The boy groaned as he dropped the last suitcase onto the floor. The suitcase was none worse for the wear, but the boy was exhausted. His hair was mopped together in a damp mess, and his hands were sticky from sweat. His forehead glistened from the persperation, and the boy used the back of his hand to wipe it off. Not that it did more than merely smear it around.

There were definately ups and downs to being a noble. The ups were that you could do almost anything. The downs were that no matter where you went, you had to carry absolutely everything you would ever need along with you. To make matters worse, during the summertime, all the palace servants went with the royal family and nobles, as a result there were none available to haul the boy's luggage to his room.

The boy sat down on one of the two beds in the room. The other looked like there was another occupant of the room, judging from the way the sheets were ruffled from someone lying on the bed. But the rest of the room had a tidyness that was too clean to have come from any boy.

Suddenly nervous, the boy opened the folded paper that had told him of his room assignment. Perhaps this was the wrong room, maybe it belonged to a girl, and not a boy. His hands shaking, the boy opened the parchment and read it. Sighing with relief, he found that this room was indeed his, or partially so. The other occupant must have a maid, or perhaps the palace servants came in and cleaned in here.

Whatever the reason, the boy, now satisfied, proceeded to fold the paper and return it to his shirt pocket. Stretching back on his bed, he propped his head up with his hands, with his arms making a triangle on either side of his head. He'd soon have to get up and make his way to the Training Master, but for now the boy relaxed. Work could come later, right?

From the room that was adjoined to it, the servant girl was sewing silently. At the sound of door opening and luggage dropping, she didn't think much of it. Partially because it wasn't the due time Silas would be back. Looking up, the girl winced. Actually, it almost was time. Packing her sewing kit up, she peered out at who might of entered.

Gazing around the room. She blinked once at the male laying on the bed. Sighing, she entered the room fully. She smiled weakly. "Um, would you like me to unpack for you, my lord?" She inquired quietly.

After a few moments hiatus, Silas would've stumbled - no crash - into the room. Boredly he closed the door and looked up. His eye twitched. Small room. One new person. One familar person. Taking in a deep breath, he attempted to calm down. Too many people for one room. So he nervously raised his hand in a greeting, utterly confused.

Not moments after he laid back on the bed, the boy heard a scraping noise closeby. Jerking his head towards the sound of the noise, he looked just in time to see a woman come in. The woman smiled as she spoke, "Um, would you like me to unpack for you, my lord?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Pushing himself up with his arms, the boy turned his torso to see this woman better. He peered at her curiously, and it seemed that his eyes were searching her, trying with desperation to find out who she was, and why she was in his room.

Before the boy could speak, another boy entered the room. This one looked strikely like the woman who had spoken. Looking from the woman to this newcomer, the boy on the bed almost let his arms give out to fall back onto the bed and let the two others figure out why they were in his room. The line between commoner and noble may have been viewed as thin or nonexistant in his eyes, but the boy had not been without any training in etiquette or manners.

Instead of giving into his instincts, the boy forced himself into a sitting position, then turned to face the two newcomers. Both were looking at him curiously, the woman with a slight look of disgust on her face, and the boy with mild interest. The newcomer boy raised his hand in what would be considered a greeting, then returned it to his side.

Taking the more diplomatic route, the boy on the bed decided on introductions first, explanations later. He nodded his head slightly. A bit nervous, his voice waivered as he spoke. "Hi there. I'm a new page, Ashton. I think I got assigned to this room, which is why I set my trunks in here. If you're already full," Ashton said, glancing first at the newcomer boy, then up to the woman, "I can talk with the Training Master about switching rooms. I need to go see him anyways, and..." the boy trailed off, not knowing how his audience would respond to what he had said so far, he'd thought it best to stop there.

A tense silence hung in the air as Ashton waited for either the woman or the boy to respond. He scuffed his foot on over the wooden floorboards, anxious of the response that awaited him.

Raising her eyebrows, the half-raka girl waited for the response. What is taking him so long to respond? Any thoughts after that were hidden and she showed none. Straightening herself as he began to spoke, she jumped as her brother came in.

Wincing she watched as Silas entered. Poor guy. he was claustophobic. But look at his condition. All messy and disgusting. Twisting her face, she knew well she had to clean that later. But that also meant mingling with the other servants. That was definitely something she didn't want to do.

Silas winced as the newer boy looked to him. He continued to scoot against the wall to his bed. At one point he was behind Keae, who just sighed and rolled her eyes, watching him make it to 'home base' - aka his bed - which he sat on, relaxing somewhat.

