Post by wordy on Dec 4, 2010 16:03:31 GMT 10
A Day in the Life of...a Commander
by greenie
I was most definitely beginning to question my sanity when I stumbled bleary-eyed into the barracks before the break of dawn. Despite the early hour, Buriram Tourakom, Commander of the Queen’s Riders, was clearly waiting for me. She looked me over and snorted. “Should’ve had you sleep here last night, that way we’d know you’d be awake.”
Sergeant Ogunsanwo, who insisted on being called Sarge, was standing beside her and grinning at me. I was instantly suspicious – that grin seemed to be tainted with mischief. “Wait here,” he told me, and they both disappeared. Moments later I heard bellowing reverberating through the building, closely followed by the thunder of feet hitting the floor. Buri reappeared in the doorway, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
“I’m awake now,” I told them shakily, and hoped that they were convinced.
Luckily I had forgotten to eat breakfast, and so I joined the Riders and trainees for a sumptuous morning feast. Sarge informed me that breakfast was the most important meal of the day for the trainees because they needed the energy from it. Buri added with a grin that they were too exhausted to eat much for the other meals. She discussed the plans for the day with the other training officers while they ate, and they somehow still all managed to be finished before the trainees were. I decided that I need to learn how to do this multi-tasking, and preferably as soon as possible.
Immediately after breakfast, the officers supervised the trainees readying their horses. I got the chance to observe first-hand how Buri’s eyes seemed to be able to see everywhere at once – admirable and slightly unnerving at the same time. Today the trainees were going to be learning how to fall to the ground from the saddle – something which I now personally know takes a lot more skill than just throwing yourself sideways and downwards. The Commander’s only reaction to the complaints of the trainees about the mud on the ground was to grin and tell them that they’d soon appreciate the soft landing.
Sure enough, within the hour each trainee was covered in mud and looked almost like some odd sort of Immortal. I couldn’t help but feel bad for them, even though I had thoroughly enjoyed the task I’d been given of throwing things for them to avoid. The next thing I knew, Buri had flung the practice yard gate open, and the trainees were tearing down the long paddock on their ponies as Buri and Sarge watched.
“Finer and Birch,” said Sarge out of the blue.
Buri seemed to be thinking this over. “Agreed on Finer,” she said finally, “but I reckon Semmel for first off.”
“What are you talking about?” I had to ask.
“First one back, and first one to fall off.”
I’m sure my jaw dropped. “You bet on the trainees?”
She just laughed. “It’s something of a tradition by now.”
Buri put the trainees through a series of exercises that seemed to be part of a daily routine before they could go back to the stables and groom their ponies. Again, she seemed to be able to watch everything at once. When I worked up the courage to mention this to her, she laughed and told me that she’d had plenty of experience at knowing what to look for. (Understandable, of course, but I think I like my theory better.)
Only when their ponies had been checked over and approved were the trainees allowed to go to the baths. The officers and I went with them, because we were also splattered in mud and feeling like we needed warming up. Lunch followed the baths, again in the hall in the barracks. I was surprised to see that Her Majesty Queen Thayet was joining us for lunch – she hadn’t been at the morning training, and rumour had it that she was pregnant again. With three children under the age of five and another one on the way, I wasn’t sure how anyone could manage to find time and energy for anything else, regardless of how much help they had. Thayet smiled at me and told me she’d be helping with the afternoon’s lessons, and I spent the rest of the meal fighting down an overexcited blush because I’d been personally addressed by the queen.
I sat through the afternoon’s lessons with the trainees, although Commander Buri was gone for the first lesson on map drawing and interpretation. Lord Raoul of Goldenlake, Knight Commander of the King’s Own, had stopped by to talk with her in private. She was gone for longer than I’d expected, but she seemed to be in good spirits when she came back, so whatever they’d talked about, it must’ve been good. Her Majesty informed me with a twinkle in her eye that they put a lot of effort into keeping a good relationship between the Own and the Riders.
Commander Buri instructed most of the remainder of the lessons herself, focussing today on the different types of terrain and weather conditions for each season for different parts of Tortall. She told us all that it was highly important that the Riders took the right gear with them, or they’d be the ones that needed saving. For the last lesson of the day, the trainees were split into two groups. Those with the Gift went to be trained in its use, while most of the trainees remained with Commander Buri to learn makeshift medical treatments. Today, she was showing them how to stitch up wounds, and I found myself deliberately not paying much attention after she told the trainees that there would more than likely be nothing to numb the pain. All the same, I found myself with even more respect for her – she was clearly speaking from experience.
Dinner was right after this last lesson, and I was surprised to find that I was the only one who seemed to be squeamish. Commander Buri gave me an amused look. “Riders learn quickly to eat when they can,” she told me, and I sheepishly forced the food into my mouth and hoped that it would stay down.
Meditation followed dinner, and it was done by the officers as well as the trainees. Buri seemed more than happy to be settling herself cross-legged on the floor; she saw the surprise on my face and grinned at me as I sat down cautiously beside her. “What’s not to like? It’s the most relaxing part of the day.” The trainees also seemed happy to be settling down. One by one they were all closing their eyes, their breathing becoming deep and even. A glance at Buri showed me that she had already done the same, so I copied her.
I woke up to the sound of giggles and saw faces peering at me. A hand clapped onto my shoulder, and I looked up to see Sarge grinning down at me, Buri beside him. “Don’t worry,” he told me, “a few weeks ago they’d all have been asleep too.”
“And you won me a silver noble,” added Buri. I felt my face turn bright red.
The trainees went to bed once they’d had one last laugh at my expense, and Buri went to her office to do paperwork, mostly sorting out accounts. “What’s all that?” I asked, pointing to a scattered heap of papers on the floor.
“Raoul,” muttered Buri, and I was sure I saw her face flush slightly. “I mean,” she corrected, “Raoul was in a hurry to, er, show me something.”
I nodded and amused myself by poking around her office and peering over her shoulder, although I learned quickly that an annoyed huff meant that I should quickly back off. After an hour, she was ready for bed, and offered me a place in the barracks for the night to avoid a late-night walk back to my lodgings. Tempting as it sounded, I remembered the wake-up call I’d be getting and shuddered. She grinned at me knowingly as I hastily bid her goodnight and farewell before heading back down to the city to a warm bed and a long, undisturbed sleep.