An Athryellian Debutante

[Cora]

OOC: Takes place 5 years in the past

As the glowing orange-red sun sank down the horizon, Cora sat beneath the foliage of a cherry blossom tree located on a hill from which it felt that all of Athryell could be seen. Of course, this wasn't true, but that was irrelevant to Cora. To her, all that mattered was that from this vantage point, it felt as though Athryell could be within her reach if she simply stretched out her hand . . .

Usually, the place gave her an incredible sense of peace, but tonight the atmosphere was changed somehow. Even though she had sat in this exact place and watched the same sun slip below the horizon line a thousand times over, tonight was different. The change was almost so imperceptible, so subtle, that Cora wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her, but no . . . it really wasn't the same.

But the longer she thought to herself, the longer she tried to pinpoint why she felt out of place that night, the less sure she became. And then a disconcerting thought hit her: it wasn't the area that had changed; after all, the hill still stood facing the west and that old cherry blossom tree still stood, swaying, rustling in the light breeze that often picked up as night approached. And, the grass was still as richly green as ever and her eyes could still feast on the sight of the world stretching out before her. No, the place was still the same; it was her who had changed.

Rising to her feet, Cora slowly brushed her hand down her gown, feeling the smooth, silky texture of the garment. She wondered vaguely why she hadn't thought of it sooner - perhaps she hadn't wanted to admit it – but nevertheless, the truth was right there under her fingers.

Today had been her eighteenth birthday - today had been the day when she had supposedly become a woman. In Athryellian society, when a girl turned eighteen she could no longer be considered just that; no more was she a child. Instead, from the very moment that she had opened her eyes that particular morning Cora’s life had shifted in a completely new direction. No longer could she do the things she loved to do without public scorn; to scamper about and climb hills and spend her time reading books would be looked down upon as inappropriate for an adult. Thus, from that moment on, Cora’s life would be forced to revolve around finding a suitable man to wed. And then, after that task was accomplished, her life would be forced to revolve around raising a proper family.

Cora blanched at the thought. That wasn’t the life she wanted for herself. Closing her eyes briefly, she tried to picture herself living her mother’s life. Impossible, she murmured to herself. She was always the rebel; she wouldn’t submit to such foolish ideas. After all, it was her life and she would live it how she pleased.

Opening her eyes, Cora cast a glance around her at her favorite childhood hideaway, expecting to feel at home once again. Instead, she was greeted with the same sensation of being out of place. And then she knew. This was not her home any longer.

[doyne]

(OOC: I liked it, please continue.)

[Palladium]

In search of Cora, Palladium knew exactly where he would find her at this time of night. On the hill. It was a given; it was as natural as the changing seasons. Cora and the hill went hand in hand.

Climbing up the hill, he pictured how he would see his friend. Without a doubt she would be sitting under the cherry blossom tree, with her legs pulled up close to her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees, and her eyes trained on the setting sun.

Palladium smiled to himself; his friend was certainly a ball of predictability. Except for when she wasn't. Laughing, Palladium knew that Cora was beyond describable. Not that he minded; having her for a friend made his otherwise dull existence worthwhile. Whenever she was around he couldn't help but feel elated . . .

Blushing, Palladium cut his thoughts off. Cora was his friend. Only his friend.

But still, his thoughts couldn't help but move back to her. She was beautiful, without a doubt. She had evolved on her sixteenth birthday, as was normal for female elves, and since then she had only grown steadily prettier. Like her mother, Isaura, who had aged more than gracefully.

But besides Cora's appearance, she was still the same girl she had been when she was ten - when she had promptly told him that girls were the equal of boys on their first encounter. She wasn't like the other girls. She was better.

He loved her, as a friend should love a friend. But he also loved her in a way that made him think that he should ask her father, Adrastos, for her hand. Now that she was eighteen, she would be old enough to marry. Why shouldn't that man be him? He was a close friend of the family; he was respectable and intelligent and he would look after her for the rest of her life.

The only question was whether she could ever feel the same way about him. She would have many suitors now and Palladium worried that she would soon be lost to him. He must discuss this matter with her before it was too late. If only he could be bold. If only he could take her by the shoulders and kiss her, the way other men of his age were comfortable doing with their ladies.

But he wasn't bold. And he knew, as he walked the last few paces up the hill, that when he saw her in a moment, he would say nothing to her about the matter.

At the top of the hill, Palladium stopped short. Cora was not where he could have sworn on his life that she would be. Instead, she was standing, her right shoulder to the sun, her gaze cast down toward her feet. Something was wrong.

[Cora]

Hearing the sound of soft footsteps approaching, Cora lifted her head, her gaze immediately meeting Palladium's. Turning away from her friend, Cora wrapped her arms around herself, running her hands up and down her skin for warmth. The cool breeze had penetrated the thin material of her gown and she had forgotten to bring along a warm shawl to the hill.

Quietly, she stood, not speaking to Palladium, knowing that if she opened her mouth, all of the thoughts that had been churning around in her mind for the past several hours would erupt and flow uncontrollably out into the open for him to hear. Usually, she wouldn't mind sharing her thoughts with Lenwë, but tonight was different. She knew that if she allowed him to comfort her tonight, to wrap an arm around her shoulder, she would break down in tears. She was losing him tonight; she was losing her best friend because of some stupid rules and she couldn't bear it.

Sensing him drawing closer to her, she quickly bit out, "Go away, Lenwë. You know it's not right for you to stand here with me anymore."

[Palladium]

Palladium stopped moving toward his friend, surprised at her words. Furrowing his brow, he asked gently, "Cora, what do you mean? Has something happened? Are you all right? Please, speak to me-"

[Cora]

Cora laughed bitterly, "You're too naive sometimes, Lenwë." Turning abruptly to face him she shook her head incredulously, "Don't you get it? Today was my eighteenth birthday. Don't you know what that means, Lenwë? Well, I'll tell you. It means that I'm an Athryellian woman now. And when a girl becomes a woman, there are certain rules she has to follow in order to prevent her name from being tarnished." Harshly, Cora lashed out, "Rule number one, Lenwë: a woman should not be in the company of a man without a proper escort, namely the woman's father."

[Palladium]

Palladium shook his head, and tried to reach out to embrace his friend, only to be rebuffed. "Cora," he soothed, "don't be silly. Remember? It's me, Lenwë, your best friend. Who cares about those rules? Everyone knows we're . . . just friends." Palladium's voice shook slightly on his two words; as much as he said them, he just couldn't accept their truth. But tonight, he knew he must say them and make her believe them if he was going to keep her in his life. Because, as much as Cora believed that the old traditions of Athryell were foolish and as liberal as she was at heart, she knew that the traditions were followed throughout the land - and she also knew that rejecting them would bring shame to the Tselios name, something she would never dream of doing.

Still, Palladium couldn't bear to watch her phase out of his life; continuing on doggedly, he added, "And you know, your father loves me as he would love a son; I highly doubt that he would cast me out of your life just because you are one day older than you were yesterday. Your father knows I am honorable; you know it, too. So then, there is no need to be concerned with those outdated rules. Stop worrying, please. Let's just watch the sun go down together the way we always do, okay?"

[Cora]

Cora shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Lenwë. I . . . can't." From the sound of her voice it was clear that her anger was gone and had instead been replaced with weariness. "Things are different now. No matter what you say, things are different."

Seeing Palladium's hurt expression, she instinctively reached out and touched his arm, "It's not your fault and it's not mine. We both knew that this would happen someday. It's the Athryellian way; it can't be avoided."

Turning away from her friend, Cora continued, "As for my father . . . yes, he loves you." Glancing over her shoulder at Palladium, she smiled wistfully, "I believe he loves you like the son he never had. And I know that it would give him no greater pleasure than to be able to call you that, but in the end, my father is a conservative man. He believes in the old traditions - in honor, morality, and dignity. And, even more, he is a proud man. As much as he loves you, he won't allow the Tselios name to be tarnished by questionable behavior on my part."

Seeing Palladium begin to protest, Cora lifted a finger to his lips to silence him. "My father knows that you are honorable and that you would never compromise my reputation . . . but that is only because he has known you for almost your entire life. And that's the thing: the gossips, the old, bitter, town biddies with too much time on their hands don't know you. And so, they won't hesitate one moment to spread mean, hurtful rumors. I can't allow that to happen, Lenwë. "

[Palladium]

"But you can let our friendship go? Just like that?" Palladium shook his head, his eyes carefully trained on the ground, "Forgive me, Cora, but I don't understand. This isn't like you. These words coming out of your mouth . . . they're not you."

After several long moments of silence, Palladium lifted his gaze to met Cora's sympathetic one. "There's nothing I can do, is there?" His words, although technically a question, were spoken as a flat statement. "So . . . what now?" Palladium asked. "Where do we go from here? Am I just supposed to shake your hand, say good evening, and walk away? Am I supposed to forget how you helped me get through my father's illness? Am I supposed to forget all the times we spent on this very hill talking about the things that we could talk to non one else about?" His voice rising, he continued, "Or how about-"

[Cora]

"Stop it!" Cora stamped her foot angrily, "You aren't being fair and that's not like you." Wiping her eyes furiously to prevent the tears that were forming from falling, she continued, "Do you think this is easy on me? Do you think I like these traditions? Well, I don't. Do I think it's silly that just because I'm eighteen now we can't have a platonic relationship? Yes. But what can I do?"

Laying a hand against Palladium's face, Cora smiled faintly, "What can I do? Nothing." A touch of humor tinged her voice as she continued, "Unless you plan on asking my father for my hand in marriage, I think we're right back to where we started."

Stepping back, Cora shook her head softly, "Please don't be angry with me, Lenwë."

[Palladium]

"I'm not angry," Palladium replied. "I'm just . . . I don't know. Upset, maybe. But not with you. It's just that, you're my closest friend." Palladium colored - oh nice, that didn't sound pathetic at all. Clearing his throat he started again, "You're my best friend - going on eight years now - and I hate to see all that we've been through together get thrown away."

After a moment of silence he continued, "You're right though. What can we do?" Sending Cora a wry look, he added, "Nothing."

Turning away he muttered, "I probably shouldn't even be here right now." Nodding as though he was trying to convince himself of this, Palladium felt his heart constrict. "I'm going to go now before . . ." Not bothering to finish his thought, Palladium began to walk away.

[Cora]

Cora held out a hand to Palladium's retreating back, her heart telling her to call him back. But her mouth wouldn't cooperate; and so, limply, her hand fell to her side.

After a few moments, Cora walked back toward the cherry blossom tree and sought refuge beneath its branches. Slumping against the tree's sturdy trunk, Cora unconsciously ran her fingers over the thick grass, not feeling the prickles against her skin. Indeed, she was so lost in her thoughts that she was almost blind to her environment.

It was all the fault of this stupid day, Cora thought angrily to herself. If it had been any other day it would have been lovely; the weather was the epitome of perfection - blue skies, fluffy white clouds, radiant sunshine . . . but the fact that that day had been her birthday ruined it.

Curling up on her side, Cora plucked at the grass. Grudgingly, she admitted that the party her parents had held to celebrate her eighteenth year had been lovely. Of course she couldn't help but feel guilty as she knew that they must have spent a fortune on the event. But they had looked so proud, so willing to spoil their only child that Cora didn't have the heart to tell them that she was in no mood to celebrate. So she had put on a smile, donned the beautiful white silk gown her mother had specially ordered for the occasion, and pretended to enjoy herself. In reality, she couldn't have been more unhappy. While everyone had looked at her with misty eyes, all she could think of doing was to flee.

She hated the feel of everyone's eyes on her, of knowing that they were whispering about her. How she looked. How much she had grown. When she would decide to marry. Whether she would be the type to be involved in a scandal. And all of this was a direct result of the fact that she was now eighteen - the fact that she was a woman. Cora snorted; oh yes, because turning one day older made all the difference between whether a female was a child or a woman.

Although she could not admit it now that she was an "adult," she much preferred being regarded as a child than as a woman. As a child, she had her freedom. She could run and frolic, spend her days in the company of whoever she choose. She could swim in the river with Lenwë or spend the whole day on the hill alone with him and no one would utter a word. But now, suddenly it was wrong and promiscuous. Cora shook her head; it was stupid, really. It wasn't as though one day made the difference between whether she viewed Lenwë as just a friend or as a potential lover . . . but she, apparently, was alone in this view.

All she knew was that she detested these restrictions that were to be placed on her from this day forward - probably because she was on the verge of losing her best friend because of them. But there was something else . . . something she couldn't quite describe, but she could feel it. It had something to do with fear, she knew. But fear of what?

Shifting in order to lie on her back, Cora felt her eyes burn with tears; oh, what she wouldn't give to go back to the good old carefree days! The days when she didn't have to worry about what man she would marry or whether she was being prim and proper. Closing her eyes, Cora dreamed of an escape, of waking up to find that this day hadn't occurred and that tomorrow she would be able to carry on as she always had. Willing herself to make her dream true, Cora felt her tears slowly spill down her face. It wasn't meant to be. The times had changed without her and now, she had to catch up.

Opening her eyes, Cora stared up into the cherry blossom tree. It was almost hypnotizing, that swirl of pink foliage. Soon, she felt her eyes grow heavy as her body gave into her weariness and several moments later she fell into a deep sleep . . .

[Cora]

In her sleep, Cora shifted uncomfortably on the ground. For goodness sake, something was falling on her and tickling her face . . . Mumbling to herself, Cora brought her hands up to her face as a sort of shield against whatever was disturbing her peace. Briefly, she opened her eyes and peek through her fingers to determine who the encroacher was and then, almost at once, closed them, wincing. Water. Cold water. Cold water was falling onto her face. In her drowsy stupor, she couldn't come up with a logical explanation as to why there would be water falling on her face - was there a leak in her bedroom roof? She'd have to tell her father to look into it . . .

Snapping awake at this thought, Cora pushed herself up, and took a quick glance around her. Groaning, she rose to her feet; she wasn't home. Obviously. She must have fallen asleep outside and now, by the look of the sky, it was quite late. And her father would be furious. And she was wet. And so was her beautiful dress. That would make her mother furious. Smiling wryly, Cora laughed aloud, "Look at me; a pure, absolute disaster. I've only been a woman for one day and I've already managed to mess up. Lucky, lucky me."

Leaning down to squeeze out the water from the hem of her dress, Cora sighed, knowing that it was hopelessly beyond repair. But there was no sense in worrying about that now; the sooner she got home, the better. Slipping off her shoes so that she could run without worrying about twisting an ankle, Cora set off down the path that would lead her home - hopefully to something warm. The last thing she needed was to also contract some illness from sleeping out in the rain.

[Cora]

Slipping through the front door, Cora crept quietly toward the staircase, hoping that her parents were already asleep. Hearing the old floorboards creak under her feet, Cora winced and then stopped dead in her tracks as she heard voices coming from the family room.

Edging along the wall, Cora slowly peered into the room, her eyes straining to adjust to the dim lighting. After a moment, she could make out the dark silhouettes of the furniture and the shadowy frame of a person sitting in one of the chairs. At once, she recognized that figure to be her father. Closing her eyes, Cora prepared herself to step into the room - but stopped when she realized that her father was not speaking to her mother as she had assumed. Instead, he seemed to be talking to . . . Lenwë. Frowning in confusion, Cora crouched down close to the floor and hid behind the wall, listening to their conversation.

They were speaking so quietly now, almost as though they had sensed someone was listening to them. She wouldn't put it beyond them to know that she was here - after all, they certainly did not lack elven intuition - and yet, she couldn't tear herself away from that wall. After what felt like an eternity, Cora heard the furniture creak, the signature sound that her father and Lenwë were standing up. A few seconds later she heard Lenwë say, "I pray you have a good evening, Mr. Tselios; thank you for your time." And then, the sound of footsteps followed. Knowing that her father would be showing Lenwë to the door any moment now, Cora desperately looked around for a place to hide. But there were no hiding places.

"Cora."

Hearing her name, Cora froze and then slowly turned around, a weak smile on her face.