Sorceress

Chapter 6

“All young girls and women at Our Mother of Sacred Hearts will abide by the following rules.  One: You will follow the scheduled routine set out for you.  For those of you sent to us by influential and upper class families, you will partake in dancing lessons, grace, charm, singing, needle point, decorum, and society classes.  You will learn to be ladies.  We do not tolerate laziness, unseemliness or any kind of behaviour which can be frowned upon.  For those of you who come to us from less fortunate circumstances, you will learn skills here such as cooking, cleaning and other household skills which will be of use to you later in life.

Two: You will attend song and earth prayer four times a day.

Three: You will wear only what Our Mother of Sacred Hearts has deemed appropriate for you to wear.  No one will wear adornments of any kind.

Four:  You will treat all our senior Sisters of Sacred Hearts with respect and undertake any actions requested of you.  We will not tolerate any disobedience or foul behaviour.  Any behaviour deemed to be out of line will be disciplined swiftly and harshly.

Five:  You will never leave the convent grounds under any circumstances.  Any girl who leaves will be disciplined in the harshest of manners.

Six: There are certain areas of the convent deemed off limits to students.  First year students are permitted only in their designated classrooms.  The garden and orchard are expressly off limits unless told otherwise.

Seven: Meals will be served at morning sun rise and as dark falls.  If you are late, you will not eat.”

The matron walked back and forth in front of us while she listed the rules on her fingers.  She was a tall and thin woman with piercing blue eyes.  Her hair tucked under her head dress was black as the night.  Her cheekbones stood out on her face, making her look gaunt, and she had a slim, slightly rounded nose.  She may have once been beautiful, but the starkness of her white dress and tightly bound hair made her look harsh and unwelcoming. 

“There will be no favouritism here, I can assure you,” she continued.  “Even for the daughter of the King.” She finished as she came to a halt in front of me. 

“Morgana, stand up and repeat to the girls what I have just finished saying,” she said.

As I stood up slowly, I had the unpleasant feeling that I had missed something important.  My stomach rolled over, and I racked my brains for the last thing I had heard.

“There are no favourites,” I mumbled.

“Say it louder.” The Matron ordered as she looked down her nose at me.

“There are no favourites,” I repeated, louder.

“Do you know what that means Morgana?” she asked.

Puzzled at her question, I answered “it means… that there are no favourites?”

“It means that neither power, nor prestige, nor family influence will change the fact that you are here,” she answered as she moved away.  “You may be seated Morgana.”

And so my life at the convent began.  I rose every morning with the sun.  I attended my classes and, to my surprise I enjoyed them.  My morning was filled with classes on etiquette and decorum.  How to eat, walk, dress, curtsy, talk, where to put my hands, how to cock my head, how to smile.  Afternoons consisted of needle point, letters and writing, and dancing.  The dancing teacher was a plump, red faced woman named Sister Delayne.  Despite her size, Sister Delayne floated across the floor.  If I hadn’t seen her feet moving, I would have sworn she was a ghost.  She had beautiful form, and her movements were so graceful.  She never missed a beat.  I was constantly placed in the back of the room, behind all the other girls, or sisters as we were repeatedly told to refer to each other as.  Sister Delayne placed me back there after a week of dance lessons.  Despite my best efforts to behave, the dance moves seemed so simple.  I couldn’t resist the temptation to throw in an extra step here, or twirl there.  Why could my arms not be wings and my feet dance on clouds?  According to Sister Delayne, it was because my movements were “untraditional”.