CHAPTER 19
After the tour of the library, kitchens, salle, stable, and field Sherri was ready to crawl back into bed. Something Quin had been urging her to do since she left the Queen's apartments.
"You look ready to drop." Kevyn observed as he escorted her back to her room.
The thought of the four flights of stairs ahead of her made her want to just curl up in a corner to sleep. "Almost." She admitted.
:Go to bed Sherri.: Quin scolded again.
"I am." Sherri answered him aloud.
"Quin?"
Sherri nodded. "He is nagging. It is almost strange to be nagged by a horse when I think about it."
"For the rest of us it was very strange with out thinking about it. I suppose you are used to the strange."
"You could say that." Sherri thought of her childhood. No other child in Valdemar played tag with two of the most famous figures in history, were taught music by a centuries old Bard, taught magic by the most renowned Herald-Mage, learned to ride on a Companion despite not being Chosen and the Companion being dead. "I remember when I was wandering and I couldn't Read anything I was fascinated by a flower. It was simply perfect. It was strange to me that I couldn't sense the work that had gone into making it bloom just so. To just see the flower was stranger than to see ghosts to me."
"It must be hard to appreciate the simple things when you know how hard someone worked to achieve them." Kevyn said thoughtfully.
"I loved the wild flowers that bloomed in the woods, wild and free. All the work was their own. But I could still Feel the work it took." Sherri thought mournfully of her time in Sorrows. Moving water removed the Traces she sensed, which was what made her clothing wearable and allowed her to cleanse the small items she dealt with every day, it also kept the Forest almost completely free of traces. Since living plants moved water up and down its stem or trunk it slowly removed the traces of the people who had influenced them but there was always enough traces for her to feel the work that had gone into growing.
"Your Gift is hard to comprehend. As a mage, I see energies and sense things growing but I can turn those senses off, where as you have never not seen energies."
"It is inconvenient but I don't remember it being any other way." Sherri shrugged. "If I could suddenly turn it off, I would probably spend every waking moment staring at the most ordinary things."
"There must be a way to turn it off. We just have to find it." Kevyn said seriously. "Maybe, if it gets bad enough, we can deactivate it completely."
Sherri thought wistfully of being free of her Gift. "I won't get my hopes up. Van tried it already."
Kevyn released her arm when they reached her door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Sherri debated inviting him in but decided against it when a yawn struck. "Promise?"
"Of course." Kevyn favoured her with a warm, promising smile.
Sherri pushed her door open and hesitated. "Why is it every time I see you I end up in bed for days or weeks?"
Kevyn laughed and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss.
"Yes, it was intended as a double entendre." She slipped into her room and closed the door.
:Trying your hand at seduction?: Quinlan asked.
Sherri sensed odd overtones in his mindspeech. :He is…I am not sure if I can describe it.:
:You love him already?: Quinlan asked.
Sherri stripped off her dress and hung it in the wardrobe. :I guess I do. He is unlike anyone else I have ever met.:
Quinlan seemed worried.
:Is something wrong?:
:I don't want you to get hurt. You have never had a relationship with a living person before…: Quin trailed off.
Sherri still didn't understand. The dead weren't that different from the living, well, at least the ones that were conscious of being dead weren't. :He has always been special to me. And not just because he is a Herald. He never hesitates to touch me and when he does…: Sherri pulled on her nightgown and slipped into bed. :I feel like I am the most cherished person in the world.:
:And that is important to you?:
Sherri couldn't answer, she was already fast asleep on the bed.
~ * ~
Favram was prepared to knock on every door in the Heralds' wing until he found Sherri if that was what it took. He had left his elder brothers arguing over what to do to talk to her. He had seen how hurt she was when she left them, even if the others hadn't. She had hid it well but with his lifestyle being able to read people's emotions was a lifesaving skill.
None of the pages he had questioned had been able to direct him to Sherri's room but they had been able to tell him where the too pretty Herald lived.
Favram paused in front of the door he had been told about and rapped on the door. A shuffling noise alerted him before the door opened to reveal the Herald.
He had removed his glaringly white tunic but still wore his breeches and shirt.
"Is Sherria here?" Favram demanded.
"No, I left her at her room a candlemark ago, she needed to rest." Kevyn answered.
Favram nodded. "Could you direct me to her room? I need to speak with her."
"If this is about her not becoming a Herald, you will be wasting your breath. It is out of your hands." Kevyn warned.
