Post by wordy on Oct 2, 2011 15:46:18 GMT 10
A Day in the Life...of a Harrier
by wordy
I ran my thumb over the grip of my baton as I stood in the courtyard, waiting. It was a few hours past dawn and I was still buzzing with nerves and excitement. I was sure that anyone who looked at me would see me bursting with it, but none of my cousins turned my way. They were all probably as focused on the coming day as I was.
Before long, my aunt arrived. I noticed how we all stood a little straighter, lifted our chins a little higher, as she walked across the courtyard to stand in front of us. Zahra Acalon radiated confidence and strength like no one I’d ever seen before. She was the reason I wanted to be a harrier, the reason I was standing here today. When her gaze drifted across the group, I felt my throat tighten for a moment as her eyes met mine. I wanted to be worthy of working beside her in the Provost’s Guard. I would be worthy, I promised myself.
There were no inspirational words from Zahra. We were ordered to pair up for the first drill, and there was a shuffling of feet as everyone moved quickly to obey. I found myself standing across from Reha, who grinned at me. “Ready, Haiday?”
“I was born ready,” I whispered back to her, fighting my own grin.
Reha laughed. “Weren’t we all?”
I almost missed Zahra’s order to begin. Reha was already lunging at me, her baton heading straight for my right side. I brought my own baton up and they met with a crack, the impact jarring all the way up my arm and down my shoulder. Reha stepped back and let me have a second to shake it off, and then I was striking for her left, falling quickly into the familiar rhythm of the drill.
Soon, my shirt was sticky with sweat and my hair was plastered to my forehead. I tried to shake it out of my eyes and still keep my guard up, regretting that I hadn’t cut my hair shorter like Halmaedy had when she became a harrier.
By the time the drill was finished and we were changing partners for the next one, my arms were beginning to ache. But a harrier couldn’t let their guard down just because they were tired, so I gritted my teeth and worked through my exhaustion. If I was feeling like this, then everyone around me must have been feeling the same.
We were practising defence against two attackers when Zahra finally let us stop drills for the day. Across the courtyard, Reha grinned at me, and I felt the tension in my shoulders start to melt away. The sun was only just reaching its peak in the sky; there was still a full day of work ahead of us. I was looking forward to it.
After splashing some water on my face and changing my shirt, I rejoined the group in the courtyard. Once everyone had assembled again—some of my cousins still looking red in the face from the morning’s exercise—we followed Zahra out of the house and onto the street. Though I had walked this way a hundred, thousand times, a wave of excitement swept over me. We were going to the Guard House, and this time we would emerge as true harriers.
Everything looked different, as if I had new eyes. As if I was a new person. The cells, the infirmary, the supply room. We stood and listened as Zahra introduced us to the harrier who was currently supervising the day’s watch. She ran through the usual spiel about a harrier’s duty, the basics of safety and defence—never let your partner out of your sight, and always have their back—then finally our new uniforms and equipment were being handed around. As I waited in line to sign for my new belongings, I felt someone nudge my shoulder.
“You look pale, Haiday,” whispered Vani, leaning forward. I didn’t need to turn around to know he was wearing that condescending smirk. “Nervous?”
“No,” I said quietly, hoping he would leave me be. Ever since that day when Pasco had hung us up in the air with his magic, Vani’s behaviour had got worse. As if he had something to prove, a need to show us all that he was the top of the heap.
“I bet you’re wondering who your partner’ll be,” he continued. “Maybe Luc, you know him? A coward if I ever saw one. You’ll be face down in the street after a watch with him, guts in the gutter.” He laughed at his own joke and stepped back as the line moved forward once more. Gran’ther Edoar had told us all that ignoring Vani was the only thing to do, but my cousin’s words still made me feel sick to the stomach. I could barely keep my hand from trembling as I signed my name.
But my mind was soon caught up in more important things. If I had thought that becoming a harrier was as easy as snapping my fingers, then today I was proved wrong. There was more talking from Zahra and from the supervising harrier, more rules, and more drills: we had to practise putting on our leather armor and taking it off again until every single one of us had it perfect, and then there were the wrist and neck guards to deal with. My arms were aching again when we were done, from lifting them up and down so much.
Finally, Zahra read out who we were all to be partnered with for our few months of training. The Guard House had started to fill up with harriers while we were practising arming ourselves, and now I glanced around at the small crowd, trying to stifle my concerns. There weren’t all that many harriers present—some were still on their watch, others probably sleeping in preparation for their watch tonight—but the sight was still intimidating enough.
I didn’t see the coward Luc anywhere, and everyone who met my nervous gaze seemed to be looking forward to getting a trainee. A few harriers I recognised by sight, and my heartbeat seemed to settle a little. I couldn’t let someone like Vani frighten me, no matter what kind of partner I was faced with. Zahra was reading down the list now at a steady pace. I glanced around the room and caught Reha’s eye. Soon, I would be a real harrier. Fear could freeze you up, or make you weak; I had no intention of letting anyone—bully cousin or otherwise—spoil my dream.
When Zahra called out my name, I was ready.