"What is this, Squire Din?" The woman held a neatly folded piece of paper in her calloused hand, but her eyes were not on it. She stared at the tiefling in front of her, betraying nothing of her thoughts.
"My resgination."
Three days before her eighteenth birthday, Laila Din handed in her letter of resignation. On a surface level, to some, it would seem the now-former squire was resigning for an unbelievably petty reason: her leave of absence for her eighteenth birthday had been denied. "Aw, the princess is throwing a tantrum," they might snicker to themselves. "What a joke. She'd never survive the Imperial Knight trials if she couldn't sacrifice one day." And on a surface level, yes, Laila had been pissed that her leave of absence had been denied. She couldn't even ask if they just didn't know who she was. Everyone knew who she was. She was very vocal about it. They were going to deny her the celebration of her eighteenth birthday, and they were going to deny her Ma and Pa the chance to spend it with their precious baby girl. Of course she was pissed. It was deeper than surface-level annoyances, though.
Laila had always looked up to her older siblings. Responsible Imani, ambitious Amari, and above all the others, awesome Altair. His ascent through the ranks of the Sith military brought stories home that filled her childish brain with dreams of victory and valor just like him. When he cast the Sith out from the Empire and promised a new era, she dreamed of climbing the ranks of the Imperial Knights herself to lead armies and liberate the masses from the evils of the Sith. It was all she had ever wanted... until it wasn't.
It hadn't taken long for Laila to lose her rose-colored glasses of the Imperial Knights. She'd never really gotten along with her instructor, even when she tried. She liked the training (even if the hand-to-hand combat was a bit redundant for a lifelong Matukai) but hated the meditations. The rigidness and formality of the Imperial Knight's structure were suffocating. As she slowly began to fall behind some of her peers, Laila came to an anxious realization: maybe, just maybe this wasn't her path.
It felt like shattering her ego. It felt like failure. When she went home two days before her birthday, she could hardly look her parents in the eyes. She expected disappointment from them. Maybe a shake of the head from Pa and a lecture from Ma, but there was none of that. Just a quiet two days of birthday celebrations, and reassurance that they'd support her in whatever path she took, so long as it wasn't something stupid (Pa said that last part).
Laila felt a little better. She'd feel even better after her eighteen. A good night of clubbing always cheered her up, until the next morning, at least. She'd think about where life would take her after that. Because after all, she was only leaving the Imperial Knights. She was still a princess. There were so many things she could do.
"My resgination."
*:･ﾟ✧
Three days before her eighteenth birthday, Laila Din handed in her letter of resignation. On a surface level, to some, it would seem the now-former squire was resigning for an unbelievably petty reason: her leave of absence for her eighteenth birthday had been denied. "Aw, the princess is throwing a tantrum," they might snicker to themselves. "What a joke. She'd never survive the Imperial Knight trials if she couldn't sacrifice one day." And on a surface level, yes, Laila had been pissed that her leave of absence had been denied. She couldn't even ask if they just didn't know who she was. Everyone knew who she was. She was very vocal about it. They were going to deny her the celebration of her eighteenth birthday, and they were going to deny her Ma and Pa the chance to spend it with their precious baby girl. Of course she was pissed. It was deeper than surface-level annoyances, though.
Laila had always looked up to her older siblings. Responsible Imani, ambitious Amari, and above all the others, awesome Altair. His ascent through the ranks of the Sith military brought stories home that filled her childish brain with dreams of victory and valor just like him. When he cast the Sith out from the Empire and promised a new era, she dreamed of climbing the ranks of the Imperial Knights herself to lead armies and liberate the masses from the evils of the Sith. It was all she had ever wanted... until it wasn't.
It hadn't taken long for Laila to lose her rose-colored glasses of the Imperial Knights. She'd never really gotten along with her instructor, even when she tried. She liked the training (even if the hand-to-hand combat was a bit redundant for a lifelong Matukai) but hated the meditations. The rigidness and formality of the Imperial Knight's structure were suffocating. As she slowly began to fall behind some of her peers, Laila came to an anxious realization: maybe, just maybe this wasn't her path.
It felt like shattering her ego. It felt like failure. When she went home two days before her birthday, she could hardly look her parents in the eyes. She expected disappointment from them. Maybe a shake of the head from Pa and a lecture from Ma, but there was none of that. Just a quiet two days of birthday celebrations, and reassurance that they'd support her in whatever path she took, so long as it wasn't something stupid (Pa said that last part).
Laila felt a little better. She'd feel even better after her eighteen. A good night of clubbing always cheered her up, until the next morning, at least. She'd think about where life would take her after that. Because after all, she was only leaving the Imperial Knights. She was still a princess. There were so many things she could do.