Disclaimer – *shakes head*…Nope, while I love the world of Valdemar, it doesn't belong to me :) That all belongs to Mercedes Lackey. However! All those oh-so-interesting characters that have never made an appearance in any of her novels from my chapters (Lyrissa, Jayce, Mikel, Jesin, you know who)… they belong to me ^_^ Of course, you're welcome to use my characters… provided you tell me ;) Since this is my first fanfic, any questions/comments can be sent to dazz1eu@yahoo.com and would be greatly appreciated ^_^ Just don't be too harsh, neh? ;)
~ Chapter 7 ~
Lyrissa woke to the sound of birds singing faintly outside her window. The songs were interspersed with the occasional sound of footsteps from the hallway, muted conversation forming a background hum. Even with her eyes still closed, she could feel the sunshine falling on her face, dancing its warmth onto her pale skin.
The warmth did not reach her heart.
Cracking open one eye, Lyrissa squinted, holding up a hand to shade her face from the blinding glare. A quick glance around told her that the room was empty. ::All the better, I suppose:: thought Lyrissa grimly.
She was not sure how she had been rescued this time, if indeed it had been rescue. Perhaps it had been sheer luck. No matter, the result had been more bed rest.
::How long have I been here?:: Lyrissa wondered idly, lying back down and turning on her side. She could see the dust motes falling, easy to see as they floated in and out of sunbeams.
Mesmerized by the dust, she never heard the footsteps approaching the door.
"She still asleep?" Lyrissa stiffened. That was Alie's voice.
"Looks like it." Piel.
A pause. "What should we do?"
"I - I'm not sure." Piel's voice sounded hesitant. "We can't apologize if she's not awake to hear our apology."
Lyrissa blinked. Apology? What apology?
"Should we wait?"
Another pause. "No, we have no idea how serious this is. We should talk with another Healer who might have a better idea."
"Oh, so now it's ok to ask? You know, I still think we would have found out which room she was in much more quickly if you weren't so typically male and refused to ask for directions."
"I did not –"
"So who should we ask?"
"Huh? Oh…maybe Healer Andil…"
The two voices dwindled off as their owners left the door and continued down the hallway.
Lyrissa waited till she could no longer hear her yearmate and roommate conversing before slowly unclenching her fists. They had talked so cheerfully…but of course, what else should she have expected? Nearly everyone was a friend of each other here at the Collegium. Flopping over to her back, she brought out her hands from underneath the sheets, staring at them.
They were white from the pressure she had applied, but the blood was quickly rushing back to restore them to their proper color. Proper, except for that stain. Rain had done no better than several weeks of washing had in getting rid of that stain.
Water brimmed at the edge of her eyes, and Lyrissa felt pain wrench at her heart. ::Why do people keep caring for me? Why, when I can't even save my own sister…:: Letting her hands fall, she fought off the tears. ::I shouldn't be the one still here::
~~ ^ ~~
She was not looking his way.
Jayce had spent well over a day continuing his window-side vigil, only resting periodically when his weariness threatened to overwhelm him. He had been about to take another nap when he noticed the slight stir in the sheets.
Adrenaline had rushed through the Companion, rousing his previously sleepy mind. She was awake!
And yet, she never once looked at the window. The sun was shining directly through the window, causing her to look away to avoid being blinded. He watched as she pretended to sleep while two Trainees peeked in on her. He watched as she studied her hands. He watched as she fought the tears.
And still she kept her face averted.
Frustrated, Jayce eyed the window skeptically. Perhaps a hard shove with his nose would open the glass pane and…
*THUNK*
::Owww!:: Dancing back, Jayce whinnied in pain. That smarted! Shaking his head, he glared at the window, which was still firmly shut despite the pain it had attributed to his nose. Then it occurred to him.
The hinges were facing the wrong way. The window swung outward.
::And yet another instance where my memories do me absolutely no good from doing something utterly ridiculous:: Jayce sighed, shaking his head in an attempt to dismiss the pain. Walking back to the window, he noticed that at the very least, he had drawn the attention from his charge inside.
She was squinting at the window, but Jayce could tell that Lyrissa was only able to see a shadowed figure. Hesitantly, she rose, her intent of opening the window obvious.
Jayce hastily stepped back out of the range of the windows. No point in getting hit in the nose twice in one day.
Then the windows were open and sapphire eyes met cloudy blue.
~~ ^ ~~
*THUNK*
Lyrissa's head jerked up at the noise, a single tear forgotten as it cascaded down her cheek. ::What was that? A bird hitting the window pane?::
Squinting, she could barely make out a figure moving back abruptly. The size indicated that it had not been a bird, but Lyrissa was puzzled. What could possibly be stupid enough to hit a window?
The figure stopped cavorting around and returned to the window. Unfortunately, the sun cast a shadow over its face, so the entire figure appeared black to her. The outline, however, almost looked like… a horse?
But horses had no business around the Healer's Collegium.
She hesitated briefly. Would it be wise to open the window? Lyrissa didn't really feel up to company at the moment, even if it was only a silly four legged one who went charging into windows.
