Heart of Golde

Disclaimer: This is Mercedes Lackey's sandbox- Valdemar, Heralds, Companions, and all that jazz belong to her. I'm exceedingly happy to have permission to play with them.

Chapter Two - "My Heart Knew"

Adara's first thought was to simply continue on with her plan- there was no reason the presence of a Herald in the House should change anything for her. Most likely the Herald would be cooling his heels waiting to pay his respects to Mother Denata and there was absolutely no reason she desired to get involved in that situation if she could avoid it.

She decided a detour would be wise and went around the side of a building several down from the House and into the alley that ran behind. The garden gate was on the side of the House closest to her near the back so this would give her the most chance of slipping in without being spotted.

To her relief, the little courtyard was empty when she pulled the gate open. She locked it behind her and sat down on the low stone wall that surrounded one of the planters, still a little tense. She decided the dumplings could wait- they were quite as good cold as they were hot- and instead arranged herself in a meditation posture. She closed her eyes and began to focus on her breathing, letting it be simply be a gentle in and out.

She had just gotten into the semi-trance state that had been her goal when the sound of the garden gate swinging snapped her back to regular consciousness.

Who...?

She opened her eyes to find herself staring into brilliant deep pools of sapphire.

How did you get in here and why? she barely had time to get the thought out before she fell in. There was an almost endless moment of feeling she was being searched and weighed and then she heard the Companion's voice in her head.

:I am called Silverfire and I Choose you.:

There was another endless moment, this one of warmth and acceptance, from the, no, her Companion and a gentle surety that she would never again be alone. She might have been willing to lose herself in those emotions for quite some time but a nagging question brought her back, :Why me?:

Silverfire snorted, :Why not?:

That took her aback. Surely there was a better reason?

:Do I need one? I just knew. I was called here, as we all are called when our time comes, though I did not know then just who my Chosen would be. But when I saw you, when I looked into you, my heart knew. Do I need any other reason?:

:I suppose not.:

She began to think about how this would... change things. She had expected to go back to Ruvan within the year to complete her training and become a full Daughter in the House of the Golden Lotus but she could tell now that was not in her future.

:Someone is approaching.:

She opened her eyes to see Kellis and Mother Denata both standing there, slightly slack-jawed. The House-Mother was the first one to speak, "And what exactly is the meaning of this Adara?"

Adara took a deep breath and collected herself, "Mother, this is Silverfire. My Companion. I've...." her throat stuck on the words but she finally managed to get them out, "I've been Chosen."

The Mother took a deep breath. It would not do to lose her temper and she must be rational about this but she was not pleased at losing one of her most prized pupils. Soon after returning to Ruvan, Adara's First Night would have been auctioned to highest bidder- a practice that could bring quite large sums of money- and a portion of those proceeds would have been hers. She would now lose that windfall, but perhaps there would be another way to turn this situation to her advantage? Having a Herald who was friendly to the House could be quite a boon indeed. All of this went through her head in a very brief instant and she quickly changed her expression from one of nearly anger to one of guarded enthusiasm, "Congratulations. It is a wonderful blessing to this House that one of our Daughters has been Chosen to enter the service of the Crown."

Adara could tell the Mother was up to something, she never got that look unless she was plotting, something she did often enough for all the residents of the House to know that expression, "And I am honored to have been Chosen."

:We should be going soon. The Collegium is not far, especially not for me, but there are things that should be done today,: Silverfire's tone was gentle but insistent.

"I am told that I should take my leave soon, there is business at the Collegium I must attend to."

Mother Denata nodded, "Well, if you will come inside for a moment, we can get your personal effects packed. I'm sure you will want your embroidery kit."

Inside, the House was already a flurry of activity. As soon as the Mother had known what was going on, she had motioned Kellis back inside and Kellis had set everyone into flurry of preparation. Sanya came up and hugged her, "I'm so happy for you, love. I hope your new life will bring you joy."

Adara wasn't quite sure how to react to any of this and was a little stiff when Sanya came to embrace her. As they pulled apart, it occurred to Adara that she still had Sanya's gift in the hip pocket of her cloak, "I have something for you, darling."

Sanya gave her a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

"A gift, for your Daughterhood." She pulled the packet out of her pocket and handed it over.

Sanya turned it over and over and the pulled the drawstring to open it, releasing a small amount of the smell, "Hoooooly Mother of Stars! It's.... Mmmmmm."

Adara chuckled, "I thought you would enjoy that. The fellow I bought it from said it came out of the far north, something the tribes up there use."

The other girl shook her head in wonderment, "I don't think I could care where it came from, it smells so amazing. But shouldn't you be upstairs getting your things together? I can't imagine you have a lot of time to spare."

"Probably not," Adara agreed and allowed herself to be ushered up to her rooms.