Heir of the Sword

16 | Occurrens

Occurrens {an assembly of people}

"We will be leaving after breakfast today. Everyone must have anything they need for the tournament. Once we leave, we will not be back until the Heres Gladii finishes. For those of you who did not qualify for the tournament, unfortunately you will be staying at the academy with the teachers that will be remaining. Your classes will resume as normal." Lady Zelie finished her announcement.

The rest of the girls remained silent. It had been breakfast when Lady Zelie had taken it upon herself to explain how the rest of the day was going to be going. Arya had a vague idea but Lady Zelie's explanation had made it explicitly clear.

The girls that were not going to the Heres Gladii looked disappointed but Arya could understand where the headmistress was coming from. There would be a total of about thirty-five students going, not including the teachers. For each tournament; archery, Kalvarian History, Equestrianism, Herbs and Healing a maximum of five students were allowed. For the dueling portion, fifteen students were allowed since it was going to be a tournament style. If everyone in the academy were to go, it would cause a lot of ruckus in front of important delegates as well.

"All those who are going to be going to the Heres Gladii please go up to your dorms and pack everything you need. We will be meeting in the main hall after an hour. Please make sure to pack your uniform as well as a dress and formal clothes." Lady Zelie said.

There was a cluttering of plates and glasses as many of the girls got up to do what Lady Zelie said. In fact, it was more than the predicated number which made Arya believe that many of them had dragged their friends as well out of the room as well.

Arya finished eating her breakfast and ignored the conversation that Yasmin and Silvia seemed to be having. It had become a daily occurrence. Yasmin and Silvia sat with her at meal times and there wasn't anything that Arya could really do. She didn't mind the company and even if she didn't want to talk, Silvia would manage to coax Yasmin into a conversation. They would talk about their respective lands and while Arya learned a lot about the terrain and cultures, she still didn't actually know the name of the lands they came from.

Arya stood up to brush her uniform when Silvia and Yasmin's conversation came to an abrupt halt.

"Where are you going?" Silvia questioned.

"I have to pack." Arya replied.

"We'll go with you."

"No thank you," Arya replied politely and left before they could follow her. Well the gazes still followed her. Arya supposed they increased ever since she had become the champion for the Narvian Academy.

She ignored the gaze and the few girls littering in the hallways before making her way to her room. She grabbed her leather bag and began putting in outfits that she might need. She knew not to pack anything fancy (it's not like she had anything fancy) since Lady Zelie had shown her the wardrobe that awaited her at the castle. Arya made sure to pack her books on Kalvrian History as well as any quills or parchments that might come in handy. Anaz was placed into its scabbard and Arya kept it attached to her waist.

Knowing that she still had about half an hour before everyone was meeting, Arya decided to go visit Eclipse. She exited through the academy's front gate nodding her head when she saw Bianca stationed there. The way to the stables were quick and the smell of livestock and hay filled her nostrils pretty quickly. She could see Eclipse in his stall. He snorted when he saw Arya approaching.

Arya held her fingers to his muzzle and he gently nibbled on her fingers. Arya smiled before handing him the apple from her pocket. It was clear that Eclipse knew that she had been hiding the apple in her pocket.