She dismissed her hesitation with a shrug and rose slowly. Worse came to worse, she could simply choose to ignore the visitor.
The figure backed up as she pushed the windows to have them swing open. With the sun no longer in her eyes, she was able to get her first unhindered view of the perpetrator.
And fell into an endless sea of blue.
::I am Jayce:: The warm tenor voice echoed in her mind as she continued to tumble in the wealth of those eyes. ::You, Lyrissa. I Choose You::
Then the falling was over, and she had both feet back firmly on the ground.
Blinking, Lyrissa scrubbed at her eyes. ::I've gotta be hallucinating, I just thought a Companion said-::
Her world came into focus. One white horse with sapphire eyes returned her gaze.
::Oh NO!::
The Companion stepped forward.
::NO!:: Lyrissa stepped backward frantically, unable to think coherently, only knowing that the Companion in front of her could not possibly understand the mistake it had made. "No, no, what are you doing? Go away!" she babbled aloud. "Go away, I'm not good enough, I'm tainted. I'm everything they said I was, don't you see?"
The sapphire eyes remained fixed. ::Lyrissa, I know you. I've watched you, protected you:: The strength of the tenor voice fluctuated as if not quite stable. ::You are not tainted, the death was not your fault, and what the others don't understand is how you will bring about great change::
"No, you can't… you made a mistake…" Sheer panic swept her and she half fell over the bed in her haste to scramble out of the room. Instinctively slamming up a mental wall to stop the noise, she raced out, gown flapping.
Leaving behind one very stunned Companion.
~~ ^ ~~
Jayce watched incredulously as his Chosen fled from the room looking utterly terrified. He was so stunned that he never heard the approaching sound of hooves.
::Cat got your tongue?:: came the teasing voice, startling Jayce out of his shock.
::Cera:: he responded weakly, turning to greet her.
::You were expecting somebody other than your wonderful, marvelous sister?:: teased Cera, tossing her mane. ::I'm hurt!::
::Hush:: he retorted distantly. Gently, he probed the weak link that had fallen into place the moment he had looked into Lyrissa's eyes.
The infamous barrier had gone up. The one that kept her emotions from leaking and the one that threw out Healers trying to help her. The one that had kept everyone else out, but he had managed to breach before.
And yet, he felt like it would be violating her trust.
Ears flat, he turned to face Cera. ::She ran away and is trying to block::
Cera snorted. ::The question is, what is she really running away from?::
::Her past?:: Jayce looked back toward the window. ::She fears these changes. She has an idea what being Chosen means. She wants to move on, but the guilt weighs on her too heavily::
::But you know:: Cera's statement implied fact over question.
Jayce looked back at Cera and nodded. ::I know, because I was able to see it; the shield let me pass. She unconsciously knows that I am "safe"… but consciously?::
::Consciously, you are a Companion who is as foreign as the Trainees around her. You are a Companion who has chosen a Healer, where Healer's are never Chosen:: The seriousness of Cera's tone felt unusual and made the comments all the more solemn. ::You are a Companion who has made a mistake::
Jayce remained silent. What could he say?
::Relax, brother mine:: the cheerful inflection had returned, and so had the twinkle in Cera's eyes. ::They will convince her::
::I hope so:: Jayce turned away from the window and looked up at the sun. ::For her sake and theirs, I hope so::
~~ ^ ~~
Flying hair and cloth whirled past Mikel in a blur as he turned around a corner in the Healer's Collegium. Instinctively reaching out, he caught the whirlwind, whipping it around to a standstill.
Frantic blue eyes looked up at him.
"Lyrissa?" Mikel was clearly shocked. What was she doing out of bed? She had been sound asleep the last time he had come to check on her earlier that morning. In fact, he had been on his way to check up on her.
Suspicion now edged those eyes. "Who -?"
"Herald Mikel," he interrupted hastily, realizing that Lyrissa had never met him while awake. "I found you two nights ago in the rain and brought you inside. My Companion was alerted by another that you had passed out."
For some reason, she was shaking. Fear? He brought his free hand up to brush away the stray hairs that dangled in her eyes.
The motion seemed to startle Lyrissa to her senses. Yanking her arm away, she backed up a few paces, eyes-wide in uncertainty.
"Rissa," Mikel tried to keep his voice soothing, as if coaxing a kitten down from a tree. "Rissa, I won't hurt you. I won't-"
But what he wouldn't do, she never had a chance to hear. Her eyes widened at the first mention of the nickname he had given her, and he paused for a split second, uncertain. The pause was all it took. Immediately, his head was slammed with a force that felt like a mace to the skull. Ears ringing, Mikel fell to his knees.
Seeing stars, Mikel could only close his eyes as his blurred vision showed the whirlwind blowing away.
~ Being sick and having a headache hasn't helped me write this chapter any ^_^; Sorry 'bout that =) Hope you enjoyed this one ^_^ If you liked it, leave a review, I take to them kindly ;) Thank you to those who have already left your mark. Chapter 8 coming soon to a store near you! ~