Biting his bottom lip, he fiddled with his sleeve as he introduced myself. His voice was equally shakey with breaks inserted here and there. "I'm... Silas, a new page too." He blinked once behind his glasses at the last part and shook his. "This is Keae... She's with me." He left it off there. No way was he going to say servant. "But no.. You got the right room. Keae sleeps in the other..." He stated nodding his head toward the door. Nervously, he pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

His line between commoner and noble, didn't exist very well at all. He had a tendency to ignore etiquette enough that he almost forgot about. He's polite, and that was that.

The boy introduced himself as Silas, and the woman as Kea. Apparently the woman was the boy's servant. Ashton nodded as this information was passed to him. The boy went on to confirm his relief from much earlier, indeed this was the right room. Satisfied with this, Ashton nodded.

As the boy moved to the bed on the opposite wall, Ashton peered at him. He was short for his age, with a small build and a wirey frame to go with. His clothes were the standard Page's attire, except that they were spotted with dirt and mud. His clothes weren't alone in getting dirty, the boy's hair was messy and speckled with dirt as well. It was almost comical the way that, despite the boy's hair and clothes being dirty, not a speck of dirt had touched the boy's glasses.

Fighting back a chuckle, Ashton rose from his bed and strolled over to his bags. Falling to one knee, he glanced up at Kea to respond to her earlier question. "If you'd like to help, I wouldn't mind. But, Mithros, I'm not going to force you to."

Leaning down, the boy put his hand on the trunk in front of him. He pressed his thumb against the top of the lock, upon which a keyhole appeared. Ashton put his lips close to the keyhole, almost touching, and uttered a few soft words in a low tone. The locking spell that had been set by the Naxen Lord's family mage was disabled, temperarily at least, and the lock popped open.

Pulling himself back into an upright position, Ashton smiled as he flipped open the latches on either side of the center lock. Once they were open, the boy put his hands on either side of the center lock, on the upper side panel of the trunk, and pushed upward, opening the case to its full height. Ashton closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He could almost smell the aroma of the Naxen Manor, the home of his parents.

Gazing into the trunk, Ashton looked over the items set neatly inside. This trunk contained most of his clothing, with little room left over for anything else. The top layer included items for his Page's training: crisp brown breeches, white and cream colored undershirts, and tunics threaded with the colors of Naxen along its edges. Underneath these were his fine noble's clothes, starched white doublets and navy blue hosing.

One by one, Ashton removed each article of clothing from his trunk and placed it on his bed. Soon his bed was covered with breeches, shirts, tunics, and his noble's clothing. There were only a few items left in this trunk, the rest in his other two trunks. For some godless reason his servants had thought to pack absolutely everything they thought he'd ever need. Within the open trunk, there lay a folded blanket patterned with the colors of Naxen. Ashton parted its folds and withdrew a sheathed knife from its hiding place. Carefully, he placed it to the side on the floor, as he searched the room for a place to set it.

Finding nothing, Ashton looked to the woman, who hadn't moved during the whole ordeal. Figuring she wasn't going to give him any help in unpacking, Ashton had proceeded to unpack at least the first piece of luggage himself. But he was at a loss to the furniture in the room. The woman, Silas had introduced her as Kea, had obviously been here longer than Ashton, and had probably sorted the clothes and items of the boy Silas. He had said that Kea was with him, some sort of servant?

"Is there some kind of dresser that I could put my clothes into? Or must I live out of my trunks?" Ashton inquired, his last question not meant as sarcasm. He looked to the woman for some kind of response, should she give one.

Silas, out of habit, nervously rubbed the back of his neck. This was getting to be rather akward to him. As Ashton preceeded to be peered at, he got busy with his dresser. Opening the top drawer, he pulled out a comb. Just a regular one, nothing rich at all. Smoothly, hand cupped under his hair, he got out some of the drying mud. He'll wash at night, but this will do for now.

Kea crossed her arms at the silence. Silently she hoped that the two would at the very least strike up some type of interesting conversation. Knowing Silas from birth, she was quite aware of what he can be like. A small smile peeked onto her face as the memory of his mother getting frantic about giving birth to a child who was born with out a voice. The younger nobles voice took her from her thoughts. Smiling faintly, she nodded, watching the boy. Oh good, he doesn't think I'm a servant yet.

