Chapter 10: If Home Is Where The Heart Is
The next morning, Odale woke up. She didn't want to wake up, instead she just pushed her head into her pillow. Still, the sun shone onto her face and she couldn't sleep. Odale sighed, and sat up, stretching.
Marcia had came back with Septimus late the previous night. "What about the body?" Odale had asked. Marcia had, shortly, said that it was 'taken care of'. Most likely, Odale thought, it was Rodrian who had taken care of it. He seemed to know how to.
"Odale?" Marcia knocked on her door. "Wake up."
Odale patted Indigo on the head, before rising up. "I'm already up," she told Marcia.
"Good," Marcia said. "Then get up."
Quickly, Odale grabbed her apprentice-tunic and pulled it over her head and opened the door. "See," she said. "Not sleeping. Not in bed. Happy?"
"Well, you could always brush your hair," Marcia replied. "When Septimus wakes up, you could always tell him what we've done this past month so he doesn't fall behind. Okay?"
"Why don't you wake him up?" Odale asked, walking back into her room to find her brush.
"Odale, he's been looked down under the earth with that hideous alchemist for a month. Don't you think he deserves some rest?" Marcia answered with a little smile, that was a bit unlike her.
Odale crossed her arms, murmuring something lowly to herself. "I'll go clean up the Library," Odale replied, once again stretching her arms up.
"Of course," Marcia said. "And Odale, by the way, someone left a note for you. It's on the kitchen table, if you'd like to get it."
"Oh," Odale sighed. It was, most likely, Rodrian. Or her mother. Probably her mother... Even though Marcia was a bit too secretive, Odale thought, and seemed to be in a good mood. Probably because Septimus was back. Marcia had, even though Odale knew she'd never admit it, been worried. About what, she wasn't sure. Maybe that he wouldn't come back? Maybe that he wouldn't want to come back?
On the way to the kitchen, she quickly brushed her hair and put it up, so it wouldn't be in her way. Inside the kitchen, there was a letter on the table. Quickly, Odale put the brush down and put the little letter up. It was plain, of yellow-tinted paper. Someone had quickly scribbled a short message.
My mum asked me to give this to you / Clarence
Odale ripped the little letter open and a colorful note fell out. She read it.
Dear Othael, it read and Odale grimaced. They had spelled her name wrong. We welcome you to
"Our EasternSnowplainian meet-up," Odale read aloud, almost shouted so that Marcia would hear. "What is this?"
"What the note says," Marcia came into the kitchen. "Don't you want to go?"
She grimaced, again. "I don't know, Marcia," Odale replied, looking at the colourful note. "What am I to do there?"
"For starters," Marcia begun, "They have some sort of youth club. Maybe-"
Odale dropped the paper as if it was a hot potato, turned her back on Marcia. "I have way too much work I need to do," Odale snapped. "Besides, what should I do there? Nothing of importance, I guess."
"Odale," Marcia's voice was stern. "You're not going to be my apprentice forever. If you keep pushing people away you'll have no one th-"
Frustrated, Odale pushed past Marcia. It felt as if some kind of a cold pit was forming inside of her gut, and she hated Marcia for making it grow more. For about as long as she'd been Marcia's apprentice, the pit had been there. Sometimes it shrunk, sometimes it grew. And it had been growing a lot lately, and Odale hated it. She couldn't understand why it was there, what it wanted her.
Odale rushed back into her bedroom, closed the door after her. Her mind was racing wildly, she shouldn't have reacted like that. It wasn't Marcia who had left the note, Clarence only did as his mother had said, and his mother didn't even know her... Odale closed her eyes. It still hurt.
The big thing was that it just wasn't her. Her mother and sister kept talking about the Snowplains as if it was home, which it was to them, but Odale knew nothing of it. It only haunted her, since it was something she could have had had her mother not left her in the snow. Had her father not been murdered, had her... Odale wrapped her arms around her legs. "Stop it, silly," Odale mumbled. "Stop it, stop it, stop it..."
Maybe it wasn't a horrific idea after all, that youth meeting.
Someone knocked on her door. "I'm sorry, Marcia," Odale called, and only then realized that her voice trembled. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat. "Come in."
"It's just me," Septimus walked in. "Hey, you look upset."
Odale hadn't noticed that tears had been welling up in her eyes. Quickly, she wiped them away. "It's just dust," she told him. "From... the Library."
Septimus nodded, but Odale understood that he didn't believe her. Still, he begun talking to her as if it was nothing. And it was then that Odale understood why she felt so odd, why she'd wanted to cry. Odale was, more or less, homeless.
Rodrian looked at Runa, as she was sleeping. She'd done that a lot lately, but he supposed it was hormones. Or something. He didn't exactly know. In whichever case, Runa looked calm when she slept. Completely relaxed, which was a big change from when she was awake, and it calmed Rodrian.
