Peggy

                          Lady Aurora de la Croix

        Until December 29^th, 2001 we had another leggy blonde among our ranks.  Her name was Aurora de la Croix.  “Aurora” was the Roman goddess of the dawn.  “De la Croix” means “of the cross.”  The cross, as you know, is a symbol for most of the forms of Christianity.  So, in the name Aurora de la Croix, we find references to two different religions, Roman and Christian. 

        This was Peggy to a tea.  She was many things that one person should not be able to be at once.  She was beautiful and completely unconcerned with this fact.  She had faith and yet was utterly independent and free-willed.  She was everybody’s friend and yet she never demanded a thing from anyone.  In short, she was an amazing person… not the type one runs into every day.  There are endless things I could list here that were wonderful about her, but one in particular stands out in my memory.

Singing.  Aurora, Ivah and myself formed a sort of impromptu trio one day and started to learn period (and not so period) songs together.  From then on, whenever we were all together we would sing.  Finally, at the bardic competition at Southern Crusades 2001, we decided to compete for the first time… and we won the popular vote.  It was the only time we ever competed together and I’ll never forget how we demurely accepted our winnings, thanked everyone in a very lady-like fashion, departed the stage collectedly and walked away from the pavilion.  As soon as we were out of earshot we all burst into loud laughter and whoops of joy.  In all likelihood, they heard us back at the site of the competition… but my, we were happy that night and not at all afraid to let everyone else know.

 " The night that it rained and the earthworms crawled out onto the sidewalks on campus, all of us were walking around in the darkness trying to save them. Naturally, it was rather chilly and we were all getting wet but getting warm fuzzies because, well, we were saving earthworms. However, after a certain amount of time we realized that we really couldn’t save them all. At that point we all started walking home, because it was really getting late. I was still the baby of the group and so when everybody started telling Aurora to do her banshee scream, I had no idea what they were talking about. After much cajoling, she finally consented. At that point everybody in the group scattered to various places about a ten foot radius away from our dear Aurora, and covered their ears. I did the same, and a moment later a piercing and absolutely chilling scream like trilling burst out of our friend and echoed across the parking lot. It was a moment I will always remember."
         --Lady Keina Vis

 ***

  "Aurora was the first College friend I introduced to my mom. Me and her drove my car (back when it could make the trek from Flag to Phoenix and back without dying) to the Dance and Rapier Collegium in Sundragon in spring 2000. She drove, and we talked. And talked. And talked. I really felt we bonded. We got to the event and had an excellent time. I had arranged for everyone to come to my house and crash for the night before heading to the tourneys on Sunday. Unfortunately, everyone wanted to go to the after-revels and spend the night there. I was really disappointed because I wanted to introduce my mom to all the new friends that I had been making in college. Aurora saw my disappointment and although she probably wanted to go where all the fun was, she said, " I'll go home with you and meet your mom." 
I took her home and introduced her to my mother. My mother thought she was too thin and kept trying to feed her. Aurora took it all in stride, and actually felt complimented at all the attention lavished on her. The trip back was the same, with more bonding.
Even though we didn't see each other often (life pulled us in different directions) we always took time to talk to each other and keep each other informed about what was going on in our lives. We even went salsa dancing for awhile. And she was there in my darkest hour, offering me her shoulder to cry on and chocolate chip cookies.
She was even my feast-o-crat at my first major autocratting job...Baronial Polling. Even if the potatoes did come out a bit crispy, she did an excellent job...and seeing her get her AoA was a wonderful thing indeed...especially seeing her look of surprise and happiness as she read her own name during court.
Aurora was a kind person and a true friend. I only wish I had gotten closer to her. However, the times we were together I will cherish for the rest of my life. "
         --Lady Jerusha a'Laon
 

 ***

 "I remember strolling about the grounds of a north country war and I happened upon two of the three leggy blonds. They spoke in hushed tones and I feared my approach gave them a bit of a start. I calmed them with a tale of wonder that the night gives us power most do not even dream of. And to prove it I asked they pick a star in the heavens. They choose a bright blue white in the northern sky. I told them watch and I would make it wink at them. They seemed astounded when it did indeed wink. And I said with training and clear thought they would some day be able to duplicate the feat. I didn't have the heart to tell them that our atmosphere causes that optical illusion.
They went on that night to sing before the fires of the encampment, such love and beauty lost to us. I now look for that star and pray it winks for me, for in its light I still see Aurora."
         --Baron Friedrich Ethelred aus Schloss Trier

 ***

 "I never was much of a writer, but tend to express myself with the more visual arts. Click on the picture to veiw a better version. "

    --Lady Adrian Drake

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