Silas, noting that the boy had stopped looking at him, he got up to idly open the window over the large dresser. Lightly, he tossed the dirt he collected from one side of his head out the window. Sitting down again, crossed legged, he continued to comb out the dirt. His teal eyes now watched the male open his trunk. Magical locks were somewhat interesting, as the only lock Silas had was a normal one.

Unlike Sil, Heathercove noted, he was much - whats a good word - noble defined? He seemed to sport his own scars, which Silas promised not ask him. His hair was brighter and straightened out. That will change once he starts to train.

Kea watched patiently as she waited for him to finish laying out all his clothes. Jeez, she had thought, how should this be organized? As he started to lay things out, she frowned in puzzlement. She could do what she did with Silas' stuff. Some stuff under the bed, some in the drawers and a fresh batch for tomorrow on top. Night clothes were laid out in the day, and dirty clothes were in an empty small trunk that Sil had brought. When that was full, she would clean them. She just needed to expand on it. While she was thinking, she winced as she noticed she had been standing there.

As the questioned was as she asumed, directed to her, she laughed lightly at the sarcasm. "No, no. I have a particular way to organize all your stuff." She smiled faintly. "There is some extra room over there," She nodded in the direction of which she had entered. "to put your spare trunks. As for your noble's clothes." She waved idly at them. "You can keep them in a trunk. You won't need them until mid-winter and other events that take place."

Opening the lower drawer from the stand, it showed Silas clothed which were all to one side. It was to 'level's high of breaches, tunic, breachers tunic, and two of those could fit. The other half seemed vacant. Taking a pair of Aston's uniform, she slid it to the back. Almost just fit. That will do, though. Taking another pair, she fit it in too, tucking the corner's in to make it look neat. Closing that drawer, she opened the second, which soon looked like the one under it. However, the top only had one set, instead of two, and had more other accessories, such as lighters for the candles, spare little candles, and other miscellaneous (sp?) items. She put one pair there.

"Feel free to put whatever in here." She stated, standing up. She looked at the pile on the bed, and winced. She had gotten a good majority. "Mind if the rest is under the bed?" She inquired. "Don't worry, its clean."

Silas watched as Kea presumed to start to empty the trunks. He almost done getting dirt out of his hair. Thank god. Seeing the knife, he had winced. "You can keep that under your pillow. Close to reach in case its needed." He muttered slightly, glancing the door. He noticed Kea stopped explaining things. "Kea cleans our clothes, as long as its in the right trunk." He stated nodding to the other door. "I'll show which when you're done unpacking. You don't have to have her clean it, though." He shrugged again, trailing the dirt clods to his other hand to get the last side of his head.

"Feel free to put whatever in here," the woman guestured to the set of drawers. "Mind if the rest is under the bed?" she asked, then added, "Don't worry, its clean."

The boy looked up from the trunk, which was nearly empty now, and nodded to the woman. He noticed the pair of breeches in her hand and smiled, trying to hold back a laugh. She looked almost like his old nanny had after Ashton had come back from a trip with his father. A good deal younger and tanner, but this Kea sure acted like her.

"You can keep that under your pillow. Close to reach in case its needed," that was the boy Silas, who had remained silent up until this time, "Kea cleans our clothes, as long as its in the right trunk." He stated nodding to the other door. "I'll show which when you're done unpacking. You don't have to have her clean it, though." The boy shrugged as he fell silent once more, still looking a bit uncomfortable, as he had when he first entered the room.

Nodding to the boy, Ashton picked up the knife from where he had set it on the floor. From where he was crouched on the floor, Ashton couldn't reach the headboard side of his bed. Half standing up, the boy leaned over his bed until he was to the middle of the bed. From there, he slid his hand, still holding the sheathed knife, up towards his pillow. He almost laughed at himself when he realized that he couldn't reach quite far enough. Pushing the knife with the tips of his fingers, Ashton finally got the knife under the pillow, although it was still noticable from his angle.

Shrugging to himself, he pulled back to his crouched position in front of his trunk, which was now occupied only by the blanket with Ashton's family crest. The boy pulled the blanket, which was more like a quilt, out from the trunk, which promptly tipped over backwards, not having anything more to keep it its heavy top balanced upright. A chuckle escaped the boy, as he turned to set the blanket on his bed. Leaning over the tipped-over trunk, Ashton gripped the top of it and pulled it towards him, shutting the massive piece of luggage.

