Roommates

Furnlow stepped into the hall, and they all looked at him.

 “Well, here we are again,” he smiled at them. “It’s always exciting when a new group of trainees arrive. The possibilities are endless,” he continued. He seemed less formal than before, Mary thought.

 “Today is all about getting you situated and comfortable. Tomorrow the training will start. This first week will be focused on basic things like learning to find your way around the sanctum, rowing the boats so you can come and go, basic things,” he continued.

 “You will also be given a mentor. This is an aari that we believe will suit your needs and talents. Your mentor may change further down the line as your talents grow and change. But for now, we have chosen them based on how you did during the evaluation,” Furnlow informed them.

 “Your mentor will act as an advisor, trying to help you decide what skills to hone, what knowledge to seek and which electable courses to choose for you to become the aari that you feel suits you best. Do you have questions so far?” he asked.

 “No? Good,” he said, as they all stayed quiet. “I see that all of you are in your trainee clothing. Good. The one thing that is missing are these,” he said, holding up a piece of white fabric.

 “These are the white armbands that you will always wear on both of your arms at all times. They are a symbol of the white-clad status you are striving for. They will let not only the people in the sanctum, but in all of Salmisara know you are in training to become aari,” he explained as he moved around, handing two armbands to each of them.

“When you don these, you are representing the institution of aari. You will behave in a manner that is appropriate for that honour. You will not be seen drunk in public. You will do nothing to break the law. You will not fight in public unless it is to protect yourself or an innocent person and lastly. You will not badmouth, ridicule, or harass another human,” he recited.

 “If that is something you are willing to commit to, please put your armbands on, and don’t take them off. Even on your days off, you are to wear the trainee clothes. When you become an aari, you will never take your whit clothes off as an aari is never not an aari. It’s just as well that you get used to it,” he added.  

 Mary and Firlea helped each other by getting the armbands in place. It felt like a big moment, and they smiled at each other.

 “Good, everyone put them on. That’s a good start. First things first. Aari Mildy will escort you to your rooms and handing out the room assignments. Your belongings should already have arrived. Take the morning to get yourself settled and to get to know your roommates. You will live with them for the next three years,” Furnlow said with a smile.

“We will come by and escort you to lunch. You will eat lunch in a separate hall today so that you all can get to know each other. I doubt that all of you got the chance to meet during evaluation. In the afternoon, you will be introduced to your mentors and have time to talk to them. Then you will have some time to settle down before dinner,” he continued.

 “Today, we will arrange for you to have an escort when you need to go somewhere. Tomorrow morning, your orientation of the sanctum starts. After that, you will be on your own, so try to remember your way. If you get lost or confused, ask someone for direction. Everyone knows you are new and will help you out. Better that than to wonder around for hours on end,” he laughed a little, but Mary seriously could believe that you could be lost for days in this building with all its winding corridors and stairs leading in different directions.

As Mildy entered the hall, Furnlow bid them goodbye. Mildy gathered them into a group and led them away from the entrance and up three flights of stairs.

 “These are the bathrooms. They are shared by everyone on the floor, but they are all single once, so you will be alone when you use them. Everyone uses the same bathrooms, but not at the same time, please,” she smiled.

 “There are five bathrooms at this end of the corridor and five at the other. It should be more than enough for you,” she continued.

 “Okay, these are your rooms. We have three double and three triple rooms prepared for you. When I call your name, you can go into your room and start getting unpacked,” she told them, taking out a piece of paper.

 “First room, Stealp and Tarnini Klepo,” Mildy called out, and the married couple that Mary and Firlea had gotten to know on their first day walked into the room.

 “Second room, Krim Yokun, Alon Geheem and Rien Wolmie” she then called out and three men, all in their twenties, started making their way into the room as they greeted each other.

 Mary got nervous. There were seven women left, which meant that she may not end up sharing a room with Firlea. That would be sad, but Mary would be happy just to live with someone nice.

 “Third room, Firlea Kabaan, Hinat Seolo and Mary Teeran,” Mildy said, smiling at Mary. Mary smiled back at her and felt happy and relieved.

 She and Firlea made their way into their new home alongside their new roommate. The room was huge and not at all what Mary had expected.

 As they entered, they saw three desks arranged so that two were facing each other and the third was facing their ends. Making it possible for all three roommates to face each other as they sat at them.

In each of the other three corners of the room, there was a bed. The beds were of a good size and were made of iron. Next to each bed there was a nightstand and then a bookshelf that stood alongside the bed.

The bookshelves weren’t that high. They came to about Mary’s shoulder. But they, alongside the wardrobes that were at the foot of each bed, created the feeling that each bed had its own smaller room.

 On the opposite wall from the door, there was a bay window with a seating bench built into it. The three of them stood in the middle of the room, looking around. Their belongings had been taken to their room and Mary saw her chest on top of the bed in the right-hand corner.

 “This looks nice,” Firlea was the first one that spoke.

 “Yes, this is amazing,” Mary agreed and turned towards the unfamiliar woman. “Hello, I’m Mary and this is Firlea,” Mary said with a smile.

 “Hi, I’m Hinat. It’s nice to meet you both,” the woman said.

 Mary would guess that she was around the same age as Mary. Her eyes looked like liquid gold and she had dark chocolate skin. She was taller than both Mary and Firlea and lean. She was a beautiful woman, but what caught Mary’s interest the most was her black hair. It was braided into tiny braids that were creating intricate patterns on her head before flowing down her back.

 “I love your hair,” Mary told her and Hinat smiled.

 “Thank you, my mom spent almost the entire day yesterday braiding it”

 “It looks beautiful,” Firlea said.

 The three of them chatted as they unpacked their things. Hinat was the daughter of the ambassador from Ne’xiss, the country that lay beyond the southern sea. She had lived in Salmis since she was five. It was more home to her than her home country. She seemed like a kind person. Mary was happy with her as a roommate.

 As Mary unpacked her last things, she looked around in her part of the room. The shelf looked mostly empty, but the quilt had added some colour and made the corner feel more like home. She stored her chest under her bed and took her writing tools and walked over to the desks.

 “Do you have a preference for which desk you would like?” she asked the other two.

 “No, I’m fine with which ever,” Hinat said.

 “Same here,” Firlea told her.

 Mary picked one desk and set up her tools. There was already a thick stack of paper on each desk.

The room was lit by the same lamps that they had seen in the library, with magic fire. Mary looked at the one hanging over the desks. It had small screens that you could slide across. One screen was a mech. It softened the light. The other screen was solid metal and when it was pulled across, the lamp became dark.

“This is so incredible,” she said to no one in particular. The others came to put down their quills and inks and to look at the lamp.

“That is awesome,” Hinat agreed.

Ass all three had finished unpacking, they all crammed themselves into the bench in the bay window and sat there talking and looking out over the river and the city. They had been lucky and got a room that had a river view.