarissa regarded the mess her plate had suddenly become. Jerne’s efforts had mashed the berry preserves into the pancakes and both were threatening to spill over the edge of her plate onto the clean, white tablecloth. She winced at the thought of trying to scrub the red berry juice out of the cloth during laundry duty. Not only that, but there was no way she could eat all of that food! She’d be sick for sure.

            “I don’t want to reconsider,” she protested, trying to fend him off so she could return the mess to its former owner.

            “Yes you do,” he stated confidently. “There’s a lot of nervous energy around on Searching day and it can be exhausting. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to face that on an empty stomach.”