Shoving the empty trunk aside, the young boy pulled the next one over to him. He repeated the process for opening the first trunk, and proceeded to open this one. This trunk was filled with the rest of his clothes, which were mostly noble's clothes, as well as a bunch of items that Ashton could really care less about. There was an unstrung bow laid along the back of the trunk, with a string and a quiver of arrows alongside. On the right side of the trunk there sat a leather bag filled with ointments, herbs, and bandages, a kit that the town mage had put together. Not that Ashton would need it, not with the palace having its own set of healing mages.

The boy looked at this trunk, and then past it to the other unpacked trunk. This was going to take a while. Sighing, the boy went to work.

Kea nodded curtly, as she kneeled down upon the wooden floor. Taking the pairs of clothing again she lined them neatly under the bed. They just almost fit. Smiling to herself, she jumped as the trunk landed on the floor. Standing up, she took a few steps as she watched the younger boy stick the knife under his pillow.

Rubbing the back of her neck, she stated in a light-hearted tone, "I could've moved for ya."

Silas stayed seated on his bed, as the last clunks of dirt came out. Leaning up against the wall, he idly moved his knee up and down to a slow tempo. The reason why is unknown, as he doesn't have a tune stuck in his head or any of the likes. He watched with some amusement as the boy stretched out to bed to hide the knife. A strange thought went about his mind, one that he wished to hide and be rid of.

Standing off to the side as the boy got off the bed, Kea watched as he pulled out the quilt. It was pretty, Kea had thought, jumping faintly as the trunk fell. She laughed lightly as she went to fix the quilt so it looked nice on the bed. Turning and folding, she made sure to get the fief sheild shown on the bed. The top of the blanket was folded out, so all he had to do was pull the blanket back to cover him.

Silas seemed to stare out in space for a moment after watching Ashton put away the knife. However, the trunk hitting the floor loudly caused him to jump, much more visible than Kea. Whilest in mid jump, he had kept his fist closed keeping the dirt in. Breathing out deeply, he looked at he particles and went to throw them out the window, since Kea had moved.

Looking at the trunks, which were pushed aside, he asked. "Need help getting them into the other room?" He asked, still rather nervous.

"I could've moved for ya," the woman stated in a light-hearted tone. Ashton gave no verbal response to her statement, simply nodding his head to acknowledge it.

After a few minutes of toil, and much deliberation of where each thing should go, Ashton finished unpacking the last two trunks. His clothes, miraculously, fit neatly in the drawer he now shared with the other boy, Silas. His noble's outfits were repacked into his first trunk and stored under his bed, where he could easily get at them come Midwinter.

The other boy, who had remained quiet since Kea had spoken, piped up. "Need help getting them into the other room?" Ashton shook his head. Not at the moment he didn't.

Laid out on his bed were the items that Ashton couldn't think up a place for. The medicine kit was back under his bed, as well with his bow, string, and quiver of arrows. Left to sort were mostly the items contained in his third trunk. Of these there were riding boots, jewelry, a small map of Tortall (with Naxen clearly marked), a saddle repair kit (for whenever he got a saddle, apparently), and a few other items. After a brief period of mental debate, Ashton decided to return these items to the trunk they were packed in.

He did so with moderate speed, leaving out only a long box, packaged in brown paper, fastened with string. His parents had given it to him before he had left, and had told him not to open it until he was at Corus. Well he was here now, and it wasn't like he had much to do at the moment. Sitting down on the bed next to the package, the boy picked it up. He was surprised at how heavy it was, it had looked lighter. Carefully, he removed the knot from the string, and proceeded to take off the wrapping paper.

A simply elongated box lay on his lap, the string and paper tossed aside. Ashton opened it carefully, not wanting to damage whatever the box might hold. The boy was a bit disappointed at his first sight of the gift, as a layer of paper shreddings covered it. A gleam of white caught his eye, and Ashton fished out a note from the paper shreddings. Opening it, he read it once to himself, then a second time aloud.

[A note from the Lord and Mistress of Fief Naxen to their son, Ashton:

Our dear son,

We are delighted that you have agreed to undertake this training. It is an important step in your life, one that you will most likely not forget. Our servants, as you might have noticed by now, sought to pack everything you could possibly need. Everything, of course, except for this.

We, as your parents, could not very well send you to train to be a Knight without the proper equipment. And so last year, your father and I took the opportunity to employ the weaponsmakers in Corus to undertake our assignement. I do believe you'll be most pleased by their result, although I am not a good judge of weapons. Use it wisely, and take great caution. Never forget that it is a weapon, and the pain it inflicts on others can likewise be wrought on you. We hope that you find it useful.