In his life, Rodrian had never exactly wanted a family. No children, and absolutely not a partner. He simply wasn't interested. Instead, he'd devoted his life to some sort of vengeance campaign which he, far too late, realized was to no use. He'd married Runa, not out of love or anything of the sort, but instead because a rebel had to have a spouse to really become influential. Which Rodrian had aspired to be.
And then, Lorea had come along. Lorea, who looked like his brother, father and mother, all of them at the same time. But she also looked like the Emperor, and his daughter, who Rodrian had marked the enemy. For a start, he'd marked Lorea the enemy too, which he now didn't understand. How could he have hated her? Not only did Lorea look like his family, she had a beautiful personality, too, and was intelligent. At least in his mind.
Rodrian had completely stopped his vendetta. Instead, he was completely focused on his niece. His new family. And now, he was going to have a child, too, with Runa being the mother.
He hadn't known he could be that worried before, and the closer Runa and the child came to the due date the more anxious Rodrian became. Rodrian knew he wasn't a big father figure, despite raising Lorea.
"Runa," Rodrian said softly. "It's time to wake up."
"En minut till," he heard Runa mumble and he sighed. She said that very often, but Rodrian had no idea what it meant.
"Marcia," Odale said, quietly opening the door to Marcia's study. "Can I come in?"
"Of course," Marcia replied, not looking up from her work. Odale didn't like the tone her voice had. It wasn't angry or mean, maybe, but awfully distant. She felt that pit grow bigger again. "What is it?"
Odale sat down in front of Marcia, without saying much. "Odale, for goodness sake, whatever's on your mind?" Marcia said, looking up at her.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Odale replied hastily. "I didn't mean to be that angry. And, besides, maybe you're right. Maybe I should go."
Marcia raised her eyebrows. "Honestly?" she asked, not in a sarcastic way. Odale tried to smile a little, but it didn't go very well for her.
"Mhm," Odale answered. "Also, maybe I could-"
"Yes, you can get time off, Odale," Marcia said, quickly signing a paper that she was looking at and putting it away. "But only two hours. Understood? And do eat lunch when you're with your mother."
"And I can go there alone?" Odale smiled.
Marcia rolled her eyes. "It's in the middle of the day," she told Odale. "And light, not a cloud in sight. People would see, so I don't think anyone would do anything."
Odale rose to her feet, and managed to give a real smile. Marcia stopped her. "Odale, wait," she said. And then, she did something that Odale was very, very surprised by. She gave Odale a hug. Not knowing how to respond, Odale just stood there for a few seconds until Marcia let her go. She smiled, and walked out. "See you after lunch!" Odale called, as she rushed out.
Jerome finally saw the girl, hurrying out of the Great Arch. He watched her walk, and quickly remembered why he'd come there in the first place. Revenge. It wasn't fair that some... little girl had beat his brother, it wasn't okay. And meanwhile his brother didn't seem to care so much about it, Jerome did. Jerome always did.
He jumped from the box he'd been sitting on, to follow her. Jerome watched the girl, walking into an alleyway, and that was when he struck. As quickly as a snake, he kicked the back of her knee, and she fell.
Despite it probably hurting, the girl rolled to her back and looked him in the eye. "You again!" she growled, and it was followed by a swear which Jerome didn't know what it meant. "For f-"
Jerome quickly clasped the chains around the girl's wrists, and watched her turn deathly pale. It didn't stop her from trying to kick him, aiming at her gut and knees, but he moved so that it wasn't possible. He quickly aimed a Spell at the girl, and she fell asleep.
Little, Cashmére thought, was alright, but Little still frightened her and she wished her daughter would come and pick Little up. Still, she could manage the little girl and her cold fingers, which she sometimes tried to stick into Cashmére palm.
The small myling didn't eat a lot, and sometimes Cashmére caught her eating small birds and mice. Which maybe didn't do much harm, but if someone ever tried to make it human, it would be so much harder to make a wild one human.
Cashmére sighed, as she watched Little play with a piece of wood she'd found by the fireplace. As if it was a doll. Maybe Cashmére should give the child a real toy? Maybe it would make the humanization go quicker.
Someone knocked on her door, in a manner that Cashmére only knew one person who could. Marcia. She sighed, but was still feeling anxious. Lorea was out with her friend, Colum or Dextus or whatever he preferred to be called and she was alone. With the myling. "Little, go back in my room," Cashmére said. Marcia shouldn't see her.
Then, Cashmére opened the door. "Cashmére!" Marcia exclaimed, at once. "Where's Odale? I need her back at the tower. At once."
"Odale?" Cashmére asked quizzically. "I haven't seen her today. Is she... did she say she was going here?"
Marcia nodded. "She did," Marcia said. "Oh no, she's gone. I'll..."
Cashmére noticed how worried Marcia looked. "Marcia..." Cashmére said, "Is there something you're not telling me?"
Marcia shook her head. "No," she replied. "But I do have to go and find Odale."
And then, Cashmére walked away.