Falik sat down in the pages side of the dining room. He inspected his plate and pulled a face. They couldn't eat until Lord Genlith came in and frankly Falik was glad of the delay, he wasn't sure he had the stomach to eat something that possibly could still run around if it had the will.

He was one of the first here and none of his friends had arrived yet, he looked around to see if anyone was going to join him.

Seeing as her brother (who was also her sponsor) had to serve Evvard of Genlith the training master at his table Alexandria looked for a place to sit after gathering her tray. Seeing a spot open next to another page she recognized she went over to him and took a seat.

She looked at him with a smile :D and said “I wonder if we should run and get a healer before this poor suffering animal dies.”

((Sorry so short))

Falik turned and grinned at the young page who sat down next to him. Perhaps we should just deliver a mercy stroke with our knives and have done with it." Thinking, he added, "or we could just stay on the safe side and eat the vegetables. It's a pity what little Gift I have is useless for making this any less disgusting."

He looked the young girl over, he'd seen the page when she'd arrived and around the classrooms but he didn't know her well.

"I'm very sorry, I've forgotten your name. I'm Falik. You're Alexander of Rosewood's sister, correct?"

“Yes I am, my name is Alexandria” Alexandria replied proudly. “I did not catch your name?” Then starring down at her food she sighed. She had not eaten all day due to the butterfly’s that had decided to inhabit her stomach. She finally decided that maybe if she mashed all her food together, held her breath, and hoped really hard that it would be somewhat filling. She then told Falik her plan asking him what he thought about it.

"Falik Al Basiri, if you want my full name," Falik stated, "and frankly, your plan can't make the food any worse." He smiled at Alexandria. She looked nervous. "How are you finding the palace so far? No trouble I hope? It seems huge and scary now and....well it is...but you get used to the huge scariness."

"mostly" he added under his breath thinking of the trouble he'd gotten in to in fencing, as per usual.

“It’s great. I get a little lost when I am own my own but other than that I am just excited about the whole thing, the finally being here. It feels like it will go by so fast which I am glad for but it also kind of makes me feel sad. I can’t wait to get my shield but I really like it here.”

Taking a breath after saying all that at once Alexandria started to feel a little sheepish for acting so open, but then that was her nature opened and friendly.

"So is the food this bad all year round? Or will it get better, or at least more bearable?"

Falik nearly laughed outright at Alexandria's stream of words that tumbled out. This small girl was forthright if nothing else, it would serve her well through the tough times at court, if it didn't get her in to trouble.

"Well some days it's even worse, today must be a special occasion!" He replied. "In all seriousness, it's usually better than this and most days you're to tired and hungry to care much what you're eating."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to become a page?"

“Many reasons,” She said thoughtfully. “mostly because I want to be able to help people who need it. I have never really fit in with the hold your tongue, sit up properly, dress fancy kind of crowd. I was always ruff housing with the boys, and saying what was on my mind which gave my parents a headache and a half.”

“Another reason, or at least when I was little it was a reason, I use to want to be just like my older brother. Now I just look up to him, I like being my own person.”

Then after pausing for a moment to think she asked “What about you, why did you become a page? What do you want to do when you become a knight?”

Falik looked down thoughtfully, his long eyelashes shading his eyes.

"Well," he said ," I was offered a place here because my father is a senior Bazhir official. We have no title or lands but he is high ranking amongst the tribes. I suppose I wanted to prove myself and my people, there's not enough Bazhir knights. As for after I get my shield, if I get my shield, well I don't know. I would like to return to Persopolis I suppose."

He shrugged, at the moment he was getting through day by day, he found it hard to think of the future.

Alexandria smirked at him and said “You are kind of like Alanna the Lioness in the since of proving yourself and your people. I have no doubt that you will get your shield. I do have one other question though, how do you fell about female knights. I am just curious because I know that not all Bazhir accept them.” Then in realizing what she said she looked down at her plate and said “ Sorry if I am being to frank” She then raised her head “ I have a knack of asking questions in the worst possible manner, I am sorry if I insulted you.”