Take care son,
Your Mother and Father]

At once Ashton knew what his parents had sent him. After reading the note for the other two occupants of the room to hear, the boy set the note aside, and dived into the layer of paper shreddings. The boy, with a squeal of delight, pulled out an enormous sword, encased in a scabbard. It was of a simple make, but the gifted craftsmen who created it were not without elegance. Although simple, the sword hilt was perfect, not a single space between the wire-wrapped handle.

Gasping in shock, Ashton nearly collapsed from surprise. He looked up to the woman, then over to Silas, and then back down at the sword, his sword. He gaped at it for the longest time, unsure of what to do other than look at it. His delight was unspeakable and his shock uncomprehendable, the boy sat on the bed with his mouth open, admiring the incredible weapon that lay before him. A useful gift indeed.

Kea continued to be quite the spaz as she cleaned up loose ends. Just as pushing a desk drawer in that was a bit stuck out. Every time she would finish one thing to look around the room. However, she was becoming quite OCD for the moment, tidying up one thing before getting the big picture by standing back. She had nimbly managed to be a bit spazzy about the tidiness of the room.

Silas shrugged his shoulders when Aston had shook his head. Slowly, he found his way back to his bed. Boredly, he opened up the drawer and placed is comb back in, not closing it all the way. Of course, that was one thing else Kea fixed. Sighing, Silas leaned up against the headboard. His eyesight trailed boredly over the different items in the room.

Kea's attention was diverted as Ashton began to look at his gift. Sitting at the end of the bed, she crossed her legs resting her elbows on her knee's. Ken eyes watched, as she proped her head up by means of her hands. While the boy finished reading his letter outloud, she raised an eyebrow. Standing up, she got up and with two fingers she idly closed his mouth. "I suggest keeping that somewhere safe when not in use." She suggested. "And I'm off to finish my other work." With that, she walked across the room to the door and disappeared.

Silas had tucked his knee's up to allow room for Kea. He hadn't quite noticed something was happening until Ashton spoke. Turning his gaze, he raised his eyebrows at the sheath. "Okay.... Its a sword. Want to find something to do?" That doesn't include anything with weapons and horses, Silas added on in thought. The poor kid is probably better off being a spy or just a desk knight.

"I suggest keeping that somewhere safe when not in use," Kea said, not the least bit interested, if Ashton could tell by the sound of her voice. The woman then added, "And I'm off to finish my other work."

The woman moved into the other room, while the other boy just looked at Ashton blankly. Silass raised his eyebrows at Ashton's gift, while saying, "Okay.... Its a sword. Want to find something to do?"

Ashton blinked with amazement. Silas wasn't interested in the sword? The boy shrugged his shoulders, figuring Silas wasn't the weapons type. Ashton replied simply with, "Alright then, what do you want to do?" Ashton slid the sword, still sheathed, under his bed. He was dying to bring it out, and hear the metal sliding upon metal as he dragged the sword out of his sheath. But the other boy, Silas, apparently wasn't interested.

Oh well, Ashton thought, there'll be other days.

Sorry this was so short. Not one of my good days. EDIT: gah, weird name fixed, sorry

Silas had never been interested much in weapons. Perhaps the thought of adventuring all over, with a group of friends no doubt, meeting new people, appealed the most to Silas. Maybe even the fact that one day he can be stronger to protect himself and family from his father.

Bringing up a hand, he waved to the back of Kea as she left. His teal eyes turned their gaze back to Ashton, who placed the weapon beneath his bed. Isn't it amazing how much can fit under one's bed?

It's like a cavern... Silas thought silently. He found it quite amusing how Kea was able to easily place Ashtons stuff. Unlike him, Silas refused to carry more than he needed. However, his mother had snuck some things into Kea's luggage.

In response to Ashton's question, he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm kinda in the mood to walk." Then he added without hiatus. "You needed to see the Training Master anyways, right?" Apparently, it seemed to of just come from the dusty corners of his memory.

Whilest talking, Silas had found himself now at the end of his bed, feet dangling as he waited a reply. But where could they walk too? It was nice outside, but he didn't want to Ash to be tempted by the weapon practice.

OOC: Pardon the interruption. Ashton doll your roommate has been kidnapped.

Antony was running down the halls of the pages living quarters waking up those who were asleep. He opened the door to Aston and Silas' room and battlecried, "Wake up! Wake up. Silas of Heathercove has been kidnapped by a spidren, all pages should are to report down to the edge of the ROyal Forest.