"I know, even if my brothers don't. I want to talk to her about the estate."
"She is exhausted. Leave it till tomorrow. Remember, this morning she was in a coma. She needs to recuperate."
Favram was tempted to break the well meaning Herald's nose. He was well aware of Sherri's condition this morning. "Why do you think we are so worried about her? She is our baby niece, no matter her age. Do you really think I would do anything to jeopardise her?"
"Quite frankly, I think you and your brothers have hurt her at every turn and that is not something she can handle right now." Kevyn said firmly. "She feels guilty that she hasn't fulfilled your vision for her."
"Guilty? But she is everything I could ever hope for her to be." Favram said confused.
"Myra said you lot spent the entire trip down regaling her with tales of Sherri's domestic skills. Skills Sherri doesn't have."
"Of course she doesn't. Why would I want a milksop niece in charge of Sorrows? Sherri is a brilliant fighter, even though she has very little really experience, she can run a large estate well and profitably. She can even ride like the wind. All I wanted was for her to be a happy, independent woman. My brothers may have dreamed of a perfect little girl but I always knew she would be so much more."
Kevyn was surprised by Favram's speech. "She was hurt when you all insisted she couldn't become a Herald. She was actually dreading telling you."
"Hell." Favram cursed. "It was a surprise. We had no warning, she just came in, sat down, said 'I was Chosen' and that was it. Of course we were all shocked. We have all known Heralds that have caught arrows or were torn apart by Ancar's Mages. How do you think we should react to our baby girl becoming one of those oh so noble targets?"
"Maybe by supporting her." Kevyn suggested. "She knows you haven't read any of her letters since she was a child. Avren was the one who caused all those mysterious bruises on her. He pictured her being beaten so she felt the beating. She is safer and more welcome among the Heralds than she is among her own kin. We wouldn't turn our backs on her for anything."
"We were on the front, you know what it is like. Reading about childish concerns like skinned knees and pony rides was distracting. Hells, thinking of home was dangerous and made you sloppy."
"And since then?" Kevyn challenged. "If you and your brothers are wise you will give up on your notion of a little niece and try to get to know Sherri as she is now. She is a fascinating woman, smart, intelligent, caring, and honourable. When you rode out of Sorrows when she was five and didn't return until she was not only grown but independent and then demanded she marry some stranger you lost all right to expect anything but suspicion and distrust from her."
"Marriage? Damn, Avren is a bigger idiot than I thought." Favram muttered. "Please show me her room or I will start knocking on every door until I find the right one."
Kevyn was torn between slamming the door in Favram's face and complying.
:What do you think Thunderfoot?: Kevyn asked the dozing Dominick.
:Quin says she needs to hear him.: Nick answered after a moment's conference with Quin.
"Very well, but if you distress her in any way I will personally toss you down the stairs by what ever means necessary and I am an adept."
Favram bristled at the younger man's threat but nodded. "Show me."
Kevyn led Favram down the dimly lit hall and around a corner to Sherri's closed door. "Don't touch her skin." Kevyn warned in a quiet tone.
"Why not?" Favram asked just as quietly.
"It pains her, it is part of her Gift."
"Some Gift." Favram commented dryly as he pushed the door open.
Inside Sherri was sprawled across her bed with one arm tossed over her head and another flung off to the side. A beam of moon light illuminated half her face revealing her peaceful expression.
"She looks just like she did when she was little." Favram said quietly.
"Don't wake her." Kevyn warned.
Sherri suddenly shifted and her eyes opened sleepily. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing, go back to sleep." Favram assured her and her eyes closed again.
"I thought you wanted to talk to her."
"If you are pushing for a broken nose to muddle up your pretty face, keep talking." Favram didn't look away from Sherri. There were still dark shadows under her eyes and her form was much too thin. A cool breeze drifted in the window so he carefully pulled the blanket up and tucked it around her form. An action he had done many times when she was small enough to warrant rails around her bed to keep her from falling out. Glancing up he saw Kevyn's expression was obviously that of a man in love. "You hurt her and it won't matter if you are a mage or not, I will still break every bone in your body. You damn well better treat her as if she is the greatest treasure on earth."
Kevyn looked away from Sherri. "Of course I will."
Favram wondered how long until he had a nephew in law. "Let's go, Now that I know where she is I can talk to her in the morning."