Falik flapped his hand at Alexandria dismissively.

"Believe me, if my mother so much as suspected I held a bad view of women she'd slap me in to next week! My tribe is one of the more progressive ones and since the Woman Who Rides....I mean the Lioness came to the tribes, things have been changing slowly but surely. Not always for the worse either."

He sighed.

"I just wish more people would accept the Bazhir, it's been a long battle to get this far and we still have a long road to go down, but it's better than it was. I suppose it's like that for female pages, squires and knights too though."

" Yes it is. I have had to come to terms with the fact that no matter how many times I prove myself as capable as a male their will always be people who will dismiss me and think me nothing more than a silly female who needs to learn a lesson in the ways of being a proper noble lady.” And as Alexandria said proper noble lady she made quotation marks with both of her hand’s using her two first fingers and flexing them up and down.

She sighed heavily.

“I wish, oh I don’t know…….. I just wish people weren’t stuck in the past.”

“I wish people could except and embrace everyone’s difference’s. Life would be so much simpler that way.”

OOC: Sorry I forgot to sign out of Iskra.....again!!!!!



Falik smiled at the girl. "So mote it be!" he said and raised his drink to Alexandria.

"Here's to those of us different enough to know that beauty, strength an honour lies in us all, reguardless of our outside apearance!"

He thought for a second.

"If you never need any help....for any reason, well I know you have your brother, but you can always call on me. If nothing else I'm a whizz with history."

Alexandria raised her drink in return all the while smiling.


As Falik offered his help whenever she might need it she realized that their friendship would be a long lasting one. And she smiled warmly at the happiness she felt for making her first true friend at the palace in such a short time.

Falik was glad to befriend the younger page, he remembered how hard his first days at the palace had been unbelievably tough until his sponsor, Corin had taken him under his wing. Corin's family were very much progressives and Corin made sure that any bullying of Falik had swiftly stopped.

"Well," he said, "what say we give up on whatever this dinner is pretending to be and get some dessert? It looks to be something resembling chocolate cake. If not I have some sweets stashed in my room." He winked at the girl and offered to take her plate.

Instead of giving her plate to him she grabbed Falik’s outstretched hand and pulled herself up slowly realizing how bruised she was from her first day of vigorous training. ((She thought plaintively to herself that she would now have to start working out twice as much because her simple crunches, push ups, and running exercise’s would get her no where fast. She wanted to be physically fit now and not later. She was one of the top physically fit first year page‘s here but she felt that that wasn‘t enough.)) Then she grabbed her plate and let Falik lead the way.

She then replied happily "Goodie I love nummy sweat's. Mmm, I can taste the chocolate melting in my mouth now."

Falik blinked away the surprise at the girl grabbing his hand, with an amazingly strong grip too, and laughed outright.

"Well don't get too excited, it may look like chocolate cake, but it's a rare thing it tastes like it!! I would grab some fruit too if I were you, just in case!"


"I always hope when Im eating this stuff that it wont end in my dear mother getting a letter saying I died in battle with the dinner. I can see it now 'overwhelmed by a mighty enemy!'"

Alexandria laughed as Falik mentioned his death by food.

"Ok I am definitly grabbing some fruit."

"I can not wait til I am so tierd I don't care what I am eating, it will be a wounderful thing."
She commented with a hopeful look in her eye's.

"Don't worry, my Lord Genlith will make sure of that. Now if I were you young 'un, I'd go and get some rest. I on the other hand have a small mountain of work to do for classes tomorrow. I'll be in the small library if you need any help or you want to join me," he grinned, "they say misery loves company!"

He stuck an apple in his pocket, picked up a piece of cake and took a small bite. He pulled a face and then waved goodbye to Alexandria cheerfully.

Alexandria waved good bye in return and felt a little said to see her friend go, but then thought to herself about her own little mountain of homework and went of to her room.