Elemental Witch: Child of the Earth (Part I)

Women

Benchan stopped at the door that led out to the gardens, drawing Verana to stop as well, "this is where you go on without me."

"Why?" Verana frowned, glancing through the glass and then back to him, "what happens behind those doors?"

"You're going to talk, answer questions, meet people, probably answer a lot of questions. But it's not my place to be there." Benchan shrugged.

Verana shook her head at that, letting out a slow breath, "because they call you Sir, and you call them Lord?"

Benchan chuckled with self depreciation, nodding, "I was Knighted because I earned honour serving the Lord of Morningside. I was raised slightly out of the rank of commoner, but not so much that I am considered one of them. You are born into those ranks."

"I would value the rank that was earned, over the rank that someone is born into." Verana snorted, narrowing her eyes, "you Humans are very strange in your priorities."

"Its the way the world works, Verana. Our society was built on these structures and protocols. We would descend into chaos without them." Benchan shrugged, his expression unbothered by the concepts he was explaining, "besides. I don't envy you. I have no desire to sit idly about, talking about fashion or books, or flowers for hours on end. I can't dance and don't want to learn. These women are less free than women like Greylin and Mirabel. Those women are raised that their only use is to find a husband who can provide for them and give them a strong family name. At least as commoners, women can choose love, can make their own paths in the world."

"Alright." Verana nodded, her head feeling heavy already, the exhaustion in her limbs weighing her down even as she stood there contemplating what she was about to face.

"Oh. And if they were the women wearing pants when you saw them, don't mention it. They arrived in dresses. It is not something they would like to have brought up, I don't think." Benchan shrugged, giving her a bracing look before he opened the door for her, "Lady Veranandein, Keeper of the Peace Sword, Feysha Ambassador to the Kingdom of Clairval."

Verana frowned at him but nodded and took in a sharp breath before strode through the door, out onto a decorated garden. The earth here was taken care of, she could feel it thrumming in its own tune and the plants grew with strength.It was controlled, and small, surrounded on all sides by walls and human contraptions. It was Not Quite Wild, the only way she could describe it, but she could feel the Earth singing to her, the plants leaning ever so slightly towards her to beg for her caress. 

The Keep itself loomed on three sides, with the fourth being taken up by the Keep's wall, both made of a thick grey stone that reverberated with a dead feeling. There was no connection to the Earth in those stones, they had been removed from it for far too long. There were bushes and flowers and a small patch of manicured grass hemmed with walls and dotted with unnatural looking stones placed to lead further into the greenery. 

One or two trees struggled to reach to the sky further away from where she was. There was a large expanse of stones on the ground, much like the walkways in town, though wider and taking up enough space that there was a stone statue that spat water into a pool and a large table, complete with chairs where the Humans sat.

After a moment, she pulled her attention from the garden itself to the Human occupants. There were guards,  off in the background, some of them wore the same colours as the riders this morning while others were the guards that had been around yesterday.  All  of the armed Humans were tense, watching her with a wariness they had not yet been able to let go of. 

Or perhaps they didn't wish to relax around her. The two men, Shelby and Cavin stood, as if poised to move forward but held back  to stand near the two female humans, whom she recognized by scent. They were the ones she had seen on the road, now wearing a form of dress, poised casually on their chairs and smelling of fear, uncertainty and eagerness.