It had been months since Halfeti had last seen her family, and it would be months before she would get to see them again.
A throng of familiar faces sought to greet her. Halfeti smiled and waved at everyone she knew, and then some. The whole House must have gathered together that morning, just for this. Just for her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ausmas and Ausgold frantically whispering to each other. Such an interaction only ever resulted in some inane prank that left everyone around them seething in rage. Even after years of rooming with them, she had never really figured out the motives behind their antics.
Halfeti raised an eyebrow at them, only to get two unabashed grins in return. They were definitely planning something, and if they hadn't told her, it could only mean that she was the victim. She could only hope whatever they had in store wasn'tthat headache-inducing.
A ripple passed through the crowd as everyone parted to let The Sister through. She had been uncharacteristically late, but Halfeti was sure she'd have a reason for her tardiness. She always did.
Behind her, Halfeti could hear the wheels of a carriage steadily rolling towards them. She supposed it would carry her to the Academy. Although she would rather walk there than get into a carriage driven by a stranger, she didn't comment on it. It would be fine. The House wouldn't have hired someone untrustworthy, especially if she was the one being transported.
The Sister reached her just as the carriage screeched to a halt behind her.
"Good morning, Sister," Halfeti said, offering a curtsy. The rest of the crowd echoed her words with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
"Good morning, everyone." The Sister raised a hand in acknowledgement. She gestured for Halfeti to come forward, and Halfeti complied. In her peripheral vision, Halfeti watched several of her family members yawn. It was to be expected; the sun had only just risen an hour or so ago.
"Today," the Sister continued, placing a hand on Halfeti's shoulder, "we have gathered to bid farewell to one of our most brilliant members."
A loudwhoop! cut through the air. Halfeti's gaze landed on the source of the sound— Ausgold. He waved at her, face breaking out into a grin. Halfeti couldn't help but wave back. She still wondered what he was planning, but surely it couldn't be that bad, right?
The Sister smiled at Ausgold too, before carrying on. "After several back-breaking months of training, our Halfeti has managed to pass the entrance test with flying colours! She truly is the pride and joy of our House." The Sister turned towards her. "Would you like to say anything to your family before you leave, Halfeti?"
"Pardon?" Halfeti asked. She hadn't expected to have to speak in front of everyone.
"Any last message you'd like to impart to your family?" The Sister prompted. "You won't be returning to us for a long time, after all."
Was there anything Halfeti wanted to say to them? Yes, of course there was. There was too much, in fact. She wanted to show her gratitude for so many things: taking her in, giving her a home, giving her a name. She wanted to convey her loyalty, her faith, her determination. She needed them to know that her heart was theirs, as was her service and her soul.
But Halfeti had never been good with words, so what she said was this: "Thank you for having me. I hope to make you proud."
The Sister's hand fell from Halfeti's shoulder. "We know you will. You have always been our best, after all."
Halfeti smiled at her. The Sister smiled back. She always did.
"Now, get on the carriage, little rosebud," the Sister said, "and show the world what you can do."
Halfeti obeyed, her movements almost mechanical, hauling herself up, one foot in the foothold. The interior of the carriage was polished, if not pretty, and the wheels were big enough that were she to jump out while the carriage was moving, she'd end up with some pretty bad scratches. Not that she planned to, of course, but you could never be sure.
The carriage began moving, bringing Halfeti away from her home into a new world. She wasn't quite ready to leave yet, but then again, when was she ever? To leave behind everyone she knew for a world unmapped and dangerous— who could be thrilled about that?
The carriage was constricting, too. The sun was now high enough to further heat the already suffocating enclosure. Halfeti slid the window open without much consideration. Surely the coachman wouldn't mind.
She stuck her head out of the window, feeling the wind hit her face. It was unsafe and against protocol, but she just couldn't breathe in there. Besides, they had yet to turn onto the main road, so the chances of incoming traffic were still tremendously low. The breeze felt like freedom, and she felt the slightest bit lighter.
Perhaps due to some trick played by fate, or providence, or perhaps just by pure coincidence, Halfeti turned back to look at the House. It was small for the number of inmates it nursed, blandly coloured and modestly decorated, but it was still her home, and she wouldn't exchange it for anything.
And the crowd that had gathered was beginning to disperse...but...was that—?
The steady rhythm Halfeti was used to feeling from her heart suddenly faltered at the sight.
"Stop the carriage!" she urgently commanded the coachman.
"Uh, are you sure, miss? We've just set off—" the coachman asked uncertainly.
"Yes! Just for a moment! Please!"
Halfeti had opened the door before the carriage even stopped moving. She dropped to the ground and ran. Her feet hit the earth, the rhythm of her footfalls steadily rising with each passing second as the wind whipped on her face and through her hair.
Ausmas and Ausgold caught her as she stumbled into them, their arms enveloping her. The huge, congratulatory banner they had made was cocooned between them, splattered in all colours under the sun, and perhaps ketchup from yesterday's dinner.
Halfeti latched onto them both like they were a lifeline, and they held her back with the same intensity.
They were finally broken apart by the Sister's gentle hand on Halfeti's shoulder, pushing her back. Halfeti was surprised to find both Ausmas's and Ausgold's eyes coated in tears, and more surprised still to realize that her own vision was blurred from the same.
"You— you'd better ace every damn thing they throw at you," Ausmas said, smiling. He elbowed Ausgold, who was trying to discreetly wipe his eyes on his sleeve.
Ausgold quickly folded the banner with maddening precision and handed it to Halfeti. "Yeah, give those nobles hell for us, would you?"
Halfeti accepted the banner. "Of course."
The I will miss you went unsaid.
When she returned to the carriage, she found it a lot easier to breathe.
* * *
Dear Hal,
:( I hate you!!! :( Why didn't you wake me up before you went? :( I wanted to say goodbye to you so bad! :( I'm making so many frowny faces because I'm that sad. :( See that? :( That's your fault. :( I'm mad at you.
Sorry. I know it's not your fault. I should have woken up when the others tried to wake me up. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry. I'm not really mad at you. Please don't hate me. I wish I had woken up. Sorry.
—Sunsprite
P.S. Heya, this is Ausgold. Just wanted to say, Sunsprite has been crying since she woke up. Write to her soon, okay? And write to us, too. We miss you already.
* * *
"Oh, alright. Please tell me your name so I can check for your student ID," the man at the table said, flipping through a list of students.
Halfeti was a name she couldn't give him. That had long since been decided upon by the superiors in the House. It wasn't a normal name, for one. And she only had one name, as opposed to the three names typically given to all of those in the Empire and under The One Path. It would complicate things too much, raise too many eyebrows, invite too much skepticism.
So, Halfeti gave the man the name that The Sister had decided on.
Roselyn, for her family name. It was what the House presented to others, so it seemed fitting.
Strix, for her baptism. She wasn't quite sure about this one, but the Sister probably knew what she was doing.
And finally, her first name. She had been allowed to choose this one for herself. And maybe at that moment she had been a little sentimental, because she had suddenly remembered horn-rimmed glasses and a word whispered to the wind.
"Marilla Strix Roselyn."
"I see," the man at the desk said, checking off a box on his list. "Move to dorm 32. Here's your ID."
"Alright."
"Hm." The man looked up at her. "Just to make sure, you're Marilla Strix Roselyn, right?"
"Yes," Halfeti said